Summer Rain [Benny]

[lily luna potter]

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July 24th, 2027

Lily was on a special mission! A brand new biography of Zonko, of Zonko's Joke Shop fame, had just released and her Uncle George had preordered a copy that she was to pick up today. On any normal Saturday such a task would be unthinkable, their own joke shop typically packed to the seams with students on break and curious summer tourists. Today was slightly different though: a steamy July rain had engulfed Diagon Alley since the early hours of the morning and had yet to relent. According to the forecast, they were locked into this system for the remainder of the day, meaning business was exceptionally slow. No one wanted to trapeze through the shopping district today, except for Lily of course.

With bright yellow galoshes and a matching jacket, she happily skipped down the street towards Flourish & Blotts as the rain pounded onto the cobblestones around her. These were the kinds of days she lived for after all. Barely any work, freedom to roam Diagon, and an excuse to bother whomever was working at the bookstore today. Whether it was Mina or Benny, either would do. As long as it wasn't the awkward new girl that got hired a few months back. She was way too serious. Like the Hogwarts librarians whenever Lily tried to squeeze into the restricted section. There was no need for that at Flourish & Blotts. The employees were supposed to be happy and ready to help, just like she was at the joke shop!

A hard two-footed bunny-hop into a puddle that sat directly in front of the bookstore's entrance sprayed water up the front of her rubber jacket and all over the door in a wonderful cascade. This was literally the best day ever, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet! Whipping the door to the shop open, she shook herself off once inside and ripped her hood back with a wet slap. She had done a poor job at keeping her hair tucked inside, only now realizing that there were entire strands plastered to the side of her face. Picking it away would take ages though, so she opted to push as much of it away from her mouth as she could while giving her body another aggressive jiggle good measure. Books, no matter how magical they were, and water were a horrid combo, a realization that she only came to after tossing her Charms textbook into the Black Lake the first week of her first year. To be fair, she had no reason to not trust Fawn Finnegan, and it seemed compelling enough to her that a Charms book could float. And it could, but that didn't keep it from absorbing the lake water. So drying herself off as she entered was the reasonable thing to do. Keeping her fellow shopkeeper friends out of trouble with their employers was the least she could do.

Luckily for her, it wasn't the awkward new employee working today, but Benny! "What's up my favorite Ollivander!" she yelled at him as the door rattled closed behind her. "I've been sent on a quest of utmost importance!" Lily added dramatically as she crossed the room towards where Benny stood, before dropping her voice into a harsh whisper. "I heard you have the goods."

gehry benjamin ollivander ● 548 ● Song by Artist

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[gehry benjamin ollivander]

helpless to the bass

and the fading light

July 24th, 2027
lily luna potter

Most employees might have looked out the window at the drenched and empty cobblestoned paths and felt the dread of a slow work day. It had not been proven yet, but less activity meant time moved slower. The minute hand on the clock struggling to pass each minute until the end of a shift. But not Benny. The sound of rain on the glass panes was the perfect background noise and perfect for keeping him relatively calm as well. Less business simply meant he could read and nap in the storage room if the new girl was here. Or, if Mina’s shift overlapped, they could chat, see who could organize the comic books in reverse order the fastest, or play rock-paper-scissors-wand.

The new girl was in the backroom organizing or something. Honestly, Benny hadn’t entirely listened to what she’d said, and instead, he flipped through the pages of the latest comic book craze. ‘The Vampire Bat Man’. A supervillain with a penchant for hunting down wizarding folk for their blood while he battled his archnemesis—a simple employee at some type of Ministry who worked in the Magical Creatures Department. He was an inoffensive-looking man with thick-rimmed glasses. But Benny noted they’d changed the color of his frames from the last issue where he fought a maniacal boggart clown.

