Hogsmeade - J. Pippin's Potions

[Hollywood Heidi]

J. Pippin's Potions

Located in Hogsmeade, a chain of apothecaries established in 1753. J. Pippin's sells potions for all ailments, with another branches located in Diagon Alley.

[Hollywood Heidi]

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The night passes. It is the morning of the next day.

Classes are postponed for the week to welcome the visiting schools during Tri-Wizard Championship.

A special visit to Hogsmeade is scheduled for today.

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[Ariel]

Shane poked his head through the shop door before motioning Scarlet to follow him inside. He had always been terrible at alchemy, however was always intrigued by potions nonetheless. To throw back a vile of liquid and modify your abilities or even your own appearance was such an exciting concept to Shane. Although he never spent too much time dabbling in potions, his curiosity bit him the moment he saw the shop name and knew that they just had to check out it's contents.

"Look at this one, Scar," Shane pointed at a vile in the large glass case along the wall, "Pepperup Potion - Improves health, relieves coughs and colds - this would surely keep us healthy and on our game! Oh hold up, fine print - Side effects include steam to dribble from the ears for several hours afterward....," Shane cringed slightly as he stood upright from the case and shrugged, "I guess most of these come with some sort of price."

[Anduin]

Scarlett liked this place with it’s own magic. There are some really nice shops, each of them having their special charme.
And it also was very amusing to watch Shane when he tried to check out these shops from the outside to decide which one he wanted to explore first of all even from the inside. Finally he had made his choice and took her with him trough the door. It was a potion-shop and they seemed to have a great selection. She started to survey the shelves.

Then Shane got her attention.
"Look at this one, Scar,"
She stepped closer to him and listened to what he had found.
"Pepperup Potion - Improves health, relieves coughs and colds - this would surely keep us healthy and on our game! Oh hold up, fine print - Side effects include steam to dribble from the ears for several hours afterward....,"
"Well, maybe… but…" She didn't even try to hide her
skepticism.
"I guess most of these come with some sort of price."
"Yes, that’s the point. Mostly everything got two sides of the same coin, I guess."
Suddenly she had to laugh for a moment.
"Oh, Shane – always fun to go outside at your side! If you could only see your own face when you’re acting funny like this…"
She gave him a beaming smile.
Last but not least she wanted to be sure that he got the fact she was laughing with him and not at him.
"Okay, let’s see what else we can find here," she said while she tried to put on a solemn face before she started to implement her words.

There were really a ton of potions – some she had never heard of or seen before.
"Hey, look here!," she shouted out to Shane.
"Beauty potion – makes a marvel of beauty out of you. That’s nice. I’d be the winner of every single Contest."
She stopped for a moment before she gave her best to imitate Shane.
"Oh wait, fine print - Side effects: tearful eyes."
She stopped another second before she went on slobbering.
"Hell, no! My Make-Up! But maybe it would also give me the symphaty of every single one around when I’d cry while I’m holding the winner’s speech…"

[Ariel]

"Beauty potion – makes a marvel of beauty out of you. That’s nice. I’d be the winner of every single Contest."

"Oh wait, fine print - Side effects: tearful eyes."

"Hell, no! My Make-Up! But maybe it would also give me the symphaty of every single one around when I’d cry while I’m holding the winner’s speech…"


Shane inwardly chuckled at Scarlett's delightful imitation of himselfas he leaned over her shoulder to follow along with the small print on the parchment of the vial, his eyes silently scanning the text as Scarlett audibly read the results, side effects and all aloud to him. Vanity was one of those attributes that was both a blessing and a curse. Everyone had a little bit sprinkled within them, even Shane couldn't help but to admit that he preferred how his arms looked after pressing some iron at the Ilvermorny school gym when he wasn't getting his cardio in Quidditch practice. Yet, one thing he could not quite understand was how someone, like his dear friend Scarlett, who had all the beauty in the world could still not see just how perfect she truly was on the outside as well as on the inside.

