entranced, spellbound

21. Former Slytherin, current Ministry intern.

[hxpkirk]

Mafalda had arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule. She wished she hadn’t. It gave her too much time to think.

Rita Skeeter was hardly her first choice of confidante, but, Mafalda reasoned with herself, there were benefits to being on good terms with a journalist, especially one who seemed to know everything about everyone.

A second drink waited for the witch in question as Mafalda settled in her chair, her eyes occasionally drifting towards the door.

@itsxrita

[magiamelis]

Hestia turned around, fully facing the other with a nod. "He just might, but what is the point in different shapes and sizes for the same batch?" There was something serious there, mixed into her features and yet a smile that prevailed. There was something amusing about the idea of having to search the shelves for the labels and labels only. And something quite infuriatingly inefficient, too.

"I was just browsing." The witch moved, the bottle being placed back down carefully. "Can't hurt to know what's in stock and what isn't." It never hurt. "Are you a potioneer?" - @hxpkirk

[hxpkirk]

"Perhaps he gets bored?" Mafalda suggested, looking around the the bottles on the shelves. "Maybe it's a way to keep himself entertained. I suppose there's only so much excitement in a potions shop, isn't there?" She shook her head. "I can brew an alright potion, but I'd hardly call myself a potioneer. Probably wouldn't be here if I was totally confident making it myself."

[beckselwyn]

the pub was packed to the brim and beck considered leaving already. but it was just enough noise to distract him from any loud thoughts. beck looked over the people in there, not one standing out to him for someone to pass time to talk. still, he secured a drink in his hand and leaned against one of the posts. he must have been standing too close to the table when he heard someone. beck looked both ways before glancing down to find a witch sitting there. "oh," he said, the word dropping out of his mouth in one single syllable. "what an invitation. it would be rude to say no to that," he said dryly. beck thought to refuse, but instead, he surprised himself by slowly sitting down. it was better to be off his bruised feet. "you can almost see everyone from here." it was a simple observation he said over the rim of his drink, his eyes scanning through the crowd of people. beck nodded towards one man in particular. "i'll bet they kick him out in five minutes. from the looks of it, he seems he can barely stand without being propped up."

[hxpkirk]

His response was a little sarcastic, and for a moment Mafalda wondered if she'd been too short, before remembering that this was a dingy pub and she didn't owe anyone anything. He still sat though, so she couldn't have been too rude. "That's why I like it. People-watching in bar is a great time, makes me feel a lot better about my own life, that's for sure." She replied before giving a small laugh. "I hope so, he's been acting like that since I walked in."

[alphagreyback]

Another night of drinking to be in company that wasn't there just because they were werewolves and likely didn't know his face enough to be scared of him. He hadn't realized he'd drifted into orbit of a young woman sitting at the back of the pub.

Fenrir glanced at her and an empty seat at the table. Head tilting slightly before dropping into it. Taking a sip of his own pint, he said, "Appreciated."

[hxpkirk]

Mafalda lifted her glass a fraction in acknowledgement. She eyed the man for a moment as he sat down. She didn't recognise him, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. “You’re welcome,” she said. “I figured if someone’s wandering this far back into the pub, it’s usually been a long night.”

[amyccarrow]

Amycus laughed, it was not the first conversation he had engaged in about pyromania in a public location - the topic was a rather popular one at the moment with a society of Deatheaters trying to stand out in a crowd. It was the first time, however that he had found himself uncertain about whether either of them was being serious in their comments. The war had stolen an air of mystery from his interactions. "A pity then, it seems there is to be no private club. We will have to settle for a wizard owned venue as you say. The pyromania we will save for entertainment, and leave the ruins as a low-effort sort of art instillation instead."

Amycus nodded, not surprised by what she had revealed. the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was a common ambition for people leaving Hogwarts. "It would be rare, to be offered a position there straight out of school," he offered, intending to sound encouraging, "It is a popular choice. and they take very few interns. No doubt the positions had already been snapped up by someone with the right connections." It didn't feel worth noting that this was exactly how Amycus had achieved his own position. He had been a high achieving student, but the job would not have been possible with out his father's connections to the Minister.

