Making due with what they got. (Nixie)

[Deleted]

Levi tugged at the sleeves of his jacket as he stood outside the Windsor Christmas ball. Debating if he actually wanted to go in to begin with. He never expected to be invited to a Christmas party held by two princesses, it felt like something out of a fairy tale. Granted he wasn’t so much invited as it was most of the wizarding world. Which also was sure to include his family. Which was all the more reason he didn’t want to go in. The last thing Levi wanted in the world was to see a Rowle, let allow be at the same party as them. Thankfully the fact that muggles would be attending was sure to drive away his elitist family, no matter how prestigious a party this might be. So the only thing holding him back from entering was his attire. That and the feeling of being out of place.

Eventually Levi relented and entered the ball officially. It was just a decorated inside as it was outside and that he wasn’t too surprised about. It reminded him of the boring Christmas parties he was forced to attend as a child. Neatly placed silver and gold decorations lined the walls, and the tree. While mistletoe and other traditional decorations were sprinkled around the ballroom. The magical snow falling was probably the only touch Levi actually genuinely liked. It was just what he imagined the ball would look and feel like and that was what bothered him the most. “I’m gonna need a drink for this.” Levi got out after a drawn out sigh, making his way to the refreshment table.

Not too surprisingly the selection was limited some snacks and punch for non alcoholic choices and small glasses of champagne. He knew it would have been a long shot for anything harder than that at a party like this. It wouldn’t be the first time he had to get by on the weak stuff and it was sure not to be the last. He took two glasses, both intended for himself. The staff probably just assumed he was taking someone else a glass. Turning to survey the ballroom before him and just what his next stop would be.

@nixie

@layla (Possibly I can't remember if she was joining too or not.)

[Deleted]

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December 24, 2025
@levi , @nixie

Layla entered the ballroom and marveled at the decorations and the people and their grandeur, it was by far the fanciest event she’d ever been invited to, and it was clear on her face that she was excited. From what she knew there would be individuals from all walks of life considering the status of the family that lived her and was hosting. She expected her bandmates would be making an appearance, Emrys was a walking party on his own so she kept an eye out for her friend though she spotted another one instead. He looked uncomfortable but handsome in his suit no less, then again, he typically had that demeanor about him. Still, she smiled and made her way over to Levi where he was holding two drinks. ”You looked like you were having such a fun time I thought I’d join you.” She said with a smile as she approached him. Again, she looked around—he didn’t seem particularly impressed so he might have been more used to it than she was.

”I’ve never been to anything like this before.” She admitted. Her upbringing had been relatively normal and nothing particularly fancy but nothing she would have traded. And considering how much attention her mother tended to attract it had all been relatively small as well. ”Do you know if Emrys or Lance is here yet?” She asked excitedly and then again noticing the drinks in his hand. No doubt they were both for him and she didn’t comment, not yet anyway. At this point they had known each other long enough to know that Layla tended to talk enough for the both of them.

[Deleted]

Nixie wasn't really a dress like a princes type of girl. So, she had no intention of going to the ball. But her mother saw the invitation first, and insisted. So, the woman had helped her youngest child go out and find a dress. She had refused to dress in a ball gown, but settled on a sequined blue dress that stopped mid thigh, with some dark stockings and two inch booties that just covered her ankles. To help keep her warm outside, she wore a black jacket that a few sizes too big. That was where she stored her wand. She was glad that the other curse breakers had all been told to go, more or less by Renfri. She had been told that she looked great, but also that she didn't even look like herself, and man did she feel it. She had taken a number of spiked drinks from that corner, but after some time, she needed to step away. Honestly, she should probably find someone carrying around a tray of food. She wondered if she could just take the tray. The orders were so small, and Nixie wasn't fit for a royal ball. She didn't know what to do, say, how to act. The curse breakers were....well things were going crazy there. So perhaps she would get some slack for not fitting in. She wasn't hard to miss. True, she was one of the shortest there, but her dress catching the light, helped people know where she was.

In a way, she was glad to be muggle born. While there were muggles here, they were important diplomats mostly. She had no feer of running into an undesirable, because the only ones she knew there were friends form work or school. Nixie felt a little tipsy, but she hadn't had too much to drink. The Irish girl took pride in the fact that she could hold her liquor. There were a few people who asked her who the rowdy people were in the corner she had just left, and she could tell by their puzzled expressions they were most likely muggles. She explained to the people that they were magical archeologists and that this wasn't really their scene. It was the truth, and they had asked.

