Sweets down memory lane (Tag, Antonia)

[Deleted]

    Lesson number one for being a cursebreaker? Never trust a talking inanimate object. Lesson number two? Don't trust anything's appearance... Ever. Lesson number three? Never forget your chocolate. Tombs are a natural breeding ground for Dementors, Lethifolds, and several other creatures that escape his memory; he's not a bloody magizoologist after all! Milo was also far too prideful to admit to having a bit of a chocolate weakness in general, it was purely for the jobs sake! Wouldn't be the first time his stash has come to the rescue of more unprepared Cursebreakers... Never mind the fact that he had essentially been working alone for almost the past two decades, that was surely irrelevant! Definitely not a chocolate addict... Definitely. 

Milo cleared his throat, banishing his surprisingly accusatory conscience to the dungeons of his Occlumency. That'll show him! Instead he simply focused on the task at hand... Braving Hogsmeade again... He had successfully avoided this place like the plague for fifteen years! It's not his fault that filling three kilograms of a specific brand of high percentage chocolate on short notice was difficult... ... 

Okay maybe it was, but it certainly doesn't mean he should suffer braving the streets of Hogsmeade again. It just... Had a way of bringing back difficult memories. He sighed briefly in his modest flat before mustering his courage, and eventually, he managed his apparation to the village center. It had been a long time since he suffered any form of negative side effects from this form of travel... Yet he couldn't help the tight feeling in the pit of his stomach upon taking in the sights. The town was quaint. It was not the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley, not the elegance of the French shopping district, and especially not the darkness of trying to buy anything in Bulgaria. It was... Homey, comfortable even. Even Milo's oaken eyes softened mildly, and with a greatly exaggerated sigh, he made his way to the village's candy shop. 

It wasn't a far journey, and the shop looked almost exactly the way he remembered it. 'Huh... They haven't repainted it since?'. He shook his head, pushing the door open to reveal the shop at large. Empty shelves? That... He could swear the last time he was here the shop was practically bursting with myriad confections and treats. Perhaps the modern youth just don't have a particular sweet tooth? He allowed himself the distraction of browsing for a few minutes, only adding to his general bewilderment. Eventually he made his way to the front desk where a young, raven haired woman seemed to be fussing over some sort of store details he felt was not his business to particularly pay attention to. 

"Excuse me, order for Oliver Jenkins?" Of course he wouldn't use his real name. that would just be silly. 

[ANTONIA RENNICK]

Reputations are fragile things; one moment is all it takes to tear down what might have taken a lifetime to build, like a house of cards tumbling down from just one tiny little nudge.

Antonia was feeling the effects of her fallen house of cards very strongly as she looked over her shop's profits. It was not looking great. Hadn't looked great for some time now.

Her family had done their best to keep the candy shop afloat in the year Tonia was away - no, she needed to call it what it was. She had not been away at some 'charming retreat to recharge her batteries' or 'live, laugh, loving it up in Asia', she had been in prison, paying for her crimes - but the return of the 'Candy Lady' had not brought the customers back to Honeydukes. In fact, it had driven more of them away. But Tonia couldn't blame them; why would they want to support a coward?

Still, if business didn't pick up soon she would need to start considering other options. Tonia really didn't want to think about it.

A deep sigh escaped her lips, hand coming up to tug at the strands of dark hair spilling over her shoulders. It was moments like these she wished she could be someone else, go somewhere else. She envied metamorphmagi's ability to change their appearance and be someone else for a day, someone who didn't have to worry about being recognized on the street for their misdeeds, or worry about their slowing business. But that would be cheating. She deserved to feel like this, to bear this heavy shame.

Antonia was so deep in thought that she didn't register the sound of the bell above the door chiming with someone's arrival until the man adressed her directly. She looked up from the depressing financial statements on her desk and into a face that looked... familiar, somehow? Her brows furrowed, head tilting to the side. Maybe she had seen him at the Three Broomsticks? His name didn't ring a bell so she doubted she had spoken to him before.

But there was something about him...

Realizing that she was staring at him like an eejit she quickly schooled her expression into her 'customer service face' and gave the man a bright smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Oh right, 3 kilos of Dr Dvorak's 70% dark chocolate. I have it for you right here." Antonia moved to the back where she kept her depleting stock to grab the box. There was no point in keeping a large stock of candy if she wouldn't be able to sell it all before it expired, many shelves in the shop left half-empty for the same reason. A visual reminder of her failures.

