Sign of the Times

Bilius Theobald Weasley. Twenty-Eight. Pureblood. Gryffindor Alumnus. Graduated in 1972. Former Quidditch Referee. Former Department of Magical Games and Sports Employee. Stripper at Merlin Rouge. Former member of the Order of the Phoenix.

[partyboybilius]

Antonin Dolohov​:

Who: Open

Where: Near drink tents

When: February 14, 7pm

If there was an event that seemed least likely to draw Antonin Dolohov, it would be the St. Mungo’s Charity event. Romantic, family friendly in the beginning and an excuse for adults to behave poorly towards the end, bright colours and laughter, and absolutely nothing fun planned. 

But what would he do otherwise? Sit on his couch and drink? At least this way he could bum a flask off Aleia or laugh as wix got no bids on them during the auction. Or he could count the ways people tried to sneak away to get laid. They all thought they were being slick, but especially at this event, no one was rarely subtle.

He made sure to arrive just as the kid’s event was wrapping up. Come late and leave early. That was the trick with these things. Make an appearance, be able to say you didn’t spend all weekend indoors, then go home.

He bought one of the drinks they had just for the excuse, then dug into his pocket for the flask he bought. They were rarely strong enough and way too expensive so he might as well make the most of it. He became aware of someone looking at him. “Hey, don’t judge and maybe I’ll share.”

.

Bilius was more than familiar with the annual St. Mungo’s Hospital charity event. He was definitely a regular. Every year, he made it a point to visit, whether he was single or not, just to partake in the festivities. And for a good cause too!

This year, Bilius was technically with Merlin Rogue. But with no rules officially barring him from participating in the event hours before the booth is set up, the wizard decided to take a walk and found himself eyeing some of the tents that have begun selling drinks already.

A familiar face caught his eye. As he approached, Antonin threw him a zinger that he absolutely didn’t expect. Bilius actually let out a laugh. “Maybe I’m just looking at you out of envy? Ever imagine that?” With hands in his pockets, Bilius ventured a little closer. “It’s been a long time since I saw you. Tell me. Why is that?”

[partyboybilius]

where: Merlin Rogue’s tent when: 10 pm who: Bilius Weasley and Eugene Borgin ( @borqin​ )

As soon as they asked who wanted to work for Merlin Rogue’s booth for St, Mungo’s Charity Event, Bilius immediately volunteered. He had no plans to celebrate Valentine’s anyway. Last year, he still had Ethan. But now... Without Merlin Rogue, Bilius would probably be looking at the bottom of a bottle again. At least, working for Merlin Rogue during Valentine’s, Bilius will be having fun and earning money.

While wearing the bare minimum that still kept him warm —  many thanks to the warming spell that all the dancers applied on their clothes — Bilius’ job was to entice drinking customers to pay for a private show inside the smaller tents. As soon as the clock struck ten, Bilius went to work, immediately his eyes found someone who was about his age. “Hey there, good looking fella,” he greeted as he sauntered close. “Anything specific you’re looking for tonight?”

[partyboybilius]

Emma Vanity​:

Emma pursed her lips, as if thinking it over, shrugging her shoulders when she reached her internal conclusion. “Fair enough,” she said, before taking another bite. Something wry tugged at her expression when he teased her. It wasn’t a tense expression or an upset one. He was right. Maybe it was paranoia, maybe she just had a penchant for arguing, but few people would nitpick free pie. She did her best to reign those instincts in, but best was rarely good enough. “That’s good to know, I suppose. Doubt the bosses would like to lose one of their stars.”

She scrunched up her nose. “Maybe? Not really, but it’d be exciting.” Besides, altercations rarely lasted long – most ended in a stunner they didn’t see coming. Standing and watching could get boring, though. Especially when she’d seen most routines a dozen times over. “New spells? Well, well. I guess I should stop wanting something to happen so I don’t miss it.”

It was barely noticeable but Bilius’ smile slightly dipped at what she said. He wondered whether her humor has always been like this or whether the events that changed her life also turned her brand of humor darker. In no time at all, Bilius regained his teasing smile. “On one hand, I am flattered that you think I’m a star but also... I’m concerned about how that’s your first thought when I said I lived in a save environment.”

