Being raised in the world of Death Eaters certainly had given the man an advantage on the evening. Balls were a regular occurrence, something his mother had loved to hold much to his father’s displeasure. Being the son of a pureblood family had certainly meant being shown off at such events, though as he grew that stopped. Instead the other children would be sent to his playroom, allowed to enjoy themselves rather than worry about making a fuss at such a formal event. The house elves watched them and Kurt found that more pleasurable. When they were deemed old enough they were invited back, taught to dance and carry on the traditions of their parents. He would be instilling the same in his own children, though the thought of having three at once frightened him. @xiomara was handling it well, though she certainly didn’t seem happy about already showing. Choosing an outfit for the evening had become an ordeal, but the man knew better than to say more than that his wife looked lovely. He hadn’t seen what she had finally settled on, but he was sure it would be stunning as she was.

The man was seated on the couch, pouring over some papers for work on Monday when his wife entered the room. She was a beauty in red and Kurt could feel his pulse rise. He had to be careful or they would completely miss the ball, she looked absolutely stunning. “Darling, you look amazing. I am surely the luckiest man to get to call you my wife,” he said as he stood, walking over to close the gap between them. For as much as the man didn’t want to mess up her perfect face, he couldn’t help himself but plant a firm kiss on her lips. “I would like nothing more than to stay here and spend time with you.” It was the truth. He wanted to enjoy her tonight, but getting to show her off would make the ball worth it, even if it meant dealing with the full lot of Death Eaters.

Taking his wife’s hand he apparated them to the checkpoint, making sure to be careful with her. Kurt would never forgive himself if he was careless and hurt the babies. They were his future, the future of his line. Giving Xio a smile small he led her to the backyard where a large tent stood. It was impressive, but the man knew his part today. He needed to remain the cordially cold man he was in the office, play the part well. His soft side was specifically reserved for his wife. No one else got the pleasure of seeing it. Making his way in he nodded to the folks he knew before spotting the Ladies @anicka and @attie. They were first on the priority list. “Lady Wentzell and Lady Finley, thank you for inviting us for the evening’s festivities. You know my wife, Lady Finnegan,” he said simply. There was no need for more. Offering a nod he escorted his wife to one of the tables, making room for others to greet the hosts and pay their respects. That was the way these nights worked. “What may I get you to drink, love?”

Formal attire

dress

The last Ball she had attended hadn't been amazing. It had started well enough, with @carrow escorting her just like now. There had been teenage drama, of course, as there always was at school, but she had been more than capable of ignoring it. What she hadn't been able to ignore was a mudblood acting out and everyone making a big fuss about it instead of refusing to deign it with any attention at all. On top of making a big deal about it, they had decided to make it a public spectacle. If the only ones attending had been the older students then it would've been just fine, but there were young students there. Like her little brother. Diodorus was enthusiastic enough in his attempted torturing of fellow students without seeing the Headmaster cut off a tongue and several fingers. Who had to deal with it all afterwards? Her. And all the other little brats who couldn't handle a little blood too. And then someone had summoned the Minister and who wanted to welcome the Minister with a bleeding mudblood on the floor? Not her. Not that anyone was doing anything about it, so she had stepped in. Some fools thought she ought not to, but she had handled the situation delicately and nobody's pride had been stepped on. So there. Lancelot had settled out of his funk soon enough and she had made it up to him. No harm done. This time, hopefully, there would be no dramatic events and the Ball would just be that. A Ball.

"I am glad we postponed the wedding. We still have to figure out who we can afford to not invite. Any vetoes?" She spoke to Lance as they walked up to the tent. When they came inside she spotted her mother, her father - @thorfinn - and her aunt @eleanor with all her cousins. Apparently aunt Roma wasn't there, but that was just as well. There were other Selwyns around too, her mother's family, and a few MacNairs, who were her father's. She hoped @vesper would show up soon. One of her favourite cousins. Though Loraine was here with @fernando and Loraine and Vesper didn't get along. Unfortunately. They would make quite a team. The Headmaster was there, @sebastian , who was a friend of Lance's if she wasn't much mistaken, so they would probably greet him at some point in the evening.

"You haven't met my extended family yet, have you? I think you and cousin Jules would get along fantastically. You have the same hobbies." Amy turned to Lance with a raised eyebrow. Yes, aunt Eleanor had always encouraged @jules to have a healthy fascination with the dark arts. At least one of her family members wouldn't dislike Lance on principle, like father did. Why he had agreed to have her marry him if he didn't like the boy was beyond her. Maybe out of respect for Rodolphus Lestrange. Must have been. "I'll introduce you when he arrives. I think he's escorting the Minister's niece. They've been... courting? I suppose that's it."

