20 June 1893 — Philomena's Cottage

Phie was partially glad for the fact that the sun wasn't beating too hard down on her back. Dressed down in her gardening clothes, as light as they were, she was already starting to perspire. Threads of black hair escaped her bun as she dug the hole that Tchai had just filled in. As much as she loved the fox, he was not exactly the most conducive for being productive outside. Every hole she dug was an invitation for him to fill it back in, as if it were some sort of competition. And by the time she'd banished him indoors, the witch had at least half of the dirt she started with in front of her, and most of it had been kicked down her shirt courtesy of Tchaikovsky. But she couldn't be too angry; the fox was still paying for his mistake at the garden's swing earlier this morning. Of course, to even it out, so were Phie and Ludwig. Her wrist was still smarting, and Ludwig was destined to sport a black eye for the next few hours while he healed.

Once she packed the last of the soil over the sprig of jasmine, she gave it a nice drench in water from her wand and considered herself done for the day. Thinking she might head into the cottage to join Ludwig for a cup of tea, Philomena stood up with a groan and stretched. Satisfied with her work, she began dusting off her apron. She could only brush a small portion of it off before a jolt hit her like a branch to the abdomen and she felt herself tip backwards.

Evergardens. A shadowy figure outside. Then back up the path into her cottage. Warmth. The cloying taste of chai on her tongue. And in front of her, a man who she only vaguely recognized. “—————,” She heard herself say, feeling an overwhelming sense of sympathy wash over her. And the parcel that a woman had requested to be delivered a few weeks back as sitting in front of her.

That was all Phie could get of the vision before she was plopped back down into the present, flat on her bottom and blinking in confusion. There was no time for wondering what had just happened within her vision though. She scrambled up from the pathway, her vision still spinning as she waved her wand over her gardening supplies. They gathered themselves up and back into her gardening box as she untied her apron and headed down the pathway towards the magical gate.

Swinging it open, she headed next door into the greenhouse, hurrying down the path and to the entrance as she looked around for the parcel she'd seen in her vision. Perhaps she left it outside? The witch burst through the front doors of the magical greenhouse, and instead of finding the parcel, walked headfirst into a shadowy figure standing outside. “Oof!” She yelped, hastily retreating. “Beg pardon, sir I’m so sorry, are you alright? Only I just — oh!” She stared at him. It was as if the vision in her mind had been wiped clean of the fog; the man she'd been sitting with in her vision was the very one she’d just bumped into.

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

He had come with some trepidation and a mountain of sorrow. But he’d come. Miss Sprout’s letter hadn’t let on much more than that there was a parcel or gift or something here for him, left in her care from Irene.

Thinking about Irene right now was a little like pressing on a bruise. But he had steeled himself by pretending this was just another errand, just a chore he had to get over with, just a quick bit of business in a long day – and so he had been meandering through the Evergardens, following the instructions he’d been given.

He’d found the greenhouse, just here. Elias was just weighing up whether to step inside to find somebody, or to loiter out here, when a figure quitted the greenhouse and had, in a matter of moments, collided straight with him. “Sorry!” he exclaimed, ready to apologise for being in the way when she... got a strange look in her eye. “I’m – Elias Grimstone,” he added, uncertainly. “I was looking for a Philomena Sprout...”

---

  

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

Deposited right in front of her as if plucked from the ether was Elias Grimstone; and, oh dear, he looked like he needed a bracing cup of tea and perhaps a hug. While Philomena could not attend to the latter without arousing a great deal of suspicion (and likely bewilderedness for Mr. Grimstone’s part) she could most certainly give him the former. “Yes, I’ve been expecting you, Mr. Grimstone.” She supplied, her tone as casual as if she was reading the day’s forecast (in a way she was, wasn’t she?). Smoothing out her dress, she motioned with her bandaged arm for him to follow.

“If you could follow me just up this path sir - shoo, I don’t have time for you today, go bother Ludwig.” She added to a small group of blue butterflies that were currently hovering above her head. “Make yourself scarce before Orion finds you and has you for lunch - this way, Mr. Grimstone if you please! Don't mind the butterflies, just nudge them away.” And she led him through the gate that led to the front lawn of her cottage.

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

Her surprise had faded faster than his; perhaps she had recognised him, then? Elias didn’t think they had ever met, but who knew. Perhaps she’d seen him at the Potts’ flower show or somewhere before.

He chuckled slightly at her comments to the wildlife around them, although his laugh had been premature: perhaps it was his height, but the butterflies didn’t seem prepared to dodge him, so they were flitting about his head as he walked. But it was fine, it was a good distraction, and there was indeed plenty to look at, the way she was leading him. “It’s a lovely place you have here,” he remarked, only wishing that the cottage was lovely enough to counter the lump of dread still sitting in his stomach about what he was doing here.

