The day before, Carys had gone dress shopping with her sister for the Yule Ball. She had found the most beautiful gown for the event, and was really looking forward to it. Even though she didn't have a date yet. Of course, Carys wasn't sure if she would have one at all. Carys wasn't the sort to have much interest in boys. As a Whitman, she was expected to be involved with a certain type of boy- and that type was scarce around Hogwarts it seemed.

No matter, though. She could enjoy the ball without a date. The last thing the Ravenclaw needed was romance distracting her from more important things... Academics were much more pressing at the moment than a date to the ball. She could dance with a few of her housemates and some of her friends in Slytherin.

Today was the last day of the Hogsmeade weekend. Since she had found the perfect dress, Carys had invited Liviana to go with her to have a look at some shoes. The day before all they had found were heels. She was already self conscious about her height... Adding heels to that would only make things that much worse. Carys was taller than most of the boys... Well, except for that super tall Hufflepuff werewolf. But he hardly counted. (At least, that was what she would have been taught to believe.)

A girl's day would be nice, though. The two girls headed into Gladrags and Carys made an immediate beeline for the shoes. "I just want to find a nice, simple flat," she said to Liviana. "Something white or silver. But all we saw yesterday were high heels. The lady who owns the shop said that she would be getting a lot of new shoes in for the Yule Ball. And if we can't find something that she had a catalog."

"I still don't understand why you shun heels, they're a girl's best friend," Livi said absently as she followed her blonde counterpart through the store shrugging out of her winter coat as they went. Liv was average in height and actually envied her cousin's long legs. Of course Carys did stand as tall as most boys in their year with minimal lift and dancing was much easier when you were around the same height as your partner. She was pondering all of this silently in her head as the Ravenclaw scanned the shelves of shoes for something to her liking, mind preoccupied by the omnipresent feeling she couldn't shake, the itching in the back of her head telling her sabotage was afoot. She and Ezra hadn't talked about it since that morning in the hall outside the boy's lavatory... but it was always with her. She felt positively paranoid sometimes though she worked very hard at hiding it from everyone around her. As far as anyone was concerned she and Ezra were perfectly happy life was lovely; which, to be fair, it was most of the time.

Dropping into a nearby chair she crossed and tucked her ankles, coat draped over her lap. She'd already found shoes and was pinching every single knut until she found the perfect gift for Ezra. It was hard shopping for boyfriends, especially boyfriends you'd only really been with a month or so. She wanted to strike the right note with it; it had been much easier with Drake the previous Christmas. He was all about Quidditch and the Falcons so she'd had Dom sign one of his old beater bats, "What about those," she gestured to a pair of low heels in satiny white, "it's a kitten heel really, though if you're wearing gloves they could be a little matchy-matchy," she leaned forward a little tucking a dark lock of hair behind her ear, "are you wearing gloves? I can't make up my mind. And then of course there is the question of whether or not they should be above or below the elbow. You would think once you find the dress the hardest part would be over, but the nit picking details drive me mad".

She shook her head, rolling her eyes, "Has anyone asked you yet? I was thinking of talking to Ezra and seeing if he had a friend; but we all know basically the same people and Merlin help me if he suggested you go with Nick". She visibly shuddered at the thought, she didn't care who Ezra spent time with or what he did, but Liviana wasn't about to try to set her cousin up with someone who spent most of his time in a fog of Gillyweed smoke. It might have been easier if her cousin had shown the slightest interest in anyone, but Carys was a Raven through and through, always more focused on her studies than social climbing. There was also a certain sweet innocence to her, she still believed people were more good than bad and while Liviana admired it she certainly didn't understand it. That was probably what separated them into Ravenclaw and Slytherin in the end. "If you don't find anything you like or want to order I do have that pair of silver quilted ballet flats I've never worn. Actually, even if you do find something you can have those. They're just taking up room in my trunk. I don't even remember what I bought them to go with".

"You know perfectly well why I shun heels," Carys responded, scrunching up her nose. "The boys aren't even six feet tall yet, Liviana. I've no interest in towering over them anymore than I already do. As it is the only people I could dance with in high heels without looking a fool includes Professor Trishna, Hagrid, or Zel Trumble. I don't know about you, Livi, but I don't particularly like the sounds of that list. If I can find a nice pair of flats then, at the very least, I can be more or less the same height of more suitable dance partners." Not that there were very many boys at Hogwarts that were considered "suitable" by Carys. She had the particular tastes bred into all Whitman women, and she knew that her family would have a large say-so in whomever she found herself marrying, thus she didn't bother wasting her time in frivolous, school age romances.

