The Ballroom

Orion stood near the back of the ballroom, his posture deceptively relaxed as his eyes flickered over the crowd and the sea of pink shaded decorations. The place looked less like a wedding venture and more like a child's birthday party. He silently wondered how long he would have to stay at the reception before he could make a polite exit. Ten more minutes? Twenty? His patience was wearing thin and he was in desperate need of a strong drink. He He wasn't about to grab a flute of champaign; he knew better than to trust the food at this event. He had tucked a flask into his suit jacket for later consumption.

Taking in a breath, his thoughts shifted to Galahad. He was waiting for him at home, and Orion should be there with him, curled up on the couch next to him with a cup of herbal tea and their two cats purring in their laps. He could have been kissing the little furrow between his brows as Galahad complained about his day or they argued over what sort of jam to buy. It was all wonderfully domestic, but all his fiancé had ever asked of him was sweet nothings. Had it been any other wedding he would have brought him as a date, but he wasn't stupid enough to bring someone he cared about into a lion's den.

To say the wedding had been uncomfortable would have been an understatement. The ceremony had been draped in talk of ancient scripts and rituals hidden as poetry. Just what the hell was the Athanatos family up to? This was more than a spectacle to show off how accepting of non-purebloods they suddenly were.

He left the safety of his corner to head towards the bar.

Exits the ballroom to enter the Small Bar.

@Solomon Lear

Howard had moved off to the side of the room as more and more people began to exit from the floo flames. Picking up again on the scent of blood was so far proving to be quite difficult. Not only were the roses interfering with his bloodhound of a nose, but with every new guest that entered their cent was added to the mix. Trying to pick out just one was possible, Howard had done it before. Yet trying to do so now was like trying to see through a dense fog. Maybe if he shifted his position within the room?

Just then someone would call his name. He turned to see how who it was and was soon face to face with none other than Vladimir Athanatos. The two had met briefly in the past before. Both dancing around the same shadows within Hogwarts, but rarely crossing paths. Back then Vlad had a curse pumping through his veins, now a curse that seemed much more familiar to Howard. He looked the other man over and though they had not seen each other in quite sometime, Howard thought he noticed a change. However, before he could pinpoint it Vladimir was off to the sitting room and Howard was invited. Perhaps it would spell his doom, but nothing could stop him once set down a path.

Non-magical action: N/A
Stats: STA - 17 | EVA - 21 | STR - 17 | WIS - 1 | ARC - 0 | ACC - 21
Abilities: Fangs, Claw & Bite | Martial Artist | Unsettling Aura | Blindvision | Keen Smell | Terrible Presence | Blood Resurrection

Leaving for the Reading Area

Ava’s previously peaceful, albeit short summer had been interrupted one morning by an owl obnoxiously tapping on her window, demanding her attention. The groggy Ava had pulled open the window and found an invitation to some wedding between older Hogwarts students, as well as a handwritten card from her grandparents. They had all been invited to this hardly exclusive wedding, and her grandparents wanted the guarantee that she would attend with them. Thinking back, she recalled seeing her own invitation in the trash a few days ago.

The extended invitation from her grandparents hardly seemed optional, and she figured it would be enjoyable to escape the boringness that accompanied her muggle home. A few days after the startling owl appeared in her window, a parcel with a brown satin dress arrived.

The day of the wedding began before the sun had even risen, with a knock on her door and a servant awaiting her curbside.

The driver returned her to her grandparents’ manor, the same one she had stayed at over break. When she arrived she took in their groomed appearance, her grandfather in a nicer suit than usual and her grandmother in an expensive gown. They gestured to the fireplace, today not already on. When they ignited it, a strange green flame emerged and cast dancing shadows around the room, drawing her grandmother's face as a dark creature.

A servant appeared, seemingly from nowhere, holding a bowl of what appeared to be floo powder. While Ava herself had never travelled by floo, she had been in the wizarding world for long enough to at least know what it was. As the servant clearly explained to her how to use it, her grandparents stepped into the flames, disappearing.

