golden tragedy

" can you remember who you were, before the world TOLD you who you should be ? "

[alectcsc]

suspicion ♛ alecto & leo

[lvonardo]

alectcsc:

       could she trust him? no, she never trusted anyone but her brother. the knowledge that anyone could betray her rooted into her very bones. planted there when she was nothing but a child. it was such knowledge that had saved her many a time. rather whispering lies making her seem like an angel when she was anything but. “ everything, leo, i always want to know everything ” curious smile on her lips and childish tone in memory of their shared past. hand moving to touch his shoulder lightly in affection to cause a bond of trust to magnify between them. “ and all i seem to see of you are posters or at far away at events busy making conversation with a certain dark haired girl. ” smile widening, always reaching her eyes to create a false sense of comfort and care. “ don’t i deserve to know what’s going in my childhood friend’s life directly from him rather than rumours? ”

"that would either be marlene mckinnon or mrs. bulstrode." he replied with amusement, the thought of having to spend more than the polite mandatory 3 minutes with the older woman both making him want to burst into laughter and shudder. "you're right. i'm sorry." his smile was almost as wide as hers, and unfortunately most of it genuine, once he'd finally managed to push away most of his less innocent thoughts, something he found more and more necessary in order to have any real conversation with his old peers these days. "well, we've been busy with writing and recording. lems and i are really close to releasing a new album. we played at the last merlin day, i don't know if you saw." he was running out of impersonal things to say. most of his private life had been consumed both by the order and by its social circle - something alecto could not hear about. "got a new owl. went to france last summer - we did never go on that trip we talked about," something honest in leo made him add that part, as if nothing had changed, as if they were still close friends planning expensive ways to spend their times, as if he owed her their unfinished plans, "but yeah, things haven't really changed much. what about you?"

[lvonardo]

elnorbones:

“you’re good at everything, leo, darling,” she smirked, resting her free hand atop his shoulder and squeezing lightly. she let her feet follow his familiar steps. winking at a few busybodies she noticed. before grimacing at his words. “only if you bribe me,” she half-joked. “maybe if i could drag sirius here but i’d rather save my powers of persuasion for a worthier cause.” not to mention… the imposing mrs. black flitted in and out of her vision. distracted, she forced her thoughts back to leo. “speaking of sirius,” she leaned closer, her tone curious “did i see your jacket at his place the other morning?” 

"i think you're confusing me with you." and he definitely meant it. in just a few steps, leo got into the rhythm of the music, taking her along as they moved subtly within their small space. despite all the wrong things with the pureblood society, one thing he unashamedly loved was the social component - the parties, the dancing, the empty flutes and networking, the music that rarely changed. "i don't know how the others would react to renegade sirius black being around." he spoke with a blend of sympathy and honesty, well aware of all the things they said about him and other deserters - he mainly didn't want eleanor to get caught in the middle of all that. when the subject turned to him, he skipped a beat, in complete dissonance with the song or the room they were in. "my jacket?" so he had indeed left it there. "uh, hm, yeah. blue, big buttons?" no need to elaborate on the why if she didn't ask. because of course eleanor bones wouldn't ask.

[lvonardo]

lemonflint:

           “ you’re so CUTE, ” she cooed before turning to a group of witches and posing for a photograph. she signed as many autographs as she could before grabbing leo’s hand, “ we gotta go head out now babes, we have a big day ahead of us ! we’re promoting the new album ! we can’t wait for you to hear it ! ” she gave them a wave and apparated out, the two of them landing unsteadily in front of their first of many stops. “ here we are ! shall we ? ”

leo simply shook his head, a slightly embarrassed smile on his lips, but quickly returned to the many conversations he'd started, and handing out more autographs. he was in the middle of 'flint' when she apparated them out, the quill coming along for the ride. "that was fun." and overwhelming. and heartwarming. and just the right amount of 'yes, people do like your work' confidence that he needed for the promotion tour. with a nod, he followed lemon in and soon the two were in comfortable chairs with an eager interviewer taking notes across the table. "that's a loaded question." buying time, was what he was doing, when the big question came in and his brain malfunctioned. no idea how to answer - perhaps lemon would figure something out in the meantime. 'what's the role of art and you, artists, musicians, in the middle of such troubling days?'