She looked at the kitten heels that Liviana pointed out and sighed quietly. "I am wearing gloves," she told her. "A pair that come right over the elbow. White gloves," she added. "My dress is more silver in appearance, though. I shall have to show it to you when we return to the castle. I had it fitted yesterday and it was ready by the time we left Hogsmeade. Prompt service is something that I certainly do admire. The yule ball is stressful enough without having to worry about whether or not my dress would be done on time. They had to add a couple of inches of fabric..." Carys said with a slight frown. The dress had been sewn for someone with a much more petite figure. However, after the alterations, it fit Carys perfectly and it was impossible to tell they'd had to add a couple of inches to the skirt.

"Nobody has asked, though that's quite alright by me. I appreciate the thought, Livi, but I do not need your boyfriend to set me up. If I wanted a date, I could find one with little hassle. Ravenclaw has plenty of handsome, single boys. So does Slytherin. I just haven't any interest in them. They haven't asked because they are probably very much aware of that. Besides, Whitmans are known for exacting standards, and I highly doubt a teenaged boy has quite learned to live up to them. I considered a Durmstrang date. Many of them come from appropriate families, but I'm afraid I do not know enough about the Russian side of my family to know how closely related to some of them I may be. They're quite brooding, aren't they?" Carys asked. "And very ambitious, talented wizards. I like those traits in a man- talent and ambition." The two rarely seemed to go in hand in hand, she had noticed. People either possessed too much talent and not enough ambition, or too much ambition and a lack of talent.

"If he even so much as suggests that I even be seen near Nicholas Bevans, he needs his head examined." Carys shuddered at the very thought. "Gryffindor is bad enough. But Gryffindor and Muggleborn? I should hope Ezra doesn't socialize with him. He isn't worthy." By now, Carys had mastered the tone of disgust that came with being purist. Whether or not her true, personal beliefs reflected those of her family- she sounded the part. Nobody knew, nor would they ever know, her own lack of interest in pedigree. It would ruin her reputation and disappoint her entire family. "He's not got a single, redemptive quality. He isn't even good looking."

Carys picked up a pair of particularly hideous high heels and showed them to Liviana, with a giggle. "Goodness! What a shoe! Who wears such a hideous thing? Why on earth do they even carry such an item! I certainly hope it is a one of a kind." Glancing at the price tag, Carys' polite giggle turned into laughter, which she had a hard time stifling. "As if someone would pay so much for such shoes!"

Liviana bit her tongue as the blonde went on about Whitman family standards. Oh, yes, they were so terribly high! Wasn't Maeve back with Matthews? He was a half-blood who didn't even manage to graduate from Hogwarts. The blood status of others had never been particularly important to Liviana, there was a certain understanding that some people were useful to have around. She wouldn't be joining SAWS any time soon, and she knew what was expected of her - but the thing one had to keep in mind when dealing with the Wizarding world was their numbers were dwindling. There were more halfbloods than anything and you had to adjust for the mild infiltration of the Muggle world into their culture. One had to be adaptable if they wanted to survive. Carys attitude would be the end of her if she didn't learn to keep her opinions more or less to herself. It was a matter of survival. Of course as smart as her cousin was she also still bowed to the wishes of her parents and probably wouldn't fuss at the idea of being a wedded Witch before she was twenty.

It made the Slytherin sad in a way, that her beloved Carys lacked more imagination. "Everyone serves a purpose Darling. I trust Ezra's judgment," she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and leaned back in the chair, finger tips braced against one another, "well, I trust his judgement most of the time. I'm still trying to figure out if it was our darling cousin or one of his that planted the idea I was using him in his head. I know I should just let it go but my vindictive streak has been itching lately". Of course she had a general feeling of what the blonde's reaction would be - namely that no one would really try to pit she and Ezra against one another, which was just foolish and probably one of the reasons Carys was a Ravenclaw rather than a Slytherin. She didn't seem to understand what people were capable of, especially in the name of amusement and drama. Livi still hadn't managed to get an accurate feel as to who would have the sway over Inkwood to pull on his mind strings. Whomever it had been things had settled down now for the most part.