It didn't take long for the girl to long for a friend. She could easily go back to the curse breakers and see how long it took for something to literally catch on fire. But before retreating, Nixie saw the face of a friend that she hadn't seen since school. Layla Hendricks was in the class before her, but they were in the same house. So Nixie made her way over to greet the girl. She seemed to be with a man who vaguely looked familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint it. He had two classes in his hands, but she couldn't judge. Not after Renfri's enchanted flask filled with something much stronger. Maybe she would be interrupting, but she was already on the move. "Hey Layla, been a while."

@levi
@layla

[Deleted]

Levi had just been looking around when he heard a familiar voice speaking to him. He looked toward to it with a smirk to find just who he had expected. His band mate, Layla, commented on how he looked to be having fun and thought she would join him. He wasn’t sure just how much of it was sarcasm or her being serious. If asked Levi would have gone with her being sarcastic. “Oh yeah, a blast.” Levi replied, his sarcastic tone very apparent. He had just gotten here but already knew it was going to take either something very interesting or a lot of alcohol for this to be all that fun.

Layla mentioned that she hasn’t seen anything like this before. Referring to the ball and decorations. Levi supposed seeing stuff like this for the first time would be pretty impressive. Sadly, it wasn't exactly his first time. “Yeah, it’s gets old and boring real quick. Enjoy it while you can.” Levi remarked a little more hateful toward the decorations and setting than he should have been. Still, parties like this and the fancy boring decorations just filled his mind with memories of his family and christmases past. Boring, dry affairs where fun was less important than giving the perfect appearance to other important families. She asked about Emrys or lance being here and Levi shrugged. “I think I saw Emrys when I was walking toward the drinks, Lance I’m not so sure.”

It wasn’t long before they were joined by another person, this one at least a stranger to him. She did seem to know Layla and more of a friendly basis and not just a fan. “Well aren’t you Miss popular tonight.” He added with a laugh as the woman might have been familiar, he couldn’t exactly place her from anywhere. Which wasn’t too surprising in Levi’s life.

@layla
@nixie

[Deleted]

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December 24, 2025
@levi , @nixie

Levi had a familiar smirk on his face, he didn’t socialize a lot in general so an event like this was definitely different. And the sarcasm flowed easily from him but didn’t bother Layla. He had been the first person she spotted as she didn’t know that many people here. She glanced around while he commented that these types of events got old quickly, perhaps they did but now she could say that she had been able to attend at least once. It wasn’t often she got to get all dressed up for such an occasion. A water walked by and Layla grabbed a cup off the tray, it wasn’t champagne as she had seen other guests drinking but some kind of warm beverage—probably in honor of the holidays. She grabbed it, flashing him a quick a smile, it didn’t hurt to try and if she didn’t like it the Levi might be happy to take more alcohol off her hands.

So Emrys was here but no Lance yet, she’d have to go find him to say hi at some point but she knew he loved the attention at these things. Layla looked back when a red-head approached her, but she recognized her and a smile appeared on her own face. ”Hey Nixie! It has! How are you? You look stunning.” Layla beamed, she had been a year or so ahead of her in school but they had gotten along well. Layla gave a playful look to Levi when he spoke, ”Are you saying your happy demeanor doesn’t get you more friends?” She responded a bit sarcastically but more on the playful side. She never minded his quieter nature and never took it personally, some people liked people and some didn’t. Layla happened to be the former. ”Nixie, this is Levi he’s in the band with me.” She introduced her old school mate to Levi. ”Levi, this is Nixie—we were at school together.” It had been a number of years since they’d seen one another but last she’d heard she was off having grand adventures as a Curse Breaker.

[Deleted]

As Nixie approached, she was glad to see a smile of recognition coming on Layla's face. "Doing great, well would be better if I had picked up an extra assignment at work" She gave a shrug. Nothing more to do about it. She was here, and she was dressed up. "Thank you. You look amazing too. How have you been?" Nixie wasn't all that into music. It was hard to listen to tunes when in a tomb. You had to have your full attention on the job. But she did know that Layla was in a band. She kept meaning to look up her stuff, but always forgot when she had the time.

Layla introduced the man she was with as a bandmate named Levi. It had been some time since she had seen Layla, work and all, but it was good to see her. Nixie smiled at the man named Levi and held out her hand. "Great to meet you."

@levi
@layla

[Deleted]

As they talked Layla grabbed a drink from one of the many staff running around with trays. He questioned what it was as he had some of one of the glasses of champagne in his hands. After that another woman joined them, a red head that knew Layla. They spoke for a moment before Layla talked about his supposed happy demeanor not getting him more friends. Which he just laughed at. “My demeanor is plenty happy enough most times, just for places like this it needs a few drinks before it comes out.” Which wasn’t entirely wrong for a setting like this. Fancy balls and parties just weren’t his scene, at least not anymore. Layla eventually introduced him to her friend and her friend to him. She went by Nixie it seemed, a nice name if not unique he felt. Nixie held out her hand and said it was great to meet him. He smiled, not having a free hand at the moment he downed one of the glasses in his hands quickly and placed it down on a nearby table. “Likewise. Anyone who can put up with Layla is a good person in my book." Levi said shaking Nixie’s hand and also taking the chance to teasing Layla.

