Dazzle me, dazzle me, dazzle me in gold

@theodore | Outfit

There were few people that Hestia considered herself friends with, a fact that she attributed mainly to her being a twin. She had her own built in best friend in Flora, it was simple and easy. When she was younger she hadn't needed anyone else, she had her sister and that was more than enough for her. But there was a point where everyone needed another person, because she couldn't be around Flora constantly, that was far too negative for her. Flora was her second half, of course, and nothing could change that. They were attached from the start, they were reliant on one another... But conversations with other people, that was better, it was healthier. She had made quick friends with some of the other Slytherins, but Hestia could admit that she was aloof and cool even then. She was always more focused on her sister, always more focused on doing things right for her family. Besides, her house had each other's backs no matter what, they stood by each other constantly. She liked Sienna, they got along well, and she liked Theo as well. If she was being honest with herself, she thought that it was nice that she had found people who were just as close with their family, because it would have been strange otherwise. And she liked Theo, really, especially after she overlooked his blood status. He was good, even as a halfblood, he was cunning and fun to be around. She thought it was a stroke of luck when he had decided to come to Witch Weekly after he was injured.

Hestia felt terrible for him throughout the injury, though there wasn't much that she could do. Graduation did tend to drag friends apart; everyone went back to their families and their own paths after Hogwarts, and she was dealing with family problems during that time. But coming back to Witch Weekly and having a friend around was great, especially one who was working the same job. She had started off again as a celebrity reporter and had been able to reconnect with a friend that she had thought she had lost... A friend who did seem rather cool to her at the start, which she just assumed had something to do with her cousins. Most things were in response to something her cousins did, or her father did, but Hestia didn't care. She backed them no matter what, she would always understand the why of their motives, but she knew that it rubbed people the wrong way. She would deny those friends in a heartbeat if asked, of course, she would do whatever her family asked of her... She kept them around until then, though, if only because she thought Theo could change, at least a bit. He had to see that they were doing things for the good of the world, he had to understand that her father's death could not be in vain.

She leaned back in her chair, frowning down at the spread in front of her. Everything looked great... But something was missing, and she couldn't figure out what. Something wasn't there yet, something was lacking... She wanted to make sure that everything went well, that everyone got what they needed. She needed the paper to look beautiful, it needed to go out on Monday so she was wrapping everything up... Of course she wouldn't get Theo's column until a bit later, she wanted to make sure that they got the gossip of the weekend, and that was always when people were out and about. Hestia leaned over and grabbed her coffee cup, regarding everything with a serious gaze. It was almost perfect, but not quite. She needed something beautiful, something dazzling...

Outfit

His work and his daughter were the two things that Theo were the most proud off right now. Yes he was in a blossoming relationship but that was not something he wanted to go public with just yet. He didn’t want Rosie to be hounded and multitudes of reporters stalking her or heading to the Three Broomsticks to capture the scoop or exclusive on her dating a former Quidditch player. He wanted it to be just the two of them for now and he essentially wanted her to himself and he saw nothing wrong with that. They didn’t just hang around his flat or hers they did go out and tried to make it as much of a normal relationship as they could but he did not want to rush into something if she wasn’t prepared to do the same. He was going to let her dictate at what pace their relationship moved. After all he had first met her after she had been stood up on a date. Theo had made it worse by not returning any of her owls. However running into her at the hospital had really changed that and from there they had started to see each other more. Labels had not yet been put on each other but did not bother Theo as they were exclusive.

Theo knew that Rosie loved the fact he was a gossip writer as she would always try and get scoop out of him before the next issue of the magazine came out. And while she had certain ‘methods’ to extract the information from Theo he never revealed it beforehand. He wondered what Tia would think of it if he gave our details of his column before she had even read about it or the next issue of Witch weekly was published. He and the blonde witch who was now his editor knew each other before they had both landed jobs at the magazine and he supposed that it made for a more relaxed work environment. He had always liked Tia and would always enjoy talking or joking around with her. They had been in Slytherin together and while they sat on opposite sides of the political fence they didn’t let that get in the way of their friendship. Theo liked to think that he got along with most people or at least tolerated but that was in stark contrast to him not even getting along with his own parents. Theo felt he had had made enough of an effort where they were concerned.

