“Good evening”, says the new arrival while pushing the door closed against the Wintry murk and gusts of dank wind, dry voice carrying the languid tones of the upper crust of society. Doffing a rain-slick hat to let water slide off the brim onto the entrance mat, the stranger tucks a silver-headed cane under one arm and unfastens the damp overcoat. Beneath is revealed an expensively tailored suit at the cutting edge of Muggle elegance and good taste. Returning the hat to its proper place, the blonde-haired Muggle-alike moves further into the shop, pale gaze roaming over the array of confectionery before settling upon the nearest apparent staff-member.  “I don’t suppose you have anything that would be… safe to be seen by members of the mundane population, do you?”

“Hello, hello!” Eva greets the customer, slightly distracted as she seems to be almost juggling some ledger books. She glances at Mariot and gives only a slightly confused look at his attire before shaking off the confusion and beaming brightly at him. “The mundane population?” she repeats quietly, puzzling for a moment before it occurs to her what he means. “Ah! I have some truffles that are fairly innocuous, and perhaps some failed batches that didn’t take to their magical properties. What kinds of sweets were you looking for? Are these for a muggle, or do you just want them to resemble muggle sweets? Have to be careful, you know. Secrecy and all that.” Eva rolls her eyes at this comment, as if it is a terrible and frequent inconvenience to her, though she could not reasonably argue that this is the case.

The elegant figure inclines its head to Eva, lips quirking into a gentle smile. “The gift would be for a wizard-born child with non-magical relatives. I would like to provide my nephew with something he can appreciate as magical, while avoiding coming to the attention of any of my Ministry colleagues as the responsible party behind a breach of secrecy. I travel, so I can perhaps present something “unusual” as being the latest in foreign confectionery to his mundane family, so long as it is not too… unsubtle in its effects.”

“We can work around that, as long as he knows to be careful about when he eats the sweets.” Eva drops the pile of ledger books fairly loudly onto her desk behind the counter, then saunters out into her own candy lobby to join her customer. “We have, of course truffles. I have some leftover candy canes that lost their color changing, but they still fizz a bit, and, hmm… no exploding bonbons. Perhaps some toothflossing stringmints, or maybe the sherbets. He’d hover for a little while but used in moderation they wouldn’t be terribly noticable. He would have to be responsible with them, of course – not eat them in front of muggles other than his parents. Do you think he would be able to do that?” Eva pulls a few of the mentioned sweets off of the shelves, presenting each for inspection as she moves on to the next.

Mariot eyes the array of sweets with clear interest, a slight smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “Perhaps just a couple of the more dramatic sweets, so that he has something to enjoy in private, but not enough that he’ll get bored and risk using them before witnesses. And rather more of the subtle ones to make the present more than a token gesture….? I trust him a certain amount, but he is young, and magic is still rather new to him….”

“You know your nephew best. What do you think he would enjoy most? Some chocolates, or perhaps the more sugary sweets like the ice mice or the bertie botts beans? Those are always a good stand-by.” Eva pauses to pull out a moderately-sized box of the beans and shows them to Mariot. “Some children quite enjoy the licorice wands, or perhaps the sugar quills. Those are very tame sweets but would at least get him used to some of the things he’ll be using later.” Eva pauses for a moment to reach over the counter for a basket to help her hold the myriad of sweets that she’s pulling off of the shelves as examples.

Mariot offers Eva a somewhat apologetic, grateful smile. “I apologise. I’m…somewhat unused to this. He’s not been old enough to receive magic before, at least not from his disreputable aunt…. “The wands, I think, might be appreciated. Some conventional chocolates that he might be able to share with his family without worry… and perhaps a handful of those levitating sweets you mentioned?”

Eva nods concisely, startling a bit as an explosion occurs from the back room. “Sorry, sorry! Everything is fine!” a voice calls out and Eva shrugs off the minor interruption without comment. “So, some sherbet balls,” she murmurs, taking a few out and placing them into the basket, “Some chocolate wands, and a few of the truffles.” Quickly, the woman assembles the order, retrieving one a bag with two Cs emblazoned on the front in a bold white, while the bag itself is blue and purple striped. Not bothering to put back any of the sweets that she has displaced to show Mariot, she steps around the counter to the register. The register makes a loud CHUNK noise each time she presses one of the keys. She quotes the price to Mariot with a smile. “You’re sure you won’t have anything for yourself?” she teases gently.

