InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "No. Just no."

Lily Evans (emerald_eyes) wrote in beyondthepages,
@ 2010-03-21 10:42:00

Entry tags:

!complete, 2023 08, lily evans, octavius pepper, varin dmitrov

RP: On Her Own
Characters: Lily E, Pepper, Varin
Time/Date: Afternoon, August 21, 2023
Location: Diagon Alley, various shops
Warnings/Rating: None
Summary: Lily explores this new-to-her world
Status: Complete

Things had gotten amazingly complicated the day prior. She'd had a nap, and when she'd woken up there had been more people in the house. Her son's wife, and a teenaged witch who had apparently died well over a century ago. She'd also heard word that Albus Dumbledore had returned as well.

Lily had been relieved to hear she wasn't an isolated incident because it gave her hope that James might yet return. That Remus and Sirius stood a chance of coming back as well.

Harry had decided they needed a shopping trip after their venture to the Ministry to answer a few questions and see about the reregistration process and what would need to be done. She'd assumed there'd be questions, so she'd endured what it had taken to prove she was who she said she was, and now she was looking forward to exploring the Alley.

Almost everything she'd known had changed or was gone, and she wasn't sure where to start. She needed a wand, and robes definitely. Harry said he'd take her to London later to get some other clothing, and Lily was mentally keeping a tab. She'd find a way to pay him back, and she thought she'd look for a job while she was out here.

Everything was ... expensive. She had to remind herself more than once that of course things would change in forty plus years, but it was absurd, what some things cost these days. The wands displayed in the window of the wandmaker's shop were beautiful, but ... expensive. Harry must have known, she reasoned; he'd given her plenty of money before he'd reluctantly let her go shop on her own. He'd have his hands full with his daughter and Ariana.

With a sigh, Lily pushed into the wandmaker's shop. After she got her wand, she intended to get a few sets of robes, and from there ... she'd simply wander about the Alley and see what there was to see before she met back up with Harry and the others.

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shortman
2010-03-21 11:29 pm UTC (link)

Pepper was firmly of the opinion that while the world wasn't precisely going to hell in a handbasket anymore, it was certainly a strange and interesting place. Even more strange and interesting given the news that had been buzzing around the DMLE when he'd come in this morning. Pepper didn't know what to make of stories of the dead returning to life. It sounded a lot like some of the Muggle movies he liked watching. He grinned as the stray thought regarding whether these returned dead would moan "Braaaaaiiins" crossed his mind. If the stories hadn't originated with Potter, he might not have believed them at all.

He wasn't particularly concerned about them just yet as he all but bounced his way down Diagon Alley towards the wandmaker. He'd just gotten out of St Mungos a couple of days ago and was just happy to be back at work. As comfortable as his nice personal bed at St Mungo's was, he was always glad to get out of it. All he ahd to do now was replace his back-up wand. His previous one had been cracked beyond repair when he'd been thrown against the wall. He supposed he was just lucky he hadn't been cracked beyond repair.

He pushed the door of shop open and strode in. He came to a halt when he saw the woman who was in the shop and he grinned at her. There was something about her that made him think he ought to know who she was even though he didn't actually recognise her. She was awfully pretty after all and his last relationship had ended a couple of months ago. Okay, he was eying off that bloke in the International Law office but that didn't mean he couldn't do a little flirting right now... assuming the very pretty red-head was amenable to being flirted with.

"Hello," he said with a grin. "Is the shopkeep not around?"

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emerald_eyes
2010-03-21 11:40 pm UTC (link)

A bit overwhelmed with the selection and design of the wands, she wasn't immediately aware she was being addressed. But when no one answered, she realized the voice was nearer to her and ... likely speaking to her.

"Oh," she said before she glanced around. "I don't know, honestly ... I just stepped in myself." She offered him a slight smile, curious and a touch wary at the same time.

She'd been assured repeatedly that she was safe out in the world now, but she'd been living her past three years in the shadow of a war, when the stranger you met on the corner could have it out for you. Could kill you before you could blink, honestly.

So really, who could blame her for being a bit jumpy and a little cautious when people approached her?

Still, she did have manners, and even if they were only going to be exchanging pleasantries, she extended a hand to him. "I'm Lily," she offered. Ginny had thought it best, for now, she not throw around her last name. Not until things were settled down a bit. It amused her a little, and Lily supposed that was better than having it distress her.

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shortman
2010-03-22 12:31 am UTC (link)

Pepper bounced over to the counter and peered around before bouncing around the shop. He always felt a bit hyperactive after being released from St Mungos. The thrill of being alive and all that.