“Augury Cloister,” she enunciated clearly as the green flames licked at her skin. An odd sensation fell over her for a second as she finally emerged from the flames at the starting of the wedding reception. They seemed to have skipped out on the ceremony, which Ava was fine with.

Her grandparents waited to the side, and she turned to fall in step with them as they walked through the large ballroom, few guests already gathered there. Abruptly her grandparents stopped, her grandmother turning to face her.

“We are presenting you as our grandchild, so please act acceptably. Our family is not one to put up with improper shenanigans.” Her grandmother spat the last word out as if it were poison.

Ava nodded, pressing her lips together. She was beginning to realize the purpose of her presence was to begin to present her in the pureblood view, something she had begun to get a taste of over the winter break. Her grandparents would likely suffer a heart attack if they heard of the stunts she pulled in school, a thought that lightened her mood.

As her grandparents disappeared, arm in arm, into the crowd, Ava turned to look around at the space she had arrived in. The ballroom screamed of wealth and money, even more so than the manor she had come from. Pink dotted every available surface, decorating the room in a color far too cheerful for such a venue. She expected that was added by the bride’s request, although the older girl named Winnie was someone Ava had never interacted with.

Glancing around, she noted the newly erected stage, and the three women singing on top of it. They were alluring, and Ava stared at them for a long moment before tearing her eyes away. She had dealt with her fair share of part-veelas at Hogwarts, and reasoned that this was no different. Although these did seem to be full veelas, based on the feeling that had washed over her.

Ava felt awkward standing empty handed, which is when she miraculously found the pockets hidden in the drapes of her dress. As she stuck a hand within one, she felt something cold and hard from within. Her eyes connected with her grandfather’s from across the room, where he stood and offered her a wink. She didn’t dare to pull out what seemed to be a vial in public, which led her to turn in search of a more private area to investigate the gift.

Ava was hesitant to leave the room, instead deciding to test her own patience and wait for a proper opportunity, where her exit from the main ballroom wouldn’t be immediately detected by her grandparents. She watched from the edges of the room as platters of food held by servants drifted around the room, and the veelas on stage continued their haunting melody. All she could do was to wait.

Until then, her intention was to observe those around her and somehow survive the entire party without facing the wrath accompanied by a misstep.

INVENTORY - calming draught - dizziness draught - swelling solution - wizard cracker - wand

ACTIONS Magical: N/A Mundane: N/A Free: Waiting for interaction Movement: None

STATS & ABILITIES STA • 7 | EVA • 10 | STR • 6 | WIS • 6 | ARC • 5 | ACC • 13 METAMORPHMAGUS | SKILLED TRANSFIGURER | THE MUGGLE CONDITION | MIMIC APPEARANCE | FOULPLAY

Augury Cloister.

Nabi walked out of the flames calmly, her dress unfortunately still overly jeweled, yet perfectly pristine. Her parents spoke amongst each other before her mother whispered something in Nabi's ear. Onlookers would hear a stern-voiced murmur, perhaps even the word gift, if they were nosy enough.

Her fingers wrapped around a box of pink embroidered silk as Nabi's mother handed her the item. It felt mildly heavy, enough for her to know that the item was not something ordinary. Glancing up to meet her mother's cold gaze, she nodded, "Yes, Mother." before watching her parents leave once more, disappearing into the crowd to mingle with some of the other guests. With a short hum, she glanced down, and her fingers curled in a segmented manner as if tense from the wires she held that seemed to wrap around her fingers. Nabi did not feel uncomfortable; rather, the feeling of unanswered questions had piqued her curiosity, causing her to twist at each string for a better grip.

There was a time for everything; she knew that, and Nabi would wait for the perfect time to pull whichever string necessary.

Perhaps the one she held for the young Aamon.