“Yeah, as much as I don’t want to hinder you from having some fun and excitement on your sides of things, I’ll humbly ask for you not to wish for any trouble when I’m performing. Or when anybody’s performing, for that matter.” Merlin Rogue was a busy club and there would always be people too busy with their own businesses to actually watch their performances. But fighting was a totally different matter altogether. “Yeah! I’m hoping people would like it so I could do more performances like it in the future. But that’ll require for the people to actually pay attention to me. Not fighting.“

[partyboybilius]

Edgar Bones​:

There was a part of him that knew it was ridiculous to love the chase of adventure so much. Truly, though, Edgar could find it anywhere. “Have you ever been to Italy?” he asked, leaning forward. “Their vineyards go on for miles. There’s history there, sure, but the drink itself… You have grapes that were crushed one hundred years ago. You have the barrels the wine is stored in made from trees that grew in a completely different country. Tell me that isn’t an adventure.” Edgar’s excitement, although always loud, was tamer now as he tried not to get too into his love of a good drink.

A laugh escaped him at Bilius’ words, although Edgar knew he couldn’t go. There were times he’d wanted to go, but moving on felt like leaving behind. He didn’t know how to give up Alvaro, not yet. So he stayed as he was, allowing the world to move on as he remained still. One day, maybe, he’d get caught up in the current, but that day didn’t feel as though it would be in the near future. “To nice things!” Edgar echoed, raising his glass. “Dare I say, we bloody well deserve them.”

.

Bilius was midsip when Edgar asked the question. “Mm!” He placed his drink down to answer the older man’s question. “I have actually. Went there as a referee for a game once.” Even though Bilius can’t get on the same page as Edgar just yet, he had to admit that Edgar knew how to paint a picture. “That sounds like an adventure only rich folks get to have. I only got to visit a single pub before we had to pack up and go home. But I’m sure I tasted no wine with that made me think of vineyards and trees and what have you.”

He didn’t miss how Edgar dodged Bilius’ suggestion to visit Merlin Rogue. It wasn’t the first time Edgar turned him down and Bilius knew that it was hardly the last. Bilius ultimately decided not to press and simply reveled in the toast. “Merlin, we bloody do,” he muttered before drinking a swig. “So, tell me. What does a fellow like you doing these days?”

[partyboybilius]

Emma Vanity​:

Emma took a bite of the pie. The filling was sweet, and the crust was flaky, as pies were meant to be. It still may have been a strange thing to bring to the breakroom of a strip club, but at least it was a decent pie. “Well, you could’ve kept it at home,” she offered, using her fork to cut herself off another bite. “Unless you live somewhere where it’s likely to be stolen.” Her brow furrowed as she added the latter, uncertain sentence. “But whatever. It’s a good pie,” Emma said before taking another bite.

“A bit of a slow one, honestly.” Not that she wanted something more exciting, whether that meant telling off more guests or actually kicking some out. Merlin Rouge was generally good at attracting well-behaved patrons, but it was still a strip club. “New routine?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “Sounds exciting.” Her deadpan tone of voice didn’t suggest she found it exciting, but it was work and she wasn’t much of an artiste. “New costume and all that?”

Bilius shrugged. “All fair points. But...” he leaned forward to point his fork at Emma. “I wanted to eat it here. So there you go.” Bilius settled back into his chair before helping himself with another chunk of pie. “Only you would complain about having free pie, honestly.” he teased. “Oh. And by the way I like to think that I live in a fairly safe place, so there’s no need for concern.”

“Wait, wait, wait... So you’re telling me you want something to happen?” he asked in disbelief. Bilius was the one who brought up his new routine but hearing her ask about made his eyes light up. Even if she didn’t sound very enthusiastic. “New costume, new song, and new spells even. The works.” It wouldn’t Bilius’ performance if he didn’t add a little flair “I can’t wait for you to see it.”

[partyboybilius]

Edgar Bones​:

A pout followed BIlius ordering a less adventurous ale ( and by adventurous, Edgar had always meant shite ), but he held up his hands, a part of him happy to give up the curling of his tongue every time he took a sip. “Alright, that too,” he said, grinning. “But double the adventure has never been a bad thing, at least not in my experience.” Alvaro had taught him that, of course. Hadn’t his husband taught him to be who he was to this day? Hadn’t his husband taught him that the joys in life were the ones you made anew?

