The Coolest Co-Workers Ever (Ariel)

Work was boring. Always. Even when you worked in a ridiculously awesome joke shop where the boss was really cool and you could pretty much sit around and drink butterbeer for your whole shift. At least, it was boring when you worked by yourself and nobody that you knew came in all day. Even though it was a Hogsmeade weekend, it was more or less a blizzard outside, so not many people had wasted their time venturing out of the castle. So Hunter was just sitting on the counter like always, counting down the minutes.

The difference between today and most days was that he wasn't counting down the minutes until he could leave. No, today, he was counting down the minutes until Ariel showed up! Being maybe the only person as awesome as Hunter himself, she had also gotten a job at Zonko's. In general, they probably wouldn't work together that much. On weekdays, there was no reason to have two of them there. And on weekends, it was usually busy enough that they would have to actually work. Well, Ariel would probably do more of the working than Hunter, in truth.

Today, though, their schedules overlapped because the boss had expected the shop to be busy. But with the storm outside, it was likely that Hunter and Ariel would get paid to hang out inside the shop with a bunch of candy and awesome prank things and butterbeer and not have to actually do a thing. Hunter could see out the window from where he sat on the counter, and a grin spread across his face when he spotted Ariel through the swirling snow outside. He quickly hopped down from his perch and searched the nearest shelf for something useful.

He ended up with a headless hat - it would have to do. He hurried over to the door and crouched down beside it so that when Ariel opened the door to enter, it would hide him from view. He'd just made it in time, and it took only a few seconds for the door to swing open. With a grin, he popped the headless hat onto his head, waited until she stepped into the shop, and then quietly reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.

When Ariel got the job at Zonko's, she was beyond thrilled. Not just because she got to work in a shop with loads of prank possibilities and discounts and stuff, but also because she got to work with her best friend. It was mostly because of the shop though. It was without a doubt the best shop in Hogsmeade, and she was going to work there. Ariel grinned as she took on her thick winter coat, and walked out of the castle.

She had only been to Hogsmeade one time this year, which was her first legal year. Though, technically she'd been there twice, if the Shrieking Shack counted. Ariel grinned to herself, passing by a few older students who gave her a weird look. Slytherins, no doubt. Ariel shrugged and started skipping. She felt light, and even though her feet sometimes slipped and misplaced in the powder snow, she managed all the way into the famous wizarding street.

She stopped the skipping when a crowd of people came towards her. She couldn't skip through them without somehow punching them, so she figured it was best to stop. She pushed through the crowd and stumbled, having to walk quickly backwards to try to regain her balance, but she fell backwards nonetheless, her arms barely managing to stop her bum from falling into the snowy mess.

An elder person rushed over and reached out, and Ariel was pulled out. "Thanks!" she said happily and went on, a couple of shops down, and reached the door to Zonko's. "Awesomeness," she muttered to herself and walked in through the door. She heard something rustle, but didn't know what, so she walked towards the desk with a big grin. Hunter was probably off helping some helpless and newbie prankster. Which was fine. Any prankster was awesome.

And then someone poked her shoulder. Ariel turned around and jumped a couple of miles into the air, letting out a shriek and then starting to laugh. "Hunter!" she yelled happily and slung her arms around the headless body. She had started to hug Hunter more often now than before. Even though it might have something to do with the fact that it no longer was embarrassing to hug guys, and that she'd just been scared enough to have a minor adrenaline-kick. She pulled out of the hug and looked around. "Silent? Where do I put my coat?" she asked him, waving her coat in front of him.

There were a few moments when Hunter was worried that the trick was a bit too dull to throw Ariel off guard - but then, she turned around and shrieked, causing Hunter to burst into laughter. "You had to have jumped ten feet!" he managed to choke out as she recognized him and went to throw her arms enthusiastically around his neck. "Argh - that was my face!" he told her, still laughing, as one of arms slammed into his face in her attempt to hug him, knocking the hat from his head in the process. As his head flickered back into existance, Hunter wrapped his arms around Ariel's waist to return the hug, lifting her a bit off the ground for a few seconds - her enthusiasm was difficult to not reciprocate.

