Snow [Sadhbh]

[nova hypatia vector]

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November 28th, 2028

Big, fat snowflakes had been falling all morning, leaving a dampness on the cobblestones that was dangerously slick. Nova had watched them all morning out the front window of the bakery, their silhouettes gently dancing in the streetlights as the sun rose. There weren’t many people out that early in the morning, but she soon came to the realization that there were several ingredients that they were getting low on. With the ‘Christmas’ season about to begin, things were about to get hectic. Nova never really understood the Christmas cheer, or whatever it was, because she’d grown up with a shitty family situation and had obligations to be around for her younger siblings. That meant dealing with Harmony despite wanting to be at work and helping her aunt out. And that didn’t even bring the customers into the equation. All the worst qualities of humans seemed to seep out around the holidays. Custom orders for work parties were demanded to be done on impossible deadlines. People were constantly snippy and short with her. Though she also wasn’t the most pleasant at times this time of year…

The best part about working with her aunt meant that she could run off to get what they needed in situations like today. Getting the jump on the holiday baking season was always smart, and Nova was happy to run the chores today. Being so early in the morning, there were very few people to deal with in the alleyways and even less once she crossed over into muggle London and headed towards the store to pick up the smaller items that they didn’t need in bulk. She (and her aunt) must have forgotten what the time actually was, because by the time Nova arrived at the closest supermarket, she realized it wasn’t open yet. Pulling her phone out of her pocket to check the time, an infinitely bright 5:07AM. The lights in the store were off despite the sticker on the door with the hours saying it should be open by five. Her screen was instantly inundated with several wet snowflakes that found their way floating down on it, and she smudged them away with a cold finger. There really wasn’t much she could do until the store opened. Apparating to the next closest one would sort of work, but then she’d be stuck popping back with the groceries, versus being able to walk from here.

Scrunching her nose up at her luck, she shoved her phone and hands back into her pockets and slowly walked back towards the entrance that led into the alleyways again. Finding the time during the day, or even after work, was going to be difficult. But one of them would manage it. The last thing she liked doing was putting all of the burden on Decima, especially when she had offered to do most of the heavy lifting this holiday season.

After a couple of minutes, Nova was back in Diagon Alley and moving at a slow, creep-like pace. The hood of her jacket had collected a sizeable layer of snow on it, occasionally dripping onto her face as it melted. She wasn’t expected back immediately as it was, the days goods already having been put in before she left. The bakery still didn’t open for another…twenty minutes, according to her watch. Six in the morning was early for most shops in the area, but not the Vectors. Fishing around in her coat pocket, she found a crumpled pack of cigarettes. Left from the previous winter, most likely. Nova plucked one out and observed it carefully. Bent, but still good. Probably. Sticking it in her mouth as she slowed down and stopped in front of Flourish & Blotts, she lit it with her wand. The acrid burn of it countered the cold morning perfectly. Not as well as a coffee would, but she could manage until she got back to the bakery. Letting out a long plume of grayish-white smoke, Nova shivered slightly as the area around her started to spring to life. Pretty soon here, she was going to be needed to man the counter. But first, her cigarette.

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[sadhbh wormwood]

November 28, 2028

Going to the mainland wasn't Sadhbh's favorite way to spend a day, but sometimes she didn't have much choice. She had been tasked with delivering wine to one of the various establishments in Horizont Alley, which usually fell to her or her sister, Medb. Everything about London went against everything with which she was most comfortable, even in the magical parts of the city. It was loud and crowded and polluted most of the time and uncomfortable in the early morning regardless. Plus, it wasn't even December, and it was freezing cold.

Sadhbh wasn't sure what had happened to anger the gods enough to make it so cold so soon, but she didn't want to stay in London long enough to find out. After she had delivered the wine that had brought her there, she was more than ready to return to Hy-Brasil, go home, and not ice over. She had her cloak wrapped as tightly around her body as she could and quite a few layers on underneath it, yet it felt impossible to stay warm for any length of time.

