bon appetit ((burke family + invite))

First topic message reminder :

After months of discussion and arrangement, Millicent and the family elves had gotten the manor in order and prepared to host a rather formal feast. Other than having her mother-in-law joining them, their future in-laws from Hector's arrangement were also slated to attend. She wasn't sure of the exact time yet, but she made sure there was plenty of time allotted time before and afterwards for chatting and leisure.

Millicent was sitting in the drawing room sipping a relaxing cup of Earl Grey. Surrounding her on the walls and throughout the room were various artifacts the Burkes had possessed for generations ranging from taxidermy dioramas, ancient vases with dried flowers, a magnificent harp that was playing a light tune, some family portraits, and one of the many libraries scattered throughout the property that tied the room together.

@Hector Burke @Melanthius Burke @Cecelia Burke @Minnie Bulstrode @Bellona Lestrange

Now that she was finally calm, Acheflow headed back down the staircases with a glass of Vermintino that was served to her by Mippy before the elf disappeared from her sight. It was if nothing had happened just by looking at her; she appeared as elegant and upstanding as ever with not a single hint of redness on her face.

Hearing some voices from the drawing room, Acheflow asked loudly, "Hector! Did the guests arrive?"

They couldn't have come this soon! There was still tension in the air, and that was not going to reflect well on the Burke name if it didn't dissipate soon enough.

@Hector Burke

Idina perked up a bit when he said his brother was going to be studying healing magic as well, "Its a very difficult field. Your brother must be intelligent to tackle such a challenge." She then poured hersherself a cup of teatea before realizing an older witch enter the room,. She stood and did a slight cursty, "Good evening. We apologize for intruding. Cecelia had invited us over for dinner. I am idina hererra. And this is my older sister, Andrea." 

@Hector Burke @Cousin Skeeter

Andrea nodded at hectors simple statement. She was thankful for the change of subject and followed her sisters movements when the Burke matriarch entered the room, "It's a pleasure to meet you." She was pleased that her sister still held her manners. 

@Hector Burke @Cousin Skeeter

"At least you can practice," she reminded him bitterly, but added: "The morning after the feast, that's where we'll first be headed."

Although she didn't like her home to be described as drab, she listened with a pursed mouth to his suggestions. She supposed there could be more focus on having the hall decorated more elaborately, but the moment she had opened her mouth to respond, a squeaky little voice interrupted. Where had that elf suddenly appeared from? He looked and sounded almost distressed.

Bellona's eyes tore daggers into it.

@Melanthius Burke

"No, Grandmother they are--"

But the pushy, younger girl made a point of introducing herself right before he could attempt a reply. At least that about summed it up. He only wished that Cecelia could be as charming and well suited to their family values, and it made him feel a touch saddened. Why wasn't she his sister, and not Andrea's?

Hector turned his eyes away from them all grumpily, perching his temple on his finger as he slouched towards the arm rest.

"Yes, that's what we shall do!"

Starting term with a much-needed duelling practice session with his girlfriend? That was going to be wonderful! Now he was wishing that the end of the holiday would hurry along and get here!

Hearing a certain elf, Thius glanced over at Bellona then at the elf in confusion.. "Mippy? What are you doing out here? I thought you were helping with dinner?"

"The yelling was distressing me, sir!" Mippy answered, looking up at Bellona, fearing the look in her eyes. "I saw you two out the window, sir! Your grandmother asked for a glass of wine, and I did all I could, sir! I got her to not look outside but you need to come back in before she finds out!"

Listening to his elf, he gazed at Bellona thoughtfully. "Mippy, I trust you'll be able to ward off any suspicions for a tad longer. I'm going to show my lady our duelling chambers." He wanted to show her it, she wanted to see it. There was simply no reason he waa going to not do that.

Mippy crossed her arms, shaking slightly, feeling the intensity of her stare. "How long will.it take, Mister Melanthius?"

"I don't think it'll take too long. I must thank you for warning us, Mippy. You may go back inside."

The elf ran back towards the manor, shoving herself through one of the secret entrances.

"That was Mippy, ny favorite elf of the lot. Perhaps I'll sse if Professor Riddle will let me take her to Hogwarts."

@Bellona Lestrange

Bellona folded her arms impatiently as the elf shrieked and wailed. Melanthius seemed almost gentle with it though, which surprised her. She didn't show the same courtesy towards the elves at the Lestrange manor, in fact she hardly thought about them at all apart from being ever-present helpers.

"Why is that one your favourite?" she asked curiously, as the reason wasn't at all striking in their brief encounter. "In any case - let's be quick. I don't want my first impression to your Grandmother being that I literally led you astray..."

Tugging at his sleeve, she moved her head to prompt him.

"Come on - show me them."

@Melanthius Burke

Now that Mippy had scurried off, Thius answered, "Well, Mippy's always been quite neurotic, and the other elves give her a hard time." He moved his arm to take Bellona's hand; he was timing this the best he could while also figuring out which of the entrances to use.

