27th February, 1894 — Evergardens

The greenhouse at Evergardens must been close to closing when the snow began to fall outside, but Endymion had possibly been dozing on a bench, always taken in by the tranquil space (and already full on tea from the tearooms he had once been so fervently recommended). At least, when he started awake he struggled to see any other souls inside... and struggled to see anything at all past the greenhouse glass expect the flurry of blinding white.

So he felt he ought to leave, to return home while he still could, but – by the time he made it to the entrance a gust of wind and snow had blown in, strong enough to throw him bodily back. Hm. Apparating seemed out of the question, and he was shivering, even in the usually-temperate place. So he had – wandered back in amongst the plants again. “Hello?” he called out occasionally, hoping someone was still here. (Else he supposed he would find a comfortable patch to nap on, and forage for supper in the tearoom, and wait out the snow as an unfortunate stowaway.)

But everything looked a little off-kilter from the snow, somehow – the butterflies had disappeared; the paths seemed endlessly looping around on themselves, as though he had been wandering the same level for hours. Something broke the spell of it abruptly enough to make him stumble backwards – a distressed quail popped into existence. Following shortly by a fox. A fox he recognised, in fact. “Hello!” Endymion exclaimed, honestly quite grateful to see anything else still alive in this so that it hopefully wasn’t just all some odd dream.

---

Philomena Sprout

  

---

She should have seen this storm brewing; weather had been something of a recurring factor in her visions, but this particular storm appeared so quickly and so suddenly it worried her. One moment it had been sunny and then what seemed like the very next, the entire world was white and then blanketed with snow. The employees were ushering in as many people as they could to shelter from the storm, but soon enough, even with the greenhouses’ magical abilities, the reinforced doors seemed to be groaning from their hinges at being forced open and closed so many times.

On top of that, the floating orbs of light around the greenhouse seemed to be diminishing. At this point, Phie wanted to make sure the animals were alright. The problem was that on a normal day there was no telling how many butterflies and hummingbirds flitted about. On a day like this when chaos reigned, Philomena knew it would be impossible. The quails were nestled deep into their little grass pen, however she was drawn closer by their urgent-sounding twittering. Squinting through the grass, wand alight, she counted them as best she could but even with a double count, she still came up 2 quails short. Hoping it was just a matter of finding them close by turned out to be wishful thinking, and a quick survey of the grass told her she’d have to go beyond their home.

“Tchaikovsky!”

She tried calling him multiple times, however it turned out to be a fruitless endeavor. Either he wasn’t near, or he was hiding - which meant he wasn’t chasing any of the quails. The witch moved down the pathway a little further and then heard unmistakable squeak of a quail with a fox in hot pursuit. “Tchaikovsky!” Philomena cried, following the resulting barks. “Leave that poor bird alone!” She darted after the two of them, so intent on ending this charade early so she could go home that she nearly missed the figure that came quickly into view. When she did, she tried to skid to a halt. “Mr. Dempsey!”

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

Endymion was so delighted by the revelation that Tchai was apparently short for Tchaikovsky, and that was the fox’s name, that he was woefully oblivious to the rest of this situation until Miss Sprout had almost bowled him over.

She didn’t quite manage it this time, but Endymion still found himself face to face with her, their bodies altogether too close again. Horizontal, vertical – it really didn’t make things any better, did it? His hands had come up to steady them, but too late; clasping her now only made this an embrace.

Warm as another human body was against the snow and sleet outside the greenhouse panes, Endymion coughed and removed his arms from around her as if he’d been burnt.

“Miss Sprout,” he said, mouth twitching in chagrin or in pleasure, he couldn’t decide. He ran a sheepish hand through his hair. “It’s – well, a pleasure to see you. I thought I’d gotten lost in here,” he admitted, bewildered by just about every part of this. “I could have sworn I was the only soul around. Well – except the quail,” he pointed out, with a laugh.

