June 24th, 1895 — The Apothecary

Anne was on a mission on her free afternoon. Her free time was sporadic, usually occurring when the Alardice daughters were both out of the house, but recently, she found herself spending her free time worrying about Miss Beatrix.

Before she took the Floo to Hogsmeade, she took the time to speak to her mother. She made it sound like a maid in a neighbor's household was dealing with an indiscretion, and asked for mere advice for symptom remedies — mainly the nausea. So Anne made her way to Hogsmeade, and found herself in the apothecary with a short list of ingredients for an anti-nausea potion, as well as the instructions.

She was, unfortunately, not an expert potioneer, but her skills would have to do.

Fortunately, Anne knew Miss Beatrix and Mrs. Alardice had been giving out the explanation that Miss Beatrix was experiencing sporadic bouts of illness, and the ingredients for an anti-nausea potion would not seem too out of the ordinary for a housemaid to purchase, especially when one of the family she worked for was rumored to be ill.

Unfortunately, things couldn't go perfectly for Anne, and she stumbled over the stoop as she entered the apothecary, finding herself sprawled on the floor with a yelp.

  

Benedict was on the high street doing a few tasks for his father having been unneeded to staff the shop this afternoon. He casually thought it rude of him to have hired the new girl right before summer holidays, so now he was having to practically beg for little jobs for a few extra sickles to spend over the summer. Oh well.

He glanced across to the apothecary he needed to visit and spotted a young red headed woman that he did not recognise.

He was just about to do the gentlemanly double step to get the door for her when she stumbled and there was a yelp. The poor woman went down onto the step and he winced at noise she made. "Oh dear, are you OK miss?" he hurriedly asked and held out his hand, hoping to help her return to her feet.

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Anne McCandless

  

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Anne started to rise off the ground, getting her hands under her before she saw the young man's hand offered. "I'll be all right," she assured, taking his hand for leverage. "Not as if it's my first stumble."

It was arguably a curse — as tall as the young man that'd helped her, she quickly realized, once she'd gotten back to her feet — that she'd never gotten accustomed to her own height. It certainly didn't help that, as she'd grown, her employers had needed to magically lengthen her uniform, and she'd needed to learn that spell for her own clothes, once she could legally use magic.

"Thank you, sir," Anne added.

Benedict Hunter

  

Taking her hand he helped the woman to her feet, she was taller than she had looked when she was healed on the floor and letting go of her he quickly dusted himself down. "You are prone to falling, Miss? My sister says that can be a sign of ailing. You arent injured are you? I can fetch a carriage if needed." he remembered Mil's sister broke her wrist being knocked down by a emu of all things, he had his wand on him and was finally allowed to use it legally. But tempting as it might be there was still an apprehension about casting a healing spell, a level of accountability that made him nervous.

"Might I at least carry your things for a time. We are headed in the same direction?" he gestured to the still unreached door to the apothecary.

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Anne McCandless

  

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"Oh, it's nothing to do with illness and everything to do with being too tall for my own good," Anne laughed, checking herself over quickly. It wasn't just her height — that was just the excuse she gave when someone saw her fall. No, her casual shoes were definitely a size too small. Nothing hurt, physically, except her ever-aching feet, and she wasn't especially vain, so if there was a bruise somewhere on her hands or face, she wouldn't mind that.

Still, she smiled at him — he was truly being quite kind. "I think I can manage with my shopping." She only had an empty basket and the parchment Mother had given her, detailing the ingredients and instructions for the potion. Additionally, Anne hated to be a bother, but she also hated saying no entirely. "If you'd like to accompany me, though, I would never say no to company. Especially someone who might be able to catch me if I should stumble again."

She'd sort out her shoes eventually.

Benedict Hunter

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   Benedict Hunter

He nodded and opened the door for them both to enter. "Well as long as you are not unwell then we shall shop. Might I say you are a fine height for a lady." he added with a charming smile and crossed the threshold into the apothecary.

He was curious what she might be shopping for but a quick assement told him it might be frightfully rude to enquire about that avenue. But he could make small shop talk. "You have the look of a maid? Am i guessing right? Which household are you in the employ of? I'm here on behalf of Hunters Pets. We have a queen in heat and my Dad is after making a tonic to help her relax a little." he laughed, the girl was too young to breed by a few months but not too young to be wailing down the house like some banshee.

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Anne McCandless

  

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Anne did not deign to respond to his shockingly forward comment on her height; while she had no personal issue with being a woman of some stature, she certainly did not need a clearly younger man — he barely even had the look of a man to him! — commenting on it, and she was far too polite to retort thusly. Besides, he had helped her right herself, and so did not deserve to be chastised in this moment.

"The Alardice household, of London," Anne replied after a beat. Then, she abruptly realized she'd have to come up with an excuse as to why she was here. She couldn't very well say she was on an errand for the house on her personal time, even if word didn't make it back, it would look strange. Finally, she realized she actually had the perfect excuse. "My mum sent me along, though; she's got a client with a nasty bout of nausea, but she can't get away, so I offered to help." She held up the note, in her mother's handwriting. "She also thinks it would be a good idea for me to get better at my potions handiwork. It's not the most difficult to make, I don't think..."