Taking what they got. Wasn’t that the kicker? They were pushed down; forgotten, seemingly. Or at the very least delivered the short end of the stick. He and Bilius seemed to always get themselves in trouble, and not the fun kind. Not the kind that involved whiskey and late nights running through the streets of London. “Still have the best moves out of everyone down at your club?” he asked, with a wink, trying to take them off the darker path that they could go down. Edgar shrugged. “Y’know me. A fighter. And Mia and I’ve got a good set-up doing, so. That’s always nice.”

.

“I suppose you’re not wrong. But please enlighten me. What adventure can I find in a drink?” Even for someone who has found himself staring at the bottom of an empty bottle more times than he can count that year, Bilius still didn’t know what Edgar was talking about. Alcohol for him had always been a mean to an end. He has only ever been after the pleasure that comes after drinking. Not during.

“You bet,” he answered with a laugh even though he didn’t quite believe that to be true. He was still too new to claim that title. He could say that his sets were probably the most outlandish one, But best? He respected his more experienced colleagues to call himself that in their faces. “You would know for yourself if you just visited, you know?” Bilius nodded at Edgar’s answer and smiled, but he knew all too well how bittersweet it was.”Shall we make a toast then?” Bilius raised his pint. “To having nice things!”

[partyboybilius]

Kit Shafiq​:

Kit laughed shaking his head. “I mean there’s not really a point. It’s not any trade secrets if they are already selling it right? Besides I’m an admire of any well made broom.” 

It wasn’t exactly his job to care, but he did. Just like he cared about having to let go of employees and if they were happy. He was seen as weak for it, but he truly wanted the best for all of them. 

He looked at where Bilius eyes were trailing and nodded. “I don’t think that trend will last if I’m honest. People are taller or shorter than where they are placed and if you don’t put your feet in them then they just get into the way. They aren’t really easily adjustable either.”  

Looking at the end of the broom he looked and nodded. “Yeah that does look nice. Might be hard to polish though.” 

.

Bilius smiled and nodded. “If you say so, mate.” What Kit said actually made sense, and Bilius didn’t really have any good reason to question him. Teasing him was just a lot more fun. “If that’s true, then answer me this question. Biases aside, are there any models that you’re keen to try?”

He gave out a long sigh. “Maybe. Maybe not. I guess we’ll see. Some kids nowadays buy broomsticks as if they were toothpicks though. I doubt they’d be too bothered with the placement of the footholds if they constantly get their parents to buy a new one.”

“Huh.” He gave the handle a second look. Kit was absolutely right. Bilius didn’t even consider that at all. Obviously, between the two of them, it was Kit who worked in the Broom Industry. “You’re right. That’s such a shame then.”

[partyboybilius]

Emma Vanity​:

Her paranoia was probably something worth working on with a professional, but she’d taken a break from therapy. For now, she’d let herself be perceived and suspicious, and accept that she was wrong with a nod. “Had to ask,” she said with a shrug, approaching the table as a small plate came floating in from the other direction. She picked up the knife and cut herself a triangle, gingerly lifting it on to the plate, careful so it didn’t drip or crumble on the table top. She put the knife back in the pie and took a seat.

She glanced up, a piece of the pie resting on her fork. “Fine. Had to tell a group to quiet down and keep their hands to themselves, but no one’s been kicked out yet.” Her words had been more along the lines of pay up if you want to touch but Bilius probably understood what she meant. He was one of the dancers, after all. He was the one people came to ogle and admire. “How’s your night been?”

.

“No worries. I get ya.” Bilius didn’t mind Emma asking. It’s not particularly often that people’s stuff gets stolen backstage but it’s a whole different territory when it comes to food. At least, given how Emma was suspicious, he could be assured that she wouldn’t be one to swipe food from others. “I thought it would be better to share a whole pie rather than have the entire thing stolen, if ya know what I mean?”