Spending the night with a bunch of Death Eaters was not Randall’s idea of fun. As a Ministry employee he hadn’t been shocked to receive the invitation, but he hadn’t planned on accepting it. At least not until @delphi pointed out how that might look. They needed him working and not going might strike the wrong tone, making that impossible. Already his job had changed, morphed into something completely different. He supposed that was bound to happen given who was now in power. Instead of torturing the mutts they were working to use them for whatever means they could. He could adjust, had adjusted to the new ideals. That was what was required to keep working. It was life. Nothing more. The man wasn’t thrilled, but not much other than his girlfriend and child thrilled him anymore. They were his sole focus and that wasn’t likely to change.

Having to get a sitter for Grayson had proved to be far easier than he had expected, meaning he had one less excuse to not go. Readying himself had been a painstakingly slow process, trying to draw out the time before they had to leave. Deep down he knew it wouldn’t work. Delphi had done her best to keep him on task. The only saving grace was how stunning she looked, something he had commented on frequently already that evening. She would make the night worth it. They had left early, arriving right on time to the disappointed of Randy. The tent was large, taking up the majority of the backyard, decorated tastefully. It was impressive, to say the least, though he felt more intimidated than anything.

Entering he nodded to the few he recognized from the Ministry. He wasn’t planning to stay long, but that would be left up to Delphi. Tonight was the night he would follow her lead, let her set the pace. She deserved a night out to be spoiled, dressed up to the max. “Would you like something to drink? I feel that might be the best thing I’m for tonight,” he said with a nervous chuckle. This wasn’t the world he was used to.

Outfit

OUTFIT

Marcus was freaking out; no, that was an understatement. He hadn't wanted to go to this ball, and had almost ripped up the invitation. But Vesper wanted to go, and his brother was going, so he needed to just man up and show up. He actually thought that his bosses might be there, and there was no way he was getting on Olivia's dark side. He wanted to keep a bit of distance between them for now, even though the team had most certainly shaped up after he had given them a rather rough pep talk. They were getting better about scoring points, they were following through with everything he had asked of them, but there were still things to improve. Marcus always wanted to talk Quidditch, but he knew that if he even approached Olivia she was likely going to give him an earful over their standings. They were below the Falcons, and he was absolutely losing his mind over this. He knew that he had talked Vesper's ear off on it for the past few days, and he was actually shocked that she hadn't cursed him yet.  He supposed that meant that they were doing well in their relationship, but he wasn't sure... This was probably the longest one that he had been in, and he had almost forgotten that his brother was going to be at the party, and that meant that they would meet. That was another terrifying thought, and he was getting more nervous by the second.

He had picked up @vesper at the exact time, and then whisked her off to the ball's location with his invitation clutched in his hand. It was to his dismay that it had crinkled slightly, and he knew he had a frown on his face as he turned towards her. "Are we technically clashing?" he asked, full of concern. This was one of the first events that he had shown up to with a witch, and it was a few seconds later that he remembered what @xiomara had given him. "Oh, I got you a corsage thing. Is it still a corsage if it's only one?" He presented the flower without much ceremony, trying to remember the name. It was 'nigella', or something... Xio would know. His friend had been proud of him for managing to keep a girl for that long, and his face relaxed as he recognized more and more people around the ball. There was Sebastian... with a witch on his arms? His brother had a girlfriend? He elbowed Vesper, trying to subtly point out that fact while he tried to wrap his head around it. Had Sebastian told him and he just forgot? That was always possible... He hadn't even noticed the regime change until his brother had brought it up one day over dinner.

He reluctantly nodded at @gerald because there was something terrifying about knowing that the man had witnessed him ruin a bookshop. He was thankful that his brother had covered that up, and he wondered if the man threatened him to keep it under wraps. Marcus hadn't heard anything about it, and Vesper hadn't teased him about it, so it might be a safely kept secret. Knowing that they had to greet the hostesses, Marcus tagged along with his brother and the other witch, whose name he caught moments later. "Lady Finley," he managed to mumble out, then after trying to come up with another proper greeting, he simply just dashed to the side, trailing behind his brother. "Hey, you didn't tell me you were bringing a bird!" Then, a few moments later, he blushed. He still hadn't introduced Vesper- she was going to kill him. "Right, this is Vesper, my... Girlfriend? Can I safely say that? And this is my brother, Lord @sebastian ." 

