RP: Maybe next week will be better
Who: Luna Lovegood, open When: Evening, 21 January 2000 Where: Her flat, and then the Battered Page, Diagon Summary: Luna at work, and then at play, but really, they're hard to differentiate for her Rating: G Status: In progress
So far, Luna's only business was one of the young men that lived down on Knockturn, and he had only been interested in a few of her herbs. At least he was friendly, and he bought a lot. Luna had to wonder if he was reselling.
"Have you ever tried that in your tea? It's quite lovely. Creates a floaty feeling in the drinker, not as potent as if you smoke it," she said as she walked Mark back out the door. He'd hung out for a while, poking in her bottles and generally being interested in her work. It was like having a very curious friend.
"That's an idea," he said, nodding.
"Do let me know how it goes." She was feeling a little heavy, so her usual smiles weren't coming as easily. She hadn't talked to Daddy in over a week because she knew she'd have to tell him that she wasn't doing very well, and she wanted to succeed on her own. All of the potions she had been working so hard on would go to waste soon. Maybe she could try to sell them to the apothecary, or ... she realized she'd forgotten Mark was still there.
"You know, you should come down to the Battered Page and leave a flier or something," Mark said, following her gaze roughly into outer space. At her blank look, he grinned. "You'll like it there, and they'll like you. It's a little ... publishing house, with used books and tea and stuff."
Luna smiled, finally refocusing on Mark's face. "Perhaps I will, if only for some tea," she decided aloud, as he turned and headed down the stairs. Luna poked her head out to see if Hermione was about, but figured she was probably off with friends.
Thinking more about the concept of success and how arbitrary it was, she turned to her pewter cauldron and grinned down at the contents - her most recent potion. They were glowing a light purple, which was promising.
It was inspired by her own lucid dreaming and Hermione's odd sleeping habits- a pleasant dreams potion which allowed the dreamer to pick what they'd dream about, and ensure that they had a restful sleep for precisely eight hours. It was a strenuous potion to test- she'd dreamt about being a lion for fourteen hours the other night. The timing was a little off yet.
A single rosemary bud fell from her hair and into the potion. Luna gasped- she thought she had gotten them all out from her expedition to gather ingredients. The potion bubbled and the rosemary bud melted, turning the purple into a bit of a magenta. Iggy, ever the watch parrot, flapped his wings and flew to the edge of the cauldron. "Should be interesting," she said to him, and then gave it a few stirs. "Maybe it will help the dreamer remember their adventures." She grabbed the jar of rosemary and sprinkled a handful in. The magenta grew in vibrancy. Iggy bobbed his head in approval.
Satisfied with this bit of success for the day, Luna decided to go to the tea room Mark had mentioned. "Get me if anything sets on fire," she instructed the bird, who puffed his feathers in response. He liked having tasks.
Luna took the floo to the bookstore with relatively no trouble. Apparently "The Battered Paige" was a name for something or someone as well, but a retry was a little more deliberation was all it took to get Luna into the shop. It had low ceilings and lots of chairs and cushions situated around dark wood bookshelves. Candles hung from the ceiling in random patterns, keeping it almost too dim to read. A small tea bar was tucked into the corner, and there were only a few people milling about.
She grinned. It was perfect. She'd just settle in for a tea and a read. Perhaps she'd find a book on some of the flowers she gathered earlier, or come across someone friendly.