one look at you [susan]

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Lysander had spent the entire night just watching. He didn’t mind watching, especially since the novelty of having his sight back hadn’t worn off. Sander wasn’t sure it ever would, since it had already been almost two weeks with the magical eye and he still felt absolutely euphoric every time he woke up and there was actually something there for him to see. The Ball was a feast for the eyes, too – people dressed in brilliant colors and twirling on a floor that was brilliantly lit, everything bright and moving and alive. Sander couldn’t believe that he could have missed this. And while watching still hadn’t grown old, being watched certainly had. It was hard not to notice him, Sander thought. Susan had done an excellent job picking out dress robes for him, but that wasn’t why people were looking. The eye, of course. Eventually all the double takes got old, so Sander decided to get some fresh air. There was a market outside with food, and Sander was more than happy to purchase something for himself to eat. He looked longingly at a stand full of pastries dripping with icing. He wanted one, badly, but he also wasn’t about to be ruining his dress robes with sticky fingers.

@susanvictoria

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Susan felt like she was in a dream; she felt like a princess again, with her Prince Charming coming to surprise her at the ball. Casey had obviously practices a bit of ballroom dance without Susan for her feet did not ache from being stepped on.  They'd talked and kissed, and now she knew Casey was planning on coming to the New Years Ball as well, which delighted Susan.  Three of the four Windsor siblings would have dates to this ball, and Lucy was such a loving ball of sunshine that she'd get dances from whomever she wanted.  Speaking of Will, she'd seen her brother show up at the Yule Ball, but had been a bit distracted by her boyfriend to go say hello to him.  Last she'd seen, he had been dancing with Jamie Greyback; she hadn't known they were acquainted at all.  She was curious, but she was more curious to see how the food stalls had turned out.  

She had been exceptionally pleased to find out her and Gaius' idea had been met with approval by the school board; even from the steps of the castle she could smell the different foods that were cooking wafting towards her.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the smell and listening to her stomach rumble.  She pulled Casey along with her as she made her way to the makeshift German market place.  Her eyes lit up happily as she saw how well everything had turned out.  As she walked, she noticed a familiar face with very familiar dress robes on; Lysander Scamander had made his appearance after all.  She gave Casey a kiss and left him by the bratwurst stand, knowing he'd be in good hands.  "Sander, you came!" she exclaimed, giving her friend a quick hug.  She'd been to see him after his surgery so she had seen his new eye before; it was still crazy to see the electric blue when she had been so used to the dark brown though.  "What do you think?  Did we do good or what?" she asked, gesturing to the markets.


@lysander

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There was a certain level of masochism that came with looking at wonderful food that you couldn’t eat, Sander thought as he continued to stare at the pastry. He heard his name called, and turned to see the source of the voice, though he didn’t need to. For one thing, he knew Susan’s voice easily. For another, his eye could see through the back of his own head, so if he hadn’t recognized the voice, there wasn’t really a need to turn. He did, anyways, though, so Susan could see his smile. “I did come, yes.” She had convinced him easily enough back when he was still blind, and now, with sight, there was little excuse left. “You did well, yes.” Sander said, smirking a little at his correction of Susan’s grammar. He looked wistfully back at the pastry he had been eyeing. “I wish that the food wasn’t quite so messy, though. I don’t want to ruin my dress robes.” And even the cleanest of eaters couldn’t possibly eat one of those pastries without the icing dripping everywhere…right? Sander was beginning to consider taking the risk when he noticed a flutter of movement. The boy Susan had been walking with was doing something. Sander knew he could zoom in if he cared to see exactly what he was doing, but the Ravenclaw didn’t care that much, and he was still getting used to the whole zoom feature. “You seemed to be having a good time.” Lysander said, gesturing towards the stand (and the boy) that Susan had left.

@susanvictoria

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Susan scrunched up her nose at Sander's correction. "I was pretending to talk like an American," she declared with a laugh.  "But that's what these cloths are for!" she exclaimed.  She grabbed onto his hand and dragged him over to the pastry stand she'd seen him oogling over before she came over.  "Go on then, get the one you want, then hold the cloth under your chin so any of the frosting or icing will catch in the cloth and not on your dress robes," she instructed.  She took a step back to survey her handiwork.  Sander had been right he did look far better in blue than in red, and Lorcan had been predictable and showed up wearing red dress robes.  "I did do a good job with your dress robes, but you did pick the perfect color," she said with a smile.

At Lysander's mention of the gentleman she was with, Susan looked over at Casey with a smile and a small wave.  "He'll be alright; that's Casey.  He said he had work but he surprised me here instead.  His friend Finn is here tonight, and he had promised to go say hello before the night was over," she told him happily.  She watched as Casey spotted his friend and became occupied, so Susan turned back to Lysander.  "Andy had no idea that Phil was coming home early by the way; she was completely shocked," she informed him.  She was pleased the surprise had turned out so perfectly; the Gryffindor girl deserved some happiness in her life.


