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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Jan 21, 2018 16:08:35 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2018 16:08:35 GMT -7
Albus didn't know why he was coming to the apothecary for his project. He had promised Lily before school had ended that he was going to make her a potion that tasted like her favorite energy drink, since their parents wouldn't permit her to take it to school with her. He could make a fair imitation without using any potions ingredients whatsoever, since the original recipe was Muggle, but Albus wasn't looking to just copy some Muggle company. He wanted to make a better drink - maybe one that tasted like Lucozade, but without all the crap that would be unhealthy for Lily. There were plenty of other substances that could make her bounce off the walls without the long-term damaging effects of sugar. Albus just had to figure out which of those substances he could mask the flavors of, since Lily was insisted that her drink needed to taste like a tropical paradise. Albus was also looking for substances that could give the potion a bright blue color, like Caribbean waters. He hadn't done that much planning before entering the apothecary, which meant that he was wandering up and down the aisles, looking lost despite the fact that he was just deep in thought.
@tia
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Jan 22, 2018 15:19:46 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2018 15:19:46 GMT -7
SLUG & JIGGER'S APOTHECARY ALWAYS SMELLED A LITTLE PUNGENT, like rotting plants and musty oils. But, over time Tia found herself almost immune to its particular and turning scent. She wandered the aisles leisurely. Her outings to the little supply store were sometimes the highlight of her day. Which might have been a little sad, but with a handful of essential oils and a lock of Unicorn hair, she didn't quite care.
However, as she turned up an aisle for the second time around, turning back when she realised she had forgotten a small bottle of Castor oil, Tia found the same face that had been pacing it when she'd first arrived. She frowned, clutching her small armful of bottles and sprigs as she passed the man. He seemed deep in thought, almost lost.
"Are you lost?" Tia asked, the words falling out of her mouth before she could stop them. Her back was arched a little as she juggled her finds, head tilted so that a lock of brown hair fell from behind her ear. She was still in her St. Mungo's uniform. "You look lost." She added, pressing her lips together to stop herself from saying anything else that might be misconstrued as an insult - a fumble she was quite familiar with. What he was up to was none of her business surely, but the fumes of Slug & Jigger's was obviously getting to her head.
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Jan 25, 2018 16:34:23 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2018 16:34:23 GMT -7
Albus was surprised when he was stopped in the aisles of the apothecary. He wasn’t used to being stopped because he looked lost – normally when he had to pause his shopping it was because someone recognized his dad, or recognized him because of his dad. “Lost in thought, maybe.” Al responded, turning to face the woman who had originally asked him if he was lost, before reiterating that he definitely looked lost. A lot had been happening in Albus’s life lately, and he thought that he deserved to let his mind wander a little bit more than was typical. If that made him look lost, then… so be it. The witch in front of him was in a St. Mungo’s uniform, and Albus looked her up and down, wishing that he had paid more attention when Natalia had told him once about the different colors that the various departments of the hospital war to distinguish themselves. “It’s been a crap couple of months for me.” Al had no trouble admitting that, surprising himself somewhat with his own candor. Oh well – the stranger would either be scared away by his words or appreciate that he had actually made an effort to start a conversation, so either way Albus had won.
@tia
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Jan 25, 2018 18:17:11 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2018 18:17:11 GMT -7
TIA had never been great at being personable outside of work. Mainly because outside of St. Mungo’s she rarely had a reason to try. So used to her own company that compassion was a work requirement and not a natural necessity. And so, it was rather out of character for her to stop as she had done then. To ask so blatantly. And yet she had. Mediwitch training was changing her...
However, when he sighed, somewhat at a loss for words, Tia realised she might have bitten off a little more than she could chew. Juggling her products in to one arm, Tia cocked her hip and hummed quietly. “Well, I don’t know what good I’ll be about that...” Tia admitted, shifting in place. “My patients tend have ailments of the, uh, physical persuasion.” Was she trying to be funny? She might have been, it was quite unlike her.
“Say we start with what you’re looking for here,” Tia suggested, gnawing on the inside of one cheek. “I know Slug’s better than my own home.” Looking at the shelf he had been staring at intensely, Tia drew her brows together in thought. “Potion?” She guessed distractedly. “Business or pleasure?”
