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Post by Storm Vedis on Feb 17, 2009 12:38:35 GMT 8
Located on Diagon Alley, Storm's Apothecary Shop is the place to go when you have a prescription from St Mungo's (or any other healer). You can also purchase ready-made remedies and bulk ingredients, and in late August, Storm does a brisk trade in Potions supplies for students returning to Hogwarts. Unlike many apothecary shops, Storm's shop is scrupulously clean, and smells wonderful - the scents of spices and herbs mingle with those of baking bread and wood polish. The walls of the shop are lined with wooden shelves containing many jars, bottles and vials, both small and large. Beneath the shelves are the rows of small, square drawers containing herbs and other ingredients. You can leave your prescription to pick up later, or stay and chat while Storm mixes your potion, powder or salve. She'll also give advice on treating minor maladies, so don't be afraid to ask. Storm lives above the shop, and if it's really urgent, she'll get up in the middle of the night to fill an emergency prescription or even deliver a baby. Adjacent to the main shop is the Dispensary, a large room with several big cupboards in which bulk quantities of herbs and other potion ingredients are stored. A locked cupboard, protected by several spells, contains the more-dangerous ingredients. There is a large, scrubbed table, and a stove with a big oven for drying herbs (Storm also bakes bread in this oven) and cauldrons of various sizes. The stove is large, taking up almost all of one wall, so that multiple potions can be brewed at one time. In one corner are several deep sinks, for washing herbs. There are many utensils for use in preparing medicines. antique bottles and jars are arranged along the ledge of the large window, along with pestles and mortars of different designs, which Storm has collected over the years. It's a brightly-lit, warm room, sometimes smelling deliciously of herbs and baking bread. Occasionally, however, if Storm is brewing something less than pleasant, you'd be happier not entering! In contrast to Storm's cluttered apartment, the shop and dispensary are kept very neat and orderly. |
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Post by Storm Vedis on Feb 26, 2009 18:38:21 GMT 8
Storm yawned as she wiped down the counter with a cloth. She'd had a very late night; and an early wakeup, but she wasn't complaining. She grinned to herself as she recalled the night she'd just enjoyed. One of her many lovers had been in town for one night, and they'd made the most of it.
That was one of the things she'd really missed in Azkaban. For most prisoners in that godforsaken hole, sex was the last thing on their minds. A few scraps of food, a ragged blanket, and holding on to just enough sanity to avoid the Dementors' kiss, had been the only concerns of the wretched inmates. But Storm had desperately missed the physical and emotional closeness of making love.
The other thing, of course, was being outside, watching things grow.
And Moose, of course, she thought, smiling as the dog ambled into the shop from the dispensary. He didn't let her out of his sight for long. She'd taken him in when he was a stray puppy, voraciously hungry and so dirty that it was only after she'd given him a good bath that she was able to identify him as an Old English Sheepdog. She was eternally grateful to the friends who'd taken him in and cared for him after she was arrested. And the thought of his ecstatic reaction to seeing her again after three years, was still enough to get her choked up.
She walked over to the front door, and went to sit on one of the benches just outside, with Moose at her heels, just to enjoy the feel of the morning sunshine. Something that, for three years, she'd thought she'd never experience again.
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Post by Belle Rochford on Apr 11, 2009 3:44:49 GMT 8
Belle walked down the cobbled street from her shop to the Apothecary. She had to admit, it was a lot nicer place to come since this new woman had taken over. And, she'd heard the woman was a Healer, or had been. She sighed, pushing open the door to the shop, looking around, trying desperately not to throw up as she looked at the jars on the shelves.
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Post by Storm Vedis on Apr 11, 2009 3:49:57 GMT 8
Hearing the front door of the shop open, Storm dried her hands and walked from the dispensary into the main shop. She saw a young woman looking round. Poor girl looked a bit green round the gills, to Storm's eye.
"Hi. Can I help you?" she asked.
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Post by Belle Rochford on Apr 11, 2009 4:17:40 GMT 8
Belle attempted a smile ass the woman came out from a back room. "Ummm - hi. I've come come in here for two reasons actually. First, I know this is a bit late, but everyone's been a wee bit preoccupied lately, but welcome to Diagon Alley. I own Madame Malkins. Maybe we could go for a drink sometime?" She shrugged. "And second - well I haven't really been feeling too good lately. Like my stomach feels wierd adn I've been throwing up. I can afford to have time off work, I don't have anyone else to open for me, you know. Do you have any idea?"
