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Max stopped dancing abruptly. He knew his dancing was embarrassing, he hadn’t been trying to impressive the crowd with his skill. However, even though he assumed Makena wasn’t entirely serious, he didn’t like to be insulted. “You know, that’s just plain uncalled-for,” he said, turning his head just enough to see her. “At least I’m having a good time, you look bored as anything! Why are you even here?” he asked, genuinely curious. “Doesn’t seem worth the trouble if you don’t like the music.”

she didn’t need to say it ; the eye roll she gave in response was as plain a ‘whatever’ as there had ever been. “being bored is 90% of my personality,” she replied, matter of factly, as if that were an explanation for the attitude she’d chosen to run with for the duration of the concert. she really wasn’t having as horrible a time as she wanted to be, but it really didn’t fit her image. “i was curious,” she shrugged, “now i’m not. i’d probably be having MORE fun if the person coming with me hadn’t pulled out at the last minute.” 

location : WEIRD SISTERS FAREWELL CONCERT, HOGSMEADE, SCOTLAND

seamus was, in a word, BUZZED. the swell of the crowd set his nerve endings alight and it’d take a lot to wipe the grin off his face. “ SLAINTE MOTHERFUCKERS ! ” he cried, taking a long swig from a bottle he’d found in the basement of the hog’s head - aberforth won’t miss it, he’ll just fill it up with water or lighter fluid or something and put it back - and winced and shook his head, the colours from the flares that clung to his hair shaking out around his head in a cloud of technicolor. “ isn’t this just fucking IMMENSE ? ”

“you look like a cw commercial for an edgy live action rugrats remake,” her words were cutting, and not very called for, but... that was makena. she wasn’t having as much fun as she had thought she WOULD, so she was taking it out on anyone that looked like they were enjoying themselves more than she was ; and seamus was a pretty perfect example. “how is your hair not singing? have you put protective charms on it? or is it, like... really good conditioner?” 

Location: Weird Sisters Farewell Concert, Hogsmeade Moors, Scotland

“Isn’t this great?!?” Max yelled over the music, dancing terribly even as he spoke. He didn’t care, though. Partially because he was a bit drunk. But mainly because he knew this was the Weird Sisters’ last show and he was going to enjoy it as much as he possibly could. He’d loved this band as long as he could remember and he wasn’t going to let anything ruin his night, least of all embarrassment over his dancing. “Damn, these guys are just so good!” He didn’t even know who was standing around him (he was too busy watching the stage to check his surroundings), but he didn’t care.

"you’re a genuine embarrassment, babe.” note : kena was way too COOL for all this. it was bad enough that she was stuck attending a weird sisters concert for some weekend fun ( she hadn’t grown up with their music ; to her, they were sub tier ) - but being seen in close proximity to max while he was dancing the way he was choosing to dance, and thus running the risk of actually being associated with him... yikes ! “the smiths were good. pink floyd were good. i’ve got no clue how the weird sisters ever broke britain,” arms crossed over her chest, she rolled her eyes ( again, need it be said : too cool ) and added, “i don’t know if i can keep shopping at your store in good conscience after seeing you like this.” 

open // leaky cauldron

Daphne didn’t know how they had been convinced to come out, their week having been both too long and draining for them to be out at the pub now, but a little social interaction would probably be for the best. They weren’t paying too much attention as they carried their drink from the bar back to their table, focused more on the thought of crawling into their bed later that night, when they suddenly walked directly into someone, the contents of both their drinks seeming to spill over them. “Watch wear you’re-” they cut off suddenly, the harsh words and placing the blame on the other party coming naturally to them. “You know what, sorry. This was my fault. Let me buy you a fresh drink?” they tried again, trying to keep their tone polite as they looked up at who they bumped into. 

“oh, fuck-” always managing to have a way with words, makena didn’t MANAGE to jump out of their way in time ; only noticing that they were even incoming at the exact last moment. her drink ( thankfully half empty, the same not able to be said for daphne’s ) toppled over them, and makena prickled at this and the fact they jumped to blaming HER - ready to snap back when they amended their start, and she was left looking sour for... well, nothing. “that’s...- uh.” the least you could do, really, “yeah, whatever - you’re forgiven. sorry for not looking, too, i guess. if you’re going to take care of drinks, let me-” she pulled her wand from her back pocket, and muttered a spell to dry them both, “take care of this. right mess you made.” 

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents?

