Tea & Scones [LUSIE]

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Hogwarts had been back in session for nearly six weeks now, and it was this Saturday that Susan finally had been able to get the time to head out to the quaint little village of Hogsmeade to visit her siblings, Ed and Lusie. She had promised Ed the three of them plus Will would all meet for dinner at the Three Broomsticks, with McGonagalls permission for the younger two to stay out a little later than the rest of the school with the promise of their safe delivery back to the winged boar gates before nine in the evening. First though, Susan was meeting Lusie for some one on one sister time, some girl talk as they called it. They rarely got a chance to do so, even when Susan went to school at the same time. Susan had always been busy, with her own group of friends, or with Prefect duties as she got older, or with her studies. The first few months after graduation, Susan had thrown herself into work at the Ministry, especially when Lysander had set off on his wild globetrotting adventures discovering new magical species. They had written a lot at first, but it soon came to the understanding that, at least for now, the romantic aspect of their relationship had to end. It was bittersweet, but Susan knew it was for the best for both of them with their lives going in completely different directions. It was much less a good bye and more a ‘see you soon’ after all.

Susan arrived at Madam Puddifoots early, making sure to order her and Lusie’s favorite teas and scones. She settled down at their favorite table by the window, smiling as the barista set down a tiered tray of scones, pots of clotted cream and jam, and a steaming teapot that, knowing Madam Puddifoot, was enchanted to stay the right temperature for tea. Knowing it might be a few minutes until Lusie made her way down from the castle, Susan pulled out the novel she was currently reading and immersed herself while waiting for her sisters arrival.

@lusie

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Lusie hadn’t meant to take her time on her walk from the castle to the village nearby where she was meeting her sister, but the changing of the season had her distracted. Lusie loved this time of year, she loved just being outdoors and she especially loved the colors of the chaning leave and the fact that everything smelled damp. She breathed it in as she walked along the path. She made it to the tea shop and saw her sister sitting near the window before she even entered. Lusie walked in and right over to the table. “Sorry if I’ve kept you waiting.” she insisted right away while removing her scarf and hat before taking her place at the table. “What are you reading?” she asked, peeking over a bit to see if she could recognize it as something she had also read. Lusie loved to read.

@susanvictoria

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Susan heard the bell tinkle and looked up, smiling as her baby sister came hustling through the door of the tea shop. “Not late Lu, I’ve only been here a few minutes,” she promised her, reaching over to give her a brief hug before sitting back down across the table from her. Lusie had grown taller in the months she had been at Hogwarts, if Susan wasn’t going crazy. She looked lovely too, rosy cheeks from the cold outside and just being happy that it was the fall. Susan preferred the springtime, but she knew her little sister preferred the slowly cooling temperatures, the changing of leaves, and the fall themed feasts Hogwarts had to offer.

Smiling, Susan showed her the cover of the novel. “Little Women, again,” she confessed with a light laugh. The novel was one of Susans’ favorites, and she tried to get in a re-read every so often. With all the laws and regulations in the Magical Creatures department she had been reading up on the past few weeks, it was nice to get a reprieve and read something she truly loved. Not that the readings weren’t interesting so to speak; she had learned a lot over the past few months about the different regulations set in the wizarding world than she had ever known at school. “It’s nothing about Magical Beasts, spirits and beings and their multiple regulations, so it’s a nice change of pace,” she added with a shake of her head. The waitress came over to take their orders, and Susan ordered her favorite chamomile tea with a scone. After Lusie’s order was taken, Susan turned back to the conversation at hand. “What about you? How are your classes going so far? Any inclination on what you want to do after school ends?” she asked, looking eagerly at Lusie. The youngest Windsor sibling had time of course, but Susan was always curious about where her younger siblings would end up. Ed, it would seem would go into Quidditch, but Lusie? She could probably fit in anywhere she wanted to.

@lusie

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The first thing that Susan did was insist that Lusie wasn’t late and explained that she had only been sitting here for a few minutes. Lusie was glad to hear that, she hated to keep people waiting, especially when they came to see her specifically and went out of their way to do so, like Susan was doing now. Lusie knew that Susan was probably happy to come and spend some time with her sister in the small village, but she had still planned it into her day and gone out of her way to be here, she didn’t want to disappoint. “Good then.” Lusie said with a smile and nod, happy not to have disappointed thus far. She sat down after taking off her outer layers and Susan told her what book she was reading: Little Women, again. Lusie gave a little giggle. “It’s a good one.” of course she had read it herself. Lusie loves books and she loved to read. Plus, it was a nice change of pace from the sorts of things that she usually read; just as Susan was explaining now.