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Jan 28, 2018 15:01:09 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2018 15:01:09 GMT -7
The woman said that she wouldn’t be much good about his past few months being crap, and Albus shrugged. “Didn’t expect you to.” He answered. Expecting other people to fix his problems – especially when that other person was a stranger – seemed like a surefire way to be disappointed. And while there were some people who made him feel better (he definitely wasn’t going to name names, partially because he was embarrassed by the mushiness of it all), Albus knew that in the end, he was going to have to accept his father’s disappearance on his own. The woman asked what he was looking for, and Albus shrugged. “I haven’t written a recipe yet. I’m playing it by ear.” That was normally not a good phrase to hear from a potioneers, but considering his potion wasn’t supposed to do anything other than taste good, Albus didn’t see anything wrong with improvisation. “Pleasure.” He responded absently when the woman asked. “My sister wants me to make her some sort of energy drink.” Al added, hoping that the woman didn’t think he was ridiculous coming to an apothecary for that project.
@tia
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Jan 29, 2018 10:38:40 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2018 10:38:40 GMT -7
FEELING'S WEREN'T EXACTLY TIA'S SPECIALITY, and she liked to stick to what she knew. But, when she'd stopped to help the nameless stranger, she hadn't been prepared for the outburst of sorrow. However, rather than turn and run, Tia stuck to what she did know.
Tapping the tips of her fingers against her lips, Tia considered what he told her. Pleasure, some kind of energy drink for his sister. It was sweet, she thought. That he was putting so much thought in to an endeavour for a sibling. Tia couldn't relate lately, but back in the day she'd have probably went to the same effort for her own twin. So, rather than laugh, she considered the prospect.
"You know, I've never thought of brewing a potion like that." Tia admitted, a little miffed as she mused through the phials of ground roots and leafy waters. "It's interesting..." And suddenly it was like a challenge for Tia, she felt her brain start to whirr through a dozen different remedies from books past read. Reaching out, she snagged a little phial of wormwood, turning it in her hands before reaching to grab another of asphodel root.
"You know, if you were to mix these two with a little ginseng and biotin," Tia brandished the two phials between her fingers. "Of course, the ginseng and biotin you'd probably need to get from a Muggle store in the right state." Tia squinted, practically talking to herself now. "And then, of course, there's always flavour to consider - for a drink."
As if realising she was indeed still in company, Tia turned, the phials still in her only free hand, the other piled high with her own finds. She cleared her throat, feeling her face warm slightly. "Thoughts?" She said, her tone a tad sheepish.
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Feb 3, 2018 18:32:59 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2018 18:32:59 GMT -7
The woman in the store said that she’d never considered brewing a potion like that, and Albus decided to take that as a compliment. He cracked a smile. “My sister is… an interesting person.” Al said. Anyone who met Lily knew what he meant by that, and the woman didn’t look too much older than him, so it was possible that she had, at one point, met Lily… but Albus thought it would be a little weird to ask, especially since the woman didn’t seem to know who Albus was – not that he minded the anonymity, with his father missing and all. “She inspires interesting ideas.” Albus added, in case the connection between his sister’s interesting-ness and their current situation wasn’t clear. Of course, he had now said the word interesting way too many times, so Albus clamped his jaw shut while the woman began to ramble about the things he would need for his potion.
Al looked at the vials that the woman picked up, and raised his eyebrows. “Putting wormwood and asphodel together is exactly the opposite of what I need.” He said when she asked for his thoughts at the end of her spiel. Those were the two main components in the Draught of the Living Death, which was about as far from an energy drink as anything could be. “I was thinking that I could start with a Pepper-Up Potion and maybe modify that.” The potion wasn’t exactly an energy drink, but it did have a perking-up effect, as was implied in the name. “My sister wants the drink to taste like,” he sighed, “A tropical island.” He still thought that was the stupidest thing he had ever heard.