“It sounds like a regular night in Merlin Rogue then.” That sounded terrible but what can you do? It’s not like they get the same bunch of people every night. Now and then, they get cheeky new blokes who think they can get away with being discrete with their wandering hands. “Glad to hear everything’s fine then.” Bilius cut a piece of his pie with his pork and placed it in his mouth. “Please,“ he murmured while he was chewing. “Have a bite.” He swallowed before continuing. “I’m not on for a while so I decided to have a slice. Things have been okay so far but I’m excited to try the new routine tonight.” He wasn’t always allowed to pitch ideas, especially when he just started. But now, Bilius was given the okay signal to create sets that he wanted to do. Sets that allowed him to incorporate his brand of magic as well.

[partyboybilius]

Edgar Bones​:

Bilius was someone that both made Edgar happy and brought up a wash of emotions. They were there for each other when they both lost their people. He’d seen him cry; heard the story that only Amelia had heard about what had truly happened to his husband. For the most part, Edgar liked to keep it under wraps, because he was a bit worried that people would start looking at him differently if they knew. Still, seeing him now brought a soft smile to his lips. 

“But then there’s no adventure,” Edgar pointed out. “I mean, what if the wine is actually delicious one day and I’ve missed out?” As the bartender came over, though, Edgar winked and ordered, “One of whatever he’s having, please and thanks, mate.”

The bartender walked away and Edgar gently tapped the table. “Better be what you said,” he grinned. “Putting all my faith in it.” But, then again, that was always had Edgar had rolled. He took leaps of faith, oftentimes blindly, although this one was definitely one of his less dangerous feats. After a brief pause, where the bartender returned with his alcohol, and then he raised a brow at Bilius. “How’re you mate?”

.

Bilius shook his head with a huge smile on his face. “I don’t think that’s how it works mate.” His grin grew even wider when he heard that Edgar was letting him order for both of them. “Just give us a pint of your finest ale, mate.” As the bartender left, Bilius returned his gaze towards the older man. “I say that the adventure comes after you have the drink. It’s not the drink itself.”

He shrugged. “I’ll have shitty beer over shitty wine any day. Not that their beer is particularly shitty.” Thankfully, the bartender was only coming his way towards the two. He didn’t hear Bilius’ comment. “I’m fine, I suppose,” Bilius replied. “I don’t really know how things could be better. I’m just taking what I get.” Nothing particularly stellar has happened to him ever since he got a new place. And life has become increasingly routine after he left the Order. A lot more peaceful too. He doubted Edgar could say the same. “And you? How are ya?” 

[partyboybilius]

Mundungus Fletcher​:

Mundungus grinned a little as Bilius picked up the cup, glad that he wasn’t threatening to sell him out. He hadn’t expected him to do as much, but still –– Dung was paranoid and wary by nature. “If I tell you, you’ll just wanna take it for yerself,” he said, snatching the thing from the other’s hands and observing it once again. It wasn’t his style, but he was quite sure it could be someone else’s. “It’s feckin’ gold mate, that’s what’s interesting about it.”

He considered the others words for a moment, before chuckling. “Yeah, been trying to spot as many as possible. Tried to rope someone in to make it a little competition, but they just stalked off. Don’t think they were very happy that someone like me showed up.” Mundungus quite liked pissing off preppy purebloods who’d been raised with silver spoons in their mouths. “I’ve spotted three so far. Some other things, too. Quite an interesting place, this is.”

.

Bilius actually laughed when Mundungus actually admitted that he was thinking of taking the cup. Not to mention that he told him why he was so interested in the object right after he said that he wasn’t going to. No wonder some people didn’t trust him in the Order. “Yeah, I’m still not feeling the urge to take it, mate. Maybe that’s just you.”

The taller wizard crossed his arms in front of Mundungus but his lips were smiling wide. “That’s one way to pass the time in this manor. You sure find the oddest ways to amuse yourself.” Although Bilius was quite certain that his amusement comes from the interactions he gets whenever people ask what it is exactly he was up to. “And those other things? Are they anything like that one?” Which was to say, did Mundungus already take something else from the house?

[partyboybilius]

Bellatrix Lestrange​:

“Ah, so you do know me,” she said, a smirk playing on her lips. Bellatrix had not said, after all, that she was a Black –– Bilius ought to know though, of course, with the Blacks being something like royalty among pureblood society. She pulled back her hand, her arms folding themselves, crossing in front of her body. “You Weasleys are quite easy to recognise, yes. And bad with manners, apparently.”