She pulled out her wand to try to generate some heat from it, knowing that she couldn't concentrate well enough to Apparate back to Hy-Brasil. Gloves would have been useful, she thought at the sight of her discolored fingers, but she wasn't planning to wait for the shops to open for business. Instead, she moved beside a storefront that wasn't yet open for the day so that she would be out of the way. At about the same time, she noticed a younger woman smoking across from her; it wasn't how she preferred to warm up, but it was a heat source, technically, too. Sadhbh nodded at her to acknowledge that she was there but didn't say anything. This wasn't Hy-Brasil, and she felt uncomfortable around most mainlanders without the icy weather to make it harder on her.

nova hypatia vector

[nova hypatia vector]

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What little warmth her cigarette provided almost immediately dissipated upon removing it from her lips. The only successful heat that was maintained focused itself between her index and middle fingers, which had a deathly vice-like grip on the cigarette as they were exposed from her fingerless gloves. She supposed this was better than having to carry bags of groceries back, fighting toe-curling cold and the occasional, well-placed snowflake onto her hands. The way the muggles still utilized such unconventional bagging systems was unbelievable. Even with single-use plastics being less of a thing, the reusable ones that she frequent found herself with were no better when it came to weather like this. Speaking of - a few more days like today and her poor hands were going to be cracked and dry. Between this and the constant washing at work, they didn’t stand a chance. Nothing beat having bloody knuckles while trying to knead dough and mix ingredients. Thank Merlin for magic, because it was times like this where having as little interaction with the food as possible was actually useful.

That thought hadn’t really crossed her mind until now, as she slowly took a long drag again. It sort of upset her, always being reminded that with cold weather and the holidays, she was going to suffer and continue to look like a malnourished Victorian era child. One look from Harmony and she was going to be banned from seeing any of her siblings during Christmas. Yet another annoyance to add on to her morning.

She could only begin to imagine what the first unreasonable customer might bring to the table. There was always something. Like a creampuff not having enough filling, or a biscotti being too hard. They were quite literally supposed to be that way, because they were cooked twice! Easily the worst were the customers that came in close to closing time and wanting fresh bread. Which technically it was, a small batch usually done in the afternoon satisfy those that worked later, they always wanted straight out of the oven. They weren’t getting that unless they arrived at that time. It became a daily argument with some, who seemingly couldn’t grasp the concept of certain breads and pastries being done at different times of the day. To say she was consistently frustrated by that would be an understatement. Thus, having this brief reprieve early in the morning was sort of nice for once.

Sighing to herself because she knew she had to get back to the bakery soon, Nova watched as a woman wandered down the street and stopped in the stoop across from her. She had produced her wand and was seemingly trying to warm her fingers up with it. At least that was what it looked like. Taking another inhale of her cigarette, she let it out slowly in a billowing cloud. ”Bloody cold out already,” she called across to the woman. ”Trying to get a bit of shopping in right when everyone opens?” Nova added as she put the cigarette back up to her lips. ”I think you’ve got a little bit still.” More like an hour for most. The bakery was one of the first to open, after all.

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[sadhbh wormwood]

November 28, 2028

"Bloody cold out already." The younger woman with the cigarette who was standing opposite her—and the only other person in sight at that moment—spoke aloud. She was absolutely right, thought Sadhbh. It was cold. Though the heat that she was able to create with her wand helped some to offset the chill, it couldn't change the weather completely. The good news was that she was at least able to feel her fingers again, and that was helpful for holding a wand.

"Trying to get a bit of shopping in right when everyone opens?"

Shifting her weight enough to reassure herself that she wouldn't end up frozen to the spot where she was standing, Sadhbh shook her head. It was clear to her then that the younger woman was actually engaging her in conversation and not just making a comment on the weather.

"I think you've got a little bit still," the stranger, who was still smoking, added.

