𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 !

“ YOU’RE IN THE GENERAL AREA, “ susan comments, cheeky and languid in a way she doesn’t often allow herself to be. she can’t sit still, that’s the truth of the matter. it’s easier to approach than let herself be approached. she likes knowing what she’s getting into. “ oh, the open bar at events should be a ‘ pro ‘ on anyone’s list of reasons to join the ministry. “

Helen hadn’t been on a date in close to ten years now, she thought she had no problem with that. She did have a problem with small talk, but she bit her tongue and respectfully smiled her way through it. “I have no career in magic, I chose to become a ballerina. No career in magic ever interested me.” Good, no sarcasm or snark. Be nice. “Was I right? It is a talent of mine, I did inherit it from my mother. Though, I can’t figure out why someone would want to be arithmancer, can you predict the future?”

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:  Tomes and Scrolls bookshop, Hogsmeade. 

DOROTHY stands in the Tomes and Scrolls bookshop, looking up at one of the shelves. She knows what book she wants; she can see the book, but it is near the top, and even on her tiptoes, her 4′11 frame can’t reach it. Her eyes wander for a moment, trying to see any assistants who might be able to help, but the floor appears empty. She can’t leave the store without the book, not now she’s seen it. She has always been like this, determined to a fault, unable to let things go without trying first. A PILE OF BOOKS sit on the floor waiting to be shelved, so Dottie moves them slightly. IS THIS THE PATH OF LEAST LOGIC? Yes, probably, but she’s going to do it anyway. She piles the novels high, one book on top of another until the 15 books create a sort of step stool. She removes her warm-up booties, places a handkerchief from her bag on the top book as not to ruin it, and she steps up. Aha, it feels steady enough, but she still can’t reach the book. She raises herself onto her tiptoes, stretching up, her fingertips practically touch the leather spine, and that’s when the BELL ABOVE THE DOOR RINGS OUT, and for a moment Dottie jumps, and that’s when the pile collapses, and she goes with it, ass on the floor with a light thud. “ Fuck - oh merlin, sorry, god, this is so embarrassing. ” 

he’s a bit embarrassed, tips of his ears starting to turn crimson. “you’re alright.” dudley’s fingers fidget just a tad around his dirty, empty pint glass, seeking the cool press against the middle of his palm. maybe that’d stop him from going completely red. absolutely useless. the choices make his eyebrows raise – “any of the above?” gesturing openly in a shrug just to demonstrate how open he was to anything she’d make. “can you clock what someone’d like just from looking yet? i hear it’s a bartending milestone.” and now he’s being PLAYFUL, teasing? with a stranger? unheard of.

Stretching out his hand in greeting, he meets Harper’s luminosity with a small smile, lips tugging upward in a slant. “Harper,” he repeats the name, etching it to memory. “Nice to meet you. I’m Rolf.” The pleasantries are customary, and Rolf doesn’t know where else to begin after they have been given, waving for Harper to take a seat. “I have to admit  — I am not sure how this all is supposed to work. There aren’t any instructions or a game of 21 Questions that we have to go through, is there?” He’s more of a fan of organic conversation, but admittedly he has a habit of two extremes: either hopping around a bunch of topics or stopping the conversation dead in its tracks when he has nothing of note to contribute. 

“No worries at all. Not your fault that this place is packed like sardines.” The setup almost reminds him of a school cafeteria, and they are practically elbow to elbow as they sit. “I don’t s’pose you saw the patients sent by our office? Some wanker bewitched another otherwise ordinary teapot again. Resulted in a lot of burns on some elderly folk.” 

‘‘ I mean, I most certainly did look like a sad old man, but at least now I look like a sugar daddy with a young and hip 21 year old with me. ’’ you’re 26, Lee, calm down. ‘‘ Please, don’t be silly. The first round is on me; think of it as a thank you for sitting with this sad oldie. ’’

“it’s a date, then,” of the recurring sort that ginny wouldn’t break until she had to, but a date nonetheless. it’d probably help her, too, come to think about it, and she beamed at the thought - it’d be nice to see a room that wasn’t her own now that nellie had been discharged, and she liked the idea of a routine in this liminal space. “i’d be awful if i was just saying it. you’d never learn. we can…- go over it or something, someday. work on making improvements. make sure this doesn’t happen again. but you were brilliant. i do mean that.” and she’s spent time since christmas, thinking of ways they can improve, making little notes at the back of her mind that she intends to give at future meetings. it’s a wonder she’s been able to focus on anything but the everything that’s happened, but those little pointers on form & suggestions for improvements have gotten her through some of the worst spots of boredom, yet. and it felt like something a leader would do, too, which helped. “i’m sorry,” she says, meaning it entirely, “if you’d have wanted to step away from all this, i’d understand. it might be kinder on your parents.” 

