new blood | ren

[Lia Ayres]

29 August 1974
6pm

It was finally slowing down. Thank goodness. It had been nonstop all day with Hogwarts students coming in and hunting down kits for school and checking out the new prank line of potions and the usual stream of customers for their regular stock.

It was probably for the best though. If it had been slow, she would have had time to think. It had been hard when the girls were going off to Hogwarts for their first year, but Arlo leaving them this year was almost enough to wreck her. She and Henry had never had the house to themselves; what were they going to do with their kids all away at school?

The chime of the door opening pulled her from her thoughts and she straightened up from where she'd been tidying the shelves. It was a kid, somewhere between her girls and Arlo, probably looking for school supplies. Easy enough, but she was glad for the distraction.

"Welcome in," she said, smiling warmly. "Anything I can help with?"

[Ren Al-Sayeed]

The door opened to a warm, safe looking environment. A stark contrast to every dark bookstore and apothecary Ren had stepped into Knockturn Alley the last two years. The ring of the bell as the door opened filled the boy with relaxation. It was a regular store with regular potion things. He could take his time, no floating ghosts or vengeful spirits wandering the stacks, looking for their next meal. No excentric shopkeeper.

Well, maybe he shouldn't speak too soon.

'No evil excentric shopkeeper!'

That sounded much better.

The potion store had been a must-visit on the lists for every kid in Hogwarts. A close source of potioneering doodads and supplies. Pre-prepared kits laid on shelves in the corner, ready for students to come in and get out quicker than it'd take to brew a pepperup. So it was nothing short of surprising that he had never had the opportunity to visit the store at any point in his Hogwarts life. But there were reasons for that.

The first off being that most of his potions supplies had been provided by the state. They were, this year as well, being provided by the state. Luckily, the boy lived in the Hospital Wing. As such, his potion making didn't suffer any from the subpar supplies that he wasn't sure the state probably sourced from a dumpster. The second reason, as thematic in his life as being an orphan or loving potions, was that he just didn't have the money. Whatever money he did have ーsave for a particular purchase of jewelryー went straight back into whatever he could get to further progress his goals.

From all the money he'd managed to swipe obtain from Tim's leftover potion's school account, he'd bought books on alchemy, one on certain types of pacts, and a renewal of supplies that for some reason the orphanage deemed "not necessary".

No wonder Hogwarts could never win the potions tournament.

"Welcome in, anything I can help with?"

His eyes shot to the storekeeper. The first glance told him all he needed to know, that being that she probably wasn't going to murder him. It was enough to ease the tension in his hands.

"Good evening," he responded, voice fluctuating between too loud and barely audible. He wasn't exactly sure how to behave in a store like this. All of the things around him would normally be things he'd love to buy. Unfortunately, the kid only had a few sickles to his name left. He'd have to be sparing with what he had, or resort to window shopping entirely.

It made him feel a bit embarrassed.

"Ah...no, no thank you. I'm just..."

Flustered and muttering, his eyes drifted to the potion kits for the school. The quality was great, especially for the students of the castle, but they had to compete with the quality of the hospital wing. For himself, however, he'd never get to own a personal kit like that himself. But that didn't stop his hands from drifting closer to the box, only to shoot back at remembering where he was. It wasn't a place for him to drift along freely, although the smell of the herbs in the middle called to his olfactoric senses so much that the boy found his head turning to the nature-filled garden in the center.

His heart felt full with the scents of the herbs and concocction all around.

This must be what kids felt like when they were home.

[Lia Ayres]

The kid looked like he was ready to be attacked or something just walking into the shop. Lia frowned. Because of her history, the shop's history, or his own history? Most likely the latter, but she never really knew how things looked from the outside and her legacy had been on her mind so much more with Arlo off to school this year. The girls seemed to have gotten off easy, but that didn't mean her youngest would.

He stumbled through his refusal of her help and she nodded, unable to stop the smile forming on her face as he took in the sights of the kits they had painstakenly put together for the students this year. She knew that look. She was guilty of having that look when they got in a particularly beautiful batch of ingredients.

"You can pick him up and look, if you want," she said, nodding towards the kits. He didn't really seem the type to break things the second he got his hands on them. "The contents is listed on the bottom. And you get a discount if you're a Hogwarts student."

Lia wanted to ask about his potions, because her gut was telling her that he was one of those kids who always had one they were working on. Fourteen years in the shop had introduced her to all sorts of people and she had gotten quite good at picking out the ones who just really loved it. It wasn't her business though.

