some are like water, some are like heat [iris]

It was a long Saturday. Acelyn's was only open for four hours in December on the weekends, and Alex had only been helping out at the counter for an hour and a half, but it seemed like an eternity to him. He'd stayed up a little too late the previous night working on his holiday homework, which had taken quite a bit of time to do, but had been done. If Alex remembered correctly, he'd fallen asleep at about two thirty in the morning, give or take an hour or so. But, even if he was extremely tired and only wanted to go home and sleep, Alex was extremely happy that there was nothing left for him to do. He wouldn't have to worry about it the week before he was due back at the castle, and that was nice.

There wasn't much bustle around the shop around one forty-five in the afternoon, but considering the fact that it was December, it was expected. No one really wanted a cold treat when it was cold outside. Cold treats were reserved for hot days, when people didn't want to be outside. The occasional child would come in now, asking only having just finished begging their mom or dad for ice cream, and ask for a double scoop. Little children never got sick of ice cream, it seemed. They might, Alex thought, if they had to work in the freezing ice creamery all day long, though.

"Thank you for coming to Acelyn's!" The Hufflepuff boy called out to the family that was just leaving the shop. "Enjoy your ice cream and have a nice day!" He'd waited after that, standing behind the counter with a smile on his face, hoping he didn't seem too tired in front of them (although he did almost give the child peppermint ice cream when she asked for mint chocolate chip, an honest mistake, really). After the family was out of sight and out of mind, Alex moved back to the seat that was behind the ice cream coolers, reserved for the employees. Alex had used to sit in it when he was younger and his father didn't want him to get in the way. The thought of being a child again, with his whole family there, his mum and sister and dad, made the sixteen year old smile.

His head was rested against the back of the wall and Alex had almost drifted to sleep once he'd heard the bell go off, signifying that there was someone else walking in the store. The curly haired boy was jolted awake after that, pushing himself up into a standing position and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes while he approached the counter. Once his eyes were nice and open, and he was sure that he wasn't at risk of falling asleep against the counter, Alex smiled at the patron in the shop with his usual greeting smile. "Hello there! Welcome to Acelyn's!" He told the person approaching the counter. "Let me know when you're ready and I'll help you right away."

After six years of being a witch, she was beginning to realize that she didn't really fit in with the muggle world. She'd spent the majority of her Holidays in her bedroom working on homework, or in their small gardens taking care of the plants. Instead of talking to her family, she found herself talking to her cat who went to Hogwarts with her. Even though he couldn't talk, she felt he was the only creature who understood her at home. When it was dinner and she was required to sit with the rest of the family, she mostly just listened. After all, they could hardly understand what life was like at Hogwarts. Instead, they all listened to her older sister Colina talk about University life in the muggle world. It was almost like they lived in different dimensions or something. Which is why she'd persuaded her parents into letting her go to Diagon Alley for the day.

Once she got to Diagon Alley, Iris wished she had more money. There wasn't a whole lot of things she could buy with the amount she had with her, and the more windows she looked into, the more things she wanted to buy. It was nothing like shopping in the muggle world! Even the children's toys were more interesting than the muggle ones. Seeing a shop that caught her attention, she walked closer, peering into the glass shop. Merlin, those look interesting. She reached out and touched the glass, wishing she had money to buy something. She glanced up at the wooden sign. Nesta's Vines. She thought it was a fitting name, since she could see the vines through the glass. She loved plants, especially magical ones and flowers. She spent much of her time in the Greenhouses at Hogwarts and never tired of learning about all the different plants.

Tearing herself away from the shop wasn't easy. She didn't have nearly enough time or money to buy seeds and raise plants. She was only home for the Holidays and soon she would have to go back to Hogwarts. She couldn't take care of her plants if she wasn't even home. Besides, some magical plants could be dangerous, especially around muggles. She would just have to come back another day. Probably when she was graduated from Hogwarts and lived on her own.

It was a little while later that she saw the ice cream shop. While she didn't have a whole ton of money with her, she could probably afford a scoop of ice cream! While she might hate the cold temperatures in the winter months, she loved ice cream. Even if it was cold. She stopped to look at the flower beds sitting outside. Honestly, she wished more stores had the same thing, it would make Diagon Alley a whole lot prettier! Everything needed some floral and plant decorations. Unfortunately, not everyone shared her love of plants, which she couldn't really understand. She walked into the store, and searched for the list of ice cream.

Iris had almost forgotten that ordering ice cream involved actually talking to someone. She was reminded of that tiny detail when she heard a voice. Startled, she looked away from the menu and searched for the speaker. When she found him, her cheeks turned bright red. Talking to people was not her strong suit. She preferred talking to her plants, or animals. Being shy, she felt very uncomfortable talking to people she didn't know. Now she wished Artemis, her pet cat, were here. She would hold him close to her while being forced to talk. Focus. It was really hard to think about what she wanted when someone was right there. And she couldn't stop staring at him! Even then it took her a few moments to realize she'd actually seen him before. He was in a few of her classes and since she'd also seen him in the Common Room, he was obviously a Hufflepuff. Actually recognizing the person didn't make things any easier.

"Um," she mumbled, her cheeks turning a darker shade of red. "I-uh-yes."

Iris quickly glanced over at the blackboard, completely forgetting to even check to see if she had the money to pay for it. How was she expected to focus when she had to talk to someone?

"I'll-um-have a Butterbeer Float." she said, forcing herself to look back at the person behind the counter.