Mr Jenkins's order wouldn't make a big difference, but she was grateful for his patronage all the same. It showed in the eagerness of her response. "Here you go, sir," she said with a smile, placing the box on the desk. "Is there anything else I can help you with today? If we don't have it in stock I can order it for you, no problem." Tonia knew she was being a bit pushy but she couldn't afford to be passive; she needed returning customers.

---

Tag: @hadoland

[Deleted]

 

    'Very distracted indeed..' The woman behind the desk seemed momentarily surprised that someone had even addressed her. That was... Strange... She was the proprietor, or at least, a desk clerk of a popular candy shop for Merlin's sake! True, the atmosphere was a bit moodier that he would have expected but it was a blasted candy ship! IN HOGSMEADE!. To this mystery, however, there were clues, and the old Cursebreaker would tender his resignation tomorrow if he didn't recognize them. Unmistakable minor shifts in being that indicated duress and alluded to darker thoughts; he had seen it plenty in his coworkers. The small details that he had seen... Still sees; whenever he looked in the mirror. It was in the shoulders hunched as if carrying a painful weight. It was in the eyes that danced across the parchment before momentarily losing focus and seeming to look past what she saw. Lastly? It was the minutely disheveled appearance: bags that were a touch to deep, a strand of hair neither here nor there that seemed to stubbornly flick out of place, this woman was in pain. And if empty shelves were any indication, Milo could hazard a guess as to some part of its source. How he desperately wished he could just... Take it away. 

He banished those thoughts; the woman deserved her privacy without some old geezer guessing as to her personal affairs. It was then, however, that another curious event had come to fruition. Let it be known that, even on the best of days, Milo wasn't particularly the most... Comfortable, around strangers. This was doubly so when their eyes seemed to linger longer than expected. In his experience it could mean a number of things, and it almost always lead to trouble in some way or another. He found himself fighting the urge to fidget, but he could not help but make his own observations during the young woman's momentary reverie, and despite his social misgivings, Milo was very observant. It was in the subtle crinkling; the flash of some where or when away, the unmistakable flash of recollection that only poker champions could mask. She knew him from somewhere, had recognized something about his general demeanor or character. He inwardly groaned... He just *knew* coming to Hogsmeade was a bad idea, oh blast it all. 

As quick as whatever faint recollection came, it was smothered beneath the practiced façade of the service industry. It was a talent that baffled Milo frequently. Hiding deep within his mental barriers he could shut out all emotion, become a faceless stone in the face of a maelstrom of emotion, but this? They would provide a smiling face and honeyed words regardless of personal turmoil, and hers was one of the best he had seen in years if not for the smallest of details. Her smile did not quite reach her eyes; could not completely banish the grief that plagued her. It damn near broke his heart to see... This is why he just avoided people, he knew himself too well; he was a damn hopeless sap!

She hopped up and disappeared into the back of the store before returning promptly; his order bagged up and ready to go. Milo was half tempted to just slap the gold down on the counter and bolt out of the establishment like there was a bomb! Still, he wasn't insensitive enough to know how that would look, what ripples that might cause. He nodded at the bagged chocolates, eventually he reached mutely into his coat, it literally had silencing charms on it after all, and placed thirty Galleons on the counter, offering her a small, shy smile. 

"Truly, the good doctor is a wonderful balm for the soul."

Mildly cryptic wisdom delivered, he fell into silence then. The man made no move to grab the bag nor any effort to correct the change he had placed on the table. He simply looked at her curiously for a few moments, contemplation and a degree of inner warfare etched on his features. 'This is your one rule Milo... Don't get involved. She has it well in hand, probably just a rough day!'. Yet even as the thought flashed across his mind, he knew that traitor he called a conscience would win this day. All at once his eyes softened and any sign of conflict ebbed away. He looked at her warmly then, memories of his past and disastrous decisions flooding to the forefront as he recalled the mistakes of his youth. Perhaps a simple bar of chocolate in pleasant company might have made all the difference. 

"Perhaps you could do me kindness, yes. It has been a truly taxing week, and I often find the effects of chocolate only strengthen with company, fancy enjoying a bar with me?" There it was. Well with any luck she wouldn't think he was some sort of old creep. As it was, he was certainly old. 


 

[ANTONIA RENNICK]

Antonia saw the man's eyes linger on her face from behind his spectacles and felt anxiety begin to bubble up in her gut. What was he seeing? Had he recognized her from the newspaper articles or was there something else about her that had given him pause?

