InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Brain fart!"

Astoria Greengrass (sew_perfect) wrote in finnigans_rpg,
@ 2014-08-25 19:47:00

Entry tags:

character: astoria greengrass, character: percy weasley

Who: Astoria Greengrass and Percy Weasley
What: A fitting and a nice conversation with a good customer
Where: Twilfit & Tattings
When: 3:00pm Tuesday afternoon (on the dot, which Astoria appeciates)
Rating: SFW; omg with these two there won't even be 'bloody's about
Status: closed; in progress

Though some might call Astoria a prude for always caring about proper public discourse, for her part, Astoria just thought herself kind and sensible. She was raised to expect people to act in certain ways and so long as others were gentlemanly or lady like in public, she didn't really care what they did on their own. She had to admit, some might have found it MORE strange that she had such a friendly reputation with a Weasley considering her future husband never got along much with them. Astoria wasn't bothered by that much. She saw no need for her and Draco's acquaintances to perfectly match, and there was nothing about Mr. Percy Weasley that could be said to be ungentlemanly. He had fine taste in clothes, was polite, kind and very intelligent. To put it plain, she liked him immensely and considered him one of her favorite male clients.

When time for the appointment came, she called to her assistant and asked her to show Mr. Weasley into her studio/office. She had pulled fabrics in colors she thought would suit and stood up in time to see him being led in.

"Lovely to see you again, Mr. Weasley. I took the liberty of pulling the patterns from your last set of robes. Come on in, I've got some fabric swashes for you just here, take a look!" She have him a beaming smile and held out her hand to greet him. "It's always a pleasure when you're in the shop.

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abidingpercy
2014-08-26 03:22 am UTC (link)

Growing up, clothes shopping had never been a great joy to Percy, particularly since there had been very little shopping at all. He had been 'fortunate' enough to have two older brothers whose clothing he could wear until it wore out or until it was time to pass it on down to the twins, and the only items that had ever truly been his own had been his underwear and the jumpers his mother made for Christmas. Perhaps some may have thought him materialistic and vain for being dissatisfied with what he had growing up, and perhaps they might be right, but at heart he'd simply wanted something of his own that he didn't have to share with anyone else.

It had been quite a godsend when he had discovered Astoria Greengrass for in her he found a woman with a keen eye for fashion and style, who would not attempt to pawn off on him colours that would clash with his hair or styles that would be against his personal sensibilities. She understood his needs in terms of tailoring and style, and through their shared acquaintance, he had also found in her a kind woman who did not judge him by his actions in the last war and with whom he could hold an intelligent conversation. That she had been a Slytherin and was associated with the Malfoy family was none of his concern - she had always treated him with respect and dignity, and thus he afforded her the same.

This was why he would trust nobody else with his work robes.

"The pleasure, as always is mine Ms. Greengrass." He greeted her in kind by taking her hand and making a small bow over it as would befit a gentleman as his lips tilted up in a rare smile. "Thank you for being able to take me on such short notice. There was a small incident on Friday involving birthday cake and primrose oil, the details of which I won't bore you with, but suffice it to say I am now a set of robes short."

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sew_perfect
2014-08-26 03:53 am UTC (link)

While Astoria never grew up wanting for things materially, she understood wanting to go your own way and have your own things. Astoria certainly was never one to settle for doing what was expected for her. Her mother might have crazy notions about Astoria staying home and raising Malfoy heirs, but Astoria knew in her heart she would have none of that. Children, yes. But she would keep doing what she loved. She LOVED designing robes, she loved fashion and creativity and beautiful things, and it was their shared love of a well tailored robe that made this meeting such an anticipated one.

She dipped in return to his greeting and beamed at him, only laughing a little at the circumstances that required new robes. "Well, however unfortunate the circumstances might have been, it's very nice to see you again. I've taken the liberty of doing some drawing up of ideas, things that would look good on you. What do you think?," she asked, handing him her sketches. "Same style, just different colors. Rather like your old set only touched up a bit. More modern. But I think they could suit nicely."

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abidingpercy
2014-08-26 04:49 pm UTC (link)

Percy took the sketches and looked them over, nodding approvingly. She really did have a good eye, and he liked the modern touches.

"I believe this may be one of your best works yet. The textured pattern is subtle but not overwhelming. I wouldn't want to give anyone a heart attack from showing up to work with something too outlandish, after all," he said with a rare use of humour.

"Would you also be able to design a matching traditional robe that could be worn over top of it? I am anticipating some future meetings with representatives of certain foreign governments about the broom trade, and some of them are rather... antiquated in their standards of dress. It is always good to have a stand-by for such events, is it not?"

