I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Hello everyone, hope all are well.
A double update of Side Dishes this week to end the week on a cozy note. Hope you enjoy.
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Side Dishes
45th Course – A Day at The Needy Thread
Takes place at the same time as chapter 16, a day at Hedwig's Hearth.
Lavender knew she was very lucky.
Not many people could say they had a wonderful family, lived in a nice home in a safe place, work at a business they own and like their coworkers, be living with a significant other that she loved very much, on top of so many other things to be happy about.
One of the best parts is that more often than not, she woke up to breakfast being cooked to start the day. Of course it was balanced by the mild disappointment that she typically woke up later and was alone in bed but it was hardly anything to be upset about.
She stretched in bed, smelling the delicious scents of bacon, toast, coffee, tea, butter in the air. Her rumbling stomach made her fully wake and she climbed out of bed, moving a little slowly still but gaining speed and traction through action. After the usual morning cleaning routines, she walked into the kitchen and smiled at the sight of Harry cooking and Hedwig and Sunny nibbling and watching.
The best way to start the day in her opinion.
"Good morning!" she said cheerily, perking up at the smells and the sights. She helped to finish setting the table and the four of them sat to eat, breaking their fast with the casual voracity of people gearing up for the day.
"Are you coming over for dinner?" Harry asked as they ate.
"Not sure. I have inventory to do today and then there's a couple of big commission orders so I might stay there to finish them up," she said as she munched on toast.
"I have inventory to do too," Harry said. "I scheduled to do it today in solidarity."
"You're too cute," Lavender smiled and kissed him. "How does your day look?"
"Pretty good otherwise," Harry said. "Solid book of reservations. Everyone's in a good place right now working together I feel."
"Any applications for more floor staff?"
"Not yet but it's actually not a problem right now. Turns out a few of the elves at Hogwarts wants to come and work at the Hearth now and then and there's enough for them to rotate through so we can always have at least an extra two or more depending on the day. Inky still goes back to do stuff during the day at the school if she doesn't have much to do at the Hearth and the other elves have heard her stories and want to come over here and there."
"That's amazing," Lavender smiled.
"They're great," Harry smiled back. "Professor Dumbledore gave his blessing of course. The hard part was getting them to accept some pay. I'm not letting them work at the restaurant and dealing with other people without some kind of compensation. They finally agreed to take it as a joint fee paid to Hogwarts and they're using it as additional funds for material and grocery in the kitchens."
"As long as they're happy," Lavender said.
"That's what I said," Harry nodded.
They did the dishes together and got the rest of their work things together. They walked out of the house and parted with a kiss.
"Have a good day!" she said. "Love you!"
She waved as she continued on her way, enjoying the bright sunlight shining down and the gentle breeze that blew around. After a short walk, she came to her other pride and joy: The Needy Thread. It had been some time since they opened it and it felt like a full business now, not a dream originally dreamt by two first year Hogwarts students, not a struggling business that was barely operating with just the two of them working from early morning and well into the night.
Being the first one to arrive that day, she opened up the store with waves of her wand. The curtains opened, letting the sun in. The enchanted globes of light flared into brilliance. The wireless turned on and began to play a bouncy tune. She put her things away in the office and opened the safe and counted out the money to put into the till, checking the recorded balance.
"Morning Lav," Parvati said, walking into the building.
"Morning Parv," Lavender said, smiling at her best friend and co-owner.
"How're we looking today?" Parvati asked, also putting her things away in their office.
"Inventory," Lavender said and Parvati groaned. "We also really need to work on the Gully and the Della commission orders to make sure we hit the deadline."
"Oh I actually worked a bit more on the Gully one yesterday. I think we only need to do the lace on the edge," Parvati said. "I didn't do that because you're better at it."
"Oh wonderful! That'll be done then," Lavender beamed. "I'll do that then and I'll do inventory first."
"Thank you," Parvati said gratefully. "I hate doing inventory."
"I know," Lavender giggled.
The door opened again and a few people walked in, a mix of employees and customers. Lavender and Parvati had been overjoyed when they had the budget to hire people to help them, no longer doing everything for themselves. It had been a process, some had been good and some had been bad, but now they had a solid core of staff they trusted and enjoyed working with. They also took in trusted Hogwarts students that were interested in fashion and charms involving clothes and things, paying them a little while teaching them things.
The girls remembered what it was like during their years at school and were happy to take the students in as long as they were recommended by the Heads of Houses.
"Neela, want to help me with inventory?" Lavender asked.
"Of course!" Neela Clapshaw was a goblin who lived in Thalga and was a part of the StoneHeart Clan. She had been entranced by Lavender's clothes during a visit there and had come to work for Lavender and they became fast friends. Neela finished tying on a broad apron over her clothes and followed Lavender into the main store room. "Raw materials first?" she asked, picking up the clipboard.
