August 8th, 1894 - Honeyduke's

It hadn't been that long ago that Fiona had gotten Niamh settled for school, but now that both she and Eilish were heading to Hogwarts, it felt like they both needed more than she thought possible! Robes, books, potions ingredients, a cauldron, scales, a new wand. It was all piling up. It was a good thing she had gone back to work at the inn for as long as she had, her savings was ready for two girls at school. Plus she would go back in the summers while she let the house during the school year. It would all be fine.

Fortunately Fee didn't need much herself, she had been fitted for a couple of new dresses, modest pieces in soft colors that would be better suited to her new position at the school. She needed get some new yarn to start knitting mittens and Toulouse needed a new bed for her living quarters. Of all of the things. Today was just for her though, the girls would come back to town with her next week to get what they needed and they were spending some time with their cousins before school began.

She had a few things purchased already, still needed to pick up her dresses, but that would be the last stop. Toulouse would love the plush bed she had under one arm almost as much as he would enjoy the yarn she would no doubt have to fight him for in the bag on the other side. She thought a trip to Honeyduke's was well-deserved after she hadn't bought more than two new novels at the book store and it was easier to pick up treats for the girls when they weren't with her. Had they been, it would have been a much more expensive trip!

With a few things picked out in her basket, Fee waited near the front counter to pick out a small selection of bonbons for herself. "Oh, pardon me." She said once she realized she was half-blocking the till. "I've got too much in my hands it seems." It was likely a comical sight, but she hadn't thought about it until just now, stuffed into a small space with no hands move anything around.

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Adam McKinnon c/o Henry Berkwood

  

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Adam did most of his shopping in Diagon Alley, of course, since it was convenient with him living and working in London. But sometimes he needed something from a specific shop in Hogsmeade, and the floo made it an easy enough trek that Adam didn't particularly mind. And, on this particular day, he'd decided to duck into Honeyduke's for a bit of a treat. A few sweets made boring errands a little more worth it, he thought. It was one of the few ideas carried over from childhood that still felt just as true as it had three decades ago.

Of course, Honeyduke's was a popular shop, so it was hardly a surprise to find himself squeezing through tight spaces with other shoppers. "Quite all right," he said with a smile. "I can hardly blame you with this selection."

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Fee tried to rearrange the things in her arms to make more room, but it didn't really do much toward the goal. Perhaps she ought to just purchase what she had and skip the treats for herself. "Back to school shopping is never as straightforward as I would like." With two growing girls and now her own needs to consider (which always came last anyway), Fiona rather thought she must look like some sort of pack mule with the things she was carrying.

"Let me just try to move back a little." Fee hated to be in the way and was now regretting trying to even squeeze in the store with all of her purchases from around town. So she tried to finagle her person into more of a corner near the case of chocolates, but of course only managed to cause something behind her to hit the floor with a crash.

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"No, I imagine not," Adam said easily. He hadn't given it much thought since the youngest of his siblings finished school, but he understood the sentiment well enough. "Here, let me..." Adam tried to move aside to make it easier for the woman to get out of the way. "I forget how busy this time of year is at the shops."

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Fiona had succeeded in doing nothing but make matters worse and finally she gave in, setting down the things in her hands on the floor to retrieve her wand. Carefully she minimized her purchases so they would fit in her bag and then she set her basket of things to buy from Mr. Honeyduke aside. As she turned, she saw she had managed to make a stand of sugar quills tip over. At least it wasn't too bad of a mess. "I wonder if I shouldn't just give up for today." She chuckled sheepishly as she flicked her wand to right the stand and start putting the sweets back where they belonged. Perhaps she should have done all of this sooner to save herself the trouble, but she was a mother, she could handle, quite physically, anything handed to her!

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"Ah, I imagine if you're doing school shopping, you deserve something of a treat," Adam said, chuckling. "It's been years since I've had to worry about it, but I remember it being somewhat overwhelming." He hadn't given it much thought since the last of his siblings left Hogwarts, and he of course didn't know how many school-age children the woman had to shop for, but he remembered the experience well enough, anyway.

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Fiona flushed a little at the thought. It had been a long time since she'd treated herself, probably since Aidan had passed away. She only bought the necessities for herself, making sure the girls were covered for their needs and if she could swing it, their wants. She wasn't destitute by any means, thanks to the family business, but she wasn't pushing her luck either.

"Oh, do you have children?" She added as an afterthought, once she had gotten all of the sugar quills back into their upright bucket. "I only have two girls and my youngest starts Hogwarts this year." Along with Fiona herself.

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"No, unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity," Adam said. "But I have several siblings, all younger than myself, and I well remember helping to corral them for school shopping trips." He chuckled. He'd always felt a high level of responsibility for his family, he supposed it was lucky that he enjoyed the responsibility.

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"It is a little chaotic isn't it?" Fee chuckled, thinking about his comments with a smile. "My brothers all have children, younger than mine, so I can only imagine it will get a little more involved as the years go on." There were quite a few all of them, all close together, so it would no doubt start taking more than one adult to herd them around for back to school shopping.

As one of the young shop girls came to the counter, Fee ordered the chocolates she wanted for herself, not many, just half a dozen, but still a little treat. "I do suppose a little treat won't hurt." She said as she smiled and thanked the girl as she calculated the total.

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Adam chuckled. "I do wish you luck. It takes a strong will to guide children when you're outnumbered." He smiled. "Anyone who works with them has my great respect." He wouldn't say it was the most harrowing of tasks--he liked children too much to be that unkind--but he thought being in charge of any group of people, adults included, had their special challenges. A bit like herding cats, which, ironically enough, was something he had a great deal of professional experience with.

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"Oh I quiet enjoy it. So much so I'm also headed back to Hogwarts to serve as the house matron in Hufflepuff." Fee loved her girls dearly and there would have been many more, had she not lost Aiden a little over a year after Eilish was born. This way she could see her girls still and help the students as well, it was a good place for her to be.

After paying for the sweets, Fee turned to gather everything up, thankful she'd minimized it for easier transport. Hopefully the addition of the treats wouldn't throw her off balance again.

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"Ah, I see," Adam said easily. "Well, then I hope you enjoy your year." She would certainly have her hands full, but he imagined no one went into that line of work who couldn't handle themselves.

Adam made sure that the woman had room enough to exit and inclined his head to her. "I hope the rest of your shopping day is productive," he said.

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