Open Slow growth

[Olivia Drage]

Olivia woke up with the sun, clambering out of her bed. She stretched, dressed quickly, and ran her fingers through her wild hair. Good enough. She tried to be quiet for the sake of her siblings, but that was hard to do with her lead feet. Lydia had tried to teach her a muffling charm and she just couldn't get it. Olivia accepted long ago that she just wasn't talented with charms and spells. She learned what she needed to know and was happy enough with that.

Scarfing down a mock cream doughnut, she went outside, put on thick gloves, and set up her table with an assortment of magical plants, a rack of vials with different solutions including bubotuber pus, and her toolbox. She levitated the table with a well-practiced Wingardium Leviosa and walked slowly towards the main shops at Obsidian Harbour.

Stopping just outside of the center, which was still quiet given the early morning, she set up her table on a lawn. She was fairly certain it was a public space. It took just minutes to finish the display, which lacked a sign, prices, or anything that might have indicated she owned a professional business.

Olivia then realized she had forgotten to bring a chair. No matter. Conjuring a chair would be too much work and she certainly wasn't going to walk back to the cottage. Instead, she plopped to the ground, sat cross-legged, and breathed in the fresh air.

 

[Ioan Finch]

Ioan was something of a recluse these days, at least compared to his previous behavior. Most of it was related to his trauma, the migraines he had as a result often made it easier to just remain indoors with the curtains drawn. He had his girlfriend for company, and his potions. There was also a fear, a general mistrust of people that made the man wary of befriending strangers as easily as he once had. It didn't help that most people, even people he'd once met before, sometimes felt like strangers. It had happened on more than one occasion that someone had come up to Ioan as if they were old friends only for him to stare back at them blankly even after they'd filled in some of the blanks.

Ioan was on a bit of a mission today, however. He'd promised his daughter he'd get out of the house more and so he'd found something to do. It was time to replenish some of his ingredients. He'd taken up a few clients for whom he developed potions, and he was going through his inventory more quickly as a result. Ioan had already procured a few ingredients and so had a small bag tucked under his arms. He still needed to make one more stop to Bleak Street. His head felt fine so he was keen to push himself just a little. The man was strolling, rushing a thing of his past, when he spotted a table on the lawn, full of plants and the like. It piqued the man's interest enough to cautiously step closer, wondering why no one seemed to be seated in front of it. As he stepped closer, he realized that wasn't true. There was a woman just there on the grass. Ioan looked at her for a moment before he spoke. "Is all of this yours?"

 

[Olivia Drage]

Olivia raised her head and looked up to her first potential customer. “Yes, everything here is for sale.” She rose to her full height, standing just a hair shorter than the older man. “Full plants, cuttings, sap, roots…”

Olivia absentmindedly reached for the tray of Alihotsy leaves, perfect for Laughing Potions. She’d downed a vial of the stuff as a dare in her History class at Ilvermorny and giggled all the way to detention. “Are you interested in a certain species?”

Olivia wasn’t your traditional saleswoman. Her tone was deep, even, and friendly, lacking the frantic energy of someone who wanted to earn galleons. She smiled, but in a genuine way. With Olivia, what you saw was what you got.

 

[Ioan Finch]

The more she spoke, the more intrigued Ioan grew. The man turned his full attention to the table now, squaring off so he could take a look. The leaves she had new her hands looked healthy, he'd need a closer look but was sure he didn't need those. It was a good sign, however.

"A few actually" he stated as he continued to scan. Finally, he looked up at the woman. "Ginger and dittany for starters." Those were ingredients he always liked to have in his home. He used the dittany often enough on himself, and increasingly often with his grandchildren. "And if you have any aconite, I'd be happy to take it off your hands" he stated quietly, "once I've had a look, of course."

Although this woman seemed quite genuine, Ioan knew better than to just trust anyone in the world of Herbology. Men attempted to sell garden shrubs every day, claiming them to be other plants.

 

[Olivia Drage]

“Certainly. How much ginger root would you like?” Olivia slipped her hands into her thick gloves. While many of her plants were harmless, others were caustic, stinging, or poisonous. It wouldn’t do to brush up against one of her more noxious species with bare skin. She had learned early on that taking simple precautions helped avoid trips to the Healers. “I have both essence of dittany and the fresh herb.”

Retrieving small cloth bags from beneath the table, Olivia looked over her wares thoughtfully at the mention of aconite. She noted that he had said this quietly, so she avoided using its direct name. “I do have dried flowers,” she said, pointing to a tray with indigo petals, “if that isn’t what you are looking for, I could bring the root or fresh petals tomorrow. I would cut them straight from my plants at home.”

Olivia smiled at the man. She was always curious about how her plants would be used, but she wasn’t on familiar enough terms with this wizard to ask. She didn’t need to scare away her customers with questions.