Shall we dance?

Evan Rosier, 32, professional duelist

[wandsandrosiers]

Evan hated going to the ministry. There were so many brown-nosers and suck ups, all just trying to get ahead of the next one. It made him sick if he was honest. Why didn’t people just do their jobs well and try to get ahead that way? Trading favors and backroom dealings were honestly as dark as some of the things he had seen death eaters do because at least the death eaters would find a way to inform the masses about what was done. The backroom things were just leaving the common man out of the choices being made.

He hurried down the hall to the sports department, needing to know when his next matches were as they had forgotten again to owl him. He knew it was only partially their fault as some duelists would back out of matches with him to not ruin a streak they were on or something, but it would still be nice to know these things. He felt someone approaching him and he sighed. “What is it you need? I am in a bit of a hurry,” he said.

[wandsandrosiers]

etoiledechien​:

Sirius narrowed his eyes and kept quiet at first, not trusting himself to speak. In fairness, he had effectively cut off the majority of the pureblood community when it came to being disowned and taking residence at the Potters. He couldn’t exactly be faulted for it given the circumstances that led to turning his back on a family that barely seemed to care about him. “Apology accepted,” Sirius spoke through gritted teeth, expression still on the wary side. “Sure,” The word was accompanied by a shrug. “But I don’t recall you or anyone else having tried to check in on me. So don’t try going soft just because things have-” He paused and looked around at the crowd rushing by. “Were calm.”

Sirius pressed his tongue against his cheek to keep from immediately giving a sarcastic comment. He could have said something to appease Evan but the thought of doing so got muddled when second chances were brought up. “Not a grudge holder,” Sirius wrinkled his nose. “But the majority of everyone’s first chances were destroyed when Walburga burnt my name off the tapestry and kicked me out. Made it far too easy to see who gave a shit about my well-being and who didn’t.” There was a momentary pause then he cast a sideways glance in Evan’s direction. He wasn’t the type for holding grudges (his mother being the one exception) and Evan had a slight point about the whole second chances thing. “That said I’ll check to see if the letter got mixed in with the stack from Walburga that I’ve been meaning to shred.”

Evan sighed, shaking his head before noticing a crick in his neck and rolling it slightly, trying to keep things casual. “Fair enough. I just wanted to ask because I am attempting to be a better person. Shocking, I know, but stranger things have happened. I think whether things are calm or not, I should be holding myself to a higher standard than I have been,” he explained.

“I would like to point out that her burning was done by her own hand and it was not as if the rest of us were sitting around eating scones and applauding her as she did so. Just keep that in mind for the future. Some of us were rather unhappy by the choice and Ellie was frankly devastated, but could not reach out to you at the time as we had no idea where you had gone,” he added. At the time, he hadn’t really felt one way or another, but his sister was quite hurt. “It would be appreciated. I should let you go attend to others since you clearly look like you are trying to find someone.”

[wandsandrosiers]

miss-alectoxcarrow​:

–

“It’s hardly a life altering decision if it’s hypothetical”, Alecto let out a light laugh, unsure if he was nervous about what the implications of the mark were, or if he was worried about getting falsely accused of casting the mark.  “If anyone asks, you were with me all night”, she shrugged up a shoulder.  It was a mutually beneficial alibi, since she didn’t have her brother there to vouch for her as he usually did.

“True”, Alecto nodded carefully.  “It’s rather irritating to see so much cowardice in one place, isn’t it.  If they really believe in their cause that much, why not stand up for it?  At least we’re willing to fight for what we believe.”

“If said to the more... emphatic members of our side of the war, hypothetical or not, the question could be life altering as it would altered from alive to not,” Evan countered with a laugh of his own. “I’ll go with that. As much as you like watching the chickens run around without heads, I doubt you are willing to go this far for it,” he agreed.

“It honestly is. Especially when they talk about how ‘they’ won the war. No. You sat in your homes crying while others saved your arses. Come talk to me about winning the war when you have stopped bothering seeing your parents because it is difficult to know when it will be the last time they see you.”

