"Obviously. I Am Not Meant To Be Poor. I Am Too Pretty." She Would Not Want To Miss Any Of The Luxuries

"I care. I'd much rather receive a letter from an owl that looks well looked after, than some raggedy ugly one." She didn't see what seemed to hard for him to understand, it was completely logical to her. "First impressions carry a lot of weight Mr. Avery."

“Who the fuck would care what your owl looks like?” Clyde asked, baffled. Was everyone else really this vain, or was it just Serra? The Minister didn’t care what his owls looked like, but the Minister was also an idiot. Merlin did she actually have a point? “Wouldn’t the letter itself leave more of an impression?”

@alaraselwyn

"Thank you. I thought you would like it, everyone has so far." She smiled, pleased, although she had not doubted it for a second. Mira was a woman with good taste, she would've been surprised if it her cousin didn't appreciate it. "I do wish more people would have thought like you. I've seen some terribly boring outfits." Serra sighed, dramatically. "They have. I am their only child after all, it only makes sense."

Mira took an obligatory drink, not wanting to offend the birthday girl. She nodded as she swallowed, offering her a smile. "It's delicious, a good choice." She commended her. Already she was exhausted from the social niceties, hoping she would not have to stay much longer and that she could slip away. "Oh thank you. I had to make sure I chose something that was Serra approved for your birthday party." She mused. "It's quite the party, your parents went all out this year, didn't they.."

"I suppose it is?" Serra's eyebrows furrowed together for a second, confused as to why he was asking but dismissed it quickly. "Oh I heard what happened to hear. It is quite a shame that her betrothal fell through. It was so many years in the making after all. Oh you mean you want me to watch you duel? I can do that." Serra wasn't a good dueller herself, but she figured she didn't need to be. It's not like she was fighting in the war.

Her smile widened from his compliments. She enjoyed talking to him and dancing with him. "Thank you for the compliment. I am careful with the things I care about." Which mainly involved her appearance, but to her that was extremely important. Appearances mattered. "You should know I am better than all of them." Serra's tone matter of fact, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Not at all. I like talking to you. I don't think you are boring." They had liking to talk in common, especially when it came to her favorite subject: herself.

"Transfiguration is good as is potions. I swear by Valeria Flint, unfortunate circumstances surrounding the woman but wonderful for poisons and potions. I dabble in a bit of everything, anything that might give me an edge in dueling or seems fun, perhaps I could show you sometime? As far as transfiguration I think my greatest feat is summoning ropes, a nice trick especially if you can do so wordlessly, though it is important to get the gestures perfect and have a good bond with your wand." Antonin looked into Serra's eyes losing himself in them. "You surprise me though, those are both very precise magics. I pride myself at being able to read people, but you surprise me, I find that refreshing, you are not a boring woman or shallow, something to be treasured especially among most eligible ladies on offer." He looked pointedly at a few other guests around the dancefloor. "I hope you don't find me too much of a boor, I've been told I enjoy the sound of my own voice perhaps a bit too much, but I find you are easy to talk to."

status: open for everyone location: anywhere

"I assure you, I am not back in London by my own free will." Serra pouted, clearly annoyed that she couldn't have stayed in Paris. She'd liked it there, even going so far as attending that fashion design course recommended to her by Leta. Her parents had wanted her to return to England in January after the whole embarrassment that was Alara running away and being blown off the family tree. The compromise that had been reached meant that as soon as her course was completed she'd return. They were adamant about being back before her birthday, while she had no idea why that was so important. "It is all Alara's fault. Obviously. Couldn't help but turn out a traitor."

"Yes I am sure. Stop trying to get into my head and project your insecurities onto me. Just because that happened to you doesn't mean it'll happen to me." She huffed, crossing her arms in annoyance.

There was something satisfying watching Serra close up and let her words sink in. None of them were safe when it came to a pureblood marriage and wanting to make sure names were carried. "Are you sure about that? Or, are they buying time until the right match comes up. I bet you'll be in one soon and you can kiss your freedom goodbye."

