Penelope Greengrass

@pg-pennyplease Early April

Antonin Dolohov liked to think of himself as adaptable to change. In his mind, he was often a chameleon, able to weather changing moods, changing politics, and an ever-changing pureblood society.

He was not, in fact, so amenable to change as he might think.

What Antonin liked to think and what was reality were often two different things, at least when he was thinking of himself and his own flaws.

However, his esoteric nature and high standards had meant that searching for a home in the country took much longer than he and Penelope had originally anticipated. They had only moved in a couple of weeks prior and there was still a great deal to be done, Antonin having taken a week off from work to try and make sense of their new home and the new location.

He had left Penelope in front of a book filled with fabric swatches for upholstery while he’d gone to London to pick up some of their favorite takeaway for lunch. Upon arriving back, he smiled as he walked into the sitting room to see his pregnant fiancée. “Did you decide upon anything?” he asked as he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips.

The house was sparse. Neither the flat above her shop or her old one bedroom apartment had held even a fraction of the furniture that would be needed to fill this house. Antonin had a little more, but his minimal aesthetic didn’t exactly lend itself to fitting in their little cottage, and there was no way she was going to raid the Dolohov’s attic for pieces. 

But their bathroom was finished, the walls were painted and the floors had been replaced. Next week the kitchen would be put into place - not that she cooked, but it would be nice to have the option. 

She hadn’t felt well that morning and trying to make decisions wasn’t helping. It wasn’t that she didn’t like decorating. She just didn’t like having to make decisions. She managed to narrow the selection down to eight and then she had made a bow tie for Stella out of a ninth while she waited for Antonin to return with their food. 

Location: Horizont Alley Date: March 24th Time: 4pm With: Open Starter

Augustus looked down at the list in his hand with a look of pure befuddlement on his perfect, pale face. His brows furrowed as he eyes squinted to decipher his mother’s handwriting and as he became more and more alarmed by what he was sure he must be reading incorrectly, he thought to himself about how he had ended up in the store in the first place. 

Twenty-nine years of age and still collecting groceries for his mother. He loved his mother of course and any good son would willingly run errands for their mother out of pure love, but Augustus had a different motive. His mother had a tendency to cry hysterically down the phone at him whenever he did not come to visit her as often as she liked, and he offered to do things for her as a way of letting her know that yes, he still cared, even if he had a life of his won and couldn’t visit her every single damn day of the week. 

Even in his mind he was becoming riled.

It wasn’t that he abhorred his mother’s company, but the last time he had visited her she had spend a good deal of the evening speaking loudly about the woes of having a career minded son, and having no daughter-in-law or grandchildren to care for. She had dropped several hints about how beautiful Alecto Carrow was until finally Augustus had turned around and suggested that she marry her then, if she thought so highly of her. His father had snorted into his soup and his mother had locked herself away for an hour, refusing to speak to him until he apologised.

Sighing, he shook the memory out of his head and focused on the task at hand. Once it was over, he could drop off the shopping and would be safe for another week. After another moment of squinting, he resigned himself to taking several steps forward and tapping the nearest person on the shoulder. “I aploogise for disturbing you, but you wouldn’t be able to decipher this seemingly coded shopping list, would you?

Penelope was not a good cook. The last time she had tried to bake something she had nearly set her apartment on fire, though that had a lot more to do with the fact that she had forgotten to remove the sweaters stored in her oven before she preheated it than anything else. But even aside from that, there had been many more disasters than there had been triumphs. 

But with a baby on the way and the fact that she was about to be married (whenever it was they got around to setting a date) she had decided that it was time to try again. And she thought it might be a nice surprise for Antonin to come home to a homecooked meal for once and not one that he’d had to whip up himself. 

She turned at the tap on her shoulder and smiled when she recognised Augustus. “Of course. I’m a pro at terrible handwriting. You should have seen the memos my boss used to try and leave for me. There was a reason I tried to convince him to learn how to type,” she said and peered at the list. She peered at the list and realised Augustus hadn’t been joking about it being coded. “Aniseed? Though it could be Absynthe. Who are you shopping for?”

Egg Hunt - Diagon Alley 3.24.18 Open Starter

Vincent didn’t do holidays. He didn’t do early mornings. He didn’t make public appearances before the afternoon. And he most certainly did not do anything that involved large groups of children. All that mentioned and he still found himself located on the cobblestone path of Diagon Alley with an Easter basket in his arm. His thoughts swirled around strangling the Bones girl that had the nerve to mention the bloody hunt in front of his — he still wasn’t quite used to the term — son.