Susan ordered and then Lusie ordered too, deciding on a nice lemon tea and a plate of biscuits, a selection that she had just about everyday. She had begun to sneak to the kitchens most nights simply in search of a cup of tea. She thought about getting her own mug that she could bring back to her dorm with her. While they waited for their order to be filled, Susan asked Lusie how school was going. Lusie shrugged. “Everything’s fine, honestly there isn’t too much to report.” she felt a little boring having no stories to entertain her sister with, but it was the truth. Susan’s question on what Lusie wanted to do after graduation caught her up a bit. She was only a 6th year and had lots of time to decide, but at the same time, she wanted to know. “I’m still thinking about going into healing… but I’m also starting to think more seriously about going into politics or international affairs.” she admitted. It was weird having to choose between her two worlds. “How's the world of creatures treating you?” she inquired.

@susanvictoria

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Susan smiled as Lusie described her ideas for what she wanted to do once she graduated from Hogwarts. Her baby sister of course had nearly two years before she truly had to start making more defined decisions about her career, but in her own opinion it was never too early to toss some ideas back and forth. “Would you want to go into wizarding politics, or Muggle politics like Will?” she asked, propping her chin on the heel of her hand as she leaned slightly forward. “Remember we’ll always have to put appearances in at charity events as is expected of us, regardless of what career you end up doing.” Susan had of course been aware this was expected of her when she graduated Hogwarts, but balancing a royal life and a life as an intern at the Ministry had been slightly more difficult than she expected. Sometimes she wondered what life would be like if she could turn back and redo a few hours of her day, but she knew that was impossible - Minister Granger had confirmed all time turners had been destroyed back in 1996. So it would not do well for her to dwell on an impossible idea.

“I think you’d be marvellous, regardless of which way you go. The wizarding world could always use more healers that are kind and empathetic like you though,” Susan said after a moment's pause, smiling down at Lusie. Her sister was warm and kind, just the kind of person you’d want to see taking care of a loved one or even yourself. She would of course support Lusie in whatever decision she came to, as any good big sister would. Their tea and biscuits arrived then and Susan poured the tea for both sisters, inhaling the scented tea deeply before taking a slow sip. “As delicious as ever,” she commented with a small chuckle. “So,” Susan began, setting down her tea cup with a devilish gleam in her eyes. “How are the Americans settling in? Are we due for a scandal with the youngest Windsor running away with an American lad any time in the near future?” she asked, grinning wickedly. Susan had a love for gossip, and the American transfers had been the talk of the Ministry for months. Her baby sister was a romantic at heart; she wouldn’t be surprised if Lusie got swept up by a debonair American boy, just like their cousin had.

@lusie

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Susan was asking all the right questions and Lusie knew that her older sister had a genuine interest in her and wasn’t just asking to make small talk like some people did. Lusie wished that she had more to tell her, she had been thinking about it a lot, but she didn’t feel like she had any answers yet. She knew she had time, but at the start of the next year she would have to declare a career path and she wanted to be sure of her decision. “I think, since I know 5 languages and I don’t plan to stop learning new ones, I should do something with that.” she admitted. She knew that Wizards could easily translate other languages into ones they could understand with the use of a spell or charm, but muggles couldn’t. And Lusie had a special talent for learning them, plus she found it so fun to study them. By the end of the school year, she planned on being fluent in Italian, that wasn’t news to her family, though. She could easily be seen all summer, working with her tutor or reading her textbooks in the garden of the castle or on the balcony of the London apartment. She spent her entire summer mumbling in Italian to herself. “I think muggle affairs would be better for that.” she said, though she didn’t plan on being absent in the wizarding world. Maybe there was a ministry job in muggle or international affairs which would fit her skill set well. Lusie gave a gentle nod at Susans’ words regarding the world needing more healers like herself. Lusie was kind, and empathetic as Susan had said. She she knew she was good and strong in crisis, but, she wasn’t sure she could deal with that much stress of a daily basis.