[lvonardo]

"y'know how wideye takes forever to brew?" leo finally approached the counter with the ever-present kind smile, once the only other person in the shop had finish their shopping and left - he did always pick the less crowded times on purpose. better to avoid being seen by too many people anyway. "i've been trying to shorten that," the man took a small vial from his pocket, handing it out to her; one of his latest experiments with potions, a fun thing he got up to on the rare moments of free time, "thought about replacing some of the wolfsbane with dittany, but it still needed the extra days before it had any effect." his pleading eyes often came with the same request. "help me crack this one?"

@pvndorv

[lvonardo]

elnorbones:

cheeks aching from her permanently displayed polite smile, a familiar gretting broke her face into a relieved grin. “leo,” she breathed, pulling the older man into a hug. she knew the younger flint often made the society rounds, but eleanor largely avoided them. always begging off with work as an excuse. “hope this is a pleasant surprise. my mother guilted me into coming.” the bones matriarch had a hand in most gala planning, feeling plagued by her children’s growing lack of interest in high society. the galas lost their sheen for eleanor after she left hogwarts- still she tried to make an appearance once or twice a year, if only to alleviate her mother’s nerves. her hand slipped into leo’s as she pulled him back towards the center of the ball room, long dress robes rustling as she moved. “let’s have a dance, stir up a few rumors.”

he hugged her back with a smile on his lips, even if inside he was somewhat screaming. "always a pleasant surprise." that wasn't a lie, but his eyes still searched the room routinely as they spoke and moved - he was on a mission, couldn't get very distracted, and oh, was eleanor a distraction. in his mind raced all the ways things could go wrong, what could happen to her should his purpose be discovered while in her presence, how he really really really didn't feel like dancing. "well, i've heard i'm quite good at that. thank you for helping me in such a noble pursuit." with the hand she was holding, he paused them near the center of the room, so that he could at the very least get the best view, and the other hand moved to her waist as he got into position. "so, did you miss this whole thing? can i count with you for another dance at the shafiq fundraiser?"

[lvonardo]

lxdovic:

          he pressed a kiss against leo’s neck, lips ghosting against his skin, breath coming out slow. “ something like THIS, ” he whispered, teeth nibbling his ear lobe, sucking softly before pulling away completely, shivering now that he no longer had the heat from leo’s body.  “ maybe this, ” he let his free hand tangle in leo’s curls, massaging his scalp and teasing his fingers through his hair. “ what do you think ? tempting ? “

he bit his own lip to contain what would anyway be a soft gasp in a loud room, but both corners rose. it was hilarious. it was tempting. it was almost cruel, given where they were. "definitely." leo's free hand reached around the other man's waist, his warmth radiating from underneath his fancy clothes - he took the proximity as a chance to lean even closer, mouth almost touching ludo's ear. "people are watching." celebrity mind. overzealous mind. bloodtraitor mind. someone could always be watching and frankly, leo wouldn't mind moving to somewhere much more private should he be in good company.

[lxdovic]

LEO.

his eyes fell silently on the other’s hands - he hadn’t just come because he’d spotted him staring. his lips curled into an uncertain smile as he nodded - wimbourne wasps certainly sounded like the name a quidditch team would have. thankfully, the other seemed to read his mind. “don’t suppose i need to introduce myself.” something in his smile changed, grew more genuine, definitely at ease as he took a sip from his glass and turned his head to face to other man. oh, he was prettier close-up. “i’m sure the wimbourneworms are great, but i’ve been steadily uninterested in quidditch for many years. how exactly would you change that?”

his eyes drifted back to the crowd in front of them, chatting and dancing, seemingly so far away from their wall. “i suppose. it was getting a bit dull.” he leaned in slightly as he lowered the volume of his voice. “the wine definitely makes it all better.” laughter spilled out as he returned to his position, eyes on ludo.

