Stronger || Loosh ||

“Add Angel’s Trumpet to the order. Two pounds.” Lucian was shouting from the store room in the back of the shop up to Marcus who was tending the front counter and minding the store floor. “Make that three.” The morning had been spent doing inventory on the legal potions and elixirs offered at Elixirium, along with their stock of ingredients which Lucian used to brew most of the potions himself. It was easy enough, Luc had excelled in the subject while in school and he found it a rather relaxing pastime as an adult. Everyone deserves a little oblivion in their life, and whether they find it in hobbies or elixirs, Lucian was all for it.

Moving a jar to the left and another to the right, a worn label was now visible from the back of the shelf. Moonstone. They were running low and with Valentine’s Day nearing there was sure to be an influx of love potion orders, many of which required a dash of powdered moonstone for that added longing feeling on the part of the potion’s intended recipient. Lucian didn’t ask why people purchased the items that they did, nor did he want to know. Their business was their own and he wouldn’t have his business – the more profitable portion of it, at least – if he made it a habit to ask too many questions. Primarily, if someone requested a “special order” item, he asked ‘how much of it do you want?’ and ‘when do you want it?’ Anything beyond that was strictly off the table in his shop. He ran a tight ship, hiring only the finest potions makers and insisting they follow his rules to the T. If anyone under his employ asked wrong questions they would quickly find themselves without a job. Lucian’s clientele was of the utmost importance to him and his business.

He heard the bell above the door jingle and knew that there were customers in the shop now. Deciding to finish the order list himself, Lucian drew his wand and conjured a stenoquill and a roll of parchment. “Moonstone, one pound.” As Lucian spoke the stenoquill wrote everything he said, word for word. He moved a few more jars around and added a few more items to the list. “Mistletoe berry, a dozen sprigs. Flitterby wings, four pounds. Doxy venom, one gill.” The bell jingled again over the door, signaling that his patrons had probably made their purchase and left, but the list was complete and there was no need to shout to Marcus. He banished the stenoquill and pocketed his wand, then carried his list of items up to the front of the shop where Marcus could add them to the order form for their supplier.

Lucian was surprised to see that not only had their original customers not gone, but a familiar coif of blonde hair was browsing the shelves. “Well isn’t this a surprise,” Lucian said warmly as he stepped from the backroom and smiled at his sister. Luc handed the list he had been working on to Marcus as he moved past the counter and onto the store floor. “Add these to the order and get it sent out before you clock out today.” A stern look was not needed but given anyway as he instructed Marcus on the order before carrying on towards his sister. “Lilith,” he greeted her more formally now that he was stood in front of her instead of across the room. “Looking for something fun to do over the weekend?” If it was potions she was after, Lucian always gave a hefty family discount.

Lilith was always rather proper, a trait he admired in her as she was the example to which their sisters would look up to and her manners and poise would certainly ensure they had the best role model around. Lucian hugged his sister lightly, ensuring he didn’t wrinkle her fine dress – though he wasn’t sure there was enough give in her tight dress to allow for any wrinkles to be visible – and returned his kiss on the cheek. Lucian was the oldest and the heir to the Burke fortune and power, but Lilith was the real treasure of their family. Her work was respectable and completely on the up and up, unlike his own, and she was engaged to be married into the wealthiest wizarding family in all of Britain. Lucian hadn’t yet made up his mind about whether or not he liked Rabastan Lestrange for his sister and he would always keep an eye on her, but she seemed happy enough outwardly, despite not having much of a say in the marriage. Lilith’s engagement, like his own, had been an arrangement orchestrated by their parents. It was a common practice of the social elite, but their father and mother were sensible enough not to throw their children to the wolves for sake of a future fortune or respected name. And unlike the older Burke children, there was a very good chance that Lyra, Livia, and Lysander would be free to choose their own partners, so long as they did not drag their feet about it when the time came.

Never would Lucian suspect an ulterior motive to one of his sister’s visits. If she wanted something, she was perfectly capable of coming straight out with it and she wasn’t the sort to beat around the bush when she had a point to be getting on with. Lucian liked to think he had at least an ounce of the charm his sister had in her demanding yet still endearing manner but as a male he wasn’t very much worried about whether people he gave orders to liked him. Women, he had noticed, had the unfortunate curse of being labeled a ‘bitch’ when they were direct, men were called ‘leaders’. The double-standard worked well for him professionally, but he had rather wished such a term would never be used against any of his sisters and he strived to never speak of any woman in such a way.

“You’ve excellent timing, then. I’ve just finished doing inventory and I am sure Marcus will have nothing to say about me skipping out a bit early for a date with my lovely sister.” Lilith turned her attention to the boomslang skin displayed on the shelf. Of course she would be drawn to such a rare ingredient, the price for a small piece of skin was more than triple the cost of a whole skin from a locally sourced snake, and between what Lucian paid for the stuff himself, plus the cost of having it shipped from Africa, it made this particular item one of the more costly in the shop, aside from complete elixirs themselves. “You have expensive tastes, sister. I do hope you’re not planning something nefarious without my support.” Boomslang skin’s most popular use was in Polyjuice potion, though there were other uses that were not as well-known.

Lilith was playing coy as she neither rebuked nor confirmed Lucian’s insinuation that she was up to something. She played the assertion off as though she was a simple witch bred for nothing more than looking attractive on a man’s arm and continuing the bloodline. Lucian knew this ploy to be complete and utter dragon dung. “And nothing more than that, of course,” he retorted with a sly grin. Lilith was much more intelligent than she let on, not only in the academic sense but also in cleverness and cunning. She was an alumna of Ravenclaw House, but she could equally have been placed into Slytherin for her ambitious nature and resourcefulness. All of their siblings were clever in their own way, but it was Lilith who set herself apart from the rest of the Burkes and were it not for the fact that she was a woman there was no doubt in Lucian’s mind that she couldn’t rule the world one day, should she want to.

