the electronics of your heart

( cis woman | she/her/hers | emma mackey ) —— isn’t that CRESSIDA WEASLEY? yeah that is them, outside the three broomsticks! they used to be in RAVENCLAW but apparently they now work as an APPRENTICE at GLADRAGS WIZARD WEAR. sybill once said that they reminded her of perfectly manicured nails, when she laughs you’d swear you’re on the verge of a happy ending, stacks of notebooks with sketched drawings, the foreboding sense that you don’t belong in the only place you’ve called home, lipstick stains on coffee cups, the pursuit of knowledge and power, the touch of red velvet, black coffee hiding a single tablespoon of sugar, flirty winks and wandering touches, and eyes that see past tricks and lies, which seems about right. anyway i’ve heard they’re still a bit PASSIONATE, OBSERVANT and POWER-HUNGRY, they’re TWENTY-TWO now but some things never change! i wonder how being a PUREBLOOD is affecting them after school, especially now they’re an ASSOCIATE with THE DEATH EATERS? i guess only time will tell…

google doc of info & biography.

@beforedawnstarters​​

where: florean fortescue’s ice cream parlour. 

“i highly recommend the cotton candy flavour,” hana says looking over the person’s shoulder, keeping her distance still, she had a rare day off and liked to be around the shop with her dad since she didn’t see him as much. “but i’m biased,” she says, knowing her dad had added it because she liked it. 

cressida had no intentions of partaking in a cotton candy flavored anything – she hated the taste. she usually switched it around, sometimes staying with a new flavor she found for the next few times she came in. her last ice cream dish had been quite phenomenal. a blend of black raspberry and maple with cherries and toffee chips. it was quite a brilliant mix on her part. “thanks, but no thanks,” cressida replied with a bit of a fake smile as she turned around slightly. “i think i’ll stick with my current favorite.”

CRESSIDA. 

          addie  was  not  the  type  to  complain  about  her  home  life  .   there  wasn’t  much  to  complain  about  anyways  .   her  parents  typically  didn’t  bother  her  and  when  they  did  usually  they  just  complained  about  her  .   it  wasn’t  as  bad  as  some  people  had  to  deal  with  so  there  wasn’t  a  need  to  complain  .   and  addie  knew  they  were  better  off  buying  themself  a  new  set  of  robes  .   since  their  mother  was  more  likely  to  throw  them  in  something  horrible  because  her  mother’s  taste  was  horrible  .   addie  didn’t  mind  really  .   “ of  course  .   fancy  things  just  really  aren’t  my  style  .   do  you  have  a  section  for  work  clothes  ?   i’d  like  to  price  out  a  new  set  of  work  robes  . ”   all  she  had  to  do  was  ask  louise  ,   but  it  kind  of  felt  weird  still  to  ask  when  they  had  perfectly  capable  parents  to  buy  them  clothing  .   “ i  normally  just  work  in  regular  clothing  ,   but  i  think  something  fancy  would  be  nice  for  after  i  finish  this  year  of  school  . ” 

“of course – just follow me this way,” cressida replied, starting the trek to the deeper part of the shop. the owner liked to put more of their embellished robes out front and in the window to draw the public in. it was a good tactic. “is there a certain color you’d want?” cressida liked this part of her job – helping customers with the process of choosing their outfits. for herself, it was always a lengthy process. cressida never left the house anything less than perfect – never a hair out of place, never a shadow of bags under her eyes, always a dark, bold lip. she supposed part of it came from her mother, who ingrained into her brain that if the public caught sight of any sort of flaw, they would attack. however, cressida wasn’t sure that applied to her since her mother was the famous one and she wasn’t. “i feel like blue might suit you well,” she added, as they arrived to the section that housed the more professional and work-oriented robes. “unless you’re just looking for some plain black robes?”

