A LURE OF A THING || ELAINE

[Deleted]

BUT IT FEELS LIKE I'VE OPENED MY EYES AGAIN
AND THE COLORS ARE GOLDEN AND BRIGHT AGAIN

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

So much had happened in such little time, that Tamara couldn't keep things straight. Because of how hectic life had become, the young witch had forgotten all about that run-in over the summer with a nervous witch on a blind date. However, when she found herself in Hogsmeade at the Hog's Head before Christmas, she had seen the young barmaid that she had run into.

Of course, she had left the woman to her job and decided to come back at a later date. A much later date, if Tamara was honest. It was midway through February already, and she had finally found herself again at the Hog's Head, or rather, about to enter as someone was leaving and once more ran into a person.

"Oh―shit, sorry." she breathed out, shaking her head before her eyes widened and a smile broke out on her face. "Anise! Oh, just the person I was looking for!" she said excitedly.

Elaine Lyra Dupree || booooom! bring me anise!

template by punki of adoxography

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine happened to be posing as Anise on the brisk February day; there had been a need to meet with her student followers at Hogwarts, and the young barmaid had posed the perfect disguise. The meeting had gone well; no one was the wiser that the Preservation club was more of a front than anything else, and she was close to gaining yet another disguise to her collection. Yes, today was a good day, and about to get better.

As she was leaving, she crashed straight into someone, who apologized, then apparently recognized her. Elaine knew immediately from the voice who she was; Tamara Finch, Ethan’s old girlfriend, and a bit of a thorn in Elaine’s side as a prophet journalist. Still, she had to remember that she was Anise, the barmaid with the blind date whom had spoken with Tamara six months prior. She blinked, pretending to regain her balance as she looked at Tamara’s face. “You...oh yes! Tamara, isn’t it? I remember you, you helped me with my nerves for my blind date,” she exclaimed excitedly. She leaned her head to one side, smile still plastered on her face. “You were looking for me?” she asked, curious to know what Tamara wanted with her.

@tamara

[Deleted]

She felt a little awkward telling the girl that she had been looking for her, especially since it took her a minute to recognize just who Tamara was. But she held that awkwardness in once the girl revealed her name and that she remembered her, and she nodded her head. "Yeah! That's me," she said, the laugh a little bit awkward once leaving her lips.

'You were looking for me?' Tamara frowned for a minute before nodding, "Uh, yeah...I know this is probably a little awkward and a lot of things happened that night, you probably forgot. But I hoped that you would tell me how the date went...but you never wrote," she said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. "I mean-I know we just met, and it has been a little while. So I came...hoping to hear how it went." God...what was wrong with her?

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine fixed Anise’s face in a scrunched up concentration, as if trying to recall the details. The fact of the matter was that Elaine remembered the meeting as if it were only yesterday. She wasn’t actually going to meet a man that night, but had figured it would be something vapid that Tamara would take interest in. She was rather surprised that Tamara had not only remembered Anise, but remembered the topic of conversation. “Oh yes! Well the date was rather a dud I’m afraid. He talked about himself mostly and was simply a huge bore,” Elaine told her, waving a hand dismissively. “I didn’t want to write anyone about that because I was quite certain I’d never agree to go on another date with him. He asked, surprisingly, but I turned him down.” She laughed, the lie sweeping easily from her lips. “What about you? Still with that Flint boy?” she asked, cocking her head to one side and smiling at Tamara.

@tamara

[Deleted]

Tamara was a writer, a reporter for the world - and that meant that she had to remember things. Or maybe, that was something that she was good at, having a good memory. But the other girl seemed to lack the memory for a few seconds until finally, it hit her. Tamara's smile slowly drew down into a frown; she felt terrible that the date was such a dud, but she understood why she hadn't heard about it.

"Oh-I'm sorry. That sucks," she breathed out truthfully. While Tamara had never really had bad luck with dates, she still had sympathy for others. She smiled before her own look of confusion appeared on her face. The girl referred to him as the Flint boy, and yet, Tamara didn't remember giving his last name. "Yeah-I'm still with Liam," she breathed out softly, a small smile upon her face.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine smiled and shook her head. “It’s alright, I’m over it already. Clearly he wasn’t worth my time, and obviously there’s better men out there,” she reassured the girl, laying a hand lightly on her shoulder. “Like Liam; from what little you told me, he sounds like quite the keeper,” she added with a laugh. She propped her chin on her palm and leaned forward a little. “Now tell me, did you always know Liam was the One, or did you have to kiss a few frogs beforehand?” she asked with a coy smile. Elaine wanted to see just how comfortable Tamara was with discussing Ethan, and how much she would disclose to a relative stranger. She was pretty sure Tamara held quite a large grudge against her for obvious reasons, but she had no idea what people like her said behind her back. Not that they could really say it to her face, of course.


@tamara

[Deleted]

The girl seemed over the flop of a date, which Tamara was not judging her for. Sometimes, people dealt with that kind of thing better than others. Luckily for Tamara, she never really had that. Having only dated two guys in her entire lifespan, and those two guys she ended up in a relationship with. One of which, she was still with. "That's the attitude. There is someone out there for you." A soft laugh left her lips, and she nodded, "He is quite the keeper, I agree." The words came out with adoration in her tone, a smile upon her lips.

'Now tell me, did you always know Liam was the One, or did you have to kiss a few frogs beforehand?' She shook her head, a smile still on her lips. "No. I didn't always know. I had a boyfriend before him...but I wouldn't call him a frog. I thought I loved him, but it felt more like we were better as friends than a couple." The words came out soft, almost as if she were scared to say them. But it had been a while since Ethan's death, and she felt comfortable with mentioning their relationship more these days. He had been great, amazing really...it had been her that always seemed to hold back. Craving something more, something that wasn't Ethan.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine looked at Tamara’s body language, heard her tone the way she spoke about Ethan. It was obvious that the girl had cared for Ethan...but just not as much as Liam. Elaine could certainly understand why; Liam was a pureblood, from some of the best wizarding stock, though naturally there were a few bumps in that lineage, particularly with his parents. Still, not everyone could be perfect, and Liam was way better than Ethan had been. Still, it would be prudent for Liam to embrace his true nature, and join her side before it was too late.

“You sound...wistful, did something happen with the old boyfriend? Bad breakup?” she asked pointedly, cocking her head to the side with a look of what she hoped was concern. She wondered just how much this girl would actually spill to her.  "You can tell me, you know.  I have horror stories of boyfriends past," she added, trying to sound as sympathetically convincing as she could stomach.

@tamara