#cwfopen

“Sorry, what can I get for you-wait, why are you here?”

Lucille felt alive. These sorts of events always filled her with delight but nothing could beat an event hosted by such legendries. Lucille could only dream of spending her days amongst such icons as the pureblood families of Black and Malfoy. Just as she watched someone finish their conversation and be left standing alone, she took it upon herself to walk over and join them. “Good evening,” Lucille said with a charming smile. “How’re you enjoying your evening thus far?” As she spoke, the woman adjusted the fabric that pooled around her feet.

Lucius Malfoy wasn’t a man who regularly felt stressed. He tended to never let things get to that point, and if it got close he just remained calm. However, what he was feeling lately felt like something bordering on stress. The compensate he’d practically been smoking like a chimney. Today he’d brought himself down to Diagon Alley. He briefly stepped aside to light another. Lucius was in the middle of taking a long drag when he felt eyes on him. “Can I help?” The man quizzed, smoke on his breathe as he spoke.

James stared up at the impressive, yet rather normal building. He thought of the countless times that he was surprised they hadn’t been evicted, the parties they threw and honestly anytime the other Marauders had anything to celebrate. A small smile appeared on his lips as the constant memories flooded his mind. James blamed his emotions at the moment to the amount of change that was happening around him. Lily being somewhat nice to him, his friends all having respectable jobs, and the looming threat of a war he tried to desperately tried to forget. 

The reminiscing was beginning to get to him and he realized soon enough he was not only tearing up, but he was also blocking the path. And someone was waiting to pass. “Oh -- Sorry,” James sniffled, hiding any show of tears and stepped to the side to give the other room. 

Remembering that he was supposed to be worried about his colleagues and upset about the state of the wizarding world was quite the challenge when the weather was so lovely. But the copy of the Daily Prophet Cornelius held in his hands, full of dramatic lies and mistaken suspicions did help to sober him up and keep him in character. Although it was also mortifyingly boring, which was why he kept looking up distractedly... and making eye contact with people he did not necessarily have time for. But Cornelius was many things; handsome, surely, and excellent company a close second. He should have known that enjoying an anonymous and uninterrupted morning tea in Diagon Alley was out of the cards for him. “Top of the morning to you!” he said with a grin at the newcomer who had accidentally caught his gaze.  

Light brown eyes scanned the object in front of him, turning it once with his wand in the air as he took note of the other side. Caius had seen this object before, then the realisation dawned on him. “Right I think I’ve seen enough.” He said finally, flicking his wrist and watching the object float back into the box it had been contained in before. “Now I’m not sure where you got this from, where you picked it up or which great aunt left you it for Yule but I’m sorry to break it to you...” His voice petered off as Caius prodded the object with his right hand. “This is a fake, or I’d be dead right now just for doing that. So my question is where did you get it?”