CRESSIDA.

          honestly  addie  didn’t  want  to  be  running  errands  that  her  mother  could  have  handled  on  her  own  ,   but  if  it  kept  addie  out  of  the  house  then  they  were  perfectly  fine  with  running  them  .   addie  tried  not  to  think  about  how  annoyed  she  wasn’t  getting  new  robes  ,   despite  the  fact  that  she  could  use  her  own  money  to  buy  them  .   it  wasn’t  fair  though  that  addie  had  to  be  the  one  that  was  responsible  when  she  wasn’t  out  of  school  yet  .   they  were  annoyed  at  their  family  ,   waiting  for  a  chance  to  get  out  the  second  she  saw  an  escape  .   “ thank  you  , ”   they  said  ,   a  smile  their  mother  would  never  give  the  other  on  her  face  .   she  waited  patiently  for  the  answer  to  her  question  .   “ oh  ,   um  ,   yeah  .   that’s  fine  .   can  i  stick  around  even  if  i  don’t  plan  on  buying  anything  ?   new  robes  aren’t  …   my  parents  aren’t  letting  me  get  them  this  year  . ”   maybe  they  wouldn’t  buy  addie  new  robes  ,   but  they’d  sure  treat  them  like  a  slave  as  if  that  was  better  .   she  knew  it  wasn’t  as  bad  as  it  could  be  ,   but  she  didn’t  want  this  treatment  . 

cressida’s brows were furrowed as she listened. the vibe cressida was receiving off the customer in front of her was strange – she wasn’t sure how to specify it, though. how to label the feeling. ‘my parents aren’t letting me get them this year.’ sure, it could mean the family couldn’t afford it due to money but... to her, it didn’t feel right. the way it was worded bothered her. but there wasn’t anything she could do about it, she supposed. with the bit of intrigue she had swirling in her brain, it took cressida a few moments to come back to the real world and answer the inquiry, “oh yeah, sure,” cressida answered, waving her hand in a nonchalant manner at all of the clothing in the shop. “if there’s anything you’d want to try on, just for fun or something, don’t be afraid to ask – it’s what i’m here for.” her customer service voice was still in effect. 

CRESSIDA.

          silas  didn’t  drink  to  get  drunk  anymore  .   not  since  the  ball  at  least  .   too  many  people  had  their  eyes  on  him  and  he  was  trying  to  keep  his  head  down  .   the  drink  in  his  hand  was  only  so  he  didn’t  look  out  of  place  .   it  was  strange  to  feel  so  uncomfortable  with  people  that  used  to  respect  him  ,   used  to  think  he  was  something  ,   and  now  he  was  only  a  disgrace  and  an  unwelcome  presence  ,   a  traitor  .   he  was  uneasy  now  ,   maybe  always  ,   yet  needed  to  project  the  confidence  that  he  used  to  feel  when  the  mark  on  his  arm  had  given  him  protection  .   there  was  a  small  part  of  him  that  said  walking  away  from  the  death  eaters  was  the  end  of  his  fight  ,   but  it  wasn’t  and  he  knew  it  .   this  was  his  fight  now  .   regardless  of  every  bone  in  his  body  wanting  him  to  flee  this  country  .   he  won’t  play  into  the  hands  of  those  who’d  rather  see  him  rot  in  a  shallow  grave  —   he’d  been  told  so  before  .   he  sits  down  ,   not  saying  thank  you  .   silas  feels  no  gratitude  for  most  people  these  days  ,   not  people  like  her  anyways  .   “ you  sure  you want  to  be  seen  with  the  likes  of  me  ? ”

“i’m sure i can manage any backlash that might come with sitting next to you in a dimly lit pub,” cressida countered, turning her attention back to the newspaper. at this moment in time, cressida was indifferent towards silas. cressida didn’t pay much attention to the lives of others these days – she was solely focused on her own goals and her own future. she didn’t have any signifcant interest nor did she want to devote much energy to those who couldn’t get her where she wanted to go. sure, there wasn’t really a deadline but even at twenty-two, but there were days when she felt the need to rush it all and that feeling – it could be dangerous, depending on the situation.  doubted drinking a few cocktails whilst casually sitting next to silas would have any effect on her whatsoever. “i’ll admit that i’m surprised to see you here – what gives?” she asked, taking a small sip. 

