Eleanor had thought long and hard about wether she wished to attend or not. It was no secret that a gathering of Death Eaters brought its risks, but there was also the fact that even though they all pretended to get along perfectly, there were tensions all around. Unspoken, of course, nothing any of them would ever give hint to. The ranks had to be closed, their efforts to keep the power they had so long fought for had to be above everything else. Even petty rivalries. Even the fact that she and various others had second thoughts about various facts of the current regime. She supported the cause above all else, and unless a certain line was crossed, she would keep her opinions to herself. Nobody had asked for them, after all. Still, several people were very closely toeing the line at the moment, and she and her family did not want to be involved with them when things blew up in their faces. All she wanted was safety for her children, she would not risk their wellbeing for people who didn't think of the wellbeing of others.

Still, she was Lady Bulstrode, she was Head of the Department of Magical Education, and she was a Death Eater. Her place was here, and she would not besmirch her name by not attending. Even though Roma had opted out of it -she didn't feel well, she preferred to stay in bed tonight, but she didn't feel bad enough to require Eleanor to stay with her- she and all three of the children were here. Loraine was being escorted by @fernando , and Ivan was escorting his cousin @blanche. @jules would eventually get here with Constance Leysa Mountbatten , something that still irked Eleanor more than she would admit. Oh, she had been pleasant enough to the girl, she supposed. A good name, and she respected her mother, but Eleanor didn't want it to go much further than that. It was risky, and Jules was still far too immature to realise it. He would have to open his eyes sooner or later, or she would open them for him. For now, however, things were fine as they were. They made a dashing young couple, she supposed, and while it still made her uncomfortable to think of her youngest child -her little boy- as someone who courted anyone, she had accepted it as best she could.

Eleanor arrived, with @thorfinn and Leda by her side -both cousins, though each on different sides of the family- and made her way inside. She spotted her cousins, @alessia and @jagger , children of her uncle Chadwick who ought to be around somewhere with her father, Laurence, and their respective partners, one of which was Julius' boy, @felix . @juliusavery was a cousin of Roma, and a pleasant man. Somewhere around was also @pansy , who she hadn't seen in a while, but was still a friend. Then there were lots of other extended family members, of course, but she wouldn't bother greeting them just yet. She might greet their hostesses, but glancing around for @anicka she saw that the Lady Wentzell was occupied and decided to leave it for later. Maybe @attie had some time? She would likely be better company than Thor, so Eleanor made her way over to the woman.

"Good evening, Madam Undersecretary" Eleanor greeted the other woman with a politely blank look. "My compliments of the Ball. It looks wonderful."

outfit

Be polite, Attie, she kept reminding herself, bowing her head as people approached to compliment the ball. Athena kept pointing them off to Anicka each time, and if they had approached the witch already she would croon over the dresses and smile pleasantly. She knew she had to get on the right side of people, even as @creed wandered over with @pansy  to compliment the event. She gave them a glittering smile as it happened, and she filtered through her thoughts of the two to try to come up with something to say. She knew Jameson much more than she knew Pansy, but that was only because of their ages. Although she knew that people had grown, she was constantly drawing on her past memories of people from Hogwarts. It was far easier than remembering what accomplishments they may or may not claim to have (although she did happen to know what they were). The measurement of the man, maybe, could be construed from how he acted as a child. He was bothersome, then, but she found most of them barely tolerable. But he had grown up well, he had a good job- Head of Auror training. They had test subjects, sometimes, and target practice. She knew that he was a man loyal to the cause, and that Pansy had proved her worth only in her seventh year. Athena was determined that this go well, so she inclined her head politely. "We are both terribly busy people, I'm afraid," she said sweetly, nodding to the younger woman. "Lady Parkinson. It's quite nice to see you as well." She turned back to the man fluidly, though not quite dismissing the younger woman. "Are you enjoying the new targets that have been acquired?"

