Tuesday, September 16
3:00 PM


She had read the Prophet time and time again, but the text never changed.  Lukas Quinn was dead.  It was odd how she felt about the whole situation.  Covi didn’t think he meant that much to her.  Of course only when he was gone would she find out.  The witch hadn’t cried at the news, or even growled.  She was just… stuck.  Yes, that was the best way to describe it, stuck.

Her sister-in-law Callie sent an owl immediately after she received the news herself (Billy still ordered the DP from overseas) recognizing the name of the man she had thrust her husband’s little sister on in the Beer Garden during the Remembering Day festivities.  Things did seem well between them, then.  Covadonga thought the Spaniard was more upset about it than she was.

Callie’s letter was full of questions.  Was she alright?  Yes.  Did she need to visit Valencia?  No.  Did she need them to come up and see her?  No.  How was she feeling?  Fine. 

Naturally, after all these one word answers, Calíope went to her husband and pestered him to do something about his sister’s situation lest she be left alone with her thoughts for too long.  After getting smacked upside the head when he asked if her work would be doing that enough, Billy sent a request post haste to Covi asking her to scout out this new and possible competition should he bring his candies overseas, Divinité en Chocolat.

So here she was, the hood of her cloak still perched on top of her head, Speedy—who decided to tag along—likewise though on her shoulder.  Her eyes were locked on the menu situated at the counter.  The raven peered over, seeming to glance at it with his human.  The time passed in inches, and Speedy knew after a minute or two the Department Head must have finished reading the choices thrice over, and began looking between her, the examples set out, and whoever was behind the counter, as if asking them to snap her out of it so he could get on with stealing some of her chocolate.

Évariste had been in the back room when the woman came in. Bells tinkled over head, and he smiled lightly. He set down the icing he was using to decorate the chocolate butterflies he was making, and quickly washed his hands. Reese came out, making his way to the counter as he dried them off with a chocolate smudged hand towel. He tossed the towel onto the stool he kept behind the counter, and smiled at the woman who was standing there.

She did not look overly friendly. Her cloak was somewhat off putting, and Reese got the feeling she likely was not very friendly. He could easily be wrong, though, and it wasn’t as thought it really mattered if she was friendly or not. Évariste had already run into quite a few nasty people in his short time as a shop owner, and had discovered the best way to deal with them was to be overly kind. For some reason, if you didn’t get mad back, they eventually just ran out of steam and would go away. It was a very good lesson to learn, he suppose.

It also did not help that there was a raven perched on her shoulder, and he overlooked it. Reese never thought that he would grow accustomed to animals being in a food shop, but in the wizarding world that was how things were. People took their pets with them most places if they weren’t at work. Well, some people did anyway. It was a pretty bird, for certain. Évariste wasn’t much of an animal person himself. He was severely allergic to cats, and dogs drooled too much.

“Good afternoon!” he greeted, after watching her peer at the menu for a short while. He didn’t want to interrupt her if she was thinking, but he also didn’t want her to think he was ignoring her. His customer service was better than that. You didn’t ignore someone who stood at the counter staring at your menu. It was rude and it was very, very bad for business. “If you have any questions about the menu I’d be more than happy to answer them!

His voice went through her like a jolt of lightning, causing her to jump a bit when he greeted her.  Snapping out of it she put on her happy mask and smiled, “Oh!  Good afternoon to you, Monsieur Beaumont,” her accent spot on.  She figured his background must have been French.  She had been able to pick that up somewhat from her brother’s research.

Looking over what was behind the glass case she commented, “You have a great talent for crafting chocolate, sir…” Speedy hopped over her head from one shoulder to the other, “but as you are new I must ask you to suggest something for someone with an uneducated palate where to start.”  Her palate for candy was far from immature, to tell the truth, but one could learn much about a chocolatier based on how strong his foundation was in the art.

One eyebrow raised as her bright blue eyes darted across the words before her, “But I am especially curious as to how the Tie the Knot works,” not like she was looking for anyone to tie the knot with, but it was an unusual candy to come across.

