"I...it's...I don't need..." Verity stammered, still stunned by Fleur's comments as the other witch held onto her hair, studying the ends of it as if she were a test subject.
Verity swatted Fleur's hand away, trying to remain calm. No one had ever complained about her hair before, except her mother. "I think my hair looks all right, thanks." The twins had told her that Fleur was lacking modesty, but Verity had no idea that Fleur also lacked tact. "I work most hours of the week, so I'm not too overly concerned by how bright my hair is."
Fleur frowned at Verity's sudden change of attitude. If there was one thing that she did not like in this world (well, admittedly, there was probably more than just one thing), it was hypocrisy. And when Fleur did not like something, the quarter of Veela blood in her veins became prevailing - in other words, she lost her temper.
"Oh, is zat what you really theenk? Zat I spend my time being concerned wiz only my 'air? Well, I am 'appy to inform you zat I work, too. And I am also a wife, and I take care of my 'uzzband, 'oo's working so 'ard zat when 'ee comes home, 'ee deserves zat someone takes care of 'im. And zat's for 'im zat I pay attention to my appearance. Because zere are some people 'oo can't look beautiful, so if you can be, it iz an insult to zese people to look slovenly! Zat's why! But maybe you are too concerned about your own person to care about zat!"
She was so furious that she didn't take her bag of purchases with her as she walked to the door.
Stunned, Verity watched the blonde witch huff and turn away, storming to the front door. She would have chucked a Decoy Detonator at her, but instead she resisted, realizing it wouldn't do very well to be at odds with Percy's sister-in-law.
Gritting her teeth against her temper, Verity grabbed the bag of merchandise and hurried after Fleur, trying not to think about the fact that Fleur had just called her slovenly.
"Fleur," she called, relieved when the witch turned toward her, her eyes still clouded with a storm of fury. Verity thrust the bag at her and swallowed the temptation to suggest Fleur focus on her own looks rather than being critical of others. "I'm sorry. It was...rude of me...to suggest you were...er, shallow. You were only trying to..." Verity struggled to think of the proper word. "...help and I overreacted." She swallowed hard and smiled tightly. "So, again, I'm sorry."
Fleur nodded and calmed down a bit, taking the bag from Verity's hands. "Thank you. And I - I am sorry I got angry as well. I theenk I had better leave. If possible, please tell George zat Bill and I say 'ello. Goodbye."
And with that, she turned around, shaking slightly from her angry outburst. Maybe the Leaky Cauldron would not be so bad, after all.
The Allure of Dresses...and Chocolatebth_narcissamAugust 28 2007, 02:44:23 UTC
There was nothing to improve the mood like buying a new dress, Narcissa thought. She wondered why she hadn't thought of it before, instead of spending so many days moping about the Manor. The new dress was carefully folded amongst its coccoon of tissue paper--powder-blue silk that deepened to royal blue toward the hem. It matched her eyes, and it wasn't black.
Not black. YES! Narcissa itched to wear the dress home, to spin around so the skirt would flare out at her ankles, just to have the sheer pleasure of moving in it and feeling the silk next to her skin.
I'll wear it for Lucius, tonight, she decided and smiled to herself
( ... )
Re: The Allure of Dresses...and Chocolatebth_fleurwAugust 28 2007, 08:10:38 UTC
Upset though she may be, Fleur did not fail to notice the tall woman who passed her and entered George's shop right after Fleur had left Apathy had come back in. Fleur knew very well who that witch was; if she hadn't remembered her from that horrible night at Hogwarts, her face was all over the newspapers at the moment because of the trials
( ... )
Re: The Allure of Dresses...and Chocolatebth_narcissamAugust 28 2007, 13:58:39 UTC
Narcissa blinked at the quite lovely witch who stood in the shop's doorway, brandishing her wand for no apparent reason.
"I don't want to hurt anybody," she said cautiously. "I'm...just here to buy some of those chocolates?" Narcissa said, pointing to the tray in the window. For the first time, she looked around the rest of the place. While it did indeed sell confections, it also appeared to sell all manner of bizarre things, too--brightly-colored quill pens and firecrackers, among others. "What kind of chocolate shop is this? Am--am I in a children's sweet shop? My son would have loved this place when he was a boy."
