Bridge Over Troubled Water (Bay)

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It was a quiet Sunday afternoon in late March. With post from her mother, Susan had received a new Muggle magazine called Cosmopolitan that gave great hair and makeup tips. She had been pleased to receive it; Edmund could call her superficial and vain all he'd like, her mother at least seemed to understand that seventeen year old girls have interests in outer beauty. Carefully, she laid the magazine open to a page that detailed some updos she thought would work well with her face shape. Luckily, being a witch, she felt that she could speed up the process by using some magic and Sleazkys Hair Potion. She clenched her wand between her teeth as she gently untangled her hair with her fingers. She then applied a liberal amount of the hair potion before taking her wand into her hand. She muttered a few incantations and her hair began to braid itself in an elaborate updo. She smiled at her reflection; the spell was working quiet well!

Suddenly, a sharp pull came from the top of her head. "Ouch!" she cried out loud, and saw that her magic was trying to yank her hair upwards. "Finite!" she exclaimed and the pain ceased. Sighing, she folded the page she was on and made to untangle the braids - this she would do by hand. She was about halfway done when the Common Room door opened and Braelynn Rousseau entered. She brightened at the sight of her friend. "Bay! Will you come help me untangle this mess?" she called with a laugh.

@braelynn


OOC: This takes place before the kidnappings

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That was one thing Braelynn never attempted to do with Magic. Mess with her appearance. It was a delicate art, and one wrong move could be disastrous. Of course, being the meticulous witch she was, maybe she wouldn't have any problem. After all, the more complicated and delicate forms of magic seemed to come much easier to her then simple every day charms.... She still wasn't willing to risk it.

Susan on the other hand....

Susan and Braelynn had been fast friends after Bay's transfer at the start of their fourth year. Susan literally came from royalty, and had the demeanor to match it. Meanwhile, Bay was a proper pureblood lady, which mean her own demeanor and manners were quite similar. Despite Susan's upbringing Bay knew her parents wouldn't approve of the friendship. Because Susan was muggleborn. No better then dirt in her parents eyes. Obviously Bay didn't feel the same way.

So, when she walked into the common room to find her friend trying to sort through a tangled mess? She laughed, unable to help it. That laughter only grew louder at the cry for help. "Coming!" She answered, setting her bag down on a chair as she crossed the common room to her friend. Taking one of the tangled braids in her hands, an eyebrow raised. "What were you trying to do?" She didn't push it though, her delicate fingers slowly starting to work through the tangled mess. This was going to take a while....

@susanvictoria

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Susan couldn't help but laugh at her predicament along with Braelynn. She was certain she looked ridiculous right now, and knew if the situation was reversed she would probably react similarly. As Bay got to work on her hair, Susan pointed at her Muggle magazine in front of her. "I was trying for this one," she said wistfully.  It looked lovely from the photos and the step-by-step guide had seemed easy enough for two people.  Perhaps she should have just waited for her friend to return in order to try it.  "I was just writing and reminiscing about the balls we used to go to as children.  The last one before my father died my mother let me get my hair done in this elaborate updo, and I had a long dress and gloves and everything.  It was very glamorous; I felt so grown up," she said.  She had shared with Bay just last year about what had happened with her fathers murder.  It took a lot for Susan to open up to someone about her family, but while Bay was not royalty, she had had a proper upbringing like herself, and seemed to understand her a lot better than anyone else.


"Anyway, the hairstyle looked a lot like this.  It's possible that it could have been done with two people without magic, but nobody was around and I was impatient, so thank you for helping me with the mess," she admitted, laughing again.   She held up her hand mirror to see how much progress they'd made; unfortunately it looked like there was still a ways to go.  "So how are things in the romance department for you?" she asked, a friendly teasing tone inflicting her voice.



@braelynn


OOC: Lola/Mary GIFs for dayyyyys <3

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Curious, Braelynn looked over Susan’s shoulder at the style she’d been trying to spell her hair into. ”That’s pretty.” She quickly stated. It reminded her of something her mother would have done for the girls when taking them to one of her parties. Usually Desirae or Adalyn. They’d usually left Braelynn’s hair down. Her long dark waves of hair were the pride of her mother. And to be honest Bay quite liked it herself. ”Let’s try it without magic though. Once we get these knots out.”

Braelynn listened as Susan spoke about the balls and her father. She knew about Susan’s status in the muggle world. It didn’t bother her. And when Susan had finally opened up about her father, Bay had tried to be a true friend. It must have been hard. ”It’s no problem, Susan.” She finally spoke up, a smiling softly. That smile faltered and she accidentally yanked on the knot she’d been working on when Susan mentioned romance. Susan, of course, knew that Bay was betrothed to Raleigh. But she was also aware that Bay had been bailing on their study group almost daily. Something extremely uncharacteristic of her. Of course she knew something was up. ”Wh-What? Of course n-“ She stopped, her lips pursed together tightly. ”…. Is it that obvious..?”

