#emmeline falcon

[cursed-herbalist]

Weekend with the Grays 2022

Day 2 - Welcome Ball 2.0 Hosted by @endlessly-cursed

—

➔ Snapshots from the ball

Violette Durand x Deaglán Herrity @magicallymalted

Oscar Erdstern x Zelda Cairncross @cursebreakerfarrier

Abraham Alden x Emmeline Falcon @endlessly-cursed

[cursebreakerfarrier]

𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑 — 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐞

Setting: The Cairncross Home - Devon, c. 1906

Word Count: 2238

-> Happy birthday to my boy Eli! He’s not a big fan of birthdays but sees it as the perfect excuse to spend time with loved ones and eat cake lol. He’d also be very pleased to know that he shares the same birthday as Sherlock Holmes ❤️ this drabble features Phineas & Emmeline who belong to @endlessly-cursed and mentions Lydia who belongs to @beloved-bucky

It had snowed overnight, but the morning of 6th January wasn’t as cold as it should’ve been. The sky was grey and the sun was trying to poke out from behind the clouds, but it didn’t seem as though it was likely to happen any time soon.

There were only five days a year, including today, in which Eli Cairncross never did any kind of work: Christmas Day, Miriam’s birthday, his children’s birthdays, and his own birthday (the last one Miriam made sure of). Eli had spent the whole of the 5th reading and writing and so much so he’d forgotten it was his birthday.

He woke up to Miriam singing to him, holding a tray of delicious breakfast foods and a steaming mug of coffee, and thought he was still dreaming.

“Happy birthday, my love,” Miriam smiled, setting down the tray on Eli’s nightstand before leaning down to kiss him. “I’ve made your favourite breakfast.”

“Hmm, thank you,” he mumbled. “But nothing is more delicious than seeing you first thing in the morning.”

“I see you haven’t lost your charm in your old age.”

“Old age? I’m only fifty-five, Miri.”

“Fifty-six.”

Eli blinked. “What?”

“You were fifty-five yesterday. Today you’re fifty-six.”

“Oh… So I am.”

Miriam couldn’t help but laugh. “I think you could do with this coffee now. Come on, sit up.”

The two spent the next half an hour admiring the wintery landscape outside of their bedroom window, watching as cute little robins landed on the nearby tree and saying how glad they were not be taking a stroll along the beach that morning, grateful to be in the warmth of their home and not in the icy air.

Eli sipped his coffee, which Miriam had brewed to perfection, whilst she helped him finish off the colourful fruit salad, picking out most of the grapes and leaving him all of the apple slices as they were his favourite.

Miriam took the tray back down to the kitchen and just as Eli was about to get dressed she returned with a small, expertly wrapped box.

“Zelda and Bram have their own gifts for you,” she said, handing it to him. “But I couldn’t wait any longer to give you mine. I hope you like them, but please tell me if you don’t.”

Eli wasted no time in tearing the paper and lifting the lid on the little black box. Sat on a velvet cushion were rectangular silver cuff links with the same line of numbers engraved precisely on each one.

“They’re the co-ordinates for my parents’ home,” Miriam then explained. “Which might sound strange at first, but it’s the place you and I first met so it’s a very special place.”

With a smile, Eli put the lid back on the box before putting it down and wrapping his arms around Miriam.

“Thank you, Miri,” he uttered. “I love them and I shall wear them with pride today.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied, smiling in return when Eli kissed her and pulled away. “And then, of course, there’s me. I’m your other gift. The better one.”

“You most certainly are. Aside from our children, you’re the most wonderful gift this world could have bestowed me and I’m a very lucky man.”

• • •

By midday, the Cairncross’s living room was full of guests, laughing and chatting amongst themselves, some seeing old friends and some making new acquaintances. Miriam had laid out a buffet of pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, three kinds of fruit punch, confectionary, homemade sandwiches, and half of a very large birthday cake cut into equal slices. It was Eli’s favourite: Victoria sponge.

Phineas Falcon and his daughter Emmeline were sat near the window that overlooked the beach and talking animatedly with Zelda, who looked gorgeous in her burgundy dress and matching jewellery. It was nice to see Phineas as Eli had retired from teaching at the end of the last academic year and was interested to hear about how things had changed since his departure.

