Chapter 1
While Minerva had seen many a Scottish winter, this had to be one of the worst. It was affecting even her. She had come down with a severe cold two weeks ago and hadn't had relief since. Fortunately it was Christmas holidays so no classes were in session but that meant she was now forced to suffer alone in her rooms all day every day. She had been avoiding going down to the Hospital Wing as she didn't see the need to go for a simple Pepper-up potion but the fact that Christmas was drawing near and Albus was bound to have something planned was making staying in her room till this all blew over less of an option.
That's why she was in Hogsmeade now, heading for the new apothecary Poppy had told her to go to, telling her, "Min, if you're not going to get it from me, at least go to the new apothecary in Hogsmeade. I get my supplies from there, so I know that they're good quality and it's almost Christmas, don't you want to celebrate with us?". While she had always loved the Christmas season, Minerva wasn't really one for large celebrations. It wasn't exactly the people that annoyed her, though certain members of staff she couldn't stand, she just preferred to be alone during the changing of the years.
After a few more minutes, more than it would usually take as she had to stop to wipe her streaming nose or eyes every few seconds, she arrived at the dark but sleek looking building, the windows sparkling and the sign gleaming with fresh paint, not yet showing the wear and age like the other shop fronts around it. It also didn't seem to have the large cluster of customers around the place like the other shops always seemed to have, which was odd for an apothecary, especially the only one in the village. It almost seemed like people were going out of their way to avoid the place.