It was laughable really. Mr Ollivander was all things charming and even rather funny in his way, he also seemed to have an affinity for the things that she liked – she abhorred sweets and had been swapping them for Helga’s savouries for years – and to top it off he had a career doing something incredibly fiddly she found fascinating on principle; in fact his livelihood was so well-known that it would have impressed even her mother.

It was a true shame that his many qualities were entirely wasted upon her really. Perhaps she ought to try? Was it possible she could change herself through sheer will? If it was then she was quite sure the whiskey would be her best ally in the endeavour though, no sooner had the notion entered her head, that all the warmth the whiskey had been kindling so well seemed to diminish. She pushed away her own glass, licking the residue off her lips, disappointed that it didn’t ignite quite the same spark as it had before.

“I don’t think I’ll bother,” Lena offered with a light grimace. Merlin, the very thought of that amount of sweetness…it would be like one of Cook’s more gushing efforts and no less disgusting for the love that had been poured into it. She sometimes felt distinctly ungrateful but with the Yuletide season nearly upon them she would have to make up far too many excuses before the New Year to worry about the cherry flavoured whiskey of somebody she didn’t even know.

“Unless they have something that’s as good as that,” she nodded towards the smoke-filled barrel they had just sampled from. “I doubt I’ll ever feel the need to try another drink again,” she smiled wryly up at him. “I don’t suppose shopkeepers sticking together would involve getting discounts for new friends?”

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MJ: still raising the graphics bar as of 2022