Blinking once, she cleared her throat before glancing around, Now why am I not surprised? The place that evoked reverence and divinity had been tampered with, like the cathedral's perfectly sound antiquity that seemed to hold things beyond one's imagination; it was pink. The corner of her mouth tilted slightly as she took in such ghastly decor. The sacred rare flooring shone with crystal chandeliers as if the angels had been crying from the nearly blinding amount of the color.

Merlin... She walked further inside, with one hand holding the box as the other held the jewel on her waist. For a place of tradition, the scent of roses seemed to loom as if fogging what hid between the grandeur. Nabi could hear her heels ticking off the seconds she spent looking around until she spotted the person she had to look for first. Watching as the newly claimed heir left the girl who appeared to enjoy swimming in pink. With a deep breath, Nabi approached the bride, the box in hand.

The bride's gift.

Knowing mother... Nabi's eyes narrowed in thought before standing at a respectable distance to the bride, "Congratulations on the...", binding, "union, Mrs. Athanatos..." Her tone was modulated, her expression blank.

It may be that the angels did not cry from the decor...

"I do not believe we have officially met, Madam... My name is Nabi, Nabi Park." The corners of her mouth would curl in a practiced ease as she gave her a polite smile, "On behalf of the Park Manor, I offer the bride a gift." Extending her hand, she revealed the pink box. If curiosity got the better of the Lady Athanatos, a white jade carving with a pink tassel would be seen.

Almost suspiciously fitting.

"May you walk to good fortune" Her words lingered as she took a deliberate pause and bowed in respect, "in wisdom and strength." Her gray eyes would meet the newly added Athanatos' pale blue eyes.

For nothing is ever as it seems.

The emerald flames spat Erin out like a rejected secret.

Erin Ryan was Mathias' second cousin, a distant relation that would not be tracked in most families. Hers was the exception. Pureblooded wizards and the Seer legacy required attention, their family did not plan in months or even years, but rather in generations. That required tracking. Of course, her branch was not on good terms with the main house and her lack of the Seer's gift and a lie of a bloodline because of her father's indiscressions, she was never meant to survive.

But she had and she knew how to survive, just perhaps not thrive. The part-Veela stepped into the cloister, shoulders tight and heels clicking against pale tile. The air in the Augury Cloister felt colder than it should’ve been, even for a place so old, so quiet, so carefully kept. Garlands of roses and modern accoutrements can only change this perception so much. She had heard a lot of stories about this place from her father as a child, it felt wrong to use it as a venue to gather with friends. The walls breathed a dark history, and the chandeliers hummed with low, unnatural magic.

The mingling had begun in earnest. Voices rose and fell like distant waves, laughter timed too perfectly to be genuine. The sort of banter that had no substance, jokes that had timed rather than true punchlines. The entertainment played something elegant but off-key, like a memory of a wedding, not the wedding itself.

Everyone here was dressed in glamour and intent. Erin, while undeniably beautiful, was plain with long, blonde hair left down in waves and a fitted dark-colored dress. She did not have a need to impress. If anything, she preferred to fade into the crowd. Other eyes glittered. Teeth shone in practiced smiles. Goblets were half-full and hands moved in gestures that meant nothing. And yet… something was wrong.

Their souls felt hollow.

Also in the poetic sense. In that oh, everyone’s so fake sort of way, because they absolutely were. But truly, it was more than that. To her, they seemed truly hollow. Erin could feel it in the air the way a canary feels gas before the miners choke. The crowd shimmered on the edge of something unnatural. Like the guests had been partially unmade before arrival and were only just now remembering how to wear their faces again.

She internally screamed.

Erin was not going to involve herself in the Gideon and Taylor drama. Gideon was already gone, along with Taylor. The bathroom was not the first place she would have search if she had an interest in pursuing the pair. Something about the evening sent a ripple of unease down Erin’s spine. She considered moments of clarity such as this to be an omen.

