May 14th, 1892 - Potts Flower Show, Bartonburg
Gus Lissington

It really wasn't a stretch for Quin to be invited to something the Potts family hosted. They were friendly, having owned shops on the High Street for several years now; not to mention chocolates and flowers just went well together and Mrs. Potts always had some fun ideas for collaborations around the holidays. It was good working relationship, never mind that he was pretty sure she liked to casually toss her many daughters his way. Unsuccessfully so far.

He had of course, helped supply the refreshments for the day. That working relationship made it easy to rely on events like this to boost both his own business, but to help the community see that he did things outside of the shop. He had done more baking for the daytime event, providing flower-themed sweets and baked goods aplenty so that they were sprinkled throughout the displays. The whole thing had come together quite nicely.

Quin was thoroughly enjoying himself, a glass of lavender lemonade in hand as he surveyed the wall of wisteria before him. It smelled positively amazing, a mixture of the florals and sweets wafting through the air. A pair of what looked like Hogwarts students went meandering by and Quin realized that they must be in town for a visit. He should probably get back to the shop if that were the case. Not that his manager couldn't handle it, in fact she was probably more capable than he was so he didn't need to hurry.

"Chaperoning again today, then?" He chuckled as a familiar face came into view. The two had become acquainted over previous excursions from the school. Hogmeade visit days were generally some of Quin's most profitable after all and Professor Lissington seemed to frequent the shop those days as well.

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When Gus accepted chaperoning locations he always tended to have an ulterior motive. He was the first in line to watch over Honeydukes despite it being a popular location for unofficial courting - who wouldn’t be wooed by someone willing to purchase them sweets? Gus Lissington didn’t have a sweetheart to buy him ample amounts of chocolate frogs, fudge and anything else guaranteed to give him cavities, so he spent a lot of galleons on himself, most during Hogsmeade weekend for the students. It was meant to hold him over for the month, but sometimes he was forced into a walk of shame in order to restock his pile of chocolate frogs because he couldn’t ever resist eating the entire thing in one sitting. (Or multiple, but there was never anyone around to judge him!)

Today another professor had beat him to his general station although Gus had happily taken the flower show after hearing a few murmurs that Honeyduke had partnered with the Potts family once again. He wasn’t sure if that meant the sweets would be floral shaped or floral flavored, but he would try anything at least once. He already had two baked items clutched in his hands as he did a round around the tent to ensure no students where trying to be in places they shouldn’t. He was sure by the end of the day he’d have at least one of everything he hadn’t tried.

Gus heard Mr. Honeyduke before he saw him, an easy grin spreading across his face as he shifted to rearrange the boxes in his hands as he turned toward him. “Any excuse to get my monthly fix.” He replied before he shrugged. He’d always had a sweet tooth but being at Hogwarts instead of traipsing through caverns and tombs meant he should probably cut back. “Someone else took Honeydukes from me.” Apparently he hoarded the experience, but it helped too, that his consistency there was helping him create bonds with some students.

“I’m glad I ran into you, Mr. Honeyduke. What am I buying? Because it looks good and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it, but I just want to be prepared.” Gus laughed as he held the couple boxes he’d grabbed on his way into the tent. His eyes flitted around to ensure there was no canoodling before he turned his attention back to the man.

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Quincey Honeyduke

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Repeat business was how Quin became so successful, and he was appreciative of Lissington's dedication to the shop, but it was highly amusing to hear it called a monthly fix. "You know I do owl orders, right?" That probably was the last thing the Defense professor needed, but Quin felt obligated to offer it anyway.

"Buying? I hope nobody charged you for anything, refreshments are included in the admission donation." Quin chuckled, looking at the treats that Gus had piled in his hands. Judging by the boxes Quin was guessing, but figured he remembered the packaging well enough. "Looks like you grabbed the macarons, lavender with orange honey buttercream." He ducked his head to look at the others in hand. "I think the blue box is a lemon cupcake with crystalized edible flowers on top. You'll have to let me know how the macarons are, I haven't made that flavor before." Experimenting with flavors was one of Quin's favorite parts of his job, but specifically incorporating flowers into the mix had been an interesting challenge.

"Most of it is just flower-shaped something or another, but I tried to incorporate some flavors in as well. There are far more edible flowers out there than I realized. I made some truffles with a rose crème inside. Those were pretty tasty."

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“But if I did an owl order, you wouldn’t have recognized me. And it’s nice to get some time away from the castle.” Gus winked at him before he shook his head with a laugh. He needed the exercise, he needed the break, and really, Gus enjoyed meeting new people, especially those who weren’t children. The seventh year girls were brutal and he was terrified of some of them - he was thankful that he wouldn’t run in the same circles as some of the upper class ones who had spent the semester giving him a run for his money. He'd spent so much time away he was having to rekindle and make friends with a group of people who had known each other for years. It was difficult, and he certainly didn't want to be friends with just a bunch of students.

His grin widened at Quin. “I know, but saying taking just sounded kind of weird to me.” His donation had been sizable, but then again… as his gaze went to the treats piled in his hands, it was understandable. He nodded then, listening to what had caught his eye. He hadn’t had a macaron in ages (although Miss Dashwood had dropped some off at his office on her birthday, citing she wouldn’t be able to eat them all), and he swore his mouth was watering the more Quin kept talking. He loved cupcakes, and while he wished it was chocolate (the best kind of dessert if anyone ever asked him of his opinion, although it wasn’t as if Gus would ever stick his nose up at any kind of sweet), a lemon one would do. He’d just have to swing by Honeyduke’s sometime and see what other things he had on display.