Sadhbh was slightly confused. She hadn't said anything to the young woman, but she must have looked like she was ready to go shopping instead of ready to get back to Hy-Brasil and into the warmth of her family's home. Maybe that was what mainlanders did. Sadhbh pondered that idea and didn't find it too far-fetched. There were many more shops in London than on Hy-Brasil, but there must have been more competition for items. Mainlanders didn't seem to care as much about the quality of products, as long as they could get them when they wanted them and in larger quantities than was typical of most Druids.

"I am not here to shop," Sadhbh replied, having to raise her voice more than she would have liked because of a gust of wind. She knew that the younger woman was only trying to be helpful. If she had come to shop, the advice she had given her would have been good. "I will be returning to Hy-Brasil," she called. Hopefully, that would happen before the day's shoppers descended upon Diagon Alley.

nova hypatia vector

[nova hypatia vector]

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Nova wondered momentarily if she had maybe made a mistake in trying to converse with the other woman. Despite how much she disliked small talk while working, it was almost impossible to avoid it. Then, when she was out and about doing non-work-related things (not counting today, of course), she couldn’t help but fall into it as well. Filling the awkward silence with her own voice, as if she was some happy-go-lucky American tourist. What she was doing right now reminded her of when all of the parents of the American students first brought them into Diagon for shopping, prior to their first year at Hogwarts. Non-stop chit-chat, and while unbelievably nice and personable, also sort of exhausting. So she also felt kind of bad for unwillingly bringing the woman across the street into a conversation about the weather and the current situation they were both in right now. Especially being as presumptuous as she was right now.

When the woman finally answered, Nova immediately understood why the cold temperatures were more unbearable for her: it was because she was a druid. Or at least someone that lived on Hy-Brasil, which probably meant she was. Were regular people even allowed to live on the island? A million different questions came to mind, as she always had them when it came to different magical cultures. A few druids had popped into the bakery now and again, one in particular always followed by what seemed to be security of some sort. Nova had never pried because that wasn’t her thing, but clearly that druid was an important one.

”Oh, yeah. Totally get that the not liking this weather then,” she responded rather lamely before sticking her cigarette back into her mouth awkwardly for a puff. A strong gust of early winter air blew its way down Diagon Alley as Nova let out her smoke. She could feel the entire right side of her body become momentarily frozen, all the way from her ears down to her toes. If the start of December was going to be like this, then the rest of the winter months were bound to be brutal. ”If you’d like to warm up before you leave, I work at the bakery round the corner. We aren’t open yet, but it’s not a problem for us,” Nova offered before checking the status of her cigarette. By the time she got back, it would be nearly finished. ”I’m about to head back…”

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[sadhbh wormwood]

November 28, 2028

The younger woman across from Sadhbh commented that she understood her not enjoying the weather based on what she had just said, but she appeared to be more engrossed in her cigarette than anything else. Sadhbh wasn't bothered. She knew that people on the mainland weren't as willing to converse with (or even help) those whom they didn't know. On Hy-Brasil, people's mindsets were different. They all understood why it was important for them to work alongside each other for the betterment of their community and the satisfaction of the gods. Mainlanders weren't so concerned about that, it seemed.

Sadhbh went back to trying to extract every bit of warmth that her wand could bring into existence. If the wind would settle down some, she thought, then she might be able to regain her focus long enough to keep from Splinching herself.

To her great surprise, she didn't have to worry about that, because the stranger spoke up again. "If you'd like to warm up before you leave, I work at the bakery round the corner. We aren't open yet, but it's not a problem for us." That was very considerate of her, Sadhbh felt, and she consequently felt bad for having thought poorly of mainlanders. "I'm about to head back…"

While she wasn't a little girl who had been instructed not to talk to unfamiliar mainlanders, Sadhbh had to question what she was going to do. If she ended up following someone she didn't know and walked right into a trap, then it would be no one's fault but her own. And if she had to do something to defend herself, then at least she had her wand, and she wasn't on Hy-Brasil. Hopefully, the other Druids would understand.