She gave him a look, and then shook her head gravely. “You are? I cannot imagine that people like you are doing particularly good these days, what with all the death and loss and grief.” Bellatrix did look pitiful, then, but it was all pretense, of course. Every death that hit those opposing the Death Eaters brought her nothing but glee. “But don’t worry, I don’t lay awake worrying about it at night.” She let out a laugh too, then, echoing his own. “Oh, no, Mr Slughorn merely invited the likes of you to come across as a humanitarian. It’s all politics, nothing personal. We’re all just accessories in his own little story. You’re one of the poor souls he’s trying to give a lovely evening.” A small smile, then. “If only he knew how to throw an amusing party.”

.

Shite. He really gave himself away, didn’t he? Still, Bilius kept his resolve and refused to give the woman an inch. The most Bilius could do was pretend not to know what she looked like. “I’ve heard things,” he replied, injecting the worst kind of venom in his tone to infer that what he heard weren’t good things. “I’d like to think of myself as just considerate, actually.” 

Bilius mood quickly turned into something a. He could feel his blood boiling. “No thanks to the likes of you, of course.” If Bellatrix took that as Bilius implying that she was one of the people causing so much death and destruction around them, then he truly could not care less. She gave him no indication that she meant anything other than what she was saying. But it was hard to believe that a woman as condescending as her truly felt pity. What a vile woman. “Of course, you don’t. I’m sure you’re working fairly hard to continue living as comfortably as you do.”

“Of course,” Bilius responded with his tone dripping with sarcasm. His rage made it all the more impossible to continue entertaining the woman. “This has nothing to do with you lot.” Frankly, if Bilus was in Slughorn’s place and the previous parties only consisted of people like Bellatrix,  then Bilius would have done the same thing, if not stop inviting people like her altogether.

[partyboybilius]

Kit Shafiq​:

Kit used to come to the store more often than he did now. Despite who he was, he actually wasn’t much of a competitor , especially when it came to Quidditch. It was probably on the list of things his father disliked about him, but to be fair he did like flying itself a lot. Some of his best memories from his childhood were being taught to fly. 

That’s probably the reason he liked looking at all the different brooms. He had a way of looking at them and figuring out what type of brooms will be popular in the next year or so. More than that he liked holding other brooms in his hand and trying to figure out what made them special and what they could do. 

Thats why he was waiting patiently to see the new broom, and then realized who it was. Giving a smile “Hey - I mean I guess you could say that. Although I thought I’d just pop in after work and see what’s new. ” 

It’s what he would tell his father if he walked in, but in all honestly part of it was the art of it. That and the owners of this store didn’t really seem to mind him looking around and scoping out brooms. After all, they were public he wasn’t stealing any private information. 

“What do you think of it?” 

Kit knew well enough he shouldn’t be as casual as he was with Billius, but if he was honest he didn’t think anyone who would care was around here. Besides even if someone was here, Kit didn’t particularly care. All they could say was he was kind, and given his job he needed to be. 

.

Kit, as always, looked polite and kind. Something that was unfortunately rare among Bilius’ more distant cousins. Especially those who hail from the oldest wizarding families. Bilius was definitely glad that he happened to meet him. Let alone befriend him. 

“Wow. You’re not even going to deny it.” Bilius joked. “But I guess it’s part of your job, isn’t it?” Bilius still doesn’t know what Kit specifically does for his family’s company, but being a Shafiq, he probably has his fingers dipped in several aspects of the corporation’s operations. 

Bilius returned his gaze at the new model in front of them. “I’m not too keen in the footholds,” Bilius pondered. “But maybe I’m just old fashioned like that.” He leaned forwards for a better look. The area near the tip of the broom was wrapped with what looked like soft material. “I kinda like the grip though. But I’ll have to test it out before I can give a definite answer.”

[partyboybilius]

Marlene McKinnon​:

Taking a bite of the licorice wand, the blonde looked over to the man, her brows pulling together. “That sick of it”, she asked him, a small scoff with her words. “My dear Bilius, I’ve spend the past six years of my life in that place. Handing out ale to drunken men, mopping it up when they slosh it on the floor. The smell of the Leaky Cauldron is so deeply imbedded in my nose, I doubt if you stuck a whole cauldron full of Amortentia in front of me I could smell anything but that place.”