Barely a week into having taken the boy in brought Vincent and Sawyer to a routine of sorts. He was willing to put in the effort of trying the whole parenting thing as long as the House Elf was the one to handle getting the boy ready in the morning and entertained him until Vincent no longer felt as though he was going to punch a hole in the wall. The mornings after his night shift were hell at first, with Vincent battling a migraine each time lunch rolled around.

He bit back a chuckle when the overly excited seven year old came back with several eggs in his hands, promptly dropping them in the basket before running off to find more.

“Is it cheating if I grab a few for him?” Vincent asked with a chuckle and turned toward the adult closest to him. “It feels far too early but I suppose I can deal with that if he’s that excited.”

Penelope’s sister had decided to visit from Monaco and had brought her three children with her. Penelope had thought it might be nice to allow her sister the chance for a sleep in and so had volunteered to take the children to the local Easter egg hunt. 

“Well, I believe they’re supposed to hand them all in so they can be divided up equally at the end. Or to take their loot to the counter so they can be made up to an appropriate number. I’m not sure how they’re doing it this year. But the point is, it won’t matter to the number he receives in the end, you will just be spoiling someone’s fun at finding an egg for themselves,” she said. 

She hadn’t seen Vincent since he had helped her to escape from the madness at the Ministry auction. “I didn’t know you had a child.” 

Nora leaned against the counter as she took the young woman in front of her in. The moment her eye caught the French Bulldog in the arms of the woman her facial expression softened a little. If there were ways to get her to open up a little, dogs were definitely up there. She tried to keep a straight face but a smile broke through on her face quite quickly.

The other woman at least showed that she understood that it was annoying that people would walk in the last minute. Nora shrugged shortly and shook her head right after. “It’s okay. We can’t let the little one be hungry because of this, right?” She looked at the small dog for a moment again and then looked back up at Penelope. “I guess I can do one last quick help. What kind of food does Stella usually have?”

“Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate it,” she said with a smile. She placed Stella on the ground and the pup sat beside her, though the intensity she watched Nora with, and her little wagging tail, indicated that she wanted nothing more than to rush up to the shop assistant. No matter how many toys she was presented with, Stella always preferred to play with people.

“She has the grain free, fish based one usually,” she said. “Wheat makes her itchy and she doesn’t seem to like beef or lamb, unless it’s au natural. She’s a fussy eater unless it’s a treat from our plates. Though once she managed to get the roast off the bench and I still do not know how she did it,” she finished with a slight sigh.  

“You can have Hippo’s if you want? I don’t think it fits her anymore. She must have decided she’s as unfit as I am when it comes to owning a crown.” Evie grinned. “Puddles are the best part. You should have heard my mother back when I used to deliberately make my clothes unrecognizable. And simple, make the baths awful. It worked on Hippolyta until the day I accidentally ran us both through the mud.”

“I just like reading,” She shrugged and bit back a grin. “I wanted more muggle literature than Hogwarts provided and my parents somehow managed to agree.”

“I’m sorry, Penny,” The words came out in a soft laugh. “It would but I’ve got an American herbologist instead of some muggleborn. I don’t think I’ll be having kids anytime soon either so, unfortunately, having the heir falls on you and Ant.”

“Really? That would be lovely. It would be a shame for it to go to waste. But I do think you are underestimating yourself. Perhaps you haven’t found the right outfit to wear one with?” she said with a smile. “Your poor mother. But I do not think I could do that to Stella. She likes the water too much and I so hate fighting with her. And I do not think Antonin will ever make her do something she does not want to do.”

“Well can’t you read without having to write about it?” she asked. “That’s the bit I dislike.” 

Listening to Penny’s explanation, Alina sighed softly and nodded. Truthfully she would have done the same thing if she thought she only had a quick errand to run. “That makes sense. But maybe we should send someone to get your coat for the walk back?”

They both seemed to be busier than usual lately, what with Penny owning her own flower shop and Alina helping with the magazine now. But she smiled in relief when her friend seemed to be okay with taking a break for awhile to get something to drink. “Hot chocolate it is then. I’m sure it’ll warm you up just as much as a tea would.” She smiled and looked around for an empty table before gesturing to one of the booths. “Does over there work for you?” 

“No it’s - honestly it’s fine.It isn’t very far away and it is warm in my shop. And all of my clothes are right upstairs if I get completely drenched. It’s fine,” she smiled and waved away Alina’s suggestion. She wasn’t about to have Alina run out in the rain, and everyone else was too busy to be bothered. It was only a coat. 

