a small poisonous act

[nancycattermole]

Who : @laurentborgiin

Where : heading from the Ravenclaw common room to the great hall

Nancy hadn’t left herself enough time to properly get ready for the occasion, she had spent too much time in the common room, writing letter to Ludo’s parents, just to check up. Even though Nancy would be leaving for the official holidays, she still had wanted to ensure that everything was ok, that things were running smoothly. By the time in which Nancy checked her watch, it was 5 in the evening not nearly enough time to get ready at a leisurely pace.

With her hair was charmed into place, the double check that all her accessories were on, and the dress zipped, Nancy was finally ready. Heading down the stairwells from Ravenclaw at quite a quick pace, Nancy barely noticed a fellow housemate in front of her until she was seconds away from bumping into them. “Laurent,” she greeted. Slightly flustered. “Glad to know I’m not the only one running slightly behind.” Nancy laughed breathily. “You look very dashing, are you meeting anybody in the Great Hall?”

[laurentborgiin]

Laurent Borgin was not one to usually worry about his clothing. There was more often than not eleven-million things on his mind at any given point. He certainly never cared when it was one of his parents functions, as they were so meticulously planned Laurent often felt he didn't truly even need to think during them, never mind worry about his clothing. But for the Yule Ball, Laurent had worried. He had worried so much he had changed his robes not once, not twice, but seven different times until he returned to the one he had started with. His dorm was a mess.

"Oh thank Merlin I'm not the last one," Laurent said with a smile once he realized who had approached him. "I thought I was going to walk into the hall only to find the entirety of two schools waiting for me to get my arse in gear only for me to have my trousers unzipped or something." He looked down to the stone below him before looking back up with a sheepish grin on his face. "I changed my suit seven times, Nancy. That's how nervous I am."

He shook his head. "I'm a mess over here and you're over here wearing the northern lights. You look stunning, Miss Cattermole, though how you're balancing in those shoes, I've not a clue."

On the subject of partners for the dance, Laurent could not have stopped the grin that lit up his face if he tried and he nodded, well aware the school likely knew about him and Gideon by now but still pleased beyond all measure to get to mention it. "Yes, Gideon and I are meeting at the ball. I don't think we coordinated suits at all, but well. I'm sure we'll match as well as we always do. What about you? Do you have a date?"

[sybillctrelawney]

where: walking in the crowd. who: laurent; @laurentborgiin.

Making her rounds and watching people dance, Sybill had a smile on her face. It was nice to see not only all the joy but the joining of schools. She had never met someone from the states and hoped she would have a conversation with someone from Ilvermorny during the night. She wanted to pick their brains out of her natural curiosity. So many of them seemed to meld with Hogwarts so easily. It was lovely.

Although there were new faces there were also many familiar ones. Sybill hadn’t seen such happiness since the welcome back party. The difference was that alcohol wasn’t involved she thought. And all of the students were there, not just the older ones.

While enjoying the view she saw Laurent. They hadn’t spoken in some time. She walked toward him, looking forward to hearing how he was doing. “Laurent,” she waved, walking to him. “It’s been too long. How are you? Enjoying the ball I hope. What do you think of these Ilvermorny students? I’m hoping to talk to at least one of them. I have so many questions!” She rambled.

[laurentborgiin]

Somehow, Laurent had managed to displace his date. He was truly never going to live this down if it got out and so he was doing his best to keep his head level as he turned to look through the crowd, wandering and looking for the other man while trying to make it look like he wasn't doing much of anything at all beyond taking in the grand spectacle of it all. And it was very much a spectacle. It seemed very much like Hogwarts and the staff had pulled out every stop. It was stunning. It also meant Gideon managed to disappear into it.

The greeting that Sybill called out turned Laurent around entirely from the direction he had been heading. "Sybill, hello!" He returned the greeting, the flickering candles catching on the fabric of his suit and making it dance. "You look lovely. I hope if you came with anyone, they are properly appreciating the effort that went into that look."