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sew_perfect
2014-08-27 04:25 am UTC (link)

"I am 5 steps ahead of you already, Mr. Weasley." She tapped her wand on the drawings and they swirled into more traditional wizard robes. "Wand tap transformation. Small incantation with the wand tap, and presto!" She beamed at him. It was her own invention, and she was very proud.

She pulled up a work order and made some notations, concentrating on the figures she had written down about Percy's measurements and his preferences on cut and the fabric he liked. She nodded when she was satisfied and handed him back the updated sketch. "With the transition charm, I can also add a...stainproofing charm. Should prevent future incidents. If that suits?" She gave him a moment to look it over and approve, handing him the quill. "Feel free to make note of any adjustments there. I'll take some measurements to make sure we're accurate, and then we'll be all set."

She paused while he was looking over the paper and gave him a soft smile.

"And how's the pretty little girl of yours?"

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abidingpercy
2014-08-27 05:08 pm UTC (link)

5 steps ahead - Percy grinned, ever impressed by this young lady. His eyebrows rose and his lips formed into a small 'o' of near-awe when she described the wand tap modifications. "If you ever change your mind on careers, please let me know so that I can snag you up before anyone else. I would kill for an assistant with half of your initiative and efficiency." It wasn't the first time he'd said such a thing, likely wouldn't be the last (at least not until he did, eventually, find an assistant who met with his exacting standards).

He nodded approvingly of her updates as he looked over the work order. "Lucy's quite well, thank you. She continues to keep me on my toes, though she is excelling in her piano lessons. I believe she'll be quite the virtuoso one day." He smiled fondly with thoughts of his daughter as he took the proffered quill and signed the work order. "Perhaps I'll bring her in for a fitting later this fall for a set of Christmas robes. Do you care for children, Ms. Greengrass?"

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sew_perfect
2014-09-01 07:58 am UTC (link)

Astoria smiled at Percy with the full beam of her pleasure. It was a very excellent compliment, since Mr. Weasley was an especially hardworking man that was quite exacting. She was the very same, so it pleased her that he would compliment her so. "That is extraordinarily kind of you to say, Mr. Weasley," she said, and nodded. "Though I believe fashion is my calling, I would have been honored to have a dedicated boss like yourself."

She took the work order and nodded at his comments about his daughter. Her heart tugged, since she did want a child of her own some day, though perhaps not so very soon. She had a career to think of. "I'm sure she will be, Mr. Weasley. And keep you on your toes besides. If she's anything like her father, she'll be whip smart and outpace you even!" she added, stamping the order and sending it off with a flick of her wrist to start pulling the fabrics and trimmings. "I'll have this done by week's end, if you'd like to pick it up. Or we can send it via owl post at your convenience." His question made her smile, but she shook her head sadly. "I wish I did, but that's another department. I do school robes for the older girls, but then I stick to custom...though if you wish to order custom...for YOU I would do it gladly," she said, thinking about how fun a set of little girl's Christmas robes would be.

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abidingpercy
2014-09-01 05:41 pm UTC (link)

"Far be it from me to pull you away from your calling," he replied with a gracious tilt of his head.

"I can only hope," he said at the idea that Lucy would outpace him - she was already learning to speak French from her aunt and thus could speak more languages than he could at her age. "Pick up should be fine, the shop is but a short distance from the Ministry and as I'm frequently reminded, I need to occasionally expose myself to fresh air during the workday..

At first he was disappointed when she said he would have to go to another department, but then she mentioned custom and that she would do it for him, which brought a smile to his face. "Excellent, and I believe custom Christmas robes are exactly the gift I need for my little girl. I will contact you sometime in November to set up an appointment, then."

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sew_perfect
2014-09-01 05:46 pm UTC (link)

She shook her head. "I knew you'd never dream of it. But the kindness of the statement won't be forgotten."

She nodded and made a note on his file that he'd pick up the robes himself before sending them on. "Excellent, that means we should see each other again soon, assuming I'm not slaving away on some other project." She laughed at his statement at needing fresh air. She didn't knew if she needed air, but it would be nice on occasion. "I can understand that," she said, shaking her head. "I never get enough of it now, so I can certainly understand the need for it."

She was glad he reacted positively to her suggestion and smiled even wider. "I'm very glad, Mr. Weasley. I've always wanted to do such a commission, and I have some excellent ideas. Perhaps a charm that will allow her to make snow angels without catching cold?"

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	abidingpercy 2014-09-02 04:23 pm UTC (link)
	"That charm sounds perfect," he agreed with a nod. "It should also come in handy for the eventual Weasley snowball fight that always seems to result from family gatherings in the winter." He looked down at the sketches one more time before straightening up. "Had you said you needed some more measurements before I go?" (Reply to this) (Parent)