"Sounds good," Lavender said. She started going through the long bolts of fabric they kept there. "We have two full of black cloth, two full of white cloth, one of grey, three of the dark green." She continued to dictate what they had while Neela made marks and notes on the clipboard. After going through all the cloth, they went through the leathers and then the boxes of thread. When they finished that, they started going through the product they had finished and had set aside in the back to refill the front as needed.
Lavender and Parvati took some time to find their balance but eventually they found a system that worked well for them. They would routinely create a style of cloak or robes or clothing and put it on display, then make several copies of them and put them in the back. Customers would come in and pick it out and if what they wanted was readily done, would leave that day with them. That included taking one of the other copies and dyeing it or making small alterations that they could do with charms. If the customer wanted a more specific version, they would make the measurements and write what the customer wanted and then charged more accordingly.
Then there were the people that wanted repairs and other small alterations. Gladrags continued to send all their repair work to them happily and the Needy Thread was happy to fix them. They were gaining a reputation for good repair work because they usually did repairs with a combination of magic and needlework instead of just magic. That made their repairs more durable and lasting.
Finally, they had people who ordered all of their wants by commission work and they would do that through meetings and consultations, earning them a handy profit while also drastically increasing the workload. That said, most of the ones they accepted that kind of work from were either good friends or valued customers that were just the right amount of demanding while being very generous in their compensation.
"That's it for all the raw materials," Neela said, finishing her notes and showing Lavender. "Looks like an average order from Bulstrode's to refill the basic materials and things."
"That's good. We might want to double the black fabric order," Lavender said. "And the thread to gear up for school season."
"Oh good idea," Neela said, making the change to the order. "I'll Floo it later."
"Let's look at the finished stored product," Lavender said. She and Neela worked their way through those next, counting all the things they had done and were ready. That also included their pet accessories line which was also a growing part of their business. Surprisingly, they had little competition but now there was a store in Diagon that was trying to start their own pet accessory business.
Lavender and Parvati were not too concerned though. They had the best models and testers and knew their stuff was well worth the cost and effort.
"And all done," Neela said, nodding with satisfaction.
"Until a couple weeks later when we do it again," Lavender laughed.
"At least people are making notes now about what they're using as they do," Neela said, putting the clipboards up on the wall. "That makes it a lot easier." Neela then went upstairs to where the old flat was to settle at her workstation. After moving out, the girls turned the second floor into the break room, overflow storage, and where some of the employees worked on products and things.
Lavender returned to the main floor, smiling at the customers and greeting them warmly. "Oh hello Lissa!"
"Hello Lavender!" The Mayor of Hogsmeade returned the warm hug. "I need your help. There's a big party coming up that I'm going to and I need to impress."
"Of course! What kind of impress?" Lavender asked.
"My Ex will be there and I need to make him regret seeing me," Lissa said without shame.
"Bad breakup?" Lavender asked sympathetically.
"Very. Cheated on me then broke up with me because I caught him," Lissa sniffed. "It's been years but I'm still carrying a grudge. I suppose I should let it go."
"Only if you want to. Some people I know have carried grudges for centuries," Lavender smiled broadly.
"Centuries?! Oh the Flamels?" Lissa asked, eyes sparkling.
"Yup! And Mr. Drake and Miss Edwina," Lavender laughed. "Right, make the Ex jealous. We can easily do that and be tasteful at the same time. How fancy is the party?"
"Not exactly formal, but not casual either. Somewhere in between," Lissa said.
"Right." Lavender pulled Lissa towards the dresses and dress robes. She went through the racks and then took down a long dress that clung to the body some. "How about this? Something slightly slinky, and I'll make the adjustments to it to make it hug better."
"I'm a bit old for a dress like that, surely," Lissa said slowly.
"Never too old for that sort of thing," Lavender said confidently. "Try it on!" She pushed Lissa into a changing room and waited for the older witch to walk out wearing the dress. "See? It fits great!"
"It really does," Lissa said admiringly. She stood in the small mirrored alcove by the dressing rooms, seeing her image in the mirrors. "It feels really durable despite how thin the material feels."
"We enchanted the fabric for durability," Lavender said. She waved her wand and the dress altered here and there and Lavender made small marks at the spots with her wand. "It's also warming and cooling depending on the temperature too."
"Now that's handy," Lissa said.
"Parv, c'mere," Lavender called out.
"Oooh I like that," Parvati said, walking up to them and looking at Lissa. "Who are we making jealous because that's definitely a 'look at me and be jealous' dress."