She needed to keep people happy, pleasant. There was no way that she could ruin this for Anicka or her brother or herself. Athena had goals, and she was determined to keep them close to her chest. There had been comments made about that before, but she enjoyed playing her cards close to her chest. People didn't know what to expect of her, people didn't realize that she wasn't entirely close with her family... And, speaking of, she really wanted to find Ares and corner him still. But she was still required to play the other hostess, and she wasn't about to leave @anicka just standing there and greeting guests, because people were beginning to swarm the witch. She felt for her, but Athena knew that was what happened when you were at the forefront of it all. She was jealous of the attention, but, since she was getting some it wasn't that important for the moment. She could work her way into other's hearts later... And there was Lady Bulstrode, dashing as normal. She seemed to be arriving with the Rowles, and she had to resist crinkling her nose. She didn't particularly care for the man, especially as he seemed to dislike her brother. She was allowed to be annoyed with Ares, because she deserved it. Others did not. But she greeted the witch kindly, because she couldn't fault the woman. "Good evening, Lady Bulstsrode," she responded. "Thank you, really. Anicka and I spent quite a deal of time plotting this little event. You look quite dashing this evening."

Balls were expected. Parties were to be thrown, and smiles worn, and everyone had a part to play. That was how their world worked, and this, this had been her part this summer. She was a lot of things, and tonight she was hostess. She and Athena had done this together, and it had been the two of them that had taken the idea and run with it the moment Ares had reluctantly agreed that she could have the go ahead. She knew that their brother didn’t want this, but she also knew that it was needed, it was necessary. A party like this was important to people, and so she was going to make sure that it continued to go off the way that it was supposed to have gone off. Everyone here tonight had come with an invitation, and Anicka knew exactly how many invitations had sent out, she knew exactly how many people they were expecting, because some of them she had sent two separate invitations, effectively inviting four people, while knowing that that person would be coming with someone else that she had already invited. It limited the number of guests when that happened, but she also knew that it would work the other way as well. She thought that a good majority of the people here were people that she knew though, in one way or another, and there were plenty that she was intent on staying away from as much as possible. Standing next to @malcolm made her feel safer, and she thought that there was something to be said for being all of 5’1 and standing next to someone ten inches taller than you… It made you feel just that much safer. Especially when she was sure that he loved her, and she knew that he had already killed once to protect her. Not that she thought that it would ever come to that again… But it just made her feel safe.

As the first waves of people made their way into the tent Anicka put the smile on her face that she had been born with and she took half a step forward. Enough that she wasn’t hiding behind Malcolm, but standing just the slightest bit in front of him. The edge of her dress trailing over his shoes with her proximity. “Thank you Mr. Creed.” She didn’t know @creed hardly at all, but she knew that her brother had called him to the castle with him months previous. She knew them by name, and she knew some of them more than that. She knew who Andrew had let her know, and now that she was free from that she thought that she could start truly allowing herself to know some of them. The ones that she didn’t feel immediately apprehensive about at least. She wasn’t about to make conversation with a Lestrange, or a Carrot if she could help it, but Creed, and more than that, Lady @pansy, she would talk to. “Lady Parkinson.” She smiled at the witch, “Lady Parkinson, Lord Nott.” She smiled over her shoulder to Malcolm as she gave the introduction before Jameson swept the other witch away.

No sooner were they gone than Theodora Lillian Mountbatten appeared in front of her. Anicka flashed her a real smile instead of the poised and proper one that she had been using to greet people on the way in. She shook her head at her photographer daughter, “This looks lovely Thea… Thank you for your help with all of it.” She knew that lingering with her family too long was not something that she was going to be able to get away with. At least until people stopped arriving and she got a chance to get away from here. She thought that she was going to have to find something that she could actually drink here before too long, but asking her daughter to get her a glass of water would cause questions that she didn’t think she wanted to answer in the middle of a ball… They would have time for that when this was all over. Telling the girls… Telling Philip… And especially telling Pippa… They had plenty of people that they were going to have to tell. Both of their mothers made that ticket as well, but the first step was simply getting through tonight. And tonight was not the time to worry about the fact that she was pregnant.

She smiled and waved, and made polite small talk with the guests as they entered. Complimenting witches on outfits that she rather would have liked to burn, but she had to play her part, and that meant being nice. Be nice. She kept reminding herself to be nice, and to point guests in Athena’s general direction so that the compliments being paid to her were paid to the other witch in turn. They were in this together and she had had just as much of a hand in it as she had. Anicka had yet to see @ares, or Issadora May Wentzell come into the tent. Though she suspected that the latter would not arrive without the former at all… She hadn’t seen any of the rest of her children yet either, or her nephews, and they knew that they would all be in quite the heap of trouble if they didn’t show up at some point. She knew that @philip had gone to pick up the girl that he had come asking for a dress for the other day. @amelia she believed her name was… A pureblood name, which was good, but she didn’t think that she could immediately place her, or her family in her mind. Something that at least she couldn’t say for Ellanora’s fiancé. They had known Elliot Lochlan MacGuffin for quite some time now, and she was at least pleased with that match. Looking up again Anicka smiled when she saw @samuel slip into the tent, but it was the absence of @cali with him that had her brows furrowing for a moment. Where was his fiancée? She didn’t have more than a moment to ponder it though before someone else approached her and occupied her attention in a greater manner than speculation.

