Aglaia Greengrass (grasswasgreener) wrote in lockdown, @ 2011-08-31 04:18:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! august 1979, ! log, aglaia greengrass, bellatrix black |
RP Log: Aglaia Greengrass and Bellatrix Black
Who: Aglaia Greengrass and Bellatrix Black
What: Tea and Cleaning up for Jasper
Where: The Greengrass Solarium
When: A few days after the riot.
Rating: PG, tops.
“Tink,” Aglaia murmured as she finished arranging the flowers in the vase. “When Miss Black arrives, please show her in here. Thank you.”
The house elf nodded and popped out of sight as Aglaia carefully finished perfecting the arrangement of the china. She would have to speak to Blink about the starching. The serviettes were just a little too stiff.
Bellatrix looked forward to her afternoons with Aglaia, as odd as that sometimes felt. The younger woman was pleasant company, and a welcome change from the somewhat less civilised of Bellatrix’s compatriots in the Dark Lord’s ranks. Sometimes Bellatrix was a little taken aback by just how proper Aglaia was -- and how content she seemed to be that way -- but in general, she was a rather relaxing person to be around.
Giving the house elf a brief nod in acknowledgement as she was led into the room, Bellatrix gave Aglaia a much more honest smile.
“Good afternoon,” she said. “You’re looking well today.”
“Thank you,” Aglaia murmured with a warm smile. “Thank you for coming. Would you like a seat, or would you prefer a stroll before tea?”
“Tea would be lovely,” Bellatrix admitted. “I could use the calming. Work has been hectic with that blasted riot.”
And dealing with the more impetuous Death Eaters was never easy. Bellatrix had responsibilities, though, and she was even less likely to shirk her responsibilities to the Dark Lord than she was her responsibilities to the Ministry.
“Can I offer lavender in the tea, then?” Aglaia offered. “My own.”
“That sounds delightful,” Bellatrix agreed. Normally she wouldn’t have trusted someone else’s recommendation like that, but she knew Aglaia was fantastic with plants. If she thought something herbal would work, it probably would.
“I would offer valerian,” Aglaia murmured as she went to fetch a packet of dried lavender from a nearby cabinet. “But it tends to spoil the flavor of the tea.”
Bellatrix made a face. “It does, rather. I’m sure lavender will be sufficient. Thank you.”
Aglaia returned to the little table — she did love setting for tea in the solarium — with a smile. “Oh, where are my manners? Please, do sit down.”
“How is your garden coming along?” Bellatrix asked as she took a seat, smiling at Aglaia. The minutiae of society bored her to tears sometimes, but talking with Aglaia was calming. “I suppose most of your plants are going into winter dormancy soon?”
“Not just yet,” Aglaia said with a smile. She gazed over at the garden. “There’s quite a few that can be coaxed into fall bloom. Besides, the solarium extends the season considerably.”
“This place must be lovely to have around Christmastime,” Bellatrix said. “Snow is all very well, but I do find myself missing greenery by then.”
“You might be surprised,” Aglaia murmured with a grin. She did love talking about her plants. “There’s something about the winter bouquets... a sort of subtle elegance. I’ll be sure to send one to you this season.”
“I’ll commission you to decorate the Ministry. Honestly, the place is so bleak during the winter,” Bellatrix said, sighing. “You’d think whoever designed it had a fundamental opposition to any sort of architectural beauty. A few nice winter wreaths might warm the place up nicely.”
Aglaia blushed faintly with a soft laugh. “I’m not sure my small gardens could sustain the Ministry, but I am flattered. Your office, at the very least.”
“I’m certain there are other gardens in London,” Bellatrix teased gently. “Yours might not supply the Ministry, but your taste is better than most florists I’ve encountered.”
“You know, I have never considered flower arranging as a profession,” Aglaia admitted. “It’s a... pastime of a passion, I suppose.”
“It suits you as a pastime,” Bellatrix said. “I’d worry about you burning out if you did it day-in, day-out to the whims of other people. Creativity should be allowed its own reins.”
“This way, my bouquets can be given at my own discretion,” Aglaia murmured. “I rather prefer it that way, I think.”
“As it should be,” Bellatrix agreed, taking a sip of her tea. “This is divine, Aglaia, thank you.”
“Of course,” Aglaia murmured. “You certainly deserve a respite.”