@susanvictoria

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Susan laughed and nodded in agreement with Bay about trying the hairstyle without magic, then winced. Perhaps it was not wise to move her head so quickly when they were trying to unknot it from its current state. So she kept as straight of a face as possible when Bay stammered about her mysterious disappearances when the two of them and Andy Lestrange had scheduled study sessions in the library. “Oh don’t worry Bay, if you wanted whoever you are sneaking off to see during our study sessions to be public knowledge, you would have told us by now,” she said. Once she felt the last curl tumble down her shoulder, she turned to face her friend. “I know it isn’t Raleigh, though why you don’t want to continue your engagement is beyond me – I mean have you SEEN how gorgeous he is-“

Susan cut herself off. She knew that regardless of how attractive Raleigh Flint was, he wasn’t a good person and Bay was wary, even scare of him. “Sorry. You know though, no matter who you date you can tell me. I won’t judge you so long as he makes you happy, which I can tell he does,” she said with a warm smile. It wasn’t too hard to tell Bay was happy, at least happier than she had been recently, and so long as she was happy, Susan would be happy for her. Bay however was always reserved about her love life, something that Susan couldn’t blame her for. If Susan had not been a witch she imagine she’d already be in an arranged betrothal to some Duke or Prince of another country. Not exactly an ideal way to find true love. “Shall we start this from scratch?” she asked, handing her friend the brush.

@braelynn

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Braelynn's cheeks were starting to turn a soft pink. Of course Susan had noticed. Andy too, probably. She knew she'd been acting... differently lately, but she felt different. She felt.... happier? Like she had fewer worries. Zander made her forget about everything that was wrong. "I.... It's not that I'm ashamed of people knowing about him." she started to argue, but stopped when Raleigh was mentioned. There was the rest of her argument. Her cheeks flushed even more. Yes, Raleigh was attractive, she'd never had anything against his looks. In fact her mother had often complimented on how they made a pretty couple. Up until she met Zander she was content with that knowledge. She hadn't wanted to marry Raleigh, but she'd accepted the fact that she would one day. Despite his unfavorable characteristics...

Bay looked away, pursing her lips together as she thought, trying to come up with a proper response. "I just.... He's not the sort my parents would... approve of. Heaven forbid, they won't approve of anyone that isn't Raleigh..." She turned back to her friend and saw that smile. The one Susan had that made Bay want to just open up about everything. "Alright just... don't tell anyone. If it gets back to my sisters-" Of course, Desirae already knew, but Adalyn didn't. One of them knowing was bad enough. "Do you know that seventh year Hufflepuff, Zander? The one with the guitar." Her cheeks were bright red then as her heart fluttered as she said his name.

The change of subject was a welcome relief. With a nod she took the brush. "No magic this time." she reminded her fellow brunette as she leaned over her shoulder to look at the first step in the magazine.

@susanvictoria

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Susan sighed dreamily when Bay finally admitted her secret lover was Zander. "Those musicians are always quite romantic aren't they?" she said with a smile. She would never have guessed Zander, but upon further reflection it made sense. She didn't know Zander all too well but from their limited interactions he was nice enough, and seemed to have a good heart.  She didn't say anything when Bay mentioned her parents wouldn't approve - she knew all too well that they would not approve of Zander.  They didn't approve of their friendship even though Susan was Muggle royalty; it was the Muggle part that stopped the,.  It was a pity too because her mother loved Bay like a third daughter.

"Yes, no magic this time!" she agreed with a laugh.  She brushed out her hair in silence, making sure all the knots were out before setting down the brush so Bay could work on her hair.  "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me of course," she told her, patting her hand gently.



@braelynn

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Braelynn smiled shyly as Susan said musicians were romantics. Oh, she knew. Definitely knew that. His affinity with music was enchanting. One of her favorite feelings was when he would teach her a new chord on the guitar, his hands covering and guiding hers. Or when she'd catch him playing when he thought she wasn't looking. She knew he was writing a song. And she had a sneaking suspicion that it was a love song...

She shook her head. She could think about him all day, given the chance. He was always there, in her thoughts. But Susan didn't need to see that!