The door opened suddenly, and Benny stood straight, eyes traveling to the source of the commotion. It was probably best he hadn’t had the espresso he was craving, or his heart might have actually paused for a full second. ”My favorite Potter!” He responded with equal excitement. The Wizarding World was a small world. His neighbors in Godric’s Hollow spanned many familiar names—one of which included the Potters. Benny was a year older than James, but he felt that he’d gotten along with Lily the best—much to all their parent’s dismay. ”A quest, you say!” The book closed loudly, and the Vampire Bat Man, now long forgotten, an abandoned thought in the Ollivander’s head.

Benny leaned forward on the counter to hear Lily’s silent request. ”I might. Depends who’s asking.” He played coy, like students sneaking around the dungeons waiting on the Slytherin with the secret stash of firewhiskey. Honestly, not much had changed since they were little. Lily had convinced him that she was actually royalty, but Benny could be a knight sworn to her service. Naturally, James had also played along until Albus had decided to tell Benny the truth. But then they continued on anyway, much to his chagrin.

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[lily luna potter]

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Benny had been reading some sort of book when she entered, but placed it down before she could actually read the title. That didn't stop Lily from turning her head completely sideways in an attempt to see it though, a common occurrence that made her look like a curious dog. In a way, she sort of was. Full on golden retriever twenty-four-seven. Her energy and endless curiosity matched her favorite pooch perfectly. And Benny did too. He lit up when she mentioned her quest, instantly bringing her into a happy grin. Anyone else would've been fairly dour after plodding through the weather outside, but not her. If she could shake herself off without ruining every magazine on the spinning rack next to the counter, she absolutely would. That only happened if Al was paying.

"Aye, a quest indeed," Lily repeated, slapping her sopping wet elbows onto the counter so that she could hold her face up in her hands. "I've been sent to retrieve a rare artifact by my liege, King George. He says it is an ancient tome of unknown power, meant to tickle the brain and belly alike." According to her uncle, that was what the review in the Daily Prophet said. She'd probably read the book after he was finished, as it would be a great way to pass the time on slower days. She was getting inventory done faster and faster with each day on the job now, which was incredibly important for when the school shopping started up.

"Is it just you today, Sir Benny? Because this is a valiant task that may take up most of our day. I wouldn't want any of your comrades to become green with jealousy over our adventure." If Mina had been in, she would have been laughing right alongside the two of them, unless she'd been shoved into a storage room to take numbers on books. Even though the stores were completely different, Lily knew the general ins and outs of all businesses now. Or at least she liked to think she did.

gehry benjamin ollivander ● 345 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

helpless to the bass

and the fading light

July 24th, 2027
lily luna potter

Benny noted how Lily strained her neck to see the book he was reading, but he could explain that later. The promise of a quest on such a slow day had piqued his interest. In some ways, he had not changed all that much since he was a boy. That sense of wonder and enjoyment of life was always bright within him. He’d just gotten incredibly tall. Benny didn’t like stress. He never dealt all that well with it. But then again, not much had ever been placed on his shoulders growing up, and the comments never bothered him. His sisters were headstrong, driven, and successful, and he was happy for them. His relationship with his brother was still something to navigate, but he didn’t see why it couldn’t be a positive thing.

”King George the Clever! How does he fair on a day as gray as this?” One might call him wise, but that was open to interpretation. Benny had always enjoyed the energy he brought when he was anywhere. Lily was dripping water everywhere, but that was no matter. Working at the bookstore had given Benny plenty of practice in making sure the books were not damaged by rain, snow, hail, wind, or other acts of a nature someone could spin up with a wand. He was hardly concerned by the water she was dripping on the counter or where she stood. Benny had probably done worse.

”Alas, Flourish, and Botts has felt it appropriate to hire another young squire. She is in the back.” Benny yelled for his coworker, who immediately ran out as if there was an emergency. With wide eyes, she looked at Lily, then her eyes traveled down to the floor. Benny noted it. ”Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll clean up before I go.” She looked confused. ’Before you go? Mina isn’t here for another half hour.’ Benny lightly shrugged. ”It's slow, so you just need to watch the front. Tell Mina I’m helping Lily on a task of the utmost importance. She’ll understand.” The girl looked confused, but Benny nodded confidently. ”You see, my lady, we leave the fortress in capable hands.” He removed his apron and name tag, shoving them under the counter along with his comic book. And he waited for direction from Lily, though he had his wand out to quickly deal with the puddles as soon as she moved. A thought came to mind to find some coconut halves, it was part of a muggle film someone had shown him, and he’d rather enjoyed it, but they mustn’t lose focus.

