"I Do Love Dressing Up For Halloween As Well." Although Their Reasonings Were Different They Did Share

Serra had been minding her business until she heard her boyfriends name from the other side of the bathroom, storming over in a flash of anger. Scoffing when she noticed that it was Charity Burbage. Even though she was older, Serra believed herself to be the better person, certainly the better looking one. There was no way Malcolm would even look in her direction. He was her boyfriend. And she was talking about their meet up spot. There was no way this was true. "Stop lying, Charity. This is embarrassing."

where: girl's bathroom, hogwarts - flashback who: @serraborgin & @themalcolmparkinson

Charity was in a better mood than usual, not as annoyed with people approaching her as she most generally did, so when the Hufflepuff girl joined her in the bathroom and asked about her day, she didn't exactly tell her off. The conversation flowed easily and just for this one time, the witch allowed herself to engage in this sort of girl's talk, bringing up boys and what not. Perhaps because she did have something to share, having had quite a fun night with Malcolm not long ago. "Me? I'm not going to say I'm innocent, I did meet with up with Parkinson this week." She offered with a shrug of her shoulders when the other witch asked if she'd been seeing any wizards. "He took me to a secret party hall in the dungeons and Merlin, he had to cover my mouth so my moans wouldn't get us caught." Oversharing maybe, but Charity wasn'tone to hold back her tongue in any case.

Serra nodded her approval when he explained. "That is good. She is a woman of good taste, you are well off listening to her." There had been a moment in time she'd been jealous and disliked the blonde, but she had gotten over it. She actually quite liked her now.

"I will wear it. It's quite lovely. If it was ugly I would have no problem telling you so. I think you could handle my honest opinion." Perhaps it went against propriety, but as long as people did not listen in she was fine stretching the boundaries. "They think they know what's best. It is hard to tell them that they do not. "

“Leta made comments and observations.  I think that I have spent enough time with her to understand the basics of picking out something that won’t end up as an expensive paperweight at least.” Antonin never wore much jewelry himself.  A chain was just something that could be grabbed or used against you if a fight went on long enough or got too heated.  Fighting against Leta had told him that much too, but he didn’t need to bore Serra with that, especially not on her birthday. “Don’t worry I’m not the type to tell you to put it on, it’s yours now and you can do with it what you will.  At most if I see you wearing it some time I might be quietly delighted.”  He thought to his own parents.  “Yes parents are hard to defy at times no matter your age, at least on the important things.  They always find the way to make you want to defy them, and still regret it if you get your way, don’t they?”

It was a scary thought for her, terrified her even, to consider breaking down the walls she had erected because of him. Giving the one person she had let hurt her in such a significant way the possibility to do so again. Still, it was easier to stay away from him when she didn't have to physically be in his presence. She could lie to herself and say she was not affected by him in the least. He was a man now, one that had gotten even more handsome with age. It was both a good thing and a bad thing that she still thought him to be extremely handsome, she was yet to decide which side she was leaning towards. "Well you better not give up. I do not plan on making anything easy for you." Serra informed him with a matter of fact tone. He liked the chase, she knew that. If she gave her heart fully now and he broke it again, she would be humiliated. "Do continue speaking about how beautiful I am, I will never tire of it." Serra was clearly pleased that he thought her beauty distracting, as was evident from her smile. Or at least she was trying to smile but something felt off. When he came closer to her she noticed that she started to feel quite dizzy all of a sudden, her skin tingling even where he didn't touch her. "I- I feel dizzy..." She wanted to say more but everything went black as she fainted right into his arms.