Bilius laughed at the image of The Leaky Cauldron that Marlene drew with her words. He could see it clearly in his head, along with Marlene in the middle of it, looking like she was absolutely done with the place. “Okay, okay. You have a point there. I wouldn’t want us to go to Merlin Rogue either. Not because of the smell, mind you. It’ll just be weird seeing my co-workers strip without me... If that makes sense.” It probably didn’t, but Bilius just shrugged it off.

As they were waiting for their food and their drinks, Bilius took a good look around. It’s been a long time since he’s been in this part of Hogsmeade. He took a quick sniff off the air. “Tell me, how different does this place smell from The Leaky Cauldron again?”

[partyboybilius]

Aleia Dolohov​:

Aleia couldn’t help but clear her throat when his brief shock passed his lips. There was a small part of her that felt bad, even though she was also a bit grimly happy that her words had caused him pause. Still, Aleia blinked once and the tears went away, and she was thankful, at least, that she hadn’t quite let them fall. Although, judging from the look on his face, he’d seen them anyways. “Bloody hell,” she said, closing her eyes and bringing her drink to her lips. 

“I’m… I apologize for my behavior,” she said, finally, waving her hand. “It’s no excuse but I’m sure you know how fucked up everything is right now.” Aleia took a deep breath, eyes scanning the street in front of them. “Anyway, if you could ask before you sit down, that would be considered polite.” A soft smile graced her lips then. “But, I have to say, your banter is quite strong.” Her cup flew back to her lips to hide her smile.

.

Bilius’ eyes shot up when her companion cleared her throat. Merlin, was she about to cry? Bilius doubted it, but he didn’t completely ignore the possibility. Thankfully, she stopped herself. There wasn’t even a sniffle. Still, Bilius felt worse than he did earlier. 

Guilt turned into surprise when the woman apologized. He guessed that they both were feeling terrible about what just happened, and somehow, that moved the woman to say that she was sorry. Bilius couldn’t let her be the better person alone. “I’m sorry too. You’re right. I wasn’t thinking when I sat down unannounced. I’m sorry about what you said about your siblings too.” Bilius shifted in his seat. “I could leave if you really want me to.” He hasn’t finished his drink, but at this point, he didn’t mind accepting the loss. Was that a compliment he heard? “It sounds like you can hold your own yourself.”

[partyboybilius]

Emmeline Vance​:

“A crow?” she repeated in amusement. “He’s the most charming in the room as well as the brightest.” She cast her eyes around the room until she picked out Freya cheerfully working the room in her soft pink tulle. “Freya Avery,” she replied, with a gesture. “Do you know her? Are you here with anybody tonight?”

Emmeline snorted out a laugh at the thought of Bilius starting to strip in the middle of Slughorn’s dancefloor or doing any of the other party tricks he claimed were famous. “No, that’s true. It would liven things up but I imagine it would be the straw to break the camels back on all those who are so close to a conniption over there being blood traitors and muggleborns here. If you’re not concerned about getting kicked out or what they think then you could just go for it and see what happens. Slughorn has asked for peace between us and the best way for people to get along is a common source of entertainment so perhaps a bit of fun is exactly what this party needs.”

“Hey!” Bilius shrugged defensively. “You brought up the subject of birds. It was your choice to come to the party as a widow as well,” he teased. “I mean, I guess it is Halloween.” He tried to follow her gaze but was unable to pinpoint exactly at whom she’s looking. Bilius furrowed his eyebrows at the mention of the name. “I don’t think so?” he answered truthfully. But the name ‘Avery’ was ringing bells. “I think there was a kid back during my first year in Hogwarts with the name Avery. Not my year but... I think he didn’t end up graduating with us.” He shook his head at her question. “No. I didn’t, actually. Just came here by myself.”

Bilius snorted rather loudly. “I think I’ll pass for tonight.” A party where Bilius wasn’t causing chaos? That was practically unheard of when they were still younger. He didn’t know whether it was just everything that happened to him that year or his age finally coming up to him, but Bilius simply didn’t have the energy tonight. “People can find other ways to amuse themselves.” Bilius pointed towards the portion of the crowd that just looked snootier than everybody else in his opinion.  “Maybe one of them could trip and land on their face.”