Susan didn’t seem to want to talk about her own career as Lusie has asked about, and instead, asked about the new American students and how they were settling in. She also asked if there was any American boys that Lusie was take up with. While she figured her sister was mostly teasing her, her cheeks still glowed a darling shade of pink. “No.” she admitted. “I think they’re settling in fine. Though the only American I’ve gotten to know is a young woman from New York City.” she explained. Which wasn’t entirely the truth. There had been a young man she met early in the year, who burned his hand in the forbidden forest and Lusie had helped treat his wounds before he was caught. But she didn’t really want to tell her sister about that, she feared Susan would lecture her about encouraging risky behavior. She also didn’t want to tell her sister about her flirty encounter with the Lockhart boy. She wasn’t even sure how she felt about that...or him. "I'd love to get to know some more of them, though. They've all very interesting, and their accents are darling." she smirked.

@susanvictoria

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Susan inclined her head in ascent. “True, but think of the Department of International Magic Cooperation. Their old head Barty Crouch from the nineties spoke hundreds of languages, and he found it incredibly useful. He could speak the language of merpeople and goblins as well, which I’m sure was incredibly difficult to learn.” Susan smiled. “Of course, if you want to go into Muggle Affairs, I’m completely in your corner. I just wanted to make sure you knew that department had a lot of opportunity for someone with your aptitude for languages.” Susan was never one to bully or pressure her siblings, especially her younger ones, into doing something they didn’t want to do. Her mother had tried to prevent them from going to Hogwarts, mostly out of lingering fear from their fathers’ assassination. She had also been disappointed when Susan announced her internship with the Ministry of Magic over the Muggle Parliament, but she didn’t forbid her daughter from pursuing her dream. “Plus, then you could come to work with me; hopefully by then I’ll be upgraded from an intern to a full time member of the Department for Regulation & Control of Magical Creatures. Hopefully they also find a better acronym to shorten down the name,” she added, then laughed. It certainly was a mouthful, though Susan privately thought of it as Regulation & Care rather than control. Creatures weren’t meant to be controlled, but to be cared for and preserved from extinction as best they could.

“You’re blushing,” Susan pointed out point blank as Lusie’s cheeks turned to pink. “There is a boy isn’t there?” she asked, propping her chin on her hands. “Or the girl, you know, I wouldn’t care whoever it was you loved, as long as they treated you well,” she added quickly. She hadn’t talked to Lusie much about her preference in either men or women, but she wanted her sister to know that it didn’t matter to her; she’d love her regardless. “Come on Lu, you can tell me,” she wheedled, giving her sister the puppy dog eyes she used on their brother Will often.

@lusie

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Susans comment sparked a little light in the mind of the young Hufflepuff. She had never thought about trying to learn the magical languages. It had never crossed her mind that she could talk to merpeople or goblins or other creatures with their own languages. She wasn’t even sure how to go about trying to learn those languages. She had been spending all of her time on muggle languages, which of course, were still spoken by wizards, but were limited to humans. “You’re right… I don’t know how I had never thought about things like that before.” she admitted, still sort of in her own head about it. “That definitely gives me something to think about.” She felt a little upset that she was still learning Italian and wasn’t ready to put it aside and start learning a new one yet. She wasn’t sure that she could try to learn multiple at once. But, why not? People did it in classes in muggle university, didn’t they? Why couldn’t she? She had magic on her side. Susan also brought up that if Lusie went into the ministry they could work together and Lusie nodded, she did like that thought. But she could also work with Will if she worked in the muggle world. “I think I’ll need to think on it a bit, though I know you like your job so maybe the ministry isn't so bad.” she admitted. Though she also gave a laugh to Susan’s little comment regarding the name of her department.

Susan caught her, kind of. She didn’t really have anything to hide, but there wasn’t much to tell either. Susan told her that she wouldn’t care who she loved and Lusie knew that already, she wasn’t afraid to be herself. But she did like boys, she thought. “No it’s nothing. I was sitting in here earlier reading and Gilderoy Lockhart came and sat with me. He was trying to be flirty, I think. Though I don’t think I care to flirt back…” she admitted. She wasn’t sure that someone who was as social and extroverted as him. “Though he flirts with everyone, you know.” she said, dismissively. It might have been the first time that she had ever been flirted with, though.

