April 2nd, 1894 — Denbright's Emporium of Wonderful Things, afternoon

Lucy was glad for a chance to get out of the house. Out of Irvingly, even. She was grateful to her mother-in-law for watching Lois for the day, so she could get some shopping done in Hogsmeade. It had taken some time for her to gather herself for the journey, but eventually, she managed it, and took the Floo to the Three Broomsticks just after lunch.

Of course, she felt it was unseemly not to buy something when she made her presence known, especially in such a bombastic way, so she stayed for a few minutes, purchasing a small snack, before making her way into High Street proper.

She spent about five minutes hesitating, before actually entering Denbright's, moving quickly as she could, as she recalled from her last visit (some two years ago now) that Buster existed and liked to try and escape. No one wanted the wooden dinosaur skeleton on the loose, least of all Lucy. She couldn't imagine what damage the enchanted being could cause, or how much that damage would cost to repair.

Carefully, Lucy picked her way through the shop to the toy cauldrons, looking over a modest model with a handful of accessories. She wanted desperately for her children to inherit their father's skill with potions, not her utter fumbling, and how better to prepare them than with a toy cauldron? Lucy's only magical skill toy as a child had been a toy wand, which was beneficial, of course, but wandwork was a general skill. The cauldron, and the crystal ball, were more intensive skills.

"Excuse me," she asked of the nearest person, who just happened to not be a store employee, "do you know the first thing about these toy cauldrons? I fear I know nothing about them. And I was hopeless in potions class..." She'd spent so much time lately stuck in the house that she didn't really recognize the person she was speaking to.

Daffodil Grimstone / Elsie Kirke

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I know I'm late to this but it's very weird to type Daffodil Grimstone.

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   Daffodil Grimstone

Elsie hadn't meant to go into the toy shop today, but she'd seen the most adorable little stuffed unicorn in the window and thought it would make a good present for her daughter's birthday. It was hard to believe that Maisie would be a year old in just two short months, but Elsie was glad for something positive to look forward to. This last year since the birth of her daughter felt like it had been one disaster after the next. It would be nice to just focus on something small and simple for them to enjoy as a family. Of course by then, Elsie would also know if her suspicions about adding a third to the brood would be true or not and that would certainly be good news.

Sighing as she entered the cheerful emporium, Elsie had to smile at the wild assortment of treasures in the shop. She couldn't even bring Bentley in here without him attempting to ask for everything possible in the store. There was so much in here it was almost a little overwhelming for her. It was hard to rationalize a store for being too "loud" when there was hardly anybody in it, but that's sort of how she felt. Perhaps it was just her dislike of feeling crowded, but hopefully she could find the unicorn and be on her way.

Unfortunately, she was having a hard time finding wherever it was being displayed within the store. She'd have to ask an employee, if she could find one of them! She'd turned another corner, thinking she saw something white down the aisle, when a voice disrupted her search. "Oh," Elsie replied, still distracted. "I'm afraid I don't, it wasn't my strongest subject either." She'd been okay at it, but had to work at it more than other classes. It looked like the white wasn't what she was looking for after all, so she turned to the other witch. "Hello Lucy," she added after realizing it was her former housemate she was talking to.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

Well then, not having assistance made this purchase that much harder, but Lucy wasn't going to foist that on Elsie. Merlin's beard, how long had it been since she'd seen the slightly older witch? At least since before Lucy and Roger had moved to Irvingly, possibly even before then. But she smiled, a bit sheepishly, at her former housemate. "I didn't mean to bother you," she admitted. "You were only the first person I saw. This shop is practically a maze, and I almost never see the employees."

Even though she knew they wore roller skates, Lucy hadn't heard a single set in this vicinity since she'd entered the store. "How have you been, Elsie? Last thing I know of was the notice about your youngest a year ago. I swear, motherhood has left me so incredibly disconnected." She chuckled lightly, shaking her head. "I feel like I rarely get out of the house these days."

Daffodil Grimstone / Elsie Kirke

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"No bother at all, I can't seem to find what I'm looking for either." She chuckled, looking around helplessly. It wasn't of much consequence, it wasn't as if Maisie, at all of a barely a year, would know one way or another. "Maybe if we stay put for a few moments, one of them will roll by." It was an amusing thought, even if she wasn't sure how practical it was. Somebody would be along eventually, hopefully.

Els could relate to the sentiment. Even though she was still working part time, she had spent quite a bit of time over the last three years stuck at home in confinement (not very good at it either, given Maisie's arrival story), but it did feel strangely disconnected when she was home all of the time. "I know the feeling. We're well, busy with two under three." Ben and Maisie were hardly eighteen months apart, and everything was busy with a pair of toddlers. "She's walking already, takes after her brother. Two on the move is something else entirely." She passed Lucy a wry smile knowing that her fellow mother would understand in a way nobody else could.

"How about you and the children?" Elsie had started having children relatively late to most of her peers, but motherhood was a universal sort of language.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

Lucy sighed in relief — she wasn't alone in her struggle, and that was enough to comfort her — and laughed gently with Elsie's suggestion that someone might be along soon. Lucy could only hope, she wanted something that was at least useful in teaching the technique of potions, not just a nonsensical toy. Practicality, not just play. "Hopefully," she admitted.

