A Girls Night In (Invited)

[Deleted]

It was friday night and it was girls night! There was a peculiar group of young woman that had shaped up over time that Heleen was fortunate to call her friends. Of the entire group, she knew Sienna best and she knew that Sienna had invited some of her friends. Heleen hadn't really asked about too many details since she was far too busy being excited about having a girls night out for the first time since moving countries. It helped that the lockdown had been mostly given up and Sienna had offered to host. She wasn't fully sure about the details but she'd gotten the address and was on her way with a bad filled with all sorts of different things.

Sienna had mentioned they didn't have to bring inflatable beds since she had enough spare beds where the party was at so Heleen had mostly brought stuff for a typical girls night. Her rather excessive collection of nail polish and other nail decorating items and some products in case they wanted to do face masks while watching a movie or something. Heleen had no idea what exactly Sienna had in mind but she did know the party was sure to be fun.

As she arrived in town she didn't have too much trouble to locate the house, although she instantly started doubting she had the wrong location written down as there was a literal mansion. Heleen blinked a few times, double checking her note before walking up to the door. Sienna had said it wasn't her house but that it belonged to her... boyfriend? Heleen was pretty sure she'd said boyfriend but he had to be insanely rich to afford a house like this. Heleen figured it was best not to dwell on it and shook her head before nervously knocking on the door. If a butler was going to open she would probably make a fool of herself, but everything suggested it was the right place. She just hoped she'd gotten it right and that Sienna would open the door soon....

Sienna Aurélie Linslee , camila calderón , @nixie
OOC: I hope this is okay! Let's have some fun!

[camila calderón]

It had been a long time since Camila had attended a party—and even longer since she had made it outside of the British Isles. She wasn't going back to Argentina, though her destination was still a welcome one: Auguste Courtemanche had a house somewhere in France, and Sienna had (somehow) convinced him to let her use it for a small get-together. She had promised (and Camila had checked repeatedly) that it wouldn't be anything wild, just hanging out with people on a Friday night… at Auguste's place. The Ministry of Magic's process for being permitted out of Britain and into France took the longest of all of it; even convincing her manager that she would be fine didn't take that long.

Though Sienna had been working on another batch of Polyjuice Potion for her, Camila took her Portkey to France as herself. These were friends of Sienna's, so they hopefully wouldn't be too weird about being in the presence of a celebrity at another celebrity's house. (So maybe it was more of a mansion, Camila realized as soon as she saw it, immediately understanding why Auguste had hated being hospitalized so much. It was basically a palace.)

Getting to her feet where the Portkey spit her out, Camila walked in the direction of the front door, wheeling her suitcase behind her. Aside from her pajamas and clothing for the next day, she had packed her usual toiletries and makeup and a few snacks. She wasn't sure what they would be doing, but she was anxious to find out. Pausing only to send Sienna a message to let her know that she had arrived, Camila kept going until she noticed another young woman—closer in age to Sienna than to herself—standing at the door.

She smiled, trying to remember that she didn't have to keep up the "celebrity" thing for the night. "Hello," she said, waiting to see how she would be received.

@seph
Sienna Aurélie Linslee
@nixie

[Sienna Aurélie Linslee]

If it wasn’t clear enough already, Gus was an angel. Sienna knew that, of course, and she’d been especially reminded of it the past few months. But he found new ways to prove it regularly, and it showed today. The world seemed a heavier place lately – the Daily Prophet regularly reported on grim news, and there were times in her everyday life that the stress and tension of the last year really got to her. She hadn’t seen her friends in some time, particularly not in a group setting, and it depressed her not to have the chance to see any of them regularly. So it had taken very little for Gus to offer his home for a girls’ night, and even less to strictly remind him that it was going to stay a girls’ night.

So Si was brimming with excitement. She wanted to have a fun night, relaxing and exciting the way sleepovers had been with her Muggle friends or at summer camp. Going out was all well and good, but there was something special about a night where the people made the memories, not the crazy situation. She’d travelled to France the day before – to spend a little time with Gus, but also to prepare for anything the girls might need.

