Warmest Welcomes - Printable Version
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Warmest Welcomes - Gideon Ollivander - January 20, 2021
January 20th, 1890 — The Modiste Rose, Hogsmeade
Ostensibly Gideon had volunteered to be the one who typically headed up welcoming new businesses to the neighborhood because the nature of his work meant he was unlikely to be in direct competition with any newcomers. He also had nothing from his shop to contribute to a welcoming gift basket, like many of the other merchants did, since wands were not exactly the type of thing you could just hand out at random and hope for the best. In reality, though, he liked to take on the task of delivering welcome wishes because he liked to have relationships with his neighbors, and he thought being the first to welcome them to High Street started things off on the right foot.
The shop wasn't set to open for two more days, but the window trappings had already been sorted and it looked as though it could have come to life at any moment. Gideon could not pretend to know enough about women's fashion to understand the difference between a shop like this and something such as Twilfit & Tattings, but perhaps he would someday, if Billie ever took an interest in such things — and if the day came that he needed to have a more intimate understanding of women's fashion than he currently did, it could certainly not hurt to have a friend in the industry.
Gideon rapped a knuckle on the door and waited until he saw stirrings within the dim shop. "I know you aren't open until Friday," he called out, lest she think he was a potential customer (although he was quite obviously not the right sort of customer for this type of business). "Just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood," he continued, raising the basket in his hand so she could see.
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Lavinia Rose - January 22, 2021
Though she had done a couple of commissioned gowns since her return to Britain late in October, Lavinia knew that, in two days, she would face her real test. Though she was confident in the long-proven attraction that the new often had, she knew too that hers was not the only such business in Hogsmeade, and that in these first few weeks, she must put her best foot forward.
In the back, she was triple-checking the order of silks that had been delivered that morning—it would not do to have supbar materials in her inagural display—and almost thought she might have imagined the knocking at the shop's door. It was, given the shop was not open, decidedly locked, though, and so Lavinia thought she ought at least check it. As she moved from back to front, a tap of her wand on her thigh saw her shirt and pants (far more practical for hard work out of sight!) transfigure themselves into a simple, but well-made, sage green dress. Her grey eyes followed suit, settling on a warm chocolate brown to compliment. The witch's hair was neatly pinned back but not at all flashy, but that suited the modiste just fine as she moved to unbolt the lock and open the shop's door.
The man on her doorstep—he wanted to welcome her to the neighbourhood, had he said?—had a basket on his arm and a friendly smile, which she echoed with one of her own.
"How very kind of you, Sir," Lavinia offered warmly, stepping aside so that he might enter the shop. "I confess, I did not expect to see a man in the shop for some time, and certainly not before we had even opened! Lavinia Rose," she added, with a polite nod of the head.
In the back, she was triple-checking the order of silks that had been delivered that morning—it would not do to have supbar materials in her inagural display—and almost thought she might have imagined the knocking at the shop's door. It was, given the shop was not open, decidedly locked, though, and so Lavinia thought she ought at least check it. As she moved from back to front, a tap of her wand on her thigh saw her shirt and pants (far more practical for hard work out of sight!) transfigure themselves into a simple, but well-made, sage green dress. Her grey eyes followed suit, settling on a warm chocolate brown to compliment. The witch's hair was neatly pinned back but not at all flashy, but that suited the modiste just fine as she moved to unbolt the lock and open the shop's door.
The man on her doorstep—he wanted to welcome her to the neighbourhood, had he said?—had a basket on his arm and a friendly smile, which she echoed with one of her own.
"How very kind of you, Sir," Lavinia offered warmly, stepping aside so that he might enter the shop. "I confess, I did not expect to see a man in the shop for some time, and certainly not before we had even opened! Lavinia Rose," she added, with a polite nod of the head.
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Gideon Ollivander - January 22, 2021
"Gideon Ollivander," he said, returning her nod with one of his own, accompanied with a wide smile. "I'm a wandmaker by trade — as you might already know." The Ollivanders had no business in America, where he had heard this new modiste had arrived from, but the family business had been established long enough that the name was recognized even outside of Britain, he had often found. Of course, none of that was his doing, so he felt comfortable mentioning it casually like this without feeling as though he was coming off as a braggart. "My shop's just there, across the street," he said, gesturing to the storefront half a block away.
