Laying Flowers //

1x07 / 2x07 / 2x10 / 2x11

lilyeliora​:

Lily nodded solemnly as Harper rambled. It was obvious, at least to Lily, that this woman was simply desperate for companionship, and hadn’t really thought beyond having some kind of pet to fill the void. It was, in Lily’s opinion, far more sensible than using romantic partners to do so. Still, she felt that she had to give a disclaimer. “Cats are more self-sufficient, but they still need attention and brushing and play time. I wouldn’t recommend a dog if you have a really demanding job or a particularly active social life because they can get really depressed, or even destructive if you’re not around enough. Either way, it is a big commitment. You could easily have this pet for the next ten years.”

Even as she spoke, she ushered Harper a few steps to the side so they were standing directly in front of the cats’ enclosure. Unlike in muggle shelters, there weren’t many black cats on offer, but there was a good variety of tabbies and calicos, and even a few torties. Lily was both pleased and sad to see that her favorite cat, a particularly round pale orange tabby, was missing. She’d been hoping to see him today, but if he wasn’t here, that meant he’d been adopted, which was better for him in the long run. 

She noticed Harper hanging back a bit and smiled encouragingly. “The next thing to do is just to hold your hand up to the cage and see how they react and how you react. It’s okay if a really energetic and playful cat makes you uncomfortable, or if a laid back one seems boring. Your personality and the cat’s need to mesh. I’d just recommend not getting too invested in a particular coloring, how a cat makes you feel is more important than how it looks.”

-

Harper swore she could feel her blood pressure rise at Lily’s mention of a ten year commitment. It wasn’t the prospect of caring for a living creature for ten years that gave her pause; Harper was no stranger to responsibility. It was the concept of 10 years down the road that she struggled with. Who would she be? Where would she be? Though it would be nice to have a companion to face the uncertainty with. Besides, Lily had a cat, as did Safiye, and Geraldine had her dogs.

She scanned the cages of cats, trying to determine where to start. Some of them, she noticed, had small descriptions of the creature within.

Pale green eyes caught hers first and drew her over to a brownish gray tabby with white paws, as if he stepped in paint. “Calm and independent” his description read. He gave Harper a sniff and she swore he rolled his eyes before turning his head away from her.

In the cage diagonally below sat a lankier, mostly black, tuxedo cat with amber eyes. She’d been batting at a toy in her cage and when Harper’s attention shifted to her, the cat’s energy increased, though with a slightly territorial edge. Trying to calm the cat she took a step back. It wasn’t until then when Harper noticed the note describing her as “highly energetic though a little possessive”

Somewhat randomly, Harper picked a different section of cages to focus on. Inside one, a medium sized cat with multicolored patches of fur— she thought Lily had called it a tortie— slept soundly, and she couldn’t bring herself to disturb it. The chunky, cinnamon toned tabby in the neighboring cage stretched and let out a gravelly meow before retreating further back.

A few rows down, a small, solid grey cat with emerald eyes let out a meow crossed with a chirp that made Harper crouch to its level. Offering her hand, the creature bumped it with its forehead and rubbed against it. Heart melting, she looked for a label with any descriptions or requirements, and smiled when she saw none. But, as if to dash her hopes, a shopkeeper walked by moments later. “A lovely little girl she is. Just arrived yesterday evening so I haven’t had a chance to add a label yet, but we’d like to keep her and her brother together” she commented, gesturing towards the cage next to it, where a similar looking cat was curled up lazily. Harper knew she couldn’t handle two— she was still concerned about messing up one.

“I’ll be back in a minute” Harper said quickly, trying not to show the dejection she felt. She took a partial lap around the store, stopping among the aisles of cat essentials and accessories.

antonin-whoisleft​:

“I am Antonin,” he agreed, a charming smile on his lips and his curiosity deeply piqued. There was something about the woman - nerves, maybe, but he couldn’t imagine this was her first foray into actually dealing with one of her superiors. In the Death Eater hierarchy, of course, though Antonin had no problem considering himself her superior in other ways even from just the brief introduction. “Lovely to meet you finally. You’re doing some incredibly helpful work, I’ve been told.”

Antonin leaned against the archway, hearing the clinking sounds of a few new drinks being poured from down the hall; but his attention was on the newcomer. He liked to size people up, especially ones he might potentially be working with more closely moving forward. His eyebrows shot up, blinking in mild confusion as she continued.

