Liviana had sent Giselle a letter earlier in the week complaining about her house being overloaded with purebloods and family members. She needed an escape from the holidays and mentioned how they didn’t seem to be spending as much time together as they used to. Giselle agreed, they both lived in London and yet they hardly had seen each other this winter break. The past winter breaks, Liviana practically lived at her flat for sometimes up to three days. Liviana had been spending more time with Dracon, a Slytherin quidditch player, and less time with Giselle which she hadn’t taken well at all. It wasn’t that she disliked Dracon, but she didn’t like becoming second in anyone’s life, including Liviana. Her father had the nerve to ask Giselle where Liviana had been in a passing attempt at a morning conversation while he made his coffee and it ended with Giselle snapping that she didn’t know or cared, and she stormed from the room. But she did, and that annoyed her too. The emotional side of her told Giselle to write Liviana a big, long letter about how she could bugger off, and to give Giselle back the earrings Liviana borrowed. The logical side of her told her that she would regret telling her friend to leave her alone, but as it usually does, her emotional side overwhelmed her like the tide and she had sat down to write her a letter when the Wiedman family owl came and sat at her window. It was Liviana, and she wanted to come over and have some girl time together. At first, Giselle was angry at the fact that she only seemed to want to hang out when it suited Liviana, and then as minutes passed she began to get excited at seeing her dearest friend.

Tonight was that night and Giselle had cleaned up her room (because her father threatened to tell Liviana she wasn’t home if she didn’t) and was in the process of grabbing two small cartons of Witch’s Cauldron Delight when there was a few knocks on her door. “Dad,” Giselle said calmly, setting the cartons on the counter. She opened the drawer to find a pair of spoons. Another knock came; Giselle whipped her head around, “Dad, would you please get the door!”

It wasn’t so much a question but a badly worded demand.

Peter Holm came from the hallway, a pair of black horn rimmed glasses on his nose. He looked a little tired and rubbed his eyes. He had just returned from a protected sanctuary in Ireland trying to meet the leprechaun chief but the only thing he managed to meet was a very angry jarvey when he disturbed a faerie patch and apparently disrupted his hunt. Peter opened the door and greeted Liviana, motioning for her to come inside. “Giselle,” Peter said a little loudly to Giselle in the kitchen, “Liviana is here.” Giselle stepped out of the kitchen in her pajamas and smiled, a handheld carton of ice cream in each hand and her index fingers wrapped around silver spoons.

“A little early, aren’t you?”

Giselle kept walking past Liviana and towards the hallway. Liviana followed behind Giselle as she climbed the curvy staircase and turned a sharp right into her bedroom. Using a shake of her hips, she shut the door behind Liviana and set the cartons down on her vanity. “So,” Giselle said as she placed her hands on her hips and looked at Liviana’s standard sleep over bag and an extra sized bag.

“What’s in the bag?”

Liviana was in a bit of a panic. She couldn’t help it. The night before she’d gone into Hogsmeade to meet Dracon and well… he’d sprung a very last minute thing on her. She’d written Giselle right away because she needed her best friend’s help - it was only after sending the letter she realized what absolute bad form it had been in. It would look like she only wanted to spend time with Elle when she needed help or Drake was busy - and that wasn’t it at all. The house had been packed with people since the last week. There were the Dark Twins, and Effy, and Daz, and Nate - Dom showed up a couple times for dinner even. There was so much going on, and getting ready for the Holiday she hadn’t be allowed to leave. The previous night had been the first of freedom for her since coming home from Hogwarts. It was rotten luck and she hated it because whether Giselle believed it or not Liviana did miss her. She missed curling up in bed with the blonde and giggling for hours before falling to sleep. She missed sprawling on the floor listening to Three Owl Standard for hours and talking about all the places they wanted to go once they were grown up and brilliant social climbers. Being in a family that had social expectations was such a chore sometimes. Then of course there was the fact that Beatrix made subtle disapproving faces whenever Elle came up. It was really the one thing she and Liviana actually fought about.

