She was nervous about this. Issa knew that she couldn’t show it, particularly not the second they stepped outside and they were surrounded by people, but she was nervous. This was something that she hadn’t done in a long time—she hadn’t been to a party since… well, obviously since before Ondrej had showed up in that room and taken her to Prague, but even back then, it was nothing like this. Back then, she had been worried about Ares’ family hating her at Christmas. Those had been the people that she wanted to impress, no one else, and now she was going to a Ball hosted by Anicka and Athena, held for @ares . Because he was the Minister. Everyone in this party would be looking at him, and she didn’t want to do anything stupid. She didn’t want to embarrass him, she wanted to make sure she did everything right—because honestly, she thought that he had enough going on. He’d had enough going on in his life before she’d showed back up in it, and yet he hadn’t complained. Not to her at least. He seemed to be the only person in this country that wanted her around.

Issa had thought about her coming home hundreds of times over the years, and she’d thought of every scenario. She knew that it wasn’t necessarily going to be good, she’d prepared for that, and yet she really didn’t think she could have prepared for this specific set of circumstances. Ares as the Minister, with a family and a recently deceased wife, and Anicka… Anicka not wanting her around, most of all, but also with kids, with a dead husband, a new boyfriend, and seemingly no room in her life for her in it. Or maybe she just didn’t want her there. It was taking some getting used to, but it was funny, because she supposed she actually should really be used to it by now. Back before, Ares’ family had never wanted her around. His mother, Anicka’s in-laws, his uncle obviously, and so feeling like she didn’t quite belong was something that she was used to. It was just that Anicka had been one of two people that had accepted her before, and this time around, maybe she didn’t have her. Maybe she only had Ares. And really, if he was all that she had, that was still more than enough.

As much as she didn’t want to make anyone’s lives harder, as much as she knew that Anicka didn’t want her here, and Ares’ kids didn’t want her here, and neither did Anicka’s kids, or Athena, or Katrine, Ares did. And if he was the one person in the world that wanted her around, she wasn’t going anywhere. It was selfish, but she almost didn’t care, because she loved him. Had loved him her entire life—or it felt like it at least, and now that she had him back, going anywhere else felt… wrong. She wanted to be here. She wanted to be with him, to make him happy. She felt like he didn’t quite know what happy meant anymore, not really, and as hard as that was for her to really get a grasp on, she wanted him to be happy. She wanted to figure out how to make that happen, if it was possible. She was happy. Everything was complicated, but she was happy, and it felt unfair if she couldn’t make him happy too. Issa had to at least try. After all of this time, she wanted to think that she could be that person for him, even if it was always possible she wouldn’t be able to.

Issa just wasn’t going to think of that right now. She wanted to be that person, and for right now, he did want her around. He had wanted her to come to this ball, even though she had suggested staying inside. It was the first time that they would be anywhere together, and she would have been fine with staying inside if he didn’t want the entire world to know about her, whatever she was. But he wanted her here, and so she’d put on the dress and she’d tried to look as good as she could when she hadn’t done this in a while. Without Anicka sending her something to wear, she would have been lost though, so she was glad that the woman had at least thought of that. ”Thank you…” she said with a small smile, because even that small reassurance that she didn’t look completely out of place helped her feel the slightest bit better about pulling this off. He offered her his elbow, and she took a breath and took it, before letting him lead her outside. She tried to ignore the stares, but they were immediate, and she saw Anicka in time to see her curtsy in response to Ares’ bow.

the sunset ball

OUTFIT

This wasn’t something that she wanted to go to, but it was something that she needed to go to, and she knew that was more important. The Minister’s ball… obviously, people in the Ministry had been invited, and she thought that the people that didn’t show up would be watched accordingly. Maybe not put on a bloody watch list or anything, just for denying an invitation to a party, but at the very least, she thought the names of the people that didn’t show up would at least be noted. She couldn’t have that strike against her, however small it was. She knew that she had to go, and put on a good face, and act like she was having a good time. It would have been easier if Susanna and Alex were going—but Susana had told her that they absolutely weren’t, and that she was using some excuse about Alex being out of the country to avoid it. That was a valid excuse, so she thought that they would be fine, but Portia didn’t have any good excuse not to go, apart from the fact that she didn’t want to. Portia thought that she could just handle making an appearance though, an hour or two at most, enough so that people knew that they were there, and then she could go back to Calais and be glad that this night was over with.