Despite herself, Narcissa picked up a screamingly purple quill pen. She had always liked purple.
Re: The Allure of Dresses...and Chocolatebth_fleurwAugust 28 2007, 14:12:44 UTC
Fleur frowned slightly, trying to decide whether Narcissa Malfoy was sincere or not. Somehow, the whole concept of sincerity seemed quite difficult to associate with such a character. Especially since Apathy had still not reappeared.
"Zis is not a chocolate shop!" she said nervously, still not letting go of her wand. "And if you are not 'ere to 'urt anybody, in zat case, where iz ze employee? What 'ave you done wiz 'er?"
Fleur, still holding Narcissa at wand point, took the time to salute the newcomers.
She first nodded at Percy.
"'ello, Percy. It eez nice to meet you again," she said. "And you can call me Fleur, no need for ze Mrs Weasley," she added, with a smile.
She then turned to the counter, smiled at George, and scowled at Apathy. "And nice seeing you too, George," she said. "I 'ad come 'ere to see you, but only met your employee... Thank you for all ze gifts, though."
She hesitated for a moment, before turning back to Narcissa, glaring at her. "Eet eez nice to see zat you 'aven't been killed, Apathy. I waz afraid when I saw zat woman 'ere and zen you 'ad disappeared," she explained. She was so tensed that sparks of icy blue light were flying from her wand.
Thriving on chaos, George could not keep from breaking a smile as Fleur complicated the situation, rather than providing any useful information. What gifts she was talking about, he didn't have a clue and just waved politely in greeting.
Heedless to Verity's first elbow punch, George leaned down and whispered in her ear a second time, "Apathy? You didn't tell me your changed your name!"
Verity shot George a dirty look before taking Narcissa Malfoy by the arm and leading her away from George, Percy and Fleur.
"We have Self Inking Quills right over here," she began, wanting to tattoo her name on Fleur's forehead as to help make the Veela remember for next time. "We got a couple new beautiful new ink colors in as well," Verity continued, grabbing three purple quills and handing them to Narcissa. "Ice blue, and Holly Red. Very seasonal, I think. Perfect for those holiday cards."
Holding her chin high, Fleur lowered her wand and shrugged as Apathy chose to act with Narcissa Malfoy as though she was a regular customer. Fleur was still wary, but she felt more comfortable now that she knew Apathy was no longer on her own. Surely, between Fleur, Percy and George, Narcissa Malfoy would not attack the shop.
Approaching Percy, she smiled broadly."I am really 'appy to see you, Percy. Bill sayz zat 'e 'as invited you for dinner. I 'ope you will be able to come soon!" Looking at him more closely, she said : "You certainly must not eat enough good food zese days," she concluded. "But you weel see, I am a good cook. Zat's what Bill sayz, anyway."
"Ah..." Narcissa's voice sounded a bit strained. "Not red. Just regular black ink will be fine, thank you."
Then she lowered her voice and whispered to Verity, "Why are you the only sane person in this shop? How do you stand it?"
She glanced back over her shoulder at Fleur, Percy, and George Weasley. "I take it this is the Wizarding Wheezes shop? I didn't pay attention to the sign outside when I came in."
"It is," Verity confirmed, handing the quills to Narcissa. "It's not so bad. Every family has their dysfunctional moments. And considering the circumstances, you can't blame them for being a bit wary." Verity gave her a small smile. "Let me get those chocolates for you."
Comments 54
Verity swatted Fleur's hand away, trying to remain calm. No one had ever complained about her hair before, except her mother. "I think my hair looks all right, thanks." The twins had told her that Fleur was lacking modesty, but Verity had no idea that Fleur also lacked tact. "I work most hours of the week, so I'm not too overly concerned by how bright my hair is."