For now he was prepared to focus solely on his work and Rosie. The man knew could balance his job and his relationship easily, after all he did have experience in doing that. Theo entered the offices for the magazine, his satchel slung over his shoulder containing his notebook and writing instruments. He still had time to refine his next column before he got to it to his editor. The man headed straight for his desk and pulled a face when he saw that his overused tea mug was still dirty, evidently he had been far to busy to keep his work space clean. Pulling out his wand he flicked it so his cup was clean before placing his bag on his chair and looking over and seeing Tia’s door open. Chuckling to himself he made his way over and knocked on the doorframe. ”Really more coffee Tia, you sure you’re not addicted to that stuff yet?”. Theo could hardly talk, he drank enough of the beverage itself. Though it was better he was addicted to that than what he had been addicted to in the past.

She thought she was doing better than she expected to for her age, she was doing everything that she wanted and more. She was a newly made editor of a paper, she was doing something important and fun at the same time. Witch Weekly was everything to her at this point, she was working hard to get it perfect each time that it went out and it really did take a lot out of her, it was something that took time and energy and a lot of focus. Hestia knew that she could handle it, she had been doing well so far, but it was hard. She wasn’t about to deny that the work was hard, but she liked hard work. There was a brief moment during her sorting where the hat almost put her there, it almost moved her into Hufflepuff and away from her sister… Of course familial bonds kept her the same, the tightness of the coil between her and Flora saved her in the end... Flora generally saved her, if she was being honest. Flora kept her from doing stupid things, Flora kept her from ruining the pages in front of her when she got really frustrated… Her sister was great at making sure that she didn’t do anything too stupid, and she was eternally grateful for it.

She would do anything for Flora, and her sister knew that. Everyone knew that at this point. They had been attached at the hip all throughout Hogwarts, and it was only after that they began to drift apart slightly. It was minimal for some people and terribly much for the two of them. Lufkin was difficult, she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel each day in classes. She liked being there, she loved learning, but she hated how far away she was from her sister and she hated the way that it felt to essentially be alone. She knew that she was never truly apart from Flora and that she wasn’t ever really alone; Hestia did have a lot of friends, she had people that she could trust and people she could rely on. But there were people that she had to pretend like she cared about, too, and then there were the ones that she had different beliefs from so she had to hold her tongue in public and be resentful in private.

“Oh, I’m certainly addicted,” she said, taking another swig of coffee. It was pretty commonly known that she drank far more coffee than she ought to, she was primarily made of coffee at this point. It didn’t leave her jittery at all, nor did she really mind it. Smiling winningly at Theo she placed her coffee cup down just so. “Did you bring me anything fascinating?”

To say that Theo was happy his life was picking up was an understatement. For the first time in a long time he felt like he was on the right track and that he was proud of his achievements. Sure there was not a day that went by where he didn’t think of his sister but he was trying to make her memory live on. She had always been someone he could count on and now that she was no longer here he had his brothers for support. Well really in the O’Donnell clan their support went both ways and he was grateful for that. He had always gotten on better with his siblings then with his parents. Theo wasn’t inclined in anyway to visit them at all. As far as he was concerned, they cared more about themselves rather than their children and he had known that from a young age. Maybe it was petty and childish of him to hold such a grudge but he was stubborn as hell and he was not going to drop it. He saw no fit reason to do so. At least his stubbornness served him well when it came to his job as a celebrity reporter. People could have begged him not to feature them in his article but he wrote for his fans and the readers of Witch Weekly. He had been a celebrity for long enough to know just how they used fame for only their benefit (he had been guilty of doing the same) and he was not prepared to give them that this faction now that he held the quill in his hand.