@lysander

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Lysander smirked when Susan said that she was trying to talk like an American. “You know, my great-grandmother was an American.” He said, fake glaring at Susan. His father’s grandfather had married an American woman, so even though Sander wasn’t wholly American, there was some red, white, and blue blood in his veins. Susan dragged him over to the stall and showed him a display of cloths, which Sander hadn’t noticed before. “I didn’t see those.” He admitted, slightly sheepishly. Then he laughed a little to himself. “A magical eye, and I can’t see!” The thought was oddly hilarious to him, and Lysander began to laugh again, shaking his head a little as he did so. Now equipped with a cloth, though, he was able to take one of the pastries that he so coveted. Sander took a huge bite right as Susan complimented him on his choice in color for the dress robes. Sander made a noise that could have been construed as agreement, muffled by his full mouth.

Sander swallowed as Susan talked about Casey and how he was supposed to be working. “So my being here wasn’t the best part of your night?” Sander asked quickly, taking another bite of the pastry to justify spitting the words out as quickly as he had. Susan then said something about someone else being surprised, and Sander just lifted his shoulder in a shrug. He didn’t know these people well enough to have any emotional reaction to what was being said, so polite apathy seemed to be the best course of action. “I wish my mum worked for the Ministry.” Sander said wistfully. “It would have been nice to be able to see her.”

@susanvictoria

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Susan laughed and stuck out her tongue. "Yes I do remember; you've told me about their great adventures in America," she said teasingly.  Sander had always been full of great stories, mostly about his mother of course, but some about his famed ancestor Newt Scamander and his adventures documenting all the Fantastic Beasts in his guidebook.  She knew that magizoology was in Sander's blood, and she was relieved that he had gone through with the surgery so his dream could continue with a reality.

Watching Sander attack his pastry made Susan's stomach grumble, so she ordered her own  and carefully bit into it.  The mixture of the pastry, the chopped pecans and vanilla icing were a perfect combination; it had always been her favorite growing up so she was pleased that they had ordered these to share with the students.  She swallowed her bite of pastry before answering him.  "You actually coming is certainly a highlight Sander," she told him reassuringly.  Really, everything about tonight was going so well Susan could sing.  She wouldn't though, her voice was not exactly a gift from the angels.  "I wish your mum was here too, I'd love to meet her.  To see if she's really like all your stories," she said with a laugh.


@lysander

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Sander nodded when Susan spoke of his great-grandparents’ adventures in America. Sander hoped one day to write his own chapter in fantastic beasts and where to find them – both figuratively and literally. “Maybe after you take me to your castles, I can take you to America.” Sander mused. It wouldn’t surprise him if his parents had purchased a cabin in the middle of nowhere, and if Susan wanted to see something outside of Britain, Sander would be all too happy to oblige.

“She’s not like my stories.” Sander said indignantly. “She’s even better!” Really, no one could capture who his mother was without meeting her. He could tell stories until he was blue in the face. But no matter who he introduced his mother to, everyone always seemed to have a moment where everything clicked, and they understood that Sander was the way he was because he was Luna Lovegood’s child. “But she’d love to meet you, too.” Luna knew that Susan had been an integral part in Lysander’s choice to go through with getting his magical eye, but beyond that, she knew that Susan was Lysander’s friend, and that would mean the world to her.

@susanvictoria

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"I've always wanted to go to America!" Susan exclaimed. "I was supposed to go to America but.." she trailed off. Her father was supposed to take her and William on a tour to America in the springtime, but he'd been murdered that November before they could go. She'd always meant to go back to America after, but something was always stopping her.  Going with Lysander though would be  nice; he'd understand what it meant to her.  She busied herself by taking another bite of her pasty.  "I'm so glad you mentioned desserts when I asked about what foods you wanted to see," she told him after she had swallowed.

Susan smiled as Sander talked about his mother; she knew how much he loved her, far more than any other member of his family.  It was alright though, she understood that.  While her father lived she had been a complete Daddy's girl; he was wrapped around her little finger.  It was normal, she thought, for a child to be attached more to one parent than the other.  "I'd love to meet the famous Luna Lovegood-Scamander; hopefully she thinks well of me too," she said brightly.


@lysander

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Sander grinned when Susan said that she had always wanted to visit America. She was going to make one of his dreams come true by taking him to see a castle, so it seemed only fair for him to return the favor. The way she trailed off after saying that she was supposed to go to America made Sander think that it probably had something to do with her deceased father. Sander took half a step closer to Susan so he could nudge her arm with his, not wanting to get her robes sticky but still wanting her to know that he was there. “I try to use my intelligence only for good.” Sander said with a smirk as he took another bite of his sweet; he was only a bite or two away from finishing, and already debating getting a second.

“Maybe you can see her at one of the Tasks. She came to the first one, but I didn’t –” Sander paused. He was going to say that he didn’t see much of her, but of course he didn’t see her, when he was blind. “Well, she wasn’t around as much as I had hoped.” He said, amending his statement to be more appropriate from his sensory capabilities. “Has your brother come for any of the events?” Sander asked curiously. Will was the only Windsor no longer at Hogwarts, so it was interesting to know whether or not he had returned.