CLOSED / @cressidaxweasley​

          addie  did  not  like  when  diagon  alley  was  busy  with  school  children  .   it  meant  that  they  were  twice  as  busy  helping  with  the  herbology  shop  and  occasionally  running  errands  for  her  uncle  and  cousin  .   today  unfortunately  ,   they’d  been  sent  on  an  errand  to  pick  up  new  robes  for  their  brother  .   “ hello  ,   i’m  here  to  pick  up  some  new  robes  for  ollivander  ,   um  ,   for  percival  ollivander . ”   honestly  ,   they  hated  being  treated  like  a  mule  .   why  didn’t  she  get  new  robes  for  this  year  ?   hers  were  the  ones  falling  apart  because  she’d  had  them  since  fourth  year  .   

gladrag’s wizardwear had a few different shops across the united kingdom and whilst cressida usually found herself at the hogsmeade branch, the manager overseeing the shop in diagon alley had asked for an extra hand and so she’d volunteered. she preferred the layout of the shop in diagon alley, easier to maneuver when walking around with customers and showing them the displays. after finishing ringing up the person who’d taken an hour of her time on the floor, cressida smiled expectantly at the next person in life, nodding as they spoke. “let me head to the back and check,” she told them, turning around and heading to the room that was filled with the finished orders -- but she didn’t see one for a percival ollivander. after a quick chat with one of her coworkers, cressida returned to the front -- “the robes aren’t quite ready yet, but they should be finished within the hour. you can either leave and come back or stick around and browse.” 

CLOSED / @cressidaxweasley​

          it  was  late  and  silas  was  trying  to  look  like  he  belonged  here  when  he  very  well  knew  this  space  didn’t  belong  to  him  anymore  .   silas  hated  the  idea  that  all  of  london  felt  cursed  to  him  now  .   he  belonged  in  hogsmeade  now  .  the  leaky  cauldron  didn’t  feel  like  a  good  place  anymore  .   too crowded  ,  too  many  opportunities  to  run  into  people  he  didn’t  want  to  run  into  .   so  he  kept  his  head  down  ,   here  for  information  more  than  anything  .   he  wasn’t  exactly  paying  attention  to  where  he  was  going  ,   but  a  voice  made  him  look  up  in  worry  .   so  silas  scurried  further  into  the  corner  .   “ please  tell  me  this  seat  isn’t  taken  ? ”

cressida was on her second drink of the night, a vesper. as fond as she was of her job, there were those days when the customers sucked every ounce of enjoyment she possessed. they complained to her when the shop didn’t have exactly what they were looking for, as if she was the owner and it was her fault. in her head, she told them to fuck off, that there were other clothing shops they could go to and ruin someone else’s day. in reality, cressida had to apologize and offer a similar alternative and explain that they could make what they wanted, just that it would take a few days. so there were days when she found herself at the pub knocking a few back to take the edge off and this was one of them. flipping through today’s copy of the daily prophet, cressida turned her head towards the direction of the familiar voice -- “oh, silas - yeah, go ahead, all yours.”

“Well, well - twenty galleons and my own choice of song. You drive a hard bargain, fremde, but I accept,” Axel replies, dark eyes warm with good humour. He straightens up, retrieving his guitar from where he’d propped it against the wall, taking a moment to survey the woman before he makes his decision. The corner of his mouth inching upwards, he launches into the opening notes of Rhiannon.

“…All your life you’ve never seen a woman taken by the wind. Would you stay if she promised you heaven? Will you ever win? She rings like a bell through the night, and wouldn’t you love to love her?” Axel isn’t a singer by trade, but his husky voice is pleasant enough, and he plays guitar like he was born to do it. It’s as easy as breathing.

Before long the song is over, and he glances up at her, waiting to hear her verdict. In hindsight, perhaps it was foolish to play a muggle song in times as precarious as these, but he stands by his choice. Art can come from anywhere. “So? How did I do?”

cressida was a creative herself – just with clothing instead of music. she was lucky enough to have the privilege of having a mother who had opened doors for her in the past and while she wanted to do certain things on her own, she still used the name of anastasia goldhorn weasley to get ahead when she needed to. she took a step back, studying him while he played. whilst he wasn’t a professional by any means, she was pleasantly surprised by the performance. the song was unfamiliar to her and she wondered if it was an original piece or just something completely obscure – it was rather catchy. cressida took a few moments to gather her opinion before reaching into her bag and throwing in the 20 galleons she said she would. “better than i thought – but don’t take it the wrong way. street performances can go either way, don’t you think?” cressida took a puff of her cigarette. “i’m wondering, though – did you write it?”