She scanned the room. No Vladimir. Good. He was easy to spot in crowds, he stood taller than most, even many Athanatos men. The knot in her stomach didn’t loosen, though. Vladimir's absence didn’t comfort her, it unsettled her more. Where had he gone? And more importantly, where was Aamon? Vladimir did not always have control over his actions, and the last time he snapped, he nearly killed his younger brother.

She wouldn’t search for him. Instead, she approached the front door. She needed air.

Moved to the Front Lawn

Interactions: Currently semi-closed for interactions as she has some planned already Mentions: N/A

Date: July 5th Location: The ballroom

Japanese: speech Clumsy English: speech

- The Ballroom -

Sayaka was no stranger to extravagant pureblood events. Her childhood had been filled with them, both hosting and attending. Yet to travel all the way to London for one was unusual, even for her family. Her mother had spent some time impressing upon her the importance of this event, and usually she would have given it her full attention. After all, this year was the first she had been considered "one of the adults" by her family. Minato and Takashi had been left behind in Japan, leaving her and her older siblings, as well as her parents and aunt and uncle. Any pride she might have felt was vastly overshadowed by the elephant in the room - they had expected their party to be one larger in number. Her cousins arrival had certainly not gone to plan, and it was out of question for them to be attending. This morning had left something in her rumpled, despite her perfect hair and intricately embroidered periwinkle robes. Her earlier rage had subsided, or so she told herself. This was no time for distractions.

Stepping out of the fireplace, she brushed the soot off her shoulders. She was the second last of her family to arrive, followed by Honami. She stuck close to her sisters side as she surveyed the room. It was surprisingly... pink. Not necessarily in a bad way, it was a very cohesive colour scheme. Takashi would have appreciated it if he had been here, since he had recently developed an obsession with the colour. She had always found it a bit too bright, almost unpleasantly. The scent of the room matched it's decor, with the smell of roses being almost overpowering. It was almost familiar, although she couldn't quite place where from. Flower expert was not in her resume, no matter how much her aunt had tried to interest her. It seemed every sense had been considered, for there was also a live band of stunningly beautiful harpists on a wooden stage. She overheard her aunt remark appreciatively on the decor to Honami and watched her sister drift ever so slightly away from her.

There was one key detail among this seeming paradise of perfection though- they were late. Her parents had planned to rush, with Cass's arrival landing on the same day and neither events avoidable. No plans could have predicted that her cousin would be such an utter disappointment. While she had held a sniffling Minato in her arms, the household had been in disarray over what to do. They couldn't bring her cousin, but they had rsvped with them included in the number. The only solution was to say that they were sick. A flimsy excuse, with all the miracles that modern magic could conjure. People would whisper yes, but hopefully not question. All this however, had thrown a wrench in the Ito's planning. They had arrived so late that they had done something almost unforgivable at a wedding. They had missed the ceremony.

Apologies would be in order to the respective people, and fast. That however, was the domain of the adults. Sayaka didn't speak enough English to be able to contribute, a fact that might prove troublesome. Her mother had planned to go over some basic phrases with her, but in all the chaos it had been completely forgotten. To tell the complete truth, she didn't even know who was getting married. The whole thing was a complete shambles, and she knew exactly who was to blame. In the slightest movement she could manage, she curled her hands into tight fists. They were family. You did not pitch a fit when family needed you. From a logical standpoint, she could tell that time and her families efforts would easily smooth out this small shame. Tonight however, logic was absent when she needed it most. It was her heart leading rather than her head, and it was demanding revenge.

She focused on her breath, letting it be the only thing escaping her. She was in control. This was not a night when she could afford to loose control. She was an Ito, and this was her element. It was a beautiful evening (although she hadn't seen the sky) and it was probably a joyous union for the families involved (although she didn't know who they were). It was for her to fulfil her role in the occasion and go socialise. There was even a possibility that she would enjoy herself. Her problems were quite literally an ocean away, although it hardly felt like it. She adjusted her hair (although it didn't need it) and turned her attention to the room around her. The rest of her family had drifted away, either on an apology mission or to greet friends and acquaintances. Now she would too.