Writing was not hard for Theo to do. Of course it was one of the most natural things any person to do. Theo just had not been strong academically but that had certainly no inhibited him to make a name for himself and he was more determined than ever not to let his fame slip at all. However it was different this time, he was not doing it just for him, no, he was doing it for the magazine too. After all it was Tia that paid his bills at the end of the day. Not that he had many nowadays. His spending was a lot more subdued now. Even his apartment was not as fancy as he could afford. It at least worked in his favour when he was trying to get to know his daughter. The young girl detested Quidditch and having his fame from the sport displayed so blatantly would not be in his favour. Upon learning about her existence Theo of course had set aside the second bedroom at his flat for her. He hoped that when Christmas came she was willing to spend some time with him. He just wanted that. Theo just wanted to watch her grow up and to be there for her and didn’t think it was too much to ask.

He chuckled at his friend’s response as he adjusted his stance but remained leaning on the door frame. He straightened up and made his way further into her office and sat on the opposite of her desk and looked to her waggling his eyebrows slightly. ”I think you and so many others will be fascinated. I swung by the Chudley Cannons training….talk about a way for the owner to come out and with one of the players too. I honestly thought he was happily married, guess I was wrong” he shrugged but had the mischievous glint in his eye that Tia would have seen many times.

There was always something delicious about knowing things that others didn’t. She hadn’t realized that in Hogwarts, she was far more worried about what Flora was doing. But now? Now, Hestia knew that there was always something more delicious resting underneath the words that people said. There were things that she could poke at, things that she could only just begin to understand. That wasn’t what had brought her to Witch Weekly first, though. At first it had just been a job, something vaguely glamorous that she could do. Everyone read Witch Weekly. Everyone knew what it was. She knew that she didn’t have that little something that would have made her a model, she didn’t have enough skill with a camera to help herself out any other way. So she had written, she had used her words and her tongue to get herself a position as soon as she could. Hestia was a Slytherin for a reason; she knew how to get her way, she knew what to do to get people to like her. There were people who didn’t quite understand that, but she and Theo weren’t like that. They knew what they were doing, they had learned from the elder Slytherins and had used their words like a weapon. And at Witch Weekly they had to make sure that their knives were honed to perfection.

She almost wondered what would have happened if she had been different. If she had been sorted into Hufflepuff like she had almost been… If her sister hadn’t been sorted first, if she hadn’t blindly followed Flora anywhere and everywhere. Because she had been second, then… She had been slowly making her way to the first twin. Hestia and Flora, not the other way around. She was the leader, but she couldn’t let her sister down. So that had meant being sorted into Slytherin, that had meant convincing the hat for just the briefest moment longer that she would do better there. She wasn’t a missort, either. She was a Slytherin true and true, just like she was a Carrow. She had an interest in the Dark Arts, she had violent words and dangerous mood swings. There was no doubt about it. She might not have been just like her sister but she was close, she was similar enough to Flora that nobody ever really noticed the difference. Not that they would, seeing as the two were identical twins. But nobody really tried to bother, they generally just blinked and moved on, they only ever saw the Hestia that she wanted them to see. Even Gerald really hadn’t seen her undone, she was so determined to keep herself in a specific way.

Otherwise, it could go wrong. She couldn’t have that, not after so many years of making sure that everything went so perfect. She couldn’t deal with anyone thinking that she was someone else, she couldn’t have someone doubting her writing or her editorial skills. Hestia was someone that they needed to watch out for… She was someone that was going to shock them all. The sudden switch may have been because of the Death Eaters, because of her family in power. But Hestia deserved it, she worked harder than anyone to prove that she could handle anything. She knew that Theo knew that, she knew that the rest of the staff just had to believe it. It was all that Slytherin cunning that kept them doubting what she did, and it was fear of the regime that might have kept any naysayers from speaking out. That and the fear of Flora, too… Who would curse anyone in an instant for frowning at her. She was well protected up at Witch Weekly, and she also considered herself to be relatively well liked. “You did?” she asked, leaning forward onto her desk and pressing her lips together in a dangerous grin. “Really? Tell me more!” She moved her coffee mug slightly as she relished in the juicy gossip. With a great cover story they could beat their past circulation.