[wandsandrosiers]

etoiledechien​:

Sirius absentmindedly ran his hand through his hair, going out of his way to refrain from properly looking at Evan. There was only so much faith he could have with ex-family members and the Rosiers had been kept at a distance since the day Andromeda was disowned.

The mention of his brother, however, quickly caused his head to snap up. Gray eyes narrowed when he attempted to meet Evan’s gaze. “I tried,” The two words came out in an almost whisper. Sirius clenched his jaw after that and looked down at the sidewalk. Regulus was far too sensitive of a topic to risk saying much else. Evan was one of the last people that needed to know how guilty he felt for not having been bale to do enough for him. “Why do you care?” The question escaped in response to being asked how he felt. He was rather relieved for the change in conversation.

“Wouldn’t that mean her needing to acknowledge me as family?” Sirius made a face. “Can’t trust any of you these days given the circumstnaces.”

Evan nodded to the words he barely heard. He realized it was a bit of a low blow trying to talk about Regulus, but what he had said was not wrong. He was truly surprised the younger Black showed up at more of his group’s functions rather than going after Sirius. “Sorry. Sore subject. I’ll leave it alone,” he said in a softer voice. He could be delicate! He shrugged slightly to the other’s question. “It’s been a while. Am I not allowed to have emotions? I missed that law being passed,” he replied, a bit of hurt bleeding into his words.

“Ok, that is a twat line. She has never once not acknowledged anyone as far as I know. As I said, be an arse to me, but she has done nothing wrong,” he replied, offended. “I would think if anyone, you would be all about second chances, and Eleanor hasn’t even burned through her first? That’s a bit hypocritical, mate.”

[wandsandrosiers]

etoiledechien​:

There was no mistaking the solid feeling of bumping into someone, the jostling of the other person only adding to his frustration. He should have gone straight home instead of milling about. The need to make sure the few people he properly cared about were properly accounted for (or more preferably not in the area) had overruled his more logical train of thought.

An apology was on the tip of his tongue but it never escaped, the uneasy look soon replaced with a perplexed expression. His gaze shifted and he gave a shrug as his initial response, using his brief moment of silence as an excuse to side-eye Evan.

“No idea,” Sirius scoffed. “And if I did have the slightest clue about it, you are nowhere on my list of people I would tell.”

Evan realized it had been his very pun intended black sheep of the family cousin Sirius he had bumped into in this moment. The more surprising part was that the younger man was alone rather than with his boyfriend or the married one. He didn’t really keep up with that as reconnaissance was a waste of his abilities back in the day.

“Wow, I’d be hurt my dear cousin wouldn’t share his information, but that would imply he still considered us cousins. You know, not all of us agree with that tapestry. Personally, I am surprised little Reg stayed with your folks after you left. Anyways, are you well? Considering....,” he gestured vaguely at the situation happening around them.

“Oh and by the way, it’s a bit rude to ignore Elley’s owls. I would think you would want to bond with another non-Slytherin family member. I don’t give a damn about me, but I am not fond of people being inconsiderate to her.”

[wandsandrosiers]

miss-alectoxcarrow​:

–

Alecto shrugged, “I’m not complaining.”  It was probably one of the things that had kept her out of Azkaban, after all.  She smiled despite herself, raising her eyebrows.  “I would never.  You’re far too full of yourself as it is.”  She had decided that Evan was alright.  He didn’t bore her to tears, at the very least, and her jabs seemed to roll right off of him.  But she would never say that to him directly, lest it go straight to his ego.  “Mhm”, she turned back to gaze into the distance, “Say it a little more quickly next time, maybe I’ll believe you.”  Alecto sometimes let herself wonder what the future would look like if The Dark Lord wasn’t as gone as everyone had believed.  Perhaps this was the start of something far less peaceful than the last four years had been.  At least, she could hope.

Nodding thoughtfully, she shrugged.  “I really don’t understand the reason for all the panic.  Hardly fitting for an entire group of people that won a war.”  How they managed to do so was truly beyond her.