“So take the opportunity to buy all the discount chocolate the next day and forget about the rest. Not worth expending the energy if it makes you upset.” Suggestions on how she can cope are all Rolf can offer, considering he doesn’t participate in the festivities himself. The mythology of cupid’s arrow is shot throughout the world, a global phenomenon that permeates nearly all cultures. It can’t be avoided, so Maisie may as well find a way to make peace with it.  “Hell, why not take advantage, find a friend, and go from shop to shop, snagging all the couple deals? Most places give out free dessert, don’t they?” 

Curt was the others response, for what it was still uncertain. Though the tone was not unfamiliar to Lavinia even if the person was. Maybe it would be found out with a little more conversation, “Well then… Do your thoughts often get spoken out loud?” 

WHAT: valentines blind date, feb 2021 WHERE: madam puddifoots, hogsmeade WHO: closed // @ofenchantment​

GISELLE has yet to discover the source of today’s imminent mortification. her list of suspects include former mortal enemies, envious colleagues and tempest ( although, considering how many bludgers she’s taken to the back of the head, giselle’s not certain she can even read ). friday night’s empty bottle of elf-made wine and her lingering loneliness are also considered, and promptly eliminated. the outcome remains the same; today, giselle has a blind date, arranged by none other than luna lovegood and her crackpot father.

she arrives an hour early, dressed in imported silks and orders wine for the table ( ten points ) and helps herself to a glass ( minus twenty ). by the time her date arrives, a pleasant buzz makes the whole affair far more manageable. giselle stands, pushes a cherub aside ( ducks when it attempts to stab her with its arrow ) and greets her date with a kiss on both cheeks. “giselle nott. and you’re marguerite-margaux?” she smiles, and slips seamlessly into french. “i’ve heard that your eyes acclimate to all the pink, but i can’t confirm that it’s true.”

Theora smiled. She raised the glass to her lips, obscuring the smile. “Careful, the compliments might get to my head. I’ve been told my ego is big enough as it.” She said. “I’m not exactly picky.” Despite whatever cultured upbringing she’d had, whatever expectations that she care about stuff like this, she couldn’t bring herself to actually care. “I normally just go with the cheapest shit I can find.”

THERE IT IS. that was the kind of reaction that made her day. tempest’s hands clap together without her even intending them to. she flipped the copy of the quibbler sat between them over to the valentine’s day special advert, grin not faltering. “you didn’t say it, but you meant it. obviously.”

Helen was not sure why she signed up for this. Why did she even think it was good idea? Amusement perhaps? Certainly not the enjoyment of another’s company, that would be a long shot. She only recently thought Valentine’s Day as a foolish holiday, a holiday for lovesick teenagers. 

Yet here she was anyway, on a date. A blind date, of all things.

“I suppose I am supposed to ask what you do for a living?” Helen doesn’t mean for that to come out as snarky as it did, but she is not in a rush to take it back. “Perhaps a favorite color? I’m guessing black - no, green?”

@ofenchantment​ - for Verity!​

he couldn’t argue there. he’d always wondered why it was so difficult for most people to be honest with both themselves and others. sometimes he guessed it was because honesty was so common in the deaf community, expected even, but learned early on the hearing one didn’t share the same sentiment. “of course! cause no one likes the easy way.” the veela said cheerfully but with a hint of sarcasm. “i’ve never had a taste for it, but getting pissed at work isn’t a good idea either. oops! i’ve done just that, have i?” he asked with a sheepish expression.

“What else are corners good for if not hiding?” Theora leaned back against the wall. “Being bored out of my mind is a close second. Thought that might be a side effect of the small talk. It’s always ‘how’s your marriage’—” Which ended years ago. “ ‘you treated my aunt five years ago. Want to hear all about how she’s doing?’” 

“ have you somehow managed to conquer a section of the atrium ? EXEMPLARY, “ what might have been scathing coming from someone else is just a sweet comment from susan. tension or not, she knew well enough how to speak to coworkers. “ i’m simply making rounds, for lack of a better term. “