Esther felt that the only reason she’d been invited to this ball was for much the same reason she’d been allowed early leave from Hogwarts during the lockdown back in June. In her mind, that reason was most certainly her father, his loyalties to the minister, and his ties to the Death Eater cause. Somehow she had been granted these ‘privileges’ as a perk to being biologically knitted to someone of Raymond’s notability, but the irony was that she had no real interest in it at all.

She did worry what people might think of where she stood; after all Esther most certainly was not on the same page when it came to the blood purity debate as her father and his comrades were. She found it quite sickening if she were honest. Turning up to events like these might make some people wonder. At times she contemplated how she managed to even get off the hook and even be accepted to things like these given she was a half-breed herself. If it weren't for the fact that she were confident Raymond wasn't going to kill her then she'd probably be quite worried it was a trap of sorts. She’d decided to come along tonight really for one reason, and that was to keep up appearances in front of him. To keep him off of her back for awhile so to speak.

She had come alone. Now that her and Max were through, she didn’t have a date anymore. Esther hoped that Raymond would notice she was without the werewolf, just in case he had any doubts that she’d cut ties with him. As she wandered up into the tent, she let her gaze dance around the interior noting that it was all very aesthetically pleasing. The people, she barely knew them, including her hosts for the evening, who she intended to ‘thank’ for the invite later on our of politeness, after they weren’t so swamped. A couple folks were recognizable as past students, or the parents of her students, the various members from the Ministry sticking out like a sore thumb to her. Esther aimed to fly under the radar as much as possible.

That’s when she noticed @samuel, and after doing a double take made a definite bee line towards him. Against her better judgement, knowing her friend’s fiance most certainly had a distaste for the blonde witch, the instinct to go over to him as a friend and a security blanket of sorts was so strong it had her practically jogging over to him. “Didn’t expect to see you here…” she told him, standing beside him and skimming the room with her eyes, “Where’s Calli?” This seemed much more like her kind of thing than his, but it was probably a good idea to know whether she needed to avoid her own friend tonight before she got herself into any more trouble.

OUTFIT

Outfit

Calliope didn't want to be here, not because she didn't like one of the hosts, she loved Anicka dearly but because she just wanted to be at home with her family. This was the first time since Jeremy had been born that both parents had been away from him, normally either she was at home with him whilst @samuel did what he needed to (including being locked in Hogwarts) or on the rare occasion she had to do something, Jeremy was with his dad. She trusted Sophia and Ti with their son but she just didn't want to be away from him. Of course, it could be argued there'd been a couple of instances that she and Samuel had been away from Jeremy for five minutes or so but Kit had watched him in that small amount of time and Kit was in their house so Jeremy was still comfortably at home. It was rough and she knew she was worrying unnecessarily but she was still trying to get used to being a mother and she did find some comfort in the knowledge that Sophia knew how she was feeling because she'd felt that way too with Audrey.

Tonight Calliope intended to try and enjoy herself and she hoped Samuel would agree to only stay for maybe one or two hours because she knew that it was rough on her fiancé too, after all he'd already lost a lot of time with his son when he was stuck at Hogwarts and she had a feeling that Kit wasn't going to be too keen to be staying at the ball for longer than necessary too, she actually wondered if Kit was already at the ball, she knew he was attending it with Imogen but she also knew that the young wizard was on edge and Calli couldn't blame him, there was going to be a lot of Death Eaters in attendance and she had a terrible feeling that Kit's father would either be there or have eyes there. It was why she had her wand in easy reach in case she needed to defend him, she knew Kit was capable of looking after himself but the minute Samuel had brought him home to stay with them, Kit's safety and well-being had become the responsibility of Samuel and Calliope, she didn't mind at all but her maternal instincts had well and truly kicked in and extended to the care and protection of her fiancé’s student.