"Sugar, a ten out of ten like you don't need sabotage to win any competitions - leave that to the petty girls who would sell their firstborn to look nearly as beautiful as you," Shane started the comment in a fluffy, joking matter but grew sincere with feeling at the mention of her beauty. He couldn't help but to momentarily stare at her with that award winning smile of his before peering down at his shoes to chuckle his way out of the flirty situation. He peered upwards to allow himself to continue scanning the vials of potions along the shelves as if he didn't just hit on his best friend, allowing his fingertips to graze the glasses before stopping over another one that caught his eye.

"Hey look, an Unwind Potion. Should I slip a few drops of this into Cami Laroux's goblet at dinner while she gawks at her Durmstrang loverboy? Are French women usually that uptight?" Shane remarked playfully, half serious as he recalled the skin prickling awkward situation he suffered by Cami's hand earlier. The more he thought about the girl's attitude, the more he looked forward to showing her what humble pie tasted like as Scarlett and himself would sweep Ilvermorny to victory in the upcoming Tournament.

[Anduin]

"Sugar, a ten out of ten like you don't need sabotage to win any competitions - leave that to the petty girls who would sell their firstborn to look nearly as beautiful as you,"
Scarlett couldn’t help blushing a bit when she heard Shane’s compliment.
He often made her some but she never had been sure if he maybe wanted to tell her more or not.
She wished he would say more than just that she was looking pretty.
But she feared that she misinterpret it.
Before she could think about a good answer or something else to say Shane started to wander around again.
She followed him, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Hey look, an Unwind Potion. Should I slip a few drops of this into Cami Laroux's goblet at dinner while she gawks at her Durmstrang loverboy? Are French women usually that uptight?"
"Um, Shane? I think it’s better if you don’t," she gave back. "Be careful. No one wants a misunderstanding to become an exaggerated rivalry."
She stopped for a moment but didn’t leave her friend enough time to respond a word.
"I wouldn’t call her uptight… Or to be honest, I don’t know if all frensh girls are like her. But during the past years I got to know girls from nearly every place around the world. And well, let’s just say there are many which are specific…"
Her face turned serious before she went on with her speech.
She also put her hands on Shane’s shoulders and looked at him face to face.
"Many girls wants to be a ten out of ten – but that’s not all. That shouldn’t be all! True beauty lies within and in the eye of the beholder! That’s why I would call some of these models superficial but luckily not all of them."
She hold her hands back and showed Shane an astute smile.
"Same with the french girls – I won’t say they’re all uptight or whatever you wanted to call her. I’m sure you just caught her on the wrong foot. But nevertheless should we give our best to beat them, hah!"
Now Scarlett showed one of her most overzealous attitudes by raising a fist and cheering.

[Ariel]

"Same with the french girls – I won’t say they’re all uptight or whatever you wanted to call her. I’m sure you just caught her on the wrong foot. But nevertheless should we give our best to beat them, hah!"

Although he had grown up with a sister, the inner workings of the female mind still boggled his brain to this day. Satisfied enough with Scarlett's explanation, he grinned casually as he shrugged and decided to not give the complicated french girl another thought. "And our best is what we shall do," Shane winked at Scarlett before stepping away from the case of vials. There was no doubt in Shane's mind that him and Scarlett were the strongest out of all the teams in the Tournament, as they would come prepared with their wit and strength. He just hoped that Cami wasn't trying any sabotage tactics by attempting to throw him off his game. As if he didn't emotionally rile himself enough, "So, find any concoction that strikes your fancy, Scar?"

[Anduin]

Scarlett was relieved that Shane left it at that. She didn’t want to argue about the french girl’s behavior. Sometimes Shane was just, well, a typical boy. But nevertheless he also was a gentleman most of his time when he have to deal with girls.


