Duckweed Ducky Duck!

[Minerva Primpernelle]

Minnie pushed her glasses up her nose as she peered at the ancient pottery cauldron on its stand. She bumped her nose on the magical barrier that was around it and blinked, then turned her attention to the plaque describing both the cauldron and its uses and problems. It was a fascinating look at the history of Min's chosen profession, and she had always had some Ravenclawish tendencies.

As Min leaned forward to read the plaque, her glasses slid off her nose and clattered to the floor. "Oh, fiddlesticks!" she cried out, then bent to fetch them and managed to get herself tangled in the skirt of her blue dress. Caught up like that, Minnie fell and landed on her rear. She bounced off of the barrier around the cauldron and barely managed to miss sitting on (and breaking) her glasses.

"Fudge and muffin!" she shouted, scrambling for her glasses and putting them back on. "Duckweed ducky -- duck!"

  

[Marjolaine St.John]

It was a good thing that Margo didn’t hate history, because she’d quickly run out of excuses in order not to go to London’s Museum of Magical Miscellany. She was not quite enthusiastic as her sister and her little friend, but she still found it somewhat enjoyable and she always found something new to look at.

Anne and Miss Browne were at Ancient Egypt’s part of the museum and Margo quietly made her way to the one she believed to room artefacts on ancient mesopotamia.

She slightly wrinkled her nose when she realized it was the Potioneer’s exhibition.

She quickly started walking towards the nearest exit that would lead to a different exhibition, when she noticed the most peculiar woman.

“Um, Miss?” she tentatively asked, not daring to take a step closer. She looked weird and she’d rather not be attacked by an escaped lunatic!

  

[Minerva Primpernelle]

Fair haired, obviously with child, and obviously upper class - the woman who had witnessed Min's most recent embarrassment was everything that the potioneer was not. Minnie blushed as she scrambled back to her feet.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit ... clumsy." She trailed off with a hopeful look; perhaps the graceful creature before her would believe the gross understatement of her clumsiness. It did happen from time to time, at least until Minerva proved just how clumsy every bit of her lanky body (excepting her remarkably steady hands) was.

  

[Marjolaine St.John]

Clumsy. That sounded as a fair explanation. She didn’t sound crazy, so Margo decided to take a chance.

“No need to apologize, dear! We’re all clumsy from time to time!” she offered with a smile. “Why, I was once not paying attention in my potions class and ended up adding salamander eyes rather than frog ones! There was a bright purple stain on the wall for weeks!”

  

[Minerva Primpernelle]

Minnie didn't believe that this vision of poise and beauty had ever been clumsy, and in fact the mistaking of frog and salamander eyes was not that hard. Min was very aware that her gift for potions was an uncommon one, and so she assumed other people would make mistakes!

"Oh, it's not sometimes, ma'am -- I'm always clumsy! Absolutely hopeless at most things. Steady hands, but I do a great deal of running into things and falling over, and I'm a bad enough dancer to ruin a whole ball!"

  

[Marjolaine St.John]

Margo had seen enough of the woman to decide that she wasn’t exaggerating. Which was very unfortunate indeed. Margo might have had many flaws, but at least she wasn’t clumsy. Her governess had made sure to that.

“I’m sure it’s not as bad as you make it sound!” Margo assured the woman. “And most people are mediocre dancers at best! And if you are truly that bad, which I very much doubt, then you are still better than those who are terrible dancers but think otherwise!”

  

[Minerva Primpernelle]

The smile that Minnie gave the lovely young mother-to-be was embarrassed and flattered at the same time. "Thank you, Ma'am, but I really am quite bad. Of course, you're right that it's better to know that you're bad than to be horrible and think yourself wonderful!"

She shifted slightly, uncomfortable with how inadequate she was feeling next to this goddess. Searching for something to say, she blurted out, "Are you getting stretch marks? From the pregnancy, I mean. I've been working on a potion to reverse and prevent them!"

  

[Marjolaine St.John]

The woman’s question was a strange one and Margo would have probably regarded it as rude if she hadn’t decided that the woman wasn’t that, well, ordinary. She didn’t seem like someone who would intentionally say rude things!

“Indeed I have,” Margo replied. “I take it that you’re a potioneer, then?” Margo had heard a lot of things about people that made fake beauty potions, that ended up burning down your hair and terrible things like that!