Magical action: None
Non-magical action: Arriving late

sta 6 | eva 8 | arc 3 | str 4 | wis 5 | acc 9
Foulplay
Inventory: Completely empty. She doesn't even have her wand on her as she hasn't gotten it yet

The ballroom was the heart of it all. Not because the ballroom beat with joy, but because it pulsed with intent. The ballroom was like a living organism of polished stone and ornamental deceit, draped in pink roses and ancestral expectations. From its high ceiling to the marble beneath polished shoes, the room was watching. And perhaps something else was too.

Three blondes plucked their harps and sang their siren song. Low and melodic, a song that made the space appear less foreboding somehow. It was just a place, places cause no harm... people do. They were beautiful, with long blonde hair, luminous skin and eyes like mirrored lakes.

Gideon Athanatos dragged his cousin, Taylor, across the ballroom floor like a knight returning from battle—except he was no hero, and she was no trophy. Her hand lashed out, teeth almost found skin, but Giddy saw it coming. He struck her. Slap. Bite. A grotesque duet. An angry red mark would bloom across her cheek. Witnessed by ballgoers such as @Finnegan Conner before he moved on and @Avery Grey who simply stood there, whether from shock or silent assent who’s to say. Then the pair vanished into the bathrooms, swallowed by a door.

Gideon slaps Taylor
Attack: 18 HIT
Evasion: 6
Auto-dodge: 69 (no effect)
Damage: 350 damage

Taylor attempts to bite Gideon
Attack: 12 HIT
Evasion: 4
Auto-dodge: 10 (auto-dodge success)

Several guests were likely unsettled by the display, but none intervened. Perhaps they were already too familiar with Athanatos dysfunction to bother. Some perhaps chose to watch and learn before they acted, such as @Jacob Harmon, all silk and bluster who held his date Mira Stark on the dancefloor. Others, independent of this incident, chose not to pass through the ballroom at all. They exited via the reading room, a less conspicuous threshold. Among them: Thaddeus and Aamon Athanatos, names weighted with blood and history.

Then the fireplace exhaled, and with it came @Howard White. The scent of Sanctum Noctis clung to him like a second skin: salt, blood, something old. Something troubling. As he left the hearth he sniffed the air instinctively. Not the blood of a wound, but of the floor, the walls, the foundations. This was not a ballroom built on stone, but on ossuary.

Howard sniffs for blood.
Roll: 5

He would not mistake the scent of blood, but the amount and the age, that would remain a mystery. Still, Howard had no time to dwell on these haunted truths, once at the Augury, he was swiftly intercepted by Vladimir Athanatos. The former heir summoned him to a far corner of the Augury, away from eyes, for a private conversation bristling with secrets and buried agendas. He probably should not have answered the call, but he did.

@Winnie Harper, the bride, now a gilded bird left untethered, was left to entertain the gathering on her own. Her groom, already adrift, was last seen weaving between house elves, eyes scanning for something savory, or perhaps someone. He would find meat on a stick in the other room, a major victory to the selfish lad. Champagne flutes multiplied in idle hands, hors d’oeuvres made their rounds like gossip.

@Harlan Montgomery slipped through the hearth like smoke. Whatever or whoever he sought wasn’t in the ballroom, so he exited through the backdoor and entered the Reading Room.

@Elizabeth Stonewall would enjoy the evening with @Mikey Foreville, may their conversations be their conversations be light and their night remembered by the ambient music and shimmer of floating lights. @Dylan Astor and @Valentin DeAngelo also, simply observers for the time-being. Not quite guests, not quite ghosts as they clung to one another.

In the southeast corner, @Opeila Winters, a girl with too much curiosity and too little caution, cracked the lock of the private room. The word “Alohomora” whispered with such intent in such a public way, what was she truly thinking? She pulled @Cassius Eden inside behind her. No hesitation. Just shared secrets and a door that swung too easily. They might have called it locked, but it was more of a suggestion to keep out when young women like Opeila were around.