Roxanne had debated not coming. Balls weren’t exactly something she particularly enjoyed, especially when she was forced to attend alone. Lachlan couldn’t come. He would be detained, potentially killed on the spot. She wouldn’t risk that, couldn’t risk that. Instead she had wanted to spend the night with him at the safety of the sanctuary. She knew she couldn’t. It would look far too suspicious if she didn’t at least make an appearance. Working at the Ministry and the school dictated that. Tonight was a time to get together with those she worked for, make the right impression. She was just thankful her boyfriend had understood her position, accepted she would have to go.

Dressing in a simple black evening gown, Roxy knew she looked the part. Even for not wanting to go she wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to dress up a bit. Arriving at the large tent she plastered a smile to her face, trying to appear natural. Hopefully tonight would be painless, but she doubted it. For being there less than a few minutes the witch was already ready to leave, to seek the comfort of the strong arms of her boyfriend. She missed Lachlan. Spotting @anicka, she gracefully made her way over, nodding slightly before greeting the host of the evening. “Lady Wentzell, thank you for the invitation. It looks lovely,” she said. It was the truth, no matter how simple the statement. Glancing around she looked for others she knew, spotting a few from both the Ministry and Hogwarts. They all appeared to have guests and it made the loneliness that much sharper in her mind. The witch knew she wouldn’t be staying much longer.

Gown

This wasn’t her thing. She didn’t really go to things like this, and she wasn’t really someone who moved in society. She baked, she went out and that was about it. The main reason that she was going, was Bradley. She knew that he would be there and that he would be bringing Donna Parkinson. A woman who was prettier, richer and a pureblood. Was she threatened? Yes, but she knew that she shouldn’t be. She still loved him. She wanted to be his, but she knew that just giving into him was not doing either one of them any good. She had taken ages to pick out a gown, the one she had picked was actually one that she had worn when Bradley had taken her out to an Opera. She had not cared much for him, but it had made him happy, and that was all she cared about.

@nicholas was a good friend of hers, she knew that he didn’t want her, but she knew that it would drive Bradley wild seeing her there with someone else. She made herself look as best as she could,and had happily joined Nick when he picked her up. She was nervous, but was doing her best to not let that show. After all, best to not let the lions know you are bleeding when in their den.

”Greeting the hosts and then drinks I think. She said while attempting to discreetly adjust the top of her gown. Damn it, she should have used a charm to make sure that it stayed up. Pulling her wand she cast another charm and then stowed it in her bag, hopefully it stuck.

Outfit

Attire

On the list of things he enjoyed doing or occupying himself with, Gerald found that attending Balls, Gala's and Dances were around middle to bottom of the tier. Not only did he have to pander to the host/hostess (in this case, plural) and their... unspoken guidelines... but he also had to pretend to enjoy the masses of faces who wete only there to show face. Oh he agreed that these events had to hapoen occasionally - it came with the status- but it didn't make them anymore entertaining. The sole use was for making new connections, finding out dirt on people (there was always a gossip in these circles) and potentially indirectly furthering his own agenda. The reason he was attending tonight? He hasn't been to one of these for years, unapologetically, and he knew @raymond would have to go. He hadn't seen his brother since he was still incarcerated. He wondered if his 'new' daughter was still irking him... nothing was more pleasant to watch than Raymond getting annoyed. It was like Yule come early sometimes. The unpredictability kept things... thrilling...

Handing over his invitation, he flashed a lazy smile and sauntered on into the main ball itself at a leisurely gait as he cast his gaze about critically. "The Sunset Ball"... how... fitting, he supposed. Some of the attendee's seemed to have taken the name literally and he exercised his mask of polite indifference to avoid potentially laughing. It was bad enough he had to wear a tie- or dog collar as he so affectionately called it- without what some of the Witches had chosen to wear. He picked out the hostesses almost immediately as @anicka and @attie were both being swarmed by other guests so he took the initiative to give them a wide berth until the scores of people surrounding them depleted considerably, looking around for a drinks table or server. Suits? He loved suits. Ties and other overly formal wear? Not so much.

Then his gaze fell upon @esthergarnet as a couple moved, standing next to who he could only assume was @samuel as he remembered the descriptions he had heard from Damion when he had worked there. Yet he didn't see @calliope anywhere near them. That in itself was rather curious, but as he already had plans and such to execute he made a nonchalant beeline foe the aforementioned Witch nonetheless. She really did look like her -tragically- late mother. Seeing no Raymond so far, his shoulders set and his back steiaghtened as he finally appeared beside the pair with a slight smile playing around the corners of his lips. "Pardon me, but am I correct in believing you're... Esther? Garnet?" He drawled, glancing momentarily at Samuel with a nod before returning his gaze to the witch in question. "Evening, Mr Copeland." He added as an after thought. Then holding oit his hand to her, he took a half step forward and inclined his head politely. "Gerald Kvothe, finally we meet."