She’d thrown her things in a bag and left a hasty note for everyone that she was going out and she’d be back in the morning. Aliec would know it was code for I need out of this house before I loose my marbels. She also packed her camera and the special present Dracon had given her the night before. Her hands were cold once again because she didn’t know how to wear gloves when she left the house and of course her boots were completely ill fitted for snow. With her luck she’d go breaking her ass before what could potentially be one of the most important nights of her life. Hiking her bag up higher on her shoulder she bounded up the stairs outside Giselle’s flat taking them two at a time, chilled fingers pulling her coat closer to her shivering body. It seemed forever between the time she knocked and an exhausted looking Peter opened the door. She gave him a cheerful smile and shook her head, “Hello, Mr. Holm. The Princess still above answering the door?” she sounded amused as she slipped inside, tucking her hair behind her ear. There was a safe familiar feeling that welcomed her once she was inside. It was almost like coming home to the cottage - only quieter.

Looking up as the blonde popped out of the kitchen she waved to Peter and hurried over to her friend, giving her a double cheek air kiss, “I learned within a week of meeting you not to keep you waiting Lovey,” her voice was teasing as she followed the girl up the familiar staircase. Her bag was actually quite heavy now, how could a few dresses and some makeup take so much energy to carry… and now that she was inside why the devil wasn’t she using magic to levitate the whole thing? Once inside Giselle’s room she gingerly set the bag down on the bed and wiped off her coat, falling into one of the arm chairs, “The bag? Oooh just a few essentials we will get to in a minute - and maybe someone’s Christmas present,” she held her hands out to the other girl for a proper hug but made no move to stand up, “Come on, give us some love then, and I’ll tell you how terribly I’ve missed you and what a wretched girl I am for not coming to see you sooner or writing more”. Her smile was a little bit rueful as she sank back into the chair. Eventually she would bring up what she needed help with - but if there was one thing Liviana new Giselle needed - it was to feel like the most important person in the room for a good chunk of time before you asked her for something.

Liviana sank into one of Giselle’s neutral colored arm chairs and breathed a little sigh of relaxation. “The bag? Oooh just a few essentials we will get to in a minute - and maybe someone’s Christmas present” This had perked Giselle’s attention and her face brightened like she was ten years old again and her father had just told her he brought her home her cat, Sprinkles. Her smile grew into a full set of white teeth between light pink lips and she quickly clapped both her hands together excitedly, “oooh, yes!” She gave a little cheer before Liviana spoke again, her arms stretching out expecting a hug. “Come on, give us some love then, and I’ll tell you how terribly I’ve missed you and what a wretched girl I am for not coming to see you sooner or writing more” Her mind wagered war on each other. One side was too excited about receiving a present and wondering what she got to be still annoyed with Liviana, and the other had been suddenly reminded that she was annoyed with Liviana and should not let her off the hook so easily. Like usual, her emotional side took over and she made a sour face, her brow wrinkled and eyes narrowed. Giselle’s hands found their way back to her hips, “and why should I? You certainly haven’t acted like you missed me very much.” Her tone was more hurt than angry, but Giselle wouldn’t let herself be swayed by Liviana’s sweetness. Her friend had been unfair to her, and if there was one thing that Giselle disliked, it was being treated unfairly. Liviana hardly knew Dracon and already she had been replaced by him. It showed Giselle how easily she could be tossed aside, and that infuriated her.

The two girls had been close since they were eleven years old. Giselle couldn’t relate to muggle children so her first real friend had been Liviana. While she did have her share of muggle friends when she was young, Giselle never felt like she belonged with them. She played the part and was very popular, but it never felt right. Hogwarts had felt right, spending time with other magical children had felt right, and Liviana had felt right. Being a half-veela, she was born with self-confidence radiated out of her pretty pores, and couldn’t fully understand why Liviana needed anyone else besides her anyways. While Giselle had had plenty of boyfriends and had spent a fair amount of her time away from Liviana, she always made time for her. Giselle loved boys and loved attention and loved affection, she liked being called beautiful and kissing. But at the end of the day, boys were just boys, and if anyone knew how shallow and silly they were, it was Giselle. She didn’t see why Liviana was making such a fuss over one. There were thousands like him, and there was only one Giselle.