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[lily luna potter]

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"Mirthful?" Lily answered in regards to her uncle. That was a word, right? And it fit the situation? "Merry might be better," she added quickly in her unsure state. This was a bookstore after all. If she needed a dictionary or one of those fancy word books named after dinosaurs, she could probably find it here. Then she could use whatever words she pleased and kill time at work. Two owls with one gobstone. Everyone would forget about how she had to repeat her seventh year if she could talk like the sophisticated person Al wanted her to be. The mere thought of talking circles around him with words even he didn't know had her momentarily forgetting why she was at Flourish & Blotts in the first place. Benny's yelling at the new hire snapped her out of the fugue state.

Listening to the new girl's complaints about being left alone made Lily wonder if it was okay to do so, but if Benny said it was then she wasn't going to second guess that. This was his rookie after all, he knew her the best. Hearing Mina was going to be here later made her slightly giddy. A trio of terror, the three of them would be if they all ended up in the same room. Poor Flourish & Blotts wouldn't survive the encounter if it went on for too long. Books flying off the shelves, batty old customers screeching their heads off...Lily would love to see it, but knew her only chance would be if those same people showed up in the joke shop.

"She's adorable. Is she always that nervous?" Lily asked as she started to wander off into the store. Where were the preorders again? "Right!" she yelled loudly and abruptly. The poor new girl jumped several inches into the air, clearly not accustomed to Lily-volume. Whoops. She could feel bad about it later, after she got the book. And maybe the girl's name too. "Zonko's autobiography! That's what I'm here for!" Her pitch unwavering, she continued, "That's what his majesty sent me to collect."

gehry benjamin ollivander ● 349 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

helpless to the bass

and the fading light

July 24th, 2027
lily luna potter

Benny shrugged. Mirthful. Merry. Whatever, it was all the same. He couldn’t recall ever seeing Mr. Weasley in a bad mood. When they were all little and running around Godric’s Hollow, it appeared that only two adults paid much attention to some of their shenanigans. Most of the boys roughhoused or tried to pummel each other on a broom like human bludgers. As one of the few not talented in Quidditch, Benny didn’t often join that particular activity. But Benny found his own entertainment rather than mope off to the side like Albus. One of the eyes in the back of Mrs. Potter’s head always seemed to see or know that Benny, Lily, and whoever they recruited as accomplices were up to no good.

A few of those times, Lily’s Uncle happily blocked her view and aided and abetted his young niece and neighbor in whatever confetti they tried to launch at the others. Benny didn’t look back and catch the shocked and confused expression of the girl. But the likelihood of anything happening in the next twenty-four minutes was about as high as Benny applying for Auror training. ”Always.” Benny said with a roll of his eyes. ”Its not a difficult job. I don’t know why she worries so much.” He shrugged casually. Some of these younger kids were such nervous nellies, much like his sister—an actual nervous Nell.

”Alas!” Lily’s mission was complete, now to return the package safely. The new employee stared at them—or gawked rather, but Benny ignored it. He would’ve thought she’d be used to his and Mina’s antics. Benny summoned his jacket from the back and slipped it on. There was no reason to end up soaked. ”Let us be on our way.” He declared but then paused. ”But first—“ Benny grabbed two random paperweights from the counter and tapped his wand until they transfigured into two halves of a coconut. And with a wave of his wand, the two halves tapped together to imitate the sound of a horse's hooves. Or perhaps a unicorn. Taking a few steps forward, he opened the door and let Lily exit first.