"And I've always sort of sympathized with her, so we got on well." It did help that they actually bothered to memorize their names; in a way, it allowed for their service to be carried out to very satisfying degrees.

"At this point, we ought to run there and back into the manor. If my estimation is correct, there should be enough of a window for us to look as we did before leaving, and we should be able to make it back to the drawing room before they realize we've gone."

Turning to look at her, Thius kissed her cheek before grasping onto her hand tighter, and he began to run towards the chamber.

@Bellona Lestrange

Strange - she never thought of elves being individuals before, or having social lives that went beyond discussing their master's and mistress's plans. To think that some elves would tease another was a surprise, and that Melanthius was observant enough to pick up on it. Her boyfriend had a big heart: he seemed to have more feeling and tenderness than his Mother or Hector, so perhaps that was the real reason his Grandmother favoured him?

Feeling his hand slip into hers, Bellona barely registered it before she was being tugged along and she let out a short shriek, followed by joyful laughter.

"That's if we're not out of breath!" she laughed, running alongside him.

@Melanthius Burke

"You lookey very pretty, Chefloo!" exclaimed Minnie, looking out of the side of the glass pane after practically bouncing off the wall from meeting two of Cece's friends.

Sitting down near Hector, Minnie clapped excitedly, "Ooooohoooo, you two are veryyyy fancy! If I'da known Cece also invited people, I would've gotten more gifts!"

She moved her head back and forth like a tennis ball as she looked at the two girls. "Which one's Deenah and which one's Ohndrea?"

@Hector Burke @Andrea Herrera @Idina Herrera

Chuckling, he shouted, "Well, we got the sensation of a good duel then!" It wasn't remotely the same, but the adrenaline high from running around the gardens felt similar enough. "Merlin, I haven't ran like this in a while!"

He was feeling vibrant and alive as his cheeks pained and turned red from the smiling and all of the exertion. Thius hardly paid attention to his surroundings, as he was often looking back to see the look on his girlfriend's face. He stumbled over a rough patch of vines that wasn't tended to yet and fell onto the ground, right on his back. Looking up at the starry sky, Thius was still laughing.

@Bellona Lestrange

Andrea noticed a shift in hector's mood, but decided against mentioning it. When his cousin asked which one of them was which, she laughed, "I am Andrea. She is Idina. The names can be a bit difficult if you don't have a Spanish accent. Especially mine, with the rolling R. But it's a very popular name in Catalonia." She said, her accent becoming slightly thicker as the night went on. 

@Hector Burke @Minnie Bulstrode

She was about to cry that he should look ahead when the stub of a vine caught her ankle. While she stumbled and released his hand to waver, Thius hadn't been quite so fortunate to keep standing. Bellona gave a short screech and grimaced as he hit the ground, but luckily enough for him it was to his back and not face-first in the dirt. Both of them laughed in unison, so the point where it rang around the spacious enclosure of the gardens.

Bellona went to him, looking down at him.

After a while her laughter ebbed away and her expression relaxed to a mischievous little smile.

"And this is surely the best ending of one. With you flat on your back, and me the victor."

Standing over him, she lightly pressed her boot to the centre of his chest, smirking.

"It will happen. One day."

@Melanthius Burke

The clock chimed in the hallway, and Hector realised it was getting late: later than he thought it was.

"Where in the name of Merlin has Melanthius got to?" he seethed quietly to himself, now knowing that his request for him to return hadn't been taken seriously. Really, he was worried. He knew how he got swept away in his romance, and was short-sighted to everything else. His warning had come from a place of affection: he didn't want both of his siblings being condemned for inappropriate behaviour.

"Excuse me," Hector piped up, standing up once more. "There is something I must attend to for a moment."

Giving a slight incline of his head, he exited the room and stepped outside of the front door. Just then he thought he'd heard laughter, and moved towards it with flustered purpose.

"Melanthius?" he called, as he came through a fence to where the greenhouses were.

@Idina Herrera @Andrea Herrera @Melanthius Burke

His heart felt as if it was ready to burst out his chest, some droplets of sweat was rolling down his forehead, and his hair had definitely gone out of place. One strand was tickling near his eye. Just like after a real, proper duel. His laughter began to cease as he stared at Bellona, his mouth slightly agape, as she stood over him.

Then she stuck her foot right on top of him.

And he was feeling a strange sensation, as if something inside of him was waking up.

Merlin.

All he could muster out was a breathy, "I look forward to that day, 'Ona... When you can rightfully say you beat me... And be on top of the world..."

As she deserved to be.

"Ah..."

Closing his eyes blissfully, he took a deep breath and grinned right up at her when there was a rustling coming towards them and then the voice of his brother.

They were found.

@Bellona Lestrange @Hector Burke

"I'm glad you see it my way."

As her heel pushed closer against his sternum and she could hear his laboured breaths, something stirred inside of her too. It was close to the same satisfaction she got from hexing someone, she supposed, only in this case it was more gratifying. Probably because, despite that, he was still paying her compliment.

