↠{ stories left on our skin , Wini + open

It was always oddly cold in the upstairs bedroom, presumably from the chill let in by the grand sitting window, and it was unforgiving. However, tucked tightly in to the full sized bed that stood against the wall opposite from the window was a young girl, sleeping soundlessly. Her comforter had been charmed to remain toasty warm regardless of the outside temperature, and if it hadn't been for the soft knock on her door, she would have continued on this way for quite a while. The blonde stirred awake and opened her eyes just as her bedroom door opened slowly and her little sister peeked in. "Penrose! You've gotta wake up! Mum's got breakfast on downstairs. Come on Pen, get up, get dressed!" Penrose sighed, she had been having a good dream - for once, but she rolled over and swung her feet out of bed and into her soft slippers.

Just about an hour later Robyn had her girls fed a breakfast of mixed fruit and an egg on toast, had them dressed, hair brushed and shoes on. The three witches gathered around the fireplace and Robyn took down the ornately sculpted jar from the mantle, removing the lid and holding it out to her eldest daughter. "You first love, we'll be right behind you!" Penrose lifted a handful of the Floo Powder into her palm, stepped onto the hearth and turned to face her family. With a wink at her little sister, Penrose tossed the Floo Powder into the fire, stepped into the emerald flames, and clearly projected, "The Leaky Cauldron!" The experience of traveling by Floo Powder was never lost on Penrose, it was both thrilling and also terrifying and when it was over she didn't know whether or not to be thankful or to be excited about doing it again.

Stepping slowly out of the fireplace in The Leaky Cauldron, Penrose reoriented herself and took a moment to brush soot from her plum-colored robes. True to her word, Fiona appeared just a moment later and followed Penrose's lead, adjusting her robe and standing by her sister's side. They waited for almost a minute, mostly ignored by the patrons of the pub. Not before long, bright green flames burst into life and Robyn emerged, brushing her hair from her eyes. She then reached out to her youngest daughter, taking the small girl's hand, as Penrose let the way for the three witches out of the busy establishment.

As they crossed through the brick wall into Diagon Alley, snowflakes started falling softly, and Robyn turned to her girls and said to Penrose, "Alright, I have a meeting in ten minutes time with some of the staff from Witch Weekly, as you know. Your sister will be accompanying me," - which elicited groans from little Fiona - "and it will probably take an hour." She checked the watch on her wrist. "I would like you to meet up back at the Leaky Cauldron at half past noon." Penrose nodded to her mother, who had begun to look for something she had concealed in her robes, and so Penrose then looked to Fiona and shrugged an apology. Their mother straightened up and held out her hand to Penrose, who received a shiny galleon and a few sickles. "Thanks mum!" This would surely buy her a warm drink and maybe even something new from the Apothecary. Robyn nodded, said, "Be safe," and then urged her younger daughter off in the direction of her meeting.

For a moment, Penrose stayed put, sliding her fingers over the smooth surface of the coins, considering that there was surely a peddler somewhere who had something warm for her to drink. She headed off down the Alley, surveying her fellow magical folk as they passed her and keeping an eye out for any place that she could get something to heat her up. As she passed Quality Quidditch Supplies, she couldn't resist peeking in the front picture window, scanning the shop for anything Puddlemere United related. Her overcast eyes eventually fell on a jersey and her heart stopped. Oliver Wood! He was her favorite player, a skilled keeper responsible for some truly amazing saves (and he was handsome!) Though they were already pink from the cold, Penrose's cheeks flushed a bright red and she backed away from the shop window. One galleon and some sickles would not be enough to buy the jersey, she rationalized, and it would have been a very foolish investment anyway.

It did not take much longer for Penrose to finally locate a street peddler that was selling hot beverages and pastries. The dark blue painted cart was overseen by an older, plump witch and was ran by a young adult witch with brilliant red hair. Still full from breakfast, Penrose resisted the urge to buy the cream danish with berries that looked so appealing and traded the ginger-haired witch her sickles for a mug of hot chocolate, spiked with peppermint. Her sweet tooth satisfied, Penrose headed back down the cobblestones towards the Apothecary, feeling warmer by the moment and enjoying the sense of freedom that surrounded exploring Diagon Alley by herself. It had been such a dreary year, and the month spent home with her family had been overdue, but Penrose still had the independent streak that caused her to crave alone time. She arrived at the doorstep of the Apothecary and pushed open the door, allowing a draft of cold air and snow in behind her.