The thought of freezing to death wasn't pleasant, either, and it was that possibility that motivated Sadhbh to agree to go with the younger woman with the cigarette. "Yes," she responded gratefully. "That would be wonderful. Thank you."

nova hypatia vector

[nova hypatia vector]

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Nova patiently sucked in smoke as she waited for the druid woman’s response. It really didn’t matter to her either way, but she figured it would be good karma or something. Her first thought was that if she won over the stomachs of the druid people, she could broker some kind of deal to transport pastries and other baked goods to them for their festivals. Nova knew very little about their culture, but food was the one thing that conveniently crossed all borders without fail. And not to stroke her own ego, but she was better than most.

”Cool. Right this way then,” she motioned with her head as she let out a small plume through her nose and turned to head back in the direction of the patisserie. Her break had been long enough anyways. The fat snowflakes instantly found their way back onto her head and shoulders as she stepped out onto the street again. They were practically magnetic, sacrificing themselves to become puddles when they hit her. She really preferred having snow either one way, or the other: a nice blanket coating or not at all. What Diagon and Horizont really needed to do was cast a few weather changing spells and keep the snow up once it stayed consistently cold. But what did she know? She was just a magical baker.

She figured this would be the best time to find a little more information out about the druids. Like what sort of sweets and pastries they liked. There was no way they were super bland and only enjoyed boring old bread and the likes. Having an entirely magical island had to lead to some creative cooking. ”I’m Nova, by the way,” she introduced herself. ”What brings you to Diagon so early? The druids I usually see have like, a bunch of security guards with them.” Or rather, it was just the one over and over again who seemed to have a love for hair color changing charms. Nova tended to save those sorts of charms for her pastries, preferring to keep her signature silver color.

sadhbh wormwood ● 350 ● Song by Artist

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[sadhbh wormwood]

November 28, 2028

Although she could have been en route to her death, Sadhbh went with the younger woman, walking with her in the direction that she had indicated. The snow was wet and uncomfortable rather than fluffy, and Sadhbh reminded herself that she would soon be out of it one way or another.

"I'm Nova, by the way," the younger woman said, introducing herself.

Considering that she had introduced herself to her and not just killed her, Sadhbh was a little less apprehensive about interacting with Nova after that. "I'm Sadhbh," she replied. Giving her name wasn't too dangerous.

Nova also asked her what had brought her to Diagon Alley so early in the day, and she commented that she usually saw Druids who had security guards with them. She had probably seen Fae, the High Druid, Sadhbh guessed. There were other leaders on Hy-Brasil; Fae wasn't the only one, but she was the only Druid Sadhbh knew to regularly travel with Guardians to the mainland. That wasn't the case for her or for most other Druids. They traveled without Guardians, in the same way that most people traveled without Aurors on the mainland. They didn't all require that level of security under most circumstances. It wasn't practical, and they needed Guardians to guard Hy-Brasil itself, too.

"You must have seen our High Druid," Sadhbh told Nova. "I make wine and had a delivery…" she said, not knowing if she should try to imply that there were Guardians somewhere, even though there weren't.

Over time, some Druids, especially the younger ones, had decided to live on the mainland. Sadhbh imagined that many of them went about their lives without advertising that they were from Hy-Brasil. In the same way, some mainlanders had come to reside on Hy-Brasil as members of their society. It was easier on Hy-Brasil for a Druid to know who had lived their entire lives there and who had not because of the size and closeness of their community, but Sadhbh doubted that the same could be said of the people on the mainland.

