The Piercing Dichotomy Of Wanting To Socialize And Be Part Of Society, While Also Wanting To Disassociate

rxtaskeeter​:

date: 2nd august, 1978 time: 7am location: diagon alley OPEN

Rita did not consider herself to be an early bird or a night owl. She found labels of all kinds to be unnecessary and extremely limiting (heterosexual, gossip columnist, Muggleborn), and these were no exception. Not only that, but neither really applied to her, being one of those freakish souls who could survive on astonishingly little sleep; falling into her bed at 2am after a long night of writing and bouncing out of bed again at 5:30am so that she could be one of the first in the office.

That being said, there was something about mornings that she found incredibly energising - the possibilities, the blank slate. Living on Diagon Alley certainly helped, her curiosity always propelling her out of her flat to watch all the shops open, their wares for the day displayed outside or in the windows. Her pace would slow as she passed the market stalls, eyes scanning to see if there was anything worth buying or writing about (there never was) as she sipped a coffee bought along the way.

It was a warm morning already, and Rita happily sat on a bench in the sun, soaking it up as much as she could ahead of her long day in a room where sunlight was often obscured by cigarette smoke and many enormous male egos. Her eyes had closed in contentment for a moment, only for a shadow to fall across her face seconds later and cause her to open them again, expression confused until she registered who it was.

“Oh, it’s you. I wasn’t expecting to see you until later.”

-

Harper’s schedule could easily vary from one day to the next. A perk of more or less being your own boss, she supposed, though she was acutely aware that her situation was much more complex than that. Usually when it started this early, though, she tended to opt for either apparating or she had stayed over at whichever hotel she had to be at the night before. But this morning she had just risen extra early; it seemed like it was shaping up to be a warm, beautiful August day, and Harper knew that the fresh air would be good for her.

She stopped to grab an iced coffee on her way from her flat to the hotel, a light breeze on her back as she strolled. Slowing down as she walked passed some benches, scanning for any familiar faces, Harper caught the glimpse of a face and some blonde hair that she surely recognized as Rita.

Sitting down next to her, she gave a small smile to the younger woman. “I know” she nodded, “usually we run into each other around lunch time or later in the day. But you’ve gotta change it up sometimes, as I’m sure you know” Harper swirled her cup around in her hands before taking a sip through the straw. “How’s work going?” she continued, “The hustle and bustle of the Prophet keeping you on your toes?”

a world alone / lorde

sebastian-whoisleft​:

Sebastian did his best to be on time to the meeting, which was to say he was just over twenty minutes late. It was strange for him, too – not to be late to meetings, but certainly to be late to the information-drops held at bars. He had a sneaking suspicion that this was why he’d been chosen for today’s handoff…but it almost might have had something to do with the fact that it was Harper Baddock he was meeting and, unless they were sleeping with or enjoyed intimidating them, many of Sebastian’s fellow Death Eaters considered themselves above meeting with the lower-level informations. 

Knowing who he was meeting – and knowing the venue well – took a lot of the pressure off things. (A little more pressure might have encouraged him to show up on time, even early, but Sebastian wasn’t interested in connecting any Point A to Point B that would make him be a more devoted servant of his Dark Lord.) 

The Gilded Serpent was an infamous Death Eater haunt, frequented by seedy people doing seedy dealings often enough that people didn’t blink any eye when spooky, grizzled folks crossed the threshold. 

And so nobody, either, cast a second look in the direction of Sebastian Nott: his youthful glow, his recently-arrested father, his tousled hair. 

“Right on time,” he said, laying the fake congratulations on himself while he sidled up to the bar. 

Get in, get the information, get out, Antonin’s voice said in his head. Quickly. 

Sebastian flagged down the bartender instead. 

“Is that your first one,” he asked Harper, lifting a brow. “Or do I have some catching up to do?” 

-

Finally he arrives Harper thought, resisting the urge to look down at her watch as Sebastian slid into the seat next to her at the bar. She didn’t know him well. She didn’t know many of the Death Eaters well, to be honest. But the fact that he didn’t seem too keen on immediately turning his nose up at her gave Harper some semblance of hope. Combined with his tousled hair and the easy smile on his face, she felt like she couldn't be mad at the young man.

She was impressed that he was even making an effort to have a conversation; his words implying that he was going to stay for at least a drink or two. Harper had enough encounters that lasted barely long enough for the documents she had prepared to leave her hands, and she could count the number of times she received a thank you.

“And to think I was worried you’d stood me up,” she remarked, shooting him a sly smirk. “Don’t worry, you’re only-” she paused to effortlessly polish off what was left in her glass, “two drinks behind,”

For what it was worth, the Gilded Serpent made surprisingly good drinks, and most drinks were even better when you weren't drinking alone, as far as Harper was concerned. As a general rule, she was a private person: In her day-to-day life she didn’t usually let people in, and she certainly wasn’t the one who usually initiated conversations. But her rules changed when she was out at night; at a bar, a club, a party, really anywhere with drinking and nightlife. Definitely when she was drinking— but even when she wasn’t— something made her want to socialize; and she was damn good at it when she wanted to be.