The brunette had been incredibly relieved when Jeremy had started to fuss before she was about to leave, it gave her an excuse to put off going to the ball for just a little while longer but she also knew that sooner or later she would have to go, her father had raised her properly, and part of the propriety she'd been taught was to attend functions, even if you didn't want to. She knew Samuel had been hesitant to go on ahead to the ball but as they both knew, if Jeremy fussed enough, Calliope may not have been able to go because her son took priority and it would just be rude if neither of them showed up, as it was Jeremy had only fussed for a short while, Calli had fed him and hung back long enough to sing her son to sleep, she didn't quite have the same singing ability as Samuel, but she could sing well enough and Jeremy often fell asleep when she began to sing her lullaby to him.

It hadn't been too long after Samuel had left that she managed to follow and she strolled up to the entrance, holding out her invite, she was relieved they'd been given one each or else Samuel going ahead of her with their invite would have spelled trouble. She smiled politely as she was nodded inside and she strolled past them, her gaze scanned around the area and she had to say she was suitably impressed with the decorations, she made a note to seek out Anicka later, but right now she wanted to find her fiancé, the anxiety of being here meant that she wanted – needed - the reassurance of Samuel. Luckily it wasn't long before her gaze fell on her wizard stood at the side and her lips curled up into a tender smile as she made her way over to him, feeling herself starting to relax with every step she got closer to him, as it was her expression fell ever so slightly as she saw @esther join him and she stopped, looking visibly upset for a moment, not because the witch was talking to Samuel but because she was sick of Samuel doubting her and making assumptions that she didn't like the witch, when in all actuality Calli couldn't care less about Esther, she had more important things to deal with in her life and it actually annoyed her that both Samuel and Esther didn't think that, Calli wasn't immature like they seemed to think and it hurt a lot to have her fiancé, of all people think like that. She wanted to go and be with her wizard but she instead she dropped her gaze and turned, making her way instead to Anicka despite intending to go a little later in the evening. ”Lady @anicka , thank you for the invite. It looks lovely here.” She told her honestly, trying to keep her voice steady. She gave @attie a polite smile and a nod before retreating and instead taking her place on the other side of the area, wondering if her father had an invite or if he would even attend, it would be a comfort to see him if he did.

outfit

​Thorfinn hadn't wanted to go to the ball and had had half a mind to burn the invitation with a spell when it came. That would, however, have been childish and beneath him, especially since the ladies Wentzell and Finley had framed the whole thing as the Minister's Ball. He was the head of a Department, a Death Eater and one of the most loyal to the cause. If he had declined the invite or not appeared altogether, it would have looked like there was a rift in their ranks. Whilst Thor would be the first to admit that they were people Marked same as him that he would rather spontaneously caught on fire, letting it be known in such crucial moment would be disastrous. Or at all. If he had to deal with people he'd rather murder instead to keep the peace, to keep purebloods in power, he would. He'd hate it, of course, but would do it.

Therefore, not even the reservations he had about the family itself was enough of an excuse for Thor to risk offence and he had taken Leda's arm to escort her to the blasted Ball. She had wanted to go even less than him, if that was even possible, but had not complained when he declared they were to make at the very least a token appearance. To make the whole ordeal a little less unbearable, Thor had talked to @eleanor and they had decided to go together, all of them. Roma, it seemed, was unwell and his cousin was determined to go anyway. He met up with her, @fernando - who was for some reason escorting Loraine - and Ivan, who had the traitor Warrington's daughter @blanche on his arm. Brilliant. Amalthea would arrive whenever Lancelot Carrow decided to grace them with his presence, he understood, and there was no reason to worry about Vesper making a scene - cousin Verena had assured him she was thankfully firm in her path of not being a disgrace. All in all, there weren't many ways things could go wrong and he fervently hoped it would stay like this.

Nodding to some acquaintances of his like @creed - was that Parkinson's sister with him? - and @malcom and smiling to @felix who was with his pretty - and somewhat his cousin - wife, he watched as El went to greet Lady @attie . Maybe he should go greet the hostesses himself. Firmly taking Leda by the arm, he walked to the part of the tent where the ladies were, glowing with their jewels and elaborate gowns. Lady @anicka was busy, receiving guests so he waited patiently by the side with his wife until she had an opening. Placing a stiff smile in his lips, he inclined his head respectfully to the woman. "Lady Wentzell, we were very honoured by the invite. Yourself and Lady Finley have done a wonderful job," he said, in his usually flat way. He kept his polite smile fixed and inclined his head on Lady Athena's way as he said it. "You know my wife, Lady Leda Rowle," and Leda, no matter how difficult she was, could play the part of agreeable wife in public well enough to be more than passable.

