The-harperbaddock - (False) Bravado

safiyeece​:

-

“Yes, it simply must be!” Safiye simpered along with Harper, then rolled her eyes again. “Nevermind that exponential growth is fundamentally unsustainable.” It was always like this with Safiye, swift shifting between shallow swimming and deeper waters. She was by necessity comfortable with surface interactions, but she craved greater stimulation. Usually, she ignored the urge, pushing it down until it was little more than a vague irritation, but she didn’t go to the same trouble to appear Proper when it was just  her and Harper.

For a moment, Safiye allowed herself to imagine it. Her hand went to the watch in her pocket and she traced its outline as she pictured seeing the world with Harper at her side, showing her friend around Istanbul, even reconnecting with Dilara. But the memory of her fallen cousin pushed Safiye out of her reverie and she shook her head. They could, technically, but at what cost? 

“Oh, but think of all of the Society we would miss.” The joke came out thin and dry. Safiye knew all too well that neither she nor Harper would truly miss the society they’d grown up in. Sometimes she craved a lack of it, and though they danced around the subject, never openly addressing it, she had a feeling Harper did as well. The truth of it was like the sun, easier to look at through the corner of an eye rather than directly.

Safiye took the offered menu and perused it eagerly, happy to follow Harper’s plan away from the ‘sad wine-tipsy road.’ Her eyes went immediately to the cocktail Harper mentioned, gin mixed with black tea and a ginger simple syrup poured over muddled plum. It combined several of Safiye’s favorite flavors and was something she’d mentioned to Harper on more than one occasion. It was touching that Harper had remembered to include it this season, and the kind of silent gift that their friendship was built on. “Well, if you have that, then I don’t need to look at the menu.” Safiye smiled as she handed the menu back to Harper.

-

Harper internally felt a surge of pride in herself as she took in Safiye’s response to the drink. She thrived on positive feedback as it was, but coming from Safiye it hit a different chord. It felt so genuine and natural; she knew Safiye wasn’t looking to gain something from her, she had just made her friend happy. And in a world where Harper knew that was a struggle for both of them, she was honored.

They didn’t often discuss it, their feelings about their respective situations. It was clear that there was more beneath the surface that neither friend could or would discuss, but part of what made their friendship so special was their understanding and respect of those boundaries; their shared ability to catch each other’s drifts in spite of things left out. It was this same understanding that guided Harper to drop the joke. If it were anyone else, she probably would have continued in order to keep her guard up and her edge intact. Truth be told, she also had the feeling that if she tried, her voice would crack or some other tell would show itself.

Unsure of what more she actually wanted to drink, herself, Harper pondered the menu. She let out a soft laugh. “You know, considering the role I had in shaping this menu, you’d think I’d have an easier time picking something,” she mused aloud. Truth be told, beyond Safiye’s drink, she could barely remember what they’d actually selected for this menu.

The summer was difficult for Harper. Between the memories of graduation, and then her parents, plus her birthday thrown in there too, the early part of summer especially tended to be blurry and hard to focus on. For one or two years after her parents passing, Harper attempted to actively deal with both, which just resulted in whiplash and guilt. She’d considered trying again this year, but ultimately hadn’t decided for sure.

Settling on an elderflower cocktail for herself, Harper sent word down to the kitchen and bar to deliver a couple of their chosen drinks along with some sweet biscuits up to her suite.

Florence Welch, from “Useless Magic: Lyrics & Poetry”

ravenclaw✨ intelligent • witty • creative

fabianprewtt​:

“Hey…” Soft footfalls stopped, grounding Fabian in an indecisive stance. Not quite an uncomfortable one - maybe slightly - but one more of trying to avoid intrusion yet acknowledge Harper once she had spoken. If the actual location wasn’t indicating wanting solitude enough, Harper’s book and black clothes seemed like bright, blaring signals that she might want to be left alone. Yet, she had spoken, and thus Fabian had stopped. 

