the colour violet | penelope

[Deleted]

━ i worry i wasted the best of me ━

april 2027

ANOTHER YEAR OR SO HAD already passed, meaning the annual clock that ticked on down, waiting for Dana's return to purchase a new batch of flowers for her father and younger sister's grave was up once more. The Knox had already forgotten the length of time that passed, however many years it had been since that day. Dana's younger siblings: Richie and Kara were only in their second year, visiting their father for their mandatory visitation that came from the divorce of their mother and father and they were simply heading back to the train station in order to return to Hogwarts on time. It was like any standard car crash but yet it caused so much pain in their family. Richie was in a coma for two odd years and now their mother was no where to be seen. She sent gifts and letters whenever she wished, but the last any of the Woods-Knox' had heard from her or even seen her was when Richie woke up.

This time of year was always hard for the eldest Knox, as she was the only one who regularly visited their grave. She felt guilty, considering how long it had taken her to visit their grave after the funeral, knowing that the last conversation she also had with her father had been somewhat spiteful. Their relationship was never the best, especially because of his closed mindset around magic. Only Merlin knows how he managed to manipulate her mother into keeping magic a secret for so long. Though, Dana offered for Richie to join her, but considering the nature of it all, and even his own trauma, she knew he would immediately decline. And he did.

So here the blonde was, alone, pushing open the doors of Forget-Me-Knot Florists, ready to collect the order she had already placed months ago. She requested a bouquet filled with the colour violet this time around, as the colour was one of Kara's favourites. Stepping inside the store, the astronomer couldn't help but smile at the gorgeous decorations of the flowers around.

| penelope raisa bainbridge |

hopefully this works! sorry it took me so long to write lolol

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

April 2027

It was April already, and the excitement that Penelope should have felt because of her birthday was tempered by the knowledge that May came after April. She knew that business likely would be better than usual around the fifteenth of May and that it would be good for Rusti from a financial perspective, but the reason why people would be buying more flowers then than usual was a devastating one. The customers would be flowing in because they wanted flowers by which to remember their loved ones who had died in the destruction of Hogwarts, many of them without remains left from the Fiendfyre that had torn through the castle.

Even without that anniversary coming up, there was still plenty to do. One of the orders that was fulfilled and ready to go was that of Dana Woods-Knox, her friend Richard Woods-Knox's older sister. It was for a purple bouquet, placed months ahead of time, and it didn't take much for Penelope to figure out the reason for it.

She sometimes wondered if it had been easier for her to understand what had happened because her father was a Muggle. Car crashes were common in the Muggle world but less so in the magical world. Richard had survived the car crash that had killed his twin sister Kara and their father, but it had been an uphill battle for him ever since.

Richard's siblings' names weren't very far off from her own, either—Dana and Kara to two of her own sisters, Diana and Cara. That was something that had always stuck with her, plus the fact that Kara had been Richard's twin. Her Cara and Diana were twins, too, and then she was a triplet herself. Although Penelope had come incredibly close to losing Diana to Elaine Dupree, she hadn't, and she knew how lucky she was that Diana was still alive.

Penelope was finishing up some work on another order when she heard someone enter the shop. It was Dana, and she smiled when she saw that Dana was smiling. "Oh! Hi, Dana," Penelope greeted her, hurrying back over to the side of the counter opposite her.

@dana

[Deleted]

━ i worry i wasted the best of me ━

AS EYES GLANCED BETWEEN EACH of the decorations, Dana almost missed her name being said and the overall greeting. Lifting her head in the direction her name came from, the blonde began to approach the counter with a similar smile to Penelope's. "Hey." She began, leaning against the counter once Penelope was behind it. "You're..Richie's friend right? Penelope?" Dana questioned, trying to put a name to a face.