"Looks like someone's in a good mood today," Hunter grinned, picking the hat up from the floor where it had fallen and tossing it onto a shelf where it didn't actually belong. "Yeah, it'll be dead all night if the weather keeps up. And you can put your coat in the back, come on," he told her, snatching the coat from her hands with a grin and taking off behind the counter to enter the backroom. Hunter tossed the coat ungracefully on one of the chairs, despite the fact that there was a coat rack in the corner of the room, and headed over to where he'd dropped his backpack earlier.

"Here," he said, digging into a large box beside his backpack and pulling out two bottles of butterbeer. He tossed one to her and cracked his own open. "The boss is the coolest person ever - he doesn't mind if we have butterbeer, as long as he can help himself to whatever we bring. And we're allowed to eat any of the sweets at the counter." With that, he retreated back out of the room and into the shop, catching Ariel by the elbow and dragging her with him.

"So pretty much," he said, hopping up onto the counter again and taking a swig of butterbeer, "As long as we keep the shop pretty much straightened up and help customers when they show up, we can do whatever else we want." Which was why Zonko's was the absolute best place to work out of anywhere in Hogsmeade. "Any questions?" he asked, throwing a fake-professional tone into his voice for the fun of it.

Ariel made a face at Hunter as he laughed at how she had jumped. But it was soon her turn to laugh as her arms hit his face and the hat fell off, revealing his head. "Moahahaha," she sniggered evilly. She felt even lighter when he lifted her off her feet. What was really fun, though, was the fact that the way his head had just popped up out of nowhere when the hat fell off. That should really be its own thing. Just popping up out of nowhere.

Ariel beamed. "I am, obvious right?" she asked, pointing to her almost blonde hair. She nodded in an overly professional way. "Well, then, we must need to find something to kill time," she said and skipped after Hunter, killing all sense of 'professionality'. Walking into the backroom Ariel grinned. "Oh, yes, I'm totally allowed to be here," she said smugly.

She looked around when Hunter said here, and she looked over to him, just in time to see a bottle fly towards her. She snatched it and felt even happier. "Butterbeer!" she exclaimed, "Oh I'm gonna love this job!" She popped open her own and took a swing at it. Oooh, so delicious! She nodded vigorously. "Yup, that's my impression of him! Then we should bring with some food from the kitchens once, Hunter! Just to be nice and completely awesome!" Ariel suggested excitedly and was then grabbed by the elbow and steered out of the room; Hunter seemed pretty thrilled.

Ariel watched on as he jumped up onto the counter and she leaned against the side of it. "Yeah, one," she said softly and turned to him. "What do you think of this haircolor?" she asked and closed her eyes. When she opened them, this was what she looked like.

Ariel's happiness was contagious, especially since she had been so down lately. Though she wasn't the type to mope around and make it obvious, Hunter could tell that she was still struggling to be her typical, excitable self. "Yeah, a bit obvious," he grinned back, taking in the lighter color of her hair. Hunter was glad - though Ariel looked perfect no matter what, brown didn't suit her. It was far too dull and boring. "But I'm definitely not complaining."

Find something to kill time. "That won't exactly be that hard. It's a bit difficult to run out of awesome things to do in a joke shop." Hunter usually spent his time eating sweets and sending miniature brooms flying around the place. "But actually, I'm gonna need your help at some point - or more like your creative genius," Hunter grinned. "D'you know Phineas Button? That annoying kid that follows Aoife around? We have to prank him - get him really good with something. Of course, he deserves decked in the face, but I figured I should probably take a nonviolent approach." Mostly because he knew about the kid's home life.

"Yeah, I suppose we could do that," Hunter nodded in agreement. "The house elves do make the best food - anyone who doesn't go to Hogwarts is missing out." Hunter wasn't sure how anyone could live without the amazing food he got to eat on a daily basis. Hunter absentmindedly reached down into one of the candy bowls for some bertie botts and tossed them all into his mouth at once.