She knew she should have put more time into her makeup that morning. But she had overslept, and the weakened but extant part of her that hoped people were waiting for the shop to open, the part that Azkaban had not managed to squash completely, did not allow her to be tardy. So she had thrown on yesterday's clothes and only had time to paint her lips and run a comb through her hair before rushing downstairs to open the shop. As the day progressed and her mind became occupied with balance sheets and profit margins she forgot to check her appearance. She really should have gone upstairs during lunch to freshen up.

Too late now.

Yet despite this plausible theory Tonia could not silence the anxious thought that Mr Jenkins may have recognized her from somewhere; after all, he also looked familiar to her. But where had she seen him before?

However, the more he spoke the less convinced she was that they knew each other, and with that came relief. There was a hint of an Australian accent that Tonia had not caught at first, but now that she had noticed it she heard it more clearly. If he wasn't local then perhaps he didn't know who she was after all, giving more plausibility to her first theory. It made Tonia's smiles come easier.

He was a bit of an odd one, this man, and assuming the 'doctor' he was referring to was the brand of the chocolate he was purchasing she gave a little chuckle. "Indeed, there's no better remedy than a big dose of glucose," she joked. But the smile that had been dancing on her lips immediately waned when he placed the bag of galleons on the desk, confusion painting her voice. "Sir, that is way too much!" Tonia pushed the bag back toward him as though it had burned her skin. 

They had agreed on a price when he first wrote her about his order. She had even given him a discount, Tonia used to having to rely on discounts to bring in customers now, but even without the 10% discount applied it was way too much. It would have made sense if he was planning on buying something else, but his response to her question was to ask if she wanted to share the chocolate with him. Very odd...

Under any other circumstances, Tonia would have politely declined, but now her interest was piqued. She was wary of course, but she needed to know what his game was; why was he being so nice to her, a complete stranger? Many theories were flying through her brain, from 'he knows who I am after all' to 'is he flirting with me right now?', but what she wasn't thinking about just then were the problems that had occupied her mind for most of the day, pushed to the back by this man's unusual request.

"I..." she cleared her throat, "I'm not a big fan of high percentage dark chocolate." But she opened a drawer by the desk that contained her small stash of sweets that were edible but too imperfect to sell, taking out a chocolate frog that was missing its legs.

"I like chocolate frogs, though," she admitted, holding it up. The frog squirmed in her grip, the missing limbs making its escape impossible. "Cheers." She bit its head off, watching the man carefully as she chewed, curious about what he needed so much chocolate for but at the same time not wanting to offend by asking. "Is chocolate your favorite, then?" she settled on instead.

---

Tag: @hadoland

[Deleted]

A chuckle bubbled up from the cursebreaker's chest at the mention of glucose. He was familiar with the muggle sciences, though certainly not at a university level. At the very least: his studies had taken him far enough to understand that, roughly speaking, glucose meant sugar content. In all honesty, it was a field that needed more study from both ends of that particular spectrum. A lollipop was simply not as effective as a chocolate bar at warding off magically induced negative emotions as chocolate, even if its specific sugar content was higher. Throughout his career he had performed his own experiments though his methodology was certainly affected by his own personal biases. Perhaps it had something to do with the association of the particular sweet? Perhaps chocolate itself had a specific unique quality? In his own experiments, he found that there was certainly a point of diminishing returns when it came to chocolate content... His eyes seemed to almost glaze as his mind worked furiously towards possibilities and various questions before he realized where he actually was. He too, cleared his throat briefly, before decided that pretending that nothing had happened was obviously the best course of action.

The man simply pushed the gold further across the desk at Antonia's reluctance to accept; it was truly no skin off his nose and if he could offer anyone any reprieve from dark thoughts he would be more than happy. There was something about the atmosphere and the woman itself that tugged at his heartstrings; something intrinsically reminding him of his own struggle, though perhaps an earlier stage. And then?... After his honest question he was left with the suspicious feeling that he had said something weird. Her eyes sparked with curiosity and a brief lilt of hesitation that preceded her acceptance of his, apparently? Odd request. This response merited further pondering, something that social interactions generally did not offer him enough time to analyze on the spot, much to his infinite chagrin. His eyes lingered for a moment longer, as if trying to solve a puzzle he just couldn't bloody understand. Her comment regarding chocolate concentration had traveled almost past his consciousness, and his response was practically reactionary.

"It is the most effective."