---

  

---

Oh please let them not end up on the ground together again. The image alone was enough to launch her back to that very moment on the ground with Mr. Dempsey; feeling his hand wrapped firmly around her waist, even though they’d already landed; seeing the visible blush in his cheeks, wild enough to match her own embarrassment. Heat rushed to her cheeks, only to be interrupted by bewilderment as his arms wrapped around her once more and Phie wondered if he might be able to feel her heartbeat in her chest. And at the end of this tumultuous moment that only lasted a few seconds, Phie couldn’t resist the mad urge to request the universe to let it go on for a little longer.

But he only broke the moment because he spoke to her. “It’s a pleasure to see you to!” She said breathlessly, not sure if it was from running after the animals or from running into him.

It wasn’t a surprise to hear he might have gotten lost, and she found she couldn’t bring herself to be sorry about it this time around. She laughed lightly. “Well it appears your soul has found another!” She beamed. Her gaze went over his left shoulder. “A few in fact,” she amended, referring to the two animals that had led her here. “But I hope you have not been lost for long?”

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

Her smile was infectious, and her laughter too. Endymion could not help himself from chuckling, too – at the animals, or at his good fortune in having it be her he had bumped into once again.

“It... felt longer than it might have been,” he explained uncertainly, wondering if he would begin to see her gaze change in its expression to something resembling concern. He did not want her to think him mad, or an idiot, wandering blindly through the perennials. “I must have lost track of time. It’s as if I’ve been lost for hours – and I wasn’t even in the maze room,” he joked. “But I see the –” he glanced away from her, to the darkened outdoors beyond the greenhouse glass, “– snow hasn’t yet stopped?” That was entirely unusual, too. He supposed Evergardens was closed, by now; he waited almost expectantly to see whether Miss Sprout would politely ask him to leave.

---

  

---

Longer? Philomena blinked up at him in askance as he continued his explanation. The conservatory certainly seemed like something was amiss today, though Philomena wasn’t sure if it was due to the weather or just the nature of the large magical greenhouse. As curated as it was, there came a point in every garden where the plants took on a life of their own and there was nothing anyone could do to stop them. Be that as it may even Philomena, who had seen some weird occurrences in the greenhouse, had to admit that the atmosphere felt…different. And she wasn’t sure if it was in a good way.

A small squeaking bark told her that the fox had evidently listened to his mistress and wandered back over. But Philomena was too preoccupied by Mr. Dempsey’s description to notice. “Hours?” That was worrying. Now she turned just at the moment when Tchaikovsky trotted up to her. Picking up the fox, she turned back to face him. He joked, but she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “I can’t believe I didn’t forsee this…” She reached to scratch Tchai behind the ear.

She wondered if the magic had some how been affected by the snowstorm outside. “What time did you get here Mr. Dempsey?” Perhaps Mr. Dempsey had quite literally been there for hours. Even so, that he felt he’d been lost meant that there was some sort of barrier glitch that she’d now have to figure out how to resolve.

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

Oh, she was concerned indeed. Endymion considered the fox, as if her pet might hold the answer to what sounded ridiculous aloud. “Earlier this afternoon,” he admitted, and he might have taken a doze after his tearoom stop but even since it had gotten dark outside and the blizzard had been blowing, he had been stuck in some kind of skirting loop through the greenhouse gardens for what felt like forever.

“I’ve been trying to get back to the entrance since it started snowing, I promise, I know you’re closed,” he added sincerely, because he had intended to leave. “But it’s as if I was walking in circles. Or I might just – have a very bad sense of direction. But,” he smiled quizzically at her, eyebrows knitted sympathetically, “however would you have foreseen that?” He didn’t know how she could have foreseen any of this, frankly. Even the blizzard had been worse than anticipated.

