just put your heart in my hands [lydia/jimbo]

[Deleted]

Apparently, seventeen was a magical age. Blair had listened to their father talk about the day they would be married practically their whole life. At some point, they became somewhat insulted that their father thought their memory was so poor as to forget the conversation they had had the day previous. But today, that hypothetical situation was going to become a reality. Not the marriage itself, of course, but Blair was at Blishwick Matchmaking to enter into an official marriage contract - a betrothal, if you will. Blair didn't believe in love, at least in the sense that they didn't think there was someone out there, somewhere who would complete them or make them happier than they were already (which, admittedly, wasn't happy at all), so a marriage contract suited them well. There was relatively little emotion, but it solidified power, and power was something that Blair understood - or was at least beginning to understand.

They strode into the place - the word store was ill-fitting, since the place didn't sell any goods, just services - wearing all black. Blair's mother had tried to tell them that they looked intimidating, and that they should change, but being intimidating was the point. No wife of theirs was going to cower in a corner just because someone was wearing black. They didn't announce their presence whatsoever, figuring that the Blishwick man would appear when he was ready - perhaps with Blair's wife-to-be in tow.

jimbo brian blishwick vi
@lydia

[jimbo brian blishwick vi]

@blair & @lydia

Today was one of those days that didn’t happen all too often; there were minimal amounts of clients, but the ones that did come into the shop, were the ones that wanted grand things done to their lives. They wanted betrothals. The few in the morning were much older, twenties and thirties. Jimbo had them fill out the normal paperwork necessary for the full service and sent them home with the disclaimers about the service so that they could look everything over in length before returning to sign up officially. A few he could already tell by the looks on their faces that they wouldn’t be back in. It was inevitable. It was no sweat off his back if they didn’t follow through during any point in the process. He had enough clients that dozens backing out wouldn’t affect him in the slightest. The one he was currently working with in his office was quite a bit younger than the rest of the crowd he had seen this morning. Jimbo was never opposed to helping kids out when it came to finding the love of their life, but there was always so much more to see and do at that age, that he generally gave them advice and sent them on the way. So that was what he was explaining to the girl, as well as going over the paperwork that would add her to his list of customers.

The only break in their meeting was when he heard the ding of the front door opening. Someone else was here, and Jimbo was quickly to his feet, apologizing to the girl that he had to quickly check in on who was up front. Hopefully she would read over everything and finish signing by the time he was finished. “Ahh a new face! Welcome! Please, sit down, make yourself comfortable,” Jimbo said extravagantly as he came from the separate meeting room, motioning towards the sitting area that he normally conducted his intakes at. “What can I help you with today? Unless you need to see a list of our services here. We have quite a few spectacular ones these days,” he added, grabbing a pamphlet off of the table and handing it over to the customer before taking a seat himself.

[Deleted]

It was time for Lydia to go to Blishwick, like her parents suggested. She wanted a match, dang it! Riley wasn't matched yet but she didn't want to wait for him to get matched first. Plus he had that girl and was trying to ruin their families plans so she had to step up and take some action. She was ready to get matched to someone appropriate for her, she just hoped that they would be her type but that would be kind of easy considering her type was just 'attractive pureblood male', right?

She walked into the matchmaking and was led into the room, excitedly filling out the paperwork and talking to the lovely Mr. Blishwick. Too bad he didn't have a son, that would be a match made in heaven -- she thought. But then he stepped out while she was reading over the paperwork, so she stayed where she was, waiting for him to come back or for the assistant to give her more information. She was ready to get going with this.

jimbo brian blishwick vi
@the love of my life? @blair

[Deleted]

Blair was greeted almost the moment they entered the shop, which they approved of. Blishwick obviously knew that the clients he was catering to weren’t going to be the kind who were content to stand around twiddling their thumbs all day. They had business to get to, and though Blair wasn’t yet graduated, they did have something they needed to attend to – an experiment waiting in the basement laboratory of the Pucey home. Blishwick – a spry blond man who was energetic for his age – told Blair to make themself comfortable, and they had to hide a sneer at that. There was no such thing as comfortable in their world. Blair was constantly searching for threats, or for inspiration. No progress was made when someone was comfortable. When asked why they were at the shop, Blair blinked. They hadn’t been aware that Blishwick had done anything but betrothals, but according to the man himself, he had at least ‘a few’ services. Spectacular services. Blair could appreciate the alliteration, but the fact that Blishwick was obviously ready to give them a sales pitch was grating. “I’m looking to be betrothed. My father should have sent the paperwork ahead? Pucey, Blair.” They stated, their voice crisp and clear as they gave the information, hoping the man was competent enough to know what to do with the questionnaire that Blair’s father had filled out for them.

jimbo brian blishwick vi
@bae (@lydia )

[jimbo brian blishwick vi]