@nixie
@layla

[Deleted]

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December 24, 2025
@levi , @nixie

Layla very quickly got the sense that Nixie hadn’t wanted to be here either. But from what little she knew about Curse Breakers this didn’t quite seem to be their scene. Then again, it was hardly the scene for a musician but yet here she and Levi were. Time to make the best of it and it she always enjoyed seeing old friends. ”I’m good! So, you went into Curse Breaking right?” That’s what she’d heard through the grapevine of her old school friends, but she wanted to confirm because she had a lot of questions about such a daring career path. Layla had always had her sights set on music, not that she’d had the grades for that track. Layla smiled at Levi, they got along surprisingly well for such differently personalities, but she would never not tease him about it. ”I guess there’s nothing wrong with a few drinks.” She agreed with him, they could bond over music and alcohol if there was nothing else as he also played guitar. Still, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him, but in a light-hearted manner.

[Deleted]

The man with the Layla had mentioned that he needed a few drinks before his happy demeanor could show. Nixie understood that. She was feeling a little on the tipsy side herself, thanks to the extra alcoholic beverages being shared around the other Curse Breakers. Layla said that she had been good, and asked about Nixie's career. "Yup, Someone's gotta do it." She said with a big smile. She really loved her job, it helped her travel. "And how's your music going?" Spending a regular amount of time underground and in areas that hadn't been seen in centuries, left her a little disconnected from pop culture and some current events.

She offered her hand, and he finished one glass of Champaign, setting it down he took her hand. She chuckled. He definitely seemed like an interesting man. She gave a laugh "I hear that. Events like these have never been my thing."

@levi
@layla

[Deleted]

Layla and Nixie spoke amongst themselves and he didn’t exactly feel the need to but in. Over hearing that the woman that joined them was a curse breaker. An interesting job to be sure but he was fine with his profession. Not like he could have ever been a curse breaker if he had wanted to be anyway. His schooling was far to unqualified for that. “Curse breaking hunt? So do the items that need the curses broken come to you or do you have to go find them?” Levi asked joining the conversation for a moment. Curious if some of the stories he had heard of curse breakers and their adventures had been true. He knew one but never could be sure it was just tall tales while drinking or not.

Nixie explained after they shook hands that events like this hadn’t been her thing either. His experience with parties like this seemed like a lifetime ago and that’s where they should have stayed if he had a choice. “They get old quick. Parties like this might be started with a good idea in mind but half these people are here to look important.” Which was all his family would have been looking to do if they had bothered to come. Hopefully the muggle inclusion kept them away. “It does mean the drinks and food are sure to be good though. So there is that.”

@layla
@nixie

[Deleted]

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December 24, 2025
@levi , @nixie

Curse breaking seemed like quite an adventurous job. That part of it appealed to Layla, and from what she had heard, there was a lot of freedom that also came with it. Perhaps her parents might have felt more settled if she had gone into a field like that rather than pursuing something that wasn't as stable at face value. Nixie inquired about her music, and Layla's mouth grew into a large grin. "It's going great! We have a show coming up on New Year's Eve I'm really excited about." Music was her passion, just as she imagined most of the career people here were (hopefully) pursuing their passion in life. She looked at Levi and then back at Nixie to see how she would answer as she was curious as well. As far as she knew, some Curse Breakers traveled, but the ones she had run into locally worked at the bank. "Are there other Curse Breakers here as well?"

The way this party had been described to her was some kind of event of the season. And it was important that they attend. Layla was excited since she'd never been to anything this fancy before. Still, she supposed that it might lose what made it special if it was a regular thing. "Well, I don't mind good food and drinks." Layla said as she continued to drink the holiday-themed drink she'd grabbed earlier. It was a small glass, so it went quickly. "I've never been to anything like this before." Layla admitted looking around at all the decoration. Layla looked at Nixie again. "Our manager made us come, though I'm sure she's making sure our drummer stays out of trouble." Layla looked back at Levi, who would know what she was talking about.

[Deleted]

Not being able to keep up with music, she was glad to hear Layla talking about her dream "That's amazing! If I'm still in town, I'll have to check it out." Traveling a lot, Nixie could choose not to pick up a job, but why wouldn't she? Loving the travel and her job, she took whatever was given to her.

