A Winter's Ball Outside PV Beckett Gala Guests

As iNPC Iris Fields

Iris had transformed over Winter Break. Completely and utterly transformed. Anyone who even met her beforehand would notice the difference right away. There was no bounce in her step, no wildness, she simply glided over the ground like a true lady would. Her posture was now immaculate, small graceful smile, head held high, back perfectly straight. Her skin and hair were radiant, due to the layers and layers of product that she wouldn't have sat still for otherwise. Her voice was now docile and had a well versed British accent.

Iris had arrived through the Floo Powder fireplace only moments prior. Her grandmother quickly accepted into the likely gossiping group of adult Purebloods. Her grandfather had also disappeared into a different crowd. Iris, not comfortable enough to speak to anyone yet, found herself outside. If she were wishing for time alone or for someone to approach, she didn't even know herself. She didn't know herself anymore...

Iris was numb to the opulence around her. She hardly noticed it. There might as well have been a marching band right beside her but she wouldn't flinch. Her mind was rehearsing hours and hours of conversations her grandmother and herself had gone back in forth on. If she were to even use any of it, none could tell. She had been in her grandparent's house all of break and this was certainly a greater display of wealth, she couldn't find it in herself to appreciate it.

Her dress was tamer than some of the others, but the top bit was studded with actual silver according to her grandmother. Her nails too, silver flecks in the nail polish. The iris flower necklace was silver too, and the rings. Her hair was down, a protection against the biting cold. She looked gorgeous, even though she wouldn't ever be able to see it.

Iris walked down into the garden, seeming to glide over the pathways. She looked down into the water of a fountain. Watching her reflection ripple in the water. She looked back up again, her small smile slipping away. She crossed her arms against the wind and stood there for a few moments. Eyes looking out into the garden but not really seeing.

Open to Interactions | Talking Color: English= BF8080 Norwegian= BF8040 Russian= 808000

Edit: for the sake of it all, I'm not posting again, but next post is in the main area instead... just for papertrails sake I am saying this

Mod Post

The garden is fairly empty, save for one Iris Fields (@Katrina Walker). The sun has fully set now, but the garden is not dark. Between the light of the stars and a few candles closer to the door, the majesty of the garden is still very evident. As the door to the manor is opened by guests drifting out or venturing back in, the sounds of the clock can be heard clearly. It is now eight in the evening, already an hour past the gala's beginning.

Faint whispers of music drift out every now and then, but for the most part, the garden is a delightful, peaceful silence compared to the sociable chatter and music of the ballroom and foyer. It's colder now that the sun has set, but not unreasonably so. Much to the young hostess's chagrin, there is not even so much as a single snowflake. If guests were to venture further into the garden, past the babbling fountain and pristinely maintained flowers, yet not far enough to discover the gazebo, they would discover a lovely moment of privacy in the flower mazes. While one wouldn't get hopelessly lost, they would certainly need to carefully backtrack the way they came to avoid having to call for help.

First | Second (You are here)

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Santario grasped the handle easing open the door that would allow her to take a deep breath of cold winter air. As she quietly closed the door behind, her silence fell once more, and a soft smile crept onto her lips. Breathing room, quite literally. Maybe next time, she would find a way to get out of it; she wasn’t friends with any of these people; in fact, Santario wasn’t even sure if she had seen someone she had known in the first place, though she was sure there was at least one person in there somewhere.

She walked forward towards the steps, politely waving off one of the servers carrying a tray of hors d'oeuvres. Events like this were tolerable if you were stuck with someone by your side the whole night because then you were obligated to have a conversation less you shame either one of the families in the process. However, nights like tonight where you didn’t have that plus one to hang off of it was just… Well, she’d just rather be somewhere else. Slowly descending the steps looking over the breathtaking gardens and breathing in the beautiful floral scents, it made her wish she had her camera and didn't make her mind being alone as much.

Being able to come here and take photos would be a wonderful experience. “I bet no matter how far you go, there is always something new to discover in here.” Words softly spoken to herself as she started to leisurely walk down the path. She was in no hurry at all; in fact, if it took her all night, she’d be happy to find out what was in the center of this place.

Action| Walking a snail's pace down the path towards the fountain

If there was anything that Abella Marie Procoppio hated more than anything else in the whole wide world, it was being late.

If there was anything that Ami Charity Procoppio excelled at more than anything else in the whole wide world, it was being late.

First it had been a matter of her hair- Ami, being the most indecisive of the four Procoppios, had tried at least 5 variations of 3 different hairstyles (so, 15 in total, for those who're counting) before settling on natural, beachy waves, with a few stray pieces of hair framing her face as elegantly as humanly possible. Then it was her outfit- the base pieces were there, but what color should it be? Red would probably make her look like a firetruck, yellow was entirely too stereotypically Hufflepuff, black was boring... so after going through every possible color of the rainbow, she settled on a mature and sensible olive green ensemble with gold accents. That was black tie enough, right? Right. Sensibly elegant makeup, sensibly wonderful loafers, a sensible top hat completed her get up, and frankly, she looked rather dapper.

