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[attr="class","ctopline"]You touch me and it’s almost like we knew

[attr="class","cscriptmud"]that there will be history between us two

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[attr="class","clyrics"]We knew that we would have regrets[break]
But we just ignored them the night we met

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[attr="class","cbody"]Date: 22 December 2018[break]
Location: Shacklebolt Holiday Gala
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For some reason, she had thought that this was a good idea. Or had Alistair convinced her it was? At this point, it didn’t matter. She was here, and there was no turning back now.
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Well, technically she could still turn around and leave. It wasn’t too late. They had gotten there kind of late, which meant that the party was already in full swing. It wasn’t too late to slip out without anyone realizing that they were even there. But… well, they were already here, and it had been a while since she had been to a party. She didn’t even remember the last time that she had been this dressed up at all. Even when she wasn’t working for the Parkinsons, there wasn’t much of a reason for her to put on a dress or go out like this.
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Tonight, she was changing that. It had been decided. She had convinced Alistair, or he had convinced her—really it all sort of blurred together after some drinks at the Hog’s Head, but they had decided to go nonetheless.
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She was well aware that there might be people there that she didn’t want to see. Death Eaters, purists, and it would certainly be awkward if there were any Parkinsons in attendance. She didn’t particularly want to see her employers at a party like this. They might be half tempted to ask her to fetch them a refill or something and she did not need to deal with that. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure what she would do if something like that happened. Would she do it? Technically she did work for them, but she had also come to the party as a guest, and not to work.
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The fact that she was so torn about what she would do in that situation was probably the biggest reason why she didn’t want to see a Parkinson here tonight. It brought up a whole slew of possibilities that she didn’t want to think about.
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Mostly, the Parkinsons were fair… employers, if you could be fair when you were employing slave labor, so she didn’t think that they would honestly expect her to do anything for them while they were here. But there were also appearances to uphold, and maybe they would be expected to treat her worse around their sort.
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Merlin, she didn’t know.
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She did know that she didn’t want to think about this anymore. There was no reason for her to lose a second’s thought about the Parkinsons or any other purists that were here. There was nothing marking her as a Muggleborn there. It might even be funny to strike up a conversation with some sacred twenty-eight purist just because they’d have no idea they were rubbing elbows with a mudblood.
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But an idea for a later time. The first thing that she needed in a situation like this one was a drink, and quickly. That would have to be their first stop.
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Squeezing Alistair’s arm, she glanced up at him. “I think we need a code word,” she said, decisively. In case they needed to make a quick exit because of boredom, exes, or any other number of reasons they might want to get out of here. “I vote for transmutation.” She thought she could throw that word into just about any conversation—and it had the added benefit of having a suitable definition for the situation. “Or pineapple, I guess, would be a simpler substitute.” She was joking… sort of. She was just maybe a little bit nervous about being a party like this, a fact that Alistair was probably aware of.
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[attr="class","cnotes"]606 ● @alistair ● outfit

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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there's no way

[attr="class","reasonsmallannabella"]I wish I could make the time stop So we could forget everything and everyone I wish that the time would line up

[attr="class","reasonbodannabella"]Alistair wasn’t sure what he was even doing here, tonight. A holiday gala? It wasn’t exactly his scene. He certainly wasn’t the sort to stroll in wearing a tux and spend time talking to everyone at this soiree. He didn’t need to. In fact, he didn’t want to.

Most of them were Order members, he’d noted when they walked in. Or at least, legacies of the Order. It was so hard to keep tabs on members of a secret organization, sometimes. But he knew that they would raise eyebrows at a Dumbledore here.

Alistair dreaded eyes on him here. Had he been behind the bar at the Hog’s Head, he might have been able to accept it. But here? Here, he wanted nothing more than to blend into the surroundings and disappear.

But, he wasn’t here for himself. He was here for Nora.

She’d wanted to go. After a few drinks bar-side, she was the one that had brought up the party. Alistair hadn’t even considered going until then…but there was something about the way she spoke of it. Something that made him want to rescue a friend in need. Al certainly wasn’t the rescuing type, but he’d had a few drinks. And, one thing had led to another and suddenly he was putting on a suit jacket and they were heading out the door to apparate to the party.