---

  

---

Earlier this afternoon? Phie blinked in alarm. That most certainly meant that he had been here for much longer than he thought he was. Which meant that she likely had to find the tear in whatever spells had been causing Mr. Dempsey to be trapped here. Even if he hadn’t actually been wandering around for that long, the fact that there seemed to be some magical component to this weather change had her perplexed.

And she was too busy worrying her bottom lip, scratching Tchai by the ears to first notice that he’d asked her a question. “Hmm?” She looked up at him and his quizzical expression before belatedly hearing what he’d asked. “Oh! Er…” Absently, she clutched at the fox in her arms a little more tightly. “Well, I’m - I’m a Seer.” She revealed in a small voice. “And usually my Visions have been to do with the weather, although lately they’ve…seemed to change.” Over the years she’d had plenty of reactions from people when she confided in this bit of information, and she genuinely hadn’t been able to predict who would end up with what reaction. But she found herself hoping that Mr. Dempsey’s reaction ended up on the more pleasant side of possibilities, for whatever reason that had yet to be revealed to her.

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

“You’re a Seer? Truly?” Endymion exclaimed, forgetting all politeness and decorum to look at her in newfound interest. Even in the wizarding pockets of Britain, Seers were hardly two-a-knut, so they were not the sort of person you met every day. And Endymion, who had always had a sincere enough interest in Divination, was genuinely intrigued now – he had forgotten all about his situation, unable to help himself.

“How have they been changing?” he asked, peering at her patiently. He hoped she would not take this for prying, and would not answer him if she did not want to – but he thought he would give her a window to explain, if she chose to.

---

The following 1 user Likes Endymion Dempsey's post:1 user Likes Endymion Dempsey's post
   Philomena Sprout

---

What had she expected of him? To feign enthusiasm and then make a quick change of the subject? Perhaps, because the sudden drop of the mask all upper class members usually wore - of politeness and general air of obligatory intrigue - took Philomena by surprise and she found herself smiling shyly. “Ahm - yes, truly,” She replied, though she wasn’t sure she exuded confidence. Indeed she rarely said such a statement with confidence because it was always accompanied with her making an excuse to exit whatever ballroom she was in before someone started looking at her expectantly, as if she would collapse in a dead, dramatic faint and make an equally dramatic Prophecy.

She hoped he wasn’t awaiting something of that nature. Phie looked up at him, searching for any sign of expectations in his expression. After a pause, she continued: “They usually tell me things about the weather. Not exclusively, but themed around plants and their fates; it’s how I was able to help my family build this greenhouse.” She looked around fondly at the lush foliage around them, though she furrowed her brow in worry. “But lately they’ve had more to do with people than the weather or plants. And…” Phie trailed off hesitantly again before taking a breath. “I haven’t been getting them as often anymore.” What was once a burden had become a constant comfort. Even though it wasn’t the most pleasant sensation, Phie had always had visions, and there for at least knew that it was a sign of consistency for her.

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

Endymion took Divination and the Sight seriously, as an academic field – he could not say he knew much about it, but he believed in it sincerely. Magic was magic, after all, and he had travelled enough to see all manners of it, from the strange to the near-unbelievable.

So weather predictions were not all that odd to him. He smiled back when she smiled, though it faded slightly at the sight of her furrowed brow. Somehow this sounded like something that had been weighing on her: a puzzle to ruminate on, like an old curse to break. “I wonder why that is,” Endymion mused, glancing at her thoughtfully. People instead of plants; and less frequent? This was not strictly speaking part of the puzzle-solving, but he was curious: “And is that a relief, or do you almost miss them?” It could be worrying, he imagined, for a habit to change.

---

The following 1 user Likes Endymion Dempsey's post:1 user Likes Endymion Dempsey's post
   Philomena Sprout

---

Looking up at his expression, Philomena found no spark or sign of someone looking to take advantage of the revelation. Only what she perceived to be genuine curiosity, and she felt her anxious hold on her pet familiar loosen. His question took her even further aback, so much that she dropped Tchai from her arms (an action that the fox welcomed and went off to prance in front of them, tail low as he peered through the bushes along the path).