“You’re here now, aren’t you?” He asked, intrigued by her perceived negative demeanor of the place. “If Lucius really demanded halfbloods weren’t allowed in his mansion I’m sure we’d have sent you somewhere else to meet up, yes? As long as you’re not a mudblood or a blood traitor you’re more than welcome to tour the dusty old place. You not being allowed in the meetings is more to do with rank than anything else, Baddock, and sure - your blood status might be a hindrance, but it clearly hasn’t deterred some of our more persistent comrades.” He smiled again, disarming and casual, swishing the contents of his glass around. “You’re not missing much by forgoing the tour, though. Not a fan of the aesthetic, myself, but Lucius and I have always clashed a bit on taste.”

They clashed on plenty of other things, too; but taste was easiest to joke about with a newcomer.

“I’d love that,” he said, warm and friendly and still, as always, watching with that thoughtfully intense look on his face. He saw her eyes flicker down to his glass, heard the self-deprecation in her comment; she could be someone he could use, certainly. Either a lack of self-confidence or simply a sense of loss of place - easily usable. That was promising. “They’ve got a couple house elves wandering around, would you like a drink? They really do have some incredible scotch on hand. Might make going through the paperwork a bit more enticing, no?

-

Antonin certainly could be charming, Harper would give him that. With mixed feelings, and despite her best efforts, she blushed at his praise of her and her work; mentally cataloging it. “Well, thank you” she replied with a pleasant smile of her own, before pausing in thought. “Based on the limited amount I’ve seen, it’s… not exactly how I would decorate,” she finished with a slight smirk. However, the idea of exploring the manor did entice her; she figured it came with the territory of growing up wandering around hotels.

Harper was sure that Antonin was trying to get a read on her, while she tried to do the same of him. She quickly got the impression that her initial instinct to approach with respect and an attitude of ‘knowing her place’ wouldn’t necessarily get her anywhere with him. In fact, it probably made her look unsure of herself. Which, in fairness, she was. Though she did generally attempt to use that to her advantage; Her knack for self-preservation led her to prefer being underestimated, especially in any situation where she wasn’t ready to show her hand.

But having a nice drink and taking someone through her work? That was a situation that Harper could proudly thrive in, and she allowed that confidence to flow through her. She sat down on the couch, elegantly crossing her legs as she spoke, “A drink would be lovely. And it does indeed make paperwork a more enjoyable experience” she agreed. She looked towards the doorway, pleased when a house elf appeared moments later. “Scotch please,” she requested, motioning towards Antonin’s drink.

As the house elf disappeared to fetch her drink, Harper gestured for Antonin to take the spot next to her on the couch. Opening her bag, she withdrew a neatly organized folder of notes and paperwork, and slid it onto the table. “So here I have copies of recent records I’ve worked on so the information matches up. I also have some new proposals for travel covers and itineraries”

She paused as she noticed the house elf reappear, her drink in hand. Saying a quick thank you, she took a sip of the beverage, savoring it. “That really is quite good”

safiyeece​:

Safiye smiled when Harper swiped her drink. The faux innocent look on her face was unnecessary, they always did this. It was a little way of sharing their lives with each other. Even though they both had their secrets, they always sampled each other’s drinks. 

Safiye swirled her drink around its glass as she listened to Harper. She was glad Harper had decided to celebrate her birthday, even in a small way. After all of her losses and hard work, Harper deserved to celebrate herself however she saw fit. “I’m happy for you. I know it’s a hard time of year, but I’m glad that’s not stopping you from doing a little something. Let me know if you want any company.” 

It was the sort of thing Safiye said often, but usually it was done out of courtesy, because it was the proper thing to say. She rarely meant it, but this time she did. Safiye valued her solitude, treasured the rare moments by herself that she was able to steal from her two competing lives, but she was willing to sacrifice for Harper’s sake. Particularly on a historically hard day, Safiye wanted to be there for her friend, if she was wanted.