“Yes, it’s perfect. And it shouldn’t even get a draft.” She made her way to the table, weaving around the other patrons. “So what’s been keeping you so busy? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. It’s hard when Sundays are so... disorganized at the moment.” It felt insensitive to say, but she hadn’t realised how much she relied on those Sunday brunches to keep in the know of what her friends were up to.

Date: March 4th Location: Magical Menagerie

The day was coming to an end and it was still strange for Nora to have the same thing each day, over and over. Going to work each day, making the same hours every day. She simply couldn’t get used to it.

It was busier than usual in the shop as the Atrium had opened only the day before and many people were curious. A quick trip to the Diagon Alley was easily made after a visit to the Ministry. The store had been filled with people and together with the many sounds the many animals made in the shop… It had been crazy. But it was time to gather her stuff right now and close the store for the day. The ending of another day that had been the same as others.

Nora was standing in the back of the shop so she was able to put the money in the safe and then get out. She had forgotten to lock the front door already as the ring of the bell near the front door sounded. Seriously… There was a note that said ‘closed’. Despite the thought, the woman moved to the front of the store to face the person who had just come in. “We are actually already closed. How may I help you?”

“Hi,” Penny said, a little out of breath. She had tried to make it to the storee just before closing time, but had apparently misjudged it. Her bundle of joy, Stella the French Bulldog puppy, was clutched in her arms because she had thought it would be quicker to carry the dog instead of allowing her to work herself. That and she just did not have time to allow Stella to jump in all of the puddles on the way. “I know, I know. I am so sorry. I hate when people do this.” 

She had her own flower shop in Horizont Alley and knew exactly how frustrating it was when someone came in right at the last moment, or after close. “It’s only we ran out of food for Stella this morning and I meant to come during my lunch break but then I couldn’t get away and... I am so sorry. I promise I will just get the food and go. I don’t want to keep you.”

“It isn’t a big deal?” Evan asked, shaking his head. “Getting married is a huge deal” he told her, “Don’t minimize something like this”. Maybe Evan was feeling sentimental or because of the own excitement in his life he couldn’t help but feel like this was a big deal. “If it wasn’t a big deal you would have married me ages ago. But look where we are now”

She was going to marry his best friend. That’s where they were now. It was a stark contrast from their relationship years ago but this was a much happier arrangement. Antonin was the best man Evan knew, and the only one he could think of that would be almost worthy of Penny. Then again Penny was the only girl he thought was almost worthy of Antonin so it was a double sided coin with his thoughts. They were happy, clearly, or at least that’s how Antonin made it seem, and that was all Evan Rosier could ever wish for.

As he poured the glasses and made a toast Evan didn’t think twice about it until halfway through his celebratory drink when Penny wasn’t drinking. “Why can’t you drink?” he asked perplexed, “This is your bottle so I know it’s what you normally drink” he told her lifting up the bottle to check the label and make sure he had grabbed the right stuff.

“I didn’t mean that, I only meant... I don’t want a big deal to be made about it all,” she knew that it was going to be something of a talking point, especially amongst those who knew that she had broken things off with Antonin. She also knew that many people would think she was crazy for taking him back, or that she had some sort of ulterior motive. She just wanted everything to go back to how it had been as quickly as possible. 

The rain poured, though Mary was glad for the downpour. Her father used to say that the rain washed away all manner of sins and then he would laugh like it was a big joke. Smiling as she stepped out into it, she took her time weaving through people, rolling her eyes at the way people scurried and rushed about, as though rain water was acid and would hurt them. She found it amusing sometimes, how something so seemingly harmless could make humans at irrationally.

Stepping up the pavement and entering a cafe, lost in her own thoughts, the door had already swung closed behind her when she heard a woman call out. She stopped dead still inside, before turning on the spot, her heels rising and falling slightly as she did. her hand reached out and she pushed the closed door open again to reveal a woman carrying flowers and looking as though she had swum to the cafe, rather than walked. If she had walked.

“Sorry about that” she murmured, stepping back to the side but holding the door open at the same time. 

Penelope was relieved more than anything when the door opened and she could step into the cafe. She felt a little bad for dragging so much water in with her, but there wasn’t much of an option, and at least everyone else was doing the same thing. If she remembered, she could slick it outside with her wand on the way out. 

She glanced at the person who had let her in, and beamed her thanks. 