At the bar, Jürgen Hess, tall, pale, and out of place, snatched a quail egg from a tray like a thief in a museum. They were there for the taking, but there was a guilt in his movement. Either that or a refusal to enjoy in public. He would depart for the bar, his back to the goings on. he would not see Opeila break into the wedding party's private quarters. That might prove to be an unfortunate surprise later. Instead he played the hero in the most mundane way possible before he left for the patio and fewer eyes.

Thaddeus was at that bar, who sat like a monarch behind an invisible throne of whiskey. Nearby, Professor @Orion Lécuyer, the haunted-looking DADA professor, staked out a stool. That he sat beside Thaddeus Athanatos at all was an unspoken scandal. There was a history there, just one not written in any syllabus.

@Evelynn Decipio did not seem to trust this event, but she was there to support her friend and sister, Winnie Harper. @Nabi Park, unattended by both Matthew Campbell and Aamon Athanatos, offered Winnie a gift.

Sayaka Ito lingered nearby, observing. A pureblood girl raised among such events, she knew how to watch without being noticed.

But something was subtly off, DC 30 (Wisdom)
Winnie: 11
Eve: 2
Nabi: 17
Elizabeth: 13
Mikey: 3
Dylan: 4
Valentin: 2
Sayaka: 20 (+5) (Should have failed) Critical Success
Jacob: 11 (+10) (failed)

Keen Eye: 58

(failed)

It was luck more than skill that allowed @Sayaka Ito to notice something 'off' among the house elves. Exactly what, well she lacked the insight (did not meet the DC) but they looked nervous. House elves were creatures of service, accustomed to celebrations such as this, but these house elves appeared anxious, their eyes darted about nervously. Why? Well, that was the million galleon question.

And so the ballroom buzzed, bright and golden. But beneath the veneer of celebration, something was wrong.

Elizabeth moved in the general direction of a boy (@Mikey Foreville) who seemed pleasant enough to be around. When she saw what appeared to be a pause in the conversation he and another girl (@Avery Gray) were having, she cleared her throat. She wasn’t too concerned about embarrassment tonight, she’d had had plenty of that last fall. Enough to last a lifetime perhaps.

”Would either of you two care for a duel? The bar looks like a good place.” She asked, sticking her chin up in an attempt to appear slightly taller than she actually was. ”It’s alright if neither of you do. I’m just asking around.” She added rather hurriedly, making it clear they had a choice and she wasn’t forcing them to come with her.

She pulled back her hair as it swung in front of her eyes, then she turned her attention back to the two in front of her. ”If not, I’ll let you two alone so you can continue your conversation.” She finished after a moment’s thought and then fell silent as she awaited their responses. Honestly, today was one of those days that she couldn’t care less about their decision, though she would hold true to her word about letting them alone if they chose not to duel with her.

Mundane Action: Awkwardly asking Mikey and Avery a question
Magic Action: none

@August VanCleaf

Jacob and Mira were dancing for quite a while. Then they stopped for a while and just talked. They learned a lot about each other, and they seemed to like each other, both of them being into Quidditch, both of them wanting to become Aurors just like their families, and both of them being from families that celebrate others.

It seemed nothing would stop them, even if he didn't notice that something was off about the house elves that night. He would try to notice something a bit later, however. If he was lucky, he would be able to use his keen eye to spot the house elves being quite nervous. But we shall see.

Then he spotted August VanCleaf, but he ignored him, at this point. He no longer cared about the Harry Potter investigation, even though that was the driving force of his life for the last six years.

Now he can't get himself to care; it was hopeless; he went from dead end after dead end, and found nothing, so he gave up and threw in the towel. It was time to move on, he didn't tell Mira this, though.

He was obsessed for years of finding who killed Dolores Umbridge, but he is at last free of it. So he has more time for anything else. (For those who want to know how he no longer holds this obsession I will be making a new solo thread talking about it briefly)

Mundane Action: Using his keen eyes to look and see what he missed.