RP: From the City to a Farm
Date: November 27, 2004
Characters: Gilderoy Lockhart, Hermione Granger
Location: London, Dartmoor, Alpha Lane
Status: Private
Summary: Hermione sells drapes in London, visits a farm in Dartmoor, and gets to know a few friendly sheep and two cranky goats
Completion: Complete
London was still too crowded and smelled weird. Hermione had never been a huge fan of the city, preferring smaller villages to a heavily populated metropolis, but her work for the day required the trip. After stopping by the address that Lockhart had given her and picking up the treatments to sell, she’d Apparated to a spot at Victoria Station. She really had no idea where to start looking for someone to buy drapery, so she’d gone to a fabric store and made inquiries. She left with the name of several interior design firms.
The first two hadn’t appealed to her. Their offices had been sleek and expensive, sure, but she trusted her judgment enough to know she was better off elsewhere. She found two other firms that weren‘t so suspicious, and received several offers before deciding which firm to do business with.
While she had really taken to the woman running the smallest firm, she needed to haggle on price and get the most for the property, so she’d selected a firm that seemed prosperous and was willing to negotiate. She was thankful that she gave off the appearance of knowing what she was talking about even when she didn’t have a clue because she ended up making £2500 for the whole lot, which was £350 more than Lockhart’s estimate.
Flush with the success of successful deal-making, she stopped and had fish & chips for lunch as a reward after making a quick stop at the chemist. After she’d eaten, it was time for the last half of her task, which was going to be more difficult. Where did one buy sheep and goats? She saw quite a few of them at farms when they were traveling and as a child during motor holidays, but that didn’t mean they were actually for sale. It was nearly noon, and she had no idea, so she ended up going into a local bookstore and finding books on farming. She saw several areas mentioned more than others, which meant she had to take a trip to Dartmoor. Fortunately, she knew of an Apparition point there.
After asking around and checking notices, she found her way to a local farm. The farm was owned by a gruff man who seemed suspicious of her arriving by foot (by that time, dragging her right foot just slightly due to the extensive amount of walking she’d done during the day) and introduced himself as Jonas Wells. He had sheep and goats, some of which he was willing to sell, and finally relaxed enough to wax poetic about Dartmoor Whiteface versus Dartmoor Greyface as if she had any idea what in the world he was talking about. His wife made her a cup of tea, and she felt only slightly guilty for negotiating with them to get the most for the money.
Hermione told them about her eccentric employer, who had sent her via train to collect the animals for use in clothing. He didn’t have a black sheep, but knew of a neighbor who was selling some, so she was able to get the black sheep from across the way along with two mohair goats and two Dartmoor Whiteface, which looked like normal sheep so would, hopefully, be what Lockhart wanted. She also managed to get the raw wool thrown into the cost from Wells. She spent £2000 on three sheep, two goats, and the raw wool, which still left her with £550 commission.
Even better, due to her story of the demanding employer, Wells hitched up his trailer, loaded the animals, and drove her towards Stoatshead Hill. The drive took a little over an hour, during which time she heard more about sheep and goats than she ever wanted to know. She did find the farm talk interesting, mostly because she liked the idea of possibly planting edible things in the garden to help cut their shopping costs. When they got near to the area where Susan’s farm was located, she had him stop and explained that her boss valued his secrecy and didn’t allow direct traffic anywhere near his farm.
Wells was convinced she was working for a madman, though she reassured him that her boss was just unconventional. The drive had been bumpy and left her smelling of livestock, but her foot felt much better, so she was able to sort of herd the animals the rest of the distance, after giving Wells money for petrol due to his generosity and promising to buy any future sheep or goats from him. During the walk to the farm, she used magic to keep the animals from running away. The sheep seemed just a tad too friendly with one another while the goats kept trying to bite each other’s ears.
She finally made it to the farm and handed off the animals to Kingsley. After she told him they were Lockhart’s and tried to must a smile, she left them in good hands. She was tired, sore, and still had to walk home. She also smelled funny, which meant a nice, warm bath was in order once she got home. It was nearly five in the evening by the time she entered the house and practically crawled up the stairs. She couldn’t get the smell of sheep saliva out of her mind, but needed to let Lockhart know that the mission was accomplished. She had another owl to write, but decided it could wait until after her bath.
It was only after writing the owl that she remembered Ron mentioning something about a party tonight. She hated parties, especially those with crowds of people, but he’d been bouncing around like an excited puppy when telling her, so she knew she’d end up going for at least a short time. As she slid beneath the bubbles in her warm bath, she hoped she’d stop smelling like sheep spit by the party.
************
Dear Mister Lockhart,
I just wanted to let you know that I’ve managed to sell your drapes and procure the animals and raw wool that you requested. I’m enclosing the wool with this letter, but the sheeps and goats are at the farm. I managed to negotiate a good price for both trades, fortunately, and was able to get you two white sheep and one black as well as the two goats. I hope they’re what you wanted and suit your needs.