Two under the age of three sounded like an absolute nightmare to Lucy, though, and both on the move already...Lucy was grateful that her children had been a bit spread out. "Goodness, two under three on the move sounds both wonderful and frightening," she admitted, "I don't know if I could manage that. Mine were their own trouble, even so far apart." Susie, Eli, and Lois had each been a handful at the time of their infancy and early toddlerdom.

Still, she grinned. "Susie and Eli are attending the Irvingly school, so it's primarily just me and Lois most days, but everything's honestly quite wonderful." Of course, Lucy couldn't help but add, "It's still very strange to me, having Susie and Eli out of the house for their early education."

Daffodil Grimstone / Elsie Kirke

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"My goodness, they're that old? She really was behind her peers. Elsie felt like any kind of schooling for her babies was so far away. She liked to tease Tyb all of the time that Hogwarts was just around the corner, but it really felt like it was so far out of reach. Her mother might step in as their governess before they went to Hogwarts, or perhaps she would do it herself. Els had once considered the profession, could probably do it, but wasn't so sure it would work trying to teach her own. Even having her mother do it might be a bit of a stretch, she didn't want her children's relationship to sour with their grandmother because she was a stern governess. Fortunately that was all years off and Miss Halliwell was already doing some preliminary learning with Bentley.

Still, it was something to think about. "I'm sure it's nice to have time with your little one. I find splitting my attention one of the hardest parts." Ben had been so young when Maisie was born that he likely didn't remember much time without her, but she still wanted them to get time with both her and Tyb. Adding in the one she was sure she was almost positive she was carrying, and it would turn into a veritable circus in their house. She had Tyb had never really discussed how many was enough, but she seemed to have inherited her mother's fertility and they were so entirely smitten with one another, that there would be at least a few more. Elsie was confident she would know when she was done.

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adding so I don't have to keep checking, babystamp ~6ish weeks

  

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MJ always makes her so pretty

"Indeed, how do you think I feel, knowing my little Susie will be walking the castle halls soon?" She glanced in the vague direction of the castle, though it was unseen through the walls of Denbright's, and sighed. "Sometimes I miss those days myself." Lucy was always thankful she seemed to have followed in her own mother's footsteps, though it certainly wasn't for lack of trying. She and Roger hadn't really seemed to lose their spark yet, and Lucy was honestly grateful for that. If anything, Lucy was honestly due for another arrival anytime now, but there hadn't been any indications yet. She knew Roger wanted a larger family than either of them had had growing up, though honestly, Lucy wasn't sure how they would support that unless Roger got a promotion.

Lucy sighed slightly, nodding. "I do relish the time with Lois, as I have with each of mine when I've had it. Eli was the hardest to have one-on-one time with, though. Lois arrived just before Susie started at the schoolhouse." Her smile returned. "It seems we haven't been noticed still. Perhaps I'll just pick one and have done with it."

Daffodil Grimstone / Elsie Kirke

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Hogwarts felt like a long time off still, thank Merlin. Then it would just be rapid succession of children going off to school. It would be a long time before her house was empty again, and Elsie knew on some level it would make her wistful. On the other, though she was not wishing her children's childhood away, since she and Tyb had skipped the just married part, it would be interesting to see what life would be like. Something to look forward to, she supposed.

All she could do was nod, Els understood the difficult decisions of motherhood all to well. "I am two months early for Maisie's birthday, I do suppose I am in no rush today. I can help you look around?" Els offered with a smile. The stuffed unicorn could wait until she could find someone to help or she may find something better altogether!

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MJ always makes her so pretty

Lucy didn't have any specific occasion she was shopping for, necessarily, but she knew she wanted her children to be ready for anything at Hogwarts. So she wanted them to have practice with a cauldron-like object, which was what these potions toys amounted to. "That sounds lovely," she admitted with a relieved sigh. "I can't decide between these two, specifically." The only difference between the two cauldron toys Lucy was looking at was complexity — one didn't require the child to pick separate ingredients, as all the things were in labeled packets, while the other required more precise measuring and ingredient selection.

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I'm viewing these as the Potions version of the Easy-Bake Oven?? Except the potions are just treats.

  

Els leaned closer to the kits that Lucy was deciding between. She could only imagine the chaos that would ensue in her own house with such a toy, but she though Lucy's older children would do much better with it. "Hmm," she hummed out thoughtfully. "I suppose that depends on age and experience." Then she added with a chuckle, "Or how much you want to help." She was a ways off from toys like this herself, but Tyb's kitchen skills were passable (better than his potions at any rate) and she highly suspected Ben was his miniature, so it would be safe to say, he might be alright with such things. Perhaps he would take after Elsie and do well in those sorts of classes, it was hard to say.

"Maybe start with the easier one and then move up if that goes well?" Steps could be taken surely. That way some interest could be gauged too. Elsie would probably do that if it was her, but she wasn't typically one to hand out unsolicited parenting advice. "I think that is what I would do." Elsie was by no means an expert, but it would be a good way to see if they were interested!

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MJ always makes her so pretty