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Post by Storm Vedis on Apr 11, 2009 4:30:02 GMT 8
Storm grinned. "Preoccupied is one word for it. The battle, and now all the trials..." She shuddered slightly, remembering the travesty that had been her own trial... she shrugged it off. "Yeah, I'd love to go for a drink. I've been so busy getting this place in order that I haven't had time to socialize lately. Madame Malkins?" She had noticed the shop earlier. "So you're Belle Rochford? I saw the name on your sign, I've been planning to come in and get some work robes."
She listened as Belle described her symptoms. As an ex-midwife, Storm could think of a reason that would cause those symptoms. But she should ask a few questions before she went leaping to conclusions.
"Have you been eating anything unusual lately? Do you feel sick all the time, or does it come and go?"
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Post by Belle Rochford on Apr 11, 2009 4:38:43 GMT 8
At the mention of the Battle, she shudddered visibly. Everytime she walked passed the now empty Ollivanders, she felt like crawling up in a ball. She'd lost her best friend in that unneccessary bloodshed. She nodded. "yeah - sorry, I should have introduced myself properly. Brain's not really working too well at the moment."
"Ummmm - no. Nothing out of hte ordinary. Ummm - it just seems to be when - I wake up - s**t -" She sighed. "Ummm - sorry. Could be anything right?"
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Post by Storm Vedis on Apr 11, 2009 4:45:26 GMT 8
Storm nodded thoughtfully. Belle seemed to have clued in on the possible cause of her sickness. "In the morning? Well, the first thing that suggests to me is that you could be pregnant. Is that something that's possible?" That would be a very straightforward diagnosis. She'd been doing the pregnancy detection spell since she was sixteen - practicing on herself, she thought wryly.
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Post by Belle Rochford on Apr 11, 2009 4:51:13 GMT 8
Belle sighed. "Yeah - see that's what I was worried about," she admitted. "It's very definately possible." Stupid girl forgetting her spell! Think she would have learnt after all these years?! "Erm - okay - how - how do you find out for sure?" she asked. What a silly bugger! Now what?!
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Post by Storm Vedis on Apr 11, 2009 4:54:18 GMT 8
Storm nodded sympathetically. One forgotten spell and it changed your life. Well, she was the last person who should be judging someone about that! "I can perform a quick spell, and tell you immediately if you're pregnant. Also how far a long you are. And whether it's a boy or a girl. I can do it right now, if you like."
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Post by Belle Rochford on Apr 11, 2009 4:59:04 GMT 8
"Wow, you can tell all that?" Belle asked in awe. That was pretty amazing. "Well - uh - sure. Go ahead. Got nothing to lose I suppose," she murmured, shrugging herr shoulders.
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Post by Storm Vedis on Apr 11, 2009 5:03:26 GMT 8
Storm grinned at Belle's reaction. Sharing her own story would probably put the other woman a little more at ease. "Yeah, I've had a lot of practice. And not just because I was a midwife. I started practicing those spells when I was sixteen. I had a captive subject, you see - myself."
She picked up her wand, and cast the first spell. The iridescent smoke began to swirl, settling into familiar patterns. Storm watched carefully, then finally looked up. "Yes - as you suspected, you're pregnant. Between four and five months, I'd say."
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Post by Belle Rochford on Apr 11, 2009 5:16:55 GMT 8
"Really? Yourself?" she enquired, but not probing. The other woman could simply have said it, not meaning for Belle to probe. Oh well.
She watched the woman as she cast the spell, a little apprehensive about having a want pointed to her belly. "Four or five months? s**t-vers" she said, shaking her head. Stupid, stupid Belle!
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Post by Storm Vedis on Apr 11, 2009 6:05:13 GMT 8
Storm nodded. "Yeah, I got pregnant while I was at school. Had a little girl." She watched Belle's reaction to the news. Obviously this wasn't something she'd planned on. "Would you like to know what you're going to have?" she asked. She knew from personal experience that it might help Belle to 'connect' more with her baby if she knew whether it was a boy or a girl.
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Post by Belle Rochford on Apr 11, 2009 9:15:43 GMT 8
"Oh, okay," Belle replied, as Storm told her she'd been pregnant. When asked if she wanted to know the gender, she hesitated. Then nodded. "Yeah, sure. Go on."
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