looking for heaven

🦴

Perpetually early, a quality Edgar liked in a person. He used to be the type to show up perfectly on time, but his sister had drilled it into his brain that if he wasn’t early, he might as well be late. “Ah, you must be talking to people who like me, if you’ve heard only good things,” Edgar replied jokingly, knowing there weren’t very many people who didn’t like him. Perhaps only sports fans that rooted against his team, but that never bothered him. “I’ve also heard great things about you, everyone I’ve spoken to said we should make a great team.” He was glad to hear that Mary was a strong witch. Not that he really expected much of anything to happen tonight, he didn’t want to end up carrying his partner. It’s always nice to have somebody that’s able to keep up with him.

“Since we’re stuck here for the next six hours, I’ve brought some things to keep us entertained tonight, but it looks like you had the same idea.” He chuckled, gesturing to the open notebook on her lap. Edgar sat down in the grass next to her, first taking a glance around to ensure he could see everything he needed to, before pulling his bags closer to himself. “I’ve got snacks, books, and blankets in case we get cold. I think there’s even a travel chess set in here, too. I might’ve over-prepared a bit, but I really hate having idle hands.”

~

With how busy Mary was these days, she liked being early to get her bearings in order before she got thrown into something. It had gotten worse since the attack, her need to be early to plan an escape route, to figure out the best place to sit herself to feel safe. She smiled. “Well, I think most of the Order likes you and that’s where I got my information from so,” she teased back lightly, shrugging her shoulders. She had heard that he was a Quidditch player, which was interesting. She had never got the sport like some of her housemates. She blamed not growing up with it, although her parents were hardly the sporting event types. It was reassuring to hear that they had good things to say about her too, although she wondered if he was just saying that. She sometimes worried that the higher ups didn’t think that she was as dedicated as she could be considering how spread thin she was these days. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“Oh, I’m just finishing up some homework,” she explained. She was glad when Edgar sat down next to her, clearly approving of the spot that she had picked out. She had taken some time trying to figure out which would be the best spot. “I’m glad that you brought some things, I wish I would have thought about it but I’ve been a bit scatterbrained lately.” She listened to him list all of the things that he had brought and smiled. “It seems like you thought of everything. I am the same way so I get it.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.  

Realising that it was Mary who had approached him, Peter sat up a little straighter, his tone softening. “Sorry, Mary. Of course you can join me.” He smiled somewhat shyly at her as if embarrassed by his previous snarky comment. “Been a bit of a long day and I-… I’m sorry.” He offered the apology again. It was easy to fall back into how he had been at school with people like Mary; maybe that’s who he was meant to be- quiet, awkward, kind- but nothing had been the same since they had graduated. Maybe even before that. He could only imagine that Mary felt similar since her incident with Mulciber. Peter never really knew the details of what happened to her in school, but he got the impression that it hadn’t been good. “What are you drinking? Maybe I can get your next one?”

~

Mary shook her head. “No need to apologize, I get it,” she replied, taking her seat across from him. Times were difficult, tensions were high. “Like I haven’t snapped at people before.” She most certainly had. When things got tough, when she got in her own head after the attack, she was sure that she had said things that she shouldn’t have. She had always liked Peter, there was something comforting about the fact that they could sit in silence and not expect the other one to talk. Sometimes it was just nice to sit with someone familiar. Someone that knew her before the attack, before...it all went to hell. “You want to talk about it?” She finally asked. “Your day?” She wouldn’t push him if he didn’t want to talk about it, but she wanted to at least offer it. “Firewhiskey,” she admitted. “It’s also been a bit of a day.”

Status ✧ Open Location ✧ Hog’s Head Inn

Peter was sat at an isolated table towards the back corner of the Hog’s Head Inn, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the cracks on his stein of butterbeer. Sometimes he just needed to be alone; needed a moment of silence where he could recharge his energy for however many days until he could get his next break. As effortless as he made it look, lying to every single person in his life twenty four-seven could become exhausting. Being afraid all the time was exhausting. The Hog’s Head Inn always felt like the better choice when he wanted to avoid the world due to it being much more unkempt than The Three Broomsticks just down the road, so Peter was taken a little off guard when someone was suddenly standing at his table causing him to immediately switch back on. “Do you find that the lonely corner booth is often looking for company?” Merlin, someone was going to curse him one of these days.