Silence fell for a few moments, but it was a comfortable sort of silence. Bellatrix had noticed more and more, these last few years, that Aglaia fostered a sort of comfortable calmness just by being in the room.
Eventually, she murmured, “Your father may have been out of sorts lately; I’m sorry for my part in that, if he has.”
Aglaia’s smile faded a bit, but didn’t disappear. “My father is not the most placid of men, Bellatrix. There is no need for you to apologize for his temperament.”
“We had a disagreement. He is... less inclined to action than I am.” It wasn’t exactly an admission of a fault; it was a simple statement of fact. “I can appreciate that, but not when he encourages timidity. So we had words.”
Aglaia nodded. “I had gathered so,” she murmured. “My father is a cautious man, I will agree, but he is faithful. He wishes to see no harm come to... his cause.”
“Of course. And I respect that.” To a degree. “He... occasionally oversteps his bounds when chiding the others, however, in the presence of those of higher rank.”
It was all perfectly innocuous-sounding to an outsider, the way it always was. They hadn’t come this far by being careless.
“He can be thoughtless at times,” Aglaia allowed. It was always so dangerous, playing this game on her father’s behalf. “I do believe, though, that his carelessness is born of devotion.”
“Of that, I have no doubt,” Bellatrix assured her. “I have no complaints about his devotion, Aglaia, you may be sure of that. Only about his methods, at times.”
She took another sip of tea, schooling her expression into a warmer smile. Aglaia didn’t deserve to worry too much about her father’s cowardice.
“If I were to provide funds for the materials in question, could I prevail upon you to help me with decorating my flat for a get-together?” she asked. “Your tastes run towards decorating more than mine, and I want to have some people come to dinner on Halloween.”
“I would be honored,” Aglaia said with a much warmer smile. Bella seemed to be appeased on the subject of Aglaia’s father, and Aglaia was happy to leave the topic behind. “I must warn you, that my decorating tastes do tend to run to the floral.”
Bellatrix laughed. “I’d rather floral than spiders and cobwebs all over the place, which is what I’d get if I asked Rabastan to help,” she explained. “It’s not going to be the sort of Halloween party we had as children. Just a convenient excuse to have people come by and relax for a night, really.”
“Well, I hope that orange is still par for the course,” Aglaia said with a warm grin. “So many of the flowers at that time are, well, autumnal.”
“Orange is perfectly acceptable as long as it’s not in the form of pumpkins,” Bellatrix replied, smiling. “Autumn shades can be lovely in the right arrangements.”
“You know,” Aglaia said, sitting forward a bit and showing faint traces of real excitement. “I’ve had this idea of making bouquets featuring actual branches in full fall color. They wouldn’t last long enough for displays normally, since the leaves would grow dry and dull after only a day or two, but for a party...”
“That sounds delightful,” Bellatrix agreed, smiling at Aglaia’s excitement. It was nice to see the other woman this honesty excited about something; she worried, sometimes, that Aglaia held too much of herself back. Not that Bellatrix could cast stones on that note, really. She added, “I’m quite willing to be your guinea pig in this. You’re sensible; I’ll set up an account you can draw from for decorating purposes and you can have free rein.”
“You’ll have to come back in a few weeks,” Aglaia said with a smile. “Some of the fall flowers will be blooming, and you can decide what suits your tastes.”
“And that should still leave you plenty of time to come up with designs before Halloween,” Bellatrix said, nodding.
“Are you thinking evening-wear?” Aglaia inquired. The dress code would give her an idea of the tone Bellatrix wanted to set. “Or frocks?”
“Nothing quite so formal,” Bellatrix said, laughing a little. “I’m thinking of asking Briseis, since I’ll be asking Rabastan, so there will definitely be alcohol involved, and I’d rather not risk a wine spill on something expensive.”
“Oh,” Aglaia murmured with a chuckle. “Of course. Very casual, then.”
“As casual as we can be in mixed company.”
Not that Bellatrix cared all that much for the more old-fashioned social mores, but some of her friends did.
“Of course,” Aglaia said mildly. “I’ll start looking around for possibilities.”
“Thank you.” Bellatrix sipped her tea, smiling. “You’re a dear, Aglaia. I enjoy our afternoons together very much.”
“As do I,” Aglaia murmured. “Can I offer you a scone?”