from the day esther sayre said i do and took the marriage vow, she’d known how her marriage would end. everyone knew the repercussions of breaking the vow - it was why her parents had insisted they do it. anyone who severed their marriage bond would feel unimaginable pain, as if their heart was shattering into thousands of tiny pieces.  the shards would prick your heart, leaving you a shallow husk of a person.  or at least, that was how mathilda sayre had described it.  her warnings had been enough of a warning to remain with edward for years, slowly losing the best parts of herself to a man who didn’t deserve them.  when she’d stood at the ministry, shaking like a leaf, she’d convinced herself that she was ready for the pain.  she was ready for it to be over.  edward, unsurprisingly, simply looked like he was being put out.  he’d asked at least thrice in five minutes how long things would take.

      she shuddered.  as a young girl, she’d thought edward’s impatience was a testament to how IMPORTANT he was - he didn’t have time to wait for such trivial things.  now, growing into the woman she was always supposed to be, she saw him for the arsehole that he was.  severing their link would be a relief, no matter how much pain it might cause her.  they’d both signed the documents and with a wave of a wand ?  it was over.  she blinked, staring at the ministry official with concerned eyes.  was that it ?  it was like a pinprick.  edward, to her dismay, didn’t seem all that concerned at all.  had he always known ... ?   she was angry.  both with him, and with herself.  she’d stayed married to him 12 months longer than she’d needed to be, all because she’d believed that unimaginable levels of pain were headed her way.  all that worrying, for nothing.   but at last, it was over.  she was free.  

       esther’s newfound freedom found her at lezekiel theosidis’ door.  one could argue that it was a similar set of mistakes, taking up with her younger brother’s best friend, but those thoughts always flew away like a chaser pursuing the quaffle when lezekiel’s lips twitched upwards into his trademark smirk.  free sophisticated woman that she was, she still had her weaknesses.  it was the only logical reason why she was sitting cross legged on the roof of theosidis manor, her grimoire in her lap as she paged through it.  “ i know there’s something about shooting stars in here somewhere ... “ she murmured, brow knit in concentration.  “ now i’ve never tried it m’self, but great granny o’shea swore by it.  mum always said me grandfather was a miracle.  great gran was having trouble getting plugged so she wished on a star, prayed to the gods to bless 'em.  nine months later,  there’s granddad. “  she shrugged.  “ it’s all a bit rumbly. what d’ya think ?  “

  “oh, come off it.” lezekiel laughed under his breath, his eyes trained on esther’s puddlemere united blue eyes as they flew around like a tampered-with bludger. arin mendoza would probably have something to say about the idea of him not being a legilimens, but alas, that was a conversation for another time. hopefully, never. at the time, he’d only divulged that information to get under the gryffindor’s skin more. if he told esther, he’d be, like… confiding in her. and that was an intimacy he’d not foreseen as a possibility in his future, well. ever. that was the thing about being a seer. every time any sort of genuine interest bloomed inside you for another individual, nine times out of ten, it was accompanied by a vision of its dastardly end. it was even worse when there was no vision at all. he was like a greedy book reader, always skipping ahead a few chapters when a plot threatened their favorite character, desperate to know what would happen before they were supposed to. 

lezekiel theósidis didn’t gamble. unless he knew the fate already: and you didn’t.

“as dead as hades minions,” lezekiel said cheerily. he pulled his wand from his sleeve, and with a flourish of his free hand, conjured a bouquet of purple calla lilies. because of his mother, he knew a lot about what different flowers meant. these symbolized magnificence and beauty, and with the purple color, royalty and passion. just in case she thought he was losing it, merlin forbid, he tapped her on the nose with one of them. he leaned it, the green, gold, and blue swirling in his eye to form a hypnosis of sorts. lezekiel smirked, and opened his mouth to say— the door to monty’s st. mungos hospital room creaked open. he adjusted his gift basket and stuck his wand back up his sleeve a fluid motion. “mate,” lezekiel said, just as the blond’s wife stepped out a view, putting him in full focus. “you’re looking radishing today.”

「 ✨ lezekiel has mentioned a canon object x10. 」 「 ✨ lezekiel has mentioned a magical subject x2. 」 「 ✨ lezekiel has conjured something. 」

     𝓣iffany looked up from her enchanted compact mirror. “ I have fundamental issues with society dictating that it’s acceptable for masculine figures of the familial sort to control your existence. I know you’re being facetious, but if that were an actual offer, I would have to say I’m perfectly beatific with having none of the previously mentioned then any at all.” She said all of this with a bright expression comparable to the candles lighting all of Wizarding Kind’s pumpkins this October month, and with the content of a cat’s meow post meal. 