~

Mary liked the Hog’s Head. There she could be invisible, there nobody knew what had happened to her (except for fucking Ivy), and if they did know they didn’t care. It was easy to be anonymous. Much easier then Diagon Alley or the plethora of other places that she could go for a drink. She would undoubtedly run into someone who would have that look of pity on their face. A look that she was just so tired of. So she had decided to come to the Three Broomsticks. Making her way towards her usual spot in the bar, the little booth in the corner with her drink, she was surprised to see someone in the booth already. And even more surprised when she saw Peter. “Well, I was headed this way since it’s my usual booth,” Mary retorted with a shrug. “I mean I guess if you don’t want company I’ll find somewhere else since I guess you were there first,” Mary sighed. 

~

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡'𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞. Celeste knew exactly what this was about and she didn’t like it at all. “No, I am not saying that. In fact, all I am saying is that it is their business.” She finally allowed herself to look at Mary once more. “I’m aware of their feelings, yes. Then again, have you in return ever seen how house elves scramble about when they are not at work? How lost they seem whenever the thought arises that someone may be unhappy with their work?” Perhaps there was ignorance; perhaps it was oozing out of every single one of her words. At the end of the day Celeste seemed to have a different view on things. “Some might argue house elves are happy having these tasks.”

There was a certain pride in the fact that she valued her house elves. It was quite obvious that the young woman did not in fact see them as her friends and never would be able to, no. But she very much saw them as a creature much more than simple property. House elf rights just simply weren’t her topic. “Either way.” It was almost welcome to hear about her parents despite her prejudice against them and their upbringing as well as origin. “I suppose that is something I can understand. Boring dinners are simply part of things.” If one would pay mind to it, perhaps the smallest of chuckles could have been heard from Celeste. Dinners and events for the sake of appearance certainly was something she could understand. “Why were you required to attend those?” Did her parents see potential for connections to be formed? In another wave of ignorance, Celeste couldn’t help but see her world as the one that made more sense than that of a muggle ever could.

~

Mary’s eyes narrowed. Leave it to the Purebloods to think that the house elves were happy. She hadn’t grown up with house elves, and the entire idea of forcing an entire race of creatures to serve wizards left her feeling uncomfortable. “So what, because it’s their business nobody should do anything to stop it?” Mary shot back, raising an eyebrow. “Because I think that’s really shitty. So what, just because they’re house elves it means that you can treat them like dirt?” The longer this conversation went on, the more angry Mary grew. It was just so like these Purebloods to think that people were beneath them. “That sounds like an abusive relationship if I’ve ever heard of one. Maybe they scramble for work because they’re afraid of the consequences of not working or what’ll happen to them if their so called ‘masters’ decide that they’re not so useful anymore. I’ve heard plenty of horror stories.” 

Where: Hilltop in Hogsmeade When: About midnight Who: Edgar & @lambmary​

Edgar always regretted volunteering for overnight duties because he always got stuck on a stakeout. They were horribly boring, nothing ever happened, and it dragged on forever. At least he was never alone, though, and always had somebody to talk to. This time he was stationed to watch over Hogsmeade for suspicious activity, which he felt was more of a job for an Auror, but with the Death Eaters infiltrating the Ministry, it was hard to say if the Aurors would do the job properly. Edgar was a skilled wizard, though, and he could handle himself if he needed to, so it made sense that he was frequently chosen for these sorts of things.

He was paired up with somebody he’d never formally met before, Mary MacDonald. They’d seen each other in passing during Order meetings, but he couldn’t remember whether or not they’d spoken to each other in the past. Edgar was sociable enough, though, and he was happy to hopefully make a new friend tonight. Climbing up the hill to the vantage point a few minutes earlier than he was supposed to be there, he was surprised to find Mary already there. “Damn, I thought I was gonna be the early one.” He laughed, dropping his bags down onto the ground. “Mary, right? Nice to finally meet you.”