"I'm sure he won't be pleased to see me," he said with a laugh. "He probably thinks I wreck wands on purpose. Don't why he gets surly though. I spend money! He should like that, eh?"

he peered at some of the wands on the shelf then turned to grin at the woman when she gave him her name. "I'm Pepper. Hitwizard, by the way. That's why I go through the wands a bit." He snickered. "Wouldn't want you to think I'm careless or anything."

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emerald_eyes
2010-03-22 12:44 am UTC (link)

Lily watched, a little bit fascinated and a little bit baffled. He reminded her of a puppy. A very hyperactive puppy. "Maybe he's ... just a surly individual," she offered, which didn't exactly do anything to settle her nerves in regard to the situation. Ollivander had been nice enough about wands, and Lily could remember the day she'd gotten hers.

She nodded to the explanation, and felt strangely compelled to offer her own. However, she wasn't sure what to say. That she'd lost her wand? That her wand was probably floating around in some lost wand collection? What did people do with wands rescued from dead people? Were they destroyed? Had it been buried with her?

"It's nice to meet you," she said instead. "I ... haven't got a wand any more. I ... Ollivander's isn't still around is it? I mean, it used to be here, but he hasn't moved or anything?"

She supposed that Ollivander, like so many others she knew, was most likely dead. Still, it would have been nice to buy from a familiar shop, even if the shopkeep was someone else entirely.

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shortman
2010-03-22 12:52 am UTC (link)

Pepper laughed and gave Lily a cheeky grin. "Or maybe I just annoy the crap out of him because I can't stand still for more then five seconds at a time. I think I favour my explanation." That didn't however stop him from bouncing around some more. "Maybe I should stop coming in right after I've gotten otu of St Mungo's. I always feel more alive then."

He actually sobered at the mention of Ollivander. "No, the old man made it out of the war but he was in pretty poor shape and died not long afterwards. Voldemort kidnapped him at one point. Never did find out why. I wasn't exactly around myself at the time. But Ollivander's health never recovered. Poor bastard."

He looked around the shop with interest, not watching Lily. "I heard Potter rescued him from Malfoy Manor along with a girl and a goblin. It's one of those weird stories that's got to be true simply because it's too weird not to be."

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emerald_eyes
2010-03-22 01:03 am UTC (link)

She did have to admit there was a certain sort of charm to his energy, and Lily smiled softly. She wondered what he'd been in the hospital for, but given that he'd said he was a hitwizard, she could guess.

She frowned lightly when she heard about Ollivander's misadventures, though she could understand that well enough.

"A goblin, really," she said softly. She hadn't heard that. She'd heard about a house-elf - Lily Luna had been eager to share all sorts of stories about Harry. "But what would life be without a bit of weird?" Lily added as she shifted to study a display of birch wands. "And in a world full of magic ... there's bound to be an abundance of weird."

She glanced around as a few other customers moved around the shop before she shifted to the next display. "I've never seen wands like this," she murmured. "Is this standard now, or ... just his ... his way of doing things?" She picked up a dark wand - mahogany, maybe - with designs carved all around the handle. "Our wands were so ... plain next to these."

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shortman
2010-03-22 01:53 am UTC (link)

Pepper laughed and wandered over to lean against the counter. "Ain't that the truth? I kind of missed the weird and wonderful of the magical world when my family was in hiding but..." He shrugged. He was fairly philosophical about it all these days though he'd been utterly furious for the better part of three months at the time. "Family's more important, you know. Especially when you've got lunatic Death Eaters coming after them."

He looked down at the wand on display under the glass of the counter and shrugged. "I think it's just his style. My main wand is an Ollivander wand and it's plain. I get most of my back up wands here though and they've pretty much always been a little fancy." He shrugged. "Doesn't make much difference to me as long as they work."

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varin_dmitrov
2010-03-22 02:01 am UTC (link)

Varin had been busy in the back, trusting his assistant to prowl the floor for any customers who needed help - but he still liked to peek out from time to time.

When he saw one of his regular customers - he never thought, as a wandmaker, that he would have regular customers - he exhaled a quiet sigh. Gathering a few wand boxes off the shelf, he carried them out toward Octavius. "And vhat fate did your vand suffer this time?" he inquired by way of greeting, brows arching.

He was never truly upset to sell someone a wand, though he had to admit he wasn't crazy about the hitwizards damaging so many of them. Hazards of the job, he knew. Dragonkeepers were also near the top of the list; theirs suffered predictably high rates of being ashed.

But business was business, and it wasn't as though they ever asked for the ones he carved. Most of them, anyway. "Unless you are here vith somevon else?" His eyes shifted to the redheaded witch; he hadn't seen her around before.

Lily shook her head slightly and waved one hand. She'd let the wandmaker tend to the bloke who clearly knew what he was after before having a go at a wand for herself.

Who knew how long that would take.