“So, what are you drinking?” she asked Sebastian, tilting her head towards the waiting bartender.

ava-avery​:

Ava grinned as she took her newly made drink, lifting it up to take a sip to test it out. Not that she was ever picky, and it turned out that being friends with the owner resulted in getting the good stuff. “Thank you kindly,” she told Harper. “Well, now that you’ve been good and worked all day, you most definitely deserve some well-earned fun. I’m happy you chose this path; I was starting to worry I’d have to spend my evening alone.”

Not that Ava was ever stuck alone unless she wanted to be. There were always someone to talk to, someone to drink with. But the bar had seemed boringly tame until Harper had walked in. It was much more fun to party with a drinking buddy than to nod politely as some suit talked about his business. 

“I’ve just been here a little while. Helped a friend of mine meet a bloke. Some blind-date she’d been put up on, wanted some courage – liquid and otherwise,” she explained, taking another sip. Ava looked up at Harper, giving her a friendly grin. “So far it’s been pretty uneventful; no drinks tossed or anyone stripping. But the night is still young! There’s a group of three girls in the corner that’s just ordered their second round of martinis since I got here. If I’d bet on any excitement happening, I’d reckon they are a good choice.” 

-

“Alone? You? Never… At least, not for long” Harper laughed with Ava, “Although Mr. Suit over there seemed like he was enjoying a semi-captive audience to talk about himself to. That’s really sweet of you to accompany your friend, though. Blind dates can be… well…” She gave a little shudder and punctuated the sentence with a sip of her drink. Not that she’d actually gone on a blind date— any sort of date, actually— in quite some time, but the sentiment was the same regardless.

Harper listened as Ava told her about the group of girls in the corner. She appreciated that the younger woman was also the type to pick up on that sort of thing. Casually glancing over at them, Harper guessed that they were around her age, give or take a couple years, but she didn’t recognize them at first glance. Hmm,” she started, the corner of her mouth turning up into a half smirk, “What do you think they’re on about? Post-breakup cheer up? Birthday? Just a girl’s night out?” While she wasn’t keen on being involved in drama, herself, Harper loved to hear the gossip (or at least speculate), even if it was about random bar-goers she’d never see again.

The dragging day of working alone must have really put her in a state tonight, because after taking a long sip of her drink, she wondered aloud to Ava, “Do we want to find out?”

1x07 / 2x07 / 2x10 / 2x11

23 and Me //

Waking up and turning 23, Harper really didn’t feel much different than she had the night before. Which wasn’t a complaint, per se. But some silly little bit of hope inside her still gleamed… Maybe she would wake up and the mere act of turning another year older would just make something click into place; maybe she would finally have the answers instead of searching for them whilst pretending she already had them.

Part of her wanted to go out and celebrate; she craved the rare moment of letting herself be the center of attention. Harper was all too familiar with this conundrum. She tried to celebrate as normal, or at least as close to normal as could be, for the year or two after her parents passed. Not her best idea, though she was loath to admit it. The whole thing left Harper a whirlwind of emotions, and she spent the following couple of days holed up by herself in her apartment.

So after a few years of downplaying and minimizing the day, Harper decided that this year she would take a different approach. She’d let it be known that she’d be out and about for brunch and some shopping, and see where the day took her. No expectations of anything or for anyone besides herself.

Strolling through Diagon Alley, wearing one of her favorite summer outfits and reveling in the sound of her shoes clicking on cobblestone, Harper slowed as she approached Flourish and Blotts. She raised a brow and pursed her lips in thought. She was about to estimate how much time she could spend in the store before she’d have to drag herself away in order to get to brunch, before again realizing her only restriction today was, well, herself. She didn’t feel hungry yet, so deciding that food could wait, Harper entered the store and took a deep breath in, appreciating the smell of books and stationery.

Chasing Tails //

Harper was never really an animal person. That was one of the reasons she was never inclined to become an animagus, despite knowing that she technically could, and perhaps should. Not to mention her job owning the hotels was eventually inevitable, and there wasn’t much benefit that being or having an animal could provide in that context.

But loneliness sunk in, especially with her parents passing and her leaving Hogwarts, where there was nearly always built in company of some sort. She resigned herself to that loneliness for a while, but the idea of adopting a pet, having a built in companion, popped up now and again. Sometimes she’d walk through Diagon Alley until she reached the Magical Menagerie, where she would casually window shop. A bit overwhelmed by all the smells and noises, she rarely ventured deeper inside.

How… how did people go about adopting pets? Harper wondered to herself. Did they just pick their favorite looking one? Was there supposed to be some special connection? Was it supposed to be like a getting your wand experience, where your pet picks you?

Maybe she wasn’t ready for this after all. She imperceptibly shook her head. No, Harper. You’re almost 23 years old, and you have the means to take care of an animal. Plenty of other people do it, so you can too. Stop getting in your own damn head and just do it. She was about to mentally debate back to herself when she felt a presence at the window next to her. Looking up with wide eyes, she stammered “Um, sorry, I’ll get out of your way.”