Plenty of people from Hy-Brasil only left the island when it was absolutely necessary for them to do so, though, and Sadhbh was among them. She had no desire to become a mainlander. If she had to choose between never being able to leave Hy-Brasil again or never being able to return to Hy-Brasil again, she would choose the former every time.

nova hypatia vector

[nova hypatia vector]

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Well, the druid woman definitely had a druid-like name. It was Irish, that was for certain, and Nova was also positive that she had no idea how to spell it. The poor woman would have her name butchered at Spellbucks if she ever went. They couldn’t even get Nova correctly. She ended up with Nora half the time. As much as she disliked creating fancy drinks for customers, at least it was never that loud, or busy, inside the patisserie that she couldn’t hear names. Assuming she even needed to ask one in the first place.

To say she was surprised by Sadhbh’s comment about who the druid in question was, would be an understatement. ”The High Druid?” Nova sputtered. Her hand was paused at her mouth, cigarette dangling there. ’Fuck, was the singular thought that rang through her head as she thought about it a little more. It had been obvious that the woman was important – the guards alone gave that away – but she assumed this was merely some dignitary or liaison. In a way, the High Druid was both, she supposed. But happily chatting with the leader of the druids and offering up pastries she had made was insane. ”You don’t say…” Her surprise was still there as she took a complimentary drag of her cigarette.

Nova barely heard Sadhbh’s second statement, about being a winemaker and having been here to deliver it. She had heard stories about druid wine being in circulation at some locales, though she had never had the pleasure of drinking it. ”Where do you deliver to?” Nova asked. ”I’ve been meaning to try it, but can never find the bars or restaurants that have it.” There were other druid delicacies that she really wanted to get her hands on. Baked goods that could only be made with ingredients from the island, as well as some of the more…fun indulgences that they got themselves into. She could start with the wine though.

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[sadhbh wormwood]

November 28, 2028

Nova didn't seem as though she knew what to do with the knowledge that she had been in the presence of the High Druid before without realizing who she was. Sadhbh, having spent her entire life on Hy-Brasil, was more comfortable with the way leaders were chosen in her own community than with the idea of maybe being represented adequately by some person who had made politics their only focus.

The younger woman became more conversational with the change of subject to wine, though, and she asked her to where she delivered. "I've been meaning to try it, but can never find the bars or restaurants that have it."

As they kept walking, Sadhbh began to list off a number of different locations, and those were just the ones to which she had made deliveries herself. "The Leaky Cauldron, the Fountain of Fair Fortune…" Most of the time, they were able to pack and ship wine from the port, but that wasn't always feasible for one reason or another.

By the standards of the mainland, her family's business was a small one. They didn't have big, industrial facilities or gigantic warehouses, the way Sadhbh assumed non-Druid winemaking operations probably did. The products that were brought to the mainland depended heavily on what the businesses (or individuals) wanted and what was available. Sometimes, they were able to send large quantities from Hy-Brasil; other times, they weren't. It was the hardest for them when there was a bad harvest, because not having enough grapes would affect their wines for longer than just one season. They could only plan so much ahead of time, and of course they were grateful when they could sell wine to the mainland in abundance.

"Visiting Hy-Brasil is the best way to try everything," Sadhbh noted. That was true of more than just Druid-made wines. There were countless other products made on Hy-Brasil, and alcohol wasn't the only thing they had to offer.

Though tourists could be frustrating to deal with, they did bring money with them. Since the economy on Hy-Brasil didn't use any sort of currency otherwise, the visitors they received from the mainland were important, especially for anyone from the Druid community who needed something from beyond the island.

nova hypatia vector

[nova hypatia vector]

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Really? Both the Leaky Cauldron and the Fountain were so close too, and yet she always seemed to miss it. Considering this was coming from Hy-Brasil, it had to be a small supply. For those in the know, they were more than likely drinking it up before she even had a shot at it. Then there was the other reason she had never realized both pubs had it available: she literally never went out. Despite her friends’ best efforts, Nova was always the one that balked at the idea of getting drunk in public or staying out late. She was absolutely fine with hanging out at people’s flats and partaking in whatever, and even sometimes hosting because then she wouldn’t have to leave home. Merlin, she needed to work on her socialization a bit, didn’t she?