Lucian was not generally of the mindset that witches were of the weaker sex. He knew far too many resilient, powerful women to be foolish enough to think in such an archaic manner. His own fiancée was rising the ranks inside the Ministry and perhaps one day she would even run for office of the Minister for Magic itself, if she could manage to balance her duties as wife and mother with that of running the country. Lucian would proudly stand by his soon-to-be wife’s side should she decide to continue climbing the political ladder, just as he would if that were Lilith’s aim or any of his sisters’ ambitions, but he was not blind to the way society on the whole viewed women. There were those so determined to live inside their ignorance that they shouted about how sexism had been defeated because the Minister was a witch, and yet only moments would pass before they’d make a joke at their girlfriend’s expense. There were some men who made Lucian, and a good handful of other decent blokes, embarrassed for their gender.

She made a joke about the lighting in an utterly serious tone and Lucian’s response matched hers in both sound and intent. “I’ll see what I can do, sister.” He patted her hand gently as she looped her arm through his, signaling that she was ready to set off. He turned to his employee who stood behind the counter, taking a customer’s order for a specialty potion. “Marcus, I’m leaving early. Look after the shop and be sure to give Mrs Lovetts our loyal customer discount,” he said charmingly, winking at Mrs Lovetts who’s sagging cheeks flushed as she turned away from Marcus and the order form he was completing for her to give a little wave to Lucian.

Lucian pulled open the door for Lilith and stepped out into the sunlight as the door gently thudded closed behind them. “Where are we headed this afternoon?” he asked as he looked up and down the busy street.

The Ambrosia Lounge was a favorite of the Burke women. Sophisticated and elegant, and something of a hot spot for the elite. It was not uncommon to spy a pseudo celebrity within the tastefully decorated walls of Ambrosia and the clientele were high powered enough that the establishment knew to keep the riff raff out if they wanted to maintain their status as the “it” place in Whimsic Alley. It was the perfect place to catch up with his darling sister for a while. “I should have known,” he teased gently, his feet ushering them down the way.

Their journey was not a long one and soon enough they were out of the chill and standing in the entry of the lavish cocktail lounge. The hostess greeted them by name and asked if they would like a more private table off to the side or something closer to the bar. It made no difference to Lucian and he looked to Lilith for her input. “Depends on the lighting, doesn’t it?” he asked, harkening back to her earlier comments, the only hint that he was making a joke was the slight raise of his eyebrows. The hostess didn’t catch on to their inside joke and began to explain the differences in the tables and the lights, attempting to please the siblings. She was good at her job, but not quite bright enough to catch on that it was a game.

Once they were seated and Lucian had ordered for them both, the blond looked to his sister with a small sigh of relief. “What wonderful adventures have you been up to lately, Lil? Have you incited a coo and overtaken the magazine for yourself, yet?” She certainly could if she wanted to. Pur magazine would fall apart without Lilith and Livia, holding it up on their own merits. He tried to tread lightly when it came to more personal subject matter, like her upcoming wedding. He knew his own fiancée was feeling the pressures of wedding planning and he could only imagine how tightly wound his dear sister would be in ensuring every last detail was utterly perfect and up to her incredibly high standards. He would let her broach the subject if she wanted to speak of it, and they were both well-rounded people with plenty to discuss besides their arranged marriages and quickly approaching weddings. They had work, hobbies, and the occasional family gossip to engage in. It had been a short while since he’d spoken with his youngest siblings, and if Lilith had any news of interest, Lucian would most definitely want to know.

Lilith’s dry wit was a most welcome addition to his day. He enjoyed all of his siblings, but Lilith was by far his favorite, perhaps owing to their closeness in age. He was kind enough to never let on to the younger Burkes that he favored one over the others and loved and enjoyed the company of all of his siblings, but Lilith had stood out above the rest. They had been through a lot together. They were the “guinea pigs” for their mother and father’s parenting skills, skills which were needed on the rare occasion one of their nannies was absent. They were also the first ones to leave the family for Hogwarts and, at least for Lucian, the separation had been difficult. He was overjoyed with Lilith was finally old enough to attend. He was a popular bloke and had many friends while in school but having a sibling around was a different sort of relationship.

“A career over dresses and flowers? Preposterous. You’d have to be a mad woman to seek that out. My apologies, dear sister. I did not mean to offend.” Lucian raised his brow slightly, the hint of a smirk gracing his lips. Oh what the onlookers must have thought of the pair of them. He distinctly noticed the eyes of the waitress widen slightly, the quirk of her eyebrows as she tried to maintain a neutral expression after overhearing what would appear to her to be a serious conversation. The waitress nodded, wrote down their drinks, and turned to leave.

Lucian’s wedding was fast approaching and while the women took care of most of the details for the day, Lucian had busied himself with planning their honeymoon and finding a suitable home for the couple to move into once they were married. He helped with the plans whenever he was needed, but he didn’t know as much about the specifics as Lilith would be wanting. “Things are falling into place,” he remarked casually, trying to decide what bit of updates to start with. “Although I’ve not seen the dresses which you women so covet, I have it on good authority that everyone in the wedding party will be stylishly dressed. I have a fitting of my own next week, hopefully I won’t ruin the aesthetic.”