~

Mary usually did overnights because it was the only way to fit Order things into her very packed schedule. She had long gotten used to running on very little sleep and copious amounts of caffeine. She had been the first to volunteer for this stakeout when they had asked for volunteers. In terms of missions, it was an easy one, staking out Hogsmeade for suspicious activity. She had brought some of her homework with her, figuring that she and Edgar could take shifts if necessary. Or she would be busy all night and not get to it, but it was what it was. She would just have to find time later.

She had never actually met Edgar, but she had heard plenty about him through the Order. She knew he was a competent wizard, so that was good. There was nothing worse then being stuck with incompetence. Mary had arrived at the spot fifteen minutes earlier then she needed to and she had already settled in. She had her notebook on her lap, rereading the notes she had taken in class earlier, when she heard a noise and glanced up. Edgar. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “I’m perpetually early,” she explained. She had come straight from class and dinner, after all. “It’s nice to meet you too. I hear a lot of good things,” Mary told him.

Frank & Open - Hogsmeade, midday Trigger warning: anxiety/anxious thoughts

Frank told Alice he could handle running errands on his own. He said he could manage it after having made a few appearances in the village with her at his side and had been certain he could navigate grabbing the items on their list. The little bit of courage was quickly replaced with uneasiness when he exited Gladrags’. Frank hadn’t noticed his nerves up until needing to loosen his tie. Sweat met his fingers and made his breathing hitch, leaving him staring blankly at the cobblestone path ahead of him.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Deep breath… It wasn’t working. A groan of frustration passed through his lips before he could stop it, leaving him shakily running his hand through his hair while he tried to regain control of his racing thoughts. “It’s fine, I’m fine,” The words escaped in a low whisper. “Public space during daylight. It’s…” His head snapped up upon realizing he wasn’t alone in the space, features flushing despite the desperate need to try to regain composure that would have been similar to himself of a few months back. “Sorry. I…” There wasn’t anything else to say so he trailed off and shook his head, weakly adding a forced smile and an attempt at small talk. “Nice weather, isn’t it?”

~

Mary hadn’t expected to find herself in Hogsmeade again so soon, especially after the last time that she was there, but she was hoping that she would be able to say hello to Aberforth without his new guard dog Ivy being there. She had to pick something up at Rosa Lee Teabags for her coworkers birthday next week, so she had figured that she might as well make a day of it. It wasn’t often that she had this much free time in her day, so she was going to make the best out of it. 

Walking towards the store, she spotted Frank Longbottom standing in the middle of the cobblestone path. They had spoken a few times during their work for the Order, but she wouldn’t say that she knew him very well. But there was something...familiar in the look on his face. She recognized the look as one that she had sometimes too. After the attack. She furrowed her brow in confusion, but she felt compelled to do something, so she walked over to him. It was what she would want if she was in the midst of a moment. Sometimes...having someone there to distract her helped. “It’s okay,” Mary told him patiently, glancing at him. Glancing around when he mentioned the weather, she nodded. “It’s a nice day out,” she agreed. She was cautious as she looked at him. “I’ve...felt like that before too,” she finally said softly, hoping that she wasn’t overstepping. “It’s...kind of shit, isn’t it?”

Remus chuckled and gingerly picked up the potion, noting that it seemed heavier than he’d anticipated. He didn’t intend to actually drink it, but a closer look seemed worth it. Remus examined the color, eyes lighting on the small bubbles drifting occasionally to the surface. “Interesting indeed,” he agreed. Remus wracked his brain for any potions he could think of that shared this color, much less the other qualities. He came up empty.

Setting it back down, Remus turned to more fully face Mary. “Feeling adventurous enough to try any of them or just observing the antics?” He shoved his hands in his pockets, hoping that if she was trying them, he wouldn’t have to make an excuse to avoid doing the same. “It’s always interesting to see what people are willing to take a leap of faith on.”

~

Mary had always liked potions class. If she hadn’t felt so pulled towards her work at the Ministry and her studies to become a muggle barrister she would have considered doing something with potions. Of course after the attack she had felt rather...wary of going into the dungeons and it had led to her dropping potions in the end. She hadn’t wanted to face Slughorn, who wanted to deny what had happened, and the more space between herself and the Slytherins the better. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a potion that color,” she mused. “They’re rather clever, the people that work at this booth.”

