J.J had assured Fenris that he was perfectly capable of doing his school shopping alone. It wasn't like it was difficult, after all. He had his list, he knew where most of the shops were and the others all had signs on them and if he couldn't find somewhere then he would just ask someone. Simple. Eventually Fenris had agreed to let J.J go by himself for a little bit and they arranged to meet a bit later in a cafe. J.J felt relieved to be out of the man's presence and by himself again. Fenris wasn't his father. His father was who should have been here with him, helping him buy his supplies. J.J wasn't sure exactly why Fenris had decided to take him in, but he was suspicious and untrusting now, of anyone. At least Fenris didn't have any bratty kids.
With a scowl the eleven year old headed down the alley, heading automatically to his favourite shop - The Apothecary. It was cooler inside than the the muggy street, and for a moment J.J idly meandered around the room, enjoying the cool air and atmosphere of the place. This had always been J.J's favourite shop to visit. Everything inside was just so fascinating. Huge bins overflowing with little beetles, shelves and shelves of jars with mysterious contents. J.J's dark green eyes explored the crowded shelves, trying to decipher some of the latin labels or guess what dark bottles held, before he finally dug out the parchment list of supplies that he needed to get. They all sounded rather dull compared to the stranger items the shop boasted, although still, J.J was excited at the prospect of starting Potions class. His parents had gotten him a 'my first potions kit' as a child and he'd had countless hours of fun methodically brewing the basic child-friendly concoctions. He could hardly wait for the real thing.
The bell above the shop door rang and J.J looked up to see a great amount of people pour in to the room. With a frown, he shifted his position so he could better analyse the newcomers. Were they one family? He could see at least six children and two adults. J.J stared quite openly at them, trying to pick out a family resemblance to confirm his suspicions, his list of ingredients still clutched in his hand, partly forgotten as he focused on this new distraction.
He was jealous. He couldn't help it, but seeing the younger ones ask the parents questions and they all seemed so happy... J.J had never had any brothers or sisters and he'd never really found it a problem until... well now it was just him. Alone. Fenris didn't count. It was only a matter of time before he, like the others, decided he didn't want him anymore and passed him to someone else. At least once he was at Hogwarts there wouldn't be so much moving around. J.J's eyes fixed on a young, blonde girl, who was saying something about Hogwarts and from the context and snippets of conversation he could hear, J.J deduced that the girl was a first year. Like him. Except not like him at all because she was here with an enormous, happy family and he was here alone, staring quite intensely at her as jealousy seethed beneath the surface.
