"I Care. I'd Much Rather Receive A Letter From An Owl That Looks Well Looked After, Than Some Raggedy

"I suppose it is?" Serra's eyebrows furrowed together for a second, confused as to why he was asking but dismissed it quickly. "Oh I heard what happened to hear. It is quite a shame that her betrothal fell through. It was so many years in the making after all. Oh you mean you want me to watch you duel? I can do that." Serra wasn't a good dueller herself, but she figured she didn't need to be. It's not like she was fighting in the war.

Her smile widened from his compliments. She enjoyed talking to him and dancing with him. "Thank you for the compliment. I am careful with the things I care about." Which mainly involved her appearance, but to her that was extremely important. Appearances mattered. "You should know I am better than all of them." Serra's tone matter of fact, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Not at all. I like talking to you. I don't think you are boring." They had liking to talk in common, especially when it came to her favorite subject: herself.

"Transfiguration is good as is potions. I swear by Valeria Flint, unfortunate circumstances surrounding the woman but wonderful for poisons and potions. I dabble in a bit of everything, anything that might give me an edge in dueling or seems fun, perhaps I could show you sometime? As far as transfiguration I think my greatest feat is summoning ropes, a nice trick especially if you can do so wordlessly, though it is important to get the gestures perfect and have a good bond with your wand." Antonin looked into Serra's eyes losing himself in them. "You surprise me though, those are both very precise magics. I pride myself at being able to read people, but you surprise me, I find that refreshing, you are not a boring woman or shallow, something to be treasured especially among most eligible ladies on offer." He looked pointedly at a few other guests around the dancefloor. "I hope you don't find me too much of a boor, I've been told I enjoy the sound of my own voice perhaps a bit too much, but I find you are easy to talk to."

"Those are two of my favorite words. Closely following diamonds and presents." She had never made an attempt in faking humility, she'd never be any good at it. Serra oozed privilege and high standards, spending money and never wondering if it would stop coming.

"You would assume so, but alas.." She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders. "They have always liked him, but come on."

"You had me at champagne and shopping," Willa smiled warmly, lifting her cup of tea and taking a small sip. While her father did provide Willa and her mother, the difference between Willa and her peers was evident. She had enough to live a lavish life in London, but not quite Paris.

"Your birthday party seems very harsh," She stated, surprised. "And quite a public setting too, would it not have been smarter to organise something a bit more private?" Willa knew if it was her ex, she would much rather an intimate setting to reunite.

"I would love to." Serra liked public events and dancing with handsome men, who wouldn't? So when he asked her to dance saying yes to him was a no brainer. She thrived off of attention, so when she felt like she captured his she felt proud. "I'm a Libra sun with a cancer moon. I used to dance Ballet for many years but now I only do it when I find the time for it. I am involved with several charities and I'm very pretty. Although you'd be blind not to notice the last one."

He didn't understand the voice in his head that suggested he mingle with the witches. Trying to keep himself distracted and away from another he had already make a mistake with earlier this evening. A smile played on his face, holding out a hand for her. "Then shall we?" The blonde led her onto the dance floor, an arm around her waist and the other holding the hand offered, gliding around effortlessly, dance lessons something his mother started at a young age. "Tell me something about yourself." Thorfinn was curious about her.

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?”

Knowing how to handle herself in a public setting was something she had been taught at a young age, never losing her cool and keeping a mask of passive indifference even if her enotions were going haywire. She hadn't expected to run into Malcolm, they'd successfully managed to avoid each other for years and now here was right in front of her, thinking he could talk to her like nothing happened. How dare he? Sure the presents were nice and she was currently wearing a bracelet he'd sent to her a couple of months ago, but that didn't mean she'd forgiven him, it was not the jewellery's fault that he was a cheater. "I look good everywhere." She dismissed his compliment. "No one liked her anyways, so they're all over it by now." Serra crossed her arms, having to look up to keep eye contact, but not wavering. "What do you want?"

At first, Malcolm thought that he saw a ghost and when he realized it was really Serra, he opted for a ghost instead. It had been years since he saw her, doing his best to keep his distance and not cross paths. It was a moment of relief when he was told that she went to Paris. Malcolm would have done the same thing if he had a family member who dismantled the family name. He was glad to not have any siblings any only a few well-behaved cousins. Malcolm also thought that the Loire Valley would've been his choice if he were fleeing from domestic disputes. But it was because of Serra being in Paris that he was forced to readdress the first gift there and after that, he sent messages to French boutiques to send her locally designed jewelry and clothes. "Well, you look much better in London than in Paris," he commented, not shying from offering a compliment. It was only an innate reaction. "You're still saying her name? I can't help but feel sorry for the rest of the family. I hope they're well."

"With the colors you just said about any color I wear should match. Adding little accents of whatever I plan on wearing should do the trick. A tie, cufflinks, a pocket square. Little details that aren't garish but attract the eye and make sure the look is cohesive." Him not having the most colorful wardrobe didn't surprise her much, he didn't seem like the flamboyant type. Short answer? My favorite color is green. I like all shades of green, but I also like soft pinks. I look good in basically every color so I do occasionally like a deeper red, for the holiday season."

"Something complementary, if we're going to wear outfits that match. I usually wear black, grey, dark greens. Things that go beneath notice, unless I have a specific purpose, but I don't know if I would say that any of those are my favorite." He looked her over as he contemplated something as simple as a favorite color. Something easy but with little purpose besides blending. He hadn't thought about it in some time delegating his outfits to others, rather than picking things that attracted his attention on a whim. "Something about you is so bright, what about you, which color is your favorite?"

"Next time you have to come with me. We can stay at my house, go shopping together, eat french pastries..." It would be a fun thing to do, to show Willa around the town she had enjoyed so much.

"I don't know. Maybe? My parents certainly think it is time. They wanted to invite him to my birthday party, can you believe that?" She scoffed, shaking her head. He had broken her heart, all those years ago. "He did look quite handsome. And I do enjoy the presents..but he embarrassed me terribly back at Hogwarts."

Willa sighed, a slight hint of jealousy as Serra described her experiences in Paris. It was notable to many that while Willa had free reign to avail of the Bulstrode last name, their funds weren't quite as easily accessed. Despite how much Willa would have longed to visit her friend in Paris, it wasn't quite in sight.

At Serra's depiction of her run in with Malcolm, she took a sip of her tea, eyebrows raised ever so slightly. "Are you thinking of forgiving him?" Willa asked, slightly intrigued for Serra's response. "If I were you, I would wait to see him on his knees."

"I am never second best." Her ego wouldn't allow it, what she lacked in ego she made up for in delusion. "I do not mind spending a few hours in your company. You shower me with attention, but alas I do need to make my rounds to please my parents. Wouldn't want anyone telling them I am antisocial. I am here to represent them and our name after all." She was an only child, her parents had struggled getting pregnant and had always wanted a son to take over the business. Now it fell onto her cousin on her dad's side as she had no plans to work. "I shall let you know, but I do believe no one would dare. Except my cousin Alara, but she is another story. I can handle her."

"Of course, the second best would not do. How would you like to spend the evening? I would not mind spending it with you, but that can wait until after the wedding, it would be a crime to monopolize your attention for too long, social butterfly that you are. Well perhaps just a few hours?" Antonin squeezed Serra's arm and took her hand. He looked at some of the gossipers noting faces in case he heard anything too damning come to surface later. "Just tell me if you need your honor defended it's been a while since I had a good duel, but blasting the proper respect into someone is often considered taboo at weddings, don't ask how I know."

Serra's dress for her birthday party, featuring an unnecessarily long train

@themalcolmparkinson