all those fires we've been walking through [andromeda]

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The worst thing about being away from Hogwarts was the Jamie was responsible for getting her own Wolfsbane Potion. Before she had come to school, there had been a man and a woman who had given her the potion and taken her away, but they were gone now that she was old enough to do it for herself. It was lonely, too. She had considered asking her brothers if she could spend the full moon with them, but decided against it. She didn’t want to bother them. Besides, she didn’t want to have to explain to them everything that she had found out since she last spoke with either of them. Swallowing back everything that she was feeling (she’d have time to sort through it later) Jamie entered the apothecary. She had spoken to the owner about getting the potion at a reduced price in exchange for some potion ingredients that could only be provided by werewolves. It wasn’t a perfect system, but it was better than she had hoped for.

Jamie wrinkled her nose when she stepped into the apothecary. She loved Potions class and was grateful for all the things that various potions could do for her and for others, but she could do without the smell. It didn’t look the best, either, though it wasn’t like either the smell or sight of potions ingredients could be changed without compromising their integrity as ingredients. At least it sounded pleasant – a bell had tinkled when she walked in, and the noise was still echoing around the room. She walked up to the counter, unsure who she needed to speak to about getting her potion and unwilling to talk to anyone unless it was strictly necessary.

@lestrange

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Andy was sent on a special mission from Hannah to pick up some things from the Apothecary. Ever since taking care of Braelynn the last two months, Andy had realized she had quite the affinity for healing and Hannah had been teaching her everything she knew from her own person experience and from her healer training back in the day. Things were a bit more advanced now but Hannah had adapted well, or so she explained to Andy.


Andy walked into the apothecary, she saw someone she recognized up at the counter. Andy hadn’t really talked to her much but… better late than never? She walked up to the counter, standing just behind her. ”Hi, Jamie,” she said, ”Have they helped you yet? Sometimes you’ve got to wave them down they’re so busy running around back there,” she added, gesturing to the workers behind the counter.

@jamie

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The fact that anyone else came to the apothecary on the same sleepy afternoon that Jamie did was a surprise to the Hufflepuff. It was a Gryffindor, of course, because the damn people never left her alone, even during summer vacation. She hadn’t expected Andromeda to speak to her – the girl wasn’t exactly known for being friendly – so Jamie tried her best to hide her shock when the other girl opened her mouth, sounding downright pleasant. And actually kind of helpful. Jamie didn’t frequent the apothecary to know to wave the workers down. She just assumed they would come eventually. That was what customer service was, right?

“Hi, Andy.” Jamie greeted in return, still trying to hide how weird the whole situation was for her. “No, they haven’t helped me yet. To be honest, I don’t know who I’m supposed to go to. I have a…thing.” She ended vaguely. “I mean…I need to speak to the manager. I don’t suppose you know which one of them that is?” She asked, gesturing helplessly towards the cluster of workers.

@lestrange

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"Lemme help," being a regular here, Andy wasn't afraid to demand attention. Plus, she was practically wizard royalty before being adopted so she knew how to handle things like this. She stepped up around Jamie, standing beside her. "Hey, excuse me?" her tone was sweet but her hand reached across to tap someone on their shoulder and the look in her eyes was rather demanding. She wasn't going to be cruel, but she did know how to get someones attention. "This girl needs to speak to a manager. She's got a special order," she said. The worker nodded before Andy moved her hand she spoke once more, "it's urgent," she added, and with another nod the worker left.

She turned back to Jamie, "it should be any minute now. It's a bit busy around here during the summer," she explained. Within moments the worker came back, manager in tow, and Andy gestured forward. "Go ahead," she said to Jamie before moving slightly away from her, giving the girl some privacy while making her own order.

@jamie

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It was like a miracle or something. Jamie wasn’t friends with Andromeda, and she didn’t know anyone who was, so the helpfulness was out of left field for Jamie. The Hufflepuff wasn’t sure why, exactly, Andy’s reputation was so bad. She was forceful, yes, but seemed nice enough, and managed to assert herself where Jamie couldn’t. It was a fine balance between being a pushover and being domineering, and Jamie tended to err on the side of caution to avoid being labeled a…whatever. (Bitch was actually kind of accurate. Well, it was accurate for approximately eight hours once every month.)

