pick your poison[noemi]

Sometimes, Hadley just wanted to tear her hair out with frustration.  She had been working at Holmwood & Co for a few weeks at this point, and she hadn’t progressed on any of her personal research at all.  The work itself was not wearing her to the brink of exhaustion, which was the only thing that would have kept her from pursuing more learning.  Instead, she felt a creeping sense of pressure to conform to the way in which Clayton brewed- that is, to say, not within Hadley’s regular style in the least.  The Holmwoods were very methodical and exact when creating potions, and Hadley did agree to some extent that precision was required at her job to avoid disaster.  However, innovations in the field of potion-making sometimes called for bursts of inspiration or spontaneity, and she simply felt stifled at her job.  She didn’t want to step too far out of bounds and lose her income, and so she regulated herself.

It didn’t help matter that Clayton had surpassed her in the guild.  Where everything she had a hand in had to be monitored, he could sell and put his own seal on anything he brewed up.  This aggravated Hadley to no end.  What gave him the edge?  She knew that they had the same basic schooling, and Hadley had even had a bit of extra study while she spent her year abroad in France.  She had come to the conclusion that it was only his experience working with his mother that had given him the upper hand.  Well, she would show him.  She had a plan to one day come into the shop with her new credentials, and enjoyed envisioning his reaction when he saw her progress.  She would force him to see her as an equal, and not just another employee.

A newspaper clipping in the Daily Prophet had recently ran a profile on one of the potions masters, a woman named Noemi Gambino.  The witch was only 26 and making great bounds in her chosen field, reaching Platinum Cauldron at an almost unheard of early age.  Recklessly, Hadley had immediately determined that she was going to track her down and request her aid.  It had been hard going, and at first she had almost given up.  The clipping seemed to be the only proof she had other than word of mouth. Eventually, though, she had shamelessly eavesdropped on a conversation while working and had gleaned a little bit more information.  Noemi was apparently so hard to track down because she didn’t operate a business, instead brewing from her own home.

It was with this address cemented into her mind that Hadley set off on one of her few days off of work.  She had dressed, not to impress, but in her normal wear.  If the woman couldn’t take Hadley at face value, as herself completely, than she would have to pursue other options.  Then again, Hadley didn’t really have anywhere else to turn to.  She quickly found the general neighborhood the woman lived in, and became frustratingly lost time and time again.  The overcast sky threatened rain any second, and it was with the first few drops falling from the sky that she finally arrived at her destination.  “Great, thanks,” Hadley muttered to no one in particular.  She fingered her badge in her pocket, wondering if she should put it on, and decided against it.  She didn’t want to seem too pretentious.  Raising a slightly shaking hand, she knocked and winced at the loud noise. 

She was entirely a bundle of nerves now, and stilled her hand, waiting for the door to open.  How in the world was she going to explain herself?  Hi, I’m Hadley.  Please pardon the fact that I’m barging into your home and asking for you to teach me  without you knowing anything about me.  She rolled her eyes and stifled a groan.  This was her only chance to make a good impression, and she didn’t even know where to begin.

Noemi was beginning to hate this place. Outside of the fact that she was established in London now, there was nothing holding her there. She’d tried to make friends, tried to be social. Between brewing, and seeming to maintain two businesses at once sometimes, she was always exhausted. Nothing was enough, and nothing really seemed to fill that ever widening pit of need that seemed ever churning. She’d withdrawn into herself for the most part, spending nights at her private lab, content on laying on a cot in the corner while she brewed elaborate experimental potions. She’d worked herself up enough that she was going to be a guest speaker at a potions conference over creating a potion involving Gillyweed that allowed the user to spend 6-8 hours underwater instead of Gillyweed’s barely an hour. She was proud of her achievements, but what was an achievement when one had nothing to do with it?