Theo knew that many people thought he had taken up the job at Witch Weekly as some kind of vindictive move to get back at all the people who had wronged him during his time as a Quidditch player. But in fact that theory was very far from the truth. Not many people had wronged him as some would suspect, if anything it was the opposite of that. He just had to get the upper hand so that no one would get in and write more rubbish about why he quit or how he had done so. The latter was definitely a very boring story involving him just walking into the owner’s office and explaining he had been forced to after being advised by both his brother and other healers at St Mungo’s. It was one of the hardest things the man had coped with to date. Since then Theo had definitely coped with greater challenges and more difficult hurdles. He tried not to dwell on them a lot of the time but there were times he could not stop those thoughts from popping up in his mind. For the most part he tried to make them go away as quickly as they came to mind by distracting himself but sometimes it was not so easy.

There were times though and it was perhaps Theo lived on his own he actively thought to dwell on Rita and just what kind of impact she had made on his life or about things would be different for him if he had found out about Berry a lot sooner. Maybe he could have watched her grow and reach all the milestones a child reaches and that would make him a happier person than he was. Theo tried to remain happy but when the demons in your life was to powerful happiness was not always achievable. He just had to take each day as it came. He was all for people hating him because of what he did for a living and he could blame them. He had hated the gossip writers during his time with the Tornadoes. Now of course people could rattle off any amount of gossip they wanted and he still had the upper hand. People no matter who they were still had demons and ranged from the boring to down right juicy. The latter was of course Theo’s speciality. Ironically they had been a time when the man didn’ft give gossip any time of day but that had been solely when he had been a teenager and all he cared about was getting on his broom and winning another match. Now he was lucky if he could last more than 30 mins on a broom but the fact he was going through ongoing treatment was definitely helping, he just had to keep at it.

Tia of course would remember a time that Theo was more carefree and not so uptight. The two of them had known of each other for over two decades and that was saying something since the man rarely held relationships for so long unless they were family. It was unfortunate that he had not been able to establish an enduring relationship with his daughter but he hoped in due course that would eventuate. It was all on his part though and he was making more of an effort, he had to do that or else he would loose one of the true blessings in his life. Another blessing, to a slightly lesser effect was that him and Tia understood each other so well. It made for a harmonious working relationship even if she was his boss. Seeing her grin he stepped further into her office and shut the door. Theo could not afford for this to get out before he had run the story by her. ”Well…” he slowly sat in the chair opposite her and crossed his legs. ”I was walking by the tunnel where the change rooms are and saw them. I backtracked a little so of course they didn’t see me…..they were arguing and then in a blink of an eye they were snogging…” His smirk only grew as he extracted his small camera from his pocket and placed it on the desk. The witch would easily understand that he had photos as evidence.

Hestia had always been in love with writing, at least to the extent that she could recall. She had found it as a talent when she was younger and had honed her skill for quite some time. It had almost been a miracle when she had found that she actually had a talent for it- and that she could pursue a career in it without her mother getting too agitated. She had liked the way it felt to have her quill scratch out little articles, she liked how excited her sister always got to read them. She knew that it had been a miracle of sorts, getting to get a degree in what she had been interested in. There were plenty of witches who didn't get a choice, plenty of people who just had to do their parents bidding. She had been able to get a choice, and she had chosen something that she was interested in and that she was good at. Flora had gotten to do that as well, but she knew that it had been a bit more difficult for some of their friends. Sienna had been married right out of Hogwarts, or a bit after... She couldn't remember, it was so long ago that it had happened. Hestia had never been stuck in that life, thankfully. She had been single and free, and she knew that despite that at least one of her parents had been proud.