She grinned at her cousin as she pounced on a pair of heels in bewildered amusement, Liviana's voice smooth as she toyed with her ring, "Really, you can't think of a single person? Because off the top of my head, I have two words for you: Ligeia Canterbury". They were completely in tune with the Ravenclaw Prefect's tastes and would go smashingly with her shrunken head jewelry. "And, actually," she laughed shaking her head, nose scrunched up a little, "Dazmond would love those. Sometimes I think it's a wonder I've turned out half normal at all with all the crazies in the family". It was said with love but there was a lot of truth to the statement. Alec and Dianora had a different approach to raising her than they had with Daz and Dominik. She was their do-over baby in some respects, not that she minded. It beat being raised by her actual parents; she wanted very little to do with her biological mother and father. Shifting in her chair again she recossed her legs and scanned the shelves for anything of interest, "I was thinking we should do something for New Years. I do not want to get stuck babysitting".

"I suppose you should have faith in his judgement, if you're going to call him your boyfriend." Carys didn't see the point in having a boyfriend at Hogwarts. Such relationships rarely worked out. But Ezra was a pureblood. Livi seemed to like him, he wasn't terrible looking, and as a pair of Slytherins they made sense. "Though blind faith can easily be misplaced. Ezra's actions and behaviors could easily reflect poorly upon you. One of the many reasons I find it more prudent to avoid such relationships... Not that I intend to insinuate it's wrong for you, Liviana. You and I both know you are a stronger person than I. You would be much less easily duped by a handsome face." It took a lot for Carys to admit her faults, but with Liviana she didn't feel there was any reason to hide them. She trusted that Livi wouldn't take advantage of her weaknesses.

Carys gave Liviana a skeptical look when she insinuated someone was pitting Ezra against her. "I doubt someone would really go out of their way to sabotage you, Livi. What is there to gain from breaking up you and Ezra?" It wasn't as though he was betrothed to someone else, and as far as Carys knew or had heard, other girls didn't seem to want to dig their claws into him. "Even if they are, if you let it eat at you, you're only letting them win," Carys added. Might as well look at both sides. "Planting unease and paranoia is a perfect way to ruin a relationship, especially one which hasn't yet stood the test of time."

"The best thing that you can do, Livi, is ignore it," Carys suggested. "You and Ezra can make that decision together. If someone is actively trying to sabotage you, they'll lose interest quickly if they believe it's not worth their time."

That was all Carys really had to add to that particular subject. She could be naive, and as far as she knew had never been on the receiving end of such nefarious plotting. "I had not considered that Ligeia might like them," Carys said. "I think I will buy them for her as a Christmas gift. It never hurts to get in good with a prefect. Besides, her father is an important person at the Ministry. He's on the wizengamot, you know, with Oscar." Carys carefully placed the shoe back in the box and set them aside for purchase.

"I don't think I would mind babysitting very much," Carys said. "Though if you've an idea, I wouldn't mind hearing it." She didn't understand why she couldn't go to the gala. Carys was seventeen, after all. Which meant, by wizarding laws, she was of legal age. There was no reason she shouldn't be allowed to go. Livi wasn't seventeen yet, though... "Maybe there will be something in Diagon or Hogsmeade for students? Or we could have our own party?"

Liviana inspected her nails, heel of her boot bouncing a little as her lips twitched with a mildly amused smile, "You should know better than anyone I never trust anyone blindly. It's about give and take. Besides, when it comes to questionable reputation," she shook her head, sad little laugh tickling in her throat as she inspected her cuticles. "My brother is a suspected murderer who had the good fortune to be well connected enough to serve what could have been a life sentence in Azkaban, being a brutal flyboy for his favorite team. My sister married a halfblood who is currently incarcerated for breaking and entering and was previously mixed up black market trade. I am the last paragon of virtue left to the Wiedman name, so if I were him I'd be more worried about my baggage... and the fact I was dating a girl with a brother suspected to be capable of murder".