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[lily luna potter]

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“I was totally going to apply here if Uncle George hadn’t given me the job first. Mostly because I wanted to prove to Al that I know how to read.” That had definitely come into question when she had to repeat her seventh year. And who couldn’t blame her brother for thinking that? The only books she ever read were about Quidditch, and most of those were about technical maneuvers and game stats, so they had pictures and diagrams to easily understand everything. Obviously she could read, though it was a fun, long running joke that she couldn’t. Working with Benny and Mina probably would have been just as fun as with her uncle too. Endless shenanigans. Poking fun at the new girl would be so much funnier too as an employee. As a customer, it only came across as cruel and weird. Plus, technically she was a representative of the joke shop right now. Making George look bad through her interactions totally wasn’t cool. There were already people that were hesitant to approach her because she was a known werewolf. Like she could totally bite their heads off when there wasn’t a full moon. Silly normies.

Collecting the ordered book, she giggled as Benny started to transfigure a couple of paperweights into what looked to be a coconut. “Oh!” Lily practically screamed. The poor girl behind the cash register jumped at the sudden high pitched noise. “I know that movie! I’ve seen that!” She was pointing at Benny with the book, the name of the film on the tip of her tongue. She had no idea if he knew what it was from, but she could have sworn she had seen it in a muggle comedy once. Another product of hanging out at her uncle’s shop even on her days off. To be potential successor to the joke empire, she needed to know everything. “Onward good steed!” she yelled again, as the poor girl looked on in abject horror.

Out into Diagon again, and Lily let out a cackle as she waited for Benny to join her. “So you’re like, just leaving her to work until Mina gets there?” she asked. Which was totally cool and all, but she knew how difficult it could get if a store suddenly got swamped with customers. Hers was a little different because there were products that could be shown off and whatnot. Books tended to stay where they belonged on their shelves. Except for the scary, autonomous ones at Hogwarts in the restricted section. Thank Merlin most of those seemed to have burned down with the castle. She was never going to make the mistake of sticking her hand into one of them again.

gehry benjamin ollivander ● 452 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

helpless to the bass

and the fading light

July 24th, 2027
lily luna potter

Benny let out a loud laugh. Leave it to Little Al to judge someone’s brain simply because of how many OWLs or NEWTs one possessed. ”Mina and I would have loved it if you joined us.” The chaos, Benny could only imagine. But Lily was far smarter than she was given credit for. Much as Benny was only taken seriously at times due to his name, otherwise, he likely wouldn’t be despite his knowledge and abilities. ”Albus is probably upset he’s barely taller than the stack of books a third year has to buy.” Students began taking more elective courses, hence the extra books.

A smirk formed on his face as he held the two coconut halves. Lily jumped up and down, attempting to think of the film's name. It was an old muggle one he’d watched with Mina and then several times more on various substances he tested for Rue. At this point, Benny stopped checking on the new employee. In any case, it was far too much to explain at one time. ”Onward!” Benny pushed the door open, the rain had let up some, but it still fell as a light drizzle. ”She’s fine. Mina’s due to start in ten minutes.” Somehow, Benny was the only one pathologically late all the time. The day he arrived right on time was the day Albus Potter passed him in height. ”Pray we do not come upon the ‘Bridge of Death’.” He announced as if speaking of some legend.

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[lily luna potter]

▲

A long, drawn out laugh escaped her at the comment about Al's height. Sure, she wasn't one to talk, but only James had gotten the Weasley height in the end. Adding onto it that Albus tended to be grumpy the majority of the time, it had been fun calling him half-garden gnome when they were younger. "I've told him before that he'd look good in platforms," Lily shrugged. It was his loss. Luckily for him, she had plenty of friends that liked short guys. He just had to get over himself first.

As for the new girl at Flourish & Blotts, well, Lily had forgotten about her already. There was barely anyone around Diagon and the odds of the girl having to deal with a customer were so slim. "Could you imagine how awesome it would have been if I worked here though? Too bad I work too hard and can't take on a second one." That was more her laziness speaking than anything else. Plus she felt like the novelty would wear off eventually. Keeping it fresh and fun when she visited was so much more important to her anyways.