outfit

​Having grown up in a household where there had never been displays of affection between her parents - and later marrying a man who would not have known affection if it hit him with an Unforgivable -, Pansy had been taken aback by the shift in @creed 's attitude after the proposal. He had been more vocal with his feelings and also more tactile. It made the witch both thrilled and slightly uncomfortable. She had spoken to Fernando, who laughed at her and pointed out that she could have chosen a more reserved man, if love made her uncomfortable. She wasn't sure that was the case but had resolved not to say anything to Jameson just yet. She smiled sardonically at his compliment, acerbic personality taken over even to the man she loved. He didn't mind, or at lest he had never minded before. "Your eyes deceive you, surely," Pansy drawled, warmth on her voice.

The kisses in public had to stop though. She could not abide by people thinking her soft or tamed, not when for so long she had been nothing but a simpering chit. Pansy's hands tightened on Jameson's arm, nails digging in slightly as they walked towards the hostess. She hadn't turned away from him, had melted slightly at the contact even but this was something to be learnt about the vicious British purebloods. "Next time you kiss me in front of people who would rather rip us to shreds I'll bite you," it was her only warning, softened by a side smile. She nodded and smiled towards her brother @fernando , her friend @eleanor and her children, who were accompanied by @thorfinn , his wife and the usual cloud of gloom. If asked, Pansy would rather spend the rest of the night in their company but Jameson steered her towards the hostesses. The smile she offered Lady @attie was practised polite, half charming and half mysterious. Theo usually called it the best way to make people either fall in love with you or try to strangle you.

"The pleasure is all mine, Lady Finley," Pansy inclined her head slightly. "The job here was wonderfully done. Events such as these demand so much dedication." She had, on occasion, planned a few parties in Italy for Frederico but her late husband had preferred to attend balls instead of throwing them. It was just as well to her, who thought very little of most people who made the Italian pureblood society and could think of few things worse than putting on a hostess face to them in her own home.

"Well met, Lady Wentzell," Pansy smiled warmly to @anicka . Whilst only Fernando and Fernando knew about her interesting addiction to the HOME Magazine, she was sure Jameson would have caught up by now. "And Lord Nott, it's a delightful to see you. I'm good friends with your cousin, Theodore. Though I don't suppose there is any chance of him showing up today, more's the pity." Blaise would come, she was sure, and very likely Draco. Genevieve as well, though whether they would see their friend or Lady Rosier was anybody's guess.

Tonight was not a night Nick was looking forward to. Balls weren’t exactly his thing and with the added break Ophelia and he were going through, he was second guessing himself. He needed to go. As a Ministry employee and pureblood it would be in bad taste to not show. The man also knew he couldn’t afford to lose the connections, though he was sure this wouldn’t exactly be the safest of nights. It was no secret tensions were high. Gathering a group of Death Eaters to one place was a risk and the man wasn’t keen on staying long enough to find out how long before tensions rose to critical. This was far more for appearance sake than anything, but he would make the most of it.

Putting on the one tuxedo he owned, Nick made sure to adjust everything before he went to get his date. Rather than show up alone, the man had sought out a friend, @zara . Lacking confidence on this type of thing, it would be helpful to have a friend there for support. Unfortunately, he was running late. Working on a new experimental potion had caught his attention and the man had lost track of time. It wasn’t something he was necessarily upset about, but it did mean he didn’t have time to truly make sure everything was in place, leaving his hair a bit on the messier side. If that was the worst thing about the evening, he would call it a success.

With his date for the evening by his side, Nick to a steadying breath and entered the large tent in the backyard, set up for this occasion. There were a few people he recognized from his own school days, though most had changed. He supposed the same could be said for himself as well. The man clutched Zara’s arm a little tighter, unsure what he should do next. It was customary to greet the hosts, but there was a line and the man wasn’t sure he wanted to wait. Perhaps he would let Zara lead. She seemed far better at all of this social climbing. “Do you want to wait to greet the hosts or find something to drink first?”

outfit

The Suit

The last month or so had been incredibly entertaining now he had entered the dating scene again with one Lady @melanie . The previous night out they had been on to the Adria had gone so well in fact that when the invitation for the Ball arrived with his usual mail owl he hadn't really thought about taking anyone else as his date. As far as the evening ahead looked he felt he was going to be in amazing company for the nights events and regardless of what happened nothing waa going to ruin his mood. Even if an army of mentally unhinged Mudbloods tried to descend on them (though he was sure on the impossibility of it) and he was forced to protect his lady like there was no tomorrow. If they did there would be no tomorrow... for the monsters at least.