Nixie loved he job, and it was always interesting to hear the questions that people asked when they knew what she did. "So do the items that need the curses broken come to you or do you have to go find them?” She laughed at the mans question and shook her heads. "We go to the items. Well, the locations. Often times we don't know what we're looking for, sometimes we do." It was literally a treasure hunt. It was a fun job, but it wasn't just about finding the items. It was also about making the areas safe for others to investigate. Layla also asked if there were other's here and Nixie laughed, glancing over to the loud corner "Over there." she gestured "Most of them didn't want to come, so there's extra drinking between friends." She laughed as she watched her friends and co-workers for a moment before turning back to them.

He mentioned that parties like this, most people just showed up to "look important" and Nixie chuckled. She still probably would have choice not to come if the decision had been left to her. "It's fancier than I'm used to." Man she was glad that she had stolen some good swigs of Renfri's enchanted flask at the beginning of the event. Layla mentioned that she hadn't been to a party like this before, and Nixie nodded "Same. I'd give anything to be out on a job right now." But she wasn't, so what else could you do. "'Me mum made me come, that and a letter from Renfri, a former curse breaker." She shrugged. She was a "commoner" from a small town in Ireland. Her mother loved the idea of her one and only girl playing "princess" for the night. Nixie couldn't stand it.

@levi
@layla

[Deleted]

Levi hadn’t forgotten about the show coming up on New Year’s Eve. He was excited for it as Layla brought it up to Nixie. “Yes, I can’t wait for either you or Emrys to show up late.” He teased for a moment. Not like he wasn’t known for being late from time to time as well. As far as he could tell the only one who didn’t arrive late was the one non-Demi human of the band and the newest member, Lance. Yet, he was new. Once he was comfortable he might join the rest of them at arrive minutes after practice started.

Nixie explained how curse breakers went about finding the items they were tasked with getting. At times not even knowing what they were looking for, just sent to find something. “Sounds pretty exciting, it’s a nice change of pace running into someone with an exciting career at something like this.” Levi said with a chuckle as he finished off his other glass, putting it down afterward. He hadn’t been to such parties since he was an early teen but even then he remembered the boring jobs titles people had when being introduced to them by his parents. “It was always executive this, chairmen that or random ministry job no one had ever heard of. Nice to run into someone with a career of being an actual adventurer in a way.”

@layla
@nixie

[Deleted]

there's no sign of life

its just the power to charm

December 24, 2025
@levi ,
@nixie

Nixie seemed happy for her, and Layla smiled. She was glad to have finally found her stride, though it appeared that Nixie had as well found hers and the career that she had wanted. It always interested her to see what people had gotten up to over the years, and where Gryffindors went seemed to have no limitation or pattern. Layla listened with curiosity as Nixie answered Levi’s question about her work as Layla might have asked the same question herself. ”Is it as dangerous as everyone says it is?” Layla asked curiously. It was known to be the career of adventurers and adventurers that didn’t mind such a risk. Layla considered herself a bit of an adventurer, but such physical danger didn’t appeal to her.

She turned and looked at a corner of the ballroom where a rowdy bunch seemed to have gathered, they were laughing and drinking, and she supposed it wasn’t part of the job really to attend such extravagant events. Layla gave Levi a look when she suggested that either herself or Emrys would be late for the New Year’s Eve gig. It was a playful jab at the casual relationship she had with their drummer. ”You mean when Emrys is late. He’s always late.” Layla might have been a minute or two late on a couple of occasions but it wasn’t a bad habit for her as it was for Emrys. Levi noted that typicall these parties had people with fancier titles, but Nixie’s job seemed incredibly interesting and more interesting than some Ministry employee, even for Layla.

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[Deleted]

Layla asked her if it was dangerous. But not just that. It seemed as though each person had their own idea of what "dangerous" meant. Nixie nodded "Oh, absolutely. But it's less so if you move carefully and watch out for traps. Magical and not." She shrugged "But when it all comes down to it, your trying to find an ancient, cursed item. So you always have to keep on your toes. I can't tell you how many times I've seen, been injured."

Nixie loved her job. She couldn't see herself doing anything but that for the rest of her life. While she knew their was a high mortality and injury rate on the job. The man that she didn't know, named Levi, had said that it was a nice change of pace to meet a curse breaker at the function where it seemed there were more celebrities, purebloods and dignitaries. She smiled and laughed. "Happy to change things up." Though there hadn't been a second passing by without the girl wishing she was knee deep in undetermined goo. "Adventurer is the only way to live, if you ask me." She smiled, puffing out her chest, looking quite brave. She loved life on the road, the traveling, and never knowing what was behind every corner. She watched the fun at the corner of Curse Breakers, knowing that all of them would prefer to be in some skeevy pub than this place.

@levi
@layla