The Ilvermorny students were... Loud. That was the first thing Laurent thought of when he thought of them. The two that had shouted across the entire ball to discuss food of all things, the general rise and fall of their voices and energy, the impossible number of smiles and genuine responses to polite niceties such as how they were doing. They were loud and impossible to overlook. "They're nice enough," Laurent eventually settled on. "I'm fascinated by how they seem to approach magic. They're so terribly open about it, despite their history over there. Terribly odd, but terribly interesting."

[gidprewett]

Getting dressed up wasn't something that Gideon enjoyed most of the time but he thought his outfit wasn't too flashy and he had managed to find something that would be comfortable to wear for the night. He wanted to look presentable but Laurent would no doubt be more than pretty enough for the both of them.

Gideon wondered after arriving at the ball why he hadn't been smart enough to tell Laurent he would stop by his dorm and escort him to the ball. He had just assumed they would meet each other at the ball but his sister no doubt would call him an idiot after hearing he hadn't been smart enough to pick up his date.

When he noticed Laurent moving towards him through the crowd the concerns he had over the start of the night didn't seem to matter as much anymore. He was stunning. He was always stunning of course but his suit looked like it had been made for him and Gideon didn't know how he had managed to get him to come with him. "You look stunning." He spoke with a grin as he leaned in to press a quick kiss to his cheek in return. "I hope you know I've been practicing my dancing but I haven't improved too much. I promise not to step on your toes though."

[laurentborgiin]

In an unknown and yet utterly unsurprising mirror to his date, Laurent was briefly struck by a wave of panic for not having been an appropriate escort for Gideon. His family must never know, he decided in that moment. His parents would despise the lack of decorum and the lack of any social awareness, especially a Prewett. His sister was likely to punch him in the arm hard enough to bruise when she heard he hadn't even considered it. Laurent's arm already ached in phantom sympathy for its future.

But that was a problem for a different Laurent, one not here now with Gideon Prewett across from him in a suit so classic it was without a doubt timeless. The other man was by far the best looking one at the ball, even with the arrival of an entirely new school. Laurent Borgin, despite dying from a curse, was possibly the luckiest man in the world.

"Oh, I see how this is going to go, us flying in circles all night about who's the better looking one," Laurent lightly laughed with the wave of a hand. "I'm sure we both think the other is the definition of loveliness and won't be convinced otherwise." Even if Gideon certainly had Laurent beat. "Don't worry about the dancing," Laurent added, drifting into thought for a moment. "You can't be worse than a five year old at her first ever pureblood function when it comes to toe stepping. I think I still have bruises from that and it was years ago. I got it, though I think I'd better lead?"

Looking around the grand room, decorated to within an inch of its life, Laurent leaned slightly into Gideon. "You're always so warm," he muttered. "Have you seen anything you want to do besides dance and snack? I just got here, after all."

[laurentborgiin]

a closed starter for @gidprewett what: the yule ball!

Laurent would be lying if he hadn't gotten ready for the ball hours before he was supposed to. The nerves had certainly gotten to him and by this point, he'd run his hands down the fabric of the suit so many times he knew the feel of it as well as he knew the feeling of a page of a book or the steady presence of a warming charm. After all, he was going with Gideon and that was certainly enough to make anyone's stomach turn, not just Laurent's.

This entire thing was new, though rocketing at a breakneck pace that turned his stomach into excited knots every time he thought about it. What a thing it was, to say one was dating Gideon Prewett and what a thing it was to know this was possibly the first real date, the first one with all the bells and whistles Gideon deserved.

By the time Laurent arrived to the ball, the general sense of nervousness had faded into the back of his mind and excitement had taken over. Finding Gideon in the crowd, Laurent made a beeline over to him and smiled, taking in the suit and how well it suited the other. "You look incredible," he softly said before leaning in to kiss Gideon's cheek. "Utterly incredible," he added once he drew back.

