2 January 2021, Evening
The Shard, 33rd Floor, Hutong

The Shard in London was well-known by the city's inhabitants as a 72-story glass building, housing restaurants, offices and even apartments. Marcus Iwasaki had never been in this building before - nor had he ever heard of it, to be honest - but this was the designated place for his meeting with Nora. Well, meeting was not the right word. This was a dinner date. It had been scheduled since just before the holidays, which Marcus had spent at Hogwarts aside from a few day trips. This would be his final trip outside the school before the students would be returning and classes would resume. The final weekend of relative quiet.

This holiday break had been an interesting one for Marcus and he had not seen much of Nora during it, so it was nice that they had planned this outing. He headed for the restaurant rather early because his visit to Diagon Alley had taken less time than he thought it would.

That afternoon, he had been cashing in on a voucher that he had received from one of his students - @Sylvain Wyllt. It had been a surprise receiving a Christmas gift from a student, and at first Marcus had been tempted to return it, believing it to be some way of the boy kissing up to him. He wanted something... but what? He was already a Prefect, and it's not like Marcus taught a class that he could give him better grades in. Thinking back, he had remembered that the boy had been part of the "welcoming committee," too. Maybe it was truly just his way of spreading some holiday cheer. Besides, what did Marcus have to lose from cashing in on the gift? He only had a nice outfit at Madam Malkin's to gain. So he had gone to the tailor and been fitted that afternoon. The outfit itself wouldn't be delivered to the castle for a few days, but it had been a nice experience. And in return for the voucher, on Christmas morning Mr Wyllt would have found a new wizard's chess set wrapped in an extravagant bow and with a note wishing him a happy holiday.

The Ravenclaw Head of House had also spent his trip in Diagon Alley perusing the book stores for any new hag-related tomes. No luck on that front, but it hadn't been a total waste. He found several other interesting books, and had stocked up on parchment and quills. He'd also picked up a gift for the woman he was meeting that night. Before making his way into muggle London for his date, Marcus had then stopped by the Leaky Cauldron to change. He and Nora had agreed on a rather fancy restaurant, so he changed into a very fancy outfit - dress shirt, vest, jacket, dress pants, a bowtie. It had been a while since he had a chance to go all out and look extremely nice, so he was taking advantage of the occasion.

Soon enough, he was in muggle London in search of the Shard. It was not a hard building to locate, considering it towered high above, but it had been far enough that he ended up taking a car.

Upon arriving at the building, he was impressed by the size. He couldn't recall the last time he had seen a huge skyscraper like this. Marcus took an elevator to the thirty-third floor which housed the restaurant that he was meeting Nora at - Hutong. Apparently they specialized in Northern Chinese dishes. When he arrived, he greeted the hostess - a pretty blonde woman who was immediately put off by his presence - and informed her of the reservation. He was quickly escorted to a table right by the window, where there was a fantastic view of the city below. A waiter did not take long to appear and pour water, and Marcus ordered himself and Nora a drink (yes, he knew exactly what she would want on a night like this). When the waiter stepped away, Marcus patted the inside of his vest pocket, where his wand resided. He was getting better at keeping his wand at the ready in case of emergency, whereas before his employ at Hogwarts he often left it behind in his room.

Marcus admired the view of the city, but often glanced towards the entrance of the restaurant in anticipation of Nora's arrival. When she did appear, he would smile and be sure to stand up to greet her.

Marcus' Intimidation is in effect.

It is a sentiment that enters people's hearts when they are in your presence. They feel dis-ease when you are present, even if the interaction is casual or even friendly.

@Hjørdis Jensen

An excuse to dress up was never actually needed. Hjørdis enjoyed taking the opportunity every day to dress up and look pretty - even if it meant looking overdressed for the occasion. The recent festivities gave her more than enough opportunities to make her fit in a little. However, she would never say no to more excuses. Today was a perfect excuse to get out of the house, visit London, maybe get some shopping in and then go for a lovely dinner with a lovely man.

She almost forgot the joy of being in the city. Spending most of her time in Hogsmeade or the castle, she had started to grow accustomed to the small village vibes. However, she was always one to love the city. Perhaps it was because she looked less out of place when others were also a bit more dressed up or walking around in heels, whilst bystanders wondered how they could walk so much in them.

Waiting for the elevator was far longer than she would have liked. It was not actually all that long but with several bags of shopping, it was a bit tedious standing there. It also felt like the elevator went so slow. Admittedly, it had quite a few floors to go past but still. As the doors opened up, Hjørdis made her way out and to the front doors of the restaurant. Luckily, the door was held open for her so she did not need to bother figuring out how to open it with so many bags.

It did not take her long to spot her date for the evening - before the hostess even had to point her in the right direction. Approaching the suited man, Hjørdis could not help but smirk, "Well, well, well, you clean up rather nicely," She teased whilst complimenting him in her own way, "You should do it more often," Hjørdis added as she approached him, skillfully managing to manoeuvre her many bags between the other customers, staff and tables without hitting anyone. It was clearly not her first time.

She had no less than five bags on each arm, with a variety of names on the bags. It was clear she had taken a trip down New Bond Street before she arrived here - and likely spent far too much money. But she did need to replenish her wardrobe a little!

By the time she approached, the hostess had caught up and offered to check her bags into the cloakroom so it was out of the way. With a nod of her head, and a few words of gratitude, Hjørdis handed over the bags and slipped her coat off too to check that in. Though, she was careful to keep one behind - which she placed on the floor for now. Under the coat, she was wearing a long red strappy lace dress, with red heels to match. She kept her small purse on her person too, of course. Her hair hung loosely over her shoulders as she ran her hand through it and adjusted herself. Turning her attention back to Marcus, "Shall we?" She asked, motioning towards the table as though suggesting to sit and settle in for the evening.

If he agreed or made some indication to sit down, she would move too. He did look rather handsome suited and booted. He had made quite a bit of effort for the occasion, which she thought was sweet. It was fun to dress up and go out, after all. And this was a perfect excuse to dress up. They needed a good catch up. One without the prying eyes of children. So, in her own way, she had to compliment him. It was not one of those occasions were she expected one back. In fact, she would be very happy not to receive any in return. She had been complimented far too much earlier in the morning already - which was completely understandable as she obviously looked amazing. "It's a little late but I wanted to give you this in person," She said as she raised the small bag with the 'Hermès' branding on it. If he looked inside, he would see a long tie box. On opening the box, he would find a dark blue tie - which she picked because Ravenclaw - with a pattern on it. The tie was from their 'oh my dog' collection.

Outfit of the Day