Bay took another look at the picture before starting to weave the girl's hair into the intricate braided up do, having to stop every so often to look again, or undo a part and redo it. "Thank you." she muttered softly. Bay knew she could trust her. Her and Andy. Braelynn had never made friends easily, at leas not close friends. She and Susan had immediately hit it off when Braelynn transferred to Hogwarts her fourth year. And Andromeda had been a fast and close friend this year. They'd become quite the trio. They were her closest friends beside her sisters. To be honest, they might even be closer then Bay was to her twin, Adalyn, who had been drifting farther and farther away this year. "How are you siblings?" She asked as she worked on Susan's hair.

@susanvictoria

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Susan chuckled at the mention of her siblings. “Oh you know them, always a story,” she said, smiling. “Lucy’s becoming quite a natural with Healing potions, if she became a Healer one day I’d be less than shocked. Edmund is…well, he’s Edmund,” she said with a shrug. And then there was the older brother; William. Will had written them letters about his expedites as a Curse Breaker, but there was definitely something missing. “Will is super focused on work, he hasn’t had time to meet a nice girl yet. Pity, because I think that having a girl could distract him from wanting to drag us out of the school,” she said, laughing again. The idea of her brother with a girlfriend was weird but if it meant he’d stop trying to figure out ways to get them home, then by all means.

She checked her reflecting in the mirror and smiled. “This looks far better than when I was trying, thanks Bay,” she said happily. “So you’ve got any big plans this summer? Perhaps with Mr. Lloyd?” she teased. “You’re still going to come to our house like my mother asked right?” she added quickly.

@braelynn

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Braelynn smiled as Susan talked about her siblings. ”Lucy’s always been a natural at healing, hasn’t she?” She chose not to comment on Edmund, because that summed it up. Out of all the Windsor kids, she knew him the least. He was a quiet fellow, which she respected, but it meant she’d never spent much time with him. ”Will wants to take you out of school?” That caught her attention real quick, the surprise evident in her voice and body language. She stopped working for only a moment. After a breath, she finished fastening in the last bobby pin.

”All done.” she said with a smile as she stepped back. It wasn’t exactly like the picture, but it was a pretty good first attempt at the style. ”I…. We haven’t discussed anything. He’s graduating this year so… I’m not sure.” She paused, and quickly nodded. ”Of course! My mother wrote back a few days ago and said it was alright.” Normally, her parents would have flat out refused. That was why Bay had intentionally mentioned that Susan was muggle royalty to them. While they still weren’t fond of Susan’s blood status, the rank was just enough to let them tolerate it.

@susanvictoria

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Susan made to nod, then realized it probably was not the brightest of ideas. “Yes, he feels with the Muggleborns being attacked that we’re not safe. But in our defense, where are we going to be safe? Our mother went into hiding after our father was assassinated so it’s not like the Muggle world is all that much safer for us,” she said, then closed her mouth. She was ranting again, she knew it, but it still was irritating that Will could finish school and then have the gall to tell them they should be pulled. It just simply wasn’t fair.

Susan held the mirror up so she could see her hairdo and smiled brightly. “Better, so much better than doing this by magic, thank you Bay,” she exclaimed, turning around and hugging her friend tightly. She patted the hairdo lightly with a pale hand; it made her feel like she was heading out to a ball back in London, and not off to Potions class later. “We’ll make this summer a fun one, alright? Maybe Zander will even stop by to say hello,” she teased. She was glad Bay’s parents had given in to letting her come stay with her family for part of the summer. Hopefully Andy would be able to come by for some time too; Susan believed they would both love strolling around the posher parts of London.

@braelynn

ooc: just trying to rip out her heatstrings even more

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"Maybe he's right..." Braelynn found herself saying. She didn't want Susan to leave, obviously. But Susan wasn't safe. Neither were her siblings. While Braelynn didn't think Elaine was bold enough right now to go after the Windsors but.... what if she was wrong? What if the next one attacked was Lucy, or Edmund, or Susan? Bay wouldn't be able to live with herself if that happened. "At least in the muggle world you can see the danger coming and do something about it. Here no one can see it coming. We're always to late..." Well, Braelynn saw it coming. But she couldn't do anything about it. Susan didn't need to know that.

While Susan hugged her in her excitement, Braelynn raised one hand to make sure the hairdo didn't come undone during the gesture. It didn't, and she smiled again. "Now no trying that with magic again. Just let me know next time, and we can figure it out. " At the thought of summer that smile grew even bigger. She'd be free of everything that had been going on for at least a short time. She'd be able to be a normal teenager, with her two best friends, and... her boyfriend. Braelynn blushed at the thought. Was Zander her boyfriend? Would she be able to spend time with him during the summer? "Maybe. I'll talk to him. But we'll figure it out later. For now, shouldn't we get to potions?"

(Le eeeeeeend.)
@susanvictoria