She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not sure yet,” she admitted. The thought of taking an unknown potion went against everything in her being, but she also hoped that they wouldn’t be looking to poison everyone at the festival. “I’m leaning towards just observing, but I suppose if I see enough people come away not poisoned I could perhaps be persuaded. What about you?” She asked. 

-

Lily was sadly familiar with the film that seemed to fall over Mary’s gaze, the way she was suddenly there and then… she’d go somewhere that Lily couldn’t follow. She’d seen it for years, but that still didn’t give her a better idea of how to help her. Marlene would probably know the perfect thing to say, but Lily couldn’t seem to find the words and all she could offer was a change of subject, the opportunity to let Mary just move forward if she wanted to. “I was just asking how work had been.” She plastered a too-bright smile on her face. “Nothing all that important.”

She guided Mary to a couple barstools on the other end of the pub with a light but determined hand on her shoulder, squeezing her friend in a way she hoped asked are you okay? and also do you want to talk about it? and most importantly you’re safe. 

~

It had been a while since she had retreated into her mind like that, it was certainly happening less then it had right after the attack, but it always did take her by surprise when it happened. She supposed being in Hogsmeade again had triggered it. She would know for next time to watch out for it. Mary was glad that it was Lily that had showed up and not someone else. It was vulnerable, going into that place in public. She offered Lily a small smile and she nodded her head in agreement, glad that Lily was acting like nothing had happened. Sometimes it was just...easier to pretend that nothing had happened then to actually talk about it. 

She went along with her towards the barstools, “It was stupid,” she finally said after a moment of silence, knowing that Lily wouldn’t judge. “I thought...it’s ridiculous, I know. But I thought I saw him over there. Like he would show up here.” Mary took a shaky breath. “I’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

~

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧, 𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡. Either way, despite whatever resentment or judgement she held for the other, Celeste was listening. Perhaps it was one of the few qualities her parents had instilled in her that carried through no matter the person she was facing with. At the end of the day they told her that those that listen are granted knowledge those entirely ignorant of another words may go by never noticing. It was ironic certainly, considering their and her very own ignorance towards various people. Not that Celeste herself cared or paid mind to notice the silliness in it all.

“I am not going to lose my house elves. Those creatures are the happiest when they have something to do. Mind you, them being slaves is only a factor if they are treated as such. My house elves certainly aren’t being treated as though their lives are worthless. Admittedly, enough people do but that is their business, no?” There was almost pride to be detected at the fact that the young woman refused to treat her house elves like slaves. They were creatures working for her after all and taken care of properly. They had their own, charmed and chanted away quarters. They seemed happy enough. “Is that something they do because that prestigious university you speak of takes too much time?” By now Celeste had pushed away the bowl, no longer having time or the mind to pay attention to the pie. Perhaps later.

~

Before the attack, Mary had thought that the Purebloods were misguided for the most part. She hadn’t been exposed to the true hatred that they held for people like her. But then the attack happened, and she had watched the way that they all closed ranks, the way that they looked the other way and continued to support Mulciber. They were making the decision to be ignorant to people like her, and Mary felt like it wasn’t her job to educate people that didn’t want to know. That didn’t want to change. But somehow, she was still standing here with Celeste, maybe because of who her uncle was, or maybe just because she was tired of these people being so damned ignorant. She didn’t think that there was any way that she would change her opinion on things, but maybe...just maybe something she said would change something.

Mary had worried that the festival would be too...childish, but she had been pleasantly surprised that things were actually quite nice. She had plans to meet some friends from the Ministry at the Three Broomsticks for the live music and some drinks. She had gotten there a little bit earlier then she had planned to, and she had walked into the crowded bar, glad to see it so busy. It always felt like Hogsmeade was forgotten about unless you were one of the students at Hogwarts, so it was nice to see it busy. She was making her way towards the bar when she thought that she saw a familiar person standing a few feet away.

Nicolai Mulciber. 