"I suppose that's right. I think it is important to be a perfectionist about yourself first and foremost. Appearances matter. How is someone supposed to take you seriously if your hair isn't styled or your outfit is all wrinkled? If you cannot even be trusted to take care of yourself, how are you supposed to handle anything else?" If there was one thing she could do, it was talk about herself. She liked the way he complimented her, it felt thought out. She could hear how gorgeous she was a thousand times over, but this was nice too.

"I am already polished, but I suppose I could make myself available if you make it worth my while." She had a busy life of doing nothing after all. His gaze mesmerised her, biting her lip at the intensity she found in it.

"You are very good with your words, you know?"

“Any subject can be interesting if executed well or in an interesting way, it’s one reason you are so attention grabbing.  People can say what they will, but they could never accuse you of being anything less than a perfectionist especially when it comes to yourself.”  He kept his eyes glued to her as they turned about, sparing no more than an odd glance to keep them centered, it wouldn’t do to trip or drop her. “You may watch me, consider it an open invitation, but I would love to teach you, see that perfect attention put to something. Magic is like dancing, talking, just gestures and phrases polished to perfection.  You are a woman worth knowing and I would like to polish you, give you a skill to set you further apart from this rabble. How much more beautiful a flower is for its thorns.”  He came to a stop suddenly, releasing her for a moment to wave off the rest of the dancers dismissively before bringing his hands up to caress her cheeks, hold her, look  almost through her, ardent gaze slightly betrayed by a quick peek at her lips before tracing down her arms, finding her hand and hip, bowing and starting the dance again. “Truly, you are finer, and most welcome, everything I have said was earned, or will be. I do not take to idle flattery. If I was not serious, I would not care how you were trained no matter how interesting.”

"I would love to." Serra liked public events and dancing with handsome men, who wouldn't? So when he asked her to dance saying yes to him was a no brainer. She thrived off of attention, so when she felt like she captured his she felt proud. "I'm a Libra sun with a cancer moon. I used to dance Ballet for many years but now I only do it when I find the time for it. I am involved with several charities and I'm very pretty. Although you'd be blind not to notice the last one."

He didn't understand the voice in his head that suggested he mingle with the witches. Trying to keep himself distracted and away from another he had already make a mistake with earlier this evening. A smile played on his face, holding out a hand for her. "Then shall we?" The blonde led her onto the dance floor, an arm around her waist and the other holding the hand offered, gliding around effortlessly, dance lessons something his mother started at a young age. "Tell me something about yourself." Thorfinn was curious about her.

The Great Gatsby (2013) dir. Baz Luhrmann | Promising Young Woman (2020) dir. Emerald Fennell

Serra couldn't believe the words she was hearing right now. He had the nerve to ask her what she was talking about. How dare he? When he looked at her did he think her a fool? That she will still the same fifteen year old girl hopelessly in love with him? She sighed, letting him lead her outside before she continued to talk. "I understand some marriages are accepting of infidelity, but I do not plan on ours being one of them." "And in such a public way. It is degrading. You could have picked someone beautiful, so that it is at least understandable how you could be swayed. But her? Again? It makes me look like a fool." What did Charity have that she didn't? Loose morals? "Evan told me. I do not see any reason for him to lie. He is my cousin's best friend and he is your business partner, is he not?"

Malcolm glanced around as she did one of her best fake smiles. They were in public and Malcolm didn't wish to be a spectacle with whatever Serra was considering saying. He was desperately trying to follow along with her, only becoming more confused when she dismissed Nick. "What are we talking about then?" he said, his eyes gazing down at her, also trying to mold his features to something that didn't resemble stress. There were people who were unemployed here and only lived off generational wealth, the same people who loved events like this so they had something to talk about until the next one. Malcolm didn't wish to be a topic of conversation or cause a scene. "Charity?" he echoed, keeping his voice as close to a whisper as he could. "Serra, that's not-you know? You know what? I'm not-I'm not with Charity. It wasn't-Who told you that?" Malcolm gave a look around the room, finding that there wasn't anyone watching them still. "Should we talk about this outside?"