When Harper talked about keeping her expectations low, Safiye took a long sip of her drink. “That’s true,” she finally admitted. There wasn’t much else she could say on the subject. It was the most fundamental difference between the two young women. Harper was an expert at managing her expectations, Safiye was not. She wasn’t sure if it was because she couldn’t or because she refused to, but either way Safiye never kept her expectations low. It meant she lived in a constant well of disappointment, true, but for Safiye there was no alternative. She wanted more from her life, she expected more from her life, even though it was not reasonable to do so.

-

That was one of the things Harper admired about Saf. Unlike her own pessimistic— or realistic, as she insisted to herself—outlook, Safiye always had dreams and expectations in high places. Harper knew all too well that this sometimes led to dashed hopes and disappointments for her friend, but it never had and never would deter her being there to support her. While never to the same extent as Safiye, in the past Harper had once allowed herself more optimism. But that felt not only like it was ages ago, but like it was a version of herself that was no longer.

“Some company would probably be nice, whether it’s for brunch, shopping, or back at one of my places at night. Whatever works with your schedule and however the day goes, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” Harper, in turn, sipped her drink, eyeing the nearby plate of biscuits.

“I can’t believe it’s really been five years,” she started, “Since graduation, since… everything” she gestured at the hotel room around her, knowing Safiye would catch her drift. “Sometimes I feel like this is just stalling… waiting for something to happen and for real life to begin,” she reflected, “I just don’t know what” She looked at the other woman and chuckled a bit. “Maybe it’s like one of your romance novels. I just need to meet the one” Harper teased, over-emphasizing the last two words, “and it will all fall into place.” She was joking, but couldn’t help but wonder if maybe there was some yearning behind it.

“Well, what would happen next in one of those books?” she asked, taking another sip of her drink, before finally giving in and reaching over to the plate. “After all, you’re the expert” Harper finished, nibbling on the biscuit she’d grabbed.

rxtaskeeter​:

Rita and Harper had a good working relationship. The elder of the two had been a valuable Transfiguration tutor to the younger in their school days, allowing her to keep her place as top of their class and answering all of her burning questions (often questions which would help her in the process of becoming an Animagus, though she was sure Harper didn’t know that). Somewhat in her debt, Rita now kept her abreast of all rumours surrounding her and her business, occasionally showing up at the hotel bar for several glasses of rum and a debrief, which always inevitably led to them discussing other peoples’ gossip while Rita probed for information on any important guests.

To greet her in daylight was somewhat odd, seeing her in the stark light of day rather than in a dimly lit room through a haze of alcohol, but Rita was always happy to see a friendly face, particularly first thing in the morning. She nodded as she took a sip of her coffee, eyes on a shopkeeper stood opposite them puffing on a cigarette as she answered.

“Actually everyone’s seemingly been on their best behaviour recently, it’s been making my job quite hard. Probably something to do with everyone wanting an easy summer. But you know me, I can always find something to write about.” She turned her gaze to Harper and raised her eyebrows, offering a knowing smile. “How’s the hotel business? Any big events lined up for me to sneak into so I can keep my career going?”

-

From gossiping between Transfiguration tutoring sessions and during common room hangouts at Hogwarts, to cocktails and chit-chat at hotel bars, Harper and Rita had spent a fair amount of time together through the years. Harper liked the younger woman. Back during their school days  she told herself that she wouldn’t have spent all that time and energy tutoring her if she didn’t. But while there might have initially been other motivating factors for Harper, she found herself looking forward to their time spent together. She still did, perhaps even more so now that they had entered the “real” world.

Harper subtly followed Rita’s gaze to the nearby shopkeeper, before flicking her eyes down to her drink and taking another sip.

“An easy summer” Harper chuckled to herself, knowing that no matter how she wished otherwise, the phrase seemed like it would always be an oxymoron for her. “But for sure, Rita, you could write your way out of just about anything. Or into it, for that matter.”

She mentally ran through the catalogue in her head of upcoming events at the various hotels and venues, tilting her head in thought and reveling in the feeling of the sun on her face.

“Hmmm, well speaking of… There are a handful of weddings coming up, but no big or notable names. A charity gala you’re welcome to crash, a few conferences where you can try and charm some gossip out of sleazy businessmen. Those are most of the local ones. With mid-to-late summer holidays, and especially the Quidditch World Cup coming up, I’m not incredibly surprised it’s a calmer month.”

Harper paused and smirked, “Well, aside from the weddings; those are always affairs where everyone is high strung, that is until the drinks start flowing.”