“Neither am I,” Evan agreed. “There’s the Alecto I know and enjoy,” he said, chuckling slightly. He would never say he considered anyone bearing the Mark his friend, but at least Alecto was not one of the diehard fanatics. She helped keep him sane in dangerous moments with her quick quips. She reminded him a bit of his own sister. “Sorry, the heat of the moment makes it a bit difficult to make life altering decisions,” he said with a shrug. He hoped that his answer would be kept between them, but he could not be sure.

He gave a slight nod to her assessment of the situation. “You have a point. Though most of the people running did not actually fight in the war. They left the chance at dying to others. They can say what they want about our side, but at least we all got our hands dirty in some way or another.”

[wandsandrosiers]

gretacatch​:

❀

       Evan’s choice of words felt a bit like a reminder, a reminder that she was very possibly beginning to over stay her welcome. A common situation for the talkative soul to find herself, though she did not always realize it so swiftly. “I believe that is your artistry, is it not?” When faced with such an individual, Greta always wondered about their wand; was it of a loyal core, an unbending wood? A partner in and of itself, instead of a tool as some may wish to see it. She kept her curiosity quietly to herself. In her brazen youth she might have asked him about it, but no, as optimistic a soul as the former badger was the war had done her the disservice of learning when to swallow down her curiosities. 

“Well, in that case, I hope you are at least able to enjoy the festivities in your own way.” She offered a polite smile, having held up her goblet in a ‘cheers’ gesture. 

“You could say that, yes. I like to think of dueling as a dance. Two people, practicing elegant movements, making their own sort of song out of the spells and noises exchanged. The only sad part is that my dance card is always full, but I am terribly tired of leading every dance. I would like to let another take the lead, but my pride will not hand it over easily,” Evan explained.

“You as well. Enjoy,” he said, lifting his goblet in kind.

[wandsandrosiers]

miss-alectoxcarrow​:

Alecto smirked when she caught sight of Evan, shrugging up a shoulder in nonchalance.  “Nothing that I’m aware of.  But then, I was never one of the first to be in the know.”  She’d always been on the periphery, which had, quite honestly, been fine by her.  Obscured by the shadows, she felt that they could speak at least somewhat freely.  More freely than they’d been able to anywhere else.  “I highly doubt that you’d ever be skipped on purpose”, Alecto answered, though not entirely unkindly.  She turned to Evan, eyes scorching with intrigue.  “Do you want out?”  Not that any of them had a choice now, really.  They were all out.

“But no, I don’t feel anything.  I’m sure it was just someone bored who wanted to cause a bit of mayhem.  Not that I blame them.”

Evan bit back a frustrated growl. “I was never one of the first either, so I understand that,” he said. It was safer to be on the edge. Being in the center had a larger target on your back. Friend and foe wanted you gone either to stop you or replace you. The edge meant you were ignored, excluded, and that was where no one knew you were there. “Careful, Alecto. Someone might think you were trying to compliment me for a moment,” he tried to tease. “Why would I want out? Not that it matters. He’s gone. But if it were to matter again, of course I do not want out,” he replied a touch too quickly. Leaving was just as dangerous as being in the inner circle. The Dark Lord did not allow for anyone that bore his mark to leave him freely.

“Well... I don’t know what to make of someone doing that, but at least I am not alone in feeling nothing. I just wanted to confirm with someone,” he said, hiding his relief.

[wandsandrosiers]

Evan followed the mob of frightened individuals, hoping against hope that his arm remained dormant. Why would some idiot do this? He was gone! People were starting to forget! People were moving on. He was starting to get less glares and more smiles of admiration, but now, those suspicious glares would return. The good will he had built up would be gone in seconds if this was real.

He had used his four years thinking. He had thought about how little he gained from his choice. He thought about how much his family lost thanks to his father’s open declarations of servitude and his own suspicious acts that while no one could say for sure were real, could not be disproven either because they had happened. He barely managed to keep blood from his hands and now this was starting again?

He was lost in his thoughts when he ran into someone. “Oh... sorry... I was thinking about the thing and wasn’t looking where I was going. Do you know anything?” he asked.

