The Last Station

Who: Marcus & Isabel
What: Lunch
When: Thursday
Where: The Moon-Smith flat.
Rating: Low
Status: On-going

Marcus had stopped by The Three Broomsticks and picked up some sandwiches for lunch. Though it had been a while since he'd last done so, the staff there knew exactly what to prepare. He also had a small plush hippogriff tucked away in his bag for Lyla that he picked up in a shop in Diagon Alley. He knocked on the door to the flat and waited.

Sent to: Stewart Ackerly, Katie Bell, Lucian Bole, Dan Bradley, Lavender Brown, James Cadwallader, Serena Capper, Asher Chambers, Merrill Davies-Urquhart, Roger Davies-Urquhart, Maxwell Derrick, Julian Dorny, Fera Dunstan, Marietta Edgecombe, Marcus Flint, Victoria Frobisher, Hermione Granger, Astoria Greengrass, Angelina Johnson, Megan Jones, Viktor Krum, Alexei Levski, Aidan Lynch, Morag MacDougal-Levski, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Malfoy, Cormac McLaggen, Eloise Midgen, Graham Montague, Gwendolyn Montgomery, Isabel Moon, Pansy Parkinson, Jimmy Peakes, Harry Potter, Adrian Pucey, Orla Quirke, Jack Sloper, Zacharias Smith, Alicia Spinnet, Sebastien Summerby, Lisa Turpin, Jacob Vaisey, Romilda Vane, Myron Wagtail, Ginny Weasley, Blaise Zabini



When the envelope is opened, a burst of magic fireworks and all-too-real glitter explodes from within. The illustrated flames on the invitation itself are charmed to flicker with light, hissing and popping like a real campfire.

( Sent to Hydras Staff & Teammates; Lisa Turpin Photography )

( On display throughout the village )

Who: Anyone in the Hydras' organization!

What: Marcus's Birthday Party!

When:Wednesday, after practice.

Where: On the Bertie Bott's stadium Quidditch pitch.

Rating: Low, I'd assume.

Status: Ongoing!

( Harry Birthday to you... )

Two owls, sent Tuesday lunchtime

( Zacharias )

--

( Marcus )

The owl brings with it a fitted athletic jacket in Hydras colours, with "CAPTAIN" embroidered over the left front.

Marcus,

Happy birthday, mate, and many returns.

Caleb

(The owl carries a package, which contains a bottle of Bordeaux from the year Marcus was born and a pug-sized dog tuxedo.)

Marcus,

Happy Birthday, mate! Many happy returns.

- Adrian

The owl carries two chocolate cupcakes with fondant Quidditch decorations and champagne buttercream.

Marc:

I'm awfully sorry I didn't Owl you earlier, love, but happy birthday!

Isabel

Owls to Caleb, Megan, and Jimmy

Hey, I'm sorry this is late notice, but can one of you do Izzy's morning shifts with Megan? We're in hospital; Pea tried to arrive a little earlier. Izzy's fine, but she's on bedrest for now.

Thanks
Zacharias


Owls to Tracey, Millicent, Lucian, Marcus and Theodore

Just so you know, Pea almost arrived tonight. Izzy's fine-- the Healer is putting her on bed rest and we're going back tomorrow-- but if you have time to drop by the next few days I think she'd really appreciate that.

Thanks,
Zacharias

Who: Marcus & Merrill
What: Lunch
When: Friday
Where: Merrill's
Rating: Low-Mid?
Status: On-going

For the second time in two days Marcus found himself toting lunch to a friend. He found he'd quite liked the sandwiches from the day before and they certainly agreed with him, so he'd opted for the same fare again. He knocked on the door when he arrived at Merrill's and stood waiting with a grin until he came to the door.

Who: Draco & Marcus
What: Lunch
When: Thursday mid-day-ish
Where: Hogwarts
Rating: Low (except maybe language?)
Status: On-going

Marcus arrived at the castle, a feeling of trepidation suddenly washing over him. This was definitely a place he had never planned to return to when he left - for a whole list of reasons - and, yet, here he was. As he made his way to Draco's office, assuming it was Snape's old one, he felt like a teenager again, and memories came back to him, some good and some he was glad to have left behind. He looked down at the bag he was carrying (he fetched a light lunch from The Three Broomsticks and a few chocolate cupcakes from Foxglove) and let out a sigh. He wasn't even entirely sure why he'd insisted on this. It was true that he felt bad that the two of them hadn't really talked much since he'd come back from Italy. It was also true that he was excited for Draco to be captaining a pick-up Quidditch team. He knew how much Draco enjoyed the sport, even if he'd pretended for a while now that he didn't necessarily mind not being able to play professionally. But he also knew how Draco could be and it was just as likely that he gesture might be ill-received as it would be seen as him simply trying to reconnect. But he knew that was part of being friends with Draco - he could often be a prat, but underneath all of that he was loyal, bold, and (at times) even caring (though he wasn't sure he'd say that to him directly).

