Mentioning @Sarah Lightwood
Date: Saturday, August 22, 2020 1:15pm
Pt. 1 Apothecary

The day was already quite tiresome according to Cade Darkbound. Sure he was excited and thrilled to get his Hogwarts things, but he had no idea that it would take so long. That morning around 9 his mother Peggy roused both he and his little sister, Astrid. They wanted to get an early start to beat the inevitable crowd. It was so close to the start of school there was bound to be a lot of students milling about getting their school supplies. So they all crowded into the fireplace and took the floo network to the Leaky Cauldron.

Cade had been to Diagon Alley only once before accompanying his father to Gringotts Bank. But today was Astrid's first time which meant that they went slower so she could window shop. Eventually, Cade being so fed up with waiting after his sister decided to split up from them and meet them later.

With that, he found himself in the apothecary shop. The smell was outstanding, Cade didn't know whether it was a good smell or a bad one. There was a mix of the outdoors and a stuffy old closet, and an underlying smell of rot. Venturing further inside he spotted a counter directly to the left. There was a small queue of families waiting to pay for their items. Cade walked slowly past the various bizarre potion ingredients. He couldn't say he'd been looking forward to this particular course. Some of these items didn't seem exactly appetizing. He wouldn't want to try a potion with murtlap tentacles or porcupine quills. Eying his list carefully he gathered the materials he needed and stepped in line.

After a long period of time slugging his way to the front of the line, he purchased the items and watched as the owner neatly packed the items in parcels. He wondered what was taking Peggy and Astrid so long. After all, he told them what he was doing. Surely they would come to find him by now? Cade wasn't one to worry too much. He knew they were somewhere in Diagon Alley, and the road wasn't yet crowded with people.

Gathering the small bag of parcels he went out to the storefront and waited. And waited. And yet again waited. Perhaps he wasn't paying attention and they were already inside? No, they would have sought him out. Cade frowned, this was out of character for Peggy. She usually knew where her son was at all times. She was always on top of things. Cade thought for a moment a little puzzled. He noticed a green-haired girl coming out of the Apothecary. Perhaps she saw them somewhere.

"Excuse me. Have you seen a dark-haired witch and her daughter? They look just like me." Cade knew it was a poor description as soon as the words left his mouth. But it was the only one he had. He never thought to memorize what robes they were wearing. Cade felt a little abashed now that he had the girl's attention. He hated looking ignorant.

For the second year in a row, Sarah found herself wandering around Diagon Alley alone. This year’s hastily offered excuse included an ‘important business opportunity’ which had come up last minute and apparently just couldn’t wait. The young Slytherin wasn’t naive enough to actually believe that her father had had any intention of accompanying her to the alley - important business opportunities be damned - but it didn’t make her any less bitter about it.

She let her mind drift to the first time she’d visited Diagon Alley, her mother’s hand tightly grasping her own as she’d tried to run towards the ice cream parlour or look through the windows of the pet store. Her brother’s first year at Hogwarts had been something they’d all been excited about, the four of them making an entire day out of it as they’d collected his supplies and enjoyed being together. Things were different now, of course they were, and Sarah knew that had her father come with her it wouldn’t be the same anyway. That was the thought she clung to as she found herself glancing through shop windows - the image of their happy family and her desire to not ruin memory with souring thoughts of her father. Last year had been more difficult, being new and wide-eyed as she was, but she knew the street now and found comfort in her own company instead.

This was the second time Sarah had found herself in Diagon Alley this summer, the first having resulted in her meeting her cat Nova. She smiled ta the thought, overjoyed that her feline friend had come into her life when she had. The summer would no doubt have been excruciating without her. She’d found it difficult enough not being allowed to practise her spellwork as it was, and without the distraction Nova had given her, she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to avoid using her wand and getting into more trouble than even she usually did. “I’ll come with you Miss Lightwood, to stop any trouble,” The voice of one of the youngest house elves, George, echoed through her mind as she considered the trouble she could be getting into. She’d smiled and shaken her head, offering George a jam tart to distract him as she’d sneaked out. She was a Slytherin after all.

After a half hour of wandering past storefronts and putting off doing her shopping and inevitable return to the manor for as long as she could, she came to a stop outside the apothecary shop. She took a second to prepare for the myriad of scents she knew was about to attack her senses, before walking inside. She browsed the potion ingredients with excited curiosity, priding herself when her brain supplied information about which ingredients went into which potion. At least I know I learnt something last year, she mused, picking up a few things she knew she needed.

Slipping all of her newly purchased goods into her bag, a bubble of excitement for the coming year in which she knew she’d get to use them. She started on her way out of the shop. Pulling a piece of parchment from her pocket which held a list of things she needed to purchase, she tried to decide where to go next. She certainly didn’t want to be purchasing her books until the end - they were heavy, and although her bag was spelled to lighten the load, it still pulled on her shoulders when she pushed its limits. Her next thought was Madam Malkin’s, knowing she needed a new robe for the school year and that it may need to be fitted and altered, something which might take a while. She shook her head as the small bell which sat atop the door chimed when she left.

Glancing upwards, her attention was caught by a small blonde girl pulling at her father’s hand, both grinning wildly. She felt a twinge of jealousy, pain at the loss of how she and her father once were. Though she tried to deny it to everyone else, she couldn’t deny it to herself that she missed it. Before she sunk too deep into her stupor, she caught sight of a boy with inky black hair and wide, searching eyes. He seemed to notice her at the same time she did and Sarah allowed herself all of two seconds to consider turning away before the boy had the opportunity to speak, before deciding against it. Perhaps whatever he had to say would distract her from her irritating thoughts.

“I dare say I’ve seen lots of dark-haired witches today,” Sarah said, with a small frown. She might have made a sarcastic quip had she not seen the poorly hidden worry in his eyes. The boy was slightly taller than her though instinct told her he was the school year below, likely starting Hogwarts next month. She offered him a smile, one which she hoped looked somewhat reassuring despite her sharp features which sometimes unintentionally intimidated people. “Where did you last see them? Perhaps try searching there?” She offered, about to wish him luck and be on her way when a thought occurred and she with a small shrug added, “I could help you look for them if you’d like?”