There were not enough words to describe how he felt around Serra in that moment. It felt like they were traveling back in time without moving at all. Malcolm had worked up years of how he would do things differently and not rely on his spontaneous and immature responses to their previous relationship. He had been nothing but a scared boy who thought he was bigger than the world. How naive he was to not see that Serra was the only one who mattered, who castrated the noises around them. That last year at school had bent him into a hellhound who only wanted to look after himself without weighing others' emotions. Now, he wasn't a boy, but a man with a tenured experience in giving Serra what she wants with lavish gifts from all over the world. They had a wedding to plan, and where he thought she would meet him with contempt, it felt like their story was given another chance; the greatest gift she could give back. "I will," Malcolm smiled. "And I doubt I will ever stop vying for your affections. You might get tired of me. I can only speak of my excitement for our futures and how your beauty is quite distracting. The other plans to prove my loyalty might have to wait when we leave, as I don't think it's appropriate here." Malcolm took a step closer, his hand meeting her hair that asked to be pushed behind her ear. As he was leaning down for a kiss, he paused only an inch away from her lips when he noticed something was wrong. "My love, are you alright?" Malcolm knew she arrived with the perfect shade of lipstick, but now they were nearly pale.

"They are." She grimaced in annoyance. What were all those people doing in here? Shouldn't they go to work or something? Surely not all of them were as well off as she was, not having to work at all. "And I would much prefer sitting at your table than at the one of the likes of some of these people."

Location: Diagon Alley, Cafe Open to all

"Hm?" Davina glanced up from the magazine she was perusing. It never got easier, looking at fashion magazines with the knowledge that she couldn't buy things the way that the other socialites could. But she certainly had gotten good at mimicking their designs so it appeared that she was just like them. After all, appearances were more important in her mind than actually affording them. At least that was what she told herself when she felt particularly low. And lately, that feeling seemed to follow her everywhere she went. But her mother kept telling her it wouldn't last forever, and she was trying to believe her.. "Oh, are all the other tables full? I suppose you can join me then. If you must."

"Thank you. London certainly has seen better days now that I have returned." While the Nott name was one familiar to her, she did not spend much time with the other witch so Serra concluded her to hold no significant importance to herself. "Clearly you were the wrong person to talk to. My apologies."

Pandora was grabbing a few items needed for the shop that when she heard a voice talking, she turned to make sure it was her being talked to. "Welcome back?" She knew of Serra Borgin, younger than her, but not by too much. The witch had also heard about what happened with Alara Selwyn, but chose to stay out of it. It was not her business. "I don't know how you want me to answer that."

"I suppose that's right. I think it is important to be a perfectionist about yourself first and foremost. Appearances matter. How is someone supposed to take you seriously if your hair isn't styled or your outfit is all wrinkled? If you cannot even be trusted to take care of yourself, how are you supposed to handle anything else?" If there was one thing she could do, it was talk about herself. She liked the way he complimented her, it felt thought out. She could hear how gorgeous she was a thousand times over, but this was nice too.

"I am already polished, but I suppose I could make myself available if you make it worth my while." She had a busy life of doing nothing after all. His gaze mesmerised her, biting her lip at the intensity she found in it.

"You are very good with your words, you know?"

“Any subject can be interesting if executed well or in an interesting way, it’s one reason you are so attention grabbing.  People can say what they will, but they could never accuse you of being anything less than a perfectionist especially when it comes to yourself.”  He kept his eyes glued to her as they turned about, sparing no more than an odd glance to keep them centered, it wouldn’t do to trip or drop her. “You may watch me, consider it an open invitation, but I would love to teach you, see that perfect attention put to something. Magic is like dancing, talking, just gestures and phrases polished to perfection.  You are a woman worth knowing and I would like to polish you, give you a skill to set you further apart from this rabble. How much more beautiful a flower is for its thorns.”  He came to a stop suddenly, releasing her for a moment to wave off the rest of the dancers dismissively before bringing his hands up to caress her cheeks, hold her, look  almost through her, ardent gaze slightly betrayed by a quick peek at her lips before tracing down her arms, finding her hand and hip, bowing and starting the dance again. “Truly, you are finer, and most welcome, everything I have said was earned, or will be. I do not take to idle flattery. If I was not serious, I would not care how you were trained no matter how interesting.”