           “ wasps, ” he laughed, “ but we can be the worms if ya want us to – i could talk to coach about changing it. ” he leaned in a bit closer, pressing against leo’s left side, settling against him with a sip of his drink. “ well, lets see. what about i give you a lesson, ONE on ONE, ya know, so you can learn to appreciate the game. ” he looks at leo’s jaw, watches the way his throat moves as he swallows, the way his lips curl as he laughs – he’s beautiful. “ i know a couple OTHER way to make it better. ” 

[lvonardo]

shit. second mishap - dealing with social failures was not something he was used to, always too careful in planning his words to let the wrong ones out. the other's playful reaction, though, put him a bit more at ease, but he took a sip or two from his glass nonetheless. "no need to botter your coach. i prefer wasps anyway. has a bit more sting to it." with that, his eyes were back on the other man, who seemed to be closer every time he blinked. in his face he looked for amusement after the pun, but quickly his focus turned to the smile on ludo's lips. after all, there was a reason he was getting closer. "it's going to take some serious skill to manage that but hell, why not. one on one, you say?" words kept flowing out of his mouth, almost unfiltered, almost giddy, perhaps from the drinks and the hour, but perhaps from the way the other man looked at him. he couldn't stop them. he barely wanted to. "enlighten me then, ludovic bagman from the wimbourne WASPS." there as a hint of self pride somewhere in his flirtatious tone.

[lvonardo]

his spy was late, and every passing second made his heart beat faster. usually, when in the company of marlene, an actual spy, leo could somewhat relax, fall into the dance routine that was lying, whispering, faking, observe. when by his own however, he wanted to be in and out, message delivered and messages received. that was all he was, the messenger, never the spy. leo moved through the ball room, engaging in lots of small talk until an old family friend found him and politely dragged him to where her friends and some others were ranting about some of the latest news (attacks on muggles, muggleborn protests, the ministry's crackdown on death eaters - same old) . as he shook hands and hugs, one person there looked slightly out of place - he never found her during missions. he did not plan for this. he hated when he couldn't plan. "hey there."

@elnorbones

[lvonardo]

gid-prewett:

he hefted a bundle of brooms onto his shoulder, grunting. on his way to drop them off for safe house distribution when leo flint called out for him. his responding smile wasn’t forced but neither was it his expected easy-going grin. gideon had nothing against leo flint, never had. just keenly aware that leo was the man you picked if seeking the opposite of gideon. “thanks, mate. let’s walk and-” the offer of assistance halted his words. dark gaze flicked over the older man in appraisal. his shoulder lifted, hiking the brooms higher. “yeah, i’d check with marlene before you commit to working with me. don’t think she’d be a fan.”

coming into the war effort LATE and from the wrong side, with ties not completely severed due to his particular mission, leo brought in suspicion from day one, and that had never really ended for a lot of order members. few would be willing to work with him, but gideonprewett seemed nice enough, so he'd seen it as a fair shot. "marlene?" he'd heard rumors of something done and gone, but never paid much attention to them. there was very little he knew about gideon, and not a word of it had come from his often mission partner. "it's alright. sorry to bother you then." he had questions, and many potential answers but wouldn't want to assume anything. leo went silent as he organised the files in his hands, mission details in them all, before handing them over to the other man - but his words wouldn't leave his mind. "why, exactly? am i... stepping on any toes here?"

[lvonardo]

dyiingflower:

"yes, it happened often.” she spoke of such horrible acts so casually as if it was normal but to narcissa malfoy formally black it had been. that might’ve been the worst part given that druella and cygnus black were not loving parents and narcissa knew that. no amount of pearls and unimaginably expensive bottles of wine could mask how cold the pair was and how harshly they had raised their daughters for perfection. it had never occurred that there could be something better, something different because in the end it was all that had surrounded her as a child. all narcissa knew was she would be damned if she dared to raise her own child the same. “she was never particularly caring, leo. i’m sure she had her reasons..”

merlin, how he wanted to look down, sink his eyes into the floor and with it the heartbreak. merlin, how he wished all that sadness could be transformed into anger, something fiery that didn't make him feel so useless, that led him to stupid decisions that would do far more than passive wiseness. instead, he kept his eyes locked on hers as he frowned, face contorting in all the things he was doing his best to repress. merlin, she deserved better. "that's not enough. having reasons doesn't justify anything, cissa." how often had she had this conversation? how many people had actually looked into her eyes and told her how the world had failed her? how it wasn't right? "no one can HURT you for any reason, ever. you do know this, yes? this is not normal." he sighed, hoping to release some of the tension in his body. he could not. "who knows?"