She was a fellow Ravenclaw. They had lived together for years in that tower. She wasn’t a stranger - or, well, adulthood perhaps had made them that, but still. Not a complete stranger. Fabian considered what more to say, not a loss of words per se, but trying to feel what would be the best course - asking how she was seemed quite pointless, catching up unfitting, unless Harper led the conversation there. It ended with him gesturing softly at Harper’s book. 

“What are you reading?”

-

If, when she looked up, it had just been some unknown passerby, Harper likely would have returned to her book, doubling down on her oblivion and indifference to the outside world. But when she recognized Fabian, she felt compelled at least say a little something. The thought that maybe now, of all times, the networking instinct was kicking in, almost made her chuckle with its absurdity.

They hadn’t spoken often since their last night at Hogwarts. A night that was supposed to be a whirlwind of joy and excitement, with some other understandably mixed emotions thrown in, ultimately ended up a night marked, for Harper, by shockwaves and tear stains. Sometimes it felt like the past five years had been centuries, other times, just a few months. Seeing Fabian made it feel quicker; it brought back fond memories of late nights in Ravenclaw Tower, talking, studying, hanging around.

“Pride and Prejudice” Harper answered sheepishly, eyes darting from the cover of her book back to Fabian. “I’m not usually one for romance novels,” she explained, “but a friend suggested I give one a try… and this—“ she hesitated, thumbing through the pages, “this was my mother’s copy.” Harper could have stopped sharing after that, instead continued on. “I guess now felt as fitting as ever to give it a try,” she mused, gesturing towards the elegant headstone to her left. It was sizable without being tacky, and clearly the pair of the one to her right.

“So, how about you?” Harper asked, before realizing her mistake, “I mean, how are you doing? Not what are you reading… Unless that’s what you want to answer. I mean—” she put a hand to her face, mortified at tripping over her own words this way.

ava-avery​:

There was something freeing, fleeting about being in a hotel bar alone. There was a feeling of mystery; was she there on her own? Going somewhere or just meeting someone? The possibilities were endless and she highly enjoyed that. Hotels, Ava thought, had the same fleetingness of an airport, but with less stress and more class. 

Technically, Ava had started the night with a friend. A distant one she only knew from the party scene, and who had needed someone for liquid courage and to back her up when meeting a bloke. So Ava had come with to make sure her friend wasn’t being kidnapped or set up with someone terrible. After waving her mate off to her date, she’d decided to stay at the hotel for a few drinks. 

Plenty of interesting things happened in a hotel bar at a friday night. Travellers and locals alike gathered for a drink. And sometimes, it seemed, even the owner paid the bar a visit. 

Ava turned at the sound of her name, smile at the ready. “Harper, hello;” she cooed. That was the great thing about the wizarding community; there were always someone around if you just hung around long enough. “Are you doing a late work-night inspection, or are you here to play?”

-

Harper leaned over the bar, meeting the bartender’s eyes and greeting him politely before gesturing towards herself and Ava. Moments later two drinks slid towards her, and with a nod and word of thanks, she picked them up and turned to face Ava again. “I’m done with work for the day” she punctuated her declaration with a freeing exhale and sip of her drink, holding the second glass out to the other woman. “I just figured I’d start my night on the path of least resistance. And besides, I was hoping to run into someone who’d want to join me in doing the same,” she continued, a twinkle in her eyes.

Despite many of her reserved tendencies, Harper really did enjoy just going out and adventuring for a night, hopping between bars and other establishments. Sometimes shops took advantage of the extended summer daylight hours and stayed open longer— a fact that was especially tempting.

Glancing around the bar again, Harper wondered how long Ava had been there. She voiced the question, her curiosity getting the best of her as she added “And have you seen anything interesting go on?” Despite the number of people, things seemed to be relatively uneventful so far. Good for business, Harper thought, but the night was still young, so there was hope for some drama to develop… Though she would highly prefer it not be at one of her hotel bars.

mature conversations mixed with a lil flirting and joking >>>>