「 ✨ tiffany has mentioned a magical object x5. 」 「 ✨ tiffany has brought up a magical subject. 」

     the thought of monty spending more than five minutes in tiffany’s presence, based on this conversation alone, brought a smile to esther’s face.  she could picture the sullen stare, the dead look to his eyes as he tuned out what the witch was saying.  she’d seen it reflected many a time right back to her.  “ oh you’d do BRILLIANTLY with me family. “  the irish accented witch replied with a laugh.  “ mum’s very archaic with her beliefs.  bit odd really, given how little say dad had in anything that went on in the family. “  mathilda sayre had always insisted that her daughters have successful husbands with powerful names attached; men who could provide, who would enhance the family’s influence with their own.  she and savannah had both worked of course, their mother wasn’t completely out of touch with modern wizarding society, but it was always unspoken that their husbands ?  they had to be a smidgen MORE successful.  it poisoned her thoughts now, her gaze darkening slightly before stuffing her the scrap of parchment in her pocket.  clearly this shop wasn’t going to have what she was looking for.  “ so no siblings for you then ?  i’d say i’m envious but, well, that wouldn’t be very KIND of me,  would it ?  “

her day started out as the usual.  running a couple errands before popping into her shop.  imperium lair in golden pine was gaining traction.  at the start of her business,  she was mainly supplying st.  mungos and private healers.  but now,  the wizarding community have become familiar with her shop.  something she was truly grateful for.  she could not thank  merlin  enough for that. 

she’d only been in the shop for a matter of minutes before getting her coffee and situating herself at the first available table.  alison really didn’t think to run into anyone here.  but when esther settled herself in the spot across from her,  she wasn’t complaining.  she grimaced.      “      that doesn’t sound ideal.  it’s a cat among the pixies.      ”      nimble fingers grasp the handle of the coffee mug and she took a long sip.      “      oh  !  it’s no worry,      ”      she reassured the older witch.      “      i was definitely not expecting anyone so feel free to take this seat.  and even if i were meeting someone here,  i’m sure they wouldn’t mind pulling up another chair.      ”      she smiled at the former slytherin in front of her.      “      if you don’t mind me asking  …  what’s happened that’s got you so eager to be away from her presence  ?      ”

「 ✨  alison has mentioned a magical subject x2 」 「 ✨  alison has mentioned a canon object x2 」  「 ✨  alison has used a wizarding idiom x2 」

         it was with a relief-filled expression that esther’s shoulders relaxed, confident in knowing that she didn’t have to return to savannah just quite yet. knowing the other woman, who was quite content sniffing and looking poorly as people around her stopped to ask how she was doing, she would be fine without her for a few moments.  enough to give esther a break.  as her hands folded together on top of the table, her nail varnish changed from a dark jet black to a light green.  she couldn’t help but think it looked better.  inwardly, she sighed.  “ well, “  she started, not sure what to really say.  “ she’s ... having a bit of a rough go.  with her family. “  the witch pushed a few strands of blonde hair behind her ear, sitting up a bit straighter.  though she HATED thomas wilkes, her sister’s husband, with a passion, she figured spouting his business to the whole bleedin’ wizarding world might be a smidge unfair.  “ i think, eh, she might’a realized he isn’t the bloke she thought he was. “  she winced.  “ or rather, “  she snorted,  “ ... he is.  the bloke i thought he was. “  she shook her head.  “ he was best mates with my husband ... and he was quite the tosser, let me tell ya that. “  her eyes rolled then, hands coming up to cover her face.  she liked to forget that she’d ever made the unfortunate decision of marrying him !  though she’d kept the ring;  the stunning oval shaped solitaire diamond on her finger was the only good thing she’d gotten out of their marriage.  “ if she’s got a brain up there, she’ll leave him to drown in his own cauldron.  he’s made quite the mess of things. “  

delaney smiled at the witch in gratitude, a tiny dimple that resembled her father’s own dimple making a quick appearance near the corner of her lips. the former ravenclaw, with both the witch weekly magazine and her leather journal that the witch has been carrying through her path to become a full badged healer pressed against her chest, follows esther the same way a tiny niffler would follow the likes of something as shiny as a galleon, her chosen treat following them both thanks to the light swirl delaney has done with her wand. once she found herself sitting down, delaney brought the rest of her belongings from the table she was once seated at, another move of her wand made until everything— her cup of tea and her coat— was sitting perfectly in their respective place. “ this is actually me’ first time comin’ here, ” the blonde said, taking the english madeline between her fingers before taking a bite from it. she hummed and placed it down. you could say delaney was amazed. “ ooo, if this one is good i bet croissants are the same ! i wonder why i haven’t visited this place. ” she pouted, taking her wand to place it back to the insides of her satchel. “ probably ‘cause i just got used to the coffee at st. mungo’s break room. not tha’ great but at least it’s somethin’. ” 「 ✨  delaney mentioned a canon magical object. x8 」 「 ✨   delaney mentioned a canon magical subject. x2 」   「 ✨  delaney has cast a spell. x2 」

