White Heather for Protection

Shopping Spree

Heather hid her smile behind a hand and remarked casually, "Hmm, really?" She turned around dismissively, prompting more entreaties from her brother. Heather had already decided to get them, though. If she could send Rian a constant supply of food and other necessities without the Dursleys knowing...

"Ah, young lady, your trunks are ready!" Mr Trock announced from the counter. Heather shot a smirk at her brother before going to inspect the trunks. "See this node here? Press it to activate and deactivate the shrinking charm." He pressed it a few times to demonstrate. "I also attached a simple chain to each of them to act as necklaces in their shrunken form."

The trunks worked perfectly and had the correct compartments. Heather then set the personal locks with Mr Trock's assistance.

"Thank you for these trunks, Mr Trock. They're very beautifully crafted and they work like a dream!" Heather said, exaggerating only a tiny bit. "I couldn't help but notice but notice those Vanishing Chests over there - they're such masterful creations as well!" Heather continued to praise. It wouldn't hurt to stroke his ego a little.

The proprietor absolutely glowed at the compliments. "You have marvellous taste; those are my newest masterpieces! You're the first to comment on them."

"Are they able to transport food safely?"

"Why yes, definitely! As long as it's not a living creature, the chest can reliably transport it," Mr Trock boasted.

"That's just amazing! Oh, they would be great for when Hogwarts starts. It's the first time I'll be separated from my brother you know," Heather sighed out wistfully.

She peered surreptitiously at Mr Trock's sympathetic look. "Oh my, that's tough isn't it? How about this - I'll charge you a total of 150 Galleons for a pair of the Vanishing Chests and your two trunks."

Heather didn't have to fake her next look of disbelief. That would be close to a 40% discount! "Oh, I couldn't possibly accept that! You're much too generous, kind sir."

"Nonsense! It's the least I could do, especially for a fellow art connoisseur," the wizard said, waving off her protests as he worked his till.

Grinning widely, Heather handed over the gold coins and thanked the shop owner again. She placed the two chests into the trunks and shrank them. Rian was waiting for her at the door. He was looking at her in awe and she gave him a smug smile. Both siblings gave a little bow as they said their farewells to Mr Trock.

Hadrian turned to his sister after they exited the shop and stated seriously, "You, dear sister, are a master." Heather burst into giggles at the straight-faced declaration and then directed them to the next store.

~~~

They slowly worked their way through Heather's supply list. First robes and uniforms from Madam Malkin's. Then they bought quills, ink and parchment from Scribbulus'. Shop after shop, they filled their trunks with the supplies needed, buying some for Hadrian to practise with too. By unspoken agreement, they left Heather's wand for last.

As they were heading towards Slug and Jiggers Apothecary, Heather spotted the Second-Hand Bookshop. She smiled widely and tugged her brother towards the shop.

"Lyra, we've already bought your schoolbooks and many others at Flourish and Blotts! You don't need any more."

Heather ignored him and headed straight for the shelves. Hadrian just sighed and went to peruse the books himself. 'Hypocrite,' Heather thought petulantly, 'He bought as many books as I did!'

Most of the books contained rude comments and obscene doodles. Heather dismissed those entirely. Putting aside a copy of Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them with stickmen draw right on the cover page, a tattered green book caught her eye. The edition of Herbert's Potion Ingredient Properties looked just shy of falling apart at the seams, so Heather couldn't say why she'd picked it up. She shrugged and flipped to a random page; her instincts had never failed her before.

The page was covered in slanted sharp writing and even a few sketches. There was hardly any blank space at all. She focussed on the paragraph explaining the properties of hellebore.

Hellebore is a flowering plant from which Syrup of Hellebore is extracted. The syrup can be used in draughts to cure paralysis, gout and insanity. Many species of hellebore are poisonous.

Heather chuckled as she read the written notes.

How idiotic. To cure paralysis indeed. More like induce it. It functions as a potent nerve relaxant, causing numbness to overwhelm the affected regions and render the drinker victim paralyzed. This property, managed stringently, is essential in the Draught of Peace.

Page after page contained corrections and snarky quips. A lot of helpful diagrams and advice were also included in the footnotes. Heather really anticipated reading through this book. She flipped to the first page.

This Book is Property of the Half-Blood Prince

Heather frowned, perplexed. An odd moniker, to be sure. Sounded rather pompous, really. Though it wasn't as horrible as the Boy-Who-Lived. She skimmed the shelf for other books owned by the Half-Blood Prince.

"Looking for something dear?" Heather spun around and saw that the question had come from elderly wizard who owned the store. She explained her predicament to him and he offered to 'Summon' the books.

"Accio Half-Blood Prince's books," the wizard incanted as he gave a twirl of his wand. Heather watched avidly as the spell was cast and several books flew off the shelves towards the shopkeeper. Heather made a note to herself that Summoning meant magicking objects to herself.

There were nine books in total, all declared property of this mysterious prince. Five of these were Potions books while two were about Defence and there was one each on Charms and Arithmancy. Heather thanked the wizard for his help.

"Leo, are you done browsing?" Heather asked as she carried the Prince's books to the counter.

"Yeah, can we get these too?" Hadrian brought over three books. There was one on wizarding traditions, another on wizarding fairytales and a last one on wandlore. Heather added them to her own pile.

"We'll be getting these please, sir," Heather told the elderly wizard.

"That will be 5 Galleons and 3 Sickles," the wizard said kindly.

Heather was surprised at the low price, but didn't argue. These books were rather worn.

"Thank you sir, we'll definitely be coming back again!" Heather promised as they stepped outside the shop.

"Come on, Lyra. Apothecary, then your wand!" Hadrian enthused, skipping down the street. Heather laughed at his energy and followed after him.