"Just give a shout if you need anything," she told him, going back to straightening the shelves.

[Ren Al-Sayeed]

"You can pick him up and look, if you want. The contents are listed on the bottom. And you get a discount if you're a Hogwarts student."

The boy's eyes lit up at the shopkeepers words. The stores he frequented didn't even allow being too close to the goods, let alone handling them. Of course, those other stores carried goods that might melt your face off. The only thing this was helping Ren recognize is that he should really start shopping at regular stores one day.

If he ever got the money to, that is.

Picking up the potion kit, he looked around the kits make and design. It was a lovely kit for the standard potion user. Looking at the list, it had everything the potion user would need for a year of class and then some. The best equipment always lasted longer than it should be used with proper maintenance, a lesson that was scrubbed into him as the cauldrons of the castle had been taken care of by the booy since first year. Even now in his era of magical variety, he occasionally liked to scrub the cauldrons still. The smell of residual ingredients and potion gloop was entertaining, trying to guess what was brewed and whatnot.

"Just give a shout if you need anything,"

He didn't need it. He really didn't. For classes, he had the bare minimum. He didn't need more to actually pass classes. In the hospital wing, he had all of their supplies. He never needed his own.

And yet...

He shook his right leg, confirming the few sickles left to his name were present and accounted for. It wouldn't have been the first time a hole in his pocket had led him to heartbreak. "A discount...?" He murmured the store owners words back to her in a voice he could only describe as he probably didn't say anything. He'd never been shy to mention his parentless status, but he'd never wandered into a store without money before. It was scary. Why go into a store if you didn't have the money to buy anything? That's what he kept thinking as his heart raced, hoping the discount would be steep enough for the sickles to stretch.

He stepped slowly, one leg at a time. Each step sent a tremble of anxiety as his heart rate began climbing. His hands were the only thing to remain steady throughout the incredibly slow-motion walk to the owner. His voice struggling to escape.

"Excuse me..." Ren said as he looked towards the lady straightening the shelves. Under different circumstances, he would have admired her shelves, her organization skills, or even just her dedication to potions as a general career. But all he could do was look into her eyes and hope they were as full of kindness as her voice earlier.

"I'm a Hogwarts stu...dent. How much would thi.....would this be?"

[Lia Ayres]

Lia kept her focus on the shelves, pulling everything forward and filling in gaps from the crate at her feet. But she couldn't help keeping an eye on the boy out of the corner of her eye. Partially, it was habit because things often slipped easily into pockets in a store like this. Partially because she was starting to wonder if this kid had ever been in a potions shop before in his life, what with the way he was looking at everything.

She should ask the girls if they knew him. She was curious now.

"I'm a Hogwarts stu...dent. How much would thi.....would this be?"

"Four sickles." It wasn't much of a discount, but the only people who really bought them were Hogwarts students, so they more or less sold them at cost. "We just adjusted the ingredients in those based on what kids found they needed last year, so hopefully, it should get you all the way through."

A knock came from the back. Lia frowned, and then sighed. She'd forgotten one of their deliveries were running late. Which would have been annoying enough, but she'd also sent everyone home since there was only an hour left and it was quiet.

"Sorry, one moment," she said to the boy, before opening the staff door and quickly signing for the three crates of ingredients left in the storage room. She was hoping to get home quickly after the shop closed, but that was at least two hours of labelling and stocking on her own.

Unless...

"What are the chances you have an hour free? If you're willing to help me with stock, you can take one of those kits as payment."

She just wanted to go home; she really hoped he would take her offer. It was a decent deal too. Most of her staff got paid less than the kits were worth.

[Ren Al-Sayeed]

'Four sickles, huh...'

The price was right. Fair was understating it. He saw what they had, and he had long played the pricing game on the impliments that he would need in potions. The kit was almost given away, making him wonder if the store actually made any money. It was too good to pass up. However, it wouldn't leave him with munch in the way of getting back to the castle. He'd hoped to nab a chocolate frog on the train, after all. He stuck his free hand in his pocket to count the change in stock.

