Shy little Eloise Moreau found herself the proud owner of Ollivanders after his death in the war. Now she's left to cope with the loss of her mentor while attempting to run a business.
When Charlie Weasley drops by one day in hopes of buying a new w...
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"Bowling?" Eloise asked in bewilderment. She'd never been, but she'd heard of Muggles playing the game.
Charlie looked like he was about to burst, he was so full of excitement. "Yes!"
A pungent smell suddenly attacked her nostrils, that of sweaty socks, smoke, and stale chips.
"Does it have to smell so awful?"
"Quit whining. It's fun!" He exclaimed, dragging her over the the counter where a bored looking man with an impressively twisty mustache stood, staring into space.
"Two please," Charlie said. "And shoe rental."
"But I have shoes, you git!" she whispered.
"You need special shoes," he playfully whispered back. Eloise didn't know her shoe size, as all of her shoes were magically charmed to fit, so Charlie guessed for her. The first pair were much too big, so she had to switch them out for a size down, much to Mustache Man's displeasure.
"I don't think I like wearing someone else's shoes. It feels wrong," she told him as she followed him to a lane on the far end of the near empty alley, away from the grumpy employee. "And they stink."
"Yeah, yeah, it stinks," he teased. "Come pick out a ball."
She reached for a light lavender one from the stand, but when she immediately dropped it as it was much too heavy.
"Why would they make it so you can't lift them?" she asked. She thought she understood the game, but maybe there was more to it than throwing the ball at the pins.
Charlie snorted, grabbing the ball she had chosen and lifting it up easily, even tossing it slightly in one hand before going back to the lane and setting it on a stand nearby.
"Wanker," she muttered, lifting each in an attempt to find one that wasn't quite so heavy. She settled on an ugly fluorescent green and joined her friend, following his lead in what to do with the ball. "Now what?"
"We bowl!"
He picked up his ball and took two calculated steps, throwing it down the lane. Their eyes followed it closely as they waited with bated breath. It knocked over all but the pin on the far left.
"My turn, my turn!" she chirped.
"Nope, me again! You get two shots."
She furrowed her brow as she stood behind him. "But why?"
"So you can knock over the pins you missed and make a spare." She leapt back in surprise as the ball Charlie had just thrown reappeared on the stand, making Charlie double over in laughter. "Muggle machine," he explained.
He threw again, knocking the last pin over and scribbling on the scorecard the employee had given them with a tiny pencil. Eloise watched as another Muggle contraption set the pins back up all on its own.