She had rambled off this list of factoids with amusement, she knew how desperately Carys wished to be a part of the Monarchy and she knew that her own place had only been secured because of her connection to Maeve. If she had ever valued her status within the group (and not merely participated to keep up appearances) all of these ugly little truths, the skeletons in her closet so to speak, would have been cause for great worry. The thing was, for Livi, the Monarchy was an obligation to fill. She enjoyed Jordyn, Neely, and Mimi; she tolerated Kitty to avoid mutually assured destruction but Liviana had often felt very much like an island in the sea of endless gossip and conversation. It wasn't that the Monarchy girls were inherently shallow or vapid, it was more like so few of them trusted the others enough to ever be genuine. It was a hazard of the environment.

Pushing out of the chair, she laid her coat down and approached her cousin carefully, slipping her arm through the blonde's and giving it a gentle squeeze, "It could be something as simple as...wanting to see if they could," her voice sounded a little far away, not exactly sad but distant as she ran a slender finger over the heel of a wine tinted flat. She envied Carys' ability to believe that people weren't deliberately hateful for no other reason than they lacked amusement for the moment. She knew that her cousin didn't see it as such, but being a Ravenclaw, living outside of the Snake Pit... it was a gift. No one expected her to be like Maeve (though Livi often wondered if Carys expected that from herself), she could just be who she was. She could believe that people wanted to be good and always had genuine motivation behind their actions. It seemed a much simpler and less stressful way to live life.

"I'm sure she'll love them," she gave the other girl a small smile before drifting down the shelves of shoes in the opposite direction, eyes scanning for anything remotely interesting, "I can hardly believe Dolly and Miss. Ó Móráin are actually working together on the Mungo's Gala. I'd almost like to go just to see if a cat fight breaks out," she paused turning toward her cousin, "what do you think of this? It's not too showy, just very classic," she dangled the flat out for Carys to see, head tilted to one side, "We could throw a little get together at the cottage. I'm sure it will be positively vacant unless Dom is skulking about because Niobe still doesn't want to be seen with him," she sounded vaguely distracted as she let her eyes wander the store.  Dom wrote her almost once a week but sometimes she wanted to remind him she was only sixteen, "I haven't heard any plans for a New Years thing, but we could always try Spellpunk, they'd at least have a theme night".

"Be that as it may, any time I have met Dominik he's seemed quite harmless. I suppose off the field he isn't wandering about cussing, angry, and slinging bats at people." He was handsome, too. Which helped. "Besides, if they thought he was particularly dangerous they wouldn't have  given him some kind of deal- he'd bein Azkaban." She couldn'targue for Dazmond, though. Marrying a half blood was unacceptable. Carys couldn't imagine even considering doing something so tragic. "At least you won't let down the family name. You are going to redeemthe family reputation. I suspect your brother could do it, too, if he found the right wife." Because naturally that was all  it took, a well timed wedding to the right pureblooded witch. And heirs, of course.

"Even if you are right, Livi, I still think that not letting it get to you is going to be the best course of action to take. Acknowledge the possibility to Ezra, then agree between the two of you not to let whatever they are up to affect your relationship." It was simple enough to Carys. Nothing bothered the Slytherin elite more than being immune to their nettling.

When Liviana mentioned the Mungo's gala- marvelling at St. James and O Morain, Carys giggled. "It must be some kind of publicity stunt. One that apparently is working. We are talking about it. Of course, were I St. Mungo's, I wouldn't want the name of my hospital tainted by a woman like that. She's a criminal. To think that my dear godfather is involved with that woman. He deserves better- a lady wholly unblemished." Carys was quite fond of her godfather, and wanted only the best for him... Which is what Carys wanted for all Whitmans.

Carys looked at the shoe, and sighed a little. "It's the wrong color, and I'm not a fan of pointed toes. My dress... It's an odd color. It is silvery, and yet almost gold. It's difficult to explain. Champagne colored?" Then Carys' eyes were caught by a another shoe. She picked up the shoe with a smile. "Aha! Just like this. And the toe is even rounded. These would be perfect for my dress." The Ravenclaw was glad to have finally found the appropriate shoe. "There! Now I've a dress and shoes. Accessories are minimal. I've got the gloves, and a pair of earrings. With a high collared dress I'll have no need for a necklace. It's fallen right into place!"

When Liviana suggested Spellpunk, Carys wrinkled her nose. "I've never been a fan. But I suppose if it is the only option, I could go. I think it might be more fun to plan a party, though. Our own little special event. Though I'm not sure how easy it would be to get guests. If Spellpunk is doing a special event, it would likely draw possible partygoers away." Spellpunk just wasn't the sort of place that catered to the fine tastes that Carys liked to pretend she had. It wasn't exactly a place appropriate for a young, pureblood witch trying to maintain a very specific reputation.