Thank you for the opportunity of doing business with you, Sir.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger
Characters: Gilderoy Lockhart, Hermione Granger
Location: London, Dartmoor, Alpha Lane
Status: Private
Summary: Hermione sells drapes in London, visits a farm in Dartmoor, and gets to know a few friendly sheep and two cranky goats
Completion: Complete
London was still too crowded and smelled weird. Hermione had never been a huge fan of the city, preferring smaller villages to a heavily populated metropolis, but her work for the day required the trip. After stopping by the address that Lockhart had given her and picking up the treatments to sell, she’d Apparated to a spot at Victoria Station. She really had no idea where to start looking for someone to buy drapery, so she’d gone to a fabric store and made inquiries. She left with the name of several interior design firms.
The first two hadn’t appealed to her. Their offices had been sleek and expensive, sure, but she trusted her judgment enough to know she was better off elsewhere. She found two other firms that weren‘t so suspicious, and received several offers before deciding which firm to do business with.
While she had really taken to the woman running the smallest firm, she needed to haggle on price and get the most for the property, so she’d selected a firm that seemed prosperous and was willing to negotiate. She was thankful that she gave off the appearance of knowing what she was talking about even when she didn’t have a clue because she ended up making £2500 for the whole lot, which was £350 more than Lockhart’s estimate.
Flush with the success of successful deal-making, she stopped and had fish & chips for lunch as a reward after making a quick stop at the chemist. After she’d eaten, it was time for the last half of her task, which was going to be more difficult. Where did one buy sheep and goats? She saw quite a few of them at farms when they were traveling and as a child during motor holidays, but that didn’t mean they were actually for sale. It was nearly noon, and she had no idea, so she ended up going into a local bookstore and finding books on farming. She saw several areas mentioned more than others, which meant she had to take a trip to Dartmoor. Fortunately, she knew of an Apparition point there.
After asking around and checking notices, she found her way to a local farm. The farm was owned by a gruff man who seemed suspicious of her arriving by foot (by that time, dragging her right foot just slightly due to the extensive amount of walking she’d done during the day) and introduced himself as Jonas Wells. He had sheep and goats, some of which he was willing to sell, and finally relaxed enough to wax poetic about Dartmoor Whiteface versus Dartmoor Greyface as if she had any idea what in the world he was talking about. His wife made her a cup of tea, and she felt only slightly guilty for negotiating with them to get the most for the money.
Hermione told them about her eccentric employer, who had sent her via train to collect the animals for use in clothing. He didn’t have a black sheep, but knew of a neighbor who was selling some, so she was able to get the black sheep from across the way along with two mohair goats and two Dartmoor Whiteface, which looked like normal sheep so would, hopefully, be what Lockhart wanted. She also managed to get the raw wool thrown into the cost from Wells. She spent £2000 on three sheep, two goats, and the raw wool, which still left her with £550 commission.
Even better, due to her story of the demanding employer, Wells hitched up his trailer, loaded the animals, and drove her towards Stoatshead Hill. The drive took a little over an hour, during which time she heard more about sheep and goats than she ever wanted to know. She did find the farm talk interesting, mostly because she liked the idea of possibly planting edible things in the garden to help cut their shopping costs. When they got near to the area where Susan’s farm was located, she had him stop and explained that her boss valued his secrecy and didn’t allow direct traffic anywhere near his farm.
Wells was convinced she was working for a madman, though she reassured him that her boss was just unconventional. The drive had been bumpy and left her smelling of livestock, but her foot felt much better, so she was able to sort of herd the animals the rest of the distance, after giving Wells money for petrol due to his generosity and promising to buy any future sheep or goats from him. During the walk to the farm, she used magic to keep the animals from running away. The sheep seemed just a tad too friendly with one another while the goats kept trying to bite each other’s ears.
She finally made it to the farm and handed off the animals to Kingsley. After she told him they were Lockhart’s and tried to must a smile, she left them in good hands. She was tired, sore, and still had to walk home. She also smelled funny, which meant a nice, warm bath was in order once she got home. It was nearly five in the evening by the time she entered the house and practically crawled up the stairs. She couldn’t get the smell of sheep saliva out of her mind, but needed to let Lockhart know that the mission was accomplished. She had another owl to write, but decided it could wait until after her bath.
It was only after writing the owl that she remembered Ron mentioning something about a party tonight. She hated parties, especially those with crowds of people, but he’d been bouncing around like an excited puppy when telling her, so she knew she’d end up going for at least a short time. As she slid beneath the bubbles in her warm bath, she hoped she’d stop smelling like sheep spit by the party.
************
Dear Mister Lockhart,
I just wanted to let you know that I’ve managed to sell your drapes and procure the animals and raw wool that you requested. I’m enclosing the wool with this letter, but the sheeps and goats are at the farm. I managed to negotiate a good price for both trades, fortunately, and was able to get you two white sheep and one black as well as the two goats. I hope they’re what you wanted and suit your needs.
Thank you for the opportunity of doing business with you, Sir.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger