sunflower

“I don’t know any unless they’re close to English or French but it’s fun anyway because we can just make the story up,” Octavia replied. When she asked if she had a moment to talk, she lifted the remote to pause the TV, “We can talk now. It’s a rerun anyway. What’s up?”

Poppy hadn’t really had a chance to learn any foreign language, but she was eager to change that. Once she had some savings, she could sign up for a course and then maybe even visit the place. When Octavia suggested they speak now, the blonde hesitated for a brief moment. She then took a deep breath and smiled awkwardly. “I was... I was thinking about moving in with Lysander. We’ve been discussing it for some time now and we think we’re ready for the next step. So... So I would be moving out,” Poppy said quietly. She did think it was a good idea and with Lysander starting his training, they could now spend even more time together. However, she did feel bad about leaving Octavia and she did hope the other would find another flatmate soon.

A gentle smile appeared on his lips, like always when Poppy was next to him. He moved his hand slightly so that his thumb could easily caress her palm. “I hope they’re going to back off. I don’t want anyone to make it more difficult than it has to be,” he said quietly.

Poppy stiffened when Lysander touched her, but after a few seconds her body relaxed. She was still getting used to all those little touches that felt normal to other people. She was much, much better at controlling herself now and she was proud of how far she had come. “You could always ask your supervisor to intervene if people don’t stop bothering you. You don’t want them to distract you and I doubt your boss would be happy if you spent all your time telling them to go away,” she observed.

“Oh I’m so glad to hear things have been looking up for you lately,” she smiled warmly. Piper never wished anyone ill in general but she was genuinely happy to hear that from the blonde. “Aw thanks. I’ve been giving my best friend pep talks since the beginning of time, so I’ve had some practice,” Piper added with a bright laugh.

She nodded her head in thanks. Of course she was not going to go into details but her life had definitely improved in recent years. “Well, if you ever end up reconsidering your choice of career, you could always think about becoming a professional pep talker,” sh said with a little smile.

“Can no one keep things quiet? I would’ve thought there are much more interesting topics to gossip about than me starting my training,” Lysander huffed. He was in a good mood so his voice and expression were not as displeased as they usually were.

"Maybe people just want to congratulate you,” she said softly, placing her hand on the top of Lysander’s to calm him down a little bit. “They’re going to focus on something else in a few days and will leave you alone, I’m sure of it.”

“Hey Pop!” Tav said when she spotted her flatmate, “Do you wanna watch this show with me? I think it’s in Italian but it’s like a soap opera so it’s pretty amusing to watch even if I don’t understand,” She explained, laughing a little.

“Sure. The only word I know in Italian is pizza, so this is going to be interesting,” she chuckled and took a seat next to Octavia. “Do you... Do you have a moment to talk afterwards? There’s something I wanted to tell you, but there’s no rush,” she said quickly.

“So you are refusing to allow me to spoil you? You really are a strange creature where our family is concerned aren’t you?” Though the words were spoken with a familiar type of fondness as he smiled at the girl, considering the situation for a moment. “You really ought to let me have my way once in a while. I like to be able to spend money on you and not because you need it. You do know you’re allowed to have luxuries and things you don’t need. You’re allowed to want things, Poppy.”

Poppy gave him a little smile, unsure how to react to his words. Their family preferred to pretend like she didn’t exist and she didn’t have anything against that. Most of the time she wished she was born to another family too. “I may not have much, but I am content with what I have. I have a roof over my head, my friends, you… What more could I ever want?”

“Chocoballs are amazing, definitely in my top ten,” Lucinda agreed, she was absolutely the type of person to have a list of all her favourite things and it was one that was constantly getting updated. “Oh, mice pops. I haven’t had those in ages, have you tried the new flavours?” 

“I always struggle to pick my favourites. It feels like every other week my choices change,” she chuckled awkwardly. “No, not yet. Ettie sounded really proud of them though, so I have every faith in her opinion.”

Silas couldn’t help himself, maybe he was a little conceited at times but he didn’t see why she would wear other peoples clothes when they had the funds to be able to buy their own. “Fashionable or not, I insist you let me take you out shopping. You can even bring your friend along if you think so highly of her fashion choice though I don’t think i’m all that terrible at it myself.” But he wasn’t a woman so he could only venture for seeing what they wore these days or things he liked himself on women to help him choose. 

“I’m doing fine, cousin, I promise.” She had enough work clothes and things she could wear out and about. She didn’t need anything fancy. “I appreciate that you want to help though. If I’m ever in need of anything, you will be the first to know,” she assured him.

“Bad luck?” Piper picked up, frowning lightly at the fact. “I’m so sorry to hear that.” She shifted the mountain of clothing in her arms once more. “Look I know people have probably said something along these lines to you before, but sometimes we need to make our own luck. It’s not easy and it’s a whole lot of trial and error, but if you believe and stick with it you can get somewhere. It’s very cheesy but basically– don’t give up hope. And don’t settle for the bare minimum either. You deserve more than that, okay?”