Liviana sighed and reached out, wrapping her slender fingers around her friends wrist and tugging her closer, “Gigi,” her voice was soft as she slid her arms around the blonde’s middle and gave her a squeeze, “I honestly have missed you Lovey, really. I feel absolutely wretched I haven’t seen you in nearly a week and didn’t have time to write. Everything has been so miserable at the cottage. There are so many people and I’m trying to make Beatrix happy. I don’t want to fight with you right before Christmas,” she looked up at the other girl, her chin pressing into the soft flesh of Giselle’s abdomen, brown eyes doleful as her bottom lip protruded a little. Sometimes the other girl took some coaxing but she got over things as fast as she got angry about them. Things had been strained since she started seeing Dracon but she was trying, really trying. She knew it wasn’t fair that she got so wrapped up in him - but it also wasn’t fair that Elle expected Liv to belong to just her. This was a new stage in their friendship and she was just trying to figure out how to get her footing. Biting her lip she sighed, looking a little dejected as she loosed her grip on the other girl and sat back in the chair. She would just have to wait for Elle to calm down.

Running her fingers through her hair she gave a small ouf noise as Sprinkles jumped from the floor onto her stomach, “Well at least one Holms is happy to see me. How are you Miss Priss?” she cooed lowly at the fluffy white animal no doubt shedding all over her pants. The fat cat looked at her lazily and swished her tail, head butting against Liviana’s fingers. In that moment there was sense memory that came to her - of all the millions of hours she spent in this room, petting this cat, laughing with her friend. It was all jumbled together from the first summer after Hogwarts to every other vacation they ever had. Looking up at Giselle, who’s face masked whatever was going on in her pretty head, Liv’s face sank a little, her voice soft, “I really am sorry. I know it hasn’t been easy the last few months. It’s confusing for me too… I’ve never liked a boy so much. I’ve never gotten along so well with anyone before - besides you. It isn’t fair and I’ve been an awful friend - but I still love you Elle, just like I always have. I want you to be a part of this new world I’m trying to build. I can’t be really happy when you’re upset with me, Love”.

“I honestly have missed you Lovey, really. I feel absolutely wretched I haven’t seen you in nearly a week and didn’t have time to write. Everything has been so miserable at the cottage. There are so many people and I’m trying to make Beatrix happy. I don’t want to fight with you right before Christmas”

Giselle gave a slight roll of her bright blue eyes as Liviana tugged her closer. She looked down at her friend when she stopped speaking and pursed her lips to one side as she thought about what she said. She didn’t like talking about Beatrix, Liviana’s aunt, because she didn’t approve of their friendship because of what Giselle was. Not just a half-veela, but more importantly it seemed because she was also a halfblood on top of the creature blood in her veins. The Weidman family never approved of her, and to know someone believed less of Giselle because of what she was also rubbed her the wrong way. This had been a constant problem throughout the years but they always managed to balance everything to where they were still friends and Beatrix and Liviana still got along. It didn’t change the fact that it seriously upset Giselle every time she thought about it. Liviana released Giselle’s wrist but the blonde girl stayed where she was standing, watching a big white cat jump pounce on Liviana’s stomach. “Well at least one Holms is happy to see me. How are you Miss Priss?” Giselle folded her arms over her chest and jutted out one hip, “fat,” she answered for Sprinkles. “We had to change her diet but she’s still as fat as a half-giant,” Giselle smiled and rubbed Sprinkle’s arched back when Liviana scratched the top of her head. There was a gentle purring and Sprinkles slowly lowered her heavily lidded eyes in pleasure.

Giselle stepped back and thought about whether or not she was mad anymore. “I really am sorry. I know it hasn’t been easy the last few months. It’s confusing for me too… I’ve never liked a boy so much. I’ve never gotten along so well with anyone before - besides you. It isn’t fair and I’ve been an awful friend - but I still love you Elle, just like I always have. I want you to be a part of this new world I’m trying to build. I can’t be really happy when you’re upset with me, Love” It was hard to stay angry with a response like that, so Giselle sighed and sat cross legged on her hard wood floor. She looked up at Liviana sitting in her chair and said, “you must like him quite a bit to have this sort of reaction. I thought you always said dating was a waste of time, or is that only when I do it?” It came out more mean than she intended so Giselle quickly recovered, “then again, I suppose I do it enough for the both of us, yes?”