For all her effort in acting blasé and cool, she was more nervous than she let on. Especially when he was so close to her. He was a handsome man after all, someone she was interested in rather than a boy not worthy of her time. "I think I could definitely think of something." A masquerade would be fun and she knew her parents wouldn't deny her if she wanted to throw a party. She was focused on him fully. He was in her space now, standing centimeters away.

"Perhaps I do, but only if you care for me." Women of her standing had certain standards and he was a prime example of an eligible bachelor, but she wanted him to admit that he liked he first, simply for her ego's sake she wanted to hear him say it. While she hadn't planned on settling down anytime soon before she met him, he had definitely captured her interested. His intensity was intriguing to her. "It interests me very much." Truthfully she was only half listening, his closeness distracting her.

He smiled. It was both cute and impressive the way she held his gaze.  He got closer to her arm’s length then a bit closer. “Too bad, but as long as it’s hosted and I got an invitation I don’t think I would care too much, you could always find a way to make it up to me.”  He moved close, demanding what was left of her attention.  Despite being surrounded by outfits, that made him smile too.  He dared to move a hand to her cheek, touch light, but firm. He wondered idly if her challenge of his gaze would falter at the open intimacy. She had earned a bit of his attention in return especially if she was serious about the masquerade. “Do you care for me Serra, the way you’re blushing I think you might, or might wish to. Does it excite you to be the one to make such a choice? A young woman’s heart is a precious, yet fickle gift, are you sure you wish to entangle it with a cruel old thing like me? I can promise you a whirlwind romance, it will not be easy, but you won’t be bored.  Pressed to the edges of comfort and strength.  You can only truly be pampered after you feel too tired to take care of yourself. Does this interest you?”

"Well again. I am better than you in every conceivable way, so I don't think that's true." Her smile saccharine as she spoke to her cousin. "Have fun." She was glad that this conversation was finally over. Serra didn't like Alara rattling her like this.

Alara gives a small shrug of her shoulders and takes a sip of her drink. "All I'm saying, if it can happen to me, it can happen to you." Azure hues catch sight of Evan. "Excuse me, I should make my way back to my fiancé." Plus she was done with the conversation. "Enjoy your evening." A faint smile before she turns walking away.

"Oh I don't work here." Serra looked over at Barty, almost offended that he has mistaken her for someone that works. What about her outfit gave working class? She looked down at herself, deciding that it must be the shoes and she should get rid of them as soon as she got home. "You'd have much better luck at Borgin's & Burke's, where again I don't work, but my name is on the door so it's automatically superior."

𝐖𝐇𝐎: open to all. 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: the junk shop.

the store was dimly lit and cramped, with shelves overflowing with oddments and dust. barty steps inside, his gaze sharp as he navigates through the clutter, nose upturned, he really would prefer not to be here.

barty’s footsteps are soft on the dust-covered floor as he moves past ancient artifacts and peculiar gadgets. he pauses and glances around, eyes landing on a figure in one of the labyrinthine aisles, finally a shopkeeper to assist. “i’m looking for something… particular. something a bit out of the ordinary. ideas?”

"Well obviously. Yeah." She rolled her eyes, as if that shouldn't come as a surprise to him. Being the center of attention was something she excelled at, she liked having all eyes on her. Serra had never been shy after all. "They said they would cut off my allowance." With no money she'd eventually have to start working and that didn't appeal to her.

“     𝐚𝐫𝐞     𝐲𝐨𝐮     𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞     𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐞𝐭     𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭     you’re     not     the     centre     of     attention     ?     ”     he     can’t     help     but     wonder,     after     all,     he     couldn’t     even     bring     himself     to     actually     care     that     serra     was     back,     all     he’d     been     trying     to     do     was     enjoy     a     early     morning     coffee     before     quidditch     practice,     however     it     seemed     luck     was     certainly     not     on     his     side     as     she     blew     in.     “     you     are     a     person     of     your     own     free     will,     correct     ?     couldn’t     you     have     just     stayed     were     you     were     ?     ”