Her heart started racing, and she froze, feeling someone bump into her, she mumbled out an apology. The person looked towards her, and she realized that it wasn’t him, it was just someone that looked like him. She heard someone talking behind her, and she told herself to keep moving, that she was fine, but it took her a few more moments to collect herself.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized again, glancing at the person that had been talking to her. “Can...can you repeat that?”

Where: Harvest Festival What: Trickster Potions Tent Who: Open

Remus walked slowly along the edge of the tent, curious but apprehensive. Most potions were totally fine for him to take most of the time, but he always worried that this would be the one that disagreed with his system. When these particular potions were designed to cause a little mayhem, he felt quite justified in his caution.

Still, the moon wasn’t upon him yet. He wouldn’t be here otherwise. Perhaps he could be a little more bold in his approach. Remus stepped forward, toward an innocuous-looking little thing. “What do you reckon it does?” He glanced toward the person standing on its other side, raising a brow as if to dare them to go first.

~

There was something nostalgic about wandering Hogsmeade. For a moment she could almost remember what it was like, being a student, and wandering the village with her friends. That had been before the attack and before she really understood that evil existed in the world. She wished that she could go back to that time, back to when things made sense. Back before the war and all of the fighting. 

But there was no way to go back. There was no magic potion that could bring her back there. So she was going to have to be content just wandering the streets. She hadn’t been paying attention to where she was going, but all of a sudden, she heard a familiar voice. “Remus,” she greeted with a smile. She glanced at the potion and tilted her head. “I have no idea. That’s a rather interesting color, though, isn’t it?”

☣

“I just assumed,” Ivy shrugged with one shoulder, a smirk playing on her lips, “Since no one our age could see you as nothing more than the poor helpless girl that couldn’t defend herself, that you’d have to go a bit outside of your age range.” A low blow, sure, but Ivy didn’t want Mary to stick around any longer than necessary. Surely if she made her cry she’d leave sooner. But, it didn’t seem like Mary was in any rush, and any smug expression was wiped from her face when she decided she was going to stay. Her nostrils flared, watching Mary make herself comfortable on the bar stool in front of her. Fine, if she wanted to be this way, Ivy was going to make sure her time was absolutely miserable.

It wasn’t even the fact that Mary was there. It was the fact that Mary was a reminder of how much of a shitty person Ivy could be. Of course she knew, it wasn’t any secret that Ivy enjoyed destruction and chaos, but usually she’d simply walk away and never have to face it again. Mary was physical evidence of the things she didn’t want reminders of. “Oh, firewhiskey?” Ivy asked, pulling the bottle out from under the bar. “That’s a strong drink, sure you can handle it?” She pulled out two glasses, placing one in front of each of them, filling up both glasses. If she really had to deal with Mary, she certainly wasn’t going to be sober for it. “Cheers.” Ivy gave her a sarcastic smile before downing the entire glass in a couple of gulps.

~

Mary froze when Ivy spoke again, staring at her, incredulous, that she could say something so awful. It wasn’t the worst thing that anyone had ever said to her, but for some reason it stung more when Ivy said it. It was made worse because Mary hadn’t really dated since the attack. Despite the therapy and the work that she had done, it was still very difficult for her to allow herself to be vulnerable with people, and that made dating hard. Ivy had never been a good person, but this was just another reminder that she had not only done nothing to stop the attack, but she still threw it in her face whenever she could. “Oh, fuck you, Parkinson,” Mary retorted. 

But she still wasn’t going to run away, especially now. Ivy wasn’t Mulciber. If she were, Mary would have walked back out. She didn’t want to be anywhere near him. Mary glanced across the bar, and watched as Ivy pulled the bottle out from under the bar. “There is plenty that I can handle.” Mary may have been helpless when the attack had happened, but she wasn’t helpless anymore. Her work with the Order had ensured that she could protect herself on the battlefield. If she were to come face to face with him again, she wasn’t that same naïve and innocent girl. The attack had killed that part of her. Mary was glad when Ivy filled up her glass, and she took it and lifted it. “Cheers,” she repeated, equally sarcastic before she lifted the glass to her lips to take a sip of it. “And what brings you here, Parkinson? Are you just...bartending these days?”