"Uneducated palate?" he asked. "Oh, but my chocolate is not about having a palate at all! It is about enjoying life! I just want to make someone have a better day when they eat my chocolate. Before I had this shop, I worked at a restaurant, and noticed that no matter how bad the evening might have gone- if the waiter was bad, or if the food was sub par, that if I created a delicious, chocolate filled dessert that it would fix everything else that had gone bad. Still, I am sure I could find you something you would find delicious!"

He motioned to a platter that was on the counter, a small sign in front of it stating that they were free samples. "I have some samples that can help you decide on a taste. These do not do anything special- they are just plain chocolates. Here is some fudge, and some truffles, and a few chocolate covered berries. I am particularly fond of white chocolate and strawberries together. Perhaps try that?"

Reese was surprised when she asked how a particular invention worked. He smiled broadly, glad to answer. He loved talking about his chocolates and his methods. Never once did it cross Évariste's mind that someone might be interested in stealing his ideas.

"Oh, it is a very special design indeed!" he told her. "It comes in a velvet box, a ring box actually. There are multiple ribbons in the bottom of the box, made of chocolate. They look and feel just like real ribbons, and can be in any color the person chooses. I find often times they choose the favorite color of their girlfriends. When you open the box, and you ask the lady if she would like to marry you, the ribbons jump out of the box. They can either twist into a beautiful, elaborate bow in the air- and the ring will appear in the middle of it, or they can turn into something else- like origami creatures. I originally wanted it to be a take on the old practice of handfasting, but it turned out quite differently. They're made by special order, and many think of the idea as quite romantic."

"I would show you an example, but I do not generally keep one handy. I'm still perfecting making one that can be used multiple times to keep as a sample on hand. I assure you that it is quite spectacular, though. A bit complicated in construction, though."

“Well, I have never been a fan of white chocolate,” she admitted while lowering her hood, “but…” the witch picked up the fruity delight, observed it for a moment, and then popped it into her mouth.  The slow curl of the corner of her lips and childish sparkle in her eyes finished her sentence.

As any man as Monsieur Beaumont would know, white chocolate was really not chocolate at all.  It had no cocoa solids whatsoever, but it did contain cocoa butter.  Her brother had told her it took a fine hand to work with the substance when melting it over something, like the strawberry in her mouth.  The cocoa butter can be easily separated from its other components and become very oily.  This candy, however had no such issues, it was all creamy and sweet.

While quietly ruminating away, Covadonga listened intently to the young man as he dished out the details.  Surely it would have been obviously rude to whip out her journal and start scribbling away, so she just keep her ears fully open.
 
“Complicated indeed!” she exclaimed, the tincture of shocked grief waning from her face somewhat.  “What manner of magic is it exactly?” charms had to be involved, most definitely, but she could see that transfiguration, potions, and others could be used or it could have only relied on a mono-magic application.  “Of course, I totally understand if it is a trade secret,” she admitted. 

Truthfully, she was not out to steal any recipes.  Guillermo would have bashed her over the head with his Beater’s broom if she did (if he could catch her anyhow), he was the noble sort, you see.  Plus he catered mostly to children and the young at heart; this all seemed geared toward a more mature crowd, but Covi was sure Billy would be able to play and learn from this as he had all the other inventors from his boyhood days in Hogsmeade who inspired him to finally take the route of a candy-man.

He had never had anyone be curious as to the specifics on the magics he used for his candy. He hadn't really decided yet how secretive to be. Naturally Reese did not want anyone to take his ideas. But, anybody who bought his creations, could easily figure out the proper way to recreate the magic. The ribbons, though, were a bit more complicated. "Oh, it is a little of this and a little of that," he told her with a friendly smile. "It is all very complicated, really. It is not as easily done as some of my other creations. Simple charms can be used on most, and potions are added to others."