"It is a far more common route, to start in a different division and then make the jump across. Of course, connections are still the most important thing. Despite what people might try and tell you, the Ministry is run on who knows who."

[hxpkirk]

"Well, I've heard that sort of thing is all the rage in art nowadays." Mafalda replied, like she knew anything about the fine art world.

She nodded. She wasn't sure if Amycus was trying to placate her or if he was telling the truth. It was probably a mix of both. There was part of her that still believed, had her grades not floundered, she would have been accepted to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but perhaps he was right, maybe she never would have stood a chance. All the clerverness in the world didn't mean anything when it came to blood and class.

"That's the plan. No offence to the Department of Magical Transportation, but it's hardly the most thrilling work." Mafalda admitted. "Do people try and say?" She asked. "Why? The world runs on who knows who, why pretend the Ministry doesn't?"

[magiamelis]

open to all | outside J. Pippin's Potions

Sometimes it was a lunch break, other times a day off on the weekend that Hestia would use to browse the shops and stock up on the most necessary of items. One could never be prepared enough, determined at the very least. The witch was moving through the store, J. Pippin's a favorite of hers. Even though she could brew her own potions, there were simply things she left to the hands of a potioneer. A fancy looking bottle caught her eye.

There was a polite, almost casual tone in her voice when she picked up the bottle yet noticed the other nearby. "Did you want this one? I think it's the last." Her shoulders moved as she turned toward them. "Unless he makes the potions in various shapes and colors. At that point it's anyone's guess how many there are left."

[hxpkirk]

"I think he might, in different shapes and sizes, I mean." Mafalda replied. It made sense, she supposed. Different doses and all that. "As long as they're labelled it should all be fine, right?" She asked. "You keep it. I like to keep a stash of  invigoration draught for long days at work, but I think I've still got a few vials left."

[hcalingherbs]

"I haven't even thought about seeing it that way." Truly, if nothing else there was something of hers left behind for future generations to find later down the line. And she was very much in favor of that, especially with how crazy the world had become.

Mary, still holding her drink in her hands took a sip. "Do you think he'll still be there in a hundred years? Given what I've heard it takes to become a ghost, quite the dedicated teacher." Albeit very sleep inducing. - @hxpkirk

[hxpkirk]

"It's more of a mark than I've left on Hogwarts, probably." Mafalda pointed out. It was more of a positive mark than she'd left, at the very least. "He has to be, right? It's not like ghosts can die again, there's nowhere else for him to go."

[allthatglitterx]

"There is no way you can out-drink me in twenty minutes!" Gilderoy protested even though she probably actually could. It wasn't his fault he was a bit of a lightweight. That was on his father, the man had no alcohol tolerance. "Well clearly they don't take after you. It's totally my influence."

[hxpkirk]

"Oh! Challenge accepted! Come on then, lets do shots, we'll see how long you last." Mafalda teased. "Oh, of course. You don't influnce your own cats, but you influence mine? Next you'll be telling me it was my fault Sophie was sick on your shirt."

[cerenkayabilge]

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hover. I'm meeting some friends and it seems that they are a tad late. You sure you don't mind?" While she had been sorted into Ravenclaw, Mafalda had been in Slytherin in the same year so they had shared a couple of classes back at Hogwarts.

[hxpkirk]

“What a coincidence, so is mine.” Mafalda said with a small chuckle. “I absolutely don’t mind. Unless you want to stay standing so you can keep an eye on the door?”

[the-heir-apparent]

"makes sense, wouldn't do to have a poor view." He remarks, lounging back until the he's balancing the two remaining chair legs residing on the ground with his foot.

This place is the worst, at least until he wants drinks with the boys next Wednesday. Tacky lighting, that rug is just awful, seriously even winky dresses better than him.

With a dramatic roll of of his eyes he refocused, no use dwelling on the horrible interior design of this place when there's conversation to be had! "Who's playing, anyone you particularly fancy?"