@beforedawnstarters​

It’s a slow day in Diagon Alley, and Axel is crouched over his open guitar case, counting up the change he’s collected since he arrived an hour ago. It’s not a lot, but he isn’t disheartened - that’s just how it goes sometimes.

Feeling observed, he glances up from what he’s doing, an easy smile spreading across his features. “I’m on a break, but if you have a request, maybe I’ll make an exception.”

cressida knew smoking was a bad habit, but it was one she couldn’t quit and really, she didn’t want to. it calmed her down, along with cups of vanilla almond tea – however; she didn’t have any vanilla almond on hand at the moment. glancing at the guitar case and the person over it, she returned her own small grin. feeling generous, she took a long drag before answering. “surprise me. i’ll add 20 galleons to that little bit you’ve got going in there,” she said, pointing to the case. 20 galleons was chump change to cressida these days, having inherited her mother’s money – money that she’d kept hidden away from her father. 

bit of an usual place to catch up on her writing, but with the start of the school year approaching and having to keep feeding the death eaters new information, rita hadn’t had time to do her actual job, the one that paid the bills. the lack of sleep only made the noise even more of a bother to her. “excuse me? tone it down, would you? some of us are trying to work here.” 

cressida’s brows were furrowed as she sketched on the parchment, adding length to the off the shoulder ball gown she envisioned as emerald green – sweetheart neck, corset back, velvet sequin lace and a heavy pleated bottom, probably about a 40 inch train. it was her current project and she was hoping to get feedback from one of the designers her mother had worked with years ago. an outburst pulled her out of her concentration and cressida snickered at the receiving parties reaction. “people aren’t really used to being called out on their shit, are they?” cressida commented. 

For the briefest of moments, there is a flicker of vulnerability in Jamie’s usually impassive expression, though it vanishes as quickly as it appears. She looks great, she always looks great, and here he is: an idiot with half a drink spilt down his front. Fuck’s sake.

“Cress,” he finally blurts out, and it’s fucking stupid, but at least it’s not the string of increasingly panicked expletives circling around his brain. It’s been six months since he last saw her. Why did it have to be now? “Why’re ye here?” It comes out ruder than he means it, and he presses his lips together, frustrated with himself.

she wasn’t sure how to answer the question — cressida really didn’t know why she was here. was it to show herself that she was fine, that her life was peachy keen? it wasn’t, but mind over matter existed for a reason. “i could ask you the same question, love,” she replied smoothly. “just wanted to see what it was all about — don’t want to be out of the loop now, do i?” her boss at gladrag’s had asked that if she went, to take note of the general theme of outfits and see what was popular amongst the young crowds to figure out what they should stock more of so she at least had something to occupy her mind while she meandered.

“Obilivator. I’m on loan from Mexico.” A loan that Dajo had campaigned for, but she didn’t need to know that. If she felt like checking up with their government Mexico would confirm Dajo’s story. “What do you do?” Maybe this girl could prove useful. At the very least he could use more friends.

–

cressida supposed that meant they were a talented sorcerer – it seemed like an interesting line of work, but cressida herself had never wanted to work within some sort of structural organization like the ministry for magic. she was a creative, like her mother. she wanted her own freedom. “i’m in the fashion industry,” she answered vaguely — cressida wasn’t sure how to classify herself. “not as quite… action packed as your work, i assume, but still enjoyable nonetheless.” she paused, consuming more of her drink and holding her hand out for them to shake. “cressida — and you are?”

for cressida weasley.

@cressidaxweasley​

                       ❝   i   think   only   you   could   convince   me   to   do   something   like   this,   cress.   i   mean,   even   billy   and   ned   could   try   and   i   still   wouldn’t   listen.   maybe.   .   .   ❞

“oh, don’t be a pussy, arthur – it’s not poison or anything,” cressida sighed, tapping her fingers on the counter. “i’ve fucked it up the last few times but i’m sure i’ve got it down by now. if something bad happens, i’ll reimburse you but only within reason.” she wasn’t a novice at potion making, but cressida also wasn’t as skillful as she would’ve liked; however, a memory potion was an advanced concoction and the one she made? cressida needed the drinker to recall something from years ago so it had been particularly difficult journey making batch after batch, each one failing to get the result she yearned for. “now c’mon, down the hatch.”