“I can’t talk to anybody about archaeology anymore,” Phineas had complained. “Your replacement is so boring I can’t be in the same room as him for more than two minutes because his voice lulls me to sleep. I’m also fairly convinced he’s not travelled anywhere further than Dover and got his qualifications illegally. I hope to Godric the headmaster dismisses him soon or I’ll have to hatch a plan to do so myself.”

Eli couldn’t help but laugh. “Spoken like a true Slytherin. I think the Sorting Hat made a mistake with you.”

“You made a mistake when you retired.”

The conversation was soon redirected when Emmeline pointed out how nice the fruit punch and cake was which launched the four of them into a debate about the best flavours of each; it soon became apparent that they could have easily sat there for the rest of the month talking about that one topic alone.

Rex Brokenshire, meanwhile, was late to the party, which was very unlike him, but he entered the house with a jolly smile and wearing his favourite black overcoat and sapphire-blue scarf, which Miriam took from him to hang up. He was also wearing a very smart tailored suit and had his hair more kempt than normal. He’d certainly made an effort to dress up.

“You look absolutely stunning, Miriam,” he said to her, kissing her cheek, and admiring the brand new emerald frock she had on.

“Thank you,” she replied. “And you’ve scrubbed up very well indeed. I’d normally say that gray is such a dull colour, but it actually suits you wonderfully.”

“You know how to flatter a gentleman.”

“You? A gentleman? In your dreams, mister.”

Miriam had met Rex long before she met Eli’s own parents. She remembered his charm and good looks (those things remained the same to this very day) and how he told embarrassing stories of their time at Hogwarts to make her more at ease, much to Eli’s discontent. She had loved him as her own brother and couldn’t think of anyone else she’d have rather chosen to be Zelda’s godfather. He was family through and through.

“And speaking of gentlemen,” Rex began. “Where’s the birthday boy?”

Neither of them had to look far as, just as he finished speaking, Eli appeared. He grinned when he saw Rex, relieved he’d finally arrived, and gave him a welcoming hug.

“Happy birthday, Eli! You don’t look a day over forty!”

“Meanwhile you look like something I dug up in Egypt last month.”

Rex scowled, sending Eli a death glare, but couldn’t hold his composure for long and bursting into laughter a moment later. Being (almost) lifelong best friends meant they couldn’t stay angry at each other for more than a few seconds. It was easy for Eli to hold a grudge, even for the tiniest of reasons, but even as a stoic young man he couldn’t be mad at Rex. They were more like brothers than best friends and their relationship would outlast even time itself.

“What were you in Egypt for anyway?” Rex then asked. “I thought you’d retired and were taking it easy.”

“An old colleague invited me out as Egyptian artefacts are more my area of expertise than his. He’s out there with only two other men and they came across things they’d never seen before. It was rather fascinating, actually, but they wanted me to stay until February as they were trekking further south, following the Nile.”

“And you told them you were missing your old pal Rex too much and had to return home immediately?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Just as Miriam left Eli and Rex to catch up, Zelda pried herself away from Phineas and Emmeline and had come running over with a bright smile, excited to see that Rex was finally joining the fun.

“Zelda, my girl!” Rex exclaimed, holding out his arms. “You look beautiful. Just like your mother.”

“Thanks, Uncle Rex,” she grinned, hugging him in return. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me, too. And where’s that rascal you call a brother?”

“In the kitchen eating all of the cake that Ma and I made. I’d get a slice now if you want one before it all disappears.”

“I think I’d better,” he said, starting to shuffle away as he added, “I don’t want your dad finding out I forgot his birthday present.”

“You did what!?” Eli exclaimed, half-jokingly, Rex then disappeared in the direction of the kitchen and Zelda giggled.

“He’s probably just winding you up,” she then uttered. “But there’s no way he could have gotten you a better present than I did.”

Zelda had commissioned one of Eli’s favourite artists to paint a portrait of the family and there was no way he was able to hold back the tears of joy when he saw it. He wanted it hung in the living room, but it was just a matter of making space for it as it was about four feet wide.

“Your gift was incredibly thoughtful, Zelda,” Eli said, wrapping an arm around her as his kissed her temple. “And it means the world. If your Uncle Rex thinks he can outdo that he’s got another thing coming.”

Not long later, Zelda went to greet her friend Lydia who had managed to get the afternoon off work to attend the party. Eli smiled and waved to his guests as he weaved his way to the kitchen, which was quiet in comparison.