The shopkeeper was at her counter, over her cauldron, and barely acknowledged Penrose's entrance. Usually, the apothecary had a very peculiar stench but on this day the smell of the potion and the cold air outside created a very earthy and herbal aroma in the shop. Taking a sip of her drink, Pen moved away from the door, towards a short aisle of shelves on which sat jars of every shape and size. Some were marked with labels, and others contained questionable looking ingredients, but Penrose was looking for Billywig wings and did not see anything that looked promising. As she turned away from the shelf with a sigh, she realized that she was not alone in the aisle.

A cold February breeze followed Wini into the apothecary and she was quick to shut the door behind her, her nose pink from the chill even though she had had her yellow polka dotted scarf nearly up to her eyes. The shop wasn't as busy as the main stretch of Diagon Alley had been and she was sort of surprised. Already today she had run into two of her classmates and it wasn't even midday yet. There had been many other familiar Hogwarts faces as she had been shopping today and she wasn't surprised. After getting trapped in a dome for six months, it seemed like everyone was just ready to be out and about. Wini included.

William, her stepfather, was next door, picking up some quills, and had agreed that Wini could go pick up some of her potion supplies that she needed refills on. Phillip, her pygmy puff, was hidden underneath her blonde hair and scarf but squeaked every now and again and as Wini wandered down the aisle looking for the dittany, murmuring phrases softly to Phillip as if they were carrying on a conversation. "Oh yeah?" she was saying, her dark purple robes swaying around her legs.

She shuffled a little further on down the aisle, smiling a polite hello to the other person in the aisle. But then she did a double take, a wide smile lighting her face as she recognized the other blonde. "Penrose, hi!" she said. "How are you? Enjoying the month off?"

Although she had expected to run into a classmate at some point on her venture out, she certainly didn't think she would overhear anyone talking to themselves among the many shelves of herbs and ingreditents of the Apothecary. Penrose noticed the Hufflepuff girl first, holding up her free hand to say hello as she was briefly acknowledged. A half second later, recognition dawned in the other girl's eyes and she burst into a smile as she addressed Penrose by name. The snake couldn't help but feel that she had just interrupted a private moment of thought, but she smiled back and said, "Hello Winifred! It's nice to see you."

It was cordial at most, as Penrose really did not know the Hufflepuff girl very closely and was not prone to over-excitement (except for when it came to Quidditch). The two witches had had some mutual classes over the years, and there was one thing Penrose know for sure, which was that Winifred was very friendly and personable. She couldn't help but admire this likeability, even if she had never made the effort to get to know Wini very well. Already, the other girl was asking about her month at home as lightheartedly as if they had all been on holiday, and it was such a relief to not feel so morose about the situation, so Penrose replied, "Oh yes! It's good to see my sister. We are out today with my mum - she had a meeting with her editor... But I figured I'd come shop around and stretch my wings a bit." So to speak.

After taking a sip of her hot chocolate, Penrose arched an eyebrow and casually pointed out, "I hope I didn't catch you off-guard, seemed like you were involved in your thoughts. I actually was under the impression that you were talking to someone for a moment, but I probably just imagined it." She didn't imagine it. Winifred had definitely been carrying on a half-conversation with what appeared to be no one but herself. "Have you been enjoying your time away from Hogwarts too?"

"Good to see you too," Wini said with a sunny smile as she lifted one hand to her shoulder to stroke Phillip her pygmy puff with one finger. He was squeaking as if saying hello too. She pushed her hair behind her ear as she forgot all thoughts of the dittany and focused on the Slytherin. It was nice to see her schoolmates when she didn't expect it, like a little surprise in the best of ways. "That's nice," she replied with a nod. "I'm here with my father too," she added and tried not to wince at the use of the word 'father'. William was her father really.. it was still weird to think of him like that though and she was glad he wasn't around to hear her use that word since she still wasn't ready to call him da to his face.

"I've finally gotten new robes," she added with a little more excitement in her voice. After all of her clothes and robes were destroyed in the fire, she had been in hand-me-downs from whoever was kind enough to give her some clothing and Wini wasn't one to complain really. But it was just so much nicer to be in her clothing again and she told Penrose just as much. "Have you gone robe shopping yet?" she asked, knowing some of the Slytherins had lost just as much as the Hufflepuffs had in the fire. "It's so nice to have robes that fit properly again," she added.

