When he had laid out the parameters of her mission to protect Regulus here and bring him back to good health under the cover of secrecy, Dumbledore had given Lily enough information about the owners of the house they’d been tucked away into cobble together a decent enough alias, should anyone get chatty.
Apparition was out of the question, given the small, remote Muggle village they meant to approach, but the walk wasn’t long, and on the way, she took the chance to go over their story, walking close enough to him to keep her voice quiet - not that there was anyone, apart from the occasional sheep to hear it.
“We’re Bernard and Mary, I’m Flora, the owner of the house’s granddaughter, and we’re observing the crabs on the beach and working on a project for university.” They were both young enough that it would suit as a story. “Flora’s a squib,” she added in an even softer tone of voice. “We’re just going to do the shopping and go, and say as little as we can, without being impolite. Places like these are particularly observant of outsiders, so we have to be kind and gracious.
Lily looked around at their surroundings, watching the village come into view just ahead on the road. “Crabs are nocturnal, so that’s why they don’t see us out and about, we work at night.” She looked rather proud of having thought of that little detail. “Have you ever been to a Muggle grocery shop before?”
Now he has a new puzzle to turn over - who 'Flora' is in the grander scheme of things. For better or worse, he has most of the pureblood family trees memorised, and while families don't tend to advertise their squibs, some of them have reliable enough naming conventions that he can probably guess.
Not that it matters, but Regulus isn't going to shut down his curiosity, to the extent that he can figure it out on his own. Prying would be rude.
"Kind and gracious I can do. I come from social circles where it's a survival tactic." And expected behavior, but it's also kept him from being hexed within an inch of his life more than once.
"I haven't. Mother didn't even want to walk through our own neighborhood if she could help it - I'd do that much, but entering a shop wasn't a line I thought I could cross."
Nodding along as he spoke Lily tilted her head towards Regulus at the mention of not thinking himself able to turn a corner like entering a Muggle shop, her eyes darting in his direction. "We're crossing that line today, I can't leave you outside. We can't do anything to draw attention to ourselves, just making our presence known in a town this small is dangerous - for us and for the people in the town as well."
These people living in their rural island town likely couldn't have imagined the true nature of the business that had brought the two outsiders there, and for their sakes, Lily hoped they never had to learn.
Looking up as they approached the town's outskirts, it was easy to spot the lone main road, shops, and other buildings dotting it. "We'll get ice cream," she added, firmly. For her sake as much as his.
"I had assumed as much." It's not a line he has as many qualms about crossing now, in any case, and the removal from the neighborhood he grew up in helps.
It can't be that different, can it?
"Though it's probably best for everyone involved if you handle the money. I'm not sure I've got my head around the differences yet. As for ice cream, though, I certainly won't complain."
"I'll handle the money," she agreed, taking a breath as she looked along the high street of the little town, spotting the unmistakably cheery red sign hung in front of the grocery. "I didn't think you carried much in the way of pounds and pence to start with," Lily added, softly.
Clearing her throat as they neared the entrance to the shop she squared her shoulders and put on her best friendly smile, pushing the door open to usher them both inside. The sooner they took to getting this venture over with, the better.
"Hardly. Where would I have spent them?" If he had any money on him when he was pulled out of that stupid cave, it's whatever happened to be in his pockets at the time. And by normal-people standards, House of Black pocket change can still be a fair amount, but he didn't set out intending to need any money.
As they enter the shop, he falls back on his best blank-polite face. Possibly it's a bit much, but he'd rather err on the side of caution (a tactic that's saved him trouble from Bella more often than it hasn't).
Watching Regulus out of the corner of her eye Lily barely contained a smirk at the blank look that crossed his face the moment they stepped into the grocery store. He looked like he'd been woken up far too early and was being made to sit in a lecture, but she supposed it was better than gawking at his surroundings like it was the first time he'd been in a shop like this.
Holding up a slip of paper where she'd written their needs in tidy cursive for him to see their shopping list Lily looked left and right, trying to get a sense of an aisle to head down. When she made eye contact with an older woman at the store's lone register, she smiled sunnily, giving Regulus a subtle nudge before heading towards the vegetables.