“uh... yeah.” did anyone ever really feel comfortable talking about such SERIOUS things casually? even if it were possible, makena couldn’t imagine ever reaching that point. they loved their mum, they adored their dad, they were completely indifferent to the sperm donor she had to thank for all their lifes BRILLIANCE, but... putting words to that was another matter altogether. “i get along with them better than my brother does,” then again, they got along with a lot of things - life included - better than CHRISTOPHER, “they love us both a lot, but they’re not exactly... normal. or overly present. i think they both wanted us to grow up independent so bad they forgot that we needed to be, like, properly parented sometimes? i ended up okay-” in a manner of speaking- “cause i went to hogwarts and things work differently there. the heads of house didn’t let anything fly by them. but my parents are big believers in, uh, learn by doing - even when what you’re doing isn’t good, or legal. they’ll never stop loving you cause you made a mistake, but they won’t hold your hand while you right it. makes ‘em difficult to like, sometimes, but that doesn’t mean i’ve ever not loved them.” 

16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment?

“bored.” they’d never been one to mince their words. “hungry. excited to leave. happy that i’ll be able to, soon.” 

37: Is it easier to forgive or forget?

“neither?” they were asking the wrong person. “they sort of go hand in hand, and i don’t think one is any easier to come by than the other, if you’re not, like... dedicated to actually letting wahtever it is go.”

59: Do you like the snow?

“not really,” they scrunched up their nose, like they were thinking a little too much about what snow, right now, would entail. “i’m fond of weather where you can have, like, a good stiff drink and feel better about it. lounging on a sandy beach underneath a palm tree, margarita in hand... way better than, like, being covered in sludge and clutching a lame attempt at a hot toddy, you know?”

26: What are you craving right now?

“nandos,” the best one was obviously the one ‘round the corner from their parents house, but they weren’t sure they were going to make it that far. apparating on an EMPTY stomach wasn’t their favorite thing to do, and there was a perfectly good establishment two streets away from the leaky cauldron. “you can never go wrong with their large peri salted chips and wing roulette meal. that’s not a question of opinion, it’s just straight facts.” 

27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart? 

“genuinely?” they shook their head, “no. definitely not. aside from zara’s dad, i’ve never really been a relationship person. i think you both have to be somewhat EQUALLY invested for there to be actual heartbreak, but i’d be willing to bet there’s at least one person out there convinced i’m their lose lenore.” 

29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry?

“oh, yeah,” makena didn’t mean to sound so blasé about the answer she gave, this time, but it was hard to not seem it when they pffed and sat back in their chair at that exact moment, arms crossed over their chest, “like, more times than i ought to have. but usually i ended up crying after, so, alls fair right?”

30: What’s irritating you right now? 

“uh...” they thought about it, briefly, small dent appearing in the middle of their brow as they racked their brains, “nothing? usually when i’m bothered, you KNOW it.” 

“i don’t exactly keep a dated record,” is what they open with, but their lips quirk upwards the longer they try keep a straight face, and they very quickly break into a shit eating grin, “three weeks ago. on the reserve. and then i got busted for trying to make it a thing, again, and i wasn’t allowed feed the baby horntails for a week.” 

“you know there’s no need for that,” she whispers back, flicking her wand once more as the last dish places itself into the cabinet and a wrapper falls into the bin. “we had a good time.” the little five year old was certainly exhausting to look after - as most kids here age were. and though the amount of energy from the little girl was hard to keep up with, cho enjoyed trying to. being around a child, getting to see the world through their eyes, was a refreshing break from reality. “she had a bit of a fit trying to go to bed,” she tells the witch, leaning her back on the counter as a small smile pulls at her lips. “but we got there eventually. i think she was just missing her mum.” cho pulls her cardigan closer around her waist, looking over at them. “everything alright on your end?” 

setting: leaky cauldron, late at night

Millicent is on her fifth glass. “And you know, Tom,” she says, grinning at the barkeep, “I was nearly promoted today. Very nearly promoted.” She mutters into her glass, scratching at the counter. “But then!” Millicent slams her hand against the counter, shaking awake the person at the end, who shoots her a dirty look she ignores. “But then,” she says sadly, “you know how it issssss…” 

“babe, don’t take this the wrong way-” famous last words. never had kena EVER started a sentence with that exact phrase, and had it taken any better than her words deserved. fully turning in her bar stool, all the better to properly cause into millicent’s eyes, kena said, rather empathetically ( read as: nowhere close ), “your life sounds pretty shit right now, but your advertising of that fact to the whole bar is really bringing the vibes down. tom’s expression just changed for the first time in thirty years. now, i didn’t know it was possible for him to look MORE bummed, but... you did that to him.” 

𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐒. you are orestes from the oresteia by aeschylus, and you are haunted by a cycle of pain. you try your hardest to be a better person, but sometimes you wonder if you will stop feeling trapped by your past. you have a STRONG sense of justice, you are quick to protect and defend those you love, and you are not afraid to compromise your morals if it means you are settling the score. eventually though, the consequences of your deeds WILL catch up to you, and that’s okay, because sometimes looking your ugliness right in the eye is the greates release.