[hxpkirk]

"And besides, it's been a long week, for me at least. Dinner and a pint is a nice treat after all that, don't you think?" She asked.

"A friend of a friend, some of his mates." She explained. "Truthfully, I'm not sure they'll actually be any good, but that's punk music, isn't it? It always sounds a bit shit, that's part of the charm"

[allthatglitterx]

Gil stuck out his tongue as the napkin hit him on the cheek. "Twenty minutes isn't even that late. That's barely time for one drink." He shrugged expansively as he settled himself down in his chair. "My favorite girls decided they needed extra attention, so Sophie puked on my favorite shirt ten minutes before I was supposed to leave. They're so dramatic."

[hxpkirk]

"Is that a challenge? Because I could drink a lot in twenty minutes, if I tried. More than you, I bet." She said, finishing off the remainder of her pint almost to prove a point. "Mhm, they take after you then, I see. Nothing like my pets, of course, Sid and Nancy are absolute angels."

[hcalingherbs]

The witch sat down, slipping into the seat opposite the other with a neutral expression that immediately shifted into something fonder at the memory of her time in the greenhouses. "I did. The professor allowed me to grow some of my earliest plants there. I think they're still growing." At the end of her time at Hogwarts she'd been forced to leave many of them in the greenhouse as they'd been either too big or too delicate to move.

"Professor Binns is rather eccentric like that so I don't blame you." Although she'd not done any of that, the soft reminder of the hat in her ear. "It wasn't my favorite either. Then again, I have yet to meet someone who loved it." - @hxpkirk

[hxpkirk]

"That's quite sweet, actually." Mafalda said with a smile. "Like you've left your mark on the place. I wonder if they use them to teach the students now." She chuckled. "It wouldn't be the first word I would use to decribe him, but eccentric certainly fits. It's not that I dislike history as a subject, it can be fascinating, but there's only so much discussion of goblin rebellions that I could take, I think."

[percyfraser]

ELLA PURNELL Cosmopolitan UK (December 2025)

[hxpkirk]

“We didn’t realise how good we had it until it was gone.” Mafalda mused. She wasn’t lying, there were many things she missed about the Slytherin common room. The proximity to her bed, for one. How easy it had been to spend the night having fun with her friends before stumbling upstairs. Though that hadn’t been what Amycus was referring to, of course.

She glanced as he wiped the mark on his sleeve. “I’ve heard of gentlemen’s clubs that serve a similar purpose. Perhaps someone should purchase one, or start their own.” She suggested. “You could even bring back the password entry, make it really reminiscent of school.”

She took another sip of the beer in front of her. "Not as long as yours, I'd wager." Amycus worked for the Minister himself, Mafalda knew, none of her busywork came close to that. "But I did spend all afternoon listening to someone drone on about tightening regulations on the Floo Network, so it was long enough."

[amyccarrow]

"See, despite what I said, I refuse to be one of those people who peaked in school. That is too depressing an idea." He spoke with a low snort, "which means we will have to do whatever we can to shape the world to be more to our tastes."

He sneered slightly at the suggestion, his gaze still on his sleeve, "I am not sure I could bear to patronise an establishment that had previously been owned by a muggle. There could be ways around it I suppose. Burning an establishment to the ground would come with the double benefit of being both fun, and lowering the retail price. A password is a brilliant idea."

Amycus grinned as she spoke, "See that's where you went wrong. Any time I hear the word regulation, I just stop listening. Trust me when I say it makes the work day go ten times faster." It was a miracle he had lasted so long in the Minister's office. He had very little time for the politics involved in politics. Playing nice with people below his notice has never come easy to him. The high of his proximity to power, however, that was something he would never give up. "Am I to assume transport regulation isn't your dream job then?"

[hxpkirk]

“Oh Merlin, peaking in school is about the most pathetic thing I could imagine.” Mafalda grimaced. Truth be told, it was probably one of Mafalda’s biggest fears. She would never let on about it though, especially to someone like Carrow. “It looks like we will.”

