Book 1: Nepenthe
Book 2: Halcyon
For those that survived the war and carried on, happiness was waiting for them just around the corner, they simply had to find it. For James Potter, it took a wrong turn to end him in the right place where he met Ren...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
When James had gone out scouting for a restaurant venue before Christmas to gift to Renata, he had come across plenty of places that seemed to be in better condition than what he had actually purchased. He hadn't purchased the place in order to be cheap, as it wasn't in the slightest due to the prime location in Diagon Alley, he had purchased it because as soon as he entered, despite the condition, it felt right. There was something about the place, no matter how vacant or riddled with doxies, it seemed perfect. He was sure that Renata could add her personal charm to it in more ways than one and turn it into a masterpiece.
During the first time she had actually visited, James could distinctly remember the tears in Renata's eyes, probably because the idea of owning her own restaurant had been a dream and she believed it would remain as so. Not to mention, it was a dream that had been stolen from her for many years as her mother made her believe that her only ambition in her life had been to be an Auror. But that wasn't the case anymore, Renata could remember wanting to be a chef and for James, that's all he really needed to hear. He could remember some of the first times that they cooked together and how much she seemed to enjoy it, enough that he ended up falling in love with the idea of cooking as well.
He was now at the stage where he was experimenting with his own recipes (under Renata's supervision, of course) and was helping Renata develop dishes for her menu. However, the menu was only part of the battle, as creating the magical atmosphere of the restaurant was the task that they were having the hardest time with.
Renata couldn't decide on anything as every time she visited the space, new ideas came to mind, putting old ones to rest and the only thing that ever remained consistent was the name she had come up with for the place.
"Nepenthe," she wanted to call it, leaving James confused as to what she meant by that. Renata took the time to explain that it was meant to be something that allowed a person to forget their griefs and sorrows and that's what she wanted whenever someone walked through the door for a meal. She wanted them to forget all their troubles, even if they couldn't forget them forever, they could at least live in an ideal world while they were enjoying a meal in good company.
It was a way to turn around what her parents had done to her and Adelmo, along with what others had to face as well that come from the same troubled origins. Alcina Abate had it in her mind that she was going to alter the minds of her students, including her own children, make them forget things so that she could create the "perfect" society. However, she had only caused even more trouble by doing so. In her quest to create perfection, Alcina had caused people to go mad, some of them losing their lives, other taking the lives of their families.
She had suppressed their memories, thinking she was helping, when in reality, she was causing substantial damage. Renata didn't want people to necessarily forget the troubles they were facing in a literal sense, she didn't want to alter or suppress memories. But she wanted her customers to have such a good experience at her restaurants that they could find themselves brushing their troubles aside.