Aecus had always wanted his girls to be somewhat independent, and Hestia wished that she could tell him everything that had happened since his death. Of course, she couldn't. He was dead and gone. She hated that he had missed so much, but there wasn't anything she could even do. She just had to grin and bear it, she had to pretend that it didn't sting every day. She had gotten good at that; she blamed her Slytherin upbringing on that. Hestia had grown up hiding emotions and pushing things away so that she could look perfect and happy. It wasn't too difficult for her to pretend like she wasn't too miserable about things. She could just move on, she could cling to Flora and try to be happier. She clung to Flora and to Witch Weekly as tight as she could. Witch Weekly had become another part of her life, a new family... Again, she supposed. After the brief stint of unemployment when she had to live at home she had been able to work again in her favorite place. She and Flora were back where they both belonged. 

"It's like they're all into men these days," Hestia lamented, shaking her head. It was juicy gossip, though, and she was excited that Theo had gotten to it first. That was what sold Witch Weekly; gossip and fashion. They needed both to survive, so she was lucky that she had such good people behind her. Especially now that she was running the paper she was more grateful than ever. Theo was going to be able to help her, he was going to make sure that they got the publication out there. "I always thought your old coach was, but there he is dating one of his chasers." She let out a light laugh as she moved the papers on her desk around, picking up her coffee mug again. "This is really brilliant. Good job, Theo!"

Just because he had never been all that fond of academia did not mean that Theo O’Donnell was not going to make a name of himself in some way. He had just excelled on the pitch, it was as simple as that. He had heard enough from his mum throughout his time at Hogwarts in regard to the lack of good marks where his school world was concerned but he was much more interested in Quidditch and he had certainly proved he had been a great player. An amazing player even, except only he had ever said that about himself. Well perhaps his ex at one stage but that was long in the past now. He was happy now and he was glad (in hindsight) that relationship had not worked out. He had never realised she had been so judgmental and rude until that moment. He didn’t need anyone like that in his life. He had enough of those kinds of people as it were. He had been a successful Quidditch player after all. Sure his body had paid him back for it but while he had been in a better physical state, it had all been worth it. Someday Theo knew he would look back and be grateful for his playing career even if it had been cut short thanks to his back.

Still he had plenty of good memories. What he wanted to do now was to make plenty of good memories with Berry but he would attempt that when she came home for Christmas. For now he had to stick to letters since she was still not able to attend Hogsmeade weekends. Theo could have cared what Lady thought about that but frankly he didn’t want to. He didn’t have to worry about her or what she thought. This was between him and his daughter. Theo knew that Rita had worried that maybe had been lying to him since he had taken on the father role without any biological proof that Berry was his. But he didn’t need it he knew deep down that he was her father. From the times they had spent together he had seen her, he could see the similarities and there was no denying it. Theo would never want to think ill of his sister, especially given that he had lost her a few months ago but he wished she had never jumped to that conclusion even if his fatherhood had really come out of nowhere for the both of them.

Hearing his friend’s response made him laugh. ”Jealous are we?” he asked as he sat back on his chair. While he and Tia had been close they never shared all that much. It was more on his part since he kept so much to himself. That was definitely something he could see with Berry especially given that she really had to trust that person before she opened up. He didn’t blame her. Talking about anything that was personal made you vulnerable and no wanted to experience that. ”Well I couldn’t say if they were dating….it could casual” He shrugged because given how fast the two blokes had gone from arguing to snogging it could mean that anything was going on between them. He smiled as she complimented his work. ”Do you have any leads for my next column?” he asked referring to the issue after next.

Now that Quidditch season was, effectively, almost over, it was going to be a struggle to continue to dominate the gossip columns. Hestia was fully invested in Quidditch; you didn't own a team if you were just vaguely interested. Well, that wasn't true. She was sure there were people who owned them just for the title, people who needed to flaunt their wealth like that. She was sure people thought that she was like that. As soon as the Carrows had gotten their wealth back she had immediately purchased herself the Wasps. It had been important for her; she had wanted to prove that she could do whatever she wanted. She was independent, she didn't rely on her mother for help. She could never rely on her parents; her mother was difficult to speak to on a good day. Purchasing the Wasps had been for her self-esteem and to prove a dream. She loved Quidditch, she could own a Quidditch team. Hestia knew that it sounded ridiculous, but she was sure that she could do anything, now. She and Flora had the means and the will to become the people that they wanted to be, they didn't have to scrimp and save on anything anymore. She was thrilled with that, actually. She could go back to buying the clothes that she wanted, the attire that she liked.