Shifting between the actual conversation and the silly game they were playing was fun, and her short attention span was tickled by it. While she didn't know what Benny was attributing the 'Bridge of Death' to, she could still go along with it. "I fear, Sir Benny, that we may have to take it. The rain has caused too much flooding!" Even with her rain gear on, she was still soaked. Luckily she knew a decent charm that could dry and warm her up at the same time! Supposedly this had been taught during second year, but she only recalled learning of it the previous winter when the space heater behind the cash register died on her. Because of this, she didn't stop herself from hopping straight into a puddle. There weren't many chances to act childish anymore, and with no one but Benny around to see, it felt like a mistake to skip out on it.

gehry benjamin ollivander ● 348 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

helpless to the bass

and the fading light

July 24th, 2027
lily luna potter

Giggling at the expense of Lily’s brother felt like an old pastime at this point. ”I’m not sure how it would appear with his Auror’s robes.” Benny pointed out. The visual image was quite silly, however. Already, he could picture Albus’ glare and whatever stern warning Lily’s mother would give them in his mind had they been present. ”How big would the platforms need to be to see James eye to eye?” Benny’s brain had already hooked onto this tangent of a thought. ”He’s even taller than me.” And Benny towered over his own older siblings. But, then again, Benny remembered Lily’s uncles and their various tall heights—including her grandfather.

”Oh definitely—you don’t want those long days.” Not that Benny nor Mina worked long days themselves. These days, they didn’t work on the same shift often, usually overlapping a few hours at most, but this meant more of their free time overlapped instead. Which felt like much more of a win. And it was likely Benny didn’t realize how lucky he was that he still lived at home, spoiled by his mother and oldest sister, where he did not need to work all day. ”My sisters always look tired because they never have any free time.” It seemed simple in his mind. Free time was good for you.

”Merlin help us!” Benny exclaimed as if they were on some real quest with real dangers. The irony that he was the knight protecting the Lady was Benny and not the brave former Gryffindor Lily Potter. ”Shall we risk the direct path or take the long-rumored and fabled path they dub ‘The Scenic Route’?” Benny posed the question to his childhood friend. Since his work was done for the day, he had time to spare, although he knew not to keep Lily too long from her work. He’d always held Mr. Weasley—George in high regard. A man always in good spirits, looking to make someone laugh despite running a business and all those things adults did. Lily had shared about her uncle’s late twin brother, and Benny always figured that someone who lost so much but could still find a reason to smile was worthy of great respect.

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[lily luna potter]

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”He could make it work, even if he hates every second of it.” Rather, Lily would make him do it. Such a task was harder nowadays, but had she thought of this years ago, she would have slipped them on his feet in the middle of the night and stuck them in place with a sticking charm to make it that much harder for him to escape the wrath of the heels. Personally, she sort of disliked them because they hindered her own movement. It would be worth it to see Al struggle with them too. As for how big they would have to be to match James, that was a good question. ”Ummm…” Lily hummed as she measured out everything with her hand above her head. If Albus was only a few inches taller than her, James was almost double that over him. ”Six inches at least, I’d reckon. Maybe a few more because of how much Al slouches.” That seemed like a fair assessment of her brother.

Lily groaned at the idea of not having any free time. On one hand, it was awesome being the only employee at the shop aside from her uncles. On the other…that meant she was always there. Rain or shine, nasty heatwave or blistery winter blizzard. Usually she was cut loose if it was going to be really bad or if it seemed like there wouldn’t be any customers, but that wasn’t always the case. And being on her own at the front of the shop oftentimes meant she had no one to talk to. Not only did she have to take her job semi-seriously, but she also had to exercise a certain level of self-control that she had never dealt with before. Scaring customers off wasn’t cool, even if it was because she was excited that people were buying products she personally enjoyed as well. Apparently, enthusiasm wasn’t as acceptable anymore.