He does grant the cashier a polite nod, almost before Lily nudges him to acknowledge the woman. Just because not showing much emotion is the path Regulus has chosen for this experience doesn't mean he's forgotten his manners entirely.
"It looks like all the fruits and vegetables are over there," he says, pointing to the right. And if those wall displays are doing the equivalent work of cooling charms, he'd bet the meat and dairy will likewise be along the walls. "Should we start there, or come to it at the end?"
"Come to it at the end, we'll be quick with the dry goods," Lily held up her list. "Rice, pasta, coffee, tea, flour. Nothing that extravagant - unless you had other ideas."
Thus far he had just been eating what she made, but in truth, Lily had no idea what Regulus made of the four or five things she knew how to cook. Perhaps it would only help them blend in more - two bewildered and tired crab scientists trying to figure out what they ought to get so they could return to work. "I'd certainly like to get a nice cake from the bakery part of the store if I'm honest. It's been quite a while."
"I'd hardly know where to begin with anything else." He can say that much here and sound like nothing more than someone whose parents never taught him to cook for himself - which is true, even if the reasons are more complex (and a little Statute-breaking to bring up in a non-magical grocery) than that.
His mother certainly doesn't know how to cook, either. Regulus is admittedly not sure about his father. Kreacher is also an excellent cook if he happens to like you, and probably wouldn't have allowed Regulus into the kitchen to make the attempt in the first place.
"A cake does sound like an excellent idea, though."
Already in the process of taking things off their shelves to put in the basket she carried Lily took a moment to pass him the list and a stub of pencil she'd brought with her for this purpose. "Cross things out as I go so we don't waste time."
She was organized in all things - or she tried to be, and her approach to getting into and out of this village without attracting too much conversation or arousing too much suspicion was meticulous to say the very least. After dropping a few boxes of tea into the shopping basket she lifted her head to look around the aisle they were in before checking her list. "Come on then, fruit and veg. Can't have you coming down with scurvy can we?"
He's not thinking about whether it comes pre-sliced; he may not even be aware that's an option. But even Regulus knows there's more than one type of bread out there.
"Three loaves of brown bread. Don't get it sliced, it'll stay fresh longer if it isn't. I'll meet you by the register?"
Lily looked at Regulus hopefully and gave him a nod of encouragement before she went to the butcher to see about getting enough meat to see them through a few weeks. Coming to town was going well enough, but Lily didn't think making a habit of it was safe for anyone.
"That sounds good." He desperately wants to ask about the sliced bread, but doesn't - yet. That question's likely coming when they get back to the house.
...Or the bread on sale can answer it for him. Huh. He's not sure that pre-sliced bread is that much of an improvement, really. Finding unsliced loaves takes a bit of hunting, but he manages, and then heads for the register.
He found her waiting by the till, looking over the covers of a few of the magazines on display, pulling one off the rack as he approached. "Ah good, they had enough bread."
She tried to sound casual as she approached the older gentleman waiting at the register, laying their groceries down and giving him a pleasant smile as he began to tally it all up and bag it.
"How're you two?" The old man squints, first at Lily and then at Regulus, curious and friendly more than anything else.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
~no_martyr
Apparition was out of the question, given the small, remote Muggle village they meant to approach, but the walk wasn’t long, and on the way, she took the chance to go over their story, walking close enough to him to keep her voice quiet - not that there was anyone, apart from the occasional sheep to hear it.
“We’re Bernard and Mary, I’m Flora, the owner of the house’s granddaughter, and we’re observing the crabs on the beach and working on a project for university.” They were both young enough that it would suit as a story. “Flora’s a squib,” she added in an even softer tone of voice. “We’re just going to do the shopping and go, and say as little as we can, without being impolite. Places like these are particularly observant of outsiders, so we have to be kind and gracious.
Lily looked around at their surroundings, watching the village come into view just ahead on the road. “Crabs are nocturnal, so that’s why they don’t see us out and about, we work at night.” She looked rather proud of having thought of that little detail. “Have you ever been to a Muggle grocery shop before?”
no subject
Not that it matters, but Regulus isn't going to shut down his curiosity, to the extent that he can figure it out on his own. Prying would be rude.