Melanthius!

The not-so-distant cry across the grounds had her removing her boot very quickly. "Quick, get up!" she whispered urgently, holding out her hand impatiently for him.

@Melanthius Burke

He crossed the path adjacent to the one bedding carnivorous plants, passed over a criss-crossed speckling of wild lavender, then saw two figures standing nearby where the underground duelling chambers were. Although he couldn't make out the figures or what they were doing, there was no mistaking who they were. No one else would have been out there.

"What are you two doing?" he seethed, marching over the lawns towards them.

@Melanthius Burke

Even though Hector was calling his name, Thius found himself liking the pressure that was going up his chest from her boot. It was stirring all sorts of images in him, the kind of images that would make him struggle to look at his family in the eyes.

Get it together, Thius! Get a hold of yourself until later! Once company's gone!

His jaw dropped as he quickly grabbed a hold of her hand and forced himself up from the ground. They were both going to need a good cleaning charm now...

Although he would've kept holding onto it, Hector was now getting closer and closer and closer to them, and he didn't know if that would make getting caught doing, er... Going to the chambers! Yeah, they were just going to the duelling chamber.

Thius grimaced awkwardly at Hector as he patted his trousers, feeling relieved that he had gotten it fit well-enough to keep imaginations guessing. "Brother, we were just taking a walk, and I wanted to show her our duelling chamber!"

His voice sounded more frantic than the more relaxed breathlessness it had just moments ago.

@Bellona Lestrange @Hector Burke

As Hector drew closer to their position, he almost catapaulted over a stretch of uncleared vines and stumbled, staggering forwards but still managing to maintain his balance. Straightening in annoyance and adjusting his jacket with a huff, he finally could make out their appearance.

Both of them seemed a little dishevelled. His lips pursed as he inhaled furiously through his nostrils, and exhaled to a round of nagging:

"What - has - happened to your clothes?! Have you both been rolling down the hill into the verge?! This won't do. Melanthius, clean up and make yourself presentable at once! And you, Bellona... consider doing the very same," he added, casting her a pointedly hostile look. "Cecelia's position in our family is hanging on by a thread - you two are out here scrambling about like a pair of hooligans - Miss Herrera and her sister have shown up and it's not only too rude to dismiss them from dinner - and now!"

He took a shallow breath.

"And now she will be present when my betrothed family arrives, which is nothing more than a bloody inconvenience!"

He heaved afterwards, breathing heavily.

@Melanthius Burke

"We were running, Hector. I wasn't paying attention, and the vines tripped me. Nothing more than that," he answered trying his best to barely tuck the long strand of hair behind his ear. "Am I hearing that right? The Spanish Princess is in our manor?"

Looking over at Bellona, he raised an eyebrow. Of course, they both knew better than to snark once having dinner, but now they automatically had a discussion topic later. Ah, this was going to be quite a thing to watch...

"Perhaps not getting enough sleep is catching up to you, brother... I can assure you that Bellona and I will be presentable at the dinner table, so you shan't worry about that."

Just how dirty were he and Bellona?

@Bellona Lestrange @Hector Burke

"Nevermind all that now," he uttered cantankerously, "Both of you come with me back inside. You'll have to fix everything along the way."

He gestured for them to pass him before he would follow.

@Melanthius Burke

Dammit, Hector.

Thius sighed and reluctantly began to walk back towards the manor, still forcing himself to not hold his girlfriend's hand along the way. It'd probably come off worse if he did that.

And it hurt. It felt wonderful to feel so carefree for once and momentarily forget about the world back indoors. To see her be on top of the world so briefly...

And now they were going to be forced to act as if everything involving his sister didn't just happen.

Pulling out his wand, he looked over at Bellona and asked, "Would you like me to perform the spell now?"

@Bellona Lestrange @Hector Burke

Millicent had been in the dining room fretting over the tiniest details now that they had to adjust the seating arrangements for Cecelia's absence and for two guests she had no idea were coming.

Merlin, this was already a long night.

Watching Hector leave, Minnie smiled widely as it was now her turn to entertain! She had her carrot wand in hand, ecstatic and ready to perform any spell or trick with it.

"Hiyaaaa, I'm Minnie Bulstrode, and I got a carrot wand! Lookey at my carrot wand! I found it under the couch in the community center! Watchy this!"

Pointing her wand at one of the decorative pillows, the flowers jumped out of it and walked off until they fell off of the couch.

"Ta-da!"

@Andrea Herrera @Idina Herrera

"Yes, please..." she responded miserably to Melanthius, as they were forced back up the garden path from where they came.

She was worried about Cecelia again. What did Hector mean by her place in the family hanging on by a thread? They wouldn't really kick her out, would they? Could they? Bellona cared about her enough to think it was unfair, but there had been times where her own siblings had been shunned and vilified for muggle sympathising. But this was different to that.

The building came into view at last, and the front door loomed closer.

@Melanthius Burke