           esther’s nose crinkled.  just thinking about the coffee back at st. mungos, usually bitter and only tolerable when you’d dumped a generous amount of sugar into it, made her cherish her food and drink more.  it was delicious, a far cry from the acceptable.  “ you’ve got one on me. “  she had to admit.  “ s’been years and i still haven’t gotten a taste for it. “  her lips pursed, as if she’d sucked on something extremely sour, or had an acid pop in her mouth so long that it sizzled against her tongue.  eughck!  “ i have tea now before i floo in.  it’s just easier, i suppose.  doin’ it meself. “  she shrugged, dipping her croissant in her tea and munching quietly.  “ ... but that’s enough about work. “  she waved her hands away.  they both had a day off, something that wasn’t always FREQUENT for healers working at st. mungos.  they didn’t need to talk about the wizarding hospital when they spent enough time there as it was !  spotting delaney’s copy of witch weekly, she gestured to it as she spoke.  “ i gave a flip through my copy last night. “  she admitted.  “ can ya believe some barmy fool tried ta corner lorcan d’eath in the middle of the street ! “  she lowered her voice, in case anyone nearby was listening in.  it seemed easier than casting a muffling spell.  “ near cut her arm off, she did.  pfft. “  her tongue clicked against her teeth.  “ claims she wanted to ‘ blood bond ‘ with him ... like that’s a real thing. “  her eyes rolled.  “ rubbish reporting for witch weekly, if ya ask me.  they used to have REAL articles, not this hogswash that belongs in something like the quibbler. “

         “ what on earth is a ... “  esther squinted at the scrap of parchment in her palms, looking frustrated and rather frazzled.  “ ... oreo ? “  she was starting to think that her brother was taking the mick, sending her on a wild niffler chase looking for something that didn’t even exist.  she’d stopped in two sweets shops already and not a wix in sight could tell her what this ‘oreo’ looked like -- or where she could find it.  “ it’s barmy, is what it is.  probably doesn’t even bloody exist. “  her words were venomous.  “ oh i’m going to MURDER him.  unless you’re in the market for a brother ?  “

To say that Arin was surprised that this evening even came about at all would be an understatement.  She didn’t anticipate the other woman saying yes when she asked if she wanted to get together for a night out, as a de-stress or distraction from work and life when they happened to run into each other around two weeks prior.  Although they hadn’t interacted a great amount of times, Arin would never turn down the chance to make more friends.  So she offered a night out for fun.  

Actually taking the time out to look presentable, Arin applied makeup and wore nicer clothing.  She had thought about wearing a dress before settling on a flattering top and a pair of tight jeans, something still comfortable to move around in.  And she also decided to be a bit early for once.  When esther arrived, Arin went to say hello, but was both pleasantly and awkwardly surprised when she leaned down to kiss both of her cheeks.  Arin felt herself blush a bit when esther went to try to wipe the lipstick left on her cheeks, before mentally cursing herself for doing so. Hopefully she hadn’t noticed.  

“Oh um, no I don’t think we’ve missed it.  I think I remember them saying something about it coming up soon.  And really?   Why is she stuck just doing karaoke then?’

                esther had always been exceptionally friendly.  often when people met her and discovered that she’d been a slytherin in school, they’d exclaim that it was a surprise — that she seemed so nice; so cheerful.  it was then that she liked to recall an old tale that her father had told them when they were small, of the red cap and the wix.  how the wix had run into the red cap on his travels and they’d shared a similar goal; to stop a dark wizard who was harassing the village.  the wix helped the red cap kill the wizard, then was betrayed and left for dead by the red cap.  when he asked, with his dying breaths, why the red cap had struck him, the red cap informed him that it was what he did.   though it had acted civil, presented itself as one thing, it was always something else below the spirit.  so while esther may have acted like a naive witch, someone unsuspecting and maybe a bit daft who was always smiles, she was ANYTHING but.   the sorting hat had put her in slytherin for a reason !!  some would argue that the sayre family had more in common with the serpents that played mascot to slytherin house rather than their housemates.  