“Oh, no. It’s alright.” She recognised Mary from her time at the Ministry. She had made a point of getting to know as many of the Ministry employee’s faces as possible, but she’d always enjoyed her encounters with Mary. She didn’t know how much Mary knew about why she’d left the Ministry, but she wasn’t about to bring it up. “If I’d been thinking I would have waited until it stopped raining, or at least worn a coat. But at least I have an excuse to sit with a hot drink until I warm up now.” 

“I am glad to help, Penelope,” he responded with a shrug. He didn’t know her exceptionally well but she was clearly intelligent and he had enjoyed helping her with her endeavor. He’d stopped by a few weeks ago already and had been quite impressed. “You’ve got some gorgeous flowers there. I like the different varietals.”

Crispin held the door open for her, listening to her words as they finally moved in out of the rain. He was certainly in no hurry to get back to the apothecary with the rain like this. “Coffee or tea, I hadn’t yet decided. And a chat sounds nice,” he said with a smile on his face. “I assume you’re delivering, so I’ll get you something in the meantime.”

After getting their drinks - in ceramic mugs, not paper cups - Crispin chose a table by the window and sat. 

“Oh, thank you. Unfortunately they are from Spain. There isn’t much growing here yet because it’s been so cold.” 

She nodded at him, then took the flowers out the back where they usually went. By the rime she returned, Crispin had taken a seat and she joined him. 

Crispin had been out at the apothecaries, going over the inventory of what he’d delivered previously in the week. He’d need to go home and cut a few things to bring to Slug & Jiggers but it was a little cold this morning, with the rain that London was famous for. Sighing, he’d decided to head over to get coffee - or tea, he supposed.

He was surprised when he saw the woman in front of the cafe holding flowers, but even more surprised when no one held the door open. Some Londoners were quite rude, he thought to himself as he moved to hold it for her. As he looked down, he recognized her and smiled. 

“Well, hello again. Need some help?”

She was mentally trying to figure out if there was a possible way to prop the flowers on her hip and hold it with one hand while she reached for the door when a familiar voice greeted her. 

“Crispin! Hello,” she smiled at him, apparently not too bothered being in the rain with a door closed in her face, “some help would be wonderful. Thank you.”

“Are you getting a coffee? Do you have time for a chat? I have something to show you.”

Evan rolled his eyes at Penny’s quickness to answer. “That’s not the point. You’re lucky it was me, especially with everything happening these days. You don’t need to worry all of us” he answered before hopping off the counter and walking over to her and the arrangement she was working on.

“You’re getting married, Penny, don’t shrug at me” Evan could feel his heart swelling as he walked over to her and placed his hands on her cheeks, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You’re getting married” he repeated, “Married to Antonin. Antonin Dolohov. My two favorite people are getting married and that is no reason to shrug”.

Dropping his hands Evan stepped away from Penny, “We need to celebrate. I know you have a bottle hidden around here” Evan told her stepping behind the counter and rummaging through the cabinets till he found what he wanted. 

Pouring two glasses Evan brought them back to Penny, handing one over. “To my favorite people. To new life. To second chances. To happiness. To the best year yet.”

“I had not  realised anyone was worried,” she said, rolling her eyes a little. She knew things weren’t great, what had happened at the Ministry was proof enough. But it was easier not to think about it, and so she didn’t. 

“Oh stop it,” she said. She was more relieved than she could say that Evan was happy for her. Alessandra hadn’t exactly been enthusiastic, and while Penelope knew her friend had her best interests at heart, it made her worry about what everyone else would think and say. Being broken up to married and expecting a child was not something that happened every day. “it isn’t a big deal.” 

If Alina read one more email from some lousy nobody trying to force their way into the fashion industry via her family’s magazine she was going to scream. She needed a latte break, and she needed it now. But once she was outside she realized she should have made someone in the office go out to get it for her. The threat of the rain damaging her hair made her pace brisk, and she kept the umbrella in her hands held closely over her head. 

Nearing the shop she heard a familiar voice and she looked up from under the rim of the umbrella, her brows furrowing in a mixture of confusion and concern. “Penny? What are you doing out in the rain without a jacket? You’re going to catch a cold!” Pulling the door open she hurried the other woman into the cafe, quickly closing her umbrella and shaking it out before joining her inside. “Can I get you a tea or something to warm up?”   

“I know!,” she said, feeling foolish for having not put on a coat, “but it was only a few doors down and I didn’t expect to be locked out.” 

Once they were inside, one of the cafe workers hurried over to take the flowers from her, her ring catching in the light. She shook some of the droplets off her hair before she looked down at her watch when Alina asked about tea. She could make time for her friend. “Tea would be lovely. But a hot chocolate would be even better. I might even have marshmallows. Should we get a table?”