But once again, he had no choice but to reconcile. This was his the reality of his financial situation. He shouldn't have been spending on things like chocolate frogs. He really shouldn't even be spending on the kit. If it wasn't crucial to his survival, he had to hold himself back. It was a sad reality for the thirteen year-old, but he counted himself lucky. Amongst all the orphans in Great Britian, he was one of the few allowed in a magical castle that gave him all the food he could eat. He got supplies, no matter how secondhand they were, that allowed him to get an education. As far as kids go, he was doing amazingly well.

And yet, he still felt sad to see the kit not go home with him. He'd give it such a good home.

His hand quivered slightly, the thought of the kit not leaving with him breaking his heart a little as he started to return and place it back. That was until the lady who had been maning the store turned to him.

"What are the chances you have an hour free? If you're willing to help me with stock, you can take one of those kits as payment."

His eyes opened wide. He wasn't sure whether he was allowed to work or not as a Hogwarts student. In the moment, he really didn't care either way. Working at a potions shop and coming out with a kit as payment? There was no better way to spend the day.

"I'll do it!" The boy yelled, a tad too overeager for his own good. Another day he would have reflected on the loudness of his voice, or the abruptness in which he took that offer. But this was a chance made in heaven for him. He quickly put the kit back where he found it nice and neatly. He quickly sauntered over to the lady, placing the bag he came in with by the corner of the front desk.

As he motioned to take off his robe as to not let them get in the way, his hands froze. He had yet to be allowed to use his magic. His robe had seen better days, but it was luxurious to the shirt he had under it. No transfiguration magic had been cast to fix up his appearance, and as Hogwarts' students were quick to drill into everyone at school, appearances mattered.

He bent down and from his bag removed a few pins that held parts of his bag together. Clipping them onto the sleeves of the robes, he pulled them back and held them in place as he quickly pivoted to the lady.

"Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

[Lia Ayres]

Lia laughed at the kid's excitement. Definitely a potions kid; she could tell in the way that he could barely let go of the kits. And this would work out great because the stock would get done and she'd get home on time. If only it was always this easy to make everyone happy.

He started to take off his robe before pausing. That's when Lia saw the state of his clothes. It reminded her of Henry when they'd been in school, though Henry's had never been quite that bad. Her expression softened. She wanted to offer to fix his stuff, but she felt it might be too much.

But this one thing she could do.

"Pretty straightforward. Open the crates, fill any spaces either on the shelves or in the containers there, label whatever is left over and put it in the appropriate space in the back. Everything's alphabetical."

They had so many kids and random workers through there sometimes that their system was idiot proof.

"I'm Lia by the way. My friend, Alice, and I opened this place about fourteen years ago now."

Just Under an Hour Later

"Wow, that was quick."

The kid was a good worker. It was a real shame that he was too young to work for them properly because he would have been an asset. But she knew all too well how important school was. There was always time.

"Thanks for your help. You're letting me get home to my family earlier than anticipated." She smiled at him. "Don't forget to grab that kit. And here." She grabbed a couple small pouches of ingredients from what they'd just unpacked. "Take these too. They might come in handy."

She finished up the paperwork for the new stock quickly, just adding the final numbers before filing them away.

"Feel free to come by anytime, either to hang out or if you need a couple of sickles in exchange for some work." Alice would get after her for taking in more strays. But what was she supposed to do? "Hogwarts, right? You don't happen to know Erys or Bryony Reed, do you?"

[Ren Al-Sayeed]

"Wow, that was quick."

'Has it been an hour already?' Ren thought was Miss Lia's comment had awoken him from his train of thought.

The boxes were emptied. The vials were labeled. Everything was sorted that needed to be sorted, in alphabetical order no less. God forbid someone think of ordering "Bittany" again. It was the fastest hour he'd ever had in his life. Reminiscent of shifts in the hospital wing ーwhere potions were needed en masseー the boy had buckled down and done what he needed to do. What he loved to do. He never considered it would happen unpacking boxes, but it seemed the concept of labeling and helping in a potions shop was just as fulfilling as making pepperup potions.

"Thanks for your help. You're letting me get home to my family earlier than anticipated. Don't forget to grab that kit. And here, take these too. They might come in handy."

There was no reason for him to really refuse the pouches of ingredients that she handed to the boy. He was quite happy to receive them, although working under an hour was hardly the thanks he wanted to give her. Miss Lia had trusted the young boy with her store and product, rewarding him with a kit and goods beyond what someone who was working here would have gotten.

As he removed the apron, he had sure to make a mental note, underlined three times. He would show how grateful he was, no matter how long it took.