”That must be their best kept secret then. I never would have guessed,” she commented as they trudged down the street. The longer she was out, the colder she was getting, and with being so close to the bakery, she was really starting to feel it now. ”I’d love to visit someday, but I have a shop to run so that’s difficult.” Decima would absolutely give her the time off, Nova just didn’t like when she went too long without being at work. This was her exact problem. She was a workaholic.

Rounding the bend, the junction between Diagon and Horizont was finally visible, and so was the Pi Patisserie. Shuffling up to the door, she quickly unlocked it despite her chilled fingers not really registering that her keys were in her hand. The dim lighting inside the bakery was set to tell the early customers that they were up and working, but not ready for sales yet. ”That’s much better,” she sighed in relief as the warmth of the inside hit her like a wall. Flicking her wand at the chairs that were still set up on their respective tables, everything aligned where it was supposed to be at opening. ”You can sit wherever you’d like,” she turned to Sadhbh as she started to peel off her layers. ”Coffee or tea? I can see if any of the pastries are ready too,” Nova offered as she zoomed behind the counter and waved her wand at all of the machines to get them started as well.

”I’m back!” she yelled through the doorway that connected the shop from the kitchen. ”They weren’t open yet. Someone got their hours wrong. I’ll check again in a bit.” There was a muted response from her aunt that sounded like an acknowledgement, and Nova shrugged in the direction of her guest. ”Muggles.”

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[sadhbh wormwood]

November 28, 2028

Nova commented that she never would have guessed that the places she had listed off carried Druid wine. Sadhbh nodded. People didn't generally seek Druid-made wine out to the same extent that they did, say, goblin-wrought silver. If that were true, her family would have been wealthy beyond any Druid's imagination. In reality, the money they made went right back into covering the costs associated with making more wine, and they lived as modestly as they always had.

The challenge for Nova, apparently, was in being able to visit Hy-Brasil because of her responsibilities to the bakery. Sadhbh understood that, though she also thought that it would have been nice to have more tourists to Hy-Brasil who were responsible and respectful and not just there to treat it like a playground where they didn't have to clean up after themselves.

They arrived at the bakery, and Nova unlocked the door and opened it. Immediately, the warmth that came from inside felt much better than the cold outside, on which Nova remarked. She arranged the seating and then told Sadhbh that she could sit wherever she wanted. Sadhbh chose to sit a little bit farther inside the bakery for the benefit of not having a draft come in.

"Coffee or tea?" asked Nova. "I can see if any of the pastries are ready too."

"Tea, please," Sadhbh replied. She didn't really care what kind of tea it was, as long as it was hot.

Nova began speaking to someone else who wasn't visible to Sadhbh from where she was sitting, mentioning that wherever she had been trying to go hadn't been open yet. She shrugged and—her voice directed back towards Sadhbh—commented, "Muggles."

Despite her lack of exposure to Muggles, Sadhbh could only imagine how frustrating they had to be. She nodded a bit, though. "Do you do business with Muggles often?" she wondered. There would have been no point in it for her. The Muggles didn't know what Hy-Brasil was.

nova hypatia vector

[nova hypatia vector]

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Tea was stupidly easy to prepare with magic. Nova didn’t exactly trust the machines to prepare the water correctly, usually bringing it to an unbearable temperature that really wasn’t nice to drink. Scalded tongues wasn’t what she was trying to sell. Out of the kettle always did better in her opinion. And with the previous wand waves, one was brought to a boil almost instantly. Almost automatically, a cup found its way underneath it and filled, before floating over to where Sadhbh was. Milk and sugar followed, part of the spells she had used, as she didn’t know how the druid liked her tea. ”If you need anything else, just let me know,” Nova added. A second cup poured itself for her, though it would need awhile to cool down before she drank it. She preferred it more warm than hot.