[gidprewett]

Gideon had gone to the great hall after being forced to vacate the dungeon where he had almost brewed his potion to perfection. He had almost gotten just the right shade of blue when a loud noise and smoke filled the room and the other students started running out. He would have been content to stay where he was and continue his work had the professor not shooed him along to leave the classroom. This was exactly why he found himself always wanting to brew his potions in his home. Some incompetent student had ruined hours of work and he was furious.

He had maintained his sour mood as he sat at the table with some of his friends his dinner sitting untouched on his plate. When Laurent sat next to him his bad mood started to lessen a smile playing on his lips as he took the offered hand and pressed a light kiss to the other's knuckles. "Hello my darling. No. It was a younger student mixing things they shouldn't have been. I was almost done with my own potion and then it got ruined. It was hours of work and the professor made me leave it saying something about safety. It was utterly ridiculous love. I was beyond furious. How is your day? Are you doing alright?"

[laurentborgiin]

If there was one thing Laurent understood, it was frustration over lost work. The number of times in his life he'd lost piles of parchment to a misplaced ink pot carelessly knocked over was numerous and infuriating. He, at least, had never been ordered to leave it to get worse and his neck prickled in a sympathetic frustration to what Gideon had been asked to do. Potions were certainly a more fickle thing than history and Gideon's skill with them never ceased to amaze Laurent, given how terrible he was with them.

"If anyone can fix that potion, Gid, it'll be you." Laurent spoke with the gravity of absolute faith and authority. Penn could grow plants from nothing, Sirius could pull a protego so strong it'd maybe break before a dragon, and Gideon Prewett could make any potion. It was simply a fact. "And if you can't, if it's gone proper off, I know you can do it again." It was hours, not days or months, and there would be more hours. "We've got time, love. I'm so sorry it got ruined."

Snorting out a laugh through his nose, Laurent agreed. "That is ridiculous. You're one of the best they have, I know you know proper safety protocols and if you felt comfortable staying, you should have been allowed to. You're very good at this, after all."

"My day's been alright," he admitted, drawing the cloak he wore closer around him as a phantom chill hit him and he shivered. "That curse is acting up again and I've been bloody freezing all day. Made holding a quill hard since I couldn't stop shivering over nothing. But I did find a primary source about Madame Antoinne Du Blasque, finally. I think I'll finally make some progress on that one paper."

@gidprewett

[laurentborgiin]

a closed starter for @gidprewett where: the great hall

He'd not tell it to her face, but Emmeline had been right. She had been so right and Laurent fancied his cheeks had never hurt quite this much in his life. He'd certainly never been smiling as much as he was lately and it was entirely due to Gideon Prewett. It was an early-enough relationship that Laurent still was dealing with the dreaded stomach-pixies every time he saw the other man but he'd take an entire swarm of them for Gideon.

Entering the Great Hall, Laurent's eyes shot over to the Gryffindor table and found who he was looking for immediately, making a beeline right to him. Sitting down at a table he fancied was used to his presence with how often he visited his sister at it, Laurent turned to Gideon with a soft smile that softened the corners of his eyes into something less analytical and far kinder. "Hey Gid," he greeted, offering his hand to the other man. "How are you? I thought I heard there was an explosion in the dungeons due to a potion gone wrong so I wanted to check on you but," he added, looking at the other, "it seems you still have your eyebrows and the rest of that handsome face, so I imagine it wasn't you?"

[laurentborgiin]

22. is your muse sensitive to light while they sleep, or do they not mind it?

Laurent is very sensitive to light when he sleeps! He's been known to use the blankets on his bed as make-shift curtains, since he'd rather it be dark than warm. He will wake up as soon as the light of day hits the Ravenclaw tower, though, regardless of blankets around the bed. It's definitely the curse of input sensitivity with him. If he can detect it, it probably bothers him.

[laurentborgiin]

🔮 (for eavan)

Send me a 🔮 and I'll tell you where I think your muse will be in 20 years.