---

  

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

“Oh, you’re too kind.” She beamed, glowing with pride as she swept her dark gaze over the fruits of her labor. The marigolds were like bright bursts of sunlight, standing tall and proud amongst the hibiscus bushes. The slight scent of jasmine could be detected as the wind rolled through the grass. “It’s been a long time coming as they say, but it brings me a bit closer to home.” As they walked up the pathway, Phie raised a hand in greeting to a figure in the distance; Williams paused to wave back before turning to the clove tree she had been tending to.

“My family’s from India, so I thought it would be lovely to have some reminders here.” She glanced over to the bed of cardamom stems and waved her wand. A light shower of mist started to dance over the stems; some much needed humidity, even with this summer heat. Motioning to Mr. Grimstone, she headed into the cottage and led him to the sun room. Light streamed through the open windows and a tempered breeze floated with it. Dried herbs hung and trailing plants hung from the cieling, alternating places and swaying slightly in the air.  “Please have a seat.” She gestured to the table where two high-backed wicker chairs sat before fluttering a wave to an adjoining room where her brother sat reading the Daily Prophet. “Forgive my saying so Mr. Grimstone, but you look like you could use a strong cup of tea.”

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

The more knowledge he had of plants and flowers, the more appreciation he had for them too – the labour involved in nourishing them, how hardy some plants were and how capricious and fragile others were. And the cottage, too; he looked around at it in an effort to settle his mood, and sat, gingerly, in the chair she offered. Miss Sprout seemed more than at ease with what they were doing here; Elias, on the other hand, had little idea of what to expect.

Apparently it showed on his face more than he had even meant it to – perhaps all the emotional turmoil from the past few weeks did. But he offered her a brief, grateful smile. “I won’t say no to a cup of tea,” Elias admitted. “And – thank you for your letter,” he added after a beat, more cautiously. She had something for him, but he was almost nervous to ask about it.

---

  

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

Smiling back, Philomena turned and walked to the small cupboard where she handled the sachets of tea and made up two pots. One with the tea he was likely used to drinking, and the other a frothy chai that Ludwig had just finished brewing. “I prefer a different type of tea which you’re welcome to try if you’d like.” She explained as she brought the tray over to the table along with some teacups and saucers. “It’s from India, we call it chai.” Sweet and honied, Phie tapped her wand on the teapots to pour a cup for herself. “Forgive me for not being a better hostess, I find myself a bit indisposed.” She waved her bandaged hand by way of explanation before waving her wand to summon a small package from the workbench.

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

“Oh, I’ll – try the chai,” Elias said affably, because it smelled rather good. “And that’s alright,” he began, quirking a brow as if to inquire what she had done to her hand (a gardening injury, he assumed; having done more gardening in the last year or two than previously, he knew there were scrapes one could get into).

He slid a hand around the teacup and frowned very faintly, thinking of the letter that had brought him here. “I – if I’m honest, I don’t quite know what I’m here for.” Irene had left something for him here. That was – a lot to wrap his head around already, without having even seen what it was.

---

  

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

A satisfied smile appeared on the witch’s face as she poured an extra cup of chai for Mr. Grimstone and explained rather sheepishly, “My brother er - was pushing me on the swing outside and Tchaikovsky —” As if on cue, the small fox streaked into the room with an acorn in his mouth and dove under the table. “—got in the way. Ludo tripped over Tchai, I tried to catch myself but caught him in the face with the swing and gave him a good clobber across the forehead.” He still had a small strip of bandage on his eyebrow from the fall and the maids back home were still trying to get the bloodstains out from one of his best shirts.

With the small package in front of them, she noted the expression on his face; he had an air of apprehensiveness than eager anticipation as if it were Damocles’ sword hanging over the table instead of an unassuming parcel. She began slowly, now unsure of how the package might be received. “I met Miss Crawley quite some time ago. She liked to come here to walk around and get inspired. Tchai took a liking to her after a while; she’s even painted quite a few portraits of him for me.” Phie directed a fond gaze to the table where the fox’s tail could still be seen swishing about under the cloth. Some of the portraits had been delivered to her family while others were hung in various places around the cottage; a red streak could be seen darting amongst the foliage chasing after small quails popping in and out of the frame.

“She came to me not too long ago and asked a favor that I deliver this to you. She would have done so herself, but some of the pieces weren’t ready yet.” Philomena pushed the package towards Mr. Grimstone. The pieces in question: seeds from various plants Miss Crawley had picked out amongst the rooms in the greenhouse. “I told her that some of them wouldn’t be ready and that I’d be more than happy to deliver them and explain to you what they are, but you’ll find instruction cards along with each packet.”