After her conversation with the manager, Jamie was happy to be able to say that she had her first month’s supply of Wolfsbane in hand. The bottles were wrapped neatly so they wouldn’t break, and all put into a thick paper bag for easier transport. Jamie turned back to Andromeda, a grateful smile on her face. “Thank you so much.” She half-sighed. “You have no idea how hard it is to get this stuff with any sort of regularity without selling an arm and a leg.” It was perhaps an overt reference to her condition, but it wasn’t like Andromeda would be surprised. She lived with wolves, too – maybe she just didn’t know it.

@lestrange

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After a moment, Andy had the stuff she needed and Jamie was turning back toward her, thanking her. Andy shrugged, "it's not a big deal. I come in here all the time for Hannah so I know how to work the system," she explained. Andy nodded as Jamie said it was hard to get the stuff, which meant it must have been Wolfsbane. It wasn't a secret that Jamie was a werewolf. The school was starting to crack down better on assuring that they were under control there and Andy had heard Hannah bouncing ideas off Neville as to how to make sure they were all right. Andy smiled at Jamie, "I'm sure it's a pain having to rely so much on one little potion. It's hard having to rely on anything, let alone something that isn't always in your control," she said, hoping that made sense.

Normally by this point she would have walked out, saying goodbye and ending the little hello there. But Andy was trying to be better at making friends and being kind to people. Hannah was a huge help in that. But she said the most important thing is to help them, show them that you care what's happening in their life. Andy cleared her throat, she was going to try this out. "Where are you headed now? Can I walk you?" she offered.

@jamie

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Hannah? Oh, right, that was Jayden’s mother’s name. Jamie wasn’t sure what the relationship between Andromeda and Mrs. Longbottom was, but she decided that that wasn’t worth her time trying to decipher. She had a lot of other stuff to worry about. Andy was right on point with what she said about reliance on Wolfsbane; Jamie had been fine with the arrangement before she had bitten Matt, but in hindsight, it seemed like such a thin thread that allowed her to hold onto humanity. It had been a thread that had snapped easily, undone by a tiny pinch of sugar. “It is, but taking it isn’t really my choice.” Technically it was, but it was a choice in the same way breathing was – you did it, or you died. Biting Matt had killed a part of her, after all.

Wonders really never ceased. Andy asked where Jamie was going, and the Hufflepuff stumbled over her words. “I – uh – I was going to go home.” She finally managed to spit out. “But I could definitely stay in the area, if you’d like to go to lunch or something?” It seemed like the least Jamie could do to repay Andromeda for her unexpected kindness. “That is, if you’re not busy or anything.” If she had been out on errands for the Cauldron, then Jamie didn’t want to keep Andy from getting back.

@lestrange

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Andy nodded as Jamie said taking it wasn't really her choice. "Well, I think your brave for taking it," she said. Just as Jamie knew, it was definitely a choice and the choice to take it was one that some didn't do, Andy was sure. She knew it must not taste good, feel good, or instill much positivity at all, but she hoped Jamie at least had the confidence that she wouldn't hurt anyone. That was important. Andy didn't even have that confidence on a day to day basis.

Then Jamie stumbled her words a bit after Andys offer and the Gryffindor smiled. She knew it was surprising that she was being so nice, since she hadn't been for the past six years. Andy nodded at Jamies next words about going to lunch. "I would like that," she said, gesturing toward the door, "I just have to stop by the Leaky and give this to Hannah, if that's okay with you?" she asked, heading toward the door.

It was an odd feeling, bumping into someone and then making an effort to improve their day. She had to admit, she kind of liked it.

@lestrange

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Jamie blinked once, eyes widening a little, when Andy said that she was brave for taking the Wolfsbane Potion. She didn’t consider herself a brave person, even though she had prayed for a long time to be in Gryffindor. Being seen as courageous, even if only by one person for one aspect of her life, was pretty eye-opening, even if the sentiment was a little misplaced. Wolfsbane wasn’t a choice, but it wasn’t a burden. It was Jamie’s security blanket, even more so since the incident with Matt.

