April 22nd, 1894 - Lochrin's protective goods

Protego Lochrin

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A waif of a girl in a long dark blue woolen dress and carrying a satchell of clinking jars entered the shop. She had come to town to deliver honey from Irvingly to a bakery and another couple of stalls on the high street and yet she found herself drawn again to this little shop of protective wards and trinkets. The last few jars were meant for sale of oppurtunity so the girl had those and a small purse of coin on her person. As she entered, she didn't know if she was going to buy anything, but she knew she wanted to and every time she visited this shop to press her nose against the glass, she had come a little closer to actually venturing inside.

Maggie's heart raced and she felt like she didn't belong, like the shopkeeper might see the little working class girl and want her out the door even faster than her parents had. He might even think she was one of those troubled children that she had been warned not to let near her coin purse. This thought only made her more nervous.

She looked across at the shopkeeper who she presumed to be Protego Lochrin with a nervous smile."I'm not a thief" she said very quietly and almost as an instinctive reaction, before quickly looking away hoping he hadnt spotted her looking or heard her unprompted denial. She looked around her at the interior decor, it was brighter in here than it looked from outside, and warmer, and it felt quite magical, but in a totally different way to Ollivander's when she had recently acquired her first wand. Her finger ran along the cabinet edge, so gently that she would barely disturb the dust, as if she was terrified she might break something.

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Protego looked up when the door to the shop opened, and honestly, his first thought was that the child was lost. They didn't get many children in the shop, unless they were accompanying an adult. Or once he'd had a very confused Hogwarts student looking for padding for quidditch and Protego had had to send them down the street to Quality Quidditch Supplies.

At the girl's insistence that she wasn't a thief, Protego raised his eyebrows. "May I help you?" he intoned dryly.

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Margaret froze for a moment when the shopkeeper spoke to her, suddenly not really knowing what to say, this was why she was her. "Erm... hi. I was told that you sell things that protect you against magic? is that true, because I want to... erm... I want some protection." she timidly said as she approached the man behind the counter. She was a small girl so his counter came up as far as her shoulder blades.

She had a small nervous smile on her face that she had finally asked the question. She was about to attend Hogwarts and was scared what would happen once she got there, but at least the man might be able to help, if she could afford it. "I don't have very much money." she said apologetically.

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Protego Lochrin

  

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Protego's expression softened a little. Kids. Well, at least she was in the right place. "We have some protection charms for lower budgets," he said. He came around from behind the counter, motioning for the girl to follow him. "Do you want protection from anything specific, or just in general?"

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The girl relaxed a little that she might not be barking up the wrong tree and followed Protego Lochrin . She pursed her lips and thought about what might best suit her needs. "I'm not really sure, general I think... no... fire protection, maybe?" she wrinkled her nose at herself. "I hurt someone with a fire spell when I was a little girl, I dont want that to happen when I go to school." she had a tone which was both apologetic and self irritated at the same time.

"Sorry."

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Protego nodded. "Sound reasoning," he said. He gestured for the girl to follow him and he led the way toward the elemental charm protections. From the sound of it, she was describing normal accidental magic--or well, as normal as any accidental magic ever was, of course--and he was pretty sure Hogwarts was the best place for children to be to learn to control that sort of thing. But he was not in the business of discouraging customers. Unless it turned out she couldn't afford even their cheapest items. Protego was pragmatic, but he wasn't a monster.

Protego stopped at a display and picked up a charm--it was small and designed to be attached to something else--a chain or a belt or whatever else. "This is our most budget-friendly option for fire protection," he said, hoping that she either wouldn't understand that "budget-friendly" was a nice way of saying "very cheap," or at least wouldn't mind.

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   Margaret Wallace

Margaret couldn't help but allow a little grin when Protego Lochrin expressed the price point in such a polite way, she knew what it meant, she knew she was poor. "Thank you, that would be great" she looked at the small charm, it looked rather unassuming. She wasn't really sure what she thought it might look like, she couldn't resist but touch it with her finger and make it spin on the short chain.

"Does it work?" she raised an eyebrow as if speaking to one of the charlatans that sometimes passed through Irvingly. Then her eyes widened with shame. "Oh.. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply..." talk less, smile more, that was probably the best option in most situations for the little girl.

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"Of course it works," Protego said, his best salesman smile in place. If her insinuation bothered him, it was buried under several layers of customer service. "Only the best at Lochrin's Protective Goods." Which was, of course, true in that it was what Protego personally believed.

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She let out a big grin and fingered the item again. "How much is it?" she asked, looking for a price marking, she had a little coin purse hidden on her person that contained the small allowance that she earned making deliveries. It might empty the whole purse but if it worked and it kept both her and other people safe from her, then it would be worth it in the long run.

Margaret reached into her dress and from.the folds withdrew her small worn leather purse, placing the coins she had on the counter. "Is this enough?"

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Protego Lochrin

  

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Protego counted the coins the girl put down, then slid one back to her. "That should do it," he said. "Pleasure doing business with you, miss. Enjoy your charm."

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   Margaret Wallace