She had decided that she was going to make @cris come with her. Portia wagered that there were plenty of places that he would rather be, than at a Ministry party when his family was certainly around here somewhere, but she was nevertheless incredibly glad that he’d agreed to come with her. She needed a friendly face around her, to keep her from absolutely losing her sanity around these people. Portia did it every day, so she had no reason to think she’d snap at someone tonight, but still. Having someone around to keep her in check when she had to be in front of people that she hated was incredibly useful and admittedly, Cris was rather good at keeping her calm. More so than most other people, actually, including Susanna. She thought they just could have a couple of drinks and then leave, and that wouldn’t be too bad at all. If they didn’t see anyone she really had to make small talk with, that would be even better, but she knew that it was unlikely that would happen. This was a Ministry party, after all, and she worked at the Ministry. She was sure that the head of her department would be there somewhere, and she knew she had to play nice with him.

Merlin, this was going to be exhausting. It didn’t help that she’d had to get all dressed up as well, because that wasn’t something that she liked to do unless she had to. Portia was capable of it, if the situation called for it, but she was much more comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt than a gown and heels. Though tonight, she hadn’t even worn heels, because no one could tell what she was wearing under her dress anyhow, so she didn’t think there was a point in the slightest in suffering through heels if she didn’t have to. She was already tall enough without them. Taking a breath and looking out into the gathering of people already mingling and drinking, she glanced over at Cris. “Keep me from killing someone?” She asked, quietly, her eyebrows raised. She knew that he was probably looking forward to this even less than she was, but she knew that the pair of them could get through it and be fine. A couple of hours, and then this night would be over and they wouldn’t have to worry about something like this again for a while. Well, she knew that he wouldn’t have had to deal with this without her—she got an invitation because she worked in the Ministry, and he was the Carrow that his family had disinherited, and that didn’t merit an invitation. But she didn’t much care about that when she’d made him her plus one, and she wasn’t going to care about it even if someone mentioned it.

the sunset ball

OUTFIT

He had missed these parties, back when they hadn’t been an option. Back when the Ministry had fined pure families practically into poverty, and most of the Sacred 28 had lost their ancestral homes, and had ended up in Knockturn Alley. He had missed the extravagance, the good food, the better liquor, and finding a different witch to go home with each party. They had been stuck in Knockturn Alley, and even if the Malfoys hadn’t been in the work camp, thankfully, the poverty hadn’t suited them. Draco had missed the life that he was supposed to be living, that they were all supposed to be living, and it was frustrating to him that his mother had risked everything to help Potter in those moments in the Forbidden Forest, only for that to mean nothing when it came down to it. It meant that they didn’t quite fit on either side anymore. The Death Eaters and other purebloods could hold a long grudge, and plenty thought it was his mother’s fault that they had lost the war, and yet the other side didn’t want them—because they were still purists, still Death Eaters, and so it wasn’t as simple as just changing sides. Not that he even wanted to do that. Just because he hadn’t wanted to follow the Dark Lord… just because it wasn’t what he had thought it would be, and he thought that he would kill him and his parents, didn’t mean that he didn’t believe in what he had been fighting for.