Casting a glance around, Gideon found the nearest flat surface to set the basket down on before turning his attention back to the proprietor. "I'm sure you must be busy getting ready for your opening, so I won't keep you long, miss." (A mistake of title he would not realize until later). "I just wanted to drop this off — a few little things from other High Street businesses — and invite you to a little meeting we have. It's any of the High Street business owners who care to be involved, on the first Tuesday of the month — so February second, next — and we meet in Hogsmeade Hall and plan events and promotions and things like that. Talk about any trouble we're having, anything we need from each other. It's mostly men," he admitted a touch hesitantly, "But you'd be quite welcome."
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Lavinia Rose - January 24, 2021
Ollivander was a name she—like anyone else in Wizarding Britain, and a fair chunk of the Western world, recognized at once.
"You're so kind to stop by, and you needn't worry about keeping me," Lavinia reassured the wandmaker. "By now, I've only the last-minute touches to see to, and my girl is due in in an hour or so for assistance." She did not see fit to correct Mr. Ollivander where her title was concerned, as such corrections, in her experience, made others uncomfortable. Lavinia was determined to put her best foot forward.
"You're so kind to stop by, and you needn't worry about keeping me," Lavinia reassured the wandmaker. "By now, I've only the last-minute touches to see to, and my girl is due in in an hour or so for assistance." She did not see fit to correct Mr. Ollivander where her title was concerned, as such corrections, in her experience, made others uncomfortable. Lavinia was determined to put her best foot forward.
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Gideon Ollivander - January 25, 2021
"Oh," Gideon said, pleasantly surprised. He had gone through reopening his own shop after it had been destroyed in the Hogsmeade fires, and he certainly hadn't been organized enough to have everything taken care of two days before they opened. He'd been working furiously right up until the last moment, and even then he had not really considered the shop properly open for some time. But presumably a dress shop did not need to have quite the array of stock on hand before accepting clientele as a wand shop did. People ordered a dress and expected to pick it up in several weeks; people walked in the door of a wand shop and expected to leave in twenty minutes with a wand perfectly suited to every facet of their being, which was a tall order.
"Then perhaps I can show you what we've put together for you?" he asked, indicating the basket.
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Lavinia Rose - January 28, 2021
"Of course!" she answered brightly. Lavinia had not expected any sort of formal welcome, and while she did perhaps have a bit more still to finish than she had let on, she was hardly about to turn away such a kindness.
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Gideon Ollivander - January 31, 2021
Gideon smiled brightly and turned his attention to the basket, unpacking a few small items. "There's two florists on High Street: Miss Montague and the Potts family. The Potts shop is right next to mine, across the way there. There's a note for one free bouquet from either... We once suggested just including the bouquet in the basket but apparently that's a mortal sin," he joked. "They were all terribly offended by the notion one might just send a bouquet to a shop without picking it out specifically to match the decor. I can't pretend to understand these things," he said with a good-natured shrug. "But that's why I'm a man, I suppose. Oh, and here — these are from Honeyduke's, which is on the other side of the plaza. It's a sweet shop. You ought to try one, they're delicious. Quincey Honeyduke designs them all himself, and he's quite the genius when it comes to candy," he said, producing a box of multicolored taffys and showing them to her.
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Lavinia Rose - January 31, 2021
"It seems I have chosen an excellent place to set up shop," Lavinia said with a soft chuckle, "for where there are florists and sweetshops, there will likely be an abundance of young ladies in need of gowns. You must feel rather out of place, Mr. Ollivander," she added teasingly.
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Gideon Ollivander - February 3, 2021
"I wouldn't say so," he responded with a smile. "Where there are an abundance of witches, there will always be a need for find wands," he pointed out. True, the typical young woman did not need quite so many wands as they did dresses, but his point still stood.
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Lavinia Rose - February 11, 2021
She had to concede that he was right on that count.
"I would wager—though I am not a betting woman, mind—that you are positively overrun in the summer months. I hope you have some assistance at least, Mr. Ollivander?" Lavinia asked. "Good help can make quite a world of difference, I am finding already."