"Kind and gracious I can do. I come from social circles where it's a survival tactic." And expected behavior, but it's also kept him from being hexed within an inch of his life more than once.
"I haven't. Mother didn't even want to walk through our own neighborhood if she could help it - I'd do that much, but entering a shop wasn't a line I thought I could cross."
no subject
These people living in their rural island town likely couldn't have imagined the true nature of the business that had brought the two outsiders there, and for their sakes, Lily hoped they never had to learn.
Looking up as they approached the town's outskirts, it was easy to spot the lone main road, shops, and other buildings dotting it. "We'll get ice cream," she added, firmly. For her sake as much as his.
no subject
It can't be that different, can it?
"Though it's probably best for everyone involved if you handle the money. I'm not sure I've got my head around the differences yet. As for ice cream, though, I certainly won't complain."
no subject
Clearing her throat as they neared the entrance to the shop she squared her shoulders and put on her best friendly smile, pushing the door open to usher them both inside. The sooner they took to getting this venture over with, the better.
no subject
As they enter the shop, he falls back on his best blank-polite face. Possibly it's a bit much, but he'd rather err on the side of caution (a tactic that's saved him trouble from Bella more often than it hasn't).
no subject
Holding up a slip of paper where she'd written their needs in tidy cursive for him to see their shopping list Lily looked left and right, trying to get a sense of an aisle to head down. When she made eye contact with an older woman at the store's lone register, she smiled sunnily, giving Regulus a subtle nudge before heading towards the vegetables.
no subject
"It looks like all the fruits and vegetables are over there," he says, pointing to the right. And if those wall displays are doing the equivalent work of cooling charms, he'd bet the meat and dairy will likewise be along the walls. "Should we start there, or come to it at the end?"
no subject
Thus far he had just been eating what she made, but in truth, Lily had no idea what Regulus made of the four or five things she knew how to cook. Perhaps it would only help them blend in more - two bewildered and tired crab scientists trying to figure out what they ought to get so they could return to work. "I'd certainly like to get a nice cake from the bakery part of the store if I'm honest. It's been quite a while."
no subject
His mother certainly doesn't know how to cook, either. Regulus is admittedly not sure about his father. Kreacher is also an excellent cook if he happens to like you, and probably wouldn't have allowed Regulus into the kitchen to make the attempt in the first place.
"A cake does sound like an excellent idea, though."
no subject
She was organized in all things - or she tried to be, and her approach to getting into and out of this village without attracting too much conversation or arousing too much suspicion was meticulous to say the very least. After dropping a few boxes of tea into the shopping basket she lifted her head to look around the aisle they were in before checking her list. "Come on then, fruit and veg. Can't have you coming down with scurvy can we?"
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"That really doesn't sound appealing, not when I've only just bounced back."
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Tossing things into the basket she paused, eyeing a few apples before she leaned in to whisper, "have you noticed anyone noticing us?"
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"Not in any obvious way." Which to Regulus means that if someone has, they don't mean the pair of them ill.
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"We're almost done, just a bit of meat and a loaf of bread, if you're feeling up to grabbing one or two while I see about the meat?"
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He's not thinking about whether it comes pre-sliced; he may not even be aware that's an option. But even Regulus knows there's more than one type of bread out there.
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Lily looked at Regulus hopefully and gave him a nod of encouragement before she went to the butcher to see about getting enough meat to see them through a few weeks. Coming to town was going well enough, but Lily didn't think making a habit of it was safe for anyone.
no subject
...Or the bread on sale can answer it for him. Huh. He's not sure that pre-sliced bread is that much of an improvement, really. Finding unsliced loaves takes a bit of hunting, but he manages, and then heads for the register.
no subject
She tried to sound casual as she approached the older gentleman waiting at the register, laying their groceries down and giving him a pleasant smile as he began to tally it all up and bag it.
"How're you two?" The old man squints, first at Lily and then at Regulus, curious and friendly more than anything else.