InsaneJournal

Who! Lottie and Sage!
What! Nothing Sketchy.
Where! Apothocary Shop
When! Today?



“This is all that was left on the shelf,” she commented, putting the vial on the counter, already starting to dig through her bag for the coins. Lottie disliked asking questions or talking in general. Conversations tended to make you more memorable, and she didn’t need anyone realizing how often she was making purchases.

Today, though, she didn’t have much of a choice. Lottie frowned down at the single bottle of sleeping potion, only half the size that she usually purchased. That would hardly be enough to get her through the week. If this was all that she walked out with, it would mess up her carefully constructed schedule that had it looking as though she only visited at most once a month.

Pulling out her coin purse, she finally looked up to Sage. The first time she walked in and saw her old school mate behind the counter, Lottie nearly turned and walked right back out. Except he hardly said anything at all to her that first visit. Or the second. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that he either didn’t notice or he just didn’t care.

If she was going to take the risk of actually asking after more, it might as well be here. It was more likely that she could talk her way out of any sort of suspicion with someone she knew than a stranger. And if she couldn’t, it would certainly be easier to convince someone she knew not to say or do anything about it.

“Is it all you have?”

Sage didn’t care that Lottie Sweeting was misusing sleeping potions.

He pulled a weary gaze up from the ingredients list he was going over to look at her, his shoulders lifting with a bored and heavy breath.

“If there was more, it would be on the shelf,” he said, thinking that she should have expected such a response. Sage blinked at Lottie, wondering if she thought she was being helpful, before he reached over to a nearby sheet of parchment. “You can place an order. The next batch will be ready at six tomorrow.”

While he still managed to find joy in the act of potion brewing, Sage could do without its customers. He’d once had aspirations of owning his own apothecary for research purposes...but that had, pun not intended, gone down the drain.

The sight of the half-empty bottle was curious, however. Lottie must be desperate for it if she was bothering with only half a dosage, which meant she might be open to an alternative. Sage’s fingers pressed down into the parchment, his thoughts causing his hand to move it about the counter in a tiny circle.

“I’ve got something in the back that works the same,” Sage said, thinking that the technical differences between a sleeping potion and a sleeping draught were minuscule. One placed you in a dreamless, peaceful slumber, and the other knocked you out cold for the desired amount of time. Though, there were reasons why a prescription from Mungo’s was needed for this particular draught…

He supposed the price would just have to make up for that. Sage sighed, putting on an expression of pained concern, “It’s ten galleons more, though…”

Lottie frowned, disliking the idea of placing an order but--- she needed the potion to sleep. The last time she had tried to go without, she stayed up nearly three days straight. Hour stretches of nightmare filled sleep hardly counted as rest. With pre-season in full swing, there was no way she could function like that. Not when she was expected in the press boxes once the games started up next week.

She watched as he moved the parchment around, debating her choices and the risk that was involved with putting her name on an order. Lottie had been extra careful to make sure that--- Her eyes snapped up to Sage as he interrupted her thoughts with his offer. She couldn’t help but stare for a moment as she tried to figure out just what he was suggesting.

Was he just trying to take advantage because he thought she was desperate or was he offering---

“That sounds a little steep,” Lottie said carefully, regaining control of the expression on her face. She wasn’t going to spend an extra ten galleons for--for what exactly? “For something that works just the same, you would think it would at least be better.”

It wasn’t like she didn’t have the money, though. Snapping the clasp of her purse open and then closed a few times, Lottie bit the inside of her lip as she tried to decide if she actually cared what he was offering her. Did it matter as long as it worked? She was already taking double the dose that was suggested just to get to sleep every night. And she had interviews lined up every day for the next week and a half, if she didn’t have--- the dark circles under her eyes were getting harder and harder to charm away.

“But since it’s all you have…” Lottie snapped her purse open one last time, her hesitation fading quickly.

Sage felt inclined to inform Lottie that the potion was more expensive because it took more time to prepare, it was more potent by being able to put you to sleep instantly with just a teaspoon, it lasted longer because you did not need as much as she was currently taking...and it would also cover the costs of having to brew a new batch, as a new bottle wouldn’t be ready to fulfill the order.

And perhaps to have a little more go in his pocket.

But, seeing as she was not a potioneer, that he didn’t expect her to appreciate any of the science behind it, and that she’d already opened her purse, he let her comments slip away. Sage nodded and went to the back to retrieve the draught, taking some time to slip it from it’s neon green vial (a sign of a prescription needed mixture) into a plain clear one. He pulled apart a strip of parchment and scribbled down the recommended dosage, and with some twine he attached it to the cap of the vial.

“Carefully read the instructions,” Sage said as he held out the vial, having come back to the front counter. That was professional of him, wasn’t it?

Taking the vial from him, Lottie skimmed over the parchment. Her brow rose slightly as reread the words before glancing back up to Sage. If it worked...if she could actually get to sleep with the amount recommended, well that was more than worth the extra galleons.

“Thank you,” She said, digging the coins out to pay him. The thought to ask what was in it, or potential side effect didn’t even cross Lottie’s mind. Nor did she bother to question if there was a reason it hadn’t been out on the shelf. She was far too excited at the prospect of getting more sleep and having to visit apothecaries less to care about any of that.

Tucking the vial safely in her pocket, Lottie paused for just a moment, tempted to make sure that she could come back and get more when she needed it. If she needed it. If it worked. Would he need notice or--- She was getting ahead of herself. That was a bridge she would cross when--- if she ran out again.

“Always good to see you, Sage.” She said pleasantly instead, offering him a small smile as she tucked her bag over her shoulder. He was doing her a favor, least she could do was be nice.