@tia
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Feb 3, 2018 19:08:43 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2018 19:08:43 GMT -7
TIA SIMPLY NODDED WITH A SHORT SMILE, the mention of his sister a surprise. He seemed to warm up a bit at the mention. Tia realised he must love her an awful lot, which was obvious, they were siblings. But it was a stark reflection on her own poor relationship with her own sister. It almost made her ask about the interesting sister, especially as the more Tia looked at the boy, the more she found him oddly familiar. In the end, she simply didn't say anything. Focusing instead on possible ingredients.
When he shot down her first draft, Tia frowned slightly, pulling her head back and looking at him. "Okay..." She said, drawing the word out as she spun on her heels to keep looking. "I mean, if they're brewed correctly, it could be interesting, but it's a lot of room for mistakes, sure." She tutted, a little miffed as she put the asphodel root back, keeping the wormwood. "Pepper-up?" Tia recalled a stint in Hogwarts when she'd tried to mess with the pepper-up compounds, she scoffed lightly. "Yeah, if you can lower the alcohol content and side-effects, maybe..."
And then the flavour, a tropical island. It was an odd ask, Tia thought. Most Elixirs had an... interesting taste, to say the least, but she figured that was half of the challenge. "That might actually be her biggest ask," Tia said, thoughtfully considering the bottles on the shelf. "You should consider adapting muggle elements with it, that'll help the taste." Rocking on her heels, a funny thought occurred to Tia and she found herself saying it out loud, which was quite unlike her. "Or, you could just serve it to her in a giant coconut."
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Feb 3, 2018 19:59:45 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2018 19:59:45 GMT -7
Al wasn’t sure if the comment about the wormwood and asphodel being fine when brewed correctly was a shot at him, or simply a statement. He was going to assume the latter, as a part of his whole campaign to convince himself that the entire world didn’t hate him. His off-the-cuff idea about the Pepper-Up Potion seemed to have struck a chord with the woman, though, and she began murmuring about the alcohol content and side effects. The alcohol would definitely have to go – a drunk, jazzed up Lily was not something that Albus wanted to release on the world.
The mention of flavor had him biting his lip as he thought. “That’s what I was assuming, too.” He paused. “I guess now would not be a good time to mention she wanted sharks, too.” He said. It had been intended to be a joke, but his awkwardness in the delivery had mostly mucked it up. “I’m going to try to do some research on Muggle flavor science.” He affirmed. Apparently there were people whose entire job was to make up new flavors, which sounded cool but also slightly terrifying.
Albus let out a startled laugh – after everything else the woman had said, he hadn’t been expecting her to make a joke of her own like that. “I think my sister would get a kick out of that.” He said, the laugh lowering into a warm chuckle as he thought of Lily’s delight at being able to drink an energy drink out of a coconut, with a bendy straw and everything. Sure, she wouldn’t be able to drink all of them like that, since the whole point of this exercise was to give her a drink that she could keep with her at school, and coconuts weren’t exactly the most portable things in the world. “I’m Al, by the way.” He said, not bothering to extend his hand since this wasn’t exactly a formal meeting by any standard. Albus would just feel better when he could stop referring to the other shopper as ‘the woman’ in his mind.
@tia
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Feb 3, 2018 20:37:07 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2018 20:37:07 GMT -7
TIA SURPRISED HERSELF BY SNORTING. Sharks; it was funny because it shouldn't have been, and it had taken her off guard. Easing the tension in her spine from being corrected. She had always been a bit of stickler about being wrong. But the shock of it, added with the slightly stilted delivery had Tia hiding her snort behind her hand, shaking her head.
"Oh, well then I take back my help." Tia joked, popping the wormwood back on the shelf, but reaching for some peppermint oil before she pulled back. "Only a lunatic would ask for sharks," Tia said, her perfect poker face wiggling at the corners of her mouth. "I mean, who would overlook tropical mermaids?" She squinted at the audacity of it, gesturing with one hand before shifting her expression in to a small smile, turning her head slightly to look at him so he would know she wasn't serious. She had gotten the joke, even tried to give one back.
Tia was surprised when he had laughed at her flippant coconut suggestion. She wasn't used to being remotely funny. That had always been Tia's forte. Maybe the fumes of Slug's were catching, Tia didn't know. But, she enjoyed the bizarre interaction. It surprised her. She hadn't had a chat like it in a while, or maybe ever. "Well, make sure you give me credit." Tia said, crossing her arms casually, one hand still full of wares. "Tia," she said in greeting, tilting her chin.