For a time, he though that he’d be able to keep that to himself, if the other side was in power, and if they still benefited from that since they’d avoided Azkaban and most other punishments. But then Durant had taken over, then they had lost everything, and he had realized that that side was never going to see them as anything more than criminals, and so he’d realized there was no point in trying to pretend to believe something he didn’t. Still, he’d managed to avoid the work camp until the attack on Diagon Alley, and getting caught at that had been… frustrating, to say the bloody least. It hadn’t been apart of the plan either, but eventually, Wentzell had succeeded, and now he thought that he and his mother would benefit from staying a little bit on the outskirts. If the tide changed again, he wanted them to be untouchable, so while he supported what was happening, he was glad to be away from the Ministry, away from the worst of it, because if leadership did change again, they would not be on the forefront of anyone’s attention. Except for his father, of course, because Lucius was right back to trying to get more power, and make up the ground that they had lost in the last war. That was his decision, but one that Draco wasn’t following, not when he had seen how quickly power could shift. He supported what was going on, but just didn’t quite feel the need to fight for it when they were doing just fine on that front.

But parties like these were something that he had missed when they hadn’t been an option, but now that they were back, admittedly he remembered how repetitive it all was. It was exactly the same, time after time. Same people, same bullshit, but at the very least, he knew that there would be good liquor and decent food. He would have to deal with the politics for a while, would have to deal with his father he was sure, since he wanted to at least see his mother for a second, and then he’d find someone else to amuse himself with. He thought some of his friends would be around here somewhere—@blaise , @pansy , @genevieve , and maybe @theo . Draco also was decently sure that @kate would be around here somewhere as well but since he’d only just arrived, late of course, he knew that there was no point in getting ahead of himself. He’d come across them eventually, he was sure. Until then, it took only a couple of seconds to spot out @torib , and he headed in her direction. “Mother.” He said, kissing her cheek briefly before his gaze flickered to Lucius. “Father.” He was surprised that the man wasn’t already off trying to talk to someone that could better his position in the Ministry, but he supposed there would be plenty of time for that.

the sunset ball

OUTFIT

Parties were good—or so she had to keep reminding herself. Constance actually knew that there were very few people in her family right now up for a ball like this, but that just wasn’t the point. The point wasn’t that they wanted to throw a ball for everyone worth knowing in the magical United Kingdom. The point was that they needed to have this ball. It was a necessary evil. Even though her matka probably would prefer to be doing anything other than planning this with Athena, even though she didn’t think Ella was up for this, or really anyone else in her family, she knew that they would get through this night with smiles on their faces, and they would act like everything was all right. It was a show of power, a show of the family being a complete unit, because when someone sensed weakness, they attacked, and they couldn’t afford anyone thinking a single one of them was an easy target. So they all had to show face to this, and they all obviously had to be the best dressed there, which wasn’t all that hard to do when their matka happened to be a fashion designer. They were raised to know how to dress. They were raised to know how to act, and they would get through tonight. Once they did, they wouldn’t have to throw another ball like this for a little while.

If there was one saving grace to this whole situation, it was going to this thing with @jules . Her boyfriend. That was an odd word to get used to, because she honestly hadn’t dated all that much in the past. It was just a little bit hard to, when she had to think about marriage, and about how her future husband might think of her if they heard that she’d dated around too much. There had to be the right amount of dating, and a lot of it had to be with men she honestly thought would last, or there wasn’t a point. It wasn’t exactly… fun, but then again, her mind hadn’t really been on dating all that recently anyhow. It hadn’t at all, actually, until she had run into Jules at Avalon, and it had just sort of… happened. It had happened, and she liked him. That was the most surprising part of all of this, because she figured when she finally did start thinking about getting married and all that, she’d be settling for someone that was appropriate, that she didn’t really have any kind of feelings for. As much as she wanted to believe that it could be more than that, she hadn’t really thought that would happen. Now she… well, she still didn’t know if it was going to happen, because his mother… she didn’t know. She didn’t know if she didn’t like her, or was just like that with everyone, but it just… was odd for her.