The best part was that she could plan for things that she knew the girls would like (as far as Si could tell, she was the common denominator here). There was Heleen – a school friend, and the one Sienna had known longest. Their tastes ran extremely similar, particularly in the candy-related arena, so it wasn’t hard to keep her in mind. Camila – getting Hag’s Fever was worth it (for the most part) if it meant making such an interesting and fun friend, and Si had seen her more recently than the others on Polyjuice-related matters. And Nixie – it seemed a cliché to say all the Muggleborns knew each other, and it obviously wasn’t true, but they had enough mutual friends of a similar age and background to get to know each other over time. It was a good group, all the girls coming from wildly different backgrounds, and Sienna was sure they’d get along no problem.

Gus’s place was large enough that Si didn’t even realize somebody had arrived until she got the text from Camila. Si squealed to herself (just for a quick moment!) before racing down the stairs to meet whoever had already arrived. She found Heleen and Camila at the door, and although she couldn’t see Nixie she was likely not far behind. “Heleen! Camila! You made it!” Si was a social person by nature, and she gave each girl a quick hug before opening the door wide. “Come on in! Isn’t this place unbelievable?”

@nixie
@seph
camila calderón

[Deleted]

Girls nights in were not exactly Nixies thing. She was more of a adrenaline, jump from a plane type of person. But it was a good excuse to get away from her family. She loved them, but sometimes she just needed a break. She had been in one place for far too long....with no dungeons or tombs. She hated that. So when she got invited to a girls night, she jumped at the chance. Since the Quarantine, she had been staying at her parents house in the country. She traveled too much to pay rent somewhere. When her mother heard about her plans, the woman got very excited, even more than Nixie. The girl escaped with as minimal things as she could. Her excuse......She was a small innocent fox and could only take what she could drag. She then turned into a fox and drug a small bag away with her into the wild. She placed the bag, a backpack with pajamas, cloths for the next day and a few necessary toiletries, and a pair of glasses that she didn't always wear. Things like this weren't really her thing, so she figured that was all she needed. She was told that it was at a big place, and Sienna was planning the whole thing. It wasn't her job to bring things...right? After Nixie was sufficiently away, she formed back to apperate closer. The location was in France, now that they were allowed to leave.

The house that the event was going to be in was some celebrities place. Apparently it was some singer? Or musician? Nixie didn't know. In a way, the answer to most everyone's question was simple. "Yes, I have been living under a rock....well tomb" She would reply, if she could. Being a curse breaker, meant that most of her time was spent abroad, and inside cursed and enchanted areas. There was no time to keep up with local fads, and especially not follow music or celebrities. Apperating close, and then following a map to it's location, she knew that she was now late, it was her mothers fault. The woman would have packed Nixie with all the food in their pantry, plus flowers, and other girly things that would have been a pain to transport. The contents of her backpack were all she really needed.

Nixie only knew Sienna, an that was through some mutual friends. Muggleborns defiantly had something in common that those who grew up with magic didn't understand. Nixie was the only witch in her family, and her brothers let her have it. Bonding over both being Muggleborns, and small interactions over time helped to build their friendship, if you wanted to call it that. But with world travel, and constant work, Nixie couldn't afford to be picky in that department. She also liked how Sienna was around the same height. Nixie had always been quite short, it was nice to have someone who matched her there.

It didn't take long for her to find the massive place. She turned to walk up to the door when she saw Sienna, along with two girls, one looking slightly familiar, who seemed to be entering the house. Sticking her arm up in the air and waiving it, she raised her voice so that the it would carry over the distance. "Sienna, it's been a while!"

@seph
camila calderón
Sienna Aurélie Linslee

[Deleted]

Heleen was the type to not know most artists by face. She knew them by name, most of the time, or only knew their music and wouldn't be able to place it with a name if her life depended on it. So when Camila showed up right next to her Heleen had a very puzzled and confused expression on her face. The woman looked very familiar somehow, like she should know exactly who it was, but she couldn't remember where they might have met before. Heleen didn't really consider mentally going through celebrities, even though she knew that Sienna was friends with one from their school days. She and the guy had been below Heleen in years but Heleen hadn't really interacted with him much. He was a bit too intense and confusing for her. Si seemed to like him though.

