RP: Reception for Lucy Diggory

[shh_cedric]

Date: 8 July, 2005
Characters: Lucretia Diggory, Cedric Diggory, Katie Bell, Ernie MacMillan, Eleanor Branstone, Morag MacDougal, Rabastan Lestrange, Lisa Turpin, Percy Weasley, Su Li, Irma Pince, Rita Skeeter, others as they arrive...
Location: museum
Status: public
Summary: The reception for Lucy at the museum; a chance to meet a real, live

Comments

[shh_ernie]

"Eleanor! Come on! We're going to be late!" Ernie shouted up the stairs. He glanced at his reflection in one of the pictures hanging on the wall of the downstairs corridor and straightened his tie. Again. While he knew that it was highly unlikely that Mrs. Diggory would recognize him (it had been a decade after all), he was nervous that she wouldn't remember him. She'd been so nice to him when they'd met the year of the Triwizard Tournment, taking an interest in a stuffy, know-it-all, pudgy fourth year when she needn't

[shh_eleanor]

"Coming," Eleanor shouted. Merlin, she was nervous, and this dress Ernie had asked her to wear was not helping. It was appropriate for a night club, yes, but she wasn't so certain it was appropriate for a function at a museum.

She eyed the much more modest black dress in her wardrobe, and then looked at the clock. They only had five minutes. Bugger. If she changed, she'd have to fix her hair again, she probably didn't have enough time for that. Besides, Ernie sounded like his patience was wearing a bit thin. She'd have to go in this one.

Grabbing her handbag, Eleanor ran down the stairs. "Sorry. I'm ready."

[shh_ernie]

Ernie was fussing with his hair when he heard Eleanor calling out. Running his hand through it one last time, he turned as she headed down the stairs.

"Uh..." he said when he caught sight of her in the dress. On second thought, perhaps they could be late. No, no. He wanted to see Mrs. Diggory again. And if they didn't leave now, they never would. Before he could make himself say anything coherent, she was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking at him. "You look...gorgeous, Elle." They were still going to the reception, but a kiss wouldn't hurt. So he did. Pulling back, he smiled, "Ready to go?"

[shh_eleanor]

She was glad Ernie liked the dress. However, the way he was looking at her wasn't helping her nervousness. That was exactly why she had reservations about it. Too much skin showing.

"Thank you. You do too." Then he was kissing her and Eleanor hoped that he would change his mind altogether, and they could stay home. Or not. This was important to him, so she smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'm ready."

Her stomach was squirming terribly by the time Ernie had Apparated them both outside of the museum. It was just a few hours, she would be fine. Eleanor took a few deep breaths. "What's Cedric's mother like?" She asked as they walked inside.

[shh_morag]

Morag arrived a little after four, interested in seeing the paintings in person. She'd seen bits of Lucretia Diggory's work before the war, as well as read many reviews in the papers, but there was a difference in seeing it all up close and with a more experienced eye.

Entering the entrance foyer, however, she stopped, slowly moving forward to the mural, taking in the attack on the Ministry. Something in her chest twisted, and she bit her lip, but Morag's eyes moved down the rest of the mural, watching it move. It was horrifying and beautiful at the same time, despite being unfinished.

[shh_cedric]

Cedric had been hanging around the entrance since Ernie and Eleanor's arrival, making certain that people knew where the reception actually was, just in case, so he spotted Morag MacDougal enter the door and stop, arrested by the image on the cartoon. He had a feeling the expression on her face was going to be a common one today, or over the next weeks.

"Hello, Morag," he said, approaching her. "Thank you for coming."

[shh_morag]

"Hello, Cedric," Morag replied. "I'm happy to be here - I'm quite impressed by your mother's work."

She looked to the cartoon again, seeing how it would move along the wide spanse of wall. "The mural is going to gather quite a bit of attention, I think," she said honestly.

[shh_cedric]

"No doubt," he replied, thinking of Ernie's earlier reaction. "It's probably easier to count my mother's paintings that haven't garnered a mixed reaction than those that have."

"How have you been?" Then he gestured through the door. "You can come upstairs and have some wine and cheese, and ask her about it if you like, or not." His smile was wry. "Or I can leave you to look some more and come up when you're ready. Not trying to rush anybody."

[shh_rabastan]

Rabastan stood back a bit and watched the cartoon of the mural Lucretia planned unfold. He wasn't entirely sure what he felt about it yet. Lucy's paintings always evoked emotion and a cartoon simply could not replicate her painting.

Tilting his head, Rabastan continued to consider it to the exclusion of everything else.

[shh_cedric]

Cedric had told Lucy that he thought he'd spotted Rabastan downstairs. Lucy wondered if she would still recognize him. It had been years. She wore her customary purple, a sleeveless dress, together with light robes, no hat. She'd never much cared for hats.

She found Rabastan where she'd rather expected to, when he hadn't arrived upstairs. She stepped up beside him, idly noting she was taller than he was now whereas when she'd been girl, he'd seemed like a giant, but did not interrupt him. If he had something to say, he would.

[shh_rabastan]

Rabastan had still been engaged in watching the story unfold when someone came up beside him. Several people had stopped and looked while he had been standing there, so he didn't think anything of it until he smelled her. She always had that faint scent of her craft about her, even when her medium of choice had been crayon. Rabastan didn't even have to turn to know who was there. "Hello, Lucy. Tell me, is this to be a legend or a lesson?"