[alixcs-deactivated20200502]

♧ MARLENE MCKINNON & LEONARDO FLINT

                   little does he know –––                                                          she thinks about him too.

@lvonardo

[lvonardo]

lxdovic:

           he’d been sat at the bar all night, felt UNCOMFORTABLE in his suit, tie too tight around his neck. he was a couple shots in, now, eyes glazing as he watched the gala with minimal interest, the sea of dark colors and fancy robes all seemingly blending together. he’d been planning on leaving, soon, before he found leo in the crowd, pushed uncomfortably against a wall, drink in hand. he looked good, cleaned up well ( he was a huge fan of OMEN. there was an old interview floating out there somewhere from when he was a rookie, when he admitted to listening to their music before games. ) he felt his lips quirk – maybe he’d stay a little longer after all.

           he pushed his way through the crowd, two glasses of wine in hand ( he remembered reading in some magazine a couple years ago that leo loved a good glass of pinot, the more expensive the better ) approaching the musician with a sly smirk. “ hey, here – you look like you need another drink. i saw you looking – i’m ludo. bagman. beater for the wimbourne wasps. ” he let his shoulder press against the wall, slotting himself next to leo, just a bit too close to be friendly. “ don’t worry, i get it – know you’re not a huge quidditch fan. i think i can change that though. ” he winked. “ so, you having a good time ? ”

his eyes fell silently on the other's hands - he hadn't just come because he'd spotted him staring. his lips curled into an uncertain smile as he nodded - wimbourne wasps certainly sounded like the name a quidditch team would have. thankfully, the other seemed to read his mind. "don't suppose i need to introduce myself." something in his smile changed, grew more genuine, definitely at ease as he took a sip from his glass and turned his head to face to other man. oh, he was prettier close-up. "i'm sure the wimbourne worms are great, but i've been steadily uninterested in quidditch for many years. how exactly would you change that?"

his eyes drifted back to the crowd in front of them, chatting and dancing, seemingly so far away from their wall. "i suppose. it was getting a bit dull." he leaned in slightly as he lowered the volume of his voice. "the wine definitely makes it all better." laughter spilled out as he returned to his position, eyes on ludo.

[lvonardo]

lemonflint:

           “ oh STOP looking at your watch, we’ll be FINE ! ” with a roll of her eyes she grabbed his arm, apparating to hogsmeade. back when they were learning, she’d always been so afraid to bring him along – apparition had been her worst subject. even now, she much preferred the floo network, but they were short on time and leo would freak if she tried that now. so ; apparition. “ ok ! ” she clapped, “ i’m gonna grab a latte real quick, don’t get into any trouble while i’m gone, ok ? ”

           she wandered into the shop, greeting everyone with a smile ( she was here a LOT ; this was her favorite spot to write. ) it was a quick trip, in and out easily – they knew her order, by now, started working on it as soon as they heard her enter. she couldn’t have been gone for more than five minutes, but after waving goodbye and heading out, she found herself in the middle of a screaming crowd, people climbing over each other to get a look at leo.

          “ leonito ! i thought i told you to stay out of trouble ! ” she laughed, pushing her way through the masses. “ how’d this even happen ? ”

whatever cautious words he was about to say got stuck in his throat as she apparated them without warning. when they were transported, his immediate reaction was to check them both for any missing bits - can never bee too safe with lemon and apparation. "uh, yes, yeah. same thing goes for you." he watched her go with a smile, wondering if she'd truly stay out of trouble, when some random girl stopped near him.

it was a routine he still found somewhat surreal. a fan nervously mumbled out requests for an autograph and sometimes even a picture if they had cameras with them. he smiled and went along. tried to start a conversation, sometimes worked, sometimes it was all a bit too squeaky for that. it seemed to be going alright when a second fan approached, asked about lemon, about the next album, more autographs, oh , he had a muggle camera.

by the time lemon had neared him, it had all gotten out of control. the crowd around him had become a mix of fans and just people passing by, curious over the situation, perhaps looking for an autograph just for the hell of it. "i signed a girl's OMEN shirt," those two words together brought intense joy into his expression, "and it all just escalated." some in the crowd, the ones actually aware of who those two were, seemed to be turning their attention to lemon. "i'm really bad at saying no."