She smiled, a visual display that she meant no offense. Giselle reached up with her long arms, her fingers stretching over the vanity and pulling one of the spoons and cartons off the top, all the while speaking loudly with renewed attitude. “So,” she said, readjusted her seat as she popped off the lid, “tell me all the delicious details – have you slept with him? You better not have and not told me about it.”

Liviana watched as Giselle seemed to argue with herself. She just sad quietly, stroking Sprinkles’ ears and waiting to see how much more groveling she would have to do. This was one of those times where she felt no real guilt in using tactics she knew would pacify her friend. It was manipulative sure but it got the job done. And it wasn’t as if she were lying - she did feel bad and she didn’t want to fight. She hated fighting with Giselle. It was so uncomfortable. Though it did strike her as rather funny that of the major relationships in her life at least three of the people she loved most required a certain method of “handling”. Livi was logical enough to see that - but not many other people were when Giselle got off on one of her tantrums. Liv was the one that waited quietly while the other girl raged and when it was all over would calmly say something like Are you quite finished, Love? Just as Dominik and Drake required her silent patients so too did Giselle. Liv was the only one who ever seemed able to calm her down. She wasn’t completely sure when she had learned the trick to making things better with her friend, but it had been fairly soon after they met. A part of it came from the understanding that Elle felt so displaced with other people. It had been hard for them at first, especially because of the way Aliec and Beatrix viewed halfbloods and creatures in the first place. They didn’t understand how Liv could want to spend time with a mutant. It made her sad, but it was one of the first and few times Liv had stood up for something she felt was right.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she cracked a lazy smile as Giselle fired a quip back at her. She wasn’t too angry then. And, in all honesty it was a fair question, she didn’t know what made Drake different but something did. Sighing she opened one eye, “Up until this point you know I thought most boys were like handbags. The most important thing about them was their ability to look good and match my shoes,” she laughed a little sitting forward and setting the fat cat on the floor, “There’s just something about Drake. I don’t even know what it is. He’s special Gigi. Different. He makes me feel…” she paused trying to find the right words, bottom lip caught between her teeth, “He makes me feel like I’m amazing, when he looks at me it’s like his focus is so intense - like no other person in the world matters but me”. Shifting in her seat, she tucked her legs beneath her and reached for the other carton of ice cream, “You’re used to people making you feel stunning - because you are.  I’ve never been with anyone who makes me feel like no matter what I do or who I am… it’s ok, you know? I don’t have to try and please him, he’s just happy I’m there”. Digging into the ice cream, the bite was a little big and quickly brought on a brain freeze - which was only compounded by Giselle’s next question.

Pressing her thumb and forefinger delicately to her nose and taking a deep breath she shook her head, trying not to laugh, “Merlin! Cut right to the nitty gritty Elle. Jesus,” Setting the ice cream aside she took a deep breath and rubbed her nose, waiting for the sharp pain behind her eyeballs to pass. Making a face she opened one eye again to look at her friend, “You know I wouldn’t do that… the not telling you part I mean. The sleeping with him, well it’s not for his lack of trying.” Chewing on the inside of her lip she was quiet for a time, trying to figure out the best way to explain her thoughts on the situation, “The thing is… he doesn’t call me his girlfriend. We don’t have a title and I feel like… we should, if we’re going to do that,” she swallowed and stood up, making her way to the bed and unzipping her bag, she pulled out a puffy purple thing and held it out toward Giselle, “And then, last night, out of nowhere he buys me a Puff and asks me to his Family Christmas diner. What the do I make of that”? The ball fluffed in her hand and she cooed at it a little, rubbing it’s tiny head, “Does this make me his girlfriend? Is that how boys are going about it these days? Oh here let me buy you something cute and get you into a crippling social situation with my family, Happy Christmas Love!” with the last word she fell back on the lush bed with a large sigh.

