Atticus couldn’t help but steal a glance at his dear cousin as they walked toward Hogsmeade. There was a pain across her face he couldn’t compare to anything he’d seen before. Sure he’d seen her try and fail before, but this, whatever this was, was completely different. He placed his hand over hers and nodded at her suggestion. The Ivy Leaf is perfect,” Atticus murmured as he turned them toward the shop. The fact that it had been completely leveled a couple months ago had completely slipped his mind; he had avoided Hogsmeade in the following weeks. The sign above it looked almost new and he was pleased to see it was open.
“No,” Atticus frowned as he held the door open for Poppy to enter first before following her inside. “All I remember is reading of the explosion. I don’t know if they ever found the cause.” There was a hesitation to continue further in, but he had no doubt he could protect her if something were to happen - Hogsmeade had quite the track record lately of things going wrong more than right. He could only hope for her sake it was the latter.
He pulled his arm from hers as he gently placed his hand against her back. “Why don’t you go find a place to sit while I order?” Atticus suggested. The Ivy Leaf didn’t seem to be too popular of a place for the students, probably due to it being a little pricer than the Painted Lady and not as popular as the Three Broomsticks, but there were still a handful of students beginning to meander about. Atticus had ordered for Poppy a thousand times and while her favorites had changed over the years, her favorite tea seemed to have remained the same, at least for the past few months. A white rose tea for her, a simple black tea for himself - he didn’t particularly care for tea, but it seemed he was always in situations where he had to drink it. He added a couple scones onto the order before collecting it in his hands and turning to find where Poppy had wandered off to.
Atticus slid into the chair across from her and pushed the tea and plate toward her. “What do you want to talk about first?” He hummed. He wouldn't press her, but he knew she had a lot on her mind.
“No,” Atticus frowned as he held the door open for Poppy to enter first before following her inside. “All I remember is reading of the explosion. I don’t know if they ever found the cause.” There was a hesitation to continue further in, but he had no doubt he could protect her if something were to happen - Hogsmeade had quite the track record lately of things going wrong more than right. He could only hope for her sake it was the latter.
He pulled his arm from hers as he gently placed his hand against her back. “Why don’t you go find a place to sit while I order?” Atticus suggested. The Ivy Leaf didn’t seem to be too popular of a place for the students, probably due to it being a little pricer than the Painted Lady and not as popular as the Three Broomsticks, but there were still a handful of students beginning to meander about. Atticus had ordered for Poppy a thousand times and while her favorites had changed over the years, her favorite tea seemed to have remained the same, at least for the past few months. A white rose tea for her, a simple black tea for himself - he didn’t particularly care for tea, but it seemed he was always in situations where he had to drink it. He added a couple scones onto the order before collecting it in his hands and turning to find where Poppy had wandered off to.
Atticus slid into the chair across from her and pushed the tea and plate toward her. “What do you want to talk about first?” He hummed. He wouldn't press her, but he knew she had a lot on her mind.
![[Image: cBAJGlb.png]](https://i.imgur.com/cBAJGlb.png)