"Of course, I might not be able to get out of babysitting Maxen," Carys said, frowning. She and her little brother did not get along. She knew that he had been behind the Hogwarts gossip collumn speculating that she was a half-giant. "I guess Spellpunk- or anywhere else, for that matter- would be preferable to having to spend a whole evening with Maxen."

Liviana eyed her cousin with amusement, it was awe inspiring the way she just believed what people presented to the world was who they really were. Livi loved her brother but he was troubled in a way that her mind could not begin to fully grasp at the tender age of sixteen - cynical as she might have been. There was a brutal sickness in him that kept the man from ever progressing to full adulthood even though he was thirty now. It hurt her, in a  very real way, that he was so terribly unhappy... but that was one of the many secrets she kept closely guarded to her heart. The brother she loved and the man he projected himself to be, the one who put cigarettes out on rival's necks and got arrested for harassing muggles and almost causing a Muggle Relation incident with that shrew of a reporter... they were two completely separate people. He was Jekyll and Hyde come to life.

Crays' voice brought her back to the conversation giving a small nod of her dark head, "You're right, Darling. It's wasted energy anyway. He's rather over the moon for me," she looked a little pleased with herself before her smile turned rather rueful, of course what she failed to add was that she was rather over the moon for him as well. Carys believed in following family pressure, fulfilling duty over personal desire; Liviana had seen that very mentality destroy her brother. He never would have been involved in the war if he hadn't been so pushed by the family to prove their alliance. People assumed she was too young to remember what Dominik had been like, who he was before the war...but she wasn't, not really. Blood politics and blindly following family ambition was a surefire way to break yourself.  Liv wanted more out of her life than all that would bring her.

As her cousin commented on how it was all coming together, an evening absolutely perfect, "Well, now you've got everything but the boy. It really is a pity we can't just conjure up some dreamy date out of thin air," she frowned a little for a moment before snapping her fingers, seeing a familiar head of blonde hair pass by the shop window across the street, "ERIN"! Her voice started two of the shopgirls and she quickly covered her mouth to stifle a giggle, brown eyes bright as she snapped her fingers shaking her head, "why didn't I think of this before? I'm sure he still doesn't have a date. I'd have heard about it if he did, so just hear me out," she could already see her cousin listing off several reasons why Erin Harper was not the perfect date and why Liviana would be incredibly daft for suggesting otherwise. It wasn't as though he was often charming or engaging or...nice to most people.

"It is, admittedly, a strictly political move on your part. I am not suggesting you fall in love with him - however, think about it. He comes from a Pureblood family, he captains one of the best Slytherin Quidditch teams we've had in as long as I've been at this school, he's a Hogwarts Champion, and as a nice fat bonus to the package he's one of the few boys who is generously within your height range. Also, though it is just my personal opinion, his face is not terrible to look at. I will grant you that he is not always the most pleasant person to be around, just imagine it gives him a brooding sort of charm, You'd go to not having a date at all to having a big fat social climbing boost on your arm. Think of the way people will talk and speculate. It'd get them to stop whispering about the half-giant thing, which no one even believes but I know deep down bothers you," Carys height was a very sensitive subject.

Liviana couldn't help feeling a little pleased with herself. She adored Erin because she understood his desire to be a bit of a wanker. She was rather envious of the fact he could, for the most part, behave how he liked. Of course she wouldn't want Landis Morgan for a big brother. It wasn't that she didn't like her Head of House, she found him very intelligent but she also knew he only cared so much about his students in so far as how they reflected on him. He got involved when they screwed up, when they brought negative attention to the house. Presenting less than a united front - whatever their actual inner workings were was not acceptable. She was a bright and engaged student, so Landis more or less left her alone. She couldn't imagine the kind of hell Erin caught whenever he was the reason people looked upon Slytherin negatively, but he'd done less of that lately too.