"Oh, no - no you didn't," Wini answered easily, but then stopped a moment as a confused expression creased her features. Talking to someone? She almost glanced around as if trying to remember if she had been talking to someone but then she grinned and said -- "Oh!" The Hufflepuff reached up to her shoulder, pushed her hair back, and beckoned Phillip out onto her palm. It took a few seconds, but the pygmy puff rolled onto her palm and Wini held him up for Penrose to see. "No I was just talking to Phillip. He's my pygmy puff. Well not really talking to him," she added quickly so Penrose wouldn't think her daft. "He likes to chatter," she added with a light laugh. And as if on cue, Phillip squeaked again and blinked his eyes at Penrose. Wini looked like quite the proud mum.

The fourth year nodded at Penrose's question. "It's been nice to spend time with family. They're muggles so they don't really understand everything at Hogwarts and my mum was an absolute wreck about me not being home over the holidays, but it's been very nice. Hey -- did you maybe want to grab one of those warm pretzels outside? I just have to grab some dittany, but I haven't eaten anything since this morning and my stomach might eat itself if it doesn't get anything soon."

As anticipated, Wini was as warm and cheerful as could be. Penrose was mostly impressed and inspired by this eternal optimism and obvious resilience, although part of her was slightly annoyed at the clear ease with which Wini dismissed any fears she may have held in regards to the last semester at Hogwarts. If anything, the young Slytherin had expected her peers to display resolve to overcome adversity, but Wini was nothing but lighthearted - an emotion Penrose couldn't fake even if she had a cheering charm cast upon her. Penrose felt a tinge of jealousy at the way Wini described her outing to Diagon Alley with her father as nothing but normal, as though they hadn't been isolated from their families for months and this was but a commonplace shopping trip. Her own mother had been sick with worry and had taken every opportunity to remind the young witch thusly, which had become more than tiresome.

At the same time, it was wholly refreshing to speak with someone who wasn't wrapped up in misery and despair. Wini almost instantly delved into the saga of buying new robes, to which Penrose nodded and made sounds of agreement at appropriate moments. The Slytherin dorms had been all but demolished, along with her entire wardrobe and all of her possessions. As it happened, she had just received a new set of robes at the start of term, which had promptly been replaced upon her return home in early February. Though her parents were not exceedingly wealthy, they were both relieved to have their eldest daughter return home safely and were more than happy to replace what had been destroyed. Penrose tried not to take this for granted, knowing that there were more than a few galleons that had come out of her parent's pocket over the entire ordeal, although, it was made clear that what she had lost was replaceable.

"I think a new wardrobe was the least of my mum's worries," she said, truthfully, "She had my robes and school supplies replaced within the first few days of me being home... that much was trivial to her. She has been prying me for information ever since." Penrose shrugged. She could only recount to her mother what had happened but had no idea as to why it had happened. That was up for speculation. "My mum is part of the Potions O.W.L. administration in the spring," the young blonde explained, "she has a particular attachment to Hogwarts. I think she's taken this whole ordeal harder than I have." Penrose shrugged again, hoping to seem as nonchalant as Wini had acted. Luckily, her deflection had worked perfectly and Wini then revealed that she had not actually been speaking to herself - instead, a small fluffy creature was exposed, and it was clarified that his name was Philip and he was capable of conversation. Or at lease, adorable squeaks that could not go unacknowledged.

"How cute!" She was unable to contain her glee. It was a little pygmy puff, the miniature version of a puffskein, and it was the first time Penrose had really seen one up close. Wini had held him aloft for the young snake to get a better look but Penrose could not resist reaching out and stroking his head a couple times with her index finger. The mystery of Wini talking to herself had been solved, and she had begun to answer the question about her holidays, explaining that her parents were muggles and were mostly upset that she had missed the Christmas holidays. Penrose wasn't much surprised about learning of Wini's parentage and sometimes the thought of her parents being blissfully unaware of what was happening in the wizarding world was quite appealing. She did not feel like sharing any more about how her mum simply wouldn't drop the issue since she had been home.

Wini had quickly jumped topics, suggesting that they go back outside to get something warm to eat. Not one to turn down a warm pretzel, Penrose agreed, saying, "That sounds delicious. I think I saw dittany on a shelf over here actually. I came in for Billywig wings but I know mum has a stock of them at home, I might just borrow from her." Turning back to the jars and bottles, Penrose ran a finger along the second shelf, reading each tag until she found it. "Ah, here! Dittany." There were a few circular bottles filled with the green plant, all sealed with wax and bearing inked labels with the name of the herb inscribed in black cursive. Penrose selected one for Wini and turned to the other girl, holding the bottle out to her. It would only take a few moments to exchange some sickles for the ingredient, and the two girls would be back outside, lining up for a warm treat.