When Liviana talked about how Dracon made her feel, Giselle sort of understood what she was saying but not on a personal level. The words made sense, but because Giselle had never experienced not being absolutely desired and adored, she felt stunning no matter how she might have dressed or what color lipstick she put on. To her, it was a natural part of life, being admired and her body worshiped was just part of who she was, the same was as a wizard wouldn’t think doing magic was strange because it had always been there inside of them. To a muggle, it was completely ridiculous. Giselle wondered what it was like to be really loved for who she was, and found it hard to believe that she couldn’t experience that sometime in her life. Her father, while he did absolutely was enthralled with her appearance, loved her because of her spark, the bold and wild nature of her. Lena, Giselle’s mother, was a primal beauty, as beautiful and natural as a lightning storm, and equally as dangerous as a hurricane. Giselle had to believe that there was a man who would eventually be able to balance her, love her, and adore her every action whether it was good or bad. Besides, while she could admit sometimes she had a bit of a temper, Giselle didn’t see anything truly wrong with how she acted. So she was emotional, a lot of teenage girls were emotional. She had dated a lot of popular, strong, handsome boys but the relationship always felt shallow and she found herself becoming angry with their lack of understanding. They didn’t understand who or what she was, and they never seemed to care. They knew she was fit as a bloody goddess, they knew she shared legendary veela blood, and they knew they could have some bragging rights to have won over the heart (or at least affections) of such a being. None of them knew Giselle at all, and to be honest, Giselle had grown bored of most of them within the first few days.

She was going to just start dating older men.

Liviana tried not to laugh and Giselle laughed through her smile and gave an innocent shrug of her shoulders, popping her spoon in her mouth. “You know I wouldn’t do that… the not telling you part I mean. The sleeping with him, well it’s not for his lack of trying.” That didn’t surprise Giselle. “The thing is… he doesn’t call me his girlfriend. We don’t have a title and I feel like… we should, if we’re going to do that” Giselle shook her head, looking down at the carton as she dug her spoon inside, “boys don’t think about things like that.” Then, Liviana stood up and pulled out a bundled of purple fluff from her bag. Giselle’s eyes widened and she leaned forward when Liviana held out the puff ball. “Awe,” she cooed over the little creature, touching it’s fluff coat. She always liked pygmy puffs, but she knew Sprinkles would eat one in a heartbeat. With that thought suddenly in her mind, Giselle peered around the room looking for a hungry fat cat on the prowl. “Does this make me his girlfriend? Is that how boys are going about it these days? Oh here let me buy you something cute and get you into a crippling social situation with my family, Happy Christmas Love!”

“I don’t think pygmy puffs are the international symbol for dating, Livi. Sorry to burst your bubble, dear,” Giselle held out her finger with a dab of ice cream on it towards the puff’s little mouth. She didn’t bother to look up while she was talking, far too concentrated on the little beast in front of her. “I suppose that means he likes you. Or at least that he wants to shag you enough to spend money on you, you know, like a whore.” Giselle laughed a little at her words and looked up at Liviana, suddenly feeling bad for saying it. Liviana was trying to be serious and Giselle was making jokes at her expense. She dropped her hand into her lap, “what I’m trying to say is, he wouldn’t have spent money on you if he didn’t care about you.”

Giselle didn’t even believe herself really, but she was sure that was Liviana wanted to hear.

“Really, I mean it.”

“You’re a horrible liar,” Liv managed to laugh, still laying on the bed, hand over her face while Giselle played with the Pygmy Puff, “You’re probably right, wretched girl that you are. Which is exactly why I won’t sleep with him,” propping herself up on her elbows she looked down at Giselle, “What am I going to do about this bloody dinner though Elle? I don’t even know what to wear, he said casual but not? Boys are no help when it comes to social code of conduct,” sitting up fully she crossed her legs and dug into her bag once more, slowly pulling out five dresses she’d decided she didn’t hate and seemed mostly appropriate for a family dinner - stylish but modest. “I need feed back. I like the black and white silk - but do the cap sleeves seem a little… afternoon tea with Grandma-ish?” her voice trailed off as she stood and held the dress out in front of her. It was tricky, very tricky. She had to make exactly the right impression - but she wasn’t completely sure what Drake wanted his family to think of her.

“Apparently he’s related to Bombay,” She tossed the black and white dress aside and picked up a soft nude dress with a spotted ribbon at the waist, offering it up for inspection, “Are the straps a bit common you think? God I just know this is going to be a nightmare,” she was rambling now, she got like that when she felt overwhelmed by a situation. “The really horrid thing is it’s tomorrow night. I have like no time to prepare for this really. How long to boys think it takes to put together an outfit that says ‘why no, I’m no a hoar hell bent on shagging your boy in the hall closet’” oh the things she would mutter to herself when she got going. Lifting another black and white shift out of the bag she extended it to Giselle, “Alright, technically this is yours but it’s been in my closet since my birthday in June so technically does that make it mine? If not but you think it would be good for the dinner, can I borrow it?” She stopped moving finally, turning to look at Giselle, her lips pursed to one side, “God what if it’s just the four of us? I don’t think I can take Bombay that long all on my own without you there to giggle at him with me”.

The pygmy puff sat in her hand, warming her palm until it began to sweat. As Liviana began to pull out dresses, Giselle placed the puff on her shoulder and both the half-veela and the puff ball watched curiously as Liviana began to dig and pull out clothes. The first dress was black and white with little puffed sleeves that made Giselle’s nose wrinkled and she popped the spoon back in her mouth. She shook her head and pulled the spoon slowly out over her bottom lip, “I think my grandma has something similar.” Giselle didn’t really know if her grandma did have something similar, but is sounded like a good thing to say. “Apparently he’s related to Bombay” Giselle’s eyed widened in mild surprise. She hadn’t know Dracon was related to a professor, how very odd. Though she supposed purebloods were all related anyways, so did that mean Liviana was committing incest by dating (or whatever) Dracon? Giselle thought that was equally disturbing but got distracted when another dress come into sight.

Giselle looked at the nude and spotted ribbon dress. She nodded, “I do like that one. But I don’t know how it would look against your complexion.” She did like it, the bow was extremely cute and it looked very simple but chic, trendy but appropriate. Another dress slipped out of the depths of the bag and dangled in front of Giselle. It was black and white and very familiar. “Alright, technically this is yours but it’s been in my closet since my birthday in June so technically does that make it mine? If not but you think it would be good for the dinner, can I borrow it?” Giselle frowned, “I was looking for that dress last week. Father and I went to La Chat Noir and I was wondering where it had gone off too.” No harm no foul, but the annoyance still existed in her voice. “But it is a lovely dress, if I do say so myself. The person who owns it must have impeccable taste.”

Giselle took another lick from her spoon and a little coo came from the puff on her shoulder. “What’s the little puff’s name anyways?” The blonde wiped some excess ice cream off the side of the carton and placed it against it’s mouth, she smiled with it gave the tiniest little lick of it’s tongue. 

“Your grandmother wishes she could be half as fashionable,” sticking her tongue out at the other girl she cast the first two dresses off into a ‘no’ pile and set the black and white one aside as a possibility. Twisting her hair into a knot she speared it with her wand and went back to the task at hand, teeth pressed against her bottom lip. Giselle was not always kind in her critiques, but she was always honest. Liviana knew she could count on that. Her sister would just tell her not to worry and that she looked amazing whatever she wore - and Beatrix, Merlin knew what Beatrix would suggest she wear. There was a reason Giselle was her fashion accomplice, she was the only girl Liv had ever met who understood the true importance of appearances and that one wrong turn in an outfit and you could go from best dressed to what a mess in a matter of seconds. Art, fashion, beauty, they were all things both girls were passionate about - though Liv was arguably more serious while Giselle whimsical and natural.

The fourth dress was charcoal gray with a wide black belt just under the bust. She held it up by its thin straps for inspection, “It’s the same problem with the nude one, I’m not sure about the straps. I always could, you know, sweat a cardy over it I guess, but then I think it goes from looking lush to being very frumpy don’t you?” She stood in front of her friend, cheeks sucked in, hip popped out to the side, brown eyes focused intently on the garment before her, “I like it, it’s cute in the right setting, I’m just not sure it’s modest enough y’know,” her voice trailed off as she glanced up to Giselle offering the little Puff more ice cream, “You’ll hate it when I tell you - but I remind you that you did name Sprinkles, well Sprinkles,” she gave a laugh as she leaned down, petting the fuzz ball, “Giselle, meet Melvin. Melvin, meet Giselle”. Draping the gray dress over her shoulder she turned back to the bag waiting to hear Giselle whine about what a dreadful name Melvin was - especially for such a cute animal.