She was at the point where instead of getting angry, she was stoic. Instead of raging at things, and dramatically reacting as she was prone to, she just accepted it. Even when she came home and things were out of place, with clothes strewn every where and food just dried in the kitchen, Noemi just ignored the fact that there was an upstairs, and just began to clean. Which was what she was doing now. If there had been dust anywhere, it was gone now. She’d gotten a good look at the house she lived in, and it made some anxious part of her cringe. The only thing she knew how do to solve that problem, was to clean. Things that people usually didn’t focus on cleaning, she cleaned.

Noemi had been so far into her cleaning fugue that when she heard the knock on the door, it was as if it really didn’t exist. But she’d looked at the door anyway, and saw a figure there. Wrinkling her nose, she placed her cleaning cloth on a flat surface, before walking towards the door. When she opened it, the first thing that struck her was It’s going to rain before she actually looked at the face of the girl standing there. It wasn’t his type, so she had no worries of some deranged lover trying to attack her, so that soothed her a bit. As she looked at the young girl over for a quick moment, she wondered why she was actually here, then realized she had a voice to ask it with.

“‘ ‘Allo…” She began uncertainly, brilliant grey eyes scanning the skies. “Who are you…?” When the rain began to patter against the ground, she did this awkward reach forward as if she was going to grab the girl to pull her in, but didn’t actually want to grab her. “Never mind that for the moment, come in…and then you can explain yourself.” It was as if the younger woman looked dangerous, right? When the girl was in the house, Noemi closed and locked the door. Maybe she was curious, but for some reason more than regularly, she was intrigued. “Did you get rained on? I’ve got a pretty good warming spell on deck…or a warm blanket.” She was doing what she was best at, caring for someone. …It kind of felt good.

When the door opened, Hadley couldn’t help the panic that rose in her.  What was she thinking?  She should have sent an owl before rudely throwing herself at the woman in person.  Bumbling idiocy, that’s what this entire situation was.  She frantically ran through more excuses for her actions before stopping at hearing the woman’s words.  Her tongue was frozen despite the blonde’s welcoming attitude, but the decision to turn and run away was taken entirely out of her hands as a veritable downpour began and she stepped into the house instinctively.  Shaking her head slightly to get a few loose soggy strands pf hair out of her eyes, she shivered.  In the worst possible situations she had imagined, she hadn’t thought of standing before Noemi completely drenched.  Falling flat on her face, or blurting out that the woman was essentially her role model had come to mind, but not this.

“I’m Hadley,” she began hesitantly, sticking out a hand in the woman’s direction as if to offer a handshake.  Belatedly, she realized that she was still holding the press clipping-which was now as sodden as the rest of her.  Blushing furiously, she crumpled it up and shoved it in a stray pocket.  Perhaps the woman hadn’t glimpsed the barely legible photograph of herself, but her luck didn’t seem to be in today.  That was all she needed, to look like a stalker in front of the woman.  Then again, obsessively attempting to track Noemi down was a tad on the intrusive side.  How was she going to explain how she had found her home?  It obviously hadn’t been common knowledge, what with all the trouble she had gone through to find the information.

A trickle of water slid coldly down her neck and she reached up to wipe it off.  “I work with potions,” she stammered, then continued on in a rush.  “I’m a bronze level.  I was looking for someone to study under and my boss isn’t the nicest person in the world and I saw this article about you...” she trailed off, feebly trying to think of a way to remedy the situation.  Breathe, she told herself firmly.  She’s a person, not a goddess!

“I just wanted to know if you could help me improve, if you’re not too busy, that is.”  Hadley braced herself for rejection, all thoughts of being waterlogged fleeing.  If Noemi turned her away, she couldn’t think of any other options.  She could go to Davina and beg for instruction, but the woman was only gold level after so many years, and Hadley had higher aspirations.  If she wanted to be the best, she had to be taught by the best.  “I’d be willing to pay for instruction?” This last was stated questioningly, and she wanted to smack herself.  That wasn’t exactly within her means at the moment, as every penny of her pay was going towards her rent, food, or ingredients she needed for her own brewing.  She ran through her finances quickly and decided that if Noemi agreed, it wouldn’t matter.  Tightening her belt seemed a small sacrifice when she could learn all the other witch had to offer.

“Hello Hadley.” A smile curled Noemi’s lips as she looked at the tiny soaked girl. Her wand flicked outward gently, and she sent a silent warming spell at the girl. “I’m not much good at my drying spells. Let me get you a towel and a blanket. Are you cold all the way through?” She was going to reach for the other woman’s hands, but there was a shuffle and a piece of paper was shoved about and Noemi just blinked rapidly. What the…?

“You work with potions.” She repeated blankly, still trying to get a grasp on the situation before she was bombarded with words. What the hell was going on? She stood there eyes wide, and arm still outstretched. “Congrats on your cauldron?” She chirped, a questioning tone at the end of her sentence. Then the girl finally got to the meat of the problem. She was at a pace that Noemi could understand, and finally Noemi could respond.

“You want me to teach you?” Huh. What a novel concept. Noemi had never taken a real apprentice before, only having baby sitted a few of her colleagues little minions when they were on vacation. They’d been interesting, but a fleeing desire. Here was a person wanting to work under her. Her? She wasn’t a recluse in the potions field, but she was known for her love of experimentation. That sometimes threw the more traditional Potion Masters off when she combined her talents in alchemy as well.

Noemi went to go grab a blanket out of the hall closet, and wrapped it around the girls shoulders. “I…don’t take payment. At least not for teaching. That’s…not how it’s supposed to work. ” Noemi had been brought up in the traditional way of Mastery. The Potion Master fully took on the burden of their budding student, while using them as assistants with their own works. Noemi, when taking on a student, had always thought of her taking them on totally. Hell, she even a four bedroom flat prepared just in case. Hadley was proposing something different than she’d expected, but she didn’t find it…unappealing.

“What exactly do you want to learn? What type of Potions Mistress do you want to be?”

Hadley blinked when Noemi said she didn't require payment, then immediately flushed red.  Of course, she should probably know the way this worked.  All the people she had studied under in the past had either been teachers or an employer, but that was no excuse to not know the basics.  She remained in an embarrassed silence while a thick blanket enveloped her, mulling over her stupidity.  Then, a question the woman posed made her stop short.

No one had ever really asked Hadley what kind of Potions Mistress she wanted to be.  “Where I work, they really specialize in healing potions, along with the general ones.  But I don't want that to be what I do with my life.”  Potion-making was an art form in her mind, about creating something from a jumble of random ingredients.  She wanted to be able to pick ingredients blindly and be able to create something new without having to resort to looking it up or asking for aid.  But also… “I want to be able to change things.  In already established potions, I mean.  Sometimes the general public doesn't have access to a particular ingredient because of its scarcity in their region, or its expensiveness.  I want to be able to provide safe alternatives. ” She realized she was talking quite a lot again, and clamped her mouth shut.  Then, it dawned on her.

Noemi hadn't said no.  True, she hadn't said yes, but anything other than a flat out denial looked to be promising, did it not?  Hadley wasn’t expecting a chance to explain herself, but she was taking full advantage of the opportunities offered.  “I want to learn…everything.  Well, not everything obviously, I do know the basics.  But whatever you’re willing to teach me.”  She paused and bit her lip, dragging the next out despite knowing it might have an impact on Noemi’s decisions.

“I can’t apprentice full-time, though.  I know that’s typically how it happens."  Hadley mused, thinking that fact was probably the only thing she knew about the traditional master-apprentice bond.  “I have a job.  And I can’t just abandon the people I work with.”  She sighed and unwrapped the blanket from around her, handing it towards Noemi.  “If you can’t take me only part of the time, I understand completely.”  She handed the fabric back to the woman rather shakily.