"I, uh, I actually have some notes on Pepper-up modifications somewhere." Tia added, she hadn't meant to say anything. The experiment had been an epic fail and Tia didn't like admitting failure, but she felt uncharacteristically pleasant. "I can give you them, but they're just a pile of notes on what not to do," She reached up to tug a piece of her hair, rolling her eyes at her own stupidity. "The whole thing practically blew up in my face."
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Feb 10, 2018 9:03:49 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2018 9:03:49 GMT -7
Albus chuckled when Tia said that only a lunatic would ask for sharks in their tropical punch. “My sister is kind of a lunatic.” She was crazy – but only Al was allowed to say that, since he was her brother and all. If someone else told him that Lily was crazy, then Al probably would punch them. It really depended on the day, and what else they had to say about his sister. “Depends on what kind of mermaid you’re thinking of. She doesn’t like pretty things as much as dangerous things, I don’t think.” He said with a laugh. Lily was Gryffindor, after all – always living on the edge of a cliff, seeking some new thrill to get her adrenaline pumping and prove to the world that she was courageous. If Tia was thinking of muggle mermaids, with their technicolor hair and beautiful fish tails, then Lily probably wouldn’t be a fan. But the legitimate mermaids, that looked like weird fish-people, would probably be right up her alley. Albus was going to stick with sharks, though – they would be easier to enchant because they didn’t have to look even vaguely human.
Al rolled his eyes when Tia said that he should give her credit for her suggestion of serving the drink in a coconut. “Yes, I’ll tell her a stranger at the apothecary had an amazing idea.” He said. He was all for giving credit and everything, but it seemed kind of stupid when both parties didn’t know the person being credited – then the name was just meaningless. Al quirked his lips into a smile, though, when the woman finally gave her name. Tia was a nice name, he supposed – though just about anything would be less ridiculous than Albus, hence why he had gone by his nickname.
As it turned out, Tia was going to be a resource in more ways than one. She offered her notes on Pepper-Up modifications, saying that she could give them to him despite the notes only being what not to do. “My grandfather loves Muggle things.” Albus began, hoping that Tia would wait to see how this all tied together. “There was this one Muggle inventor, Thomas Edison, who invented the lightbulb. But it took him like, a bajillion tries. At the end of it all, he said ‘I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.’ Same thing applies here.” He said with a shrug. At least with a record of Tia’s mistakes, Al didn’t have to make the same mistakes for himself.
@tia
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Feb 13, 2018 16:44:01 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2018 16:44:01 GMT -7
TIA USE TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO HAVE A SISTER. A twin even, but it was different now. But she saw the familiarity in her company. It was perhaps why she didn't agree or disagree when he confirmed his sister was mad. It was said with a fondness so sweet it'd rot your teeth. Instead, Tia stayed silent, broken only when he declared that mermaids were pretty and not dangerous.
"I dare you to say that to a mermaids face." Tia challenged, quirking her brows. "They probably account for way more deaths than sharks. Sharks have a bad rep." It was strange, that she was having this conversation at all, but even odder still was how much fun she was having during it.
Tia had only been joking when she'd demanded credit. Well, half joking. She was still a competitive fool after all. So she only smirked when he agreed with a slight roll of her eyes. They weren't close enough for her to call him out on a such a thing. But she'd still offered up her failed experiments for scrutiny, which surprised her internally. So much so that she tagged on the disclaimer at the end. It had, after all, been a failed experiment.
She hadn't expected to feel better about an experiment that felt a thousand years old. But she still found herself smiling softly as Al intently explained that his grandfather had loved Muggles. And of course she'd heard of Thomas Edison. But she hadn't heard the quote.
"That's uh... a good way to put it nicely." Tia said, chewing on the corner of her lip gently as she thought. "But I still prefer Nikola Tesla." She was joking just a little bit. "If you give me an address I can have an owl send over the papers." Tia added, thinking of those long forgotten papers back at her plant filled flat. "Just as long as you don't laugh at my handwriting.