Having pretended not to notice the backroom explosion, the androgynous woman darts a glance towards the rain-rattled shop windows, then laughs softly. “I admit that it does seem to be weather to make one think of treating oneself…. What would you suggest? I am afraid that most of my own exposure to chocolate has been mundane. Goods like those you sell here were… rare gifts.”

Eva chuckles quietly. “Well, Maura has been experimenting with some truffles. Here are some milk chocolate ones with spicy cinnamon which heats your mouth, then follows with mint and a cooling agent. My particular favorites are these multi-fruit truffles which have a different flavor with each bite. Maura has managed to get them to taste very much like the real fruits, with the advantage of a dark chocolate shell to accent the taste of the various fruits.” Eva looks at her collection, pondering over which might be the best choices to share. “You might also like These chocolate and caramel pumpkin bars – sweetened bits of pumpkin, layered with caramel and then pumpkin.” Eva leans forward and whispers in a conspiratory way, “These are my particular favorites of her experiments – I haven’t told her but they have a kind of tangy zing to them that makes the tongue actually tingle with vibrations. It’s a beautiful experience.” She leans back again with a light laugh. “Of course it’s ultimately up to you what you’d like. My recommendations count for little in the scheme of things.” Eva ends her statement with a quick wink.

Laughing and shaking her head, Mariot can’t help but grin broadly at the shop-owner. “Your enthusiasm is… impressive. I fear that I might have to ensure that I do not become too frequent a customer here…. But… why not? I’ll take a little of each of your recommendations. I can only hope that I don’t enjoy them too much…”

“It is my shop and my livelihood,” Eva answers with a vague shrug. “The idea, of course, is that you do enjoy them enough to come back. Keeps me in business, you know! So, what suits your fancy?” Eva reaches down below the counter to pull up a tray full of the varieties of truffles that the shop offers. “Would you like to try one, just to see what you’d like, or shall I assemble a variety for your surprise?”

“Ahhhh. I’d wondered if you were the owner, or merely an enthused convert to the wonders of confectionery….” Mariot grins, then nods slowly. “Oh, I think that the surprise selection sounds appealing. So long as I can work out which one is which for any future orders, it could prove enlightening.”

Eva begins to pick out a variety of truffles and other chocolates to place into yet another bag decorated with the Cordial Confections logo. “If you have any trouble knowing which is which, just describe it to us and we can sort it out. Not to mention, I’ve a very smart register in here, if you come in often enough, it will remember the things that you ordered.” Eva grins as she says this, bundling up the chocolates and removing the tray down into the display case where it had previously been. She starts to press the buttons on the register again, adding this new assortment to the other, then quoting a new price.

Mariot blinks, shooting the register a rather surprised look – before cracking another grin. “I have the impression that it might need to remember the habits of a fair number of people. You seem to operate your business with a passion that might well prove infectious…”

“Oh, well, it doesn’t remember forever – that’s why you have to come in often enough. It has a better memory than I have sometimes, and usually between the two of us we can get fairly close to what a customer liked before.” Eva grins broadly. “I don’t think someone lacking passion would have the necessary fortitude and patience to survive a day here in the days leading up to the start of school at Hogwarts. I can tell you the shop is a mad house those days. Perhaps it’s the infectious passion. I tend to think it’s just the sweets.” She winks.

Mariot blinks again, then laughs. “Rather you than me, I fear. I try to avoid the Alley entirely at that time of year, and can’t begin to imagine what this place must be like when there are so many school-children passing through…. Is it as chaotic at the end of term, or do they tend to be eager to return home?”

