You can’t spell Ministry without most of Misery. (Open)

[Deleted]

Jim didn’t exactly want to go to the Windsor Christmas ball. It wasn’t that he didn’t think it would be fun but he didn’t like the idea of going alone. Vic didn’t exactly give him a solid answer if she was going to go or not. Just that if she did decide she was going to go it wouldn’t be till moments before. So his options were sit home alone or go to a ball alone. So here he was walking into a fancy ball from sheer lack of something better to do. Just with the hope that he would run into someone he knew over the course of this event. At the very least the food and drinks were sure to be good. You could always trust ministry endorsed events to have good food.

He quickly found himself at the crafts table, already planning his early escape from the party while still hoping to run into Vic at the party but those chances were starting to seem even slimmer as the night went on. Champagne in hand he found an empty table and started people watching. Oddly enough there were a few faces he recognized from work. Obviously the ministry workers but the more out of place ones were the many random witches and wizards who submitted many different patents he had to deal with. Some actually decent ideas and others that would probably get someone killed. Jim was happy enough at his own quiet table. There was also the voice in the back of his mind that was expecting something to happen. In recent events both times he was at some type of event something bad had happened. Which both had landed him at St.Mungos. All he wanted was for this to break that cycle.

(open)

[lancelot ray linley]

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Keep an eye on the others. That was the single text Lance had received from the label a few days prior, when they had all received invites to the royal ball being held on Christmas Eve. Lance had been apprehensive at first, having planned on spending both Eve and Day with Georgie, but she had gotten an invite as well so that sort of solved the problem. The concept of having him watching over his older bandmates was sort of silly. Apparently they saw him as the most mature in the group, something he disagreed with at times, and that responsibility meant he was tasked with keeping them all in line throughout the night.

Because of course having an entire rock band at a ball thrown by royalty was a great idea. He was still getting used to the group too. Emrys was really the only one he truly worried about, and while Levi would do what Levi did best, he was at least sort of responsible. Lance had almost choked on his drink upon entering the ballroom, first spotting Emrys chatting up Camila Calderón like it was nothing. He had momentarily forgotten that his bandmate had been in the industry for a while now as a solo act, so it was no wonder that he knew her, and was probably also acquainted with her. Lance’s own short stint with his first band had proved that the whole business was tiny, and that was why he had gotten pulled away from McCloud and added to Bête Noire. He already liked this crew more than the last too. Despite their quirks, at times.

With one eye on Emrys in a corner of the room and another on Georgie, who had found some other Hufflepuffs to talk to, Lance decided it was time to take a seat. Levi and Layla were fine on their own, and unless they all started sneaking off to different backrooms, he was fairly confident they could make it through the evening without any incidents. After they left, they could do whatever. He wasn’t going to stop Emrys from doing his thing.

He found an almost empty table, with just one man sitting at it, and decided that would be the table for him. If the rest of the band or Georgie had enough, they could find him and join him. With a glass of what he assumed was champagne, and a platter of small finger-foods, Lance approached the table, “Mind if I park myself down here?” he asked, suddenly very aware of his southern drawl that only came out in the worst of times now. “Rest of the tables seem to be full up.”

@jim ● 447 ● You by Jhova

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

Jim weighted his options, what he should really do here at this party. Part of him still hoped to see Vic just show up but he knew deep down that wasn’t going to happen. She hadn’t been feeling well as of late. She tried to hide it from him but it wasn’t hard for him to see. The same aches and pains she thought she hid so well weren’t that well hidden. Jim just didn’t say anything. If she didn’t want to tell him just yet he wasn’t going to force it out of. As long as she told him before it got any worse. He still didn’t like being in the dark though. They were married after all, even if they planned to eventually possibly annul the wedding. Who knew what they were actually going to do, he was happy with how things were going and so was Vic. Why rush to change that?