“All of those sound delicious. I promise I will owl you the instant I try it. You made an orange flavored chocolate frog a few years ago? Because that was my absolute favorite. I kind of hope this rivals it.” Gus laughed quietly, nodding as he continued to explain what he’d grabbed. Sure, it was a lot, but they’d all get eaten one way or another. “I would be lying to say I’m not excited to try each and every one of these. Maybe one day, I’ll write to Witch Weekly with a review of each of your flavors.”

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Quincey Honeyduke

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"Just keep it in mind if you need a between-visit fix." Quin wasn't going to discourage Gus from visiting, but there were other options if he needed some sweets in a hurry. He chuckled as Lissington went on about one of his favorite sweets. Quin tucked the information in the back of his mind for another time. The orange chocolate frogs were pretty easy to make, but hadn't sold that well, but he could make a batch for Gus if needed.

"Witch Weekly and I are not on speaking terms, just send me the reviews." Quin laughed. It hadn't been funny at the time, fending off three different young ladies after Billie had submitted to the gossip rag, but now he could laugh about it. He had gotten quite the little friendship going with Miss Dahlia after all. He had always had a good working relationship with the Potts family for events such as these, but he could genuinely say he enjoyed Miss Dahlia's company.

"I'll send you the chocolate frogs as payment." Quin offered with another smile.

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A between-visit fix; he sounded like an addict and yet there wasn’t any part of him that was ashamed to admit it. He tossed his head back and laughed at him before a wide grin spread across his face. “You got it.” Gus readily agreed - he wouldn’t even feel weird about sending an owl to Quin for…anything.

At the mention of Witch Weekly he almost winced, although given that the man laughed instead of frowning, Gus figured he hadn’t quite hit a nerve; he felt like he’d always missed some big event while he’d been gone and was always playing catch up - he needed a book of events he could consult. “Well, I’m not that great of a writer and my handwriting is horrendous, so they’d probably send me back a handwriting book before they published anything.” Gus joked as he shrugged; the students definitely complained they couldn’t ever read what he was writing.

“But, if you’re paying in frogs, I’ll buy a quill that writes everything for me.” Grinning, Gus shifted the items in his hand. He was going to buy one anyway, so he’d stop hearing the complaints. “Or, I mean, if you recommend trying anything else, I’m not picky. What’s your favorite?” Unless he was around things too much and didn’t actually like sweets. (Wouldn’t that be ironic?)

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Quincey Honeyduke

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Quin snorted; his handwriting was also pretty abysmal and that was saying something. He was pretty sure Billie had better formation and she had just started learning a couple of years ago. "I can pay in whatever you like, doesn't even have to be much, but just some insights on what you do and don't like, maybe a willingness to try some of my new magical sweets as well." Those were what he really needed somebody willing to do, as he would not ask the staff and his old school friends had learned their lessons. Not to mention some of them were married and boring now. (Not really, he just looked to think like that because he too would be married and boring by now and clearly he wasn't.)

Ah, the age old question he always asked people but could never manage to answer himself; a favorite sweet. "Couldn't tell ya. I love certain flavors more than others," Apple flavored anything was generally what he said. "And I do like fudge quite a bit, but I couldn't tell you anything specific beyond that I'm afraid." Really, to Quin it would be akin to choosing a favorite child.

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Anything you do or don’t like - now that was a loaded question. Gus Lissington liked every kind of chocolate imaginable, and while he had favorites - “If you throw in a peppermint frog when winter hits because those are my absolute favorite, I will try anything for you, I swear” - he hadn’t met a piece of chocolate he didn’t like. Or candy. His sweet tooth was astronomical. But being sent samples to try? Gus wasn’t sure if he’d died and gone to heaven (which was a possibility with his luck), but he was going to jump at this opportunity.

Please and thank you.

Sign him up.

Gus chuckled then before shooting Quin a grin. “Sorry, you must get that a lot, but I get it. I hate it when people ask me what my favorite place to live was. All of them. Although Egyptian candies are to die for.” Maybe he shouldn’t talk about candy. It was making him hungry.

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Quincey Honeyduke

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"Payment in peppermint frogs it is." If Gus was willing to test and review things, it was the least Quin could do. "I'll hold you to it." He chuckled easily.

Shrugging, it wasn't that Quin disliked the question, he was that he had no good answer. "The answer changes by the day I suppose, but I do have a hard time choosing one." Clearly Gus could relate in respect to his travels. "That answers that question. They have those delectable little donuts." Quin had never been, but had tried some different cuisines at the international fair a few years ago. Not to mention when the World Cup had been in town for the 84 games the Egyptian team had brought some delicacies that were worth trying.

"It's like choosing a favorite child." He laughed. That was one he certainly couldn't sympathize with, but he could imagine.

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Grinning, the red head couldn’t help but clap his hands together. Fig was going to be so jealous and Gus had zero plans to share with anyone. (Even if Basil wanted one, he wasn’t sure he’d share, unless of course, he asked nicely.) “Well, you know where to find me.” He chuckled quietly.

“Oh! Those donuts. I love those.” Gus grinned at him as he shook his head. He’d had a sweet tooth since he was a child and it was a good thing he picked such an active career or probably would have keeled over from a heart attack by now. “Hey, I should uh, get back to watching these kids before one of them knocks something over. But it was great talking to you!” He flashed him an easy smile. Gus was excited to sample all the things that would be coming is way!

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Quincey Honeyduke

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"And vice versa," Quin laughed at Lissington's enthusiasm. Quin was rarely away from the shop, hell he lived right above it after all.

That sealed the deal thought and as Gus though the better of getting back to his current responsibility, Quin had to laugh again. "I think they scattered a bit on you," He knew what the shop looked like when the students descended upon Hogsmeade for their visit days. Those were truly his favorite kinds of days, busy, almost to the point of frantic, but so many happy faces coming and going was worth it.

"So good luck!" He waved his willing victim off with one last laugh.

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