"I would wager—though I am not a betting woman, mind—that you are positively overrun in the summer months. I hope you have some assistance at least, Mr. Ollivander?" Lavinia asked. "Good help can make quite a world of difference, I am finding already."
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Gideon Ollivander - February 12, 2021
Gideon smiled widely at the mention of summer. It was his favorite time of year, and children were his favorite type of customer. They were brimming with potential, with curiosity. He always felt as though helping them to their wand was leaving a mark on them, in one way or another. It was a major milestone for any witch or wizard, and a wand said so much about someone's personality. It was as though he was the first signpost on a very long journey, and he had a hand in setting them down their path — though, true, it was hardly him so much as it was the wands themselves.
He wondered in passing (as he often did with new acquaintances) what type of wand Mrs. Rose had, though he always felt this type of knowledge was far too intimate to ask about in casual conversation, despite his trade.
"I have two employees in the shop and one in the workshop, and sometimes we've taken on an extra to man the counter during the summer," he said with a nod. "Though I didn't last year, and I don't think I will again. It is very busy, as you surmised, but it's positively the best time of year to be working. I love seeing the shop full of children," he said with a grin. Although, now that Billie was off at Hogwarts maybe he'd reconsider — summer would be his first time to see her in months, too, and maybe he wouldn't want to put in quite as many extra hours in the shop as he usually did.
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Lavinia Rose - February 13, 2021
"You speak of children as an affectionate father might," Lavinia laughed before adding, "or a doting uncle."
She herself had not had either, but had enough imagination to see the similarities between Mr. Ollivander and such a picture.
She herself had not had either, but had enough imagination to see the similarities between Mr. Ollivander and such a picture.
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Gideon Ollivander - February 19, 2021
His smile caught slightly, and he diverted his attention back down to the basket to hopefully prevent Mrs. Rose from noticing. Now that he was here, and had the benefit of hindsight, one of his largest regrets was not claiming Billie as his daughter the moment he'd discovered the connection (the other, of course, being that he'd gone so much of her life without knowing her). He hadn't known Billie well then, though, and he hadn't really understood what fatherhood meant to him. When he'd first set her up in the back of the shop, he'd been diligent about locking his workshop at night, to fend off any attempts at thievery, and he'd been prepared to turn her out if she became too much trouble. Now, he would have given anything for her — but setting the record straight on her parentage now would have done neither of them any favors, and it would likely only get more and more complicated as she grew and started her own adult life, where things like reputation mattered more. If he could have gone back in time... but he couldn't.
"Neither, unfortunately," he lied, with a wry twist of his mouth. "These here are from the Beautiful Beast Boutique, though they won't do you much good unless you've got an owl," he said, pointing out a bag of bird treats. "If you don't, the post office is just half a block down that way. If you've got a lot of correspondence regularly, you can set up a service with them and they'll send a lad to pick letter up every morning except Sundays."
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Lavinia Rose - February 20, 2021
Her words, Lavinia could tell, had struck a chord—though what the melody was, precisely, she could not have begun to guess. Privacy, in her opinion, was paramount; she would not seek to pry such a thing from so fresh an acquaintance.
"I do not have an overabundance of correspondence," she admitted. Who would she write to, anyways? "But then, I find owls delivering mail do always relish a treat. You've been very kind to bring this all by, Mr. Ollivander."
"I do not have an overabundance of correspondence," she admitted. Who would she write to, anyways? "But then, I find owls delivering mail do always relish a treat. You've been very kind to bring this all by, Mr. Ollivander."
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Gideon Ollivander - February 20, 2021
"It's my pleasure, truly," Gideon said with another broad smile, glad that the subject seemed to have changed easily enough away from that of children. He thought he read a dismissal in her subtext, however, and he'd stayed longer than he'd expected to already. "If there's anything else I can do to ease your transition here, I hope you'll let me know. Or let anyone know, at one of the Tuesday meetings — everyone on High Street is just as friendly and willing as I am," he said with a grin (though this was not entirely true, at least the grumpier proprietors tended to stick to the edges of the business meetings and only interrupt to complain periodically, so he was sure her welcome would be a warm one all the same).
RE: Warmest Welcomes - Lavinia Rose - March 5, 2021
"Perhaps," the witch offered brightly, "I shall have to judge the truth of that for myself, once things are a bit more settled."