"Hey!" She said cheerfully. "Have we met before? Because I'm so sorry but I can't place your face, even though I could have sworn I've seen you before." She was highly apologetic but she didn't feel like pretending she knew the other girl even though she didn't. Maybe she'd also gone to Beauxbatons? Considering she looked to be a few years younger it would make sense. Heleen hadn't been friends with many people in the years below her. But luckily Si opened the door and hugged them both, breaking the tension that Heleen was feeling. "Si, this place is amazing!" She was staring, quite clearly. Despite the size the inside somehow managed to look cozy.

Then the last person showed up and Heleen smiled and waved at her a little bit. "I'll just introduce myself. I'm Heleen Oppedyk, I'm an old school friend of Sienna." She wasn't quite sure what else there was to add to that so she kind of awkwardly waited for other people to also make the introduction rounds. Still, with a house like this they were bound to have a good time. There was plenty of space if any of them needed any privacy.

camila calderón Sienna Aurélie Linslee @nixie

[camila calderón]

The first of the two other young women gave her a slightly confused look, but she didn't seem to know how to react to her being there. Was she a fan? Camila couldn't tell, but it appeared that she recognized her, at least. "Hey! Have we met before?" she asked. Unless she had been been to a meet-and-greet, Camila didn't think that they had, and it was difficult for her to keep track of her fans' appearances, try as she might. "Because I'm so sorry but I can't place your face, even though I could have sworn I've seen you before."

Okay, that clarified that. She wasn't a fan, but Sienna opened the door before Camila could answer her. "Heleen! Camila! You made it!" she greeted them both, giving them a quick hug each. "Come on in! Isn’t this place unbelievable?"

"Si, this place is amazing!" Heleen remarked. Auguste's place was really impressive. Camila wasn't surprised that he had so much money, but the size of it was something else. Surely he didn't live there alone?

"It's beautiful," Camila added, stepping inside a little.

From behind them, Camila could hear another voice address Sienna. "Sienna, it's been a while!"

Heleen gave the other girl a little wave. "I'll just introduce myself," she offered. "I'm Heleen Oppedyk," she said. "I'm an old school friend of Sienna."

"I'm Carmen," Camila said, speaking up after Heleen. She felt it was better to give the name that she actually went by in her normal life, rather than her stage name. She answered to "Camila", obviously, but it wasn't really her name. "I am a friend of Auguste and Sienna," she explained. "I am a singer."

Sienna Aurélie Linslee
@nixie
@seph

[Sienna Aurélie Linslee]

Yeah, a girls’ night was the right call. The moment she opened the door and saw Heleen and Camila on the doorstep, Si felt months of accumulated stress evaporate off her. It had been so long since she’d indulged in a night of pure fun, with no cares or responsibilities. And as the host, Sienna was determined to get this night started and leave all troubles behind. Nobody was allowed to be stressed tonight!

Sienna could see Nixie in the distance, and the curse-breaker shouted a greeting. Si returned the enthusiastic wave with one of her own. Heleen and Camila introduced each other (Si noted that Camila used Carmen in this instance), so she thought it best to let them know about the last guest joining them. She informed the others, “That’s Nixie over there. She always has the most interesting stories from her work!” Sienna didn’t see her as often as the others, but that was just the life and times of a curse-breaker (although maybe less so since Hag’s Fever had closed the borders and stopped all travel temporarily).

She smiled as Camila introduced herself as a singer. “The best singer around,” she corrected jokingly. “I’ll be honest, when I’m alone at work I sing along to all your songs.” Sienna waved the girls inside (Camila was the first to step forward), but she lingered by the door so she could give Nixie a proper welcome. “I have everything set up right upstairs! I left some music playing, you can just follow the sound. Plenty of sweets too!” Si motioned to the staircase nearby, and directed her last comment about the sweets to Heleen in particular. The two women had just about the same taste in candy (magical and Muggle) so it was easy enough to pick things she knew Heleen would like.