@blair & @lydia

Jimbo was unsure if he had been unclear or there was something stuck in his teeth from breakfast that morning. He had eaten one of the most exquisite muggle breakfast sandwiches his taste buds had ever had the pleasure of encountering. Whatever was in it was absolutely stellar, but had also consisted of a large amount of leafy greens. Just thinking about it again made his stomach grumble and a feeling of ecstasy pass through him, wondering if that would also be his lunch for the day. It was definitely going to be now that he was thinking about it again. Typically Jimbo made sure to clean himself up after every meal, today he had been bombarded by clients left and right, namely these two kids asking for betrothals. It wasn’t all that unusual to get betrothal clients just that normally they had their parents with them as well and both parties would be involved. Having two children on their own (with their parents’ apparent permission as well) was certainly different, but not completely unheard of.

Jimbo clapped his hands together happily as the teen in front of him explained that paperwork had already been supplied by the father, under the name Pucey. “One moment then please,” Jimbo smiled, holding up one finger as he slid around behind the counter and into the recent paperwork submissions. The surname didn’t ring any bells, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t been mailed in. Adonia was still being trained on how things worked in the store, so he was sure she may have gotten it and placed it where he was now currently looking. Flipping through the betrothal pile and various other stacks of paper multiple times, Jimbo’s smile started to turn into a frustrated frown. There wasn’t anything under the name Pucey here. For the amount of confidence the kid had in the paperwork being here, this was odd. “Well, not saying that your father didn’t send the paperwork in, but it doesn’t look like we have anything under your name here,” Jimbo explained, turning back to face Blair. Producing a blank copy of the aforementioned betrothal paperwork from under the counter, he placed it in front of the new client. “It shouldn’t take too long to fill out again, and that way we have it right here to sign in front of you. I always find it better to do in person, especially if you have any questions about it.”

Turning the frown back into a smile, Jimbo remembered that he still had the Fudge girl in the other room, quickly excusing himself from Blair and heading back over there, knocking on the door twice to announce his presence. “Miss, we have another betrothal potential out front right now. If you’re interested, I can go over all of the paperwork with both of you there, that way it saves me time from going back and forth and explaining it twice.” Motioning with his head, Jimbo headed back out to the main floor, hoping that the Fudge girl followed his lead.

[Deleted]

Lydia looked up when Mr. Blishwick came back in, her smile bright and charming as ever. His words made her stomach flip over and she stood up quickly, her dress skirt just poofy enough to graze the edge of the desk as she stood. "Sure!" she said, her pitch high. She grabbed her paperwork and quickly shuffled after him. She was wearing her favorite white dress today, that had a poofed out skirt that went to just above her knees. The top was boned at the ribs with just a small sleeve, most of her shoulders still showing. Her hair was loose around her face in it's most wild, most natural curls. She always dressed up, of course, but she was especially glad she had today! Her heels were three inches tall, of course, no surprise there, and bright gold.

She followed Jimbo back to the main floor in the front, where there was a young man waiting with paperwork as well and her breath caught. He was... different. But in a good way. Not necessarily the hunk of man meat that was usually her type but... there was something beautiful there. A lot of things, actually, and she didn't realize she was hard core, legitimately staring.

jimbo brian blishwick vi
@blair

[Deleted]

Blair wasn’t angry, exactly, at their paperwork not being on file, mostly because they weren’t sure where the blame lay. It was entirely possible that their father had sent them on this expedition knowing full well that their paperwork hadn’t been sent, as a test of sorts – to see whether they were willing to go the distance to be betrothed. If this was a test, then Blair was going to pass it. They gave a sharp nod when Blishwick said that they had to refill the form. The information was simple enough to remember, even the portions about genealogy; Blair was meticulous in keeping all of that information in their head, because it was important.

Blishwick left, temporarily, and when he returned, he brought a girl with him. Blair blinked at her, trying to assess the feeling that had lodged itself in their stomach. Something in them wanted her, even if they didn’t know why. She was just another pureblood girl, really – she had the pretty dress and the high heels and the carefree beauty – but she was looking back at them with another emotion in her eyes that Blair couldn’t fathom. Lydia stared, and Blair stared back. I want her. The voice in their head repeated, more insistent this time. If only that was the way these things worked, Blair thought with a sigh. “I don’t bite.” They said smoothly, as much of an invitation as Blair could muster for the girl to sit beside them.

jimbo brian blishwick vi
@bae (@lydia )

[jimbo brian blishwick vi]

@blair & @lydia

There had been plenty of instances over the years where Jimbo had introduced customers to each other inside the shop. He found that it tended to relax their nerves, knowing that they weren’t the only ones out there in the world looking to find a soulmate. That was an old trick that his grandfather had taught him – one of the reasons why walk-in hours were conducted in the morning. It was never guaranteed that this would occur on a daily basis, but having the odds of it was better than none. Plus, Jimbo got a kick out of watching lovelorn folks communicate with one another, knowing full well that they were both there for the same reason. The two today were no exception to that rule, although he never anticipated to see ‘that’ look when introducing the youngsters. That was a new one.