She wasn’t used to people not liking her, particularly these days. She was the Minister’s niece, she worked for him in the Ministry—her mother was Anicka bloody Wentzell. There had been some boys trying to get her attention since the takeover, knowing that it was a good way of getting to her uncle and getting in good favor with him. It was something that she thought that they were all just getting used to at this point… people wanting to get on their good side, to get on her uncle’s good side, but never before had she felt like she wasn’t good enough. Constance wasn’t sure why she was getting that vibe, but she was, and so she knew she had to look good tonight. She knew that Jules’ mother would be there, that his family would be there. So even though he thought that he might have people to impress tonight, since it was her family’s party, she was the one felt like she had something to prove. It had taken her ages to find the perfect dress for tonight; once she had, it had been decently easy to put an outfit together around it. Still, even down to her jewelry and painting her nails, she had wanted to make sure she looked perfect. It was only then that she came downstairs, and saw Jules waiting. “Hey…” She said with a smile, once she had made it down the stairs to stop in front of him.

THE SUNSET BALL

OUTFIT

Scarlett hadn’t actually gotten an invitation to this party. Her father didn’t go to these sorts of things—he commanded a different kind of… she couldn’t really even call it respect, but he did people’s dirty work most of the time. When someone didn’t want to do something themselves, they hired a Ballard to do it for them, and that didn’t exactly merit an invitation to a party like this one. She knew that her mother had been a little bit put out that she hadn’t been invited—famous author that she considered herself to be, but this wasn’t exactly a party for writers. She doubted they had gone into Flourish & Blotts and decided to invite every author on the best sellers’ list, and so to her, it didn’t make sense for her mother to get an invitation to this either. But LJ had asked her to come with him, and she wasn’t one to turn down a party. She had almost joked that he should really invite Lyla—because really, he should just get on with it already, but since she had really wanted to come to the ball… and Lyla had already been invited through her parents, Scarlett wasn’t about to turn down the invitation.

She had known that there was at least one person at this ball that she did want to see, even if it wasn’t as if she was going to go up to him in public. She had, however, just as subtlety asked his opinion about what she should wear, just to see if he would still give one. He had, and so she was wearing blue again—modest, blue, and not sparkly. Scarlett thought that was all rather simple to pull off, and so she hadn’t seen any reason not to try to find a dress like that. She knew that it was a little silly, but she rather enjoyed wearing what he wanted her to wear, and that was all there was to it. More than likely, she probably wouldn’t even be closer than a few yards away from him tonight, probably wouldn’t talk to him—and it wouldn’t end the same way the dance at Hogwarts had, but that was fine. Scarlett thought that she and LJ would have a good enough time, and there were some of their friends around here somewhere, Lyla included most likely. Scarlett knew that there was some amount of… pressure, she supposed, to be coming to the ball with the Minister’s son, but it wasn’t as if they were actually dating, so she wasn’t all that worried about it.

Scarlett did think that alcohol was definitely necessary though, and so she looked over at @lasimir with an amused smile at his question. “Tonight feels like a night for bourbon.” She said, letting him lead her in the direction of the bar. She thought she’d need at least a couple of drinks to forget how uncomfortable these shoes were, and so it was definitely past time that they got something to drink. She saw that his father had made it outside, knew that the rest of his family was all around here somewhere. Scarlett hoped that they were all just as aware that this wasn’t a date, because the last thing she needed was the third degree from his brother, or the Minister, or anyone like that. That was more than she wanted to deal with tonight, even if she did know how to put on a good face and make a good impression. Most of the time at least. Just in general, she thought that it would be better if no one thought that this was a date, because they didn’t need that additional stress on what could otherwise be a fun night. At least, she hoped it was fun, because honestly, she knew that LJ could just use some fun for a change.

"I must have neglected to then... for due reason." Raymond replied, keeping his gaze trained on @esthergarnet and her little accumulating group as he spoke to @juliusavery. Both mistakes that could be linked to him via blood were eyesores even for him... the only reason they continued to live were either for sheer use or entertainment. For Damion's sake, it was the fact that Raymond was a busy man who planned to take his time... and the boy was proving slightly elusive. For Esther... well she wasn't entirely hopeless. She would never amount to being his heir or being publicly recognised like Ares had done with his lot, but he wasn't quite ready to do away with her just yet. She was working under Flint, had connections to Kirkpatrick... slowly she seemed to be trying to rebalance the scale she had tipped upon getting in with Damion. Once she cut that out, perhaps they would see more eye to eye.