He had no expectations or previous assumptions on how this would go, but he believed she'd know better than to show abject horror if she truly felt that way. Considering how calm she had looked before he had turned up he knew pretty solidly that her "father" had yet to show. How embarrassing for the latter. Talking of embarrassment... he wondered where about @flint was hiding before catching his eye a little ways away... and shooting him a grin. Amazing, for once they were both on the same page, to pardon the pun.

The job that Randy had at the Ministry had few perks. This was one of them. She knew that he was not all that happy at the Ministry at the moment, but that had a lot more to do with the fact that they were changing so much of what Randy loved to do. She was glad that he was a little safer though. Since the attack she wasn’t too thrilled that he wouldn’t leave, but she knew that it was a large part of who he was, ad she was not about to ask him to change anything about him. She loved him. She had told him so. She didn’t expect anything from him, except to keep being good to her and a good father to their son. Both of which he was doing well at.

She wasn’t sure what the protocol was for these things, but she saw a long line, and that probably meant greeting the hosts. She knew that he didn’t want to be there, and she was so glad that he had gone, but she needed him to be calm. Putting her hand in his she smiled up at him and rubbed his hand with her own. ”We need to go greet the hosts and then we can get drinks and maybe a slow dance. I promise to reward you later tonight, for being so good.” She said before giving him a saucy wink and pulling him in the direction of the reception line.

Outfit

Outfit

She didn’t know what it was about him, but she thought that she rather liked the idea that @sebastian was coming to pick her up. Melanie hadn’t really thought much of the invitation when it had come. There was a ball, and she was a Burke, and of course she had been invited. It was simple as that really. She thought that she would go, simply because it was highly improper to turn down an invitation, and then the letter had come. Asking if she would go with him. The answer had come easier than she had expected, an of course came easier than anything. She had had a good time when they had gone to dinner, and this was just another date, in front of a lot of people, that she thought wouldn’t remember whom she was. She knew that @olivia would be there, and that she was grateful for. And her sister of course, she knew that @genevieve would have come with @carlisle. But at the same time she didn’t really know either of them all that well anymore. She knew Olivia a little better than she knew Genevieve, and for her part she thought that that was probably how it was going to go. Her sister was very unlike her in a lot of ways, and Melanie didn’t really know how to see past that. She had never had to try before, and while she would embrace that she was her sister, and she would love her and take care of her, but she wasn’t going to force a closeness there. It just simply wasn’t there…

When she heard the knock on the door about five minutes early she smiled and headed in that direction. Pulling the door open she thought that she was about to surprise him. Melanie didn’t often wear light colors. Or colors other than black and the darkest purples, blues and greens… But she had opted for gold, and sh rethought that it would be enough to get his attention. She watched the colors around him pulse and change as he looked her over and she shook her head at his words. “Thank you My Lord.” Chuckling lightly she stepped out of the house and closed the door behind her before leaning into his side when he slipped an arm around her. “Of course.” If nothing else she thought that she would get to see him work the room tonight, and that was something that she was looking forward to. She had been the wife of a businessman for long enough that she knew how to smile, and give compliments at the opportune moments. She knew how to play the part, and she wanted to try and show him that tonight. That she may not have lived in England for the majority of her life, but that she did know how to play the game that was his world.

She let him lead her around the room, this was his element, and she was just the pretty date at his side. Melanie knew that there was a time and a place that a woman could be intelligent, and witty, and there was a time and a place to stand there as support for the man who’s arm you stood on. And right now was a time to smile, and meet people, and be supportive. She could admit that the tent was gorgeously draped and decorated. It reminded her more of mainland Europe than it did of here in England, and she thought that that was a reflection of their hostesses more than anything. The Wentzells were Czech, and the Finleys were Danish. That much she did know. Sebastian led her in the direction of @attie, and she thought briefly to herself that the woman looked a little out of her element. Not from her facial expressions, but by the colors of her aura that were swirling around her. She was poised, and graceful, elegant, if she was anything, but this was not her comfort zone. She tipped her head to the other witch when Sebastian introduced her and she smiled a proper smile for such an occasion. “It’s a pleasure Lady Finley. You look lovely, that dress serves you remarkably.” She had met Ares already, purely on accident, when she had been in the Ministry talking to Olivia about some of the legalities of her shop that her father hadn’t sorted out before he had died, but she had yet to meet anyone else actually related to him. She didn’t think that Issadora May Wentzell counted just yet…