Jimbo let out a laugh as Blair delivered the line, indicating that no biting would be happening. Smooth. Jimbo had to give these two credit; so young, and they were already prepared to jump into a commitment that they definitely couldn’t full comprehend. Or maybe they did. Kids these days were intelligent, the amount of information they had at their disposal was unreal. “Lydia Fudge. Blair Pucey,” Jimbo stated, pointing at each child as he said their names. “Though you may already know each other from school. I believe only a few years separate the two of you.” Whether or not they did actually know each other was moot; they would be the end of his spiel at the least, and who knew what would happen after. The odds of them being paired together for their betrothal was slim to none, but it wasn’t impossible. Fate had a way, and so did his mind. “While you finish up with your paperwork Blair, might as well jump straight into any questions either of you have, whether it’s the process to get this moving, or the length of time it could take to find your respective partners. Just call out whatever comes to mind and I’ll be able to answer.”

[Deleted]

"I don't bite," Lydia let out a shaky laugh as he said it, her heart beating again. She had forgotten that Mr. Blishwick was there until he spoke, and she jumped a little, turning to look at him. "Blair," she said softly, nodding. Then the last name hit her. Pucey. She knew that name. She was taught to respect that name. She turned back to Blair, taking in a deep breath and narrowing her eyes. Did she know him from school? She was pretty involved with her friends, really, that sometimes she didn't notice people who didn't want to be notice. But she did notice beautiful people. So where had Blair been?

Mr. Blishwick went on to talk about getting the process going and Lydia nodded, eyes still on Blair. She wasn't even acting like herself! She cleared her throat, and finally gave a little curtsy. "Should I leave you be while you finish up, Blair? Um, Pucey?" for some reason she felt strange saying the first name alone at this point. Maybe he didn't like people doing that until they got to know him better? She turned to Jimbo, looking for some kind of reassurance that she wasn't making a fool of herself.

@blair
jimbo brian blishwick vi

[Deleted]

Blishwick introduced Blair to the girl, and they nodded at the introduction. Of course they had heard of the Fudge family; Lydia’s elder brother was in their year and house in school. They just hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting the youngest Fudge child officially. It was good that that was being remedied immediately, Blair thought. “We haven’t had the pleasure.” They told Blishwick, voice still careful and measured. They couldn’t lose control, not here and not now. Not ever, Blair thought to themself, but especially not now, when they needed to be… perfect. Marriage material.

“Just Blair is fine.” The Ravenclaw answered. Pucey was too ambiguous, especially with their younger brother entering Hogwarts in the fall. Blair was just fine, and it was their name. Lydia asked if she should leave while they finished, and Blair shook their head. “It’ll only take a moment or two more.” They assured her. Blair glanced up at Blishwick. “Do we get any say as to our prospective partners?” They asked. If requests were allowed, then this would be easy, indeed. But that also seemed to mar some of the magic of Blishwick’s matchmaking, and his stellar success rate. What people wanted in love – or, in Blair’s case, a life partner – was not always what was best for them. But if Blair could choose… they knew who their first choice would be.

jimbo brian blishwick vi
@bae (@lydia )

[jimbo brian blishwick vi]

@blair & @lydia

The ‘look’ between the two kids that Jimbo had been watching out for seemed to be sticking with them. This was definitely something else. Jimbo hid his grin throughout the back and forth that was going on between the two of them, and when they would occasionally look up at him with their questions. Whatever was going to be written down on their forms probably wouldn’t matter, because he already had alarm bells going off in his head about the two of them. He had heard about this happening on occasion, his father having never witnessed it during his time in the shop, but his grandfather saying that it happened a few times with him. Then again, those were times where things were simpler and less saturated with the idea of true love being found via a phone application. At least these children had it right and were relying on him for the time being. But that was also probably because of their parents…

Both stated that they had never met each other, but it wasn’t like that mattered anymore. “Well now you know each other, so problem solved,” Jimbo clapped his hands together happily. That definitely looked lame. Blair, in the meantime, asked if they had any part in the decision making of their partners, and Jimbo shook his head. “If you wanted that, then you wouldn’t need to fill that sheet out,” he said, pointing at the form. “I don’t think either of you need to worry that much. Let’s put it that way.” With a wink, Jimbo whisked away the forms and started to prepare the next step in the process, which was to absorb all of the details they had given him. While he knew what the outcome would most likely be, he still had to go through with it. “I’ll send an owl to both of you once a partner has been located. Deal?”

[The End]