Lissa laughed brightly. "An Ex."
"He's going to regret it," Parvati laughed.
"That's the plan," Lavender said. "But Lissa says she's too old to wear this."
"What? No you're not," Parvati said dismissively.
"I have children older than you two and have grand-children," Lissa said dryly.
"And? That just means you've gotten some 'experience'," Parvati said, dodging a swipe from Lavender while Lissa roared with laughter. "I've got grand-relations and great-grand-relations that wear way less than that when they really shouldn't. There's proof. It's awful."
"I adore you two," Lissa smiled warmly. She looked at herself in the mirror.
"Oh Lav, do the cool color change charm," Parvati said.
"Sure!" Lavender murmured an incantation and tapped the dress. Lissa gasped with delight as the dark blue dress shimmered. As she moved, the dress would change color in subtle ways that made light bounce and shine. It went from a navy blue, to a lighter blue, back to a blue that was inky-dark and almost purple before the colors oscillated once more with her movements.
"I love it," Lissa sighed lovingly.
"See? You wear that dress and your Ex is going to be cursing and Cursing himself for being your Ex and you get the satisfaction in knowing he still wants some and can get none," Parvati said confidently.
"Sold," Lissa said. "I'm so glad you two are here and your store is here."
"Glad enough for a percentage discount on taxes?" Parvati asked, fluttering her eyelashes, making Lissa laugh once more and Lavender groan.
"Help me pick out a few accessories to really drive the point home and we can negotiate," Lissa grinned.
"Done and done! Follow me over here. We have some lovely necklaces that are not only shiny, but are conveniently warming and draws the eye." Parvati pulled Lissa with her and Lavender shook her head, smiling.
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Musical barking heralded her appearance. Hedwig came swooping into the store, barking a song as she flapped in, carrying a basket in her talons. She did a circuit around the main floor to the delight of the customers and the workers before gliding in to gently deposit the basket in front of Lavender who was ringing a customer out.
"Hi Hedwig!" Lavender said, giggling when Hedwig nuzzled her lovingly.
"She's beautiful," the customer praised, smiling when Hedwig fluffed up and looked smug and self-assured. "What did she bring if you don't mind me asking."
"Our lunch from Hedwig's Hearth," Lavender said, petting Hedwig who cheeped.
"They serve lunch?" the customer asked, eyes wide.
"Sadly not, but we have a working arrangement," Lavender said with a faux apology.
"Must be nice," the customer sighed gustily. "I'll need to make a reservation with them later." They waved and left with their wares.
"Let's see what's for lunch today." Lavender opened the basket. "Oooh lots of different little sandwiches! Which one's Parv's? Right, here, take half of mine and we'll tell her you took some of hers." She and Hedwig giggled together and Hedwig flapped out with half a sandwich in her beak, taking care to buzz Parvati.
"Hey! Are you eating my lunch?!" Parvati shouted after the cackling owl. "Rude!"
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After they closed for lunch and a small break, the Thread reopened for the afternoon. Customers came and went and now they were getting customers that came from all over Britain as well as employees and visitors from the ICW. While the other major stores still had the biggest reputations, they were slowly but surely getting their name and image out.
In one of the slower moments, Lavender went to the back workshop to work on the lace to finish the Gully commission. She put the pins into the pillow and gently weaved and plaited the fine white thread by hand around the pins, forming a pattern. She twisted and tugged, shaping it to how she wanted it to be before carefully removing the pins. With a sigh of satisfaction, she held up the piece, strong enough to retain its shape after the careful shaping. She then sewed it and charmed it to a length of gauzy fabric and then sewed it onto the dress robes with care.
She had just finished and was admiring the finished part when Neela poked her head into the back work room. "Boss, Lady Greengrass is here to see you."
"Thanks!" Lavender walked onto the floor and waved to a smiling Adele. "Hi!" She returned the older woman's fond embrace. "How are you today?"
"Doing well, thank you," Adele said warmly. "And you?"
"Well too," Lavender said. "Just finished some lace for a piece."
"I do love your lacework," Adele said. "Your patterns are so lovely and so securely done."
"It's hard but worth doing," Lavender said, flexing her fingers. "Oh and speaking of lace…" Lavender went to one side of the mirrored alcove and opened a secured cabinet. She took out a wrapped object and took off the covering. "Here we are!"
Adele pulled the cloak around her shoulders and admired it in the mirrors. It hung to just past the knee and it was a deep and dark green. The material was silk-smooth to the touch and very soft, but hung like a heavy durable fabric. She spun in place and it barely moved, staying close to her body. Around the edges of the cloak ran lace that was made of a lighter green that looked almost metallic in the light. "Exquisite," she sighed happily.