Melanie was aware of the fact that Sebastian’s attention was fixed on more than just their present conversation with the witch in front of them. His hand on her side moved just enough when his eyes scanned the room. She was unsurprised when he was introducing her again only moments later, and she had a feeling that this was how the evening was going to go. She was going to have to try and remember all the names and faces by the time that they reached the end of the night. The second introduction was followed by a question that was not directed towards her, and so the witch simply inclined her head to the second blonde woman of the night before she fixed her demure smile to her features, and watched them speak. She was having quite the time reading Sebastian’s aura as it changed with each person that he talked to. Showing her whether or not he genuinely liked someone, or if he was speaking with them out of mere politeness. It was a trick that she hadn’t told him that she possessed yet, but one that let her know whether or not she really needed to work to charm someone herself or not while standing on his arm.

Outfit

He knew that she didn’t want to come. That Griffith knew, but he also knew that @andi was right. They couldn’t just not go… Davina Rhiannon Yaxley was having a difficult time losing her sister, and he couldn’t even imagine it. If he lost @kate, he didn’t know what he would be doing, and while he knew that she and Blair hadn’t been as close as he and Kate were, he knew that they had been working on it, and then to lose her, the way that they had lost her. It had her terrified, and there was nothing that they could do to stop it. He was worried about her, and he was worried about Andromeda, and he was even worried about Rodolphus Azazel Lestrange, but he wasn’t going to be able to do anything about the latter. He knew that he couldn’t actively worry about Rodolphus, because he thought that of all of them he was the one that was most likely going to be fine. He had lost his wife, but that had been it. And that sounded terrible, but Griffith didn’t think that there was much of a connection there other than she had been his… Not the way that Davina was connected to her… Not the way that he didn’t even know how Andromeda was coping… But he thought that at least she had something she had to get up and take care of herself for. He had worried about Davina… He had been so worried about Davina that he had sided with the older witch when she had insisted on giving her IV fluids to keep her hydrated. She hadn’t been well, and he knew that she had to take care of herself and their daughter. He thought that she was better, that she was doing better, but this was also the first time that they had left the house since it had happened, and it had been almost a month.

Griffith wrapped his arm around her waist and held her against him, "Ready?" he asked her gently before he turned on the spot and they disappeared from Ireland, landing on their feet in Cambridge instead. He had never been to the Wentzells’ estate, but something told him that decadent would be one way to describe it, and he wasn’t wrong. Everything looked like it had been done just so, and he thought that his mother would appreciate it when she and his father arrived. Everyone in his family would be here tonight, and he thought that Rodolphus and Andromeda would make an appearance eventually, if the man could get Andromeda away from the boys long enough to get her here that was… He didn’t know what he had expected when Blair had died, but Andromeda taking the other baby too was something that he hadn’t been convinced would happen. Maybe he just didn’t understand the bond between women, but he thought that raising that baby would be hard… He wondered if his wife would have been able to do it… If Blair would have died, and it would have been them that ended up with the baby? He thought that it would have been hard on her, and all he could have done was support her. Try and help her… He was still trying to help her. He wanted her to eat more, he wanted her to get a better night’s sleep, but he didn’t want to push her either. He was at a loss, and all he could do was hold on to her tonight, and make sure that she was taken care of.

Looking around the room he saw that there were plenty of familiar faces in the crowd. People that he had known since childhood, and people that he worked with now. They were all one crowd, and he thought that they would get on well enough tonight. There were lines of people talking to both Lady Wentzell and Lady Finley, and he decided to forego that for the moment. They would thank them on their way out. It was easier than fighting the crowds now. Instead he turned to nod at @creed. He worked with the man in the department and he thought that until Davina found someone that she was comfortable enough talking to, or until his sister or Andromeda showed up to help her relax, he thought that they could head in that direction. “Creed.” He inclined his head to the other man and then gave a half bow to the woman standing next to him, “And Lady @pansy…” She had been a year younger than him in school, and he remembered her vividly. It would have been hard to forget her really. “My wife, Lady Davina Yaxley.” He didn’t know if the two witches would have known each other or not, but he thought that not was probably the answer, Pansy would have had a better inclination to have known Blair, and the moment that he thought of it he almost wished that he hadn’t introduced them. Blair’s death was still recent, and they had kept it private enough that not everyone knew just yet. Questions about her sister or her well-being may not be the best thing to have asked of her, but he had to hope that it simply didn’t happen.