Bram was stood beside the counter where an empty plate sprinkled with cake crumbs sat beside a half-empty glass of punch. He’d just had his 22nd birthday and was, in his parents’s opinion, growing up too fast. He was only several inches shorter than Eli and dressed very much like him in three piece suits, suspenders, and boots. And for his 18th, Bram had been gifted Eli’s old hat he used to wear on expeditions and loved it more than anything. Even though Bram wasn’t his biological son, he looked just like Eli wearing that hat: handsome, smart, and raring for an adventure.

Unfortunately, Bram had taken on Uncle Rex’s eccentricity. The two of them were as thick as thieves when together and when Eli entered the kitchen, he found Rex at the beginning of a very embarrassing story about Eli that happened when the two of them took a trip to Yorkshire at the ages of 17.

Rex immediately went quiet when he saw his best friend and smiled nervously.

“Hey! Come for some more cake?” He asked as a distraction. “Well, there isn’t any because Bram has scoffed it all.”

“Did not!” Bram exclaimed, then gesturing to the plate beside him. “That was only my second slice. Besides, you know how delicious Ma’s baking is.”

“I don’t know why she isn’t a professional-“

“Reginald, I know very well what story you were telling Bram and I suggest you shut your mouth right now.”

Rex snorted. “Oh, come on! He deserves to know how much of a scaredy cat his father really is.”

Before Eli could retort, Rex turned to Bram and said, “can you give your dad and I five minutes? I’ll tell you the rest of the story later.”

Bram nodded. “You’d better, though. I want to know what happened with Pa and that Grindylow.”

“No, you don’t,” Eli said, smiling at Bram as he walked past and stuck out his tongue.

“You’re a bad influence on that boy,” Eli added once Bram had gone.

“I’m an excellent influence and that Grindlylow story is thoroughly amusing,” Rex retorted, reaching into the inside of his jacket pocket and pulling out a small parcel wrapped in brown paper. “Anyway, I just wanted to say that I might of lied to you when I said I forgot your birthday gift. You know I’d never really forget, right?”

“Oh, I know,” Eli replied with a smirk. “An elephant never forgets.”

Laughing, Rex playfully elbowed Eli before saying, “come on then. Open it. I know you’re going to love it.”

Eli tore off the paper and was surprised to see that his gift was a framed photograph of himself and Rex in the courtyard at Hogwarts during their final year. The sun was shining down on them and both had their robes on, donning their respective Head Boy and Prefect badges. It seemed like a lifetime ago, yet somehow the both of them remembered it as if it were yesterday.

“I know you lost yours in that accidental fire,” Rex then uttered. “And Miriam said you’ve never forgiven yourself for it, so I hope now you can stop torturing yourself.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Eli whispered, his gaze fixated on the photograph. “It’s… Perfect. Just perfect…”

“You’ve gone soft in your old age,” Rex laughed before enveloping his friend in a comforting hug, noticing he was about to cry.

Eli hugged him back, suppressing his tears, and felt so grateful to have such a precious item back in his possession and even more grateful to have his best friend there in person on his birthday. With the accumulation of loved ones and precious gifts, Eli really was the luckiest man in the world.”

“You’re one to talk,” he then mumbled. “You’re older than me and you’ll always be older than me, you bastard.”

“And there’s the Elias I know and love.”

[cursed-herbalist]

Weekend with the Grays 2022

Day 3 - Sleigh, Ride, go!! (Abe x Emmie) Hosted by @endlessly-cursed

—

The tree tops were coated in sparkling white as Abraham and Emmeline stepped out of the estate and into the gardens of Winbourne. Abraham was beaming from ear to ear, the events of the previous day replaying in his mind. He was ever grateful for Prim's kind support, setting up the most beautiful scenery for the proposal. As giddy as he was about the fact Emmeline didn’t even hesitate to say yes, even the snow seemed brighter and clearer than ever before. Smiling, he offered his soon-to-be-wife his arm which she gladly accepted. 

The two didn’t make it very far when a sudden screech caught their attention. A small owl was hovering right above their heads. Emmeline immediately offered her arm for it to sit on, in its beak, an all too familiar-looking envelope. Quickly, Abraham reached for his wand and tapped the letter muttering a few inaudible words. Emmeline eyed him curiously. 

‘What was that for?’ 