He kept his eyes on the animation, not wanting to turn to the artist yet. Rabastan wanted to listen first. If he turned, the drawing would be replaced with her face and he wanted to hear her words and see her story.

[shh_cedric]

"Both. Neither. When have I ever done things so simply? Art makes for each viewer its own reality, which I know you know. If it does not speak -- if it is not beautiful and terrible -- it's worthless, at least for me. I was never content to be insipid." She suspected he could hear her smile in that.

She watched him while she spoke. "What do you find it to be, Rabastan? What is it for you? Even in this much-abbreviated form?"

[shh_lisa]

She had never intended to attend any art exhibition so long as she could help it: Lisa Turpin was not one for painting. But Su had written her such a sweet note, and she felt a glaring lack of female company- mentally reminding herself to owl Hermione, she pushed open the front door

[shh_ernie]

At the sound of Lisa's voice, Ernie turned around so quickly that he nearly lost his balance. After all, it had haunted his dreams (both pleasant and not) for a number of years. Thankfully, not recently. But...fuck. This was the last thing he needed after seeing that...painting downstairs.

"Lisa!"

He glanced from Eleanor to Lisa and back again, wondering what the proper protocol was for situations like this. "Er..." He needed to act as if this sort of thing happened everyday. Tightening his grip on Eleanor's hand (mostly to reassure himself), he said, "Um, Eleanor...this is Lisa...Turpin." Yes, best to address the new girlfriend first. "Lisa, this is Eleanor...Branstone." Should he add that Eleanor was his girlfriend? No, she could likely figure it out.

[shh_lisa]

When Ernie turned, Lisa took about a half second to mentally kick herself in the liver. How could she not have recognized the back of his head? She'd been very careful to avoid Ernie since that- episode- at the Ministry. Some Auror you are, she thought bitterly, feeling her heart rate begin to rise rather significantly. Never had she been more thankful that she so rarely blushed.

"Er-" was all she could manage for a moment, then a polite smile to Eleanor. That was someone she could look at without dissolving into a gibbering mess. Surely- well, she'd known about Megan. Surely this was another- date, of Ernie's. Perhaps she barely knew him at all. It would be far beyond the pale for Lisa to drag her into their mess.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Eleanor," she said smoothly, holding out a hand. Meeting the other woman's eyes, she suddenly recognized her. "You- work at Hermione Granger's shop, don't you? She's an- old friend of mine, from Hogwarts."

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor had begun to move over when she heard someone excuse themselves just behind them. Until she heard what Ernie called her. Whirling around, Eleanor stared a bit dumbly as Ernie introduced Lisa. Honestly, she'd been coming into the bookshop for months. How was it Eleanor hadn't recognized her?

"It's nice to meet you too," she said a bit quieter than she'd have liked, reaching out to shake Lisa's hand quickly. "Um, yes. Well, not anymore. I, er stopped working there recently."

Not one of her finer moments, but she hadn't actually been prepared to deal with this. Especially so soon after learning Ernie had wanted to marry the woman. Well, that wasn't Lisa's fault, she reminded herself.

[shh_ernie]

Eleanor had made herself scarce as soon as she possibly could. Ernie didn't blame her. Although he did worry that she'd leave without him. Since they did live in the same place, he reckoned he'd catch up with her eventually.

Mrs. Diggory was talking to someone. This was all her fault. If she hadn't come to town, and painted that damn thing, none of this would have happened, he rationalized. Making his way toward her, he waited until she was alone again.

"Mrs. Diggory?" he said uncertainly. "I don't know if you remember me. Ernie...Ernie Macmillan." He wondered if she'd received the letter he'd written after Cedric had 'died,' telling her how much Cedric had meant to him. He'd never received an answer, although now that he knew that Cedric wasn't dead, it made sense.

[shh_cedric]

Hearing her name, Lucy turned, finding a rather serious, ernest-looking young man standing there. He appeared distressed. Her eyebrow rose when he introduced himself and she inclined her head, smiling faintly. "Yes, Ernie, I remember you ... and I have heard much about you since, from Cedric. He considers you a good friend. I should offer congratulations on joining the ranks of the Aurors. It is both a respectable and an important career."

She offered him her hand. "It was good of you to come."

[shh_ernie]

Despite his rather negative feelings about the mural, Ernie couldn't help but beam a little at Mrs. Diggory's praise. "Er...thank you," he replied, ducking his head a bit.

He shook her hand after a fleeting thought of kissing it. Which was absurd. "Um, yes, er...about that...the mural." Stop stammering! After taking a deep breath, he said, as calmly as possible, "Why...why would you paint something like that? I mean to say, it's only...it's only been eight months!"

[shh_cedric]

Lucy didn't reply immediately. Ernie's question was hardly unexpected. Her smile was faint. "And in another month, it will be only nine. And then it will be only a year, and then only two years, and then only three." She paused. "And then, Ernie, then we will be begin to forget. Oh, perhaps not you or others who fought. But some -- some even now do not know, and do not wish to. It was horrible. War always is. And it should never, ever be forgotten or seen as anything but horrible. So yes, I hope you are bothered. You should be, or you would have no heart at all. People speak of healing from terrible things, but I fear, sometimes, if we heal too well.

"So that is why. I painted it because it is terrible. And it is never too soon to remember that, or it quickly becomes too late."