White Heather for Protection

Mr Tall, Dark and Surly

The earthy scent of herbs and spices was the first thing Heather noticed when she followed her brother into the apothecary. It smelled a lot like Petunia's garden. Though to call it hers would imply that she actually did the work in it.

Besides the various plant cuttings, there were also phials filled with...things. Heather read a few labels and felt both fascinated and squeamish. Pickled toad eyes, flobberworm mucous, powdered scarabs... All manners of odd animal parts lined the shelves.

"Hey, Lyra?" Hadrian's call caught her attention. "Is this what you need?" He was pointing at a pile labelled 'First Year Ingredients Set'. Heather walked over and picked one of the boxes up.

"Maybe? The supply list doesn't say what ingredients to get," she murmured.

Heather opened the clasp on the box to reveal neatly labelled and arranged phials. Picking out a few, she inspected them and frowned. Hadrian made a disapproving sound when he peered into the phials.

"Help me look for another box," Heather asked her brother while she replaced the one she had and chose another. Both siblings searched fruitlessly through several other sets before stopping. Heather sighed and took one of the sets to the counter, signalling for Rian to continue his browsing.

"Excuse me, sir," Heather said to the wizard manning the register, "Do you happen to have newer batches of the First Year Ingredients Set? These aren't very good anymore."

The plump man narrowed his eyes and replied hotly, "Those are the most recent shipment! There is nothing wrong with the ingredients!"

Heather wanted to scoff at this. If there was anything that Petunia had taught her and Rian, it was flowers and herbs. If only to force them to maintain 'her' immaculate garden. Instead, she settled for proving her case. Calmly, she held up a phial. "This is clearly labelled 'Fresh Valerian', but these leaves are much too yellowed and the stalk too wrinkled. And this 'Fresh Lavender' is obviously dried lavender-"

"ENOUGH!" the wizard shouted, "Who do you think you are, girl? Coming into my shop and insulting my wares! Slug and Jiggers has been supplying top quality potions ingredients for decades!" His face got redder and redder as he continued his tirade.

"Imbecile," a third voice cut in smoothly. From behind Heather, an arm reached out and plucked the phial out of her grasp. "These ingredients are abysmal. They belong in the compost, not in potions." The voice somehow dripped condescension.

Heather watched, amazed, as the shopkeeper paled and sputtered, "Pr-Professor S-Snape! Those ingredients-"

"Are ones that even subpar brewers would recognise as utterly useless," the unknown wizard interjected.

Heather turned around to look at her inadvertent saviour. Dark was the first thing that came to mind. The man was clad in imposing black robes that covered almost every inch of his body. Raven hair framed his face and fell to his shoulders. His eyes were an intense shade of onyx that seemed endlessly deep and were currently filled with derision. The other details came next. His skin was pale in the extreme, an almost ghostly pallor. A patrician nose sat slightly too large on his face, giving him a very intimidating glare. Speaking of which...

"Such shoddy material should never have a hope of entering any cauldron. The dunderheads I teach are incompetent enough without this fertilizer masquerading as potions ingredients!" The man made berating an art form! No wonder he was a Professor.

"You will take these substandard materials and put them where they belong - in the trash. You will allow this girl - and any other Hogwarts students - to choose their own fresh ingredients from your regular stock. You will charge them the original price of this set as stated on the display. Do you understand, or do you require pictorial aid?" the man drawled in his cutting tone. Heather winced inwardly with every sentence spoken - and she wasn't even the target of his ire!