Madagascar, a small cafe


Ellie was going to hex him silly, she thought. What gave him the right? “Sam, he’s a loser,” she announced, raising a warm cup of tea and giving a sort of cheers to her own words before letting its pretty china hover near her lips. She blew softly at the liquid remedy. Potions weren’t always the answer. Sometimes a good cup of tea was better than anything else.

“I’d steer clear of Dad for a while, definitely... Just not all the way across the globe, Sam.” She added, slowly replacing the cup on the table, and frowning at her older sister. She hated to give such advice-- she was forever trying to get them to lay off each other; Sam’s match with the Grosvenor man had been a disaster, but they could at least agree that Lewis was a blessing, couldn’t they? Silly St. James clan. So hard-headed. How had Ellie ever born into this pretty, crazy mix? (Mmhmm...)

Reaching over the table, she clasped her sister’s shoulder. Her fingers wiggled slightly as she shifted her rings to make sure their various designs weren’t digging into Samia. Her sister was fragile enough at the moment, Ellie thought.

“But if you want me to talk to him,” she offered, now tilting her head down soberly, her eyes and brows floating upward. “Dad, I mean. Not the tabloid fodder with the pretty bum.” Just the thought made Eleanor want to grumble again. If someone had done that to her... “Or if you want me to watch Lewis for a while, you can go rest at home." Emphasis on the H word. Ellie had had to wake up at quite the ridiculous hour to Floo over for a normal cup of tea with her sister. "You know I’ve got nothing better to do while I wait for a job to drop in my lap...” She smiled innocently, pulling back with a hum. "Mum and Dad would love to see him."


outfit

Sam nodded in agreement as Ellie called Jason a loser. He was a loser - he'd lost out on her, and by the looks of things he regretted it. He travelled all the way out to Madagascar to find her, not actually knowing where she would be. Sure, he had an address [and Sam was going to make sure Charlotte paid for her carelessness], but when she hadn't actually been at the house he had went out scouring the village and beach for her. Unfortunately for Sam [at the time] he found her. Though the more she had thought on it overnight, the more romantic it had seemed. Maybe she was just looking through rose-tinted glasses. She needed to stay focussed on the important part of all this; Jason cheated on his wife.

Sam sighed as she stirred the spoon absent-mindedly in her cup of milky tea, listening to Ellie talk about staying away from dad. She pursed her lips to the side. She had not for one second doubted that her father would be unhappy at this. The amount of money he forked out to keep the reasons behind the separation of his daughter from the Grosvenor away from the public eye was phenomenal. He must have been positively chomping at the bit to get his hands around the neck of Rita Skeeter...or Jason...probably both. Of course there was the tiny detail that Jason wasn't pure-blooded. No doubt her father will have done his research, so she was in for it when she got home. 'He's not good enough, not of pure blood. You need to find someone of a higher standing.' The coercing into a pureblooded match carried on even though she was nearing thirty and had a son.

Sam blinked and looked up as she felt a warm hand clasp her shoulder and squeeze slightly. Her eyes met with Ellie's pale blue ones and she instantly felt warmth pouring through her body. Her baby sister had a way of making that happen even when Sam was at her lowest. though they argued and fought, as much now they were older as when they were younger, Sam loved Eleanor more dearly than she ever thought she could.

“Dad, I mean. Not the tabloid fodder with the pretty bum.”

Sam snickered slightly, half way between a snort of laughter and a gentle weep, as though she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. "He does have a very nice bottom..." she said wistfully.

“Or if you want me to watch Lewis for a while, you can go rest at home."

Sam raised an eyebrow and looked up at her sister. She smiled slightly and sighed, placing her own hand over her sister's on her shoulder. "I know you're trying to help, Ellie, but I'm not ready to go back yet. I'm not ready to face...everything." Her brows pinched together slightly. By 'everything' she meant 'certain people', namely her parents and Jason. She knew it was inevitible - she couldn't hide out in Madagascar all of her life, though she would love the opportunity and Lewis would welcome the days of endless surfing in the crystal blue sea.

"Mum and Dad would love to see him."