”Not outside of the ones that are family to magical folk,” Nova answered as she poked her head back into the hallway to see if her aunt was heading towards the front of the shop at all. Currently, it looked like she was in the literal middle of multiple floating loaves of bread and cookie sheets. That was how most mornings went, after all.

Pulling her head back just in time to dodge a sheet of warm pastries that was levitating towards the display case, Nova stepped all the way to the side to let everything go about its business. The worst thing she could do was get in the way of the pre-set charms. They did not like to be disturbed. ”I guess we’ll have some in a moment,”she shrugged. ”But to expand on your question, no, we don’t sell to muggles. I’ve thought about doing custom cakes or the likes by selling them online, but trying to find a pick-up spot that isn’t conspicuous is quite hard.” Plus, she was too busy in her free time making pot brownies. Those two things didn’t interact well with one another. The last thing she needed to do was accidentally give a muggle a sheet of brownies that was meant for Rue or Mina. They would not have a good time with that.

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[sadhbh wormwood]

November 28, 2028

In hardly any time at all, the tea that Sadhbh had requested from Nova was in front of her, complete with milk and sugar to add to it as she pleased. She added a bit of sugar to her tea, allowed it to dissolve in the hot beverage, and followed that with a splash of milk.

Nova answered that she didn't really do business with Muggles, other than the ones who had magical family members. That had to be an interesting experience for the Muggles, Sadhbh imagined. She couldn't imagine the reverse, going shopping in the Muggle world and trying to purchase some sort of baked good there. It was enough trouble to go to the parts of the mainland that were fully magical. She wouldn't even know how to dress in front of non-magical people.

Sadhbh was used to how magical people went about their lives, so there was nothing particularly jarring about the pastry shop or the various objects that were moving to and fro to get everything ready for the business to open for the day's operations. Nova, though, narrowly missed colliding with a baking sheet of pastries, and Sadhbh leaned back in her chair simultaneously, as though she had to dodge it from where she was seated. Seemingly taking it in her stride, she mentioned that they would be having some pastries in a moment.

Back to discussing business with Muggles as soon as she wasn't at risk of getting knocked out, Nova continued, "I've thought about doing custom cakes or the likes by selling them online, but trying to find a pick-up spot that isn't conspicuous is quite hard."

Although Sadhbh knew that she wasn't, Nova might as well have been speaking in a language that was entirely foreign to her. She understood the first half of that sentence, and then she was lost. "Sorry?" Sadhbh questioned. "Online?"

nova hypatia vector

[nova hypatia vector]

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Nova had forgotten that she was talking to a druid, and that not all of them were as integrated with muggle terms as she was. Even a few years ago there was probably a large contingency of magical folk who had never even bothered to learn what the internet was or how to use it. In a way, she was sort of jealous of Sadhbh for that fact alone. It was so easy to completely avoid going online up until a year or two ago when the magic phones started to enter circulation. If she ever wanted to text someone, she'd have to walk all the way out of Horizont and Diagon to do. Completely impractical for a witch her age. But that was the way it was then and how it had always been up until recently. Now everyone was addicted to their phones. Even some of the older witches that came in daily for the coffee and crumpets. They used to be so chatty too, almost annoyingly so. And now Nova wished they'd talk to her, or even one another, for longer than a couple of minutes without reverting back to their screens.

"Err...right. Sorry. Online means on the internet? Like the muggle invention that allows them to communicate or look up basically anything they've ever made or wanted? Most people use their phones to look at it," she pulled her own phone out of her pocket to show her guest. "And you can buy things from other people using it too, and then they mail it. Similar to owl delivery." Hopefully that worked as an explanation? Nova wasn't quite sure though since she'd never really had to go into so much detail about it before. She just took it for granted that everyone knew what the internet was. "I use it a lot to talk or write my friends, or look up new recipes."

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