"You seem to imagine so. I see her for what she is; a blight. Perhaps my opinion wouldn't be so soured if she would actually use the brain that occupies that skull of hers when in my company. For the most part, she seems to find that annoying me is an enjoyable pass time. It's the only explanation I can procure for why she keeps doing it." Raymond knew Esther was a pretty witch in a practical sense, but as she looked so much like her mother he was loathe to voice it. If @lucian was indeed looking to win her over, he would merely have to keep an eye on it. The amusement that was bound to arise from such a thing would be too good to miss. Not that he was going to stand in the way of it. What reason did he have to prevent Esther trying to fix her mess of a life? That would be entirely counterproductive.

The crowd moved and Raymond spied that the third member of the trio Esther found herself in was @gerald, at the same time the man spun and waved sardonically at him. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he merely raised his chin, then his icy gaze watched as Esther returned the sentiment. Ah yes... family. He couldn't really come up with a reason for why Gerald was still alive and well these days. Perhaps the mood would take him to fix that soon. If the rest of the Kvothe's promised to keep themselves removed from it all. So much to do, such a grand list. And things like this Ball just had to integrate themselves into it. Raymond had never been an overly social man- not because he was antisocial, but because he had little patience. And somehow his company seemed to deter quite the number of people. He let the talk of Felix flow, nodding in points as his own eyes landed on the man, and a semblance of a smile alighted his features as he turned to his counterpart. "As always, Julius, I have time." He said quietly, his eyes growing harder and colder than granite even though the jibe was impersonal. He had taken it as such. But still... speech of an heir...

"If a WItch of the right standing were to find herself so inclined, I'd welcome her approach. Mostly just to see who it could be rather than for anything substantial." He added musingly, his gaze roaming once more. There was always talk of widows, but therein lay the joke. For how many of those widows had been self inflicted? "These days, it is hard to find someone. Azkaban took it's toll on me and it shows."

the sunset ball

OUTFIT

These sorts of parties always had the potential to be rather enjoyable. It depended on who was hosting it really, and who was invited. Obviously, it was Ares’ ball, Anicka and Athena had planned it, and so that was a plus as far as this particular gathering went. But it would also be full of just about anyone in the Ministry, no matter what their position was, and that could mean plenty of people that didn’t go to parties like these all that often. That was just a little bit unfortunate, because it would probably be much more fun without them. There were no Mudbloods in the Ministry—bloody obviously, but that didn’t mean that they had gotten rid of every single irritating person that worked there. There were annoying halfbloods, hell there were annoying purebloods. There were still a few blood traitors in the Ministry, and some they had gotten rid of, like the former head of the department of international magical cooperation. Beckett thought the blood traitors would be weeded out eventually. Hopefully, anyway. But tonight, the ones that were in the Ministry still, would more than likely be there. They could deal with that, because there would be plenty of people there that he actually liked and wanted to talk to.

At the very least, he was never going to turn down an opportunity to see @olivia all dressed up. It brought back memories, both pleasant and unpleasant if he was being honest with himself, but mostly the former. It just reminded him of times when he had been married to someone else, and the pair of them had snuck off to a coat closet or whatever was available, while Eliza was completely oblivious talking to whomever had caught her attention. That had been their life for a time—stolen moments in dark rooms, and parties like these reminded him of that. It had been fun at first, but it had started to sour when it had become more than just casual, and he had started to care about her. Beckett knew how hard it had been for Olivia, even harder than it had been on him for obvious reasons, but here they were. They had gotten through all of that, and now they were married. They had three beautiful children, even though he was well aware that Olivia would much rather have four, and everything was the way that it should be. Their lives were pretty damn good right now. It had been fine before—no one knowing that he was a Death Eater had meant that they’d been doing just fine during Durant’s administration, but now life was even better.