“Transmutation is probably better,” Alistair said as he turned to look at her. He placed his hands on either side of her shoulders, steadying Nora. She appeared to need it. He could tell that she was nervous. Ali could be dense sometimes, but he was far from unperceptive. “I’m far more likely to be found talking about transmuting metals than I am about tropical fruit. Now,” he gave her shoulders a pat before drawing back. “Calm down, Nora.”

It wasn’t annoyance in his voice. No, it was just simplicity. Alistair saw what needed to be seen – nothing less and nothing more.

He was here to be her buffer – to keep the rest of the world from her. Because he knew how easily an evening could be ruined by someone unexpected showing up.

Instinctively, his head turned slightly towards the door as he looked for his siblings. Perhaps they would make an appearance. Then again, perhaps they were too busy burying themselves in their own research to come up for air. It was difficult to tell, sometimes.

“They’re just people,” he said, finally turning back to look at her. He understood what she was feeling. Opression…danger at every turn. Maybe that was the reason they truly needed the return of the Hallows. With them, they could end the injustices that seemed to be springing up like weeds all around them.

Then again, that would require a breakthrough. One that Alistair had yet to accomplish over the past few months. But, tonight it was not worth worrying about. Tonight was not about the Dumbledores and their crusading mission. “Should we get a drink?”

[attr="class","reasontagannabella"]@ nora | 502 | OUTFIT

[attr="class","credannabella"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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[attr="class","ctopline"]You touch me and it’s almost like we knew

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[attr="class","clyrics"]We knew that we would have regrets[break]
But we just ignored them the night we met

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[attr="class","cbody"]Admittedly, this wasn’t a decision that she likely would have made it she was dead sober. Coming to this gala hadn’t even been on her mind, honestly. There was no reason for her to think that walking into a room full of strangers would end all that well for her, but she supposed that she would blend in more with a crowd than anywhere else. Maybe that was why she had convinced herself that she was going to be all right.
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Of course, she had a tendency to stand out more than she intended to a lot of the time. It was a trait that seemingly ran in the family, because she knew it wasn’t all that uncommon for her cousin to be the center of attention too. His parents had been like that too—charismatic, good with people, so she supposed she should have known better than to think that she could go to this party and just slide in under the radar.
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But it was worth a shot. After a few drinks at the Hog’s Head with Alistair, it had just sounded like a good idea. He’d gone upstairs to put on a suit jacket and get just a little more dressed up than they had been in the comfort of his pub, and then they had made a pit stop at her apartment so she could change. It wasn’t like she normally went walking around in sparkly blazers.
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If there was ever a time for her to be just a little festive and wear sparkles, though, it was tonight. Paired with a black dress, she thought that it still managed to avoid being tacky. Generally speaking, she thought that too much glitz and glitter made just about anyone look trashy, but a good balance of both worked out well. She thought so, anyway—but it wasn’t like she’d had much of a reason to put her fashion prowess to the test lately. She was hardly an expert.
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Nora took a breath as Alistair spoke again and nodded. Somehow, the matter of fact way that he told her to calm down managed to help just a little bit. There was nothing to worry about. They were fine. She was fine.
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There were surely people here tonight that she didn’t want to see but if she was just focusing on Alistair, then she wouldn’t even notice them. That was probably for the best, at least until she got a couple of drinks in her. Then maybe she’d feel like being a bit more daring. “Easy for you to say, Dumbledore,” she retorted, raising her eyebrows at him, “Since some of these people would rather me be back in my uniform, cleaning up after them.” After a moment’s pause, she tugged at his lapel, a teasing smile forming on his lips. “And I don’t think you’d look very good in my uniform.”
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Joking about that ridiculous scrap of clothing helped, somehow, even if it was at Alistair’s expense. “Yes, and can we skip the part where we drink something fancy?” There had been cheap whiskey and beer at the Hog’s Head, though she supposed she’d live with classier whiskey and beer if that was all they had.
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[attr="class","cnotes"]537 ● @ alistair ● outfit

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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