@susanvictoria

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“You know, funny you mentioned Will because I could have sworn I saw him inside dancing with Jamie Greyback. I didn’t know they knew each other,” Susan mused to Lysander with a small smile. She didn’t know for sure if the man dancing with the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain was indeed her elder brother; in a little bit when she dragged Casey inside for more dancing she’d investigate further. On more than one thing it seemed.

She chuckled softly at his nudge; she knew he’d gotten that she’d stopped speaking about her American adventure because of her father. “He’d want me to see it; he’d always joke about the country being ‘the one that got away’, so I suppose it’s fitting to go see it. He specifically wanted me to see New York; he said Fifth Avenue and I would get along splendidly,” she said, giggling more. Even at a young age Susan had had an eye for shopping; now as a young lady she knew she could spend hours in the high end boutique shops on Oxford Street if she was allowed to; Fifth Avenue wouldn’t know what hit them.

@lysander

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Sander raised his eyebrows when Susan said that her brother was dancing with one of the Greyback girls. A Hufflepuff. He couldn’t see Susan being interested in a Hufflepuff, but maybe her brother was different? Either that, or his opinion of Susan’s romantic life was wrong, which was also possible, since Sander didn’t have much experience on romance. “Now is the perfect time to meet new people, wouldn’t you say?” Sander asked. “Low stress environment, lots of food, lots of dancing…” He trailed off. If there was any good place to meet someone, he imagined a Ball would be good for that. Like a party, but classier.

“I didn’t go anyplace urban when we were in America.” Lysander informed Susan. “Not as good to find the animals, you know.” He continued. Sander smiled broader at Susan. “I do have a family history with New York City, though.” He informed her. He didn’t know what Fifth Avenue was, but if Susan wanted to see it, he would take her there.

@susanvictoria

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“Yes, it is,” Susan agreed, then smiled. “Perhaps we will drag you into the ballroom later to find yourself a dance partner,” she said, only half teasing. If her brother could find someone to dance with after just dropping in as a surprise, she was sure Lysander could too. It wasn’t as though he was bad looking; just shy. “I saw a few same-sex couples dancing too, so you wouldn’t have to feel bad asking whoever you wanted,” she added quietly, knowing that was something that might have been on his mind.

“You do? What kind of history?” Susan asked, curious. She knew his great-grandfather had been a famous Magizoologist of course, and sure there was the possibility that Newt Scamanders’ travels had taken him to New York. But she didn’t know for sure. “I have to head off to find Casey in a few moments; he wanted to talk about our New Years plans, which I didn’t know we had. Apparently Will went to talk to him,” she added, a smile coming to her face once again.

@lysander

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Sander made a soft noise of protest when Susan said that she’d drag him into the ballroom and find him a dance partner. “I missed the dancing lessons because I still didn’t have my eye then.” He informed her. “So I doubt anyone would want to dance with me, even if I was inclined to do so myself.” His partner would either have to be experienced enough to deal with his stumbling or have to like him enough not to care when he inevitably stepped on their toes. As far as Sander knew, there weren’t many people in either case. “Right now might not be a good time to start a relationship.” The Ravenclaw told his friend, assuming that was her implication with the comment about same-sex couples. “You know, trauma and everything.” With the magical eye falling under part of ‘and everything’.

“I’m a little hazy on the details, but something about my great-grandfather going there with a case full of animals? I’m still working on getting the entire story, but my father isn’t forthcoming with details.” It was possible that Sander’s father didn’t know all of the details himself, so he wasn’t going to rule that out as a possibility. “Yes, of course.” Lysander said when Susan said she had to leave. “Don’t wait on my account.” Sander said. He could just as easily get more food alone.

@susanvictoria
(you can end whenevs)

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Susan raised an eyebrow.  "My dearest Lysander Scamander, did I ever say anything about a relationship?  It's just a dance!" she exclaimed.  After just a split moment hesitation, she grabbed Sanders' hand and dragged him back towards the Great Hall where Casey was waiting for her.  She gave her boyfriends' hand a squeeze and asked for just a moment longer.  "Lysander, the time for being shy is over.  Go find someones' voice that you think sounds beautiful and sweet and calming, close your eyes, count to five, and ask them to dance," she instructed.  "Close both of your eyes, no cheating, and remember to have fun!" she warned, pointing at his magical eye as well.  She waited until he listened, then smiling went back to enjoy the rest of her night with her boyfriend.


@lysander, one more to dance them out GOODLUCK SUCKA


susan out

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Just a dance? There was never such a thing as just a dance. People would talk about who was dancing with whom, and eventually, it was going to turn into something it wasn’t. Susan seemed quite adamant that Lysander ask someone to dance, with her first criteria being finding someone whose voice was beautiful and sweet and calming. Well, that was easy – he had one of those people right in front of him. Sander closed his eyes as instructed (which felt silly, since one of them couldn’t see anyways and the other one he had to cover with his hand), and took a deep breath. He counted to five silently in his head, and then uncovered his eye. “Susan, would you like to dance?” But she was gone.

@susanvictoria