Lost in his own mind Jim was brought out of it by a voice. Someone much younger than him asked if he could sit, the rest of the tables appeared to be too full. Which he understood well. This party was full of people, just sadly it was people he didn’t know all too well. “No, go ahead.” Jim motioned for the man to sit down as he stood there with his drink and plate of food. “So how are you finding the party? Just wandering around like I had been for awhile?” Jim asked attempting to make idle chit chat with the stranger now at his table.

lancelot ray linley

[lancelot ray linley]

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It didn’t take long for the man to confirm that it was fine to sit. Lance had no idea if events like these were supposed to have rules or whatever, since he definitely felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb. Though, compared to the rest of the band, he was more of a normal looking fellow. He lifted a chair a few spots away from where the man was seated, since it sounded like they were going to have a chat. That was better than being bored out of his mind playing babysitter. Not that he disliked keeping an eye on the rest of the band, they just weren’t the most thrilling until things got real out of hand.

Before Lance could respond to the man’s questions, as if by magic, a waiter quickly shuffled over to try and offer him drinks, and was immediately waved off. “Don’t drink, sorry,” he lied to the man, even though he had definitely had a few already. The last thing he needed was to be the one that was carried out of the party by the rest of the band. That would go over well with the label. Turning back to the man as the waiter moved out of the way, Lance apologized before finally answering the questions.

“I’ll admit, it’s a smidge out of my element. I’m still not sure why someone like me was invited.” That wasn’t entirely true. Wizarding bands and artists were all over the place here. It made sense for them to be involved. He was sure that the label had pulled strings to get them in, mostly to make an impression. “Keeping an eye on my friends mostly, but yeah. A lot of wandering around. Sort of surprised by some of the faces I’ve seen here too. It’s strange to be in their company…” The first one that came to mind was Camila Calderón, who he was positive he would be introduced to at some point, whether it was tonight or at a later point. Unless Emrys wasn’t the type to do that. Unfortunately Lance was still getting used to understanding his new bandmates, so he wasn’t sure what they would or would not do.

@jim ● 370 ● Natural Born Killer by Avenged Sevenfold

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

As Jim tried to strike up some small talk with the young man that had joined his table, a waiter showed up offering drinks. The young man said he didn’t drink and Jim also waved the waiter off. He was good for the moment as well. The man explained he felt a little out of he element. Not sure why he was invited to such an event. Jim nodded and gave a silent laugh, “I know the feeling. I mean I know why was invited. Either work or because of..” Jim was about to say because of his wife but stopped. Vic and him had accepted the married and yet he still hesitated to talk about openly. “Because of connects I suppose. Either way it’s not exactly my setting either.”

The young man explained he was mostly just looking for friends and familiar people. Yet, was also surprised by the faces he had seen so far. How it was strange to be in their company. “I can see that, I mostly keep to my office work. So when the rare event like this happens I’m surprised when I bump into someone famous or important. I’ve found it best to just treat them like normal people.” Jim tried to get his point a crossed before laughing. “Unless we’re talking about royalty or the minister of magic.” Neither of which he exactly wanted to run into. Not because he had a problem with either, just didn’t need to deal with such an awkward situation.

lancelot ray linley

[lancelot ray linley]

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Connections. That was probably the real reason he was here. The band had a few members that were well known within the entertainment business, maybe even an inner circle or two, and they had been being talked up quite a bit by the label lately. That was all well and great, but Lance still failed to see how someone of his status belonged here. Why not just invite Emrys? He seemed to be the one of importance that was driving the band forward. Lance was a last minute addition because they needed a bassist. While absolutely integral to their performances and recording, he was also the easiest to replace if anything went south. He still only saw himself as a traveling musician, versus being actually signed and part of a cohesive unit. His first band was very much the former than the latter.

Getting to the point where he would be comfortable being at events with high-profile names was going to take a long time. The big names at Hogwarts: pureblooded families and those from wealth or with famous parents had never meant anything to him because of where he came from. But pop-stars and literal royalty was a bit different. He knew the Windsors of course, and he had seen the three siblings from a distance a few times already, but approaching them at an event like this overwhelmed him just thinking about it. “I kinda like being a nobody, if I were to be honest,” Lance laughed. “But here I am,” he raised his hands in a shrug. “Knowing my friends I’m here with, this might be happening a lot now…we’re in a band, so yeah…” And getting dragged to party after party, event after event, seemed like something that was definitely going to be happening with this group.

@jim ● 301 ● Love Will Tear Us Apart by Odina

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0