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"Oh, is zat what you really theenk? Zat I spend my time being concerned wiz only my 'air? Well, I am 'appy to inform you zat I work, too. And I am also a wife, and I take care of my 'uzzband, 'oo's working so 'ard zat when 'ee comes home, 'ee deserves zat someone takes care of 'im. And zat's for 'im zat I pay attention to my appearance. Because zere are some people 'oo can't look beautiful, so if you can be, it iz an insult to zese people to look slovenly! Zat's why! But maybe you are too concerned about your own person to care about zat!"
She was so furious that she didn't take her bag of purchases with her as she walked to the door.
Reply
Gritting her teeth against her temper, Verity grabbed the bag of merchandise and hurried after Fleur, trying not to think about the fact that Fleur had just called her slovenly.
"Fleur," she called, relieved when the witch turned toward her, her eyes still clouded with a storm of fury. Verity thrust the bag at her and swallowed the temptation to suggest Fleur focus on her own looks rather than being critical of others. "I'm sorry. It was...rude of me...to suggest you were...er, shallow. You were only trying to..." Verity struggled to think of the proper word. "...help and I overreacted." She swallowed hard and smiled tightly. "So, again, I'm sorry."
Reply
And with that, she turned around, shaking slightly from her angry outburst. Maybe the Leaky Cauldron would not be so bad, after all.
Reply
Not black. YES! Narcissa itched to wear the dress home, to spin around so the skirt would flare out at her ankles, just to have the sheer pleasure of moving in it and feeling the silk next to her skin.
I'll wear it for Lucius, tonight, she decided and smiled to herself ( ... )
Reply
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"I don't want to hurt anybody," she said cautiously. "I'm...just here to buy some of those chocolates?" Narcissa said, pointing to the tray in the window. For the first time, she looked around the rest of the place. While it did indeed sell confections, it also appeared to sell all manner of bizarre things, too--brightly-colored quill pens and firecrackers, among others. "What kind of chocolate shop is this? Am--am I in a children's sweet shop? My son would have loved this place when he was a boy."
Despite herself, Narcissa picked up a screamingly purple quill pen. She had always liked purple.
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"Zis is not a chocolate shop!" she said nervously, still not letting go of her wand. "And if you are not 'ere to 'urt anybody, in zat case, where iz ze employee? What 'ave you done wiz 'er?"
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She first nodded at Percy.
"'ello, Percy. It eez nice to meet you again," she said. "And you can call me Fleur, no need for ze Mrs Weasley," she added, with a smile.
She then turned to the counter, smiled at George, and scowled at Apathy. "And nice seeing you too, George," she said. "I 'ad come 'ere to see you, but only met your employee... Thank you for all ze gifts, though."
She hesitated for a moment, before turning back to Narcissa, glaring at her. "Eet eez nice to see zat you 'aven't been killed, Apathy. I waz afraid when I saw zat woman 'ere and zen you 'ad disappeared," she explained. She was so tensed that sparks of icy blue light were flying from her wand.
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Heedless to Verity's first elbow punch, George leaned down and whispered in her ear a second time, "Apathy? You didn't tell me your changed your name!"
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"We have Self Inking Quills right over here," she began, wanting to tattoo her name on Fleur's forehead as to help make the Veela remember for next time. "We got a couple new beautiful new ink colors in as well," Verity continued, grabbing three purple quills and handing them to Narcissa. "Ice blue, and Holly Red. Very seasonal, I think. Perfect for those holiday cards."
Reply
Approaching Percy, she smiled broadly."I am really 'appy to see you, Percy. Bill sayz zat 'e 'as invited you for dinner. I 'ope you will be able to come soon!" Looking at him more closely, she said : "You certainly must not eat enough good food zese days," she concluded. "But you weel see, I am a good cook. Zat's what Bill sayz, anyway."
Reply
Then she lowered her voice and whispered to Verity, "Why are you the only sane person in this shop? How do you stand it?"
She glanced back over her shoulder at Fleur, Percy, and George Weasley. "I take it this is the Wizarding Wheezes shop? I didn't pay attention to the sign outside when I came in."
Reply
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