[lvonardo]

antiquated-malfoy:

The evening was in full swing and Lucius was mingling for all that he was worth. He rotated between small groups, couples, and those standing alone like he was a man on a mission, and inwardly, he was just that. The young man had been raised to not only operate with charm and grace that would appease those around them, but also with such a skill that everyone would seek him out. That he would be the one they thought of when it came to influence, to investment. It was a dance that Lucius had done many times before and he simply became more adept at it each time it was preformed. The only thing that had him stopping his playing of the game was the approach of someone who he actually enjoyed being around and didn’t have to plaster on a charming smile or flex his silver tongue. “The Shafiqs are not a surprise, I have gathered that they are particularly out of sorts with the Selwyns from the chatter tonight. Could or could not be true, but with the lack of their appearence…” Lucius trailed off to shrug his shoulders languidly, sipping from the wine glass in his hand. The mention of Leo being married off to not only a random witch, but a Bulstrode witch, had the man chuckling into his glass. “So which did you choose? Her niece is something, I must say.” He said, teasing his friend.

"Well, that explains all the whispers." Pureblood feuds might be particularly interesting to the gossiping sort, but Leo was merely doing a job there, and he had no interest in which absurd matter had once again turned families against each other. He simply raised his brows as he drank the last of his champagne flute, before leaving it on the tray of a passing by waiter. "Ah. Is that so?" Amusement colored his lips as he walked through the masses side by side with Lucius, words dropping out of him with a rarely seen ease. "I told her that I'm sure they're all great ladies, but with OMEN so close to releasing an album, press, final recordings - there's just no time, to my great displeasure." Mrs. Bulstrode had looked satisfied enough with his answer. "I might have also given them all concert tickets and backstage access." The final bit was added, breaking away all the amusing charm he'd laid on the woman - but how could he not offer them? As often, kindness got in the way. "And you? How many proposals so far?"

[ferrisbueller]

Austin Butler and Tyler Posey play “Know Your Show”

[lvonardo]

"i'm sorry, mind if i steal her just for a dance?" his words and smile were polite, as always, but pressing enough that the elderly couple engaged in a rather long chat with marlene simply nodded. the corners of his lips remained raised as he gently pulled her with him, away from all of the gossiping purebloods and into the louder fast-paced middle of the room, where pairs danced. "your conversation was getting a little too intense there." he whispered near her ear as their bodies got closer. "we didn't talk about this." because he was almost certain that it wasn't an accessory to heir cover. he could tell perhaps by the correlation of her reckless words and the flutes of champagne she had. "what are you doing?"

@mxrlcne

[alectcsc]

suspicion ♛ alecto & leo

[lvonardo]

alectcsc:

       “ leo, leo, leo ” a pause, a smile on the verge of a giggle and sapphire hues glimmering with delight “ FLINT ” the name spoken in a rhythm, almost a sing-song voice, in the same manner as it had ever since they were children. every movement showcasing that she was happy to see him, and it was a beautiful lie to believe in. deception and perfection alecto mastered it perfectly and when she fires another SMILE to her childhood friend it is believable. “ long time, no speak. i have a feeling that you have many a thing to tell me about ” and her words are construed with clever traps and hooks, waiting for him to fall into them. she had been curious about his peculiar behaviour, the affiliations he seemed to keep and in the disguise of a caring friend she hoped to find some truth.

his wide smile didn't falter while his mind went on the usual emotionally conflicted rollercoaster which now seemed to be even more of a part of his daily interactions. it oscillated between genuine happiness and, dare he think, friendship; and the punch like reminder of his suspicions, not just of her but of essentially every single high society pureblood. the price of knowledge. "life has been hectic, al - but that's no excuse, now is it?" the game she was playing was something he too had practice in. while not actively doing any work for the order, his ears were still attentively trying to catch anything useful and his words were picked carefully for self-preservation. "what do you want to know?"