“I’ve already gotten used to this so there’s not a lot that can surprise me at this point. But it’s not as bad as it sounds, in recent years things have really been looking up,” Poppy admitted. Everything that had happened to her after she left home was an improvement. “You’re really good at the whole pep talk though,” she pointed out.

“I guess not! That’d be pretty unpleasant, wouldn’t it?” she couldn’t help but laugh at the imagery she’d put in her own head after that. “Oh gosh, you’re really great at coming up with the worst case scenarios on the spot, aren’t you?” Piper observed as the blouse returned to the pile in her arms, “But yes, I’m grateful that there was no poo in sight on this sidewalk. I’d probably have to burn this blouse instead of attempt to salvage it.”

“It definitely wouldn’t be the highlight of your day,” she smiled at the other. At least she didn’t make a big mess back when it happened to her, but since then she was always double-checking where she was going. “Well, I do have bad luck so I often end up thinking about endless things that could go wrong. And when they don’t, then at least I can say I’m having a good day,” Poppy explained. She wasn’t a pessimist, but she knew that anything could happen at any time and it was best to be prepared for the worst.

“You know, you have a point. I’ve had that kind of a week that the exact same would probably happen to me,” She replied, placing the Bertie Botts back on the shelf. “What kind of sweets do you like? I just want to try something new. “

“I usually just go for sugar quills, but sometimes I treat myself to a chocoball,” Poppy said after a moment of thinking. “Some time ago Ettie mentioned they created new flavours of mice pops so maybe you could try those if you haven’t already?” She suggested, looking around the store in case her friend was somewhere around.

“Quaking in their boots is the term I believe.” Came the playful addition, a small smile drawing across his face at the simple touch. Silas could still recall the time that even that action had not come easily to Poppy and so it always made warmth bloom in his chest at any such form of contact from the blonde. “You are borrowing clothes?” That made an eyebrow arch right up into his hairline and his spoon stall in its activities. “You do realise that you have no need to borrow clothes from other people. If I’d have known you required new attire we could have arranged an outing or I could have given you some money to go with your friends.”

She couldn’t help but grin at him. Somehow Silas always managed to make her smile no matter what they were talking about. Poppy blushed when her cousin asked her about clothes. She was managing, she didn’t starve or anything of sorts, but she didn’t have the money to spend on anything she liked. However, the very thought of taking money from someone, even Silas, made her uncomfortable. “She is very fashionable and has a lot of expensive clothes. They are very nice to look at, but I don’t think I could wear them everywhere so... I just borrowed a few things when I was going out with her or Lysander,” she explained, trying not to look too awkward.

“Oh Godric– thank you!” Piper exclaimed as the woman returned one of the dropped items. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she added, trying to peer at her past all the clothing. “As for the blouse… if I get there early like I plan to I should have time to assure it’s clean before the fitting. Sorry, I don’t know why I told you that, you probably couldn’t care less.”

"I’m fine, honestly. It’s not like I collided with a wall made of books,” she chuckled. That actually happened to her during the first month of working at Flourish & Blotts and she didn’t want to repeat that. “Oh that’s a good idea. Thank Merlin there was no poo on the ground or that would’ve been a much more difficult task,” she added awkwardly.

“I only frighten those who deserve to feel fear and I believe you know that all too well.” Because Silas was aware he could be an intimidating figure when he so chose but the man also knew when to project that stature. Working in foreign affairs required the ability to read situations and adjust accordingly and he had a particular talent for that. Unlike his father, Silas could charm even those he disliked if the situation required it. He was more than willing to do what was necessary to achieve his goals. Scooping up another spoonful of the ice-cream, he popped it into his mouth, cleaning off the spoon before continuing. “No, truly little cousin. You look like life has been treating you well. What have you been up to in my absence?” It felt like he’d not seen her in quite a while but then he’d been busy caught up in his work as of late.

"Yes, yes, I am sure they are all shaking at the very thought of bumping into you,” she patted him on the arm. As she didn’t feel comfortable when situations got unpleasant, she mostly just looked away and tried to focus on something else, so she couldn’t say she was paying any attention to what Silas did or didn’t do. “Oh you know, work is going well, so that’s good. And Octavia let me borrow her clothes a few times, which was nice. What else, what else..,” she wondered out loud.

“Ah, that’s apart of the surprise isn’t it?” She spoke, picking the packet up to look at the possible flavours on the back. “Gross; it has a grass flavour, but oh, it even has a watermelon ice cream one. Do you want to try? Maybe you’d get the good flavours.” Lucinda suggested, although she wouldn’t admit it to the other but Lucinda was absolutely horrible at guessing between the good and bad flavours of Bertie Bots. 

“On one hand yes, but there are so many flavours I have avoided that it wouldn’t really make much difference,” Poppy explained. She didn’t have a sweet tooth and in general she preferred knowing what she was eating so that she wouldn’t spend her money on something she was not going to enjoy. “Knowing me, I would pick the worst one so I’m not sure I want to risk it.”