The building was dark, though it was the kind of darkness that spoke of experience and age and wisdom learned through impossible things rather than the darkness that tended to cloak the world these days. On the third floor, far enough above the street that the din of the Others was dulled enough to not distract her from the piles of parchament in front of her sat Eavan Burke, managing an empire won through blood, tears, and betrayal.

[sybillctrelawney]

where: corridor (take your pick). who: open; @noxstarters.

It was getting chilly outside but Sybill wanted to take a walk. She had been in her room studying for hours and hours and her legs needed a good stretch. Instead of facing the chill, she decided to walk the castle. It had been some time since she had done so. She used to do it quite frequently but hadn't as she got older. Her studies became more and more intense as she grew up.

Wandering the halls she watched the portraits move here and there, talking to each other, talking to her. She laughed along with them and scoffed when appropriate. Her favorite part of wandering came when the staircases moved. It was almost like she was at the fair that she had gone to with her parents. They took her somewhere new.

As the stairs moved, she reached the top and bumped into someone, laughing. "I'm so sorry. These stairs, you know?"

[laurentborgiin]

Laurent was not paying a lot of attention that day. Today was the day he has several meters worth of parchment due as a sort of mid-year cascade of final exams that all happened to be assigned on the same day as Binns had been the one to assign all of them and, as Laurent had learned over the years, refused to space out due dates. Which was to say, as Laurent was wandering the corridors, attempting to get from class to class, he did so with no less than five separate rolls of parchment sticking out of his robes and a stack of books seven high in his arms.

When Sybill bumped into him, he poked his head around his stack of books. "Not a problem," he reassured, "between the stairs and classes right now, the entire castle is out to make our lives a bit harder." He smiled at her as best he could, shifted the weight of the books into something a bit easier to hold. "Taking a study break, Sybill, or off up the divination tower again?"

[divincechoes]

The party was, despite the short time that had passed, still very much fresh on her mind. While the witch had neither left it with anyone in particular, nor found anyone whom she could have taken an interest in, there was the topic of the face in the crowd. It was almost too tempting to let go. "Your sister would have my head. I wouldn't classify myself as remotely scared of her but I'd rather not risk it." Emmeline's voice echoed with the chuckle laced within. No, Penelope was far too important to Laurent for her to consider angering the other by driving her twin to charge at the black lake like nothing in the world could stop him.

"Alright, fine. Lets say he wasn't looking at you, how do you explain that the entire dance was spent with him following your every move?" The Slytherin twirled around him without much effort, turning back to him with a smirk before facing away yet again. "They weren't exactly paying attention to me, that much I can assure you." Emmeline didn't even need to think about it. Long before Laurent had extended the request for a dance, the witch had observed the eyes of the other, brimming with a desire to come over. Eyes had never been good at hiding the truth if one only knew where to look. "What makes you so sure that you couldn't possibly be the target of their attention?" - @laurentborgiin

[laurentborgiin]

"Please," Laurent laughed, though the sound was small and sounded more like a sigh tinged with amusement, "you, the great Emmeline Vance, scared of my sister? I thought I'd never see the day." Laurent maintained his sister was one of the kinder souls Hogwarts had to offer, especially as she was the kind of person who would listen to him for hours. Of course, there had to be a few dangerous plants in her room, but Laurent had absolute faith in Emmeline to be clever enough to avoid those. Laurent didn't tend to befriend stupid people, and certainly never gave folks like that the title of 'best friend'. "And besides," Laurent added with a thought, "I'm not sure I've found anything in my area of expertise that would allow for me to survive the lake."

"Well, perhaps he found that I was not a particularly great dancer," Laurent offered, though he knew it was a lie and it showed on his face with a wince. No Borgin worth their salt was a bad dancer, not when they were attempting to stand toe-to-toe with the sacred twenty-eight. "Perhaps he was... Frustrated at me for taking up your time. You are a lovely witch after all and anyone would be flattered to have your hand in a dance." At Emmeline's question on his certainty, Laurent's shoulders slumped. "I mean, I'm me." He said. "I'm obsessed with books and history no one gives a particular damn about, the only exercise I get is Quidditch and my team plays like they're never really there, and I'm entirely too caught up in myself for things like relationships. Of course he wasn't looking at me."