‘It’s a howler. I didn’t want it to go off with all those people around,’ Abe explained and took the letter. ‘Abraham Alden,’ he read out loud. ‘Ten Galleons, it‘s your father.‘ Emmeline rolled her eyes, she knew it could only be him. Gently, she took the letter from Abraham’s hands and shoved it into her pocket. ‘We can worry about that later,’ she chuckled and tiptoed to peck his cheek. 

‘I thought we were past this. I even asked him for your hand—months ago—he knew it was coming,’ he mumbled more to himself. Emmeline couldn’t help but chuckle. 

‘He’s simply a bit overprotective. But I assure you, he loves you.’ Abraham, albeit still a little irritated, smiled. ‘I’m not too sure about that but I’ll take your word.’ 

As if all trouble had been washed away he suddenly stiffened up and put on an exaggerated posh tone, ‘Future Lady Alden would you care to join me for some ice skating?’ Emmeline shook her head but laughed nonetheless before pretending to be serious again. ‘My Lord, it would be my pleasure,’ she did a little curtsy. Abraham's eyes wrinkled in amusement. ‘Let’s go join the others on the lake then,’ he chirped and picked up the skates that were neatly lined up at the front of the manor; the letter completely erased from their minds.

—

The other guests had already gathered around the frozen lake. Some were standing at the rim, watching the people glide over the glimmering ice while others hurried to slip into their skates to give it a try themselves. Abraham beamed at the sight of them and dragged her towards the cheerful crowd. Laughing, the two staggered through the ankle-high snow. 

Emmeline sat down on a bench that had been placed near the lake to change her shoes. Out of instinct he kneeled down and took one of her feet into his hand to help her slip on her skates. Yet before he could even attempt to, she kicked him, softly, against his shoulder. Abraham struggled to keep his balance, frantically waving his hands around her fell backwards into the snow. ‘I can do this myself, thank you very much,’ she narrowed her eyebrows and ripped the skates from his hands. Abraham, now with regained balance, chuckled. ‘Simply telling me wouldn’t have been enough?’ Emmeline blushed but proceeded to put on the skates. Abraham couldn't stifle a laugh at her cuteness. Shaking his head, he slipped into his own. Shortly, he held out his hand for Emmeline and the two balanced towards the frozen lake. 

Abraham’s eyes were glittering like the ones of a child on Christmas morning as the couple zoomed over the ice. Soon they found themselves spinning around in circles, laughing at the top of their lungs. Most of the other guests bestowed them with disapproving looks but they couldn’t care less.

‘Race me to the other side of the lake?’ He asked, knowing very well that she couldn’t resist a good challenge, especially, when he was the one asking. And god did he love her for it. A smile grew on her face and he knew she was in. ‘On the count of three?’ Abraham nodded and got into position, and so did Emmeline. The other guests eyed them curiously as they started counting.

‘One, two—three!’ And the two were off. 

Emmeline was much faster than Abraham anticipated but maybe it was simply him getting distracted by her contagious smile and wildly dancing hair and not really focusing. Getting a hold of himself, he sped up and caught up to her. They squinted their eyes at each other and sped up some more, the tree line flying towards them. In a matter of seconds, it was only a few meters away. Both were so fast that breaking wouldn’t have saved them from their fate.

The two came to a halt with a swift twist of their skates, the sudden change in tempo catapulting them forward right into the snow. Laughing hysterically the two looked at each other.

 ‘Who won?’ Emmeline asked. 

Abraham shrugged. ‘I think it’s a tie but does it really matter?’ 

Emmeline gathered some snow and threw it into his face. ‘Yes, it does,’ she laughed.

‘Hey,’ he laughed as well and threw some snow back at her.

She brushed it off when their eyes met. He searched her face and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. ‘I can’t believe you’re going to be my wife,’ he whispered. Emmeline’s breath caught in her lungs. ‘I can’t believe you’re going to be my husband.’ She smiled but it was met by Abraham’s lips softly gracing hers. For a moment, the world stood still and it was only them. No worries, no expectations, no pressure. Just them.

Still smiling, they both pulled apart. Abraham looked over at the guests, hundreds of meters away and chuckled. ‘Luckily, we’re far enough, otherwise, we would’ve heard shocked gasps.’ Emmeline rolled her eyes. 

‘Who cares?’

‘Certainly not me,’ he chuckled and kissed her again.

[unfortunate-arrow]

Phineas & Emmeline Falcon

→ my half of an aesthetic trade with @endlessly-cursed