[partyboybilius]

Edgar Bones​:

who: open starter. where: the cackling stump.  when: november 18th, 2020.

Edgar’s wine glass was empty.

Not that it mattered, because the wonderful waitress was already coming back around to refill his glass. He was the only person here that preferred wine to beer, he was certain, but that was enough to make him keep drinking the white liquid. If he were being truthful, Edgar didn’t even like white wine all that much. He preferred a dry red, something that cut out the sugar and kept him from wanting to gag all night.

Still, here he was, because the reds here were absymal, but it was also the only place he could come to just get away from everyone. Unfortunately for him, a familiar face appeared and Edgar couldn’t help but calling them over. “Oi! Seat’s not taken,” he said, gesturing to the other end of the booth. “I could use the company as long as you don’t mind me shitting on this rubbish wine.”

.

Despite being around booze all the time, Bilius could never stray away from pubs and bars. It’s different, he’d tell himself. Working at Merlin Rogue essentially crossed it off his list of places he could go drink himself silly when he wants to have fun. It’d be too weird watching and tipping your co-workers. Nah, he’d prefer to have quaint little drinking sessions with them when work was over backstage. But that doesn’t quite quench his need for going all out.

The Cackling Stump wasn’t one of Bilius’ regular haunts, but he is still very much willing to drop by every once in a while. He considers it as a wildcard wherein Bilius could never really know what he’ll get from the sort.

As luck would have him, he found a familiar face, which would make the night a lot more interesting, to say the least. Bilius promptly made his way to Edgar and asked if he could join him. He smiled wide, hearing that his friend was free. “Thanks, mate,” Bilius slipped inside, ignoring the somewhat uncomfortable texture of the backrest in his booth. “That’s why I just get the beer,” Bilius laughed, remembering the other’s preference towards wine.

[partyboybilius]

Kingsley Shackebolt​:

a laugh on his lips as he stares at the crowd of people mixing with different sides and people. it was always quite interesting being at events like these despite the fact that he always showed up alone and left alone. he had assumed that the same would end up happening tonight. he was planning on going home after this with a nice cup of tea at hand and a good novel to read. talking to this many people would exhaust him anyways if he was going to be honest. though he had enjoyed the conversation with bilius so far. “no not really many drinkers. though i’m sure that my siblings did it behind our parents back, i was just never really apart of it.”  he said with is a shrug. if he could remember correctly he was probably studying a seventh year textbook at a sixth year level if he were still in school….

“well, the suit looks like it fits you well even if it’s not yours. i just picked out whatever the old woman thought had looked best on me.” he admits. though if he was thinking back to it, she was probably hitting on him and that thought did tend to make him feel slightly uncomfortable. leaving that part out, kingsley laughs at bilius. paying too much attention and overthinking everything were two things that kingsley was told that he has done a lot over the years… kingsley should really learn to just let loose for once in his life, but when has he ever done that? “you’re probably right, i am, but it’s also my job to overthink everything. though, i suppose i’m technically not on the job right now.”

.

“Really? How many siblings do you have?” That might be too personal, but Bilius wasn’t worrying about that. He was just pondering about how little he actually knew about the older man. “I love drinking with my brothers,” he added. “Although I get to do so much more with my younger brother. Arthur,” he sighed. “Well, he has his family now.” A smirk escaped his lips. “A big one too.”

Bilius looked down at himself and patted any creases down. “Thank you. Technically, it is tailored for me. It’s just not mine.” The thing with the costumes in Merlin Rogue, they were still the club’s property, but they were very much still the dancer’s. Sharing clothes when they tend to become sweaty a lot in their line of work would just be nasty. “Trust me. You don’t look too bad yourself.”

The younger wizard then looked around. There doesn’t seem like there’s something out of the ordinary in the crowd. Which job are you referring to? Bilius wanted to ask. Being an Auror or a member of the Order? He bit his tongue to  stop himself. Getting into that conversation probably wasn’t the best. “You can probably relax, yeah. It’ll just be a shame if you don’t. Considering that this is a party and all.”