It was also with this question that Philomena had to remain silent as they walked through the greenhouse to think of her answer. It almost overwhelmed her in a way; she hadn’t fully had time to let the shifting nature of her abilities sink in. In a way, it felt like a moving target that she constantly had to aim for. “I’ve always used them to help my family.” She mused quietly, her eyes trailing along the path in front of them. “And they depended upon them. Not so much anymore, but they were always reliable. And now that they’re changing both in subject and frequency…” Philomena paused again, worrying her bottom lip as she pondered her answer.

“I suppose...I feel a bit of a failure to my family. Like I’ve let them down in their expectations.” To her mortification she felt her eyes sting, and she turned slightly as she walked, her hand brushing up to preemptively wipe any tears away before they fell.

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

He didn’t need to know her family personally to be quite sure of one thing. “But you’re not their very own weather witch – that won’t change a thing for them,” Endymion protested gently, sure that her relatives would not want her to fret this way, or to think her worth any less for not having a convenient special skill. “You’re more than your sight, Miss Sprout, and I’m sure they’re more worried about you. Besides, I’m sure they will manage just as well with the Prophet’s weather witches, like the rest of us...”

He trailed off, because she had turned a little away. He was sure she was upset; he felt a pang of sympathy in his chest. “I know it’s hardly my place,” he added, in a rush, hand hovering somewhere in front of him, as if contemplating whether he ought to pat her shoulder, “and I imagine the shop is long since closed, but – shall we have tea?”

---

  

---

He gave voice to her own arguments before she could voice them herself. He was right, of course. She wasn’t their own weather witch. And the greenhouse had been established in society as a fixture to the community; they had their program with the hospitals and healers, had exhibitions year round, landscape design that sustained the family more than Philomena thought was possible. Could it be that the family just…didn’t need her anymore? Her shoulders drooped slightly at the thought. Before her imagination could run off with itself, Mr. Dempsey’s voice reached her again, and she turned back to face him. Her eyes still glimmered with unshed tears, this time at his kindness in setting her worries to rest.

“You’re right, of course.” She took a breath, mentally shaking herself for ever thinking her family might want to be rid of her now that they had established themselves. “Forgive me, I know it’s silly…” Her eye caught his hand hovering near her. Quite against her will, there was a swooping sensation in her stomach, and she swallowed, not sure how to express to him that she very much wouldn’t mind if he touched her.

So his offer of tea came greatly appreciated, giving her a chance to convey her gratitude and she smiled at him again. “I should like that very much, if you’re not too pressed for time, that is.”

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧

“I might be no great judge of sense, but it’s not silly that you care.” Endymion said earnestly. There seemed to be mountains still weighing on her, things he couldn’t quite understand the weight of, but he brushed off her apologies with a swift shake of his head, and then offered a smile back to her when she finally managed one, in spite of the settled sadness in her face.

“And unless you’ve had a timely vision of this snowfall stopping, or know of some way that I might leave safely in this,” Endymion countered lightly, apologetically, trying to bring her back to amusement somehow – “I’m rather your prisoner for the time being. So.” He grinned at her foolishly – she could of course leave him somewhere if she did want to be rid of him. But, in the case she did want the company, Endymion touched her elbow to express – you’ll have to go ahead, and lead the way.

---

  

---

She was touched by his kindness and understanding, and felt a warmth blooming in her chest at realizing his disposition might be one of genuine spirit. That he was already making a light jest involving her visions without the slightest hint of malice or mockery stirred something in her and Phie allowed herself a soft laugh. “Certainly not my prisoner, Mr. Dempsey,” She volleyed back, her eyes glancing down to where he’d initiated contact before meeting his kind gaze. “But seeing as I haven’t had many visions of weather lately, we might as well make the most of our present situation!”

---

  

---

❧ Welcome to Evergardens ❧