19 September, 1894 — Flourish & Blott's

Mrs. Wells, the woman at the register, was loquacious. Sometimes she came in with one of her children (all adults) who might serve to hurry her along at intervals and cut her time at the checkout counter down by a third. Even in those instances, it was rare for her visits to the shop to take anything less than forty minutes. She was unaccompanied today, and Ned was far too polite to offer any of the helpful little nudges ('oh, but look at the time, aren't you hungry? Shouldn't you be getting on to supper?') that her children sometimes prodded her along with, so this was looking to be quite the ordeal. Mr. Crouch came in while she was meandering through a story about her garden (one of the books she was buying today was on the impacts of garden gnomes on complex root systems) and was therefore obliged to amble around the shop and peruse the shelves while he waited, even though it was clear from his demeanor he was more interested in asking Ned something than in aimless browsing.

Ned would not have said that he was especially well-acquainted with Aldous Crouch, but he recognized him well enough. He supposed most people would have, after the election where he had been one of the more serious contenders for the country's highest office. He had also been in recently and made a purchase — though in the flurry of activity that always surrounded the final month of summer and then the transition into the start of the school year, Ned had forgotten exactly when or exactly what he'd bought. He liked to remember what people were reading, so the lapse irked him. He could hardly recommend a sequel if he'd forgotten the title. Or make any educated guesses as to what Mr. Crouch was waiting to ask him about.

At long last Mrs. Wells issued her farewells, and Ned saw her to the door. Then he turned rather apologetically to Mr. Crouch. "Appreciate your patience," he said with a slight grimace. "What brings you in today?"

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Aldous Crouch
* let me know if the date needs changing!

  

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Set by Lady ♡

It had been two weeks since Aldous had lost his senses, begun believing anything he heard, however outlandish. Given his particular position—not to mention the impending arrival of a delegation from Peru—this was not good. Given his reputation for having a level head, this was not good. Hell, given the fact that he existed and would like to not fall for some bizarre scheme, this was not good.

It was Gaius who had pointed it out, after Aldous had believed the world's most obvious bluff at the card table. Aldous was usually a much better reader of people and would have thought it utter hogwash if Gaius had not seemed so genuine and trustworthy when he said it.

This, of course, only reinforced the point.

It became, then, a matter of why: why had he suddenly grown more gullable than his infant children? There was no spell that he knew of that caused such lapses; even an imperius curse was far more nuanced. What new had come into his life? A pair of cufflinks, a hat, and the book on peruvian culture. Each seemed a ridiculous catalyst for whatever this was, but unwilling to continue on in his gullibility inevitably, Aldous decided to start with the least generic potential trigger: the book.

The wizard tapped his good foot with some impatience, hand gripping tightly to his cane nervously as he waited for Flourish to see to another customer (a mere clerk was not enough for Aldous' circumstances, only the proprietor would do). The tome in question was secured in his briefcase, which was clutched in his other hand. After what seemed like a week, the woman left, and Aldous at last had the proprietor's attention.

"It is about a book," the wizard began, setting the case upon an occasional table and moving to open it. "This book, which I acquired here about a fortnight ago."

It was part of the shop's more worn collection, as opposed to the newer, mass produced textbooks and novels the buisness also supplied.

"I..." Aldous trailed off. He felt like an absolute fool, unable to make eye contact with Flourish for embarrassment. "I think there might be something... amiss."

Edward Flourish

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —