MASQUERADE PART ONE Who: Everyone who bought a ticket! Where: Artemis Theatre, Diagon Alley When: 9:00 pm October 31 - 1:00 am November 1, 1979 What: A Masquerade Ball for the Foundation for the Promotion of Wizarding Society and Culture, hosted by the Malfoys
Location: Artemis Theatre, Diagon Alley - "Where the masks are for artistic effect"
Cost: 1 Galleon, 6 Sickles (approximately $50 USD) Tickets have been sold since the start of the month through Artemis Theatre or by owl-order- None are being sold at the door
Who is in attendance: Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy are the hosts, and are a very visible, obvious prescence througout the evening. Others present would be everyone who bought a ticket at the apropriate time, the masked Viennese Wizarding Orchestra on the stage, and many masked waiters, looking apropriately stiff.
Arrivals: Special floos have been set up due to Diagon Alley's curfew to allow the guests to enter and leave. There is also an apparation point at the door of Artemis Theatre that has been arranged for those who prefer to apparate.
Security: In short, the best money can buy. Every precaution has been taken to ensure that the evening goes smoothly- many of the masked waiters are hired for their skill at 'keeping order' and are everywhere at once if something should go wrong, with permission to 'take care' of the problem as they see fit.
Basic Ballroom Etiquette
Arriving: Guests should attempt to arrive (via apparation or floo) near the start of the party and should be no later than one hour late. Cloaks and coats may be removed and handed to the attendant in the cloakroom for the duration of the party. The cloakroom is also where gentlemen and ladies may go if they need robes or gowns repaired or cleaned at any point in time.
Asking a Lady to Dance: The common terminology used is "May I have the honor of this dance?" or "May I have the pleasure of this dance?"
Drinks: If a gentleman is acquainted with a lady, he may offer her a drink, but he is required to do so if he does not know the lady. The lady may decide to accept the offer or not. Drinks may be set aside while dancing, as waiters will be quick to offer new ones afterwards.
Dinner: Dinner is served buffet style, and the gentleman should offer his assistance to the lady he is escorting (it is at her discretion whether she accepts or not). Things to avoid include spilling dishes on the tablecloth, placing bones, seeds, etc. on the tablecloth, and generally creating a scene. Good table manners are highly recommended- elbows off the table! For ladies, gloves should not be worn while dining.
Leaving: Good manners insists on thanking the hosts of the event when departing. The guests may then collect their coats and cloaks from the cloakroom, and depart via apparation or floo.
Description The theatre has been decorated extensively in warm, rich colours, and the rooms glow with candlelight from the large chandeliers and candelabras. The seats have been replaced by a dance floor, though there is ample seating in the balconies for any who do not wish to dance, as well as some seating to the side of the dance floor. A full orchestra, imported from Vienna, has taken over the stage. Waiters navigate with trays of hors'd oeuvres and glasses of champagne. The atmosphere is cheery, and crowded with guests decked out in their costumes and other finery- many are still in awe of the spectacle. After all, this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Rooms that break off from the main ballroom provide more seating and food; an elegant buffet with dishes of all types. The caterers have outdone themselves, and even with the sparkling crystal and china, there are dishes for everyone- foie gras and quiche lorraine to simple platters of fruit and roasts. Presentation matters as much as the actual dish, of course!
The formality of dance cards has been done away to keep the event more mysterious- mingling is highly encouraged, though it is natural for groups of people to stay among a familiar group. The festivites are planned to extend into the early hours of the morning, and there is hopefully enough merriment, romance, and intrigue to go around.
Timeline 8:30 pm - The Malfoys arrive and look over last minute preparations
9:00 pm - 10:00 pm - Guests begin to arrive and fill the theatre; mingling, socialising, etc.
10:00 pm - The Malfoys make a short welcoming speech, thanking everyone for attending and discussing the aims they wish to further through this event- unity in the wizarding community, as well as the importance of giving back. The Foundation for the Promotion of Wizarding Society and Culture is brought up by Narcissa, along with all the good it has done (Women's Centers, Medical Drives, etc).
Hermann Baumgartner, director of the Viennese Wizarding Orchestra is introduced, and the orchestra begins to play.
10:05 pm - 1:00 am - Dancing and food for everyone! The levels of excitement and noise show that this party will go down in history as the social event of the season.
The Order of the Phoenix lays their trap.
1:00 am - The ball concludes with a demasking.
The Order's trap goes off.
8:30 pm - The Malfoys arrive and look over last minute preparations
Lucius and Narcissa Artemis Theatre looked beautiful. Narcissa had, admittedly, been a bit apprehensive about hosting a party outside of the Manor, but it looked as though everything was going to work out perfectly. The rooms glowed from the large chandeliers, the food laid out everywhere looked simply wonderful, and the orchestra was beginning to warm up. Strolling from out of the side rooms to ensure that the masked attendants were in their proper places, Narcissa adjusted her mask and smoothed an imaginary wrinkle out of the front of her gown. She was incredibly pleased with how the costumes had turned out (not that she expected any less from Mme Lenoir) and the Malfoys would undoubtedly be the centre of attention as Paris and Helen of Troy. As we should be, she thought with a slight smile, changing course as she entered the main ballroom and walking towards Lucius. "Do you think everything is ready? From the look of it, this should turn out quite memorable."
His costume was slightly more uncomfortable that the attire Lucius was used to, but he supposed he couldn't complain. Even as someone who knew little, if anything, about clothes (although one would have thought that living with Narcissa, something would have rubbed off on him) he had to admit that the two of them looked pretty impressive. His one gripe was that his wand was not accessible as he would like -- his new cane did of course not match the outfit, and his wand holster was underneath the armour that had been attached to his torso earlier in the evening. Not that he was expecting to use it of course, the credentials of the firm the staff were hired from were flawless. He just liked to be prepared.
Wandering around the edge of the main ballroom, not quite sure what he was supposed to be inspecting, he turned and smiled when he noticed Narcissa making her way toward him. "It all looks magnificent, my darling," he declared, truthfully. "The guests aren't going to know what hit them." He placed a hand supportively on her waist, and once more looked around him, his gaze drawn to the stage at the top end of the large room. "Do you want me onstage with you during the opening speech?"
"Of course I do," Narcissa replied with a smile. "All of this-" she waved a hand airily towards the decorated rooms, "is ours. And I do so dislike speaking to large crowds alone." It was one of those necessary evils she supposed came with running a charitable organisation. As it was, Narcissa always made sure there were other speakers she could simply introduce and turn things over to. Planning events and mingling were much more her forte. But tonight, the statement was fairly brief. Thank everyone for coming, state again on the importance of unity in the wizarding world, introduce that portly little Viennese conductor, and smile and wave.
"Do you think the security and such will live up to their reccomendations?" She asked in a slightly lower tone of voice. It was the nagging little issue that came with having a party open to anyone who could pay a galleon and six sickles. What if there were drunkards, or others bent on causing chaos? There had already been enough problems with the Floo Network shutting down (and a very good thing it had been repaired just yesterday).
She had hit upon the one thing he was worried about himself. "I'm sure they'll be magnificent," he reassured her. "They wouldn't have come with such high recommendations if they hadn't proven themselves time and time again." He glanced behind them briefly to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation. Not that they were talking about anything secret, of course, he just liked his privacy when speaking with his wife. "I know," he said, inspiration striking. "I'll keep my wand on me at all times. Let me worry about the competence of the serving staff and you worry about making sure everyone has an evening to remember for the rest of their lives." No mention of course about the relative inaccessibility of his wand, or his worries about those who frequently slandered his name turning up to ruin his reputation even further.
"I do hope so," Narcissa said calmly. Lucius was always right about this sort of thing. But it still would have been nice to go over every little detail one more time than she had in the previous week. Unfortunately, things had been a bit more stressful than intended, what with Bellatrix's near-death experience. Narcissa still felt slightly ill whenever she thought of that incident; and rather guilty that she was putting so much attention into a party when her sister was lying in bed on blood-replenishing potions. Some things could not be helped, though, and it was almost strange to think that this event would be over in a short few hours when she had been thinking about it since May. "I think you ought to do the first part of the speech and thank everyone for coming, and I can take the second half and introduce that orchestra. And do make sure we have a dance together; I am not particularly keen on dancing with complete strangers, though I suppose that is the spirit of the event."
"Of course I will, and I will make sure to praise you highly." Lucius didn't have much experience with speaking in public, but how hard could it be? He was confident enough, and naturally commanded attention. It was just another occasion he had to rise to. And he had always been good at rising to occasions. "And naturally, we shall have both the first dance and the last, I suppose with the amount of general public attending, an example shall have to be set." He hadn't been practising his dancing recently. He hoped he could remember all the steps. A brief look at his watch told him that they were losing time -- the first guests should be arriving in only a few more minutes. "I'd say everything is ready. Just remember to let me do the worrying, and you concentrate on being the gracious hostess that you always are." Impulsively, he pulled Narcissa towards him, holding her against his chest supportively for just a moment before planting a kiss on her forehead. Taking her hand, Lucius lead her to the entrance, a smile already on his face, ready to greet their guests.
9:00 pm - 10:00 pm - Guests begin to arrive and fill the theatre; mingling, socialising
Narcissa and Marlene Narcissa was really and truly beaming as she greeted and people; the picture of a perfect hostess. This event was going fantastically. The celebrations had barely started, and she had already heard twenty-seven compliments on the décor, nineteen on the food, and thirty-seven on her gown. Everything would work out fine, the Foundation would have its money, and Lucius would hopefully get his promotion. "No thank you," she told yet another masked waiter offering her champagne- honestly, these people simply could not take a hint. Lowering her mask from her face (it was on a stick for a reason, after all), Narcissa strolled over towards the punch bowl, accepting compliments and thanking people the whole way.
Marlene, on the other hand, had been more than happy to accept the champagne the waiters had been offering her; she'd need it to get through this night. Her feet were already aching in these stupid heels and she was terrified that she was going to wind up falling flat on her face. Or that she'd trip into someone, sending a domino effect of collapsing dancers around the ballroom. (Although come to think about it, that would actually be pretty damn entertaining. Unfortunately, they had things to do, and this wasn't the time for hilarity.) It was time for her to make sure she had this whole purist thing down to an artform.
...And what better way to practice than saying a very fond hello to Narcywarcy? Remus had scuttled off to the bathroom once the two had entered the theatre, one look at all the silver being passed around causing them to realise that it would probably be for the best if he wore the gloves that had come with his costume for the night. She'd be back before Remus even realised she'd wandered away from the door to the little boy's room. "Mrs. Malfoy?" Marlene inquired lightly, curtsy slightly while doing so, figuring it was fine for her to address their ever-charming host by name, given that she'd taken her mask off. "Oops, unless I'm not supposed to say!" she added as an "embarrassed" afterthought, giggling a little as her hand moving to her mouth in surprise that she'd dared let herself possibly mess up the masquerade etiquette.
Narcissa accepted her cup of punch (the non-alcholic variety) with a nod of thanks and turned slightly upon hearing her name. The voice wasn't familiar in the slightest, but after all, this was a masquerade, and people did seem intent on being disguised. Not that she hadn't identified a fair few of them- the tall man who had brought a book could hardly be any other than Rodolphus. "It is quite alright," she replied in a voice that was almost friendly. "Being recognised is something one comes to expect when one is unmasked." Which of course, had been the intention. Hosts had to be visible. It was easier to be admired and such when people knew who to admire.
"I do hope you are enjoying yourself, Mrs..." She still couldn't place the voice. How terribly inconvenient.
Shit. Marlene faltered for a moment, not sure if she should go with the finally crafted history she'd written for herself for the night or if she should play the smarmy but it's a masquerade card. Given that she didn't want to upset the host of the ball -- especially this soon into the night -- Marlene decided to go with a little of both. "You mean you don't recognise me?" Marlene asked Narcissa with an amused grin, falling back into her "I Am Awed By Narcissa Malfoy"ed stance. "Well, it was unlikely that you would, of course. I was a few years behind you back at Hogwarts. Athena Bletchley?" she asked, hoping that Narcissa wasn't one of those people who managed to remember every single one of her underlings from her school days. "Or, well, it was Athena Bletchley then," she threw in with a subtle wiggle of her gloved fingers, implying that her fictional wedding ring was hiding underneath the silk fabric.
"But that's not important," she waved the conversation off, quick to turn it back to Narcissa, who Marlene was sure would rather be talking about herself as well. "What you've done here tonight, Mrs. Malfoy, this is incredible. You are quite the hostess. Oh, and your dress is gorgeous. I'm sure it's custom made, but can I enquire as to the designer?"
Bletchley, Bletchley... Narcissa wracked her brains. It was a fairly good surname, she supposed, not quite at the level she generally associated with, but not down there with names like McKinnon and Jones. There had been a Bletchley at school around her years there, had there not? It sounded terribly familiar. "But of course," she said brightly, feigning recognition. "How silly of me not to see that immediately! I suppose belated congratulations are in order."
"Thank you! And why, yes, it is custom made." There was no easier subject to get Narcissa talking about than gowns. Or herself. But the two generally went hand in hand, and she was incredibly pleased with how Helen and Paris had turned out as costumes. "From France, naturally. I was there on vacation sometime back; but I do prefer to have as much of my wardrobe made in Paris. You have heard of Mme Lenoir?" Almost everyone had, due to the ridiculous prices and highly selective clientele. "But your gown is quite spectacular as well, I must say. It is a lovely colour." Turning slightly, she signaled to one of the waiters. "May I offer you a glass of punch?"
Oh right. Of course you recognise me, liar, Marlene thought to herself, but continued smiling her very very genuine smile as she graciously accepted the congratulations. "Thank you so much," she replied with a nod, willing herself to blush or something while doing so. She doubted she could manage to force that, unfortunately, but it was worth a try. "And I would love punch; thank you again," she nodded, taking a glass but waiting to drink, not able to remember if there was some sort of rule about not sipping before your hostess did, or waiting until you'd finished your conversation, or any other of the millions of things that were considered rude. "Oh, and who hasn't?" she replied with a slight eyebrow raise, obviously impressed that Narcissa had gotten her dress from such a world-renowned designer. Who Marlene had never heard of before. "Mme Lenoir is a legend; I've only seen pictures, and let me say that her designs only improve in person. Please give my regards should you call on her again. Oh, and many thanks," she said, holding out the skirt of her own dress ever-so-slightly as she looked down at it (as if she'd forgotten what she was wearing and needed a refresher). "It doesn't have quite as impressive a name attached, but I absolutely fell in love with the design."
"I've been trying to place who some of the other guests are by their costumes, and I just can't seem to manage it," Marlene changed the subject slightly, hoping this would work. "I've seen so many impressive gowns tonight (none that quite measure up to your Mme Lenoir, of course), and costumes on the men, and in theory I'd like to compliment them, but I feel silly doing so without knowing who I'm speaking with. Have you had better luck recognising everyone?"
"I quite agree that a gown can be lovely even without a name attached," Narcissa said, taking a sip of her own punch. Possible, but highly unlikely. At least it was a step up from whatever secondhand rubbish Arthur Weasley paraded his troupe of monkeys around in. "And I shall certainly mention you to Lenoir," she continued, with no intention of doing any such thing. "Perhaps you ought to call on her yourself the next time you are in Paris." Ha ha ha. Mme Lenoir literally had five or six clients at the most.
Narcissa shook her head slightly in response to Marlene's question. "As you can tell," she began with the slightest hint of apology in her voice, "I am simply terrible at deducing who is wearing what. And there really has been so much secrecy pertaining to this! You would probably be best at asking individuals... Lucius is Paris, naturally." Narcissa glanced up as the violins began again, heralding the start of a new dance. "Oh dear, I simply must go and speak with the director- do excuse me." She adjusted her gloves. "It's been absolutely lovely seeing you again-" Narcissa paused momentarily, realising she still did not know Athena Bletchley's new surname- "Things really have changed since school, have they not?"
It was at that moment that Marlene was very glad she'd delayed on taking a sip of her drink, as she had a feeling that the mention of her visiting France would've sent punch spraying all over Narcissa Malfoy's one-of-a-kind designer gown. "Naturally. The two of you look divine," Marlene complimented her again instead, hoping her expression remained natural-looking enough, because she was having a terrible time trying not to laugh. "Oh, and absolutely. It was fantastic seeing you again as well, Mrs. Malfoy. This has been a lovely night already." Sucking up, sucking up, so much sucking up. How did people manage to do this every. single. day? But now she knew Lucius's costume, and as it was likely he'd be hanging around Narcissa, he'd be simple to find even if his mask was on. "Things certainly have changed," Marlene agreed with a small smile. "Sometimes I find I don't even recognise myself! And I should be off as well; my husband will be wondering where I wandered off to! Have a lovely night."
Severus and Narcissa "Thank you, Mrs Mulciber," Narcissa said, beaming, "And you look absolutely lovely as well." Glancing over the crowds as Anastasia Mulciber went on to chat with someone else, Narcissa could not help but feel extraordinarily self-satisfied. Which, admittedly, was not a new emotion for her, but this event was looking truly fantastic. The Daily Prophet would have a field day reporting the clothes and spectacle, and nothing was going to steal her front page this time. "Hello," Narcissa said with a smile at the next guest she saw in the general vicinity. "Is it Zeus? That goes very nicely with Helen of Troy, I think." She was in quite a good mood, but then, events like this certainly merited one.
Every time Severus felt nervous about talking to Narcissa he reminded himself that he had been at Hogwarts at the same time she had - at least for a few of the years he had been there. And she was always so kind to him that he felt he had no real reason to be nervous, but the sensation came anyway. Particularly at events like these where he felt as if he should know proper ettiquette. Inevitably, no matter how many books he'd gone through as a teen trying to teach himself every last detail of society guidelines, it felt as if it slid out of his mind when it came to a test. As it certainly was doing right now. With a mild frown behind his mask, he scolded himself, and simply gave her a slight bow.
"It certainly does," he said, forcing a smile to his lips, and hopefully into his tone. Nervousness was no excuse. And honestly, he thought to himself, so long as he did his best to be polite and courteous, were they going to quarter and hang him? "And I think the real Helen of Troy had nothing on your beauty," he added. It was sheer flattery, although Narcissa did look lovely, but it was polite flattery, and she was the hostess, and somehow it seemed like the sort of thing the real Zeus might have said. "The setting is perfection," he added. "I cannot wait to began dancing." Another lie, as Severus was not particularly thrilled to dance, but it was a convincing one, nonetheless.
"Hmm..." Narcissa paused for a moment, going through voices in her head. "Severus, I think? I have not seen you in quite a while!" But then, Narcissa hardly spent much time with those outside of her little bubble of society. Though she supposed these Foundation events were exposing her to a greater variety of people- some desirable, and some not as much. Admittedly, her opinion of halfbloods in Slytherin house had been a low one for years (with Octavius Pepper as an example, it really was not that surprising), but Severus had always been unfailingly polite. Perhaps not every halfblood was exactly the same.
"Oh, thank you- I'm afraid I spent far too much time agonising over costumes before we settled on Helen and Paris," Narcissa admitted, completely appreciating the flattery as usual. After all, she did not spend hours getting ready for an event not to be complimented. "Artemis Theatre really is the perfect place... I admit I was a bit worried about hosting a ball in a theatre, but it has turned out quite well. So how did you settle on your costume? The beard is quite creative, I must say."
Severus nodded with a smile. "The theatre is brilliant," he said. "After all at a masquerade one is hiding one's face, playing a part even, so I think a theatre is rather a fitting locale for such an event." He glanced out at the floor, and it really did look stunning. It was difficult for him to imagine having access to so much money to be able to put an event like this together. Yes, the ticket sales would cover some, he knew, but weren't proceeds also going to charity? How much would they make? And no doubt, he and his Mum, and probably add his Dad into the mixture too, could have lived off of the amount put into the ball for the rest of their lives. Possibly supported entire families besides them. Agnes had not particularly been wrong about it being the rich, but Severus was hardly going to talk money matters with Narcissa, particularly not in such a setting.
He was pleased that the beard had gotten a response. "Well, if the purpose of a masquerade is to cover one's face," he said with a bit of a smirk. "A beard seemed an obvious method of doing so and perfect for the costume as well," he tilted his head. "As for the subject, Zeus had come up in discussion, and I thought knights in armour and musketeers would probably be quite common, and I wished something that would be a little less so - hopefully anyway. I have not seen any other Zeus', but if I do, we may have to have it out with lightning bolts to settle which of us is actually Zeus," his voice was light and amused. Certainly some magic spells might look like lightning bolts, but Severus had no real intention of using magic tonight. So long as he was not bothered by any of the Order members plans. "I sincerely do hope it does not come to that, as I would hate to disrupt these pleasant surroundings."
It was entirely true that Narcissa had not even considered the monetary aspect of this whole event. But then, with donations reaching upward from 20,000 Galleons from Certain Families and the bottomless Malfoy Gringott's vault at her disposal, there had been no need to. Not that she generally thought about money when planning her parties- being raised a Black generally meant the word "budget" was omitted from one's vocabulary. Plus, this had higher ambitions that mere entertainment and social status. If Lucius was honestly going to get a promotion from the Dark Lord for whatever community nonsense the Foundation was promoting, then appearances were more important than ever. Not that there was an absence of the usual feelings of "Let us show the whole world how rich, benevolent, and wonderful we are."
"And I," Narcissa added, greatly amused at Severus' talk of lightning bolts, "should simply truly hate to order all Zeuses out of the building. I rather like the mythology theme. But there have been plenty of other nice ones. Astra spent a good bit of time picking out night sky costumes for herself and Marius and I even saw a man dressed as a... sunflower. I assume it was the last costume left. Or perhaps some men just prefer to be tall, vibrantly coloured plants." She paused as a masked waiter approached with trays of champagne, biting the side of her cheek with annoyance. It was getting quite painful to have to refuse alcoholic beverages every time someone offered, when she still did not have the excuse of being pregnant. And saying one was doing it in hopes that one would possibly be pregnant at some point in time did not seem to be socially acceptable. "No thank you," she said briskly before it was offered. "Severus, would you like champagne?"
Severus nodded, and smirked slightly. "It would be a shame to have to order all Zeuses out of the building to be sure," he glanced out at the ball room. "Tall, vibrantly coloured plants, seriously?" He sounded bemused. He could not, for the life of him think why any man would want to be dressed as a sunflower. It seemed feminine, to begin with, but beyond that just absurd.
"Thank you, Narcissa," he nodded and accepted the champagne. He inclined the glass towards her just slightly. "To our beautiful hostess and the event of the year," he glanced back out. So Marius and Astra were in night sky costumes. He tucked the piece of information away, and promised to himself that he would keep his eyes open for such. If he saw Astra without Marius nearby, he would ask her to dance, he thought. And maybe he would let her know it was him, or maybe he would, he supposed he would play that by ear.
"Has the turnout been what you expected?" He asked politely.
"Yes, quite serious. I do wish people would get costumes made rather than show up in such atrocities." Honestly. It simply was not that hard to find decent apparel; even Madam Malkin's could likely create something less gauche in a pinch. She supposed it was one of the downsides of opening admission. A ball of this calibre limited to the upper eschelons of society would have certainly raised the same amount of money that this one was, without the lack of class. Unfortunately, looking good in the eyes of the public seemed more and more important these days, much to Narcissa's personal chagrin.
She smiled as he toasted her, rather wishing she could have a glass herself. "Thank you. The turnout has certainly been what we had hoped for - this is more than enough to cover our next medical campaign. Dragonpox vaccines for young children," she added, though he likely did not care. Not that she planned to expound upon the dangers of dragonpox and the benefits of vaccination, in any case. "It will nice to see how much good an event like this can be for the community at large."
"And how have things been for you? Are you still working at that apothecary?"
Severus shook his head. He was not certain why anyone would want to go in a flower, but he supposed there were all sorts of odd people in the world. Apparently some of them were at the masquerade tonight.
"That is good," he said, noting that it was probably good for Narcissa for the masquerade to be a success. Severus, of course, didn't know exactly how much was hanging on the success of the masquerade for Narcissa. And had he, his interest would have been only mildly more than it was currently. Of course he had very little interest in dragonpox vaccines, or children with dragonpox vaccines. He wasn't a father - despite Agnes' scare in that regards - and he had no plans on being one anytime soon, but he knew it mattered to Narcissa and Lucius was still inner circle and ranked more highly than he was, so it was not worth irritating her and by proxy, Lucius. "The work of the foundation is extremely important, Narcissa. It's so good to see you and all of the women involved like this. It certainly shows that we are interested in the well-being of the entire wizarding world."
"I am still working at the apothecary," he said simply. "I have another two months before I complete the first part of training so that I can test to become a Potion Master. Within a month I'm certain I'll be working on preparation for the testing and hardly have time for such enjoyable activities as this masquerade."
"Yes, the sheer size of the Foundation's projects have become rather unbelievable," she commented calmly. "Perhaps we did need something like this." Narcissa honestly had not cared, or even liked, the idea of starting a charitable organisation at the beginning, but one simply did not ignore the Dark Lord's suggestions. And she supposed it was rather nice to have one's name in the paper a lot. Besides, this was one thing Chloris did not have, even though Narcissa would have gladly traded the Foundation and speeches and shaking hands with the plebeian masses for three children. Not that she planned to tell Chloris ever.
"That sounds terribly stressful." Having an actual occupation sounded quite tedious. "Does it not get awfully boring?"
"Not particularly," Severus said, almost amused at her question. "I suppose there are certain potions that can be rather monotonous, but in reality I prefer the activity. It is quite precise, and predictable, and the predictability of potions is not a bad thing. I get enough excitement elsewhere." The elsewhere of course was his duties for the Dark Lord, but he would leave it at that. A passer by would assume he meant evenings of partying, or some such other nonsense although Severus and parties were two terms not typically likely to appear in the same sentence despite his attendance at the masquerade tonight.
"But I am monopolizing your attention Narcissa," he said politely. "And as pleasant as it is to do so, I am certain a number of people will wish to greet you and thank you for putting this together, and so I should allow them the opportunity to do so."
"How interesting," Narcissa commented, though she loathed the process of making potions with a fierce passion and could not stand the smell of apothecaries. Had she been forced to take up some sort of actual occupation (how amusing!), anything potions-related would certainly not be on the list. "And naturally, you are right," she agreed with a polite nod. "It has been quite lovely speaking with you, Severus; do enjoy the rest of your evening." With that, she turned and strolled away, in search of water, or perhaps juice, knowing it would be barely ten seconds before she would be swept into pleasantries with another guest. Severus Snape was a very interesting sort of halfblood.
Severus and Demetrius Demetrius chewed on his thumb nail beneath his mask and looked around uncomfortably. He felt stupid being here, but he felt like maybe he could enjoy himself. He glimpsed his mother and father a few feet away talking to some unknown person. His mother waved and he raised a hand in acknowledgment before turning away to find a nice corner where he and Severus could settle. Barring of course that Severus had forgotten Demetrius's promise. Which he probably hadn't. Hanging his head, he sighed in frustration.
He hated dancing.
Severus saw Demetrius out of the corner of his eye, and he immediately stalked towards his friend. There was no point in standing by the wall by himself. Astra had noted that he only had to dance a few times to avoid the status of proud or conceited. This meant that he was certainly not going to spend the entire time dancing. Gathering up the courage to ask even masked women whom he didn't know to dance would take him at least one drink, and probably some reasonable discussion with Dem. Not to mention that he needed to remind Demetrius that he had promised to ask Corbina to dance, and Severus wished to actually look over the room, see if he could figure out which of the women was Astra, and if there was anyone else he wanted to dance with.
"If you stand about looking pathetic long enough someone will probably reject tradition and ask you to dance," he said smugly as he stepped up beside Demetrius. His eyes and ears rather more alert to what was going on around him than he might have otherwise been without Pettigrew's warning.
"That's the idea," he said, looking over at Severus. He rolled his eyes (not that anyone could see that) and laughed slightly. "Though I think I'd feel a bit stupid if that happened," he added. It seemed crowded in the theatre and Demetrius crossed his arms. "Have I mentioned to you how much I hate dancing?" he said exasperatedly. "I'm not exactly graceful." Which was entirely true, he had always been a bit awkward in build. It seemed pointless to point out, he had to dance, it was only appropriate. That didn't stop him from bringing it up though.
"Pfft," Severus made a disparaging sound, and glanced out over the larger ball room. "You are the picture of graceful," he said with amusement. "There was that brilliant time you fell down the stairs in the Slytherin dormitory. Nobody, could have tripped down the stairs more gracefully than you did." It was perhaps unfair to bring up the incident as Severus knew they'd been moving in at the time, and Severus had tripped up the stairs on more than one occasion, but it would not have been as sarcastic to simply boost Demetrius' self-esteem without the comment.
"You are dancing though. If you do not, you will be labeled as boring and thinking that you are better than anyone else. Astra said so, therefore it must be true." For his part, Severus was having flashbacks to the yule ball sixth year and he really, really had not enjoyed that ball. He'd ended up spending the final half of it under the covers in his bed in the Slytherin dormitory trying not to think about Lily and James Potter sneaking snogs under the mistletoe.
"Ha-ha," Demetrius retorted dryly. "Thank you for reminding me of that wonderful moment. Wasn't that second year?" he asked, trying to remember. It would make sense, as second year saw a rather interesting growth spurt and he did fall quite a few times. "And that helps me ever-so-much," he added. "What if I trip while dancing?" he posed seriously. "It would be humiliating."
Sighing, he relented. "Is Astra the Masquerade Authority then? Is she going to scold us if we don't dance?" he asked. "I mean, we are better than everyone, with particular exceptions, as far as I'm concerned," he explained, patting Severus on the shoulder.
"I don't remember," Severus was amused. "It was something like that. If you tripped while dancing, you would do so gracefully, so it would not be humiliating it would be graceful." There were too many people and too many costumes, and too many masks. He frowned underneath the mask, and wished he didn't have to dance at all. He didn't want to dance unless it was with Lily or Astra, or Merlin forbid Agnes, but he was pretty certain Agnes wouldn't be here. Agnes wouldn't have the first thing to do with any of this, so more than likely he would simply need to dance with a random girl or two so that he could say he had danced.
"Astra is the authority on everything," Severus said dryly. "At least so far as I am concerned, although I doubt she will scold if we do not dance. She's not the scolding type. What's the verdict? Which masks are your favourites? In other words, which one will I need to pester you to go ask to dance?"
"I haven't decided," he said. "They're nice masks, but I'm trying to figure out who's under the mask." He was looking at anyone close by, just examining. "I don't really want to dance with a stranger, though I expect I'll have to at some point." Supposedly, the fun was in not knowing who was under the mask. Normally that wouldn't even come into question, but he didn't feel like embarrassing himself in front of a stranger, and he was rather convinced he'd embarrass himself.
"And I don't think you'll have to do much pestering, I am a grown up, after all," he retorted blandly. "I just need a few minutes to think about it."
Severus nodded, he had been attempting the same thing. "I agree with that. In theory it shouldn't matter. After all, they don't know who you are, and you don't know who they are, should be a piece of cake," but he trailed off in such a way to make very clear that he thought it was anything but a piece of cake. "I'd rather dance with someone I know rather than someone I don't, although you'd think the latter would be easier."
"A few minutes will turn quickly into a few hours, and then we'll be at the end and you will still have not asked the love of your life to dance," Severus turned and wondered if that was Astra over there - certainly whomever the woman was she was standing next to a tall man.
"You'd think...but it isn't...sort of contradictory." He shrugged. Then furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Severus sceptically. "Love of my life? I don't have one of those, romantics aren't really my area of interest," he pointed out. "But you're right in concepts, if I stand here for more than half an hour, push me towards the dance floor, then," he instructed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"Are you going to dance?" Demetrius asked Severus lamely. "You wouldn't want anyone to think you have a superiority complex."
Severus raised an eyebrow under his mask, although it was unnecessary gesture and one that was not useful to demonstrating his skepticism of Demetrius' statements. "You do, or at least you have a woman you'd like to ask to dance. And don't bother protesting lack of grace, and possibile humiliation or any of those things. If you don't ask, you won't know, and I don't think you will humiliate yourself if you ask."
Severus breathed out, the face he was making under the mask was anything but full of excitement for the task of dancing. He really didn't want to ask anyone to dance, but he supposed he would. "What the bloody hell are we doing here Demetrius? neither of us particularly want to be here, and have I mentioned how there's nobody that I really want to ask to dance? Well, except Astra," he admitted in an almost whisper - something he would never have said had Aquila been present. "Which is just masochistic and possibly a death wish."
"I would not like to ask her to dance, you would like me to ask her to dance. But I disgress and promise I willl get around to asking her. And we are playing nice," Demetrius replied quietly. "We are...being respectful to all of Mrs. Malfoy's hard work, or some such excuse," he added. "Plus, my mother made me come." Sighing, he thought for a second. "It's not a death wish, and there's nothing wrong with masochism. You can't get in trouble for asking her to dance, and it will be pleasant and fun and you will enjoy yourself." Tapping his foot, Demetrius scanned the dance floor.
"Maybe we should just have a better attitude about the entire night and actually try and enjoy ourselves instead of fretting about tripping, and the women we do and don't wish to dance with," he pointed out heavily. "Even though I'd rather stand around and complain, myself."
Severus snorted with amusement. "Enjoy one's self at a party, Demetrius? What is this crazy concept that you have thrown out for our consideration?" But Demetrius had a point perhaps. Aberforth had mentioned what his costume would be which meant that at some point Severus could track him down and utilize Abe for being a wall flower for a bit of the evening. Demetrius was always available to stand around and be sarcastic with, and in the meantime, perhaps he could dance with women who would not know they were dancing with Severus Snape, thus they would actually say yes rather than turning their noses up at him as he approached.
"Lestrange has a fair idea, I'm guessing. Marius, that is, not Mr Lestrange -" Severus was very glad that Mr. Lestrange didn't seem to know about it. "It could be a death wish if he figured out who I was. Which does not mean I am not stupid enough to try it. I'm stupid enough to attempt a number of things with women that I should not attempt. And if I am attempting it, you will attempt it."
"Absolutely foreign, but supposedly it's a good strategy." He smiled slightly. "I doubt Marius would recognize you. If he does recognize you, technically he can just tell you not to dance with his fiancée and simply leave it at that." Shrugging, Demetrius frowned to himself. One dance honestly wouldn't hurt anybody. "If you attempt, I'll attempt. That's my offer. If you don't dance, I won't dance."
Severus rolled his eyes, although Demetrius wouldn't see him doing so. "Fine, Demetrius. You actually have a reason to dance, I really do not, but if my not dancing will keep you from dancing, I shall make an effort. You cannot say that I am not a good friend," he said dryly. "I am concerned about your future happiness, here, just like any good friend." There were any number of women around the sidelines, and without knowing who was who the only thing you really could do would be to go and ask one of them to dance. If you knew them, it might become obvious after you began dancing, if you didn't, then it would simply be a dance.
"Miss Autumn over there," he nodded to a woman that looked a little bit as if the tree outside the front of Spinner's End had been violated to get the colours and leaves for her dress. "I'll ask her. Who are you asking?"
"You are a very good friend and I would never doubt that," he said. Scanning the floor, he raised an eyebrow. "I'll ask Red Dress," he said, pointed out a short girl in a red dress. "When we're done, we'll meet again and then pick our next victims," he added, sighing. "Unless I humiliate myself, then I'm sitting out the rest of the night."
"Good, Miss Red Dress then," Severus nodded. "And you're not sitting out the rest of the night even if you do humiliate yourself, so don't think you're going to get out of dancing so easily." He gave Demetrius a brief nod and moved away towards the girl in the autumn leaves. In theory she couldn't say no, so this should be easy, right?
The Macnairs, (Eva, Walden and NPC Sophia Macnair) Already Walden wanted to turn on his heel to run and it was just the beginning of the party. It was the first public appearance for the family since Curtis's passing and Sophia had been very adamant that both her children arrive at the ball alongside her. He'd tried to tell her that she didn't have to go but of course she would have none of that.
And so here he was, braving yet another event. He decided to find entertainment in watching Narcissa and her forced manners to the people she found to be below her. There was no doubt that her facial expressions alone would supply him with amusement for at least an hour.
Once Sophia had wandered out of listening range, Walden turned to Eva with a half-smirk. " I hope you have your dancing shoes on. I have a feeling mother will have you sold off to half of the room within the next eight minutes."
Eva could still feel her ears ringing from her mother's fretting and cajoling when they arrived at the masquerade venue. Sophia didn't win this time. Evangeline had the grotesque-looking mask fimly affixed on her face and a triumphant grin not visible to her mother. It was going to be a good night indeed. She was prepared to bet that she'll be able to curb the number of dances to a nice and manageable amount: none.
"It wasn't funny before, it isn't funny now," Eva hissed at her brother. She had been trying to give him the cold shoulder the entire time Sophia was standing with them, but it was obviously far more difficult now that she was left him Walden.
Walden peered at her through the mask he was wearing and even though her face was hidden he could picture her facial expression and it was not one that could be interpreted as a loving look from sister to brother. No, it was probably more of a loathing or irritated sort of scowl. An expression he was very familiar with. It came with the territory of being a harassing and terrible sort of older brother.
" I think it was funny and then and possibly even more so now, so I guess we shall have to agree to disagree."
"It's not funny," she stomped her for irritably before crossing her arms, her choice gesture when she was feeling flustered and annoyed. "It may be funny for you because you're a man and therefore is not as constrained to certain rules of conduct as women," Evangeline was ranting, she knew this, but she was feeling defensive and she wasn't going to back down now.
"And besides," she huffed, sounding more and more irritated by the minute, "I am not at all interested in Yaxley as you and Rodolphus seem to think. You seem to be under the impression that I am, which is ridiculous."
Now Walden was grinning and he was very thankful that his black mask covered his entire face. If she could see his face she would surely make sure that the grin was very quickly replaced. He fixed his posture (It drove his mother completely mad that he always slouched) and he turned his gaze toward the crowd.
" I think that that you're not telling me the truth. That or you're just not ready to admit it to yourself. I don't know why you're so against him or the idea of a man at all. You should be thanking your lucky stars that you're not here at this ball with Caspar Crouch." He flinched slightly, remembering the last conversation he'd had with his father.
"You have got to be joking," Eva snapped, looking extremely indignant underneath her mask, although the mask itself was doing a very good job of illustrating what she looked like underneath it. She scoffed when Walden mentioned that she was either lying or delusional and Eva couldn't help herself. In hindsight, perhaps it would have been more believe if she hadn't punched him in the stomach while their mother was looking away.
Walden opened his mouth to respond to her comment but found himself without air and unable to speak. He bent over slightly and tried to compose himself without anyone nearby taking any real notice. She hadn't hit him all that hard but he was also not the least bit prepared for the blow and so there he stood, handling it less gracefully than he would have liked.
" Was that really necessary?"
"Yes," she replied, sounding quite childish and she regretted her actions now. It was quite alright for Walden to make fun of her for being unmarried but she had never gone to the point of turning the tables on him and asking him about his bachelorhood. No, it was too touchy an issue and she didn't really want to subject her brother to that sort of thing. Eva sniffed disdainfully and tried not to sound as if she cared too much. "Did that hurt very much?"
Walden was unable to answer her directly because he found that the entire situation was absolutely hilarious. He'd replayed the scene in his head, imagining what an outsider would have seen, and it had set him off. He managed to get laughing so hard that he found trouble breathing and he untied his mask and removed it from his face, knowing full well that his gracious hostess would very much disapprove.
" I barely felt it," he gasped, pressing an open palm against his stomach in hopes to calm himself. " You just caught me off guard. I cannot believe you just punched me. And at a society event no less. What would your mother say if she could see you right now?"
The laughter was unexpected. Evangeline thought that she was about to receive a harsh talking to from Walden but... he was laughing. She glared at her older brother and tried very hard not to kick him in the shin as well. "It was barely a punch, it was somewhat like a sharp tap to the stomach," Eva argued, sounding very indignant. She had been very lucky that their mother had not been looking at them when it happened, otherwise Eva would have been guilted into atoning for the incident all night.
"Now if you are done amusing yourself," she glared at her brother, who was still chuckling immoderately, "I'm going ahead to mingle. Perhaps you should do the same." And with that, Eva stalked off to find Narcissa and Alecto.