“I packed one more, it was actually my first choice but then I wasn’t sure,” she let her voice trail off as she pulled out the last dress, it was a soft pink-almost-nude-but-not-quite color with black trim and a little bow around the middle. She couldn’t remember when or why she’d gotten it, but as far as modest and chic with a classic feel went it hit all the right notes. Holding it up in front of her she swayed from side to side and did a little turn, “What do you think? It’s a bit longer than the others so maybe he wont be as tempted to try and get his hand under as he is with everything else,” the last part came out a bit bemused, as she sat back on the bed, hugging the dress to her chest, “My life was much simpler you know, when you were the great love my of my life,” her tone was teasing as she tucked one leg under her and tilted her head to one side, “I find myself going through all of this disastrous scenarios in my head - the horrible things that could possibly go wrong. He already basically assured me they’re going to hate me no matter what. I think he was trying to be comforting but it really wasn’t”.

“Your grandmother wishes she could be half as fashionable”

Giselle’s friend stuck out her tongue and quickly in reply, Giselle pointed her spoon at her with wide eyes and said, “oi, my grandmother looks good.” They were only joking with one another, but to an outside party they sometimes appeared as though they were enemies.

“Giselle, meet Melvin. Melvin, meet Giselle”

Giselle made a face. She looked at the little puff and back to Liviana. “The poor little beast,” she said. “At least Sprinkles has a pretty name. Melvin sounds like he should wear suspenders.” Liviana was turned away from her at this point, fussing over another one of her dresses. “I mean, really dear, Melvin? The other pygmy puffs are going to make fun of him.” “What do you think? It’s a bit longer than the others so maybe he won’t be as tempted to try and get his hand under as he is with everything else” Giselle looked at the dress and nodded, a smile on her face. She looked pleased. “Yes, I like that one. When you’re done with it, don’t be too surprised when it goes missing.” Then Giselle remarked on how life was easier when she was her only love, and Giselle made a little noise and shrugged, looking away with distain. She didn’t want to really talk about Dracon or where Giselle’s new place was in her friend’s life. “I find myself going through all of this disastrous scenarios in my head - the horrible things that could possibly go wrong. He already basically assured me they’re going to hate me no matter what. I think he was trying to be comforting but it really wasn’t” Giselle listened but spent a good amount of her attention on her ice cream carton and digging through the cream to fit pieces of chocolate hidden inside.

“Well, I’m sure if that’s how they are, he’ll feel equally awkward. So, at least you won’t be alone,” Giselle didn’t really know what to say. It was hard for her to relate to feeling awkward. She had when she was little, and coming into her own, the stares had unnerved her and bothered her a good deal. Over the years, it was just something that you grow into and the attention becomes a part of you so much that Giselle couldn’t imagine what it would be like to not be the center of attention. It was feel like she didn’t exist at all and that was terrifying.

“I happen to like suspenders,” she sounded vaguely amused - sort of distantly, like her mind wasn’t on what she was saying. Well if it seemed that way it was because she wasn’t really. She was trying to picture eating a meal with Professor Bombay, and nearly shuddered at the thought of watching his mole move while he ate. It was rather distracting when he gave lectures - almost hypnotic in a way. She wouldn’t lie and say he was her favorite professor. He wasn’t - he was useful and she was good at Herbology, she didn’t trash up the greenhouse with scandalously short shirts or pop out of her uniform top…so he didn’t seem to pay a lot of attention to her other than to correct her or grunt some small form of approval when she was doing well - which was most of the time. What would they even talk about?

Laying back on the bed she dangled her legs over the edge and sighed, giving a small laugh, “That’s not very helpful Elle. You know I pride myself on being able to rise above this sort of thing. If I can’t keep a dinner conversation going despite being loathed by every person in the room how in Merlin’s name am I going to be a proper housewife someday? Because honestly, I‘ve come to the conclusion no one actually enjoys these stupid dinners - it‘s like eating eel we do it because of tradition,” she was mostly joking of course - but she had noticed over the years that despite giltz and glamour the only real thing that dinner parties had in common was the fact everyone seemed to despise going to them. She had decided it was all just a way for women to try and one up one another and men to smoke smelly cigars.

Professor Bombay wasn’t a hard man to get along with; Giselle didn’t see the problem in having to spend the evening with him. While there existed no sexual attraction on her part at all, she was one of his favorite students and her favorite class (because she got an O in it). Giselle was under no disillusion that it was due to her hard working personality or love of dirt and plants that she received such high marks. Sometimes the veela inside of her got a little carried away when she saw him look at her that way, and Giselle knew how easy it would be to make him swoon and simply adore whatever assignment she turned in. She never flirted with him, but she would smile and giggle at his jokes and that was all it took. He was a nice man, but a little weak willed and that made him no match to withstand a half-veela’s attentions. She would have felt bad for him if she thought it was causing him any harm, but all it seemed to do was give her good marks. The human side of her told her she was wrong and should have dropped his class when she first noticed he liked to look at her a lot, but the lazy side of her said it would be a shame to waste a good letter grade. She deserved some sort of edge over the ambitious and super intelligent students, didn’t she?

When Liviana laughed and talked about becoming a proper housewife, Giselle laughed a little. She took the puff off her shoulder, stood up, and set him carefully on top of a pillow on her chair. He cooed and gurgled a minute and rolled over the silk covering before he seemingly relaxed and closed his beady little eyes. Giselle walked over to the bed and sat down on the other side of the pile of dresses on her comforter. Her fair hands touched the fabric and tilting her head, blue eyes inspecting the dress on the top as Liviana spoke about the dinner party. “Yes, that’s certainly true,” she agreed. Dinner parties were fun for no one, they were usually so dull and the only pleasant part was that it provided the opportunity to look glamorous and have an audience there to witness it. Other than looking fabulous and being able to wear her favorite dresses, dinner parties were very boring indeed. The only ones she went to were for her father’s friends, and that was only on the rare occasion he found himself home.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something to say. You’re beautiful, and people always listen to beautiful people,” Giselle said in a very casual and confident way. No one could argue that if you were beautiful you had a leg up on the rest of the world. “And I suppose your personality can be rather likable,” she paused, giving a dramatic sigh and a smile, “Sometimes, anyways.” 

Liviana laughed covering her face again and closing her eyes. Giselle had a way of looking at things that, really, no one else could have. Well, perhaps other Veelas, but no normal Witch. True being attractive probably had its uses but one couldn’t compete with a Veela charm. It just wasn’t possible. Men always listened to Giselle, and women…well women either admired her or hated her. Only Liviana really knew that there was an actual person with a personality under all the charm and pith. It wasn’t always easy being her friend, but the rewards mostly outweighed the pitfalls. Lightly petting Melvin she turned her head to look at the blonde, “I think you highly over estimate my ability to make people do things for me just because I have a pretty face,” she snorted when her friend commented on her personality.

“Well we can’t all be you and pull off having a personality like a wet mop,” she stuck her tongue out, scooping up the Puff and rolling onto her side to face Giselle, “So, since I haven’t been around I’m sure you’ve found plenty of other ways to amuse yourself - but don’t forget we’re working the Ice Carving booth at the Festival. So no plans for that day, understand?” it was hard to get Giselle to agree to do things. She was the sort of person that didn’t quite understand being a “joiner”. She didn’t have to be, so the idea of wasting time doing something that wasn’t required never had appealed to the gorgeous blonde. Normally Liviana didn’t force her but with Megan running things who knew what kind of disaster it would be.

“I still can’t believe Fauna left that fifth year in charge of everything, it’s going to be a complete disaster,” polite though she was in public, and not one to show distaste for other houses openly, behind closed doors there was still a streak of purist in Livi. She made exceptions for people like Giselle because they amused her… but being passed over to run the event for a piddly little fifth year really irked Liviana to no end. In theory she understood the concept it was a chance for Megan to prove she could do it. The problem was the booth wouldn’t be attended at all. It wouldn’t be like face painting, this was something that people had to work at. Having a snowman building booth would have been better - or there was that whole kissing booth thing someone else was doing. It was too late now of course and all Liv could do was steel herself for disaster.