"Tell me I'm brilliant, or at least that you'll consider talking to him. We only have two Yule Balls left in our Hogwarts career. I want them to be as brilliant and memorable as possible. Besides, I can assure you that for all his faults, Erin is an excellent dancer," she paused tilting her head to one side, "I think he might even try to be a little charming if you flutter those big eyes at him a little," her lips twitched with a grin, unable to conceal the fact she basically thought she was a genius.  She did, however, manage to refrain from doing a happy little dance right there in the middle of the shop. She wasn't totally sure if Carys would go through with it but if she didn't, maybe Livi would talk to Erin herself. She sighed a little as her cousin politely dismissed the idea of Spellpunk. She knew it wasn't Carys sort of place but it was worth a shot.

"Well, if we're going to plan something we should probably start now. Even if the cottage is empty, throwing an open invite rager would get me killed. I don't know why, because Merlin knows what Dolly and Dazmond got up to when they were our age but whatever," she rolled her eyes a little, self satisfied grin still tugging on her lips. "So you bring him and we lock him in the cellar and hope he gets eaten by one of the weird plants Dazmond keeps down there. Solves two problems in one night," of course she didn't really want Maxen dead, he was family after all. Also, he could be rather amusing when he wanted to be. Collecting her coat she turned back toward her cousin and tilted her head toward the door, "We could discuss an ideal guest list over a cup of tea, if you're sure those are the shoes. I'm not splurging on anything for me until after I find Ezra's Christmas present".

Carys wished a boy would be over the moon for her. Especially a boy who was of appropriate bloodlines. But she knew that it was unlikely to happen. Carys gave off the impression of being cold and unapproachable (even if it wasn't entirely true), and she had made it quite clear that she understood her lot in life was to marry whomever her parents approved of. Even if marriages weren't arranged all the time anymore, they were often helped along by the meddling adults in a young woman's life. "I am glad to hear that he cares so much. I only wish for you to be happy, Liviana." As long as her happiness was with another prueblood, of course.

She crinkled her nose as her cousin mentioned the boy. "I had actually intended on going alone," Carys said- just before Liviana started to suggest Erin Harper as the perfect date. Admittedly, Carys did not know Erin particularly well. Her social circle consisted of females- as was only proper. That and from what she had heard of and knew about him, Carys had assumed they would not get on very well. Better not to make enemies where one doesn't need them. Though, as Liviana explained her reasoning, Carys had a hard time finding a valid argument. He was the captain of the Slytherin quidditch team- wouldn't her Slytherin friends just die of envy over that. He was a champion. And, finally, a pureblood. Carys supposed he wasn't ugly- though she didn't generally think of boys at Hogwarts as handsome or good looking.

Carys looked suddenly wounded as Livi mentioned the rumors about her being half-giant. She frowned, groaned, and covered her face with her hand. No doubt her vicious younger brother was behind that. And Liviana was right- it did bother her. And it wasn't a deep-down kind of bother either. In fact, it was a bubbling on the surface kind of bother. Why had she been so tall? Carys wished she had gained the petite stature from the Whitman side of the family, instead of the height from the Grumman side. She might be blond and angelic, but she was about five inches taller than she wished to be.

"It's actually the only Yule ball," Carys said. It was a knee-jerk correction. She was often correcting things people said. "A Yule Ball is quite different from a winter or Christmas ball. The only proper Yule Ball I'll ever have- with the Tournament and all..." She trailed off, placing a long, slender finger on her bottom lip as she considered Liviana's suggestion. "I cannot deny that it would be an excellent move on my part. Though I do hate knowing that I would have to do the asking. It's hardly feminine or lady-like. But if I don't ask him, one of the other girls will weasel him into asking them, I suppose. It's a shame I do not know him well enough or have the time to try that tactic. Do you think it would be absolutely horrid for me to suggest the idea?" Carys asked. "I'd hate to curse myself by doing something like that. You know it is very much against how I was raised. Throwing proper breeding out the window like that..."

Carys smiled a little when Liviana suggested she could get Maxen eaten by a plant. "As wonderful as it sounds, I do believe my father would have both our heads if harm came to his little heir while he was in our stead." She and Maeve might be older, but Maxen was the boy. And everyone knew that the son outweighed daughters in a pureblood family. They were the livelihood of the family name and all.