She nodded solmenly and went back to stirring the teaspoon around the fine china cup, unaware of the clinking noise she was making as the metal hit the sides of the drinking utensil. "What...what have they said?" she asked warily, unsure of whether she actually wanted to know. No doubt they would have grumbled to Ellie about it a number of times, though it was not her fault. Parents had a way of griping about things to whoever was there, regardless of whether that person was involved at all.

“But lots of men have nice bottoms,” Ellie offered, rolling her eyes, but still smirking nevertheless. Why did the best looking ones have to be great, big prats who’d never aged past playboy status? Wasn’t Healer Marren old enough to know better than to play games of doctor with his coworkers? And the poor woman had died, too. That couldn’t have been easy on Sam’s conscious; she had too big a heart not to feel bad about it. Though none of it-- Ellie wanted to make sure she knew it-- was her fault. And she wasn’t a fool for falling for the handsome devil, either. “You just have to find the right one.”

And clearly, in Eleanor’s opinion, the publicized philanderer hadn’t been the one. “Third time’s the charm, right?”

Thomas, Jason... whoever was next had better be worth her sister’s time, or he was going to meet the wrong end of Eleanor’s wand.

Luckily, not all of the Grosvenors were like her sister’s first husband. And, with luck, Jason’s own adorable little son would grow up unscathed. Maybe Lewis would have a friend at Hogwarts yet.

“Take your time,” she said more softly, realizing she might have taken a bit too much of a headstrong stance. She couldn’t always help it; the Gryffindor in her came out in moments like this. Where her sister was bright, Eleanor was foolishly bold. “Just don’t hide forever. You’re too good. And you need to be strong for Lewis. I’ll spend some time with him while you think everything over and get ready to move on to the next chapter... but don’t just shut yourself away completely.”

Conveying this-- the balance she thought Sam needed to reach-- was difficult. Least of all because she was simultaneously encouraging Sam to rest, take time off work and motherhood, and being a responsible daughter, and also to face the world.

“If you end up moving here permanently, I’ll have your head,” she added, narrowing her brows and lifting her teacup again. It was a beautiful place, but their rainy heartland wouldn’t be the same without Samia. “They’ll be saying Jason who?, look at this crazy bat Eleanor St. James who decapitated her sister.”

"What...what have they said?"

Ellie’s playful, sour expression softened into a sad sort of frown. She looked down into her teacup. The boldness seemed to be evaporating quickly. “Well, you know Dad... he doesn’t think much of your taste in men.” She looked up, almost shyly, but then spoke candidly. “He’ll never really get over the disaster with the Grosvenors, will he?” No one would ever measure up to Thomas, at least in terms of success, even if, in reality, his fortune and prestige went above and beyond Thomas Grosvenor’s. It was the principle of it, the fact that Daddy had arranged the courtship, ceremony, and ensured survival of their blueblooded family tree. “Mum’s been trying to calm him down, though,” she added, her voice less uncertain. It rose an octave in cheerfulness, and something sparkled in Ellie’s gaze. “She wants to set you up, though. She’s already making lists of eligible bachelors.” Eleanor rolled her eyes; times like these made her glad she was the baby of the family. If anyone tried to set up the Gryffindor graduate, there would be hell to pay. Luckily, the duty to produce heirs didn’t fall so heavily on her, as she had numerous siblings who were already fulfilling the quota. “This is why you need to mourn, get some sun, and then get back to England and find yourself a real man. You don’t want to be stuck going on dates with some middle-aged widower with children older than me. Or some kid who thinks snogging will get you up the duff.”

“But lots of men have nice bottoms,”

"True." she sighed still stirring the spoon in the teacup. But his was particularly nice. Bottoms like that didn't waltz their way into one's life everyday.

“Third time’s the charm, right?”

Sam glanced up and couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "I'll drink to that." she stated, lifting her tea cup up in a toast and taking a sip. Vanilla Chai tea. Very nice.

“Just don’t hide forever. You’re too good. And you need to be strong for Lewis. I’ll spend some time with him while you think everything over and get ready to move on to the next chapter... but don’t just shut yourself away completely.”