The clothes were probably the second best thing about money again. Her job was first, the clothes were second, and the third was her team. Hestia was thrilled with how she could go back to how things were before the war. She liked how she could live the way she wanted without much consequence. Sure, her mother was furious when her hem was too short, which it often was. But that was really the only thing that the witch could do to her. She was all bark at this point. She wasn't sure that her mother had cursed anyone in years. If she had, she might have already hurt those damn Slughorn cousins who had simply pretended that they didn't exist. Atropos just used her words, and she and Flora were the ones who reacted. It was why she was fine wearing her short skirts and shorts, why it didn't bother her when the other witches seemed disturbed to her wardrobe. She was a Carrow, she didn't need their damn approval. She could do whatever the hell she wanted and she would curse anyone who said anything about it. She was good with curses, after all... Amycus and Alecto made sure of that. 

She smiled at her friend, trying not to laugh at the statement. Jealous? Only a few days before she had met a rather beautiful specimen of a man. She didn't need to be jealous of Canons players, not when she had a Quidditch coach. Hestia pressed her lips together as she suppressed the laughter, trying to decide whether or not it was worth bragging about. It really was, of course... "I'm most certainly not jealous," she insisted, leaning back in her chair. "I found someone interesting, for once." She raised a brow at that, practically asking for him to inquire further. This was Hestia, though. She very rarely went into more detail unless it was important for her. "Hmm... Next? Let's take a crack at your old coach? See what's going on with the Tornadoes..."

Theo was lucky when it came to how proficient he was with writing. Where it may not have worked with him and his studies and essays and the like at Hogwarts at least when it came to writing gossip he seemed to be practically natural at it. He had even surprised himself. He of course was glad that he seemed to have knack for writing. At least he had now had a future ahead of him and he could still get his name out there. While it may not be worth his while for his name to remain in the public eye but he frankly didn’t care. Of course people were likely to link him to his past life as a Quidditch player easily but that didn’t phase Theo in the slightest. He knew how to write and how to phrase things so it would get people attention and that people would continue to buy or subscribe to witch weekly. The man may not look the part given that he was a male firstly and secondly he was not one the exactly spread gossip around. However given that he had featured in the column a number of times he had come to learn what the readers love and that had to serve him well somehow.

As to what he wrote about Theo had initially stuck to writing about the gossip that surrounded Quidditch but then he had expanded out, slowly but he had still stretched his writing to reach other fields. While there weren’t many singers or movie stars in the magical world as there was in the muggle world, there were still some. He had focused on a field he knew well firstly and then he moved on to reporting on what other celebrities did. Now Theo balanced out his gossip with anyone had a known name. Heck he had had a ball when it came to all that the purebloods had been up to in the past few months. Sure they tried to keep their affairs (in both senses of the word) private but it was not easy to do when Theo had his contacts in all the right places. Of course they were handsomely rewarded for their efforts. The man brewed his own beer so of course he gave them their fair share of samples as well as he access to Firewhiskey freely. While it was probably nothing in comparison to money, it was still something.

Theo didn’t mind in the least that he was now working under Tia. They got along wonderfully, but then again they always had and she was a great editor. Maybe because of their history they worked well together or because he was able to deliver results. He wasn’t sure but he was glad that he was able to get all his columns by her as well as his ideas. His question about her jealousy elicited an interesting reaction from Tia. ” So you found someone to keep around….do go on…..tell me everything” he grinned as he shuffled forward on his seat and rested his chin on his closed fist and looked to her, waiting keenly for her to tell her about this ‘someone interesting’. ”My coach can wait. If anything the Tornadoes are more cautious about having me around since they know me the best” he laughed. ”I want to hear about this special someone”