Benedict Hunter

  

As they walked in and the air became thick with herbal scents Benedict took a long breath, every shop had a very distinct aroma, Hunter's being no exception at all. "Kind of you to help. Potions is fascinating isnt it really. My Mum and Dad teach me the basics but they wont let me mix anything for customers yet. You'd be suprised how many herbs that are safe for us cant be given to pets." it amused Ben because give a dog a disgusting bin and he would be all in, but something innocuous like onions and, well.

The shopkeeper observed them chatting and gave a polite look to disturb them when needed. Benedict looked at some of the older bottles on display, thick lead glass that had long since had its contents used. "Wow, this one is older than Professor Valenduris" he chuckled looking at the embossed date on the glass.

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Anne McCandless

  

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If Anne was entirely honest, she didn't know what half the things she was looking for looked like, or where she might find them in the apothecary. During her two years at Hogwarts, she was utterly average in Potions class, neither the best nor the worst. She had never expected to make it far as a potioneer.

Still, even as she struggled to find the items on her list, Anne found herself distracted by the younger gentleman she'd entered the shop with. Anne made her way over to see the jar on the shelf, and found herself giggling. "Are you certain?" she asked. "I don't even know how old Professor Valenduris is."

Benedict Hunter

  

"He's got to be a hundred forty if he's a day." Benedict laughed. He couldnt help but feel a sense of accomplishment as he heard the giggle come from the lady in front of him, a charming but humorous gent was the way he thought of himself and he liked the confirmation.

His own list was fairly short and he had sourced these ingredients several times for his parents so he very quickly found the items he wanted and popped them into his small basket. "If you show me your list I can lend you my eyes for looking" he said, grabbing the last of his own items. He padded his pocket out of habit just to check that his coin purse was where he left it. "I'm guessing ginger is on that list? Mum said she used to swear by it when she was sick."

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Anne McCandless

  

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"Thank you very much, Mr. — ah, I don't believe I got your name?" Anne said politely, smoothing out the parchment on which the ingredient list was written. "I'm just unsure what a few of these are, and where to find any of them. I don't frequent the apothecary as much as I ought to." She gave a sheepish smile, holding the parchment so both of them could read it.

Benedict Hunter
Note; I genuinely have no idea what would be in an anti-nausea potion but I imagine it would be pleasant-smelling?

  

"Its Hunter, Benedict. But I prefer Ben." he responded, probably telling on himself for his age with his preferred lack of adult formality. "And you, Miss....?" he enquired.

He moved a little closer to the woman and placed his finger over the ingredients to read them with her. "I'm in and out of here to be honest, I can probably help you grab a few things." the charming young man enjoyed being helpful, particularly when it came to women. He tapped on one of the ingredients. "That one you will have to ask for, he keeps it under the counter." As far as Ben was aware it was due to the chance of it being misused if openly sold but that was just his theory.

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Anne McCandless

  

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"McCandless. Anne McCandless," she replied. She'd been right; he was young. She probably shouldn't have given him her first name, but he was helping her.

Then, Anne paused for a brief moment at the mention of one of the ingredients being kept behind the counter; it meant the shopkeeper would ask questions. Who was it for? What was the purpose of it? Of course, Anne had her lie — but would it hold up?

Someone was bound to figure this out before long.

"Let's gather all the other ingredients first, before we bother the shopkeeper," Anne covered for herself.

Benedict Hunter

  

"Then its a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss McCandless" he said charmingly as they continued browsing for the items. It wouldn't take them long, the shop wasnt huge and although a lot of the ingredients looked very similar, the various green leaves and whatnots were well labelled.

"If you were in Hunter's the shop keepers would be bothering you" he laughed. It was always his Dad's policy to be very proactive with the customers in his shop, he thought it made the shop seem more welcoming, and of course increased sales. "I hear their shop boy is trouble" he gave a wink, not intending flirtatious but probably a little over familiar, another sign of his youth. Benedict placed another of the items in her basket, it looked like she was about done.

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Anne McCandless

  

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Gathering the other ingredients didn't take all that long with young Mr. Hunter's aid, unfortunately, which meant Anne didn't have much of a buffer before she needed to approach the shopkeeper. As she took the last ingredient from the shelf, as one did, she took a deep breath and smiled tightly at Mr. Hunter.

"Thank you, for your help," she said politely, before turning away and walking up to the shopkeeper.

Benedict Hunter
One more post from Ben and we wrap?

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   Benedict Hunter

Ben enjoyed the rest of their conversation and happily spent his time filling her basket, grabbing a couple of extra items for himself that he didn't even intend coming in for, blasted impulse.

The woman was nearly done beyond her last more controlled purchase from behind the counter and seemed like she might wish to make that by herself, so he would acquiesce and make his exit. "Been a pleasure, Miss. Hope you have a good day and not too much trouble with any steps on your way back." from her ingredients he had a couple of guesses what she was concocting, and at least one or two of them would be a mortal sin to even query with a stranger, particularly a woman, so he would not invade her privacy further.

He paid for his items and doffed his head to her before heading for the door. "Might see you around Hunter's if you need anything for the household pets." and off her went back into the world.

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Anne McCandless

  

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