~

𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝. Of course she had heard of science. “Of course I know. Potions and the like. I have a feeling my idea of science and yours is worlds apart. Literally.” The young woman glanced down at her hands, then the bowl. “Why would someone need to have this baking down to a science?” Was this something one had to figure out? No, it simply couldn’t be that hard, could it?

It wasn’t until the mention of the other heritage reached her ears that the look on her face changed to one of clear surprise. There was a dislike, clear as day, not for the person itself - she couldn’t care less - but the meaning behind it. A muggleborn. “How fortunate for you, to have grown up around such weird creations. What in Merlin’s name is a takeout?” Celeste found herself uncomfortable. It was almost as though the other was pulling her out of her comfort zone entirely, putting her into the muggle confines simply based on her lacking knowledge when it came to the art of baking. “There was no need to learn when there are those around whose task it is to bake and cook.” And clean and organize and keep people such as her out of her way. The last part being something the witch could keep to herself just fine. “So, what is it that kept your parents so busy then? Muggle occupations, I presume?” It sounded only a little bit bitter.

~

Mary had no idea why all of these Pureblood women thought that it was charming to be so completely clueless. How Celeste had moved up in the world at the Ministry would be up for question if Mary didn’t already know who her uncle was. She raised an eyebrow. “Well, baking is a lot like potion making. If you put in the wrong ingredient then it completely ruins everything. Or if you put too much of something it throws everything off. And when it comes to working with dough, if you overmix it then it ruins it, and if you undermix it it ruins it.”

*

“Wasn’t that my nickname at school - good, polite woman?” They fell easily into a teasing back and forth after so many years as friends. Marlene liked to think she knew where the line was now, even if on occasion she still accidentally crossed it. She leant in against Mary with a conspiratorial laugh, “maybe I’m remembering wrong. I distinctly remember Slughorn telling me I was a nightmare and a disappointment. Now nightmare is a nickname I can get behind.” As she spoke she lead them over to the bar, gesturing for the bartender. “Two firewhiskeys!” 

It didn’t take long for their drinks to arrive, but as they waited Marlene continued on the excited train of thought that had been forming since Mary had agreed to stay out. “So, there’s this new bar I want to check out when we’re done here. It’s whole shtick is that it has a jukebox with a bunch of muggle music and serves muggle spirits and things. I think it might even have one of those big boxes with, well, I don’t know, games?” Her description of an arcade machine was lacking but she hoped Mary would know what she meant - she probably knew it much better than Marlene being a muggle born. 

The drinks arrived and Marlene reached for hers, holding up the small glass to clink against Mary’s. “Cheers!”

~

“Oh yeah, I think that that’s exactly it,” she agreed with a smirk. Despite her faults, Mary was very much grateful for Marlene and her friendship. She never would have gotten through the months after the attack without her, and she would  gladly take Marlene with all of her faults. In fact, she loved her friend for her faults. “I think that that sounds rather familiar. Slughorn deserved it, though, the snake he is,” she mused. There had been a time when she might have respected Slughorn, but that time was long gone. “You know, I think that Slughorn just didn’t know hot to appreciate you. He’s too used to being around those prim and proper snakes,” she rolled her eyes.

She was well aware that any plan of going home after this drink was gone now that she had run into Marlene. But she didn’t mind. She had only been planning to go home because she was bored. But if Marlene was there and wanted to do something? Well, what was one late night going to do for her? She had already done her homework for the weekend, anyways, so it would be fine. “Where?” She asked curiously. “I haven’t heard anything about it. But that sounds like fun, i’m in,” she decided. At Marlene’s description, she was confused for a moment before it clicked. “Are you talking about an arcade machine?” She asked with a laugh. “That’s really cool, actually. They have those at the muggle bars that we go to sometimes after classes.”

She took her drink and laughed, clinking it against Marlene’s. “Cheers,” she smiled.

~

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝, neither having expected the person nor the surprise in the voice of the one it came. Celeste glanced toward Mary with a sigh. “Never.” A hand reached to smooth out the apron that covered at least half her dress, smoothing it down as if to allow herself some form of composure.