"So it's not a trade secret, exactly, just something that is quite difficult to explain. It's easier to demonstrate, if that makes sense?" It was only a half-lie really. More than likely he could mostly explain it, it would just take a while. And Reese also felt that she was only asking out of politeness. Surely she wasn't honestly interested in the mechanics behind chocolate ribbons.

"Is there anything else you would like to try?" he asked with a sweet smile. He wasn't opposed to giving out samples of some of his magical chocolates if a nice lady asked. "I am particularly fond of Peppermint Pizazz myself. Dreaming Delights can also be a nice break from a busy day." Besides, perhaps if he gave her the right samples she might be interested in buying a few chocolates, right? You had to give to get, that was something that Évariste had learned early on.

He wouldn't mind having a few pizazz adding candies himself. He was a bit tired this morning, and the extra bounce in his step might be handy. As the thought crossed his mind he reached into the counter and pulled one out of the tray and popped it into his mouth. Évariste smiled broadly as a tingle spread all the way into his toes. That was just the right feeling!

“Ooo… I believe I will try some of the Pizzazz, please,” she answered after reading through the descriptions of his suggestions in the menu once again.  “Amplifying ‘the reality of daydreams’ out of my head would not be a wise choice,” the lady grimaced, the raven on her shoulder puffing up his chest feathers awkwardly. 

While Covi did not suspect Speedy could read the DP as she could, others in her employ would beg to differ.  If she noticed his awkward puffing at all she would have just chalked it up to him being sensitive to his human’s emotions.  No matter the explanation, it was clear that the bird knew something was not quite right (or at least more not quite right than usual) with the wee, blue-eyed witch.

Lowering her hood, finally, she sighed, still finding trouble keeping the details of the list before her, the witch asked, “What would you suggest for caramels?  And what chocolate do you use in your beverages?”

She certainly was asking a lot of questions. Not that Évariste minded by any means, but he wasn't very good at talking business. He didn't always remember things correctly and generally he just made small talk. He loved talking chocolate and sweets, but generally people asked basic questions. "I would suggest anything that I have," he told her with a grin. Évariste was very confident that all of his concoctions were delicious. In his opinion they were. "I never make anything that I do not find to be delicious. It is all about personal taste, really."

"The chocolate in my drinks varies. I know that some people like a bit of variety. Every few days I use something different..." Évariste was trying to remember what chocolate he was currently on in the rotation, but couldn't remember at the moment. Probably because he was thinking to hard. That happened a lot.'

"So tell me, miss, what is your name? I find it odd to carry on such a conversation and have no clue what to call you. I am Évariste Beaumont, but most people call me Reese." Most English people did at least. The French did not, but he wasn't in France though, was he? "If you like we could sit at a table, and I could bring a plate of a few different things for you to try, and get you a drink." It might be bad for business to give so many things away on a regular basis, but it was in Évariste's nature. He was just a nice man.

He was a tough nut to crack, this one.  Did he suspect her?  Searching his eyes she figured that he did not.  He really meant what he said.  Nodding and gracefully taking a seat, Speedy hopping to perch on the back of the chair, his one wing hanging lower than the other as he did so.  

Covadonga answered, holding out her hand, “A pleasure, Reese.  My name is Covadonga Gertrudis, but I mostly go by Covi,” proceeding a gentle laugh she admitted, “unless you are one of the Spanish relatives of mine, that is Cova.”

Turning around in her chair she motioned toward the raven, “And this is my familiar, Speedy,” the bird puffing out the feathers on his chest proudly.

She carefully kept her profession out of her introduction, it was not something she bragged about, even when introducing herself to those in the Ministry or her field.  Then again, most of her colleagues knew her position.  “You have a strong, French name, Monsieur Beaumont,” she added as he departed to get the sweets and drink, her accent quite accurate.  Granted, French was not her favorite romance language (truly, it was the one she took the longest to learn as a child), but several of her father’s side of the family attended Beauxbatons, and when their friends visited she took care not to have any of them feel uncomfortable.

"May I ask where from?"