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Feb 16, 2018 9:00:15 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2018 9:00:15 GMT -7
Albus shrugged when Tia said that she dared him to call a mermaid not-dangerous to their face. Evidently she had been talking about the real kind of mermaid, and not the Muggle kind, which made her comment about putting mermaids in the drink just a little more perplexing. “I don’t speak Mermish.” Al answered. It was an easy copout so that he didn’t have to tell mermaids anything – the merpeople weren’t exactly known for their goodwill, though apparently the man he was named after was fond of them (and just about every other magical race in existence, it seemed like).
Tia said that she preferred Nikola Tesla, which meant very little to Albus. He listened to his grandpa’s ramblings about Muggles every once in a while, but rarely did things stick, unless they were as important to him as the message about failure. Instead he offered a weak smile, which betrayed how little her understood of what Tia said. She asked for an address, and Al nodded. “The Potter House, Godric’s Hollow. Address it to Albus Potter and it’ll get to me.” He instructed. Most owls didn’t even need extremely specific directions to find their intended target, but he figured better safe than sorry, especially since he wanted the notes to arrive as soon as possible so he could begin his research. “I promise your handwriting will not be an issue.” Al added with a laugh.
@tia
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Feb 20, 2018 11:41:34 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2018 11:41:34 GMT -7
SOMETIMES TIA FORGOT THAT SHE WAS A MUGGLEBORN. That such a thing was a thing in the first place. That some people would never understand the complexities of muggle history in the same way muggles would never understand wizarding history. To walk the line sometimes meant that wires were crossed. Even Tia, with all her social faux pas', could see that the name Nikola Tesla flew right over Al's head. She blushed and smiled thinly, looking at her feet.
Instead, she latched on to the plan of sending him her notes. Asking for it without realising how forward it was until it was already out there in the open. She didn't even really know him, why would he give her his address? But he did, and so she nodded, committing the name and address to memory before it sunk in. Potter... that was very familiar.
And then it clicked. Suddenly her nod faltered and she squinted at Al again. Potter as in Harry Potter. The famous Auror, with an even more infamous past. Tia frowned. It hadn't meant much to her, other than it made for good reading. Heroics were never her cup of tea, anyways. But it still sat there, a nugget of information that wasn't there before. That was why Al was so familiar. He was Harry Potter's son. But she didn't say anything, simply quirked her lips and answered, "Will do."
"As for my handwriting, I mean... it's your funeral." She shrugged, only a little serious. And suddenly Tia realised they'd been standing there for quite some time. She shifted slightly, feeling a little awkward. "I, uh... I should probably go." She mused, biting at the corner of her mouth. "I've talked your ear off for ages. I promise it's not like me." She admitted, because it wasn't. She was just a know-it-all. Even as an adult.
"But, this was... this was good... fun." She muttered, the words odd in her mouth. She wasn't good at this sort of stuff. "Let me know how you get on with the drink." She added, moving a step backward away from the shelf. "Or, even send me a sample."
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last online Mar 28, 2024 5:12:37 GMT -7
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Mar 18, 2018 15:29:53 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2018 15:29:53 GMT -7
Tia agreed that she would address the letter to the place and name that Al had specified. He was almost getting ready to be relieved that she hadn’t made a big deal about his parentage… but then she started fidgeting nervously and trying to make an excuse to leave. Al had been having a fun time with the conversation, and he didn’t particularly want it to end. But he was also vehemently opposed to keeping someone any place where they were uncomfortable, and if his assumptions were correct and Tia was suddenly acting weird because she had learned his identity, then he was going to let her leave. And, because he was not into people letting his identity as Harry Potter’s son take over their entire interaction with him, he probably wasn’t going to write her, unless she gave some sort of indication that she was looking for more than that. Albus felt kind of stupid for letting the one assumption take over his entire demeanor, but he couldn’t manage a smile that was anything more than frosty as Tia stepped back away from him, saying that he could send her a sample of his drink. “Yeah.” Al said, his throat oddly tight as he said so. He’d rather not sound so… weak, especially based on just one damn thought, but he had never been good at controlling his emotions instead of letting them control him, so here he was, feeling rather ridiculous in the middle of the apothecary. “See you.” Al offered quietly before ducking around the corner so he could seethe in peace.
@tia
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