"These do seem to be the perfect shoes for my dress. And I think these others would be a lovely gift for Ligeia." A weird gift, yes. But no doubt her prefect would, at the very least, appreciate the thought if she for some unforeseeable reason could not appreciate the footwear. "Perhaps we should find Ezra's present before starting to work on a guest list?" the Ravenclaw suggested. "Otherwise  might lose track of time. I know that planning events is something I rather enjoy. I help my mother with it quite often. And guest lists are always the most important part of any party. We'll have to throw in one or two to spice things up..." Carys added as she glanced at the photo of Liadan O Morain and Dolly St. James again. "Seems to be a good way to gain some attention."

Liv just squeezed her coat happily as Carys commented on her happiness. It was a bit strange, to be so happy with someone, to actually feel something rather than having every move calculated to the last detail. It was nice though, even if it made her terribly nervous. She was both surprised and glad when the leggy blonde seemed to legitimately think over the suggestion of Erin for a date. Their personalities were not completely incompatible, it just depended on how one chose to look at Erin. Liviana enjoyed him for who he was, a somewhat surly wanker who liked to be alone more than a part of the crowd - but if one were to not know him it would be easy to make up who he was in your head. Carys could do that, she obviously had a vivid imagination if she thought Dominik was a good man.

Of course those thoughts were all sidelined by the sort of crushed crestfallen expression at Livi's mention of the half-giant rumor. She knew the subject was touchy but she didn't expect her cousin to show signs of visible pain at it's mention. Carys was brilliant, but her sensitive nature would have gotten her eaten alive by the end of first year if she'd been sorted into Slytherin. You had to have a thick skin with girls like Kitty and Maeve running around. It always surprised Liviana that with an older sister like the former Queen of Slytherin Carys wasn't...more catty. She was just too sweet - even if she did project and air of aloofness, Liv had never really bought it. Then again, they were family and very close friends so maybe she just saw things other people couldn't.

She wasn't even annoyed when Carys corrected her, it was something that she had learned to let roll off her back. There could only be one know-it-all in a conversation at once and she had accepted a long time ago that that particular role belonged to her cousin. "If I thought it was a terrible idea I wouldn't have suggested it," she grinned a little as they made their way to the front of the store, a little bounce in her step, "times have changed Lovey. I know you would prefer it to be the other way around, or at least having time to plant the idea in his head, but I think Erin would respect your upfrontness. Besides, he benefits from it too, he gets a gorgeous date to the only real Yule Ball we'll ever have, and he won't have to try to find someone for the Champion's dance last second," it seemed perfectly logical to her now that she was really thinking about it.

A small sigh escaped her lips as the blonde dismissed her idea of feeding Maxen to a giant plant, "There you go, always ruining my fun," the corner's of Liviana's mouths ticking upwards in a rueful grin. She knew it wouldn't bode well for them if something actually happened to the little devil but it was notice to think of life without him. She couldn't fathom how in the name of Merlin Maeve and Carys had managed not to kill him as a child. Quietly mulling this over she looked up at Carys with a small sigh, "The problem is I haven't the foggiest idea what to get him. Boys are usually so easy, you throw some Quidditch thing in their face and they're ecstatic. Ezra is more cerebral. It requires thought, and since it is our first holiday as a couple it needs to strike the right tone. I can't be too lavish or he'll think I'm too attached, but it can't be something that looks like I put too much thought into it either. Shopping for boys you actually like is such a chore".

Carys still was not fond of the idea of having to ask Erin to the ball herself. She would much prefer that he ask her. But that wasn't a particularly likely scenario. She hadn't had enough time to be conniving about it. Carys hoped that Livi was right, that Erin would appreciate her being up front about things. She would hate to offend him or further harm her own reputation by being so dreadfully forward. But she needed a date, and he was an appropriate choice.

She supposed that Liviana was right- shopping for a boy you liked probably was a chore. But Carys would know very little about that. She did not have any crushes, and had not really allowed herself to view boys as more than classmates. Carys did not want to give her heart away to a boy who would not keep it or one who might not be allowed to keep it. If her family wanted to arrange a marriage for her, Carys would allow them. She was as traditional as they came- for the most part.

The Ravenclaw girl paid for the shoes she had picked up, and led the way to the door of the shop. "Well, I will help in anyway I can to help you find something for Ezra. Let's have a look around a few shops. Perhaps, if nothing else, you could ask Dominik's advice? He was a young man once, he might be able to help." Carys held the door open for her cousin, and the two of them were emptied out onto the street.