[miss-alectoxcarrow]

who: open where: the streets of diagon alley

Finally, what Alecto had been waiting ages for had descended upon them.  Chaos.  She was reveling in it.  It didn’t really matter to her who had cast the Morsmordre, or what the intention behind it had been, she was too busy enjoying the tailspin it sent the Wizarding community into for such semantics.  It was almost sad, really, all this panic for a simple mark in the sky.  If she would have known how much fun she’d be having, she would have cast the damned thing herself.  As she watched the chaos unfold, someone stopped in front of her, out of breath.  Pulling herself away from the building wall she’d been leaning on, she smirked, unable to stop herself from antagonizing them.  “Where’s the fire?”

[wandsandrosiers]

Evan felt his stomach turn as he heard about the Mark in the sky. He downed his drink, waiting a moment to see if his left arm would burn as it used to years earlier. He had gotten used to ignoring the burn when he was busy with spells. but that did not prevent him from remembering every time the night he received it and wishing there was a way to remove it without simply removing the limb all together. The burn didn’t seem to come, but he knew waiting when others were running for their lives would draw suspicion. He briskly walked outside and heard a voice call to him.

“I was simply coming to see if there was any news,” he said as softly as he could in a crowd of screams. He carefully walked over to her, sliding into the shadows the buildings offered him, meaning to appear to head off in that direction. “Are you feeling anything or am I special now and get to be skipped for once?” he asked, hoping she also felt nothing so that he could write this off as a sick prank and go home rather than revisiting mistakes he regretted.

[wandsandrosiers]

gretacatch​:

❀

     Evan had successfully garnished a laugh from her, Greta quirking a brow at his choice of comparison. “You know, while I think that might apply to folks like me– I’m pretty sure you could just kind of glower, choose a given direction to walk in, and people would part to make a path for you.” Though she’d chosen the word glower, it was otherwise intended as a compliment of sorts. She turned to beam enthusiastically at the barkeep that handed off her goblet of elderberry mead, thanking them politely. 

“A terribly valid point,” the blonde conceded with the playful surrender of holding up her hands. Barely able to stifle the laugh that threatened to spill from her lips, the mental image of some poor unsuspecting otherwise giddy couple unwittingly stumbling into Evan Rosier. Not that she knew him, so it was impossible to make judgments, but his reputation did seem to be a bit wand-happy. “Perhaps being bar side would do you well,” she offered instead. “–Unless you’d like a buffer. That is, to partake in the whole…” Greta swept a hand to indicate the social gathering. “Hide in plain sight, converse with the little people… all that jazz.” 

Evan shrugged slightly at Greta’s sort of compliment. She was not wrong. It was very common to get that sort of response, but more out of fear than respect. “I guess you have a point there, but I prefer to have minimal attention on me if at all possible unless I am dueling,” he answered.

“I was thinking the same. Most folks are a bit lazy and tend to want to stay where they are and have the waiters bring them their drinks than wait in line here and have to take them back,” he agreed. “Hiding in plain sight is very much my preferred way to exist.”

[wandsandrosiers]

andrcmedatcnks​:

“Just a few stress lines and winkles ago.” She stated chuckling softly at her own little joke.  “Not too long in the grand scheme of things.” She added a bit more of a side note.  “I’ve been doing well, I’m nearing my four years at St. Mungo which has been a ride…” She paused, the guilt she felt working there by association was one of the biggest struggles she faced.  Andromeda knew in her heart, she hadn’t played a part in the war.  Knowing what her eldest sister did, and the role the rest of her family played however, was more then enough for her.  

Andromeda was not raised to be a fool. Her family were not sheep, they never followed anyone blindly and none of them would have ever been manipulated into such.  Magic or otherwise.  “What about you, what kind of life have you made for yourself?” She questioned a bit, pulling herself back from the rabbit hole of her own mind.

Evan nodded, not quite sure what Andromeda meant by her joke, but he’d take anything that eased the tension. “Fair enough,” he replied as he was not sure what else to say to that. He listened to her talk about St. Mungo’s, noting she left the statement there and chose not to talk about her husband or child. He didn’t blame her. It was what it was.