Turning up 5 minutes early to Melanie's door, he took another quick moment to make sure his tie was straight and his brows were smooth and there was no chance of anything in his teeth before making his presence known. Then he leaned up against the doorframe on his forearm and waited for the dazzling witch to come and greet him so he could whisk her away to the planned festivities and show her off. And when she finally did show her pretty face he was nearly lost for words. She looked radiant. Honestly he couldn't imagine her wearing anything that he disagreed with... mostly because she seemed to make even the plainest outfit look top of the line. "Excuse me while I pick my jaw up, Mellie. You look...
Stunning. Absolutely stunning." He finally managed, smiling brightly as he slid an arm around her waist to prepare for the sidelong apparition. Didn't he feel blessed. Clearing his throat, he looked a tad sheepish as he gave her a playful squeeze. "Shall we then?"
He walked forward with her and they twisted away with a sharp crack.

The 'Venue' so to speak was what he expected and far more as he cast his gaze around, smiling at those closest who he might not have immediately recognised. The smile all but slid off his face with a loud thud when he recognised the back of #samuel 's head and he immediately led his witch in the opposite direction. It was almost as if he was never going to be free of his Staff ever again, in a way. They always seemed to turn up like cursed sickles. Though he supposed... so long as @esthergarnet wasn't present... or at least kept her distance...
He noticed @attie a moment later and swept them both over to her as the crowd parted almost like the red sea for moses and came to a graceful stop beside her. Ares' family and a co-hostess, so an immediate point of interest and pleasantries. "Evening, Athena, it's nice to see you again. Everything looks spectacular." He greeted the blonde warmly, gently pulling Mellie in to his side. "May I introduce you to my pretty date this evening, Lady Melanie Burke? Mellie, this is Lady Athena Finley, a family member of Ares'." He went on to introductions, all the while keeping a subtle eye out for the other rather paeticular faces he needed to watch out for. He noted Lady Bulstrode was already tgere- he had waited for a pause to approach anyway- and he smiled at her though stayed silent. He would introduce himself again if need be soon, but he really preferred to focus singularly qhen dishing out compliments and inteoductions. He was looking forward to @juliusavery turning up... the profuse thanks for sparing his sanity by removing the cretins from his school really was just waiting to be offloaded on him. And to congratulate him on a job so very well done... Though now he'd caught sight of Copeland he was looking forward to running into @lucian too. So many faces... He'd make sure to get round them all. No sooner has he said this than he saw @eleanor appear and a different bright smile alighted his face. "Lady Eleanor! Pleasure to see you here; this is Lady Melanie Burke. Am I right to imagine Roma is here with you?"

To say Derrick was excited would be an understatement. This was the life the man had dreamed of. This was the type of night he had longed for and finally he was getting the chance at it. He had taken the day off to make sure he would be ready, appropriately attired, his wife dressed accordingly at his side. With the baby it hadn’t exactly been the easiest to find a dress she was comfortable in, but they had finally settled on one to match the green suit he wore. The couple certainly looked the part, but the young man needed to find the confidence to match it. That was taking a bit more work. Tonight was a big night. He hoped to make some more connections, to impress those there, but that was a tall order. He knew that much. He hadn’t exactly been able to prove himself to more than Kurt and Edmund, though they were certainly a step in the right direction.

Walking into the living room he offered his wife a smile. “Love, you look absolutely stunning. You are going to blow everyone away tonight,” he said before pulling her into his arms. He loved how @katlyn felt there. She fit perfectly, even carrying their child. He placed a small kiss on her forehead, careful to not mess up her hair or makeup and pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. “Are you ready?” It didn’t really matter if she was or not, they needed to be going. Taking her he apparated them to the place and made the small walk to the backyard filled with a large tent and people.

It was an impressive sight and Derrick couldn’t help the overwhelmed feeling beginning to rise in the pit of his stomach. Tonight was the first test he would truly have on how to act civilized, while remaining the proper distance of formal. All he really wanted to do was twirl his wife around, show her off to the masses gathered. That wasn’t a smart plan so instead, he led her over to @anicka and @attie for the evening to give the introductions. “Lady Wentzell, Lady Finley, thank you for your invitation. Might I introduce my wife, Katlyn Smith,” he said trying to muster everything he could to sound the part.

Outfit