”I do enjoy my time off. When I get it,” she commented before re-entering the charade they had been going on about for the last couple of minutes. Benny provided their different options, and she thought about both for a moment. There was the obvious one that got them back faster and not nearly as wet…and then there was the other one! ”I believe the scenic route is in order today, good sir! Lest we be swept away by the floods!” The floods being the steady stream of water running down the outer edges of Diagon Alley’s footpath, heading directly towards the drains as planned. ”Lead the way!” she yelled, for once, unsure of what the scenic route entailed.

gehry benjamin ollivander ● 439 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

helpless to the bass

and the fading light

July 24th, 2027
lily luna potter

”Merlin…” Benny thought. James had shot up in height quite suddenly over the years, even taller than his father. But as Benny recalled, Lily’s uncles were also very tall, including her grandfather. Maybe that was where he inherited the height. In Benny’s case, he towered over Frankie, but placing the boys side by side, you easily saw the family resemblance. ”He’s not afraid of heights, is he?” It might be worth checking if they were to place Al at the same height as James. ”I wouldn’t want him to get dizzy or anything…” The image of Al suddenly swooning because of the height was hilarious.

”I guess that’s the price of ‘adulthood’. Benny lamented. Maybe that’s why he looked for where he could have the most fun. I might as well. Life wasn’t all about working all the time. Watching Ronnie and Nell made Benny exhausted enough. Especially all those years Nell worked for Ronnie, at least now she had some control over her schedule and things. But, back to the task at hand. This brave quest to bring this book to its rightful owner.

”As you wish.” Diagon Alley had a nasty habit of retaining quite a bit of water when it rained. And so far, it had not occurred to anyone to do much about it over the centuries. Then again, casting a drying charm when entering a shop was far easier than altering paths and buildings. Benny began to walk the aforementioned scenic route, which wasn’t that much longer than the direct route. But as Benny purposefully avoided parts of the path, he noted how a man had stepped into a puddle and almost slipped. Then again, the water went up past his ankle. ”The tide is strong, my lady. We must be careful of our steps.”

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[lily luna potter]

▲

”I hope he is,” Lily said of Albus. She didn’t actually know. When was the last time she saw him on a broom? Or had that ever happened to begin with? Albus was such a strange dude, which only meant that he liked to keep to himself instead of diving headfirst into what she and James were always planning. She had tried for years to break him out of his little shell that he liked to hide in, but it only seemed more and more futile with each attempt. Which was sort of disheartening to her because she really did want to ‘get along’ with him. Lily understood that she was a nuisance most of the time and had been growing up. Taking away all of the attention that he probably should have gotten from their parents. But also it was his fault for hiding away in his bedroom all the time.

She nodded her head at Benny’s comment. ”Ain’t that the truth,” she put on her best (worst) Southern American accent. The twang was awful, generated from movies she had watched. Gone were the days of screwing around without too many consequences. Growing up sucked. Not nearly as much as being forced to be responsible for herself, but it was close. At least she hadn’t been forced out of her parents’ house yet. The time had to come eventually. What she really wanted to do was move into Grimmauld Place, assuming James would let her. That would be far enough removed from her parents that it would be like having her own space. And also still rent free. The one benefit of having dozens of family members ready to help at the drop of a hat.

The river of Diagon Alley had fully formed in the time it had taken Lily to traverse from the joke shop to Flourish & Blotts. ”Wow, this is way worse than it was a few minutes ago,” she admitted, breaking character as their slow trudge through the water continued. All of her focus had turned to where she was placing her feet, and she used Benny’s height to help break the gusts of wind that had started to rip through the alleyway. ”One last hill!” she yelled over a roar of thunder that crackled above them. The orange and purple of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes was faintly visible through the now sheets of rain that were pouring down on them. So much for having a lazy afternoon of watching fat raindrops coming down. This was a lovely little squall now.

gehry benjamin ollivander ● 426

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