On the other hand, the rest of her family was sensible with their time management and was ready to go in under an hour. Abella was, of course, as elegant as ever with a beautiful ballgown, sensible heels, and a sweet little capelet-thing. Lucas and Scout were wearing matching tuxedos, because adorable, with matching bowties that matched Abella's dress. Look at that coordination!

But finally, the Procoppios managed to make it to the Beckett Manor, with Ami carrying Scout on her hip while Abella magically pulled her husband's wheelchair along. Despite her best efforts, Lucas had insisted that his non-magical injuries be treated by non-magical means, and... well, the Five Exceptions existed for a reason.

As the family made their way through the gardens towards the manor itself, Ami spotted a semi-familiar figure taking a solo stroll. "Mom, hang on... I think I recognize them..." she muttered under her breath to Abella, before scampering over to the Slytherin.

"Hey, uh..." Snapping her fingers as she desperately searched for a name, Ami's eyes widened in delight as she found what she was looking for (not really). "Sarah! Martin? We worked on the Headliner together... Good to see you! I'm digging the blanket thing, and your dress is really—lord, it's cold out here—your dress is pretty! Do you know Ana? Or just the Becketts? My mom and Ana are like, best friends, it's kind of— oh, and this is Scout."

The blond, tuxedo-ed twenty-month old on her hip burbled a hello to poor Santario, a string of adorable nonsense along the lines of "Hellooo!", a trail of drool dripping from his mouth to his hands to his suit jacket.

"Ami, dear, let's get inside. I'm absolutely freezing," Abella's curt, British voice cut through the cold air, reaching the pair of students. Turning to Santario with a shrug, Ami nodded towards the manor and her parents.

"I don't know about you, but I wanna party. You can come with us, if you want."

"Party!"

Regardless of whether Santario accepted Ami's unorthodox invitation or not, she would turn to follow her parents into the Beckett Manor.

Mod Post

Another hour has quickly flown by. Or slowly shuffled by, depending on who you ask. In any event, it's now nine o'clock. Iris seems to have drifted inside, but the garden, while quiet, is still not fully abandoned. One Santario Martin has opted for the tranquil company of the flowers and shrubbery as opposed to the preening peacocks of the dance floor. Depending on how deep into the garden she ventured, she would encounter nearly every type of flower imaginable, in a rainbow of colors and perhaps the fountain.

Ami Procoppio was certainly not in the garden for the same reasons. She was "ready to party", not on the look for an escape. Admittedly, she looked fabulous. Not quite as fabulous as the small person she was holding, who was probably the cutest attendee of the Gala, but fabulous nonetheless. Scout admittedly really the star of the show, with his adorable tuxedo and babbling.

As Scout and his entourage entered the manor, wisps of music would be heard, as well as nine gongs of the magnificent grandfather clock. The party was well underway, normally the time at which things would begin catching on fire or fights would break out at Hogwarts. Would this event fare the same? Only time would tell...

Round Actions
@Santario Martin is walking a snail's pace down the path towards the fountain.
@Ami Procoppio is arriving at the Manor, conversing with San, and heading inside.

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Interacting| - @Ami Procoppio
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Santario looked up as someone approached her; it was Ami from the headliner. Ami was not someone you easily forgot, especially not when she showed up the last blossom ball as Chad. Santario would offer her a smile as she approached with a small child on her hip. She got her name wrong, but that wasn’t that big of a deal; she didn’t really mind. “Santario, and it’s lovely to see you, Ami. I remember working for the headliner well. Hello there Scout!” Santario gave the small child a happy smile and wiggled her fingers at him in greeting. “And thank you, the Pashmina is very good at bracing against this cold. I can’t say that I know Ana all that well. Really just in passing. My grandparents secured the invitation. I didn’t even know about it until a week ago, truth be told. They want me to participate in more events because apparently, I am antisocial, and that’s not good for a pureblood.” Santario shrugged a little as Ami’s mother called her in.

“I’ll probably be in a little later; for now, I think I am going to go check out their fountain. If I don’t see you again, I hope you have a good night.” One more smile before Ami left, and Santario would continue down the path at an average pace now. She was no longer really wondering if she would meet anyone else out here because of the cold. Even with a lack of snow, it was still Santario’s favorite season, and she loved the cold. So she continued down the path of the stunning flowers giving them all a proper look as she went on her way towards the fountain.

Action| Headed towards the fountain