"The lace is made with goblin metal-thread," Lavender said proudly. "As durable as metal, as flexible as silk when working with it, and once it adheres and hardens, hard and tough. Shiny too as you see! I also threaded the cloak with lines of it from top to bottom to add a little structure and durability to the whole cloak as well."
"It wears so well," Adele praised. "Light even but I can feel how tough it is." She threw one end over her shoulder dramatically and it billowed out as if blown by a strong wind. When she tucked it back over however, a strong wind blast charm barely made the edges ripple.
"Add a 20% tip on top of the fee," Adele said as she admired how she looked. "I insist."
"Thank you, Aunt Adele," Lavender smiled.
"And remember our agreement," Adele said, her eyes twinkling.
"Aunt Tina has to wait at least three months before she gets a version of it," Lavender said and the two women laughed merrily together.
"Precisely," Adele giggled. "I would like a second done for me please, in black for travel but with the green on the edge and trim. And one for Daphne and one for Astoria, gold and blue respectively. Finally, one for Cyrus in black but edged and trimmed with dark red please."
Lavender wrote the order down. "How much lacework for Lord Cyrus?"
"More than mine," Adele smiled to Lavender's delight. "A bit more ostentatious too please, with the family crest at the throat."
"Sounds good to me. Time frame?"
"Take your time, but we will be having a family outing in two months' time if I recall."
"I should be able to do it then. The metal-thread isn't hard to make actually so I can get the colors that I need in shortly after ordering."
"Wonderful!" Adele chatted with her for a little longer before she left the store, wearing her cloak happily.
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"What a day," Parvati yawned.
The Needy Thread had closed in the late afternoon and the other employees had helped clean and reorganize things. They had left but Parvati and Lavender stayed to finish work on the Della commission and Parvati had done some balancing of their books and Lavender made the order to Thalga for the thread. Darkness had fallen by then and it was getting late.
Lavender looked up as someone knocked on their side door. She peeked through the window and then opened the door. "Hi Pads!"
"Hi Lav!" Padma stepped in, also looking as tired as Parvati and Lavender did.
"Wow, you're home late," Parvati remarked.
"Emergency case at the end," Padma yawned. "Stayed to help. Glad I have off tomorrow though. I didn't see you in your home when I got back so walked over. Feel like not cooking?"
"I always feel like that," Parvati said and the other two laughed. "Want to head home and beg Grandmum to feed us? Oh wait, she's out of town right now. Dang."
"Let's go to the Hearth," Lavender smiled. "If Harry's still there, we'll eat there. If not, we'll all head home."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Padma smiled.
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"Harry, help…" Parvati gasped, falling onto him and grabbing onto him desperately.
"Famished?" Harry smiled, hugging her.
"Beyond famished, feed me!"
"I'd tell her to stop that but I agree with her," Padma smiled.
"We managed to get everything done but we worked super late," Lavender laughed. "We decided we wanted to come here for a late dinner after finding that Padma got home late too."
"Well service is done and I can focus on you all," Harry grinned.
"Sounds good to me," Parvati smiled.
Lavender and the Patils had come after the Hearth had closed to business. The elves and the Brigade cleaned things up in a short time and they all left, leaving the witches behind with Harry and Hedwig. Harry poked around the pantry and the cold room for a bit and came back out with leftover prep and things. In a short time he had food sizzling in pans and although he had worked a full day, he still moved with purpose.
"Thank you so much," Padma said, hugging him when put plates of food down on the table in the back.
"Of course," Harry said, hugging her back. "It's nothing fancy mind."
"It's delicious though and it's family style which makes it perfect," Parvati said, dishing the food out on plates for everyone. "Hey! I already put out yours," Parvati said when Hedwig nabbed a piece of meat off her plate. She poked the owl as Hedwig mooned her cheekily.
Harry laughed with the others and they ate and chatted with one another, all of them tired after a long day's work, but feeling content and comfortable together.
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Hands Off MY Wolfie - Always necessary to take out the trash, in whatever form it takes. Hedwig is the best holiday spirit. Thanks for reading.
alix33 - Hedwig and Crookshanks being mouthy at each other is very funny.
odonnellzoo99 - That's why I did it to be honest. She's taking the term back so that it's more better and not associated with Lockhart. I had to keep the face paint taunt again, I loved it the first time around.
DOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - I'm more familiar with Chinese cooking and Japanese cooking so I am more confident when writing them, but still try to research properly.
Lucy Elizabeth Dawson - Hedwig is the definition of adorable.
HoneyBear84 - Thank you.
poka - they've become comfort chapters to me in a way. Fun to write and add to and flesh out.