Miss Crawley seemed to have a keen eye for detail - and rarity. She seemed to pick out a lot of the rarest flowers that she liked and asked for seedlings to be made. Amongst them were the Kadupul flower: a rare white flower with a wonderful fragrance that only bloomed at midnight before withering away before the first crack of dawn; Jade Vine, a stunning turquoise blue bloom with petals the curled skyward like delicate claws; Rebe, a exceedingly endangered plant in the muggle world with medicinal properties to treat stomach aches and dehydration; Karvi, another medicinal plant that only bloomed once every eight years; Neelakurinji that only bloomed once every twelve years in clusters of delicate lavender bell-shaped pods; Himalayan Blue Poppy, another medicinal flower; Snow Lotus; Snow Drops; and Lily of the Valley.

“I warn you Mr. Grimstone,” Phie supplied kindly as she curled her fingers around her porcelain cup. “They aren’t easy flowers to cultivate or to find. When I showed hesitation in giving you them, Miss Crawley gave me her word that you would have someone who would be able to help you along.” As she said this, another package, this one larger and more square floated towards the table.

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

He didn’t know if it was Miss Sprout’s funny story or the fox or the cosy cottage interior or even the sweet spiced taste of the chai, but she was managing to put him at ease rather well, in spite of the as-yet-unknowns. So Elias had chuckled and relaxed a little better into his chair.

He kept that same relaxed stance when she mentioned Irene, but there was something newly alert in his gaze. He – could picture her here almost too clearly, could imagine her sitting somewhere in Evergardens, painting intently, oblivious to everything around her; her wand or a paintbrush clenched between her teeth or tucked behind an ear or sticking haphazardly out of a pocket as she worked.

But he couldn’t get lost in the illusion of it, because that was the past, Irene was gone – and who knew if she would ever set foot on British soil again? He had as good as driven her from here, spurned her in a way that still felt like a physical wound. So instead he focused on the parcel, easing it open and inspecting the various contents with slowly-lifting eyebrows.

Someone to help you along. That hit him harder than just staring at the seeds had done; he exhaled, almost in half-a-sigh. In awe, or sorrow, or the deep fondness for a friend he know longer knew what to do with. He felt at a loss for words – his mouth was dry, though he had just drunk half the cup of tea – and his gaze lingered on the collection of seeds in wonder.“She really chose all these?”

---

  

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

As she spoke, she watched Mr. Grimstone look at the parcels in front of him. Each of the seeds had been harvested by the staff and wrapped in individual paper packets with an ink illustration of the flowers. Something she’d said seemed to have greatly affected him - or perhaps it was just the gesture from Miss Crawley that seemed to do it - but she was content to sit back and sip her tea. It seemed something had transpired that was beyond her comprehension, and she averted her gaze, drumming her fingers on the porcelain cup. Only when he asked her a question did she return her gaze to him and smile. “Yes, she did.” She affirmed with a nod. “Over the course of a few visits. It took her a while to decide on which ones, but it seemed she had a reason for all of them.” What that reason was, Philomena hadn’t a clue, and didn’t want to pry too much.

“She also wanted to give this to you as well.” It was then that she reached for the larger parcel and pushed it towards him. With this larger package, she knew the contents of and gave him a knowing smile. “It’ll help with the seeds.” She said, reaching for her wand to tap the teapot to pour them both some more chai. Watching as the parcel revealed itself. “Sat for quite a while working on that, actually.” It was a medium sized box, simple in its design with one exception. The box was hand-carved, etched with borders inlaid with gold; crawling vines and small white flowers - lilies of the valley - followed the paths of the etchings. “She came away with quite a few cuts after carving that.” Philomena was saying with a grin. “Had me practicing my healing for a week or so, but she seemed happy with the final result.” The carvings were by no means perfect; clear enough that one could tell what the design was, but clearly done by an amateur.

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

It was the strange scene of a confessional: although he was sitting opposite a stranger she was witness to more emotion dredged up from him than most people – even friends, even family – in his life ever saw. She was trying to look away, to afford him a little grace, Elias could sense that, but it didn’t stop the emotion welling up.

He bit his lip before he managed to drag his eyes over to the other parcel, and with unsteady hands he traced the flowers she’d made on it, her artistry transferred to a different medium. Like the paint box he’d given her, a gift perhaps turned sour by the accompanying circumstance, his reading her letter...

Elias gave a hefty sigh, choked up and regretful and having to turn his head away from Miss Sprout and the box and the table for a minute to try and compose himself.

“Sorry. Thank you,” he managed, his stomach roiling from the mixed emotions of it. “Thank you for holding it on to it for her. Are you – still in touch with her?” Irene was gone, and he didn’t know if they would be able to write to each other after all that had happened. But maybe she would keep up some of her other connections to Britain when she left it.

---

  

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3