Dana wasn't the type to forget faces and names but during that..spell in Hogwarts, all the friends she had and the friends her siblings had all became a blur. It was bad now that the Knox thought about it, but given the circumstances from back then, surely she would be let off. "How have you been?..Given..Hogwarts and all?" She began, trying to make small talk. "You graduated before all of that happened right?..Or during it?...How old are you again?" Dana couldn't help but laugh at her last question then, she felt so old when really, the understanding of time just didn't work well with her mind. "Oh and I'm..here to collect a bouquet."

| penelope raisa bainbridge |

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

April 2027

"Hey," Dana replied, leaning against the counter opposite her. She then asked if she were "Richie's" friend, taking a moment to recall her name, though she did so correctly. That wasn't half bad, Penelope felt, considering that she was a triplet. What had thrown her off for half a second was Dana's referring to her younger brother as "Richie" and not "Dickie". Granted, his name was actually Richard, but he had become "Dickie" to their friend group, in the same way that she had ended up with the nickname "Eggy".

Penelope nodded as Dana tried to confirm her name. "Yeah," she smiled at the older blonde. "Penelope." She'd had teachers who had known her for years go through all of her sisters' names before getting to hers before, so she couldn't fault her for having needed a second to make sure that she was addressing her by her name.

Even apart from remembering her name, Dana seemed a bit distracted as she spoke to her, asking her how she had been in light of what had happened to Hogwarts. While it had been almost a year since then, Penelope remained appreciative of the sentiment. It wasn't as though she saw Dana frequently. In fact, Dana wasn't sure when it was that she had graduated from Hogwarts, but even that didn't really bother Penelope. It wasn't that hard to lose track of time, really, and Penelope laughed lightly right along with her when she asked her how old she was.

Lastly, Dana mentioned that she was there to collect a bouquet, of which Penelope was fortunately already aware.

"I turned nineteen on the twelfth," Penelope answered her first, not bothered by the side conversation in the slightest. "And not a problem. I've got it right here."

@dana

[Deleted]

━ i worry i wasted the best of me ━

AS PENELOPE NODDED, DANA FELT her lips curve into a small smile. She finally felt comfortable in her surroundings, especially since she was in the presence of someone she knew - fairly well once upon a time. "That's right.." Dana responded, recalling memories surrounding the girl once she mentioned her name. "I feel like an old grandma..not remembering anyone or anything. I guess that's what happens when life catches up with you huh?" She added, attempting to make a joke.

As Penelope mentioned she had turned nineteen, Dana then started counting the difference between her age and the younger girl on her fingers. Just a few years give or take. But then again Penelope had been close friends with Richard before the incident, and the elder Knox hoped they were still in touch. "Ah well happy belated to you." She smiled, leaving the receipt she had planned on fishing out of her pocket there. "Perfect. How much is the total?" She knew how much it was, especially since it tended to be the same every year.

| penelope raisa bainbridge |

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

April 2027

Dana was apologetic about not having remembered her name completely at first, likening herself to a grandma because of it. Penelope smiled a little bit at the joke that Dana had attempted to make about life catching up with her. She didn't want to seem like she was trying to make fun of Dana—because she wasn't. She also understood what the older girl meant. Grandma or not, enough had happened in the world to make anyone's head spin.

Being nineteen was also strange to stop and think about, but Penelope accepted Dana's wishes for a happy belated birthday nevertheless, nodding and smiling again. Their conversation then turned back to the bouquet that Dana had ordered, and she asked how much it would cost.

Penelope replied back with the price for the bouquet, which almost certainly would have been the same as the price Dana had been quoted when she had placed her order. Aurelia Flint wasn't in the business of ripping off customers with her shop, and that was probably one of the reasons why the florist stayed afloat.

@dana

[Deleted]

━ i worry i wasted the best of me ━

SMILING AS PENELOPE TOOK NO offence for Dana’s tired and forgetful brain, the Knox nodded as Penelope responded with the price, reflecting the price that Dana was quoted with. Her hands dived into her bag, looking for her small coin wallet to pull out the change necessary before dropping it into the younger girl’s hands.

“There you are.” She smiled, waiting for Penelope to check the change to ensure it was correct. Despite living in a world of magic for such a long time, she was terrible with galleons and coins overall.

| penelope raisa bainbridge |