A SWEET COUPLE
Honeydukes is a wonderful place. Filled to the brim with a large catalogue of pastries and sugary delights, even the air is arguably candy. Many a wizard and witch tend to see the sweets shoppe as one of the main pillars of Hogsmeade. There seems to be not a single minute that goes by where nobody is perusing its many treats. Garland included.
With a fair amount of Galleons in hand, he set out upon the store and came to the stacks of Cauldron Cakes he loved so much, always coming in threes with an assortment of cake and filling combinations. His eyes glistened as they scanned over the mouthwatering moist crumbles and silky fillings. "Mmmmh... What. Would. You. Enjoy. This would be easier if it was Fishydukes", he thought to himself. Moments went by before the proprietor approached the lad, "Is there anything I can help you with, Sir?"
Garland snapped out of focus and turned to the man donned in a stripped shirt and overalls. After a second of silence, Garland lifted a finger and returned to thought before swishing it towards the cakes. "I... have a fairly large order and fifteen Galleons to spend", he stated. The proprietor knew what was implied, enough to make his gentile smile break across his face in an opportunistic grin. Garland eventually finished the purchase, stumbling out of the store with four heavy bags filled with numerous treats reading his levitated receipt.
At the cobblestoned patio past the garden, April sat with her own bag of treats awaiting Garland to arrive for their first date since her Sorting Ceremony. It was not secluded enough for her tastes, but she was able to blend into society for once. It was not hard to hide the anxiety of culture shock this way. Simple nods and smiles were enough to keep eyes off her, at least that is what he told her. Then again, it was also silly for someone so high-strung and self-sufficient as her to even fret about it. And that fact alone was enough to let her keep her cool.
She opened up the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean she recently scoured and shook it. The beans easily shifted, revealing what was buried in a refreshed bouquet of sweet scents and colors. "It has been a while since I picked out the bad beans for you, hasn't it?" She said before taking another whiff at the sweet beans to see if she missed any of the bad flavors. Not that she could eat any of them, mind you. Spending most of her life as a gryphon, most of their attributes bled into her human form. And because gryphons couldn't digest sugar very well, the few times she did have sweets resulted in her getting sick. But she's been human this past week longer than she has been in, perhaps, twelve years. Maybe for once she could enjoy life.
A glint of blue suddenly shimmered on the edge of her vision. She looked up across the garden, watching a wizard garbed in a pearlescent blue robe hobble through the gates, carrying full bags on each side of him. He was quite a distance away, enough that any without an ocular could not normally tell. But her extreme case as an animagus gave her great sight and allowed her to see much farther and in much more detail than any could find. It was Garland, and it appears he bought a corner of Honeydukes. The sight of this mellow soul was enough to calm her down.
As he made his way around the flailing dragon-shaped shrubbery, Garland heard a sharp whistle coming from the spot he was to meet up. Directing the receipt out of his face, he saw April on one of the benches holding up a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "Ah... well shite", he said to himself, knowing he had another unopened box she may or may not want to sift through. As he reached the top of the stairs, the two noticed each others' bags of cauldron cakes. "We have too many cauldron cakes", April said flatly. "Yeah...", Garland replied.
Garland laid the bags down near their feet and took a seat right next to her with a light grunt. "I didn't expect you to buy cauldron cakes, dear. But thank you for them." He gave her a peck on head and dug into the bags containing the various other delights he bought. "Why did you buy so much, Garland? I hope you're not blowing your money on frivolity", she inquired as she looked over his shoulder into the bag of sweets.
"I have developed a wonderful butterbeer concoction that is currently being sold at the Hog's Head and it is fetching me a petty sickle" he replied with a curtly smug smile. "I also managed to filch a trader store of my own from this hag and her poltergeist. It makes enough, though I have to sift through inventory from time to time."
She leaned back and pondered a bit before returning to surveying his inventory, "Oh... well you've been busy when I was away."
"Huh... I thought you'd be ecstatic about a steady income. Something wrong?" He asked, pulling out a package of Alihotsy Fudge. April quickly caught the scent of the delicious flavor: a salty sweet crème of buttermilk and a dash of brambleberries. Though, mouthwatering as it seemed, she was still cautious of the sugar used to make it. "Oh, I am just out of my element is all", she replied. "Honestly... its been sort of hard with you gone. Really. Couldn't have been more than a week before I fled the house and lived around the castle. I could have lived off fish and whatnot, but then I suddenly received the letter that I was going to Hogwarts. It was strange. And I had a sneaking suspicion you did something... which you did. Thank you."
"I don't want you living out in the wild, Love. Figured you were, but didn't want to say anything." Garland handed her the palm-sized morsel to try and then threw his arm around her, squishing her against him. She pushed her head into his neck and unwrapped the soft confectionary, holding it between her fingers. It truly was aromatic for a sweet, no doubt he was careful with his choices. "Are you sure this won't upset my stomach?" Garland took the box of good beans and began digging in, "If my performance records in Care of Magical Beasts mean anything, then it shouldn't. Just make sure you eat it slow and savor it."
"I know that, Love!" She said in a mildly irritated voice. But after a quick huff she returned to her fudge, the first bite of fudge she has had in her life. "I know I have shown it before, but I have never been able to really tell you how much I appreciate everything you and your family have done for me. So... cheers." "Cheers!" Garland said as he tapped his cream-colored jelly bean against her small block of fudge. As she bit into the smooth fudge, her face lit up and various mumbles pushed out of her mouth as she let the buttery fruit flavor overtake her senses, eventually swallowing the bite down.
"Mmmm! MMMM! This is spectacular, Garland! Its like that hiking mix you made years ago, but a creamy paste! I-I need to slow down. Merlin knows I've already upset my stomach." April hesitated to take another bite. Garland pulled out a Cauldron Cake while she was occupied with her fudge, one with a chocolate crumb and a ghost white vanilla bean custard garnished with a cinnamon licorice ladle. Before he could even sink his teeth into it, April was eyeing it as intensely as she would a freshly caught Murkbottom Trout. Garland shook his head, "Nah-uh... we'll graduate to this. Eat your fudge."
She timidly rewrapped the fudge and placed it to the side, still focused on the cauldron cake, "I'll save the rest of the fudge for later. I just- may I have a taste of the cream?" Garland lifted the ladle, making sure it was filled with cream and carefully handed it to her. She pinched the end of the cute licorice ladle and ate the glob of vanilla bean cream. Her feet began to tap against the cobblestones as the delicious confection tasted better than the last. Squeals of excitement tried to escape her mouth, but the taste and texture of the licorice and vanilla bean was too enjoyable. The ladle quickly disappeared into her gullet and then she hopped up, giving her mate a large hug while vibrating his eardrum with a screech of glowing joy. Loud enough to draw the attention of some witches just passing over the bridge.
"Garland, you wonderful man! Thank you for doing this!" She screamed, showering his head in kisses. "I'm glad you are enjoying the sweets, my sweet!" He commented through the loving assault. April briefly stopped and held his head up until their eyes met, "Most of this is for me, right?" Unblinkingly, he replied with a single "...Yes." April hugged his head tightly and excitedly screamed into the sky. Her loud cries of celebration and joyous hopping nearly drew the attention of the police. But in a quick change of plans, the intended excursion through Hogsmeade turned into a hike back to the castle, leading the bubbly animagus and her stash of sweets back to her dorm.
Sweets that she found she could eat.