His thoughts came crashing to a halt, realizing his annoying habit of saying things without bloody thinking was, again, rearing its ugly head. Milo's eyes widened the smallest degree, a faint pink coloring his features as he attempted to swallow his embarrassment. Frankly, this certainly wasn't the most random thing he'd ever blurted... Hell it probably wasn't even in the top 100, but it was enough.  Fortunately, the woman had pulled open a desk and brought out an imperfect chocolate frog, offering escape from his own traitorous train of thought. Milo cleared his throat awkwardly before eying the struggling confection with a healthy degree of interest... Perhaps he should experiment with candy making; it was particularly fascinating that the animation charm seemed to be holding up despite the integrity of the creation being compromised, almost flying in the face of Gamp's 5th law of... 'Wow she bit the head off that thing with no hesitation... Don't get on her bad side, evidently'... He mentally sighed; he was doing it again... She was saying things and he just /knew/ he wasn't responding at the appropriate times and instead was making his own observations. 

He sliced off a piece of the brick of chocolate with a simple point of his wand, popping it into his mouth without much preamble. The confection hit his lips and, for once, it was one of the few times he could simply enjoy the flavor of the treat rather than relying on it. It wouldn't be the first time that he forgot that he actually enjoyed the taste, the luxurious bitterness that proper made high percentage chocolate offered as it melted on the tongue. His eyes fought the urge to borderline flutter, instead he forced the emotion into a long sigh that ended in a short snort. 

"Addiction born from necessity, I assume. I cannot remember the last time I partook for the sake of enjoyment, it is nice." 

He paused for a moment, his eyes briefly scanning his surroundings and recalling the woman's occasional furtive flicks of... Something. To him the atmosphere seemed changed, in some way... He couldn't quite place his finger on it. She seemed wary but yet also curious, perhaps he could work with that? 

"May I study your failed confections? I will gladly pay a premium for the opportunity."

[ANTONIA RENNICK]

Oliver Jenkins had a strange way of speaking, like he carried a lifetime of wisdom within him. He wasn't saying anything particularly clever or noteworthy, only speaking about the known benefits of chocolate, but something about him drew Antonia in. Perhaps it was the way he paused, like he was sifting through a vast catalogue of information in his mind, weighing his words carefully before speaking. It made Tonia wonder what he did for a living; the large bag of money and the implication that he needed chocolate often for its positive effects on body and mind made her all the more curious.

She eyed the bag of coins he had wordlessly pushed closer toward her, debating with herself. While it was clearly more than what the chocolate was worth he was insisting that she take it. Truthfully, she could use the money. She wasn’t starving or depriving herself, but with the shop not doing so well she would be stupid to look this gift horse in the mouth. Pushing her pride aside, Tonia looked up at the man and nodded, trying not to let her discomfort show. It was difficult for her to trust that some actions did not have an ulterior motive. If this man had one it was hard to decipher. "Thank you, sir. Truly." She took the bag and emptied it into the cash register, the clanking sound filling the momentary silence in the shop.

Despite the strangeness of it, Tonia was surprised to find herself enjoying her interaction with this man. She did not know how old he was – in his 50’s perhaps – but conversing with him was like speaking to someone from a different time. It was an unusual situation in general; she hadn’t been expecting to be sharing chocolate with a customer when she opened the shop in a rush this morning, let alone being paid double.

Tonia went to take another bite of the chocolate frog and as she did she felt Oliver's curious gaze on her again. She looked back in silent question, brows furrowed.

She didn't have to wonder for long: another strange request from the strange man. 

"Hm? Oh, these?" she pulled out the drawer containing defective and misshapen sweets (chocolate frogs with missing limbs, ice mice that screamed bloody murder when bit into, broken candy canes that turned the person's skin purple instead of singing Christmas songs like they were meant to) and made a sweeping motion with her arm. "Have at it. For free – you already paid," she said, lips curling into a half-smile.

Finally giving in to the curiosity that had been gnawing at her from the minute this man stepped into her shop she added, "May I ask why?”

She had a feeling it had to do with whatever he did for a living, but she couldn’t think of a position that would warrant interest in the sweets barring a food safety inspector. But she wasn’t selling the defective sweets so what was the point of inspecting them? Tonia cocked her head to the side, taking in his appearance and really focusing on the details. He did kind of look like a food safety inspector.

Looks like she found his ulterior motive.

Tonia could feel her mood slipping, and when she next spoke there was a sharp edge to her tone.

“Are you with food safety? I have all the necessary permits."

---

Tag: @hadoland