“There’s less waiting when they come home. I’ll have the occasional family, but most would rather go home than loiter in the shops.” The two smaller bags are packed into a bigger, easier to handle bag and Eva shrugs. “It’s my lot in life as a confectioner – children will be in to browse and buy as much as their parents will. I can’t say that I mind all that much, though. It would be hypocritical of me.” The woman sighs quietly then grins at her customer.

Mariot cocks her head, shooting Eva a distinctly quizzical look in response to that sight. “You sound as if you rather decidedly enjoy the chaos of your shop being filled with children”, she observes with a smile. “If it’s not too rude – do you have any of your own, to try to keep from eating nothing but your creations?”

“I can’t say that I enjoy the chaos of children, but it’s a necessity to court them. They’re big money-spenders when it comes to candy. I much prefer the adult clientele, though. They’re more likely to make thoughtful comments regarding the quality and less likely to leave sticky fingerprints everywhere.” Eva barely manages not to sneer at the thought of the messes, but then shakes her hand dismissively regarding it. “I do have children – nine, in fact. The oldest girls start at Hogwarts this September. Being as they’ve grown up around the shop, they know better than to ask for candy if I haven’t offered it. I’ve had a sweets shop since before they were born, so we managed alright with the kids.”

Mariot chuckles, wincing and shaking her head at the thought of chocolate-sticky fingers everywhere… before looking rather startled at Eva’s revelation of the size of her family. “Nine? And all younger than Hogwarts-age? Good grief. How on Earth do you find the time to operate a business?”, she asks, clearly more than a touch impressed.

“Oh, my husband cares for them full-time. I come from a big family, so we all help one another out when we need. It’s not been an issue, really. I spend a lot of my time at work, so I can assure you it isn’t the least bit overwhelming for me. My husband seems to manage spectacularly, too. He’s not crazy yet.” Eva gives another wink and places the double package down onto the counter. “Have you many nieces and nephews other than this one?” the woman inquires casually.

Mariot can’t help but continue to look impressed, as Eva describes her familial situation in more detail. “Me? No, no. I am afraid that your household is larger than my entire family. And I can hardly imagine having children myself, I confess. I fear that I would be an absolute disaster as a parent…”

“That’s okay, too,” Eva murmurs and then chuckles a bit. “You’ll have to come back soon then and maybe you can meet some of mine. Quell any urge that might be lurking. I imagine it might do the trick! Perhaps you could bring your nephew. My oldest three love to help out around the shop – I suspect because of the new friends they make.” The woman laughs a bit, then shakes her head. “Well, I seem to have forgotten your purpose today!” she restates the total and laughs again. “It’s a good thing you came during a lull. We might have some irate customers on our hands otherwise, standing and chatting like this.”

Mariot delves inside her jacket to withdraw a wallet, from which she extracts payment as she talks. “For my part, the Ministry can do without me, easily enough…. My nephew is old enough to be shown the Alley now, I think. I shall have to bring him here, when next he is in London. And from the sound of it, your children appear rather well-behaved – would they truly put anyone off the thought of having offspring of their own?”

“Only by sheer volume, I assure you. Nine children in one room is enough to put anyone off having some of their own!” Eva chuckles. “I tell you, it has for me.” She winks and finishes the transaction at the till. “If you let me know ahead of time when you expect to be here, I’ll make sure at least my oldest are here in the shop with me. They do enjoy helping, but I can’t always afford to have their type of, er, help. If you know what I mean.” Eva gives a vaguely helpless shrug. “Is there anything else that I can get for you today?” she asks, flinching only slightly as another loud BANG occurs in the back room.

Mariot’s amused laugh is interrupted by another flinch of her own, accompanied by a glance towards that apparently-busy back room. “It sounds as if I should let you return to supervisory duties”, she says with a smile, reaching for the package. “But thank you for all your help. I suspect that you can look forward to some repeat custom in future…”

“It happens all the time, but I had better check that Maura’s alright. Enjoy your sweets. Do come again soon,” Eva tells Mariot before waving to her. Just a moment later, she disappears into the back room. There is shuffling and commotion in the back room as Eva start to help putting to rights whatever it is that occurred in there, letting Mariot take her exit of her own accord.