He thought it was still a little hard on her, losing her best friend the way that she had. It had only been four months. Just about four months, and he knew there were plenty of people at this party that thought they needed to prove that they were all right. They weren’t wrong. The wizarding world was watching, and making sure that they put on a strong front was important. But Beckett knew that they would pull it off. He had no doubts. When they got inside the tent, Beckett was unsurprised that Olivia wanted them to go right to @anicka , and @malcolm as well. “I second that—the bar looks particularly wonderful.” He said, with an amused smirk, before nodding in greeting at Malcolm as well. He chuckled as Liv asked Malcolm to dance with her, and his gaze moved back to Anicka once they’d left. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask the hostess for a dance as well… save you from the welcoming line for a dance or two?” He asked, offering her his arm.

Malcolm had never really had to deal with anything like this before—being the date of the hostess of the party, at least, and he knew that it meant a long welcoming line, which got a little bit boring, to say the least. He had no idea when exactly it was going to end, because it did seem like the people just kept on coming. Eventually, it would though, and they would hopefully be able to enjoy themselves the way that any other couple at this ball would be able to. Hopefully being the key word there, because there was definitely a chance that they’d have to keep at this for quite some time. He chuckled as @anicka asked the intern at HOME for a champagne flute of water, and let her lean against his arm as there was even the slightest bit of a lull in people coming up to them. He did see @ares and Issadora May Wentzell finally enter, and he was glad that they were at least making their appearances. Malcolm thought he understood them being just a little bit late, seeing as the witch had been held hostage for years, and this was the first social gathering she’d been to since, and it was… sort of a important one at that, if she cared at all what the rest of the wizarding world thought about her at least. And plenty of it probably wouldn’t be pleasant, simply because that was how the gossips in this world worked.

He admittedly was a little bit curious about Anicka’s kids, that had brought dates. He knew it wasn’t his business, but he had sort of taken it upon himself to make it… at least a little bit his business. He was curious about Philip’s date, and he knew that Anicka wasn’t sure what to make of Constance’s boyfriend, but they were all still young. Not everyone they dated at first had to be the one they married, even for purebloods. He knew that Ella was marrying Elliot, and that was… fine, even though it seemed like it had come on rather quickly. That wasn’t his business, and he did like Elliot. Of course he did. The man liked dragonology, so there wasn’t a chance in hell that Malcolm could dislike him. More people approached Anicka, and then Athena. He was content to let her do most of the talking, so it didn’t much bother him when they didn’t say much to him – like @nicholas and @zara. Hell, he thought it was better when they just talked to her, because if Malcolm had to give too many greetings, he was going to go out of his mind with boredom. He thought this part of the evening really could end at any time, and he would be happy. Others made it through the line rather quickly, like @blaise, @donna and @bradley, names that he knew mostly because of their families.

It was when @olivia and Beckett Archibald Graves approached that his grin became just a little bit more genuine. There were definitely people here that he liked, but when they were greeting everyone, they didn’t really get the chance to talk to them all that much. He took Olivia’s offered hand and kissed it. He found himself chuckling when she spoke. “Of course I will. How could I deny a dance with you?” He said, his voice joking, because he knew that Anicka wouldn’t mind, and he knew that Beck wouldn’t mind. It saved him from greetings for a little while, and that was absolutely good in his opinion—maybe then they’d be able to just slip away from that entirely, particularly if Beckett thought to ask Anicka to dance as well. He offered the woman his arm, and once she had took it, lead her toward the dance floor. “You saved me from falling asleep back there.” Malcolm added, quietly, an amused smirk still on his lips. He thought it had been rather obvious, more than likely, that he could use a break from the welcoming line, of never-ending people. Once they’d made it onto the dance floor, he moved to face her. “Ready?” He asked, before offering her his hand.