"So, find any concoction that strikes your fancy, Scar?"
"Well, let’s think about it," she started to speak out her line of thinking. "We weren’t told yet that we aren’t allowed to use potions so we actually should get some as a precaution. First of all we should look for one that will increase our strenght."
She stopped for a moment and looked directly at him.
"Don’t get me wrong, Shane. I know you’re atrong but I also wanted to be sure that we both would be or that we would be prepared if you just need to be even more strong."
She also patted him on his shoulder and gave him a winning smile.
"Second we might need something to also make us quicker. Oh, wait – and, of course, a potion to develop our intelligence to the maximum. I’m pretty sure most of the competitions would be easy to win if we first use our brains."
She couldn’t suppress a smug smile.
"Oh, and if no one told us if we’re allowed to use potions or not – we shouldn’t ask for it. If we weren’t told to abstain from it we wouldn’t break the rules if we use them, right?"
Now she smiled from ear to ear.
"So, back to your question: Did you already found something like that?"

[Ariel]

"Oh, and if no one told us if we’re allowed to use potions or not – we shouldn’t ask for it. If we weren’t told to abstain from it we wouldn’t break the rules if we use them, right?"


Scarlet was loaded with suggestions along with a game plan that Shane knew had been stewing in her brain since the moment they walked in. Shane smirked playfully as she talked about a multitude of potion conspiracies at once and remembered why she was the perfect team mate. Sure they were both athletic, yet a lot of Shane was brawn. More than he would care to admit. The brains behind every single one of their schemes and operations was purely from Scarlet's end. His heart swelled with gratitude as he was thankful that out of all of the students to be matched with, it was her.

"So, back to your question: Did you already found something like that?"

"Uhh, I looked but what you said was way better than mine. You're the smart one after all," Shane chuckled, "So, we'll take the lot of them then?" Shane questioned, as his hands expanded to frame the many vials behind the glass cabinet. 

[Anduin]

"Uhh, I looked but what you said was way better than mine. You're the smart one after all,"
"So, we'll take the lot of them then?"
"And you’re still a charmer, Shane," Scarlett gave back with a sweet smile on her lips.
She was really happy that it had been Shane who was chosen besides her.
Not only because of his streght and athletic skills but rather because she liked him.
Maybe really liked him…
Somewhere in her mind she hoped that they both would get a bit more closer during the Tournament but she also was determined to focus on their aim to win the trophy.

"Okay," she came back to business, "let’s take two of each potion which increases our physical and mental abilities. One for each of us. In the best case we won’t need them, in the worst case… well, let’s hope our skills will be enough. The potions should be for emergency. I hope we won’t have to use them indeed."
She stopped a moment and looked at Shane. Something had come to her mind.
"I hope we also find a belt for potions or a bag with an Extension Charm to carry all theese phials with us."
Then she suddenly lowered her voice. She was in the habit of doing so when she speaks about money. Once some people of her Management told her to not speak out loud that she has plenty of money with her to prevent being robbed.
"Oh, and don’t worry about the cost. I took enough with me." 

[Ariel]

"let’s take two of each potion which increases our physical and mental abilities. One for each of us. In the best case we won’t need them, in the worst case… well, let’s hope our skills will be enough. The potions should be for emergency. I hope we won’t have to use them indeed."


"Emergency use only, got it," Shane nodded as he began to load his hands and arms up with every potion they figured would be necessary, just in case. He was convinced that his physical abilities and Scarlet's mental strength would suffice for the Tournament. Yet, he figured it was good to have a back up plan in case they encounter any tasks that might seem more difficult for the usual wizard or witch.

"Oh, and don’t worry about the cost. I took enough with me."

"Brilliant, Scar, you're always thinking ahead!" Shane grabbed one more vial from the shelf he stood in front before leading them to the front register to make their purchase. The teller ran them through and Scarlet covered the cost which Shane assumed that the school could most likely write off as essentials. "Allow me," Shane went ahead and grabbed all the shopping bags with both of his hands, "You paid, so I'll gladly carry!"

[Anduin]

"Allow me," "You paid, so I'll gladly carry!"
He was so cute!
Of course, Scarlett was accustomed to let others carry her stuff but she would never adamant that they shall do so. However she liked to be treaten like a lady.
"Shane, you’re my 'Prince Charming'. What would I do without you?"
She hoped that he wouldn’t recognize her blushed cheeks.
"So, let’s go!," she shouted out with enthusiasm to gloss over her embarrassment and opend the door so that they could leave to the Ourside.


*** Scarlett and Shane leave ***