She smirked. “I enjoy a bit of pyromania, it has to be said, but the idea of building up a whole establishment from the ground just sounds so tedious. Surely it would just be easier to purchase a wizard-owned venue? Unless you’re just biding your time at the Ministry and architecture is your true passion, in which case I do apologise.”

“I’ll take that on board for next time.” Mafalda replied with a laugh. “The goal was always the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but they weren’t hiring any entry level positions when I graduated.” The lie came easily to her now, she had repeated it so often over the last that Mafalda almost believed it herself now. “Not to worry. I’ll get there soon enough, it’s only a matter of time.”

[hcalingherbs]

A familiar face in a sea of strangers. That had been her reason for making her way over, remembering the face of the other from the days back at Hogwarts. A Slytherin, though, if Mary was remembering correctly. Truth be told, apart from a certain person the witch had never seen any difference between the houses; only between friend and those not yet classified as such. Though she had to face the reality that some never might be.

"Sorry, I did recall your face from school. I was rather hoping you wouldn't mind as much?" Mary, always out to make new friends or at the very least leave with a pleasant conversation.

At least she wasn't offering anyone any plants. "Mafalda, was it? I'm Mary! I think I was a year above you." That about summed up the extend of her knowing the other. Or more precisely of the other. - @hxpkirk

[hxpkirk]

"Of course not, please, sit down." The other woman seemed friendly, Mafalda thought, and she almost felt bad about how shortly she had addressed her.

"It is." Mafalda nodded. "Mary..." She trailed off, trying to remember where she might have seen her. "You spent a lot of time in the greenhouses, didn't you? I used to hide down there when I was skiving off History of Magic." She admitted.

[allthatglitterx]

"Are you trying to tell me I am sub-par company, Mafalda?" He picked up a napkin just so he could crumble it into a ball and toss it at her head. It's what she deserved, not looking up to greet him. Some best friend. "Because that is very offensive and I will probably have to take it personally."

[hxpkirk]

“Fucker.” Mafalda replied, picking up the napkin as it landed on the table and tossing it right back. “You’re late, is what you are. I’ve been sitting here drinking alone for the last twenty minutes, of course I was looking for better company.” She teased. “Come on, then. Why the delay?”

[hxpkirk]

Mafalda had claimed a spot near the back of the pub, where the noise was loud enough to blur together and no one expected you to be interesting on purpose. There was a pint in front of her, half gone already, and song playing in the background that she had been idly tapping along to.

She glanced up as someone hovered a little too close to her table, raising an eyebrow.

"If you’re going to stand there," She said mildly, "You may as well just sit. It’s busy, and I’m not precious about the company."

[the-heir-apparent]

Barty is lounging in the back of the noisy pub, accompanied by the steady, persistant sound the toe of his shoe is making on the floor. Pulled from his musings by Mafalda's voice, he slowly turns. His fingers remain curled around the smooth, dark wood of his wand that sits only half-tucked away. He studies her face, somthing about it looks vaguely familar, not anyone of his inner circle... maybe somone he'd see at work?

Doesn't really matter, he's bored enough to talk to just about anyone. Man what he wouldn't give to hear regulus complain about the smell of cheap Butterbeer that wafts from the main bar, or for evan to pop up and make some stupidly witty remark. But alas, this will have to do.

"Well if thats the case, don't mind if I do." A sharp, jagged grin cuts across his face, the kind that didn't quite reach his eyes, as he slid into the chair with a reckless ease, leaning his elbow on the table as his fingers drum a inconsistent beat into his knee. "What's someone like you doing here?"

[hxpkirk]

Mafalda recognised the man in front of her once he'd turned around. Crouch. They worked in the same Department at the Ministry, which she had always thought was odd. Surely with a father as high-ranking as his, he could have done better that the Department of Magical Transport. It's what Mafalda would have expected, at least.

"By all means." She said, gesturing to the seat across from her. She narrowed her eyes at his question. Was that supposed to be a pick up line? She couldn't tell. In any case, she wasn't nearly drunk enough for it to work. "There's a band on in a couple of hours, had to secure myself a good seat. Yourself?"