“Oh, of course! We could even get lunch there, if that would be better for you?” Jamie said when Andromeda asked if she could go to the Leaky Cauldron to drop off whatever she had purchased. Going to the Cauldron could be fun – Jamie still needed to thank Mrs. Longbottom for the advice she had given the younger Hufflepuff, especially since things seemed to be working out, finally. “Do you need help carrying anything?” She asked, wanting to do something for Andromeda while searching for a topic to talk about while they walked. The only thing Jamie thought to talk about was her crappy father and his relationship with Andromeda’s equally crappy father. That couldn’t be a solid foundation for friendship.

@lestrange

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Andy smiled at Jamies suggestion, "that's a good idea. And no thanks, I got it." She didn't have that much stuff to carry and she was used to be polite and whatnot, it was a hard habit to break. She led the way out the door and slowed to walk beside Jamie. "It's just some usual things, nothing fancy. Hannah is really good at healing. Have you met her, Jamie?" she asked, glancing at the other girl as they walked toward the Leaky. It wasn't too far down the street, so it wouldn't take long to get there. Andy was looking forward to having lunch with Jamie. She didn't know her well at all, but already this day was turning out to be more unexpected and nice than she expected it to be. She didn't really except good days right from the start anyway, though, so that was nothing new.

@jamie

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Jamie tried to find an answer to Andy’s question about Hannah without explaining the entire circumstances surrounding it. “Yes, I have met her.” The Hufflepuff replied carefully. “She helped me when I was having a hard time earlier this summer.” The conversation she had had with Hannah about her mother and about what to do with her situation had been helpful to Jamie, who had, at the time, been nothing short of lost. When they reached the Leaky Cauldron, which didn’t take much time at all, Jamie swung open the door and held it so Andromeda could get in with the things she had bought. When Andy was inside, Jamie gestured towards a table near the back. “I’ll be waiting over there, when you’re done with giving those to Mrs. Longbottom?” Jamie said, already moving towards the table in question.

@lestrange

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"I'm glad," Andy replied as Jamie said Hannah had helped her. Hannah was one of Andys favorite people, with good reason. She wasn't surprised that Jamie had been helped by her. Andy nodded as Jamie said she would wait at a table and she slipped away, heading to the back to give Hannah the stuff before coming back out, the ingredients still in hand. "Hey Jamie," she started, approaching the blonde, "Hannah wants me to run these upstairs to our flat... do you want to come see it?" she offered. She wanted to continue their little get to know you whatever this was and she felt bad making Jamie wait any longer. "We could just have lunch up there too, if you wanted," she added.

@jamie

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This was strange. Jamie couldn’t remember the last time she had been invited to see somebody’s flat (or house, as the case would be), except for Aaron’s, which didn’t really seem to count anymore, because now it was her flat, too. Still, Jamie nodded enthusiastically at the offer. “Sure!” She said. “Do you have a kitchen or something up there? I make a mean omelet, if you’d prefer that over pub food.” It was a strange offer, to invite someone to make them food in their own kitchen, but Jamie figured it was nice to have the option, especially since Andy lived at the pub and probably had eaten every dish there at least ten times. She mentally kicked herself for assuming that they wouldn't have a kitchen - they lived over a restaurant, but that didn't mean that they didn't need to eat normal food, too.

@lestrange

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As they went up the stairs, Jamie asked about making a 'mean omelet' and Andy smiled, eyes on the steps in front of her. "That sounds perfect," she said softly. She felt a strange feeling in her stomach, something that seemed like... endorphins maybe? This making friends thing wasn't bad after all, maybe these people were onto something.

They reached the apartment and Andy opened the door, opening it for Jamie to follow after her. "I can leave these in the kitchen, since we're headed there anyway," she said, leading Jamie there.

@jamie

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Jamie smiled when Andy agreed to her plan of omelets. Maybe it wasn’t a traditional lunch food, but whatever – it was the first food she had thought of that she could cook. “Do you like any vegetables or anything? I normally just have ham, but I’m naturally a carnivore, so.” She shrugged. Jamie was getting better about casually mentioning her lycanthropy – this was the second time today – and that was a good thing. She had promised herself she wasn’t going to let the fact she was a werewolf control her anymore. When they got to the kitchen, Jamie whistled appreciatively. It was nice! “Where do you keep your pans?” She asked conversationally. She could figure out where the eggs were, but cracking an egg on a stovetop wasn’t exactly how one made an omelet.

@lestrange