August 10th, 1892 - Unlabeled Shop Front, Diagon Alley
Noble Greengrass

The idea had been tumbling around in her mind for ages now it seemed, but after the success of the flower show back in May, and admittedly her own need for a distraction, Daffy had gone ahead with her plan to open her own shop front. After a lengthy discussion with her mother about how she wanted this to be her own, but she did need help financially and would continue to contribute to the family business and income, but she desperately needed to try and do this on her own.

The shop front was tiny, barely fifteen feet across, but it did go all the way to the back of the building, there was a small flat above it and even better a flat roof in which she could plant a rooftop garden. Daff had every intention of starting at the bottom and working her way up, but honestly she had settled into the flat by herself quite simply, a few furnishings, a little kitchenette in which she could cook for herself and the garden had already been started upstairs. The main floor, which would become her shop was the biggest work in progress, but she had a plan.

The plan was also to do it all by herself and while magic certainly helped the process along, made it easier and smoother, Daff had still put some blood, sweat and tears into the shop floor. At the moment, she was painting the walls, a sunny yellow to contrast the dark woods of the floor and trim and was more than halfway done when she decided to take a break. She wasn't entirely sure she had eaten breakfast and should probably make herself some tea so she didn't pass out, but she was close to finishing. Still, she knew better than to push too hard, so put her brush down and moved to the open door of the shop to let some fresh air in.

Taking a step further out on the the cobblestones, Daffy stared at the space above the entrance, where she planned to put her sign, but was still contemplating the name of the shop. She looked a pure sight, frayed plait, yellow pain smudged on her cheek and apron, a worn cotton dress, but she was oblivious as she tried, for what felt like the umpteenth time, what she was going to call this venture. She stood there for a few minutes, ideas bouncing around her brain, some easily dismissed, others filed away for later but she knew she the name would be the last thing she came up with.

Sighing softly, she turned to head back into the shop when a familiar face caught her eye, one she hadn't seen since before her birthday, when the encounter had ended on poor terms and yet her breath still stopped and she felt that crack in her heart vibrate with memories. Still, Noble had made it pretty clear that he didn't want much of anything to do with her, so Daffy busied herself with wiping the glass of the storefront, trying not to make it awkward.

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The thing about Diagon Alley was that he wasn't supposed to see Daffodil there, but there she was in front of an unlabeled storefront, with paint on her cheek. He stared at her for too long to pretend that he wasn't, and for long enough that he knew she'd noticed him. Noble's heart set up residence in his throat. He had errands to run, but they all paled in importance to his new task: figuring out why she was here. It would be one thing if she was just in the front, but it looked like she was working here — at a location other than the Florist Potts. And that was just too curious.

He walked up to the storefront and cleared his throat. "Diagon Alley?" Noble asked, suddenly incapable of coming up with something more tactful.

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set by Bee

Had Noble been feeling generous, he would have saved them both the heartache of this conversation, but Daff hardly had the heart to ignore him either and so at his inquiry, she stiffened slightly, turning to face him. Gently she tossed the rag she'd been cleaning with atop the barrel containing some other supplies and wiped her hands on her apron.

"Ah, yeah. A new solo venture." She admitted. Daff hadn't really given out any of the details to anyone, even her mother. Laurel trusted Daffy's judgement after her work at the florist, but Daff could tell her mother was itching to know just what was happening. Truthfully though, Daff thought she was setting herself up for failure so she didn't want to get anyone's hopes up, her own included. Everyone would be able to see on opening day, all at the same time. "It's coming along." Even though it was slow, she had made a fair bit of progress in the last week alone.

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He wished she didn't stiffen when she saw him. But just as quickly, Noble was distracted by the concept of this store — which was hers. "A solo venture?" he echoed. His tone was intrigued — and a little jealous. Daffy was moving forward, and Noble was just stuck in place.

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   Daffodil Grimstone

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set by Bee

"Yeah," She smiled sheepishly, swiping at the hair in her face and likely succeeding at adding some paint to it as well as getting it out of her face. "I thought it might be time to try something new and I saved up most of it, took out a small loan from my parents to buy this place." She gestured to it, her features softening to one of fondness at the thought of having something that was hers. As the middle of seven girls, sole ownership of something was hard to come by. Not that she owned it all on her own just yet, but she would pay her parents back soon enough.

"Hoping to be able to pay that back quickly and then just have it for myself." Hopefully it would be lucrative enough, but their shop in Hogsmeade was so successful and she had the Potts name backing her, she thought she would be alright. Not to mention Mr. Honeyduke was eager to have her showcase his seasonal treats and some of the old favorites for an agreed upon percentage. She would do her own arrangements, her own sales, her own books for a while until she could hire some help, but that would be alright. With her own little flat right above the shop, in which she was thinking about renting out her spare room to another working female, she would be close and available. It had a lot of promise. "If it doesn't kill me first, obviously." She chuckled quietly, forgetting herself for a moment, as she gestured at the mess around her.