"Oh, well that was nice of her," Wini said with a smile as Penrose told her about her mum and how she had her clothes replaced fairly quickly. Penrose didn't seem all that happy with it though and the Hufflepuff tilted her head as she thought about why that might be. She really didn't know much about her Slytherin yearmate, but as Penrose explained about her mum, Wini gained the tiniest of insight of what it might be like to live with parents who were magical. William was kind and happy to bring her to Diagon Alley and King's Cross when needed, but her muggle family was very detached from the magical world. "I guess the whole dome had her stressed out?" Wini asked sympathetically, trying to picture Penrose's mum and also imagine how Penrose had been dealing with her mum in the recent weeks since the dome fell.

As Penrose became excited over Phillip, Wini's brown eyes lit up and she watched with Slytherin with a happy smile as she cooed and petted her little pygmy puff. Phillip quite liked the attention as well. "Yeah, he's a cute little bloke, isn't he?" Wini said as she looked over her little pink ball of fur. She raised her hand back up to her opposite shoulder to return Phillip to his hang out place and he tugged on a strand of her blonde hair as he settled himself into place.

"You must be great at Potions if your mum is in charge of giving the tests, right? She knows exactly what they'll ask. I wish my parents were helpful in that way. I'm horrid at Potions," Wini admitted with a little shrug as she followed Penrose down the aisle to found the dittany. "Oh thanks! Let me just pay for this and then we'll go get those pretzels," Wini said as she took the bottle from the shelf and then took it to the counter to pay. The few sickles and knuts she had clicked against each other in her change purse as the wizard behind the counter packaged up her purchase and then the Hufflepuff turned to the Slytherin. "Ready to go?" she asked before pushing open the door, the bells overhead tinkling as they left.

As soon as she walked out, the delicious aroma of warm, freshly baked pretzels greeted her and Wini sniffed the air, letting out a small sigh. "Mmm, that smells delicious!" She walked closer to the little red and white pretzel cart, the vendor wearing an intriguing red cap with a pretzel skewed on top. "Which one are you going to get?" she asked Penrose as she looked at the variety. "I think I'll get the cinnamon sugar one," Wini said a moment later as she placed her order with the vendor. Moments later she was rewarded with a warm pretzel and it made her realize just how cold her fingers had gotten, but that didn't matter because a few moments later she was unwrapping the paper from around the pretzel and taking a bite. "Soo good!" she mumbled around her mouthful of pretzel.

If anything, Penrose had a sweet spot in her heart for magical creatures. Never having owned a puffskein, but having read a great deal about them, she found the creatures particularly adorable. The idea of making them miniature only increased their appeal. Penrose had only ever owned an owl, being that her father was allergic to cats and no one really had the time to dedicate to owning and raising a dog. Her gran on her dad's side - the one who was a muggle - had dogs, a pair of small, fluffy, yappy pomeranians. The young blonde assumed that was about as close to a puffskein as you could get in the muggle world. Was owning dogs just something that muggles enjoyed? It wouldn't surprise Penrose if that was the case, the magical world held so many creatures that were much more wonderous. Wini had then stowed Philip away again, and with dittany in hand, the two girls made their way up to the front of the shop to pay for the goods.

"I'm pretty decent with a cauldron," Penrose said casually, preferring to play it cool as opposed to outright boasting. However, she continued, "I've always had top marks in class.... I guess it just comes naturally." She couldn't help but smile a bit smugly when thinking about her potion making abilities. Of course, she was nowhere near as advanced as her mother was, and couldn't pretend to be. The woman could make a brew with her eyes closed, in fact, she had tried it a time or two just to be sure she could for Merlin's sake! "My mum is very gifted, she's one of the youngest on the Examinations Committee. You might have read her work in Witch Weekly, she does a monthly spotlight column." Especially when Wini so freely admitted that the form of magic was not her strong point, Penrose felt the need to brag a bit. Usually, she avoided the topic of the witching magazine, actually finding it a bit embarrassing. But perhaps it was the kind of literature that Wini liked. "I'd like to think I take after her." That part was true, but not often admitted, and as the badger girl paid for her ingredient and lead the way out of the shop, Penrose found herself hoping for a change of subject.

The cold air in Diagon Alley stung her cheeks and made them rosy and the snowflakes that fell quietly landed in her hair and on her eyelashes. Smiling in agreement as Wini inhaled the aroma of soft baked pretzels, she tossed her empty cup of hot chocolate in a waste bin and followed the other girl in the direction of the heavenly smell. The cart was small the vendor was oddly dressed, but it didn't matter to the young witch. Her eye caught a clock nearby and Penrose was surprised to see that it was already a couple minutes past noon; she would have to be meeting back with her mother and sister soon. Wini had taken the lead and had got a sugary pretzel, which looked as amazing as it smelled and Penrose reached in her robes and pulled out a few silver coins which she exchanged for a pretzel that was filled with a warm, gooey cheese. "This is my favorite!" Taking a bite, Penrose made a silly face of contentment to her classmate, 'mmmm'ing at how perfectly the salty pretzel complimented her sweet drink.

"So did you come in to Diagon Alley today just for dittany?" She asked between her bites, not wanting to seem rude, asking questions with a mouthful of pretzel. Wini had mentioned that she was out with her father, but as neither Wini or Penrose had their respective parents with them, the young Slytherin was natually curious.

Wini glanced at her friend, her brown eyes sparkling as Penrose talked about her natural affinity for Potions. "Well you should tell me all your Potions tips and tricks then because I couldn't brew my way out of Potions exam if my life depended on it," Wini said with a laugh. She tried, she really did. She was a classic Hufflepuff in that way, always trying, remaining positive, but at some point, she knew she'd have to come to terms with not being a very good potioneer. She glanced at Penrose again, a thought nagging her in the back of her mind, wondering what made the Slytherin so much better at the subject. Was it genetic, handed down from her gifted mother? Because if that was the case, Wini might have only gotten the talent of shearing sheep from her parents and fat lot of good that did for Wini at Hogwarts.

"That's so cool," Wini said as Penrose mentioned her mum and her work with Witch Weekly. She tried to smile kindly and forget her own troubles with Potions even in the midst of her friends success with it. "You'll have to show me one of her columns one of these days," the Hufflepuff added.

Her cloak was soon dusted with little bits of cinnamon sugar as Wini ate the pretzel. A napkin was not far, gripped in one hand and her pretzel in the other, but there was no way a mess could be avoided with that particular kind of pretzel. The rumbling in her stomach eased and the blonde really enjoyed the sweet treat, smiling at Penrose as they ate their pretzels. She had just taken a bite when Penrose asked her a question about her visit to Diagon Alley and she covered her mouth as she chewed, trying to hurry and finish to answer her question. Smiling at the Slytherin, Wini finally swallowed and shook her head. "No, I had to get a few different things. Robes, parchment and quills, some more food for Phillip. I've actually gotten most of what was on my list. Just need quills and ink. Did you want to pop over to Scribbulus with me or did you have to meet up with your mum? I was hoping they might have pink ink in. Belinda -- do you know Belinda? -- she said they got new colors in and you know how much I love pink," Wini said.

Feeling a slight bit of regret that she had even mentioned her mum's column in Witch Weekly, Penrose smiled and shrugged dismissively when Wini complimented her mother's side job. Admittedly, it was a different line of work and had opened opportunities and experiences up for their family that they wouldn't have had otherwise. Robyn was smart, charismatic, witty and talented in her craft. She was a natural socialite. Penrose was partially jealous of her mother, of the way she seemed to easily excel in areas where Penrose struggled - such as balancing her work, home and social life. It often felt like her mother had left impossibly large shoes to fill. "I'm sure she's featured a brew that would be to your liking," Penrose said, after taking another bite of cheesy pretzel, "they're usually beginner to intermediate level, so maybe we could find something to brew together when we get back to Hogwarts."

As it was very out of the ordinary for Penrose to try and make plans with her peers, she enjoyed a mouthful of pretzel to break the dubious moment. The young snake wouldn't mind hanging around Wini more often, despite their obvious personality differences. It would be nice to have someone provide her the attention she so often desired. Plus, Penrose could show off her abilities with a cauldron and maybe teach Wini a thing or two - it could be mutually beneficial. "I don't know how often you find yourself in the Library, but I like to do a weekly study group. You are welcome to join... it's usually rather, er, intimate, but if you wanted to bring a friend that would be alright also." This was a fancy way of saying that more often than not, it was made up of Penrose, her cousin and a random classmate or two. Penrose certainly hoped for a little more participation.

Just then, Wini suggested that they stop into another shop so that she could buy some pink colored ink. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, yet also willing to check out the shop, Penrose agreed, "I have to get back to them around half past noon, it's only a couple minutes after. I'm sure we'd have time to take a look." Assessing the powdered sugar that had fallen on to Wini's robes as the girl had devoured her pretzel, Penrose wrinkled her nose and self-consciously cleaned herself up and tossed her own napkins in a nearby waste bin. "You ready?" Penrose motioned for her friend to come with her as they headed off in the direction of Scribbulus. "I don't think I know Belinda actually, is she at school with us?"