Sam's eyes softened as they focussed on her little sister. Her hand moved forward and squeezed Ellie's. "I won't. I promise. But what's this?" she asked, feigning shock. "My little sister is apparently more worldly and less nonsensical than myself?! How on earth did that come to be?" She shot a grin in Ellie's direction and went to take another sip of her tea. Eleanor St.James always knew how to defuse the drama out of a situation, which, at first seemed completely impossible to make sense of. Though she had intelligence, it was apparent that Sam wasn't always the best at figuring out a logical explanation for life. This was where Ellie stepped in and saved the day.

“They’ll be saying Jason who?, look at this crazy bat Eleanor St. James who decapitated her sister.”

Sam laughed, her head tilting back slightly. "You are a crazy bat, that's for sure!" she agreed. But even Ellie couldn't hold off on the truth for long, and the change in her expression as their parents were brought up caused Sam to groan. "It's worse than I thought." she surmised before Ellie had even had a chance to say her piece.

“Well, you know Dad... he doesn’t think much of your taste in men.”

Sam rolled her eyes. "When has he ever? He won't have been pleased that Jason is a halfblood." she warned. Their dad was very quick to do his homework on subjects of such 'importance', and this time will have been no different. Sam grimaced when it was revealed to her that their mother was doing her best to set her up with some stuffy old coot who had no personality and more money than sense.

“This is why you need to mourn, get some sun, and then get back to England and find yourself a real man. You don’t want to be stuck going on dates with some middle-aged widower with children older than me. Or some kid who thinks snogging will get you up the duff.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. "The latter may be something different. Maybe I need some change in my life." she teased. "Oh I don't know." she said, sighing into her cup. "Maybe I'll come back home tomorrow morning...I miss my apartment."

They could joke about men’s bums, and give cheers to better futures, but Ellie was still worried that Sam might not snap out of it. Thomas had done a number on her heart-- not that they’d ever really been in love, but his failure to try at the arrangement had not been easy, particularly when there was a little boy involved-- and Sam didn’t need any more harsh critics from the outside looking in. Tabloids masquerading as news features had driven her across the globe in less than a day. That made Ellie frown.

But her sister’s word had always been good, hadn’t it? A promise was a promise. And even if the words were only for comfort’s sake at the moment, Eleanor was sure there was a true intention underneath. She just needed to give Sam time. It was hard to remind herself of that, despite the fact that she currently sat there encouraging it.

“Oh, you-- you’re terrible. Making jokes at a time like this...” Ellie shook her head, but then mirrored Sam’s smile. Who had been the one to bring up Jason’s bum? Oh, right. “Worldly is right,” she continued, sounding rather proud and sassy. “I traveled a bit after graduation, or have you already forgotten? I know it was ages ago, and you’re getting up there in years, but...”

Laughing, too, because she knew she could never kill her own sister, no matter what sort of disappearing act Sam attempted, Ellie leaned back in her chair. Her shoes pressed to the table’s stem, so that she was performing a sort of balancing act that might be catastrophic to the average, ballsy young person. But Eleanor St. James, like her sister, had magic on her side.

She hadn’t meant to tear Sam away from the momentary laughter-- a private, if fleeting sort of joy that could only be shared by sisters, and which evaded clocks and reality-- but their parents were a Big Issue, and one which couldn’t be ignored. Being the baby of the family, Ellie had a sort of... advantage... when it came to their father’s moods and will. “Better a half-blood than a bloody eighth of a man like Grosvenor,” she offered. “But... no, he won’t be. That’s sort of like telling him you’ve burned down his house after you’ve flooded it.” His daughter. Dating a philanderer. A philanderer who, P.S., also happened to be a half-blood.

She went on, delivering the news of their mother’s busywork. But Sam’s reaction made Ellie brighten, and all four legs of her her chair unceremoniously met the ground again. “Really? Tomorrow? Excellent!” She beamed. “I won’t tell them,” she added quickly. “You can still have all the time you need-- but, I think it’s great, if you try to go back to normal. A few steps at a time, right? Keep pushing forward...” It was bound to get better. “And I’m rubbish at watering plants or collecting the post, so you’ll have to return, even if you didn’t miss your place. And hey, you can start your new life as a cougar.” She winked.