He took a long drink before he answered her question, not sure what he could really say. “Nothing much has changed. I am a professional duelist. That’s pretty much it. Mother and Eleanor are well,” he replied, knowing much beyond that was dangerous to talk about. “I am surprised you came alone tonight.”

[wandsandrosiers]

gretacatch​:

❀

      Now this was more like it. While Greta had admittedly been a bit on-edge during the Ministry hosted gala; here, the May Day celebrations, she could genuinely have a good time. No wars with herself on how much she could afford of her savings to practically throw away on a dress she was apparently only ‘supposed’ to wear the once. Ha. She’d find another use for it, just you wait. 

The low bustling buzz of good cheer seemed to permeate throughout The Leaky Cauldron, a wide grin etched into place as she people watched and patiently waited for the barkeep to return with her drink. Evan’s voice beside her pulling the blonde back to her more immediate surroundings, blinking in shock for a split second before she’d answer. “Oh, on purpose. If I could just kind of live this sort of day in a loop I think I might be okay with that.” A humble chuckle parted her lips, taking a step towards the man to hear him better. “I take it it’s the latter for you? I’m sure it is quite the racket in that case, I think you might manage to duck off to a corner there–” she gestured a thumb, extra tables toppled to one side from where the floorplan had been otherwise rearranged to make room for dancing. 

Evan gave a half-hearted shrug as he received his drink. “A bit of both for me. I meant to come here to get drunk, but I did not mean to do so with every wizard and his brother here doing the same. I don’t even know why I decided to come to the Leaky Cauldron anyways. It’s crowded on a good day. Right now we might as well be a cage of pixies, packed in as we are,” he lamented in an attempt at a joke.

He glanced over to where she gestured and gave it a slight head-tilt of assessment. It could be a decent spot to avoid most of the crowd, but if enough people saw him there, they would ask questions and he was not in the mood for that in the slightest. “I will admit that is an excellent spot to hide in, but it’s very obvious for such a reason. It will be the first place anyone looks for a private moment and I am not in the mood to deal with couples trying to snog or more only to find me trying to enjoy a firewhiskey in peace.”

[wandsandrosiers]

andrcmedatcnks​:

“Just wanted a drink and perhaps reminisce on the past I suppose..” She chuckled a bit bringing her drink back to her lips and take a small dutiful sip.  “There is something about Mayday that seems to bring out the best or perhaps the most ‘joyful’ in people.” She chuckled putting air quotes around joyful.  She hadn’t seen Evan since their time in Hogwarts, she was certain with his family’s stance, he probably didn’t wish to see her ever again.  

“I mean, that is pretty common with most of the crowd here, so I guess you are in good company,” Evan replied as he got his drink. He took a long glug before setting it back down and speaking again. “Joyful is not exactly the word I would use, but sure, people are definitely full of ‘joy.’” He looked around as more than half the customers were clearly already drunk. Yeah... he would not have used joy.

“So it has been a bit, Andy. How... how are things?” he asked, knowing it was probably a terribly awkward topic of conversation, but he couldn’t exactly think of anything better. He was vaguely aware of the fact she and her husband had a kid at some point, but he honestly was not sure of how old said kid was.

[wandsandrosiers]

Evan walked into the Leaky Cauldron and had so many instant regrets. He had completely forgotten about the May Day festivities that Tom had announced he would host for the weekend. He wanted to walk out, but he already felt eyes on him. If he left after walking in, there would be talk. The only way to control what talk occurred was to stay.

He walked up to the bar and waited for a free barkeep to come over. He glanced to the person next to him. “So did you come here on purpose or forget about all this and just wanted a pint?”

[wandsandrosiers]

redrosier​:

~

eleanor scoffed. “ how much luck are you having? either way, i can assure you i’m having less. why does she keep insisting that i marry a greengrass? seriously, can you imagine it? ellie greengrass, the name sounds so positively stupid and the man is a thousand times more. ” she ranted, eyes wild. “ she acts like i’m barren because i’m twenty-nine and i dare not to have children. you’re the one who’s going to give her an heir, not me– ”  

she stopped suddenly in the middle of her sentence. “ evvy, ” eleanor murmured, her voice suddenly going quiet. “ i don’t mean– you know it’s perfectly acceptable if you choose not… ” she paused, choosing her words carefully. “ to pursue a relationship where you are capable of having children- biological children, i mean. mummy’s more hard on me anyways, it would be a complete disaster if i didn’t, someday, but… ” 

she tossed her auburn hair behind her shoulders, trying not to look as pained as she felt. “ speaking of – i can’t believe i’m asking this – do you know of any one who would… you know? that isn’t completely horrible? i wouldn’t be asking if mummy wasn’t on my arse and sending me howlers. she did that, you know. last week. it was awful. ” 

Evan scrunched up his face in disgust at the suggestion of his sister marrying Greengrass. He could barely stand him after not seeing him for months on end, but having him as a family member? It honestly made him feel sick. “That... no, just no. I will go talk to her about removing Greengrass from the list. The only reason she even suggested it was because she thinks it will make his mother like her more, but it won’t make any difference and frankly, she needs to let the delusion go,” he agreed. He was about to add that he would try to get their mother off El’s back about not having children yet when she suddenly changed subjects to one he should have known would eventually come up.

“El, I am not sure what you are implying about me, but I plan on carrying on the family name as is expected of me. Just be cause I have... difficulties... find a woman suitable to become my wife doesn’t mean... whatever it is you are trying to say,” he replied in equally hushed tones, hating that he couldn’t look her in the eye as he said it. He tried to cover this by looking around to check to see if anyone was listening. “It’s my duty to bring respect back to our name. Father did enough damage... and some folks that are not me might say I assisted in that, and should... do my part to fix it. So... even if things were as you were suggesting, I’m not as at liberty as you might think.”

He thought about her question for a moment before speaking. “I won’t lie, it is a difficult question. Hmmm... I don’t know them well, but the Burke twins are yet unwed, though they are a bit young for you, and likely the one that you would actually like seems to be interested in Dearborn. You would probably find one of the Prewett twins interesting, but you will have to fight with Mum about being close to the Weasleys. I know Mum has him on your list, but Yaxley is the worst. Just... just don’t. Oh! Shacklebolt is rather fit... if you are looking at such things. Erm... yeah... that seems to be the best list of men out there that you could get with while keeping Mum fighting to a minimum. Does that help?” he asked.

[debonairs]

OPEN to ANYONE at : THE LEAKY COULDRON !

BEDHEAD STILL IN EFFECT after only brushing their teeth, washing their face and changing into a more respectable shirt and robe combination, severus apparated their way to the leaky cauldron to reallocate some alcohol into their system after a night of constant owls and reassurances to their employers that yes, they did receive the orders for the potions due next week and they were well on their way to completion when in actuality severus has only made fifteen of the hundred they were required to. upon settling down on the counter, the clinking of cutlery and smell of food jostled them out of their half-asleep state, feeling around their pockets only to remember that their pack was left in the confines of their temporary bedroom, groaning and runs a hand over their face, not noticing the figure beside them, currently being fussy.  “  can  i  get  some  moonshine  ,   please  ?”  they asked the bartender half-heartedly, nursing their growing headache with some gentle massages to their temples.

[wandsandrosiers]

Evan had finished his duel early that day and decided that another almost pathetically easy win deserved to be drowned in alcohol. He once again wondered if he would ever find someone that gave him half the rush that dueling Moody did. Today’s answer was clearly no. He apparated to the Leaky Cauldron, knowing he should probably eat something since he hadn’t before his duel. It was one of his new attempts to handicap himself to see if that made the match any more challenging. Based on the fact that he felt slightly dizzy and still handily won. that was another no for the day. He walked in and went to the counter. He sat down just as he heard a familiar voice ask for moonshine. He turned and saw Severus sitting next to him, looking like something the Kneazle dragged in. “Oh dear, Severus. I don’t know which answer would be better today, but is this your first drink today or have you been partaking for a bit?” he asked. “You have seen better days, my friend.”