[laurentborgiin]

😢

😢 a goodbye letter

Dearest Emmeline,

I suppose I haven't been entirely forthcoming on my curse. You know curses. You're one of the few, other than myself and Binns that understands them, that knows how they work. I'm sure that as I added layers and spelled things with a wand rather than hold them with a shaking hand, you suspected something was afoot, something greater than what I'd told you. Well, you've always been terribly clever. Wrong house, I've always said.

By the time this reaches you, I am almost certainly dead.

There it is. I've said it. Well, written it, but I've always been better in text than I am in verbage. My curse was a fatal one, designed to stop my mind from processing magic and all the other things that keep a body running. It's an utterly genius little thing. I've grown rather fond of him. Named him Herman, but Herman's been an absolute pain lately and all the research tells me one thing: this is it.

So, Emmedream, here's the thing. I'm going to ask two things of you, and if you don't do it, I shall be so sorely put out I will come back as a ghost just to berate you. Firstly, trust the Order. You've always had passion I didn't. Don't go backwards, take those hesitant steps forward and learn to run on new legs. Secondly, I absolutely insist you look into alleviating the symptoms of your curse. I know you've had it for awhile and there's not much that could be done, but things have changed since that diagnosis. See if maybe there is something that can help. I tried it myself, and just because I failed doesn't mean you will.

I meant it on the haunting thing. You couldn't get rid of me in life and you won't in death if you don't look after yourself.

Laurent

P.S.: BOO

[laurentborgiin]

🌱 SEEDLING - what is their most vivid memory from childhood?

Once, Penn held a wilted flower in her hands, pot too small for it and water never appropriately delivered, determined to make it not just live but thrive, Laurent stood there with ink-stained hands, a quill half-chewed, and parchment still dripping wet words. It was the greatest example of use versus uselessness Laurent had ever known.

@hortusdea

[hortusdea]

who: @laurentborgiin where: Near Tomes and Scrolls

Many a familiar face could be found within the crowds in the village and many of them had been greeted. Not one had she stopped for until now. At first she'd have almost passed by the figure of her twin, too busy searching for her friend when the sight had caused her to do a double take. Her twin, the bookworm in front of Tomes and Scrolls, on Halloween and from the look of things, charmed to appear about as ghostly as possible for the living. There was a lot that went through her mind that moment, yet she busied herself with other things.

Penelope's eyes scanned the so called costume. Her face told a story heavier in words than anything she'd have said ever could have been. "That's quite a creative costume. I'll commend you on the charms it took to make this happen. I'll leave it at that." There was no way she could have said it out loud and at the very same time the witch felt that pointing out the qualities within the creation much rather than the flaw of impending doom lurking around the next corner. "Which ghost exactly are you meant to be? You don't strike me as the type to dress as the Grey Lady."

[laurentborgiin]

The idea of a reward for Halloween never tickled Laurent's fancy, at least until now. The possibility of a new look at the most recent arrivals to Tomes & Scrolls, free from the crush of students and the desperation for textbooks forgotten to be purchased until the last possible second was prize enough for Laurent to end up extremely distracted in front of the shop. The lighting wasn't great, but it worked well enough to pick out some of the titles as his eyes flickered between books, cataloguing them for a potential return trip outside of the holiday.

The arrival of his sister next to him jolted Laurent from his thoughts and he turned to Penn with a smile. "I see how it is," he joked, "determined to scare the pants off me, I see, sneaking up while I'm distracted." He shook his head. "Despicable. Honestly, sister mine, have you no shame?"

Her comments on his costume brought his head down in a combined moment of shame and pride. The costume had taken forever, given that charms were never his preferred subject, and he was so proud of how it turned out, Laurent felt it beamed out of him. On the other side of it, he knew his twin's expressions well enough to know what she really meant and the knowledge of that stung.