"Thank you, Miss Lia. Thank you so much, really. I really loved working here." His gushing probably sounded like the most kid-like thing he had said in a long time. But it was just a few months ago that another chance like this feel at his lap thanks to a random adult.

Mind, the scale was completely different. But it touched his heart just the same.

"Feel free to come by anytime, either to hang out or if you need a couple of sickles in exchange for some work. Hogwarts, right? You don't happen to know Erys or Bryony Reed, do you?"

Names came out.

He wasn't great with matching the names to faces. He didn't hang out much with anyone. His self-imposed work schedule saw to that. The mention of the two names triggered memories that might have sounded like something he had heard in first year, but as quickly as those memories might have existed, they vanished. He would have to do a better job of learning his classmate's names.

"I've... I've heard of them, I think. It sounds familiar, anyways. I'm sorry, I'm not the most social. Unless they've been sick in the hospital wing, and even then, since I work in the back..."

It wasn't his proudest moment, showing this cool adult his lack of friends.

[Lia Ayres]

The kid wasn't much of a talker, though seemed to be getting a little more comfortable as time passed. Or maybe that was just being surrounded by all the ingredients and supplies. It was hard to miss the look in his eyes as he took everything in.

She'd put money that she'd hear about him being an apothecary someday. Though hopefully, he steered clear of the Snake Pit and all of that business.

She laughed as he thanked her. "I wish you could teach my kids that enthusiasm."

Not that her three didn't voluntarily help out. But she was sure they'd never been as excited as he was about the boring task of handling stock. She wasn't sure she'd seen anyone this excited about stock ever.

"Of course. Any time."

She nodded, unsurprised that he didn't know the girls. He was younger as far as she could tell, so it made sense their paths might not cross.

"The back of the hospital wing? The apothecary?" she assumed. "That's a good place to get a lot of practice."

She glanced at the clock and flipped over the sign to signal that the shop was officially closed.

"Is there anything else you need? Otherwise, I'll let you get going. I really appreciate your help tonight."

[Ren Al-Sayeed]

It was one of the lovelier evenings Ren had the pleasure of experiencing in recent days. The atmosphere of the store was truly something that brought peace to his heart. Nothing called to him like the presence of plants in the middle of the store, surrounded by vials of intricate glasswear clinking against each other in harmonious glory. Like a windchime of vials.

The thought of never having this again was, strangely, a little too much to bear. The weird part was that all of his friends had, in one way or another, been adopted. Not only adopted, but like, really adopted. Rae basically got into the Wizengamot circle. Benji was taken in by both English and Syrian royalty? Even Eira, who had been an orphan for longer than Ren had been alive, was secretly a Russian princess.

But this reality was the hardest to bear.

That there were at least two kids lucky enough to live with this as their everyday seemed like too unfair. It didn't seem extravagent. It didn't look lavish or anything close. But it felt like a home, like a family. It reminded him of his parents with their own basement in their old house in the Canary Islands. His mom's taxidermy, his dad's chem lab, both with strange interests that made home life all the more interesting.

This place hit a little too close to home. But what surprised him more was the tear that dropped down his cheek.

He didn't know why it did that...

"I..."

He opened his mouth, but the warmth around his eyes were the tears pooled stopped him from even starting his thought. He wasn't sad. He wasn't crying now. He wasn't any of the things that his body was telling him he was.

He was certain of it.

"Th...thank you for..." *sniff*

'Damn it! Damn it, damn damn damn it.' He couldn't even say thank you without breaking down.

He grabbed the kit his work had alloted him and headed for the door as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the ends of his robes ーoversized for growing into as deemed necessary by the Ministry of Magicー were just out of place enough for him to step on. His fall was neither humble nor graceful, and in an attempt to catch himself, two empty vials and his newly granted kit suffered the consequences. The two glass vials shattered on contact with the floor while the kit flew towards the wall, colliding in spectacular fashion.

The cacophony of glass was hard to hear, and over in an instant.

Beneath the boy's body laid one of the broken vial and all its shattered pieces, as the other laid strewn about his outstretched hand.

The tears couldn't be stopped now. Through the pain of the glass that cut his already tattered robes, the boy curled up on the floor and felt the tears give way.

His hands were wrapped around himself silently sobbing.