     but tonight, esther’s visage was a real one.  though she didn’t know arin that well, she was open to the idea of making new friends.  even if said new friend HAD been a gryffindor.  everyone had their flaws though, didn’t they ?  surely she could overlook it.   “ no karaoke yet ?  oh brilliant.  i’ve been working on my rendition of ‘ amortentia shook me ‘ all week.  i’ve JUST about got the words memorized now. “  she grinned.   “ oh i’m sure she just sings for a bit of a laugh.  no one takes this that seriously.  i think she’s a ministry worker.  i dunno what department.  couldn’t tell ya. “   she scanned the room, eyes narrowed as she looked for the aforementioned crooner.  with her teal hair,  she usually stuck out like a rogue bludger.  “ that’s her there. “  she tried to discreetly point her out to arin,  failing miserably as the witch waved in their direction.  ever polite,  esther waved back.  “ she’s a doll. “

daphne grabbed a cup of tea on her way back to the ward she was assigned to for the day.  she only stopped when she heard esther addressing her.      “      honestly,      ”     she started, taking a sip of her tea.      “      there has been an influx of broom related injuries.  it’s kind of ridiculous how much it’s happened.  i don’t want to say that there are any casualties but  …  the numbers have been going up since the release of that broom.      ”

        “ it’s a real mess, if ye ask me. “  esther couldn’t help but grumble, waving her wand a bit more aggressively than necessary as she worked on applying bandages to one of her patients.  the wix frowned but stayed mum.  given their injuries, they had no grounds to argue.  “ me brother keeps talking about getting the nimbus vega 1988 .  i’ve told him about the injuries but artie’s so STUBBORN — and the broom’s he’s got now’s been giving him hell, too. “  she sighed.  “ bloody dangerous, the whole lot of them.  brooms.  if ye ask me, we’re meant to have our feet planted firmly on the ground. “

“ a treat ? ” delaney’s mumble was followed by a tilt of a head, luminous and wavy locks cascading from past a shoulder. the blonde was just on her way to get a treat for her sweet tooth, actually, not liking the idea to take her cup of tea while reading the latest teen witch magazine without something for her tooth ! so, to have the witch treatin’ her with something from the tea shop makes her believe in destiny ! she giggles at that. “ that’s so nice o’ ye’, healer sayre. thank you. ” delaney smiles in gratitude, eventually eyeing the bakery counter while humming. “ i would like an english madeleine. ” 「 ✨ delaney has mentioned a canon magical object. 」

            “ a reward. “  esther corrected her kindly.  she handed over a few sickles to pay for their confectioneries; her tea bubbling almost pleasantly as she levitated it over to a table in the corner.  she motioned for delaney to join her,  sitting down and crossing her ankles elegantly —  as she’d been taught from a young age.  back straight, ankles crossed, chin held high.  in a show of rebellion,  she slouched slightly.  after all,  she HAD reclaimed her life.  if she wanted to sloush, by salazar she could slouch !!  “ for weathering a storm. “  she knew it wouldn’t make much sense to hear it explained as such but as much as she’d broken away from the expectations of her pureblood family, she still valued her privacy —  meaning that private matters needed to stay private.  with a wave of her wand, esther dipped her croissant in her tea and gave it a little shake.  when it no longer dripped onto the saucer, she lifted it to her mouth and took a bite.  mm.  just as good as she’d hoped.  “ i love this place. “  she murmured once she’d swallowed, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with her serviette.  “ i could eat croissants every day for the rest of me life and be utterly chuffed. “

         sitting across from a similarly featured platinum blonde, esther was tearing her muffin to shreds as the other woman sniffled. her mascara was smeared, staining her porcelain cheeks. if esther emphasized, it wasn’t written on her features. the woman, who was usually kind and sympathetic to the plights of others, was cool as marble. her nail varnish charmed to reflect her moods was a starting black.  “ well, that’s unfortunate. “  you could tell esther was uncomfortable.  whether it be the sight of her varnish, the way her eyes constantly skirted around the room, or the incessant tapping of her toe against tile under the table ... every sign pointed to IRRITATION.  

         between the long hours at st. mungos and the shifting family dynamics in the sayre household, esther was feeling stretched thin. perhaps that was what found her slipping on a pair of nude colored pumps, curling her hair with her wand as she applied lipstick with her free hand. she hadn’t been out in what felt like ages and knew that she needed the stress relief that came with dancing your problems away. between her younger brother desmond’s injuries, and her sister recently finding out about her husband’s extramarital affair and searching for sympathy in all the wrong places, the witch knew she needed a break.  the white pearl encrusted dress hugged her body in all the right places, though she couldn’t help but tug it down self consciously whenever she bent down. with a kiss blown at her mirror and the mirror throwing compliments at her retreating back, esther apparated away from her flat and into golden pine.