@susanvictoria

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Susan hid her laugh when Lusie mentioned Gilderoy Lockhart, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face. "Gilderoy Lockhart, he's still up to his tricks then?" she asked her sister.  Gilderoy had been a fellow Ravenclaw, so she knew him pretty well.  In honesty, she was surprised that Gilderoy had noticed someone other than himself for once.  He was so much like his father in that regard.  "Did he try to recruit you into the Gilderoy Lockhart fanclub?" she asked, part curious and part joking.  She wouldn't put it past him to try that little stunt.  He had tried to recruit well...pretty much everything that had a heartbeat into his club.  He was harmless of course, never rude or arrogant, but, well, he was Gilderoy.  "Flirting does come pretty second nature to Gilderoy, that is for certain," she agreed, taking another sip of her tea.  "Anyone else?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.  Lusie had known all about Casey, and then Lysander, before he had gone to travel the world like his ancestor before him.  "You could do as I have and sign up for Blishwick's blind date you know," she added casually, sitting back in her chair.  Her date wasn't for another few weeks, but Susan found herself rather excited to find out who he was.  Perhaps he'd be the Prince Charming she was looking for.

@lusie

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Lusie thought back to her previous conversation with the Ravenclaw Prefect. Of course her sister knew exactly what was up when Lusie told her who it was that she was thinking of. Blushing when she talked about Gilderoy Lockhart Jr. wasn’t because she was infatuated with the boy, but mostly because she felt a little awkward to be around him. Though it had been a fun conversation at least. It hadn’t been weird in the moment, at least not too much so. “Yeah I think he did.” Lusie nodded when she asked if the boy had tried to recruit her into his fan club. “But don’t worry, I didn’t fall for it.” he had asked her to be his sidekick in his novels, which of course she told him that she’d be bad at. But it was good for a laugh. Susan suggested that she might sign up for one of the blind dating events that happened periodically and she shrugged, “Yeah, I might do.” she agreed. “I suppose the worst that could happen would be an awkward conversation.” she admitted. There was still some time to sign up, she thought, if she recalled the deadline properly. Her roommates had been giggling about it. “So you’ve signed up then, does that mean you’re thinking of dating again?” well obviously she was since she had signed up, but Lusie was still curious how her sister was doing.

@susanvictoria

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Susan nodded, and would speak no more of the Lockhart boy. Lusie was still blushing, but she didn’t want to pester her about it. If something were to come of this, she was sure her sister would simply tell her. “I did sign up for it,” she said with a hesitant glance towards the window. Truth be told she was a little nervous about the whole blind date thing. Since it was a magical dating service, she felt a lot less pressure as it was less likely whoever met her for the date would be nervous due to her Muggle royalty status, but there was still the unknown of who she was being set up with. Imagine her going on a date with someone who had Purifier sympathies, or someone she worked with? She didn’t fancy that idea too much, but knew she had to take what Blishwicks would give her. “I think it’s time. Lysander and I agreed to be just friends months ago, and Casey is off...well, I honestly haven’t heard from him in ages, so I suspect he’s moved on as well,” she commented with a half shrug. “Plus it’d be nice to bring someone to the New Years Ball,” she added with a sly smile. The ball was her favorite pastime and she was excited for it. Now if she could only find a date for it...

@lusie

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Lusie listened to her sister with her full attention. She couldn’t help but smile and nod when Susan insisted that it might be time to get back out there, and that she wanted to find someone to bring to the New Years Ball. While they still had a bit of time, the ball was approaching quickly, however, Lusie didn’t even try to find a date. She had never brought one and had no desire at this moment of her life to do so. She was happy to just go, if she had to. She didn’t want to subject someone else to the craziness that was her family and muggle politics yet. Plus there was no one, at the moment, she’d even want to spend that much time with. “I think I might sign up too…” she admitted. She had never thought she’d want to go on a blind date, but if Susan trusted it, maybe it could be fun? Maybe Lusie was old enough that she should start thinking about dating. "You’ll have to tell me how your date goes, when it happens. Maybe you’ll meet someone really amazing. And at least… someone who’s here…” she didn’t mean to open an wounds by her last comment, but she hated that the men that her sister dated kept moving away. It wasn’t fair to Susan. Susan was too good and nice for that kind of thing to keep happening.

@susanvictoria