Hunter raised an eyebrow when Ariel actually said she had a question, but quickly realized her question had nothing to do with the store. He just stared at her for a minute as her hair changed from the light-brown it had been to a bright, bubblegum pink. And then, his face broke out into a grin. "What is it with everyone making their hair weird colors? First Aoife and now you? You guys would look like cotton candy if you were together." But after scrutinizing her for another moment, he came to a quick decision. "I like it. It's much better than the brown, but blonde is still best. Of course, you could probably make your hair puke green and still look fine."

Ariel bobbed her head up and down in a big, important motion, and then looked around the shop. "That is totally true!" she said happily and then returned her attention to Hunter. He needed her help? She smirked and closed her eyes briefly, making sure she'd remember this. Sure, not such a big deal that Hunter wanted her help, but it was always wonderful when it came to pranks. Phineas Button, however... She didn't think she knew him.

Ariel tried to remember, but she couldn't. He might've been in one of her classes. Good thing it seemed like Hunter didn't like him. Maybe he was a complete tosser. "Probably a good idea. Now, what did he do? I've gotta decide on a punishment fit the crime," Ariel said, a wicked smirk spreading on her lips. She was very ready to prank some worthy people.

Snatching a few Bertie Bott's herself, Ariel looked into the roof. She could guess what Hunter was thinking; Hogwarts food=amazing and necessary to live. Or something along those lines. That's at least what she was thinking. "You got that right," she muttered in complete agreement. Suddenly, she was dreading the day she would graduate... She'd have to make her own food! Not that she'd mind, it would simply never be as good as the House Elves' food. Then she frowned and abruptly straightened up, her right hand on her chest. "I vow to become equally as good at cooking as House Elves!" she said dramatically.

Ariel raised an eyebrow. "Pink looks good on me? Seriously, here I was, thinking I'd make you laugh to bits at how ridiculous I looked, but no!" she exclaimed. She changed her hair back to a dark blonde haircolor. It was easier to maintain now. She wasn't really sure of whether or not take the 'puke green and still look good' comment as a compliment or not. And then, something more registered in her mind. "I look worse as a brunette than a pinkhead?!" she yelled, her tone horrified.

Hunter wasn't surprised that Ariel had agreed to help him so easily - you just had to say the word prank, and she'd come running across the castle to join in. But this was far more serious than a random prank on a random person. When she asked what the kid had done, Hunter's tone darkened a bit as he responded. "Well," he started, partly excited to finally have a chance to tell Ariel about what had happened. "Last night, I had to run down to the potions storage cupboard to get something. So I went down, and I passed Aoife and Phin on the way - no big deal, right?"

Hunter snorted at how wrong he'd been to just act as though their presence wouldn't cause him any trouble. "Wrong. I had to go all the way to the back of the cupboard, and the next thing I know, somebody slams into me and the door closes. That little git shoved Aoife in with me and locked the door. And then told me he'd leave us to it and be back in the morning!" Hunter could hear the incredulous sound of his voice. Honestly, how did a second year even know what that meant?

"But wait, it gets worse. After a while, he came back. With Seren. He staged it all, and she found us and started screaming, and then Aoife told her that we made out to piss her off and Seren thought she was serious and slapped me and stormed off." Hunter took a deep breath at that point, not having taken one for some time. "I don't even know if we're still together - she hasn't talked to me since." Hunter had a feeling things would turn out fine, and that Seren was just being Seren. But still, Phin had caused him far too much trouble.

"If you become as good at cooking as the house elves, you'd better be inviting me over for dinner every single day once we're out of school," Hunter told her. Because he wasn't sure he could live without the kind of cooking the house elves did. Hunter was about to tell her that her hair just didn't look that funny pink, when all of a sudden she was yelling, a horrified sound to her voice. Hunter couldn't help the laughter that rose in his throat. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying," he told her, getting a grip on his laughter and taking on a serious tone. "Actually, since you've brought it up, you look completely terrible as a brunette. Hideous, really. I don't even know how I bear to be around you sometimes, that's how bad it is." All of it was ridiculous, of course, being that Ariel was magically beautiful. Always.