“We have house elves for this so the need to learn the art of baking wasn’t a thing to ever be considered. This is simply me proving that it can’t be that hard.” It was incredibly hard to her yet her very own pride prevented her to admit to that. Asking for help made her feel weak so her refusal to do so was growing; with every second becoming more determined. “Why, do you know how this works? Is that something they thought important for you to learn?” Celeste turned away, reaching for what she assumed was a bag of flour.

~

Mary raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised that Celeste actually admitted that she had never cooked before. But then, like the typical Pureblood, she went on about house elves. It was something that she could never understand--the reliance on house elves in this awful and archaiv practice. But what would Purebloods be without their obsession with the archaic traditions of the past? She suspected that it made them feel important and the last thing that any of them wanted was to feel unimportant. 

where;; Harvest Festival - Hogsmeade what;; Pie Baking  who;; open to all

𝐀𝐧 𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭. Celeste had never been one to do things herself; not when it came to the culinary arts and yet there was a need to give it a try. A contest in baking surely couldn’t be harder than ministry work or needle point stitching. Her eyes scanned the items in front her before the feeling of someone’s eyes on her caused the witch to look up.

There was frustrated gasp as she put the towel in her hands down. “Is it quite as obvious that I don’t seem to have the slightest idea of what I’m doing?” The levels of her stubbornness were possibly the only thing to measure up to the sheer lack of an idea when it came to baking. Normally one to have house elves fluttering around her, this was new territory. A room of hungry ministry officials - Celeste could deal with that - but the creation of a pie was a whole other world to the witch. “Where does this go?”

~

Mary’s mother had never been one to spend a lot of time in the kitchen baking, but some of Mary’s favorite memories was with her nanny, Charlotte. She had taught Mary everything that she knew about baking, and she had left her with a book of recipes before Mary had gone away to Hogwarts, and they had decided to let Charlotte go since Mary no longer needed her. She missed the older woman, but whenever she baked, she remembered baking with Charlotte.

☣

Mary MacDonald. Ivy exhaled sharply, not entirely sure how to handle the situation at hand. While she may not have personally done anything to hurt her, Ivy was aware she wasn’t entirely innocent, either. She was there when Mulciber had decided to attack Mary for no damn reason. She was there and didn’t do anything to stop him. Usually Ivy was all for unnecessary chaos, but she didn’t think anybody needed to get hurt in the process. She hadn’t joined the Death Eaters because she believed in supremacy. She did it because she was a follower. First, she’d followed her brothers, and then her friends at school. She did what she needed to do to fit in. Although, if she had a time turner and could go back and make things right, would she? Probably not.

Glancing over her shoulder through the window in the kitchen, Ivy spotted Abe half asleep on a chair in the back. The old man could fall asleep anywhere. “What, are you two lovers or something?” Ivy asked with a raised brow, “Don’t think I’ve ever met somebody so excited to see Aberforth. Either way, he’s sleeping in the kitchen and I’ve been told not to wake him unless the place is on fire. So, unless you plan on burning the bar down, you’re shit out of luck. Sorry.”

~

Seeing Ivy was almost as bad as seeing Mulciber. Mary thankfully hadn’t run into him in a long time, and she really wasn’t sure how she would react if she saw him. But Ivy had been his friend, had stood beside him after what he had done to her, and had not cared. Did that make Ivy worse then him? No. She had never attacked her. But she had made it abundantly clear that she supported people like him. If one of Mary’s friends had done something so horrific she would have ended the friendship right there. But not Ivy. And now Mary was running into her in Mary’s safe haven. It was almost as bad as if Mulciber was sitting at the counter. And now that she thought about it, he probably did frequent this place if Ivy was there. Great. She was going to have to stop coming in here.

Narrowing her eyes at Ivy’s words, she looked at her in disgust. “Wow, is that all you think about Ivy? People being lovers? Merlin forbid someone be friendly with someone else.” She didn’t like the implications there at all. “Aberforth is a good man,” she said. What he saw in having someone like Ivy work for him, she couldn’t understand. Mary had thought about leaving and coming back later, but her stubbornness kicked in. She wasn’t going to let Ivy chase her out of there, so she walked over to the bar and sat down in front of her at the bar. “I can wait. I’ll have a firewhisky.”