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Daffodil was going to run her own shop. Her own, something she was essentially building with her hands. Sure, right now it was a mess and the windows weren't quite clean and there wasn't a sign on it, but — it was all hers.

He'd always thought, somewhere deep down, that she needed him to make her own life — she never had. She could do it on her own. But he'd needed her.

"That's incredible," Noble said, still genuine with a faint hint of jealousy. "This place is going to be incredible." His eyes were lit up. You're incredible. "You own this? The business and — everything?" A whole building, and it was hers — and never mind that the Greengrasses were about to be broke, because he wasn't thinking about that. He was just thinking about her.

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   Fortitude Greengrass

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set by Bee

There was a glimmer of their past ease with one another that gave her a tiny bit of hope, just a little bit, to let the walls down that she had tried to construct between herself and what she'd lost with him. Daff couldn't help but notice that he too looked a little more comfortable, that look on his face, like he could also see the possibilities.

"I mean it isn't much, it's hardly fifteen feet wide, but those windows," She pointed to the two slim frames on the second level with the blue curtains, "Are my flat," It wasn't much either, two bedrooms, a tiny kitchen and a little sitting area. "But oh, there's so much room on the roof, I've started the garden up there already." There was also a miniature garden in the back, but she was intent on building a small greenhouse there for the winter months. The building was much longer than it looked, and of course there were always magical expansions if necessary, but honestly, Daffy adored the quaint, cozy feeling of it all.

It was hard not to get excited about it all, Daff had been working herself exhausted most days trying to get as much done as possible, but she was making progress, slow, steady progress. "Now if I could just come up with a name," She mused aloud, looking once more where the sign would go. If she weren't low-key avoiding Elias, she may have asked him to woodwork her some magic for a sign, but she wasn't entirely sure how to go about that whole thing right now... nor could she possibly keep Elias and Noble in the same brain space at the moment and so she quickly shoved that thought away for another time.

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Noble stood on his toes to look where she pointed, although he could see the windowsills anyways. Daff was going to have her own flat. She was going to have more agency, more privacy, than she'd ever had in her life — certainly more than Noble had.

He missed her, suddenly, and fervently. He missed her, and he wished that he could actually talk to her. Not on the street, but actually, without people listening. He felt like he was swimming through mud, like he was stuck, ever since she left him. And he didn't want her back because he didn't deserve her, but — of course he wanted her back.

There was an odd, lengthy pause — he was stuck looking at the windows for longer than he should have. "Do you have any ideas?" he asked. "Something on Daffodil might be nice, because it's you, not the whole family."

He was in awe of her, and he only caught glimpses of her life now.

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   Daffodil Grimstone

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set by Bee

Daff felt like this was the longest conversation they'd had in well over a year that wasn't some kind of painful. It wasn't easy, it wasn't as natural as it should have been, but it wasn't leaving her with a sharp pain in her chest either. It was... a relief, but it still made her feel sort of sad about how they'd ended up here.

"I'm sure it'll come." She'd been playing around with all sorts of things, something based off her middle name, Meadow, something entirely unrelated to flowers. "I hope once it's all finished it'll just come to me." She shrugged, with one last look at where the sign would hang before passing a small smile in Noble's direction.

The urge to invite him in struck her hard and fast, but she wasn't sure if she should. Once upon a time it wouldn't have even been a second thought, she could have shown him around, top to bottom from the basement storage to the rooftop garden and everywhere in between. They could have had a candid conversation and steal a few minutes for themselves, but now she wasn't even sure if it was possible to just show him the shop floor...

"Do you want to see the inside?" She found herself asking without really thinking it through, the pull to do so was just too strong. Maybe, just maybe, they could go back to being friends?

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Noble was so startled by the question that his eyes widened. But Daff was a working woman, which meant that she could be alone with people, and — just because this was more alone than they'd been in years that didn't mean it was odd. Nothing was going to happen between them, because nothing could. (He wanted something to happen.)

"Sure," Noble said. He put his hands in his pockets. "Can I come around the back?"

He didn't want anything reflecting on his sisters, after all — or on Daff. But he desperately wanted to see the inside.

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set by Bee

Daff held her breath, wondering if he would be the smart one here, but it appeared that neither one of them could stay away and he agreed to take a peek inside. "Sure," She said quietly. "You have to walk around the corner and down the alley behind these buildings. It has a wrought iron fence around an overgrown garden, watch the gate, it's rusty." It was the last thing she needed to do and she probably needed the help of either her father or maybe Jack could help her tackle it. Someone to do a little heavy lifting.