[Lia Ayres]

There was something going on with the kid. Lia couldn't put her finger on it, but there was some part of his story that had him way too excited about stocking shelves and seemingly reluctant to leave. Briefly, she wondered if he was in some sort of danger and the shop was a temporary refuge. But that was crazy, right? She'd just been reading too much lately.

But still. Kids didn't usually tear up when it was time to go home and they didn't turn to rush out like they'd be in trouble if they were seen. There was something going on here.

"Oh!"

He went down spectacularly, his too-long robes seeming to be the culprit, the sounds of shattering glass echoing in the empty shop. Lia winced, figuring that he'd gotten cut at least once in all that chaos. Uncoordinated as she was, she'd been in that position too many times to count.

But she stopped as the boy curled up on the floor, too big of a reaction for such a small thing. Home would need to wait a moment.

"Hey, it's okay," she said, kneeling down next to him. A quick wave of her wand cleared the visible glass from the floor. She hesitated as she reached to put a hand on his shoulder, unsure. But he looked like he needed the comfort. "Are you alright? Are you hurt at all?"

She couldn't tell with him all curled up like that.

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up, then we can see if we need to fix or replace any of your stuff, and we can get you home. Do you have far to go?"

[Ren Al-Sayeed]

"Are you alright? Are you hurt at all?"

The answer was yes. Yes he was. But he couldn't tell whether he was more injured by the glass that cut ever-so-slightly into his stomach, or by the embarrassment. But, gun to his head, he'd probably say it was the latter.

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up, then we can see if we need to fix or replace any of your stuff, and we can get you home. Do you have far to go?"

His sobs quieted themselves as he took deep breaths. The amount of "never wanting to look at her in the eyes or I'd die of embarrasment" he felt aside, There was only so long he could cry on the floor of a store owner before his self loathing would reach new levels. Plus, as the adrenaline and emotions of the fall faded, there was a stinging sensation that probably needed to be looked at.

"I'm...okay. Just, *sniff* a little scratch." The degree of scratch was unknown to him, but it probably wasn't a total lie. He straightened himself out, wincing at the presense of glass on his skin. One hand pushing himself to a seated position, the other hand holding his robe over his belly, he stabalized himself on the floor and took stock of the damages he'd created. Empty spaces by the glass cabinet, his potions kit, christened in the way of plates at a wedding, somehow on the far side of the shop. He couldn't imagine the damage he'd done on a fiscal scale.

"Uh, please... don't worry about my things. I'm, I'm really sorry about the damage. Please, let me work it off. I promise I will! The children's home probably won't mind... I'm not there enough for them to notice. Oh...but school starts soon..." The boys mind started to do what it always did as his eyes darted back and forth, figuring out a plan to get his recently incurred debt paid off. "I can ask the school!!" He exclaimed, his excitement premature but full of hope. "I do really good at potions. They might let me work here on weekends if I ask them. Then I can...pay off what I owe. Is that okay?"

[Lia Ayres]

He claimed it was just a scratch, but Lia had a feeling that his physical injuries might not be the most painful part of the experience. There was probably nothing she could do for that. She could heal him; she was well versed in the spells from raising three kids and her own lack of coordination. But pulling your wand on a random kid was just not something you did.

She reached behind the counter, grabbing the small jar of paste. Not regular stock, but something from her personal stash.

"Put that on every twelve hours until the scratch is gone." He held it out to him. "You'll have lots left, but let me know if you need more. You can't buy that; I created it myself."

He started going on about the shop and working off what he'd ruined. She frowned, shaking her head, but paused when he mentioned the Children's Home. Ah. That explained a lot, actually.

"No, no, you don't need to work it off. Don't be silly." It looked far worse than it was. Other than a couple of ingredients and some broken glass, most was still salvagable, and even if not, the shop did well enough for accidents to not matter much. "Things break all the time. I promise it's not a big deal."

But he was getting so excited at the idea of working it off. She was starting to feel bad about saying no.

"The school isn't going to allow you to come here on weekends." There was no chance. Not with the way she had left. But who was she to wreck a kid's dream? Leave that to Hogwarts. "But if you want to ask them and they say yes, I guess you could come work here." She looked at him pointedly. "Not to pay off a debt though. You can apprentice here, learn beyond what they'll teach you at school, and get experience in the shop."

It was easy to offer and honestly, it would probably be a lot of fun. It was unfortunate it would never come to happen.

"Now, let's get you stocked up again - you need to start working now if you're going to be an apprentice, so no arguments - and get you home."

fin.