Shaking his head, Marcus reached up and knocked on the door.

WHO | Individuals who received an invitation.
WHEN | Wednesday, March 19.
WHERE | Dragon Barrel Brewery.
WHAT | A feast and libations in honor of Adrian Pucey's birth.
RATING | TBD.
STATUS | Ongoing.

Dragon Barrel Brewery, well-weathered when Merrill's grandfather was younger than he was now, wore its age well. Its private room was modern, with original details that paid homage to its successful past. And as was appropriate at any gathering between friends, the liquor flowed freely, the open bar Merrill's last-minute nod to hospitality. The meal was sorted, as well, and the atmosphere casual, jovial.

Draco,

I see you're captaining a pick-up team - definitely a good choice on the part of whomever made that call. Wondered if you might want to get together for a drink and swap strategies. Not that I think you need the help in any way, but we haven't talked much since I've been back and I haven't even begun to make up for apparently tormenting you with that photo of Phin. (He's very sorry, too.) Pick a night.

M. Flint

Who: Iris, Brendon and Orla Quirke plus Marcus Flint
What: Birthday tea - with surprise guest!
When: Monday afternoon/evening
Where: Greenview House
Rating: Low
Status: Ongoing

( Matchmaker, matchmaker, plan me no plans, I'm in no rush )

Owls to Lucian Bole, Lavender Brown, Millicent Bulstrode, Roger Davies-Urquhart, Tracey Davis, Maxwell Derrick, Julian Dorny, Fera Dunstan, Marcus Flint, Astoria Greengrass, Draco Malfoy, Eloise Midgen, Graham Montague, Gwendolyn Montgomery, Isabel Moon, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Zacharias Smith, Sebastien Summerby, Caleb Warrington, and Blaise Zabini

Owl sent to: Myron Wagtail
Duplicate copies sent to: Dan Bradley, Lavender Brown


( Owl to Myron )

--

Owls sent to: Sebastien Summerby, Marcus Flint, Alexei Levski, Ginny Weasley, Fera Dunstan, and Lucian Bole
Duplicate copies sent to: Dan Bradley, Lavender Brown

( Hello Hydras )

--

Owl sent to: Lisa Turpin
Duplicate copies sent to: Dan Bradley, Lavender Brown

( Owl to Lisa )

Sent in a fancy pink envelope

Who: Marcus & Adrian
What: Catching Up
When: Thursday afternoon
Where: The Three Broomsticks
Rating: Low?
Status: On-going

Marcus had suddenly become more social in the past few days than he'd been in weeks. It was easy enough to blame it on the dog and the busy practice and match schedule, but there was more to it than that. He was finding it harder and harder to forget about the life he lived in Italy - the freedom he felt, not feeling like he was always looking over his shoulder, and actually being able to connect with people honestly without having to hide things. He had never been a particularly open person, but even now he felt a bit suffocated. And it had been easier to just avoid people for a while to move past that, because the alternative was just not an option.

He arrived a bit earlier than planned and claimed a booth, ordering a drink while he waited for Adrian to arrive.

Who: Marcus & Isabel (and Phineas & Quaffle)
What: A puppy play date
When: Wednesday afternoon
Where: That open spot of land behind the Owlery
Rating: Low, I'd guess
Status: On-going

Marcus was a few minutes late as, of course, Phineas had suddenly decided not to cooperate. Where he normally got overexcited by the sight of his leash to the point where Marcus had to hold him down - sometimes with both hands - today he'd decided to run under the table and hide. Of course, once he was leashed and out the door, he couldn't have been happier to go for a walk.

"Hey," Marcus called as he approached the clearing and spied Isabel and Quaffle already there waiting for them. "Sorry. Phin decided to be a bit of a prat today." He shot the dog a glare and then smiled down at him.

WHO | Mandy Brocklehurst, Millicent Bulstrode, Serena Capper, Asher Chambers, Cho Chang, Tracey Davis, Julian Dorny, Marcus Flint, Ernie Macmillan, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Adrian Pucey, Alicia Spinnet, Sebastien Summerby, Caleb Warrington, Oliver Wood, and the newlyweds. Plus-ones welcome.
WHEN | Monday, February 3 at 8:00 p.m.
WHERE | Grace (London, England).
WHAT | A celebration of marriage among friends.
RATING | TBD. Presumably low to moderate.
STATUS | Ongoing.

Despite its new status within the city of London, Grace was a hard-sought seating. Its chef and creator was a vivacious young woman with a son Violet's age, and Merrill knew her through the arts classes both their little ones took. The chef's table that evening was her wedding gift to Merrill and Roger, and it was as handsome as the small plates that followed.