It would take a couple minutes for Noble to walk around the block, so Daffy tidied up a little bit more, arranging everything like she was closing up for the day. There was too much bouncing around in her head now to be able to focus on much else for today. Closing the door behind her, she flicked the curtains of the main window closed with her wand and made her way through the short hallway from the main show room and through the back room to the back door.

There was a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't quite put a name to, Daff honestly had no idea what she was doing, but it was hard to stop herself now. Pushing open the back door, she smiled and warned him, "It's a big mess." It really was. There was paint and unfinished wood everywhere. She needed to build some shelves and finish painting the main wall. Some things were covered in drop cloths and it was a little dusty, but like she had said, it was hers. She had a vision, she just hoped she could follow through.

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Noble went around to the back and lifted the gate, feeling like a criminal. He didn't see anyone watching — there were much worst things happening in London — but he still felt strange about it. It had been a long, long time since they'd been able to do this.

But he moved the over-heavy gate and walked up to the back door, and then she was there, with paint and undone wood and a layer of dust.

"It's in progress," he said with a soft smile. It was obviously being worked on, but he could see what it might be like soon, in the splotches of paint on the walls and in her hopeful expression. "You're going to make it amazing."

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set by Bee

Daff led the way back into the shop front. It was a little dim now with the curtains drawn, but the lamps were lit and there was enough light filtering through the thin blue fabric that it was easy enough to see. She certainly didn't need anybody getting nosy and peering in. Not that anything questionable was going on, but there was no need to invite any unnecessary third parties into the situation.

"This whole wall is going to be plants, fresh cut flowers for arrangements, probably Hector in a corner somewhere." She gestured at the half-yellow wall she was still working on. "I want Zinnia do to a mural behind the till." Hopefully her sister wouldn't mind. "I'm going to sell her paintings too." The shop wasn't going to be quite like anything she had ever been in, a florist and a gift shop combined? A place for local artists and artisans who didn't have their own fronts to utilize. "Mr. Honeyduke is going to have his own stand over there, we've come to an agreement on that." Daff pointed to the corner next to the till. It was big enough for its own set of shelves and a good-sized display of sweets and treats. "I think this wall will be other independent businesses?" She hummed out, looking at the smaller wall of the shop, trying to imagine what she might use it for. "Maybe I'll sell herbs and other household plants." Good for the kitchen or simply for keeping in a sitting room.

While she spoke, she gestured widely at the spaces she spoke of, trying to describe her vision, as incomplete and ever-changing as it was. "I want a large wall mirror and some other artistic pieces to round out the space. Bright colors, cozy armchairs, things that are a little eclectic and fun." It might not be the most fashionable of shops, but Daff could never begin to describe herself that way. She had no idea if it would even work, but she was willing to try. "I could put up a shelf for your potions, if you want?" Daff added absentmindedly, glancing at him and then back at the wall as she tried to envision where she could put them; entirely unaware that she'd basically unofficially asked him to do business with her.

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It was a dim shop with the London light filtering through the curtains, but Noble could picture exactly the space she was describing. Furniture for people to sit on, shelves for businesses that might not otherwise get their products in front of customers — it was so her. He could picture it exactly. There was a wistful feeling building in his chest, because he wished that he was part of it.

And then she gave him an invitation to be part of it.

"I'd like that," Noble said, voice a little strained. "I'd really like that."

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set by Bee

Daff had gotten caught up, as usual, hadn't chosen her words carefully and now she was left looking at him in awe, wondering just how to feel about what she realized she'd just done. It was like she kept inviting the heartache back into her life every chance she got.

Still, there was something about his tone and the look on his face that said he really meant it. Despite everything that had happened, despite the fact that last time they'd seen one another like this and it had been pretty clear there was nothing left to them, Daffy started to think that might not be the case. Maybe they could still be friends, or business partners, without it getting weird.

She'd be lying if she said she didn't miss him.

"Really?" Daff smiled warmly at him. It could work, good for business. She could supply some of his plant ingredients and then sell the potions in the shop. Lower cost of production for him, more headway in general. Not to mention maybe they could spend a little time together... "I would really like that, too." She admitted with another smile in his direction.

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He should leave it here. He was going to do business with her, she was living her best life without him, and every time he talked to her for longer he ended up hurting them both. It was abundantly clear that she was better off without him, because — if he had ever married her, she never would have been able to afford this place, because the Greengrass family debts would have swallowed them both whole.

He should leave it here, but instead Noble found himself saying: "I still miss you."

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set by Bee