Straightening up and deciding now was not the time to get into his own head, he smiled. "Thank you, Penn. It was a ridiculous amount of work and..." He trailed off before finding his words again. "Thank you for leaving it at that. It really was a lot of work." Sharing the inspiration behind his costume was a different kind of embarrassment, but it wasn't like his sister didn't already know what kind of academic he was. "I based it on Jackdaw," he admitted. "That headless Slytherin ghost. We like to trade riddles sometimes. Have you met him?"

[mvgcs]

Like she had earlier with Remus, Mary had spun around so Laurent could see the full effect of her genius thinking; though the thought behind it was more sentimental. Murmuring in agreement with him, Mary offered him a friendly smile - Penelope was her friend and therefore, Laurent was a friend adjacent.

"I know, right? People flaunt about with their inane knowledge about... things," she emphasized her words with a flourish of her hands, "without focusing on the simplicity of life. Y'know - something thought I was a watermelon." She blows out a puff of air between her lips, pulling a face. "Merlin, no. I fucking hate olives. My brother, however, he loved them. He'd get a kick out of this for sure. What about you, though? What was the genius thought behind yours?"

[laurentborgiin]

As Mary spun about to show off her costume, Laurent couldn't help but give a small scattering of applause at the display of her costume. It was a remarkably olive olive, round and easily identifiable at a glance and yet, the costume strangely suited the girl. It was remarkably creative and that alone was enough to bring a smile to Laurent's face.

"Hey," he joked lightly, "all I do is flaunt inane knowledge about things! It doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good olive." It was a self-aware observation from a man who spent so much of his time caught up in the circles and spirals of academia but he said it lightly, making it clear it was a joke. He paused at the watermelon comment. "How could you be a watermelon, you don't have the stripes? People are so odd..." He added as he trailed off, mind spinning in on itself as he tried to rationalize that idea.

Laurent nodded at the reference to Mary's brother. Siblings were important. He knew that better than most and if Penn had ever asked him to share a costume with her, he'd have done it in a heartbeat, even now at their older age. "Sometimes, brothers know best," he said. "Olives are delicious."

Looking down at his own costume, he smiled a little, the emotion small and caught up in his own experiences with why he'd chosen it, but there was a back-up answer equally as true as the original reason he'd chosen it. "There's that one ghost around Hogwarts named after a bird. He's part of the Headless Hunt and I like exchanging riddles with him sometimes. Thought I'd dress as him this year as a fun little nod."

[laurentborgiin]

💘 HEART W/ ARROW

💘 HEART W/ ARROW - what traits do they look for in a relationship? do they believe in love at first sight?

Laurent would be a difficult person to be in a relationship with if the person in question didn't either know him very well before entering the relationship or had a truly astonishing amount of patience. In terms of what Laurent looks for, he'd want someone he can talk to easily, who respects his need for time alone and to conduct his research, and who actually cares about what he is researching. I think he could believe in love at first sight, but it would have to be someone fairly remarkable to prompt that from someone as analytical as Laurent.

[laurentborgiin]

🎁 PRESENT

🎁 PRESENT - what types of presents would they be most happy to receive? are they good at gift giving?

Laurent understands the need for practical gifts, and those are usually what he gives unless he knows the recipient very well, which makes him fairly average in gift giving I'd say. Laurent isn't incredible at it, but he's not utterly terrible either. He likes to receive anything that he knows he will use, whether it's a new book, a new pot of ink, or something to keep him warm.

[laurentborgiin]

💤 SLEEPING

💤 SLEEPING - do they fall asleep easily? what helps them sleep?

Laurent does fall asleep easily, though he is also one heck of a night owl and so he doesn't get as much sleep as he probably should. Once he's out he's out for at least four hours and can usually function the next day. Reading a book before bed, an exhausting day usually involving Quidditch practice, and a cup of chamomile tea all can help Laurent get to bed earlier, but none are an assurance.