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shortman
2010-03-22 02:13 am UTC (link)

Pepper whirled around when he heard the wandmaker's voice and he grinned. "Ah, here's our illustrious wandmaker! And er, no, I was just chatting while I waited. Oh! Introductions. Lily, Varin Dmitrov, Varin, Lily." He grinned at Lily. "He makes great wands."

He smiled sheepishly as he continued. "Well, it got between me and a stone wall that I hit very, very hard. It did its best to break the impact but unfortunately it came to a brave but noble end in the course of doing so." It had also left a pretty spectacular imprint in his back but that was sort of beside the point.

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varin_dmitrov
2010-03-22 02:20 am UTC (link)

He nodded to the woman before he turned his hazel eyes back to the wizard to listen to the explanation. "Generally my vands, amazing as they are, are not meant to serve as cushions or protective devices."

Laying out the boxes on the counter, he opened up two of them. He'd had enough experience with the hits in general and this one in particular to have an idea of which sorts of wands worked for him.

Gesturing for Octavius to have a go at the wands, reasoning the man was familiar enough with procedure by now, he studied the woman. He hadn't missed the fact there'd been no last name. It was curious, but not unusual. These days, how many people introduced themselves with a full name, unless they were purebloods making sure you knew exactly who they were and who their family was. Then they drifted into hyphenated names.

"Vhat sort of vand did you have before?" he inquired as he watched her.

Lily shifted slightly, attention drawn away from the display to face the wandmaker. "It was willow with a unicorn tail hair core. Had a nice give to it," she continued. She did feel vaguely awkward, as if she were intruding on the transaction between the two wizards, but it wasn't as though she'd initiated her own interaction.

Even so, she did watch Octavius to see how things went here - if the wandmaker handed off wands, or if she was meant to pick out her own and see if it worked.

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shortman
2010-03-22 02:48 am UTC (link)

"I'm just relieved my back didn't go the same way as the wand," Pepper said ruefully. "It was unpleasant enough as it was."

He knew the drill for this so when opened the boxes, he didn't need any prompting. He'd always been glad that he wasn't one of those wizards who had a strange combination of wood and core and thus had difficulty replacing wands. He picked up the first wand, concentrating more on it than the conversation going on between Lily and Varin. He could feel the wand but when he gave it a wave, it didn't do anything. He set it aside with a shrug and picked up the second. He gave that one a wave and then crowed with delight when red and gold sparks went shooting out the end.

"Spot on, Varin!" he said with a grin. "You're getting better and better at this." His grin turned decidedly cheeky. "Though I think we'd both rather we didn't have to keep going through it."

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varin_dmitrov
2010-03-22 02:59 am UTC (link)

"Vell, you have certainly given me enough practice," the wandmaker pointed out, mentally putting another replacement wand for the hitwizard on his list of upcoming projects. He doubted it would be long at all before Pepper was back again.

They might go a whole three months this time, though he had his doubts. "I vould rather we not keep going through it as vell, though I think I vould vorry something truly devastating had happened if I did not see you at least a couple of times a year."

He boxed up the other wands, noting the price on the one that had worked for Pepper. He reasoned that he'd simply charge it to the man's account unless he heard otherwise.

Lily watched the interaction, a smile creeping over her lips. He certainly seemed nice enough. Friendly, outgoing. Perhaps a little dry with his humor, but there was nothing wrong with that.

Drifting away so they could finish up their transaction, she started to look over the wands again. She didn't go far, and she was certainly still in conversation range; she simply didn't want to interrupt.

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shortman
2010-03-22 03:49 am UTC (link)

Pepper laughed as he tucked the new wand into its holster at the small of his back. Varin had his vault details and they'd done this so many times before that he was comfortable with Varin handling the money side of it.

"You're going to go into mourning on the day I retire." He gave the man a cheeky grin. "You make that much money out of me, there'll be a nice Pepper-sized hole in your balance sheet." He patted the holster and its new wand with a satisfied smile. "Thanks, Varin."

He turned to bounce his way out of the shop and gave Lily a wave. "Good meeting you, Lily. If you're ever looking for someone to have a bit of fun with, give me a holler." He gave her such a ridiculous grin-and-leer-and-wink that it would take a particularly thin-skinned individual to take offence. "Good luck with your wand." With that, he strode bouncily out of the shop, whistlign merrily as he went.

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varin_dmitrov
2010-03-22 03:54 am UTC (link)

He chuckled softly at the man's parting remarks, but it wasn't as though it wasn't true.

He was more amused by Lily's reaction to the man's departure, the wide-eyed surprise and the pinking to her cheeks. "He's a bit of a character," he assured the young witch before he turned his attention to finding her a wand.

"I ... can see that," she agreed. She glanced to the door before shaking her head slightly and rejoining Varin to begin the process of searching out a wand before she continued her shopping and ventured into the rest of the Alley.

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