As the others went on ahead, Sienna shut the door behind Nixie and quickly summarized, “the blonde is Heleen. She’s an old friend from Beauxbatons. And the brunette is Carmen. Sweetest girl I know. I didn’t tell them much about you, though, so you’ll have to unravel the mystery yourself.” Si winked at Nixie before gesturing for her to follow the others.

@nixie
@seph
camila calderón

[Deleted]

Nixie knew that she was in the right place, as she waived she noticed the girl she had never seen before giving a slight wave. It was a polite gesture. But the Curse Breakers smile grew as she saw Sienna return her enthusiastic wave. As she walked up, the closer she could hear Sienna talking, and from the sound of it, she was explaining a bit about the strange Irish lass that was walking up to them. "She always has the most interesting stories from her work!” Traveling and exploring ancient areas and breaking cureses was Nixies passion, and just a day in her life. But she couldn't deny that her stories weren't interesting.

Nixie could tell that the girls were talking, but didn't hear them too well. She saw the other girls enter the building before she was able to make it to the door. The door shut, separating Sienna and Nixie to the two other girls.

The girl than started, “the blonde is Heleen. She’s an old friend from Beauxbatons. And the brunette is Carmen. Sweetest girl I know. I didn’t tell them much about you, though, so you’ll have to unravel the mystery yourself.”

"Sounds like fun." She gave the girl a mischievous smile. Nixie was smart and rather adventurous. From their short descriptions, the other two girls seemed a little different, but that wasn't bad.

Sienna then moved for Nixie to follow the other girls up the stairs. "Great place by the way."

@seph
camila calderón
Sienna Aurélie Linslee

[Deleted]

Well, that was awkward. She could place the face now that Carmen (even though Heleen knew her by a different name) had mentioned that she was a singer. It amused Heleen that the famous person had not placed Gus before Sienna in the friendship order, which suggested she'd been friends with the other famous person first. It made perfect sense, even though Heleen felt her nerves get just a little bit fried by the idea of being near a world famous person and even worse, not having recognised them. She wasn't fully sure if that was an insult or a comfort to superstars. "Nice to meet you Carmen." She said, although her voice was a bit more quiet now that she was feeling very awkward.

The comment about the sweets made Heleen perk up instantly and she could almost follow her tastebuds at the idea of candy. Both she and Sienna seemed to be incorrigable when it came to the delights of sweets and baked goods. Luckily, there was music too, so Heleen could do the easier thing and follow her ears rather than awkwardly stumble in the darkness towards the promiss of sugarly delights at the end. She smiled a grateful smile at Si for breaking the awkwardness and then grabbed her bags and started heading for the indicated room. Which was kind of crazy to do in a mansion.

Heleen looked at Carmen for a moment as they both headed towards the place Sienna had indicated. "Soo.... how did you and Sienna meet?" She asked, hoping it didn't count as a particularly invasive question. If anything the house looked like it wouldn't cause too much of a headache despite being that of a famous magical person. Ever since her work incident she'd been getting so many headaches that she'd thrown half her apartment out and replaced it with things from muggle stores just to get some peace of mind. Her eyes wondered to odd spots on the walls from time to time when she noticed some enchantments and charms around but she wasn't about to go off to investigate right now. She didn't need that kind of a headache.

camila calderón Sienna Aurélie Linslee @nixie

[camila calderón]

"The best singer around," Sienna corrected her when she mentioned her occupation. "I'll be honest, when I’m alone at work," she added, "I sing along to all your songs."

"Nice to meet you Carmen," said Heleen.

"Nice to meet you, too, Heleen," Camila laughed a little, mostly from being put on the spot, but it didn't last.

Sienna explained that everything was set up for them already upstairs, including sweets, and that they could just follow the sound of the music. (As long as it was one of Auguste's songs and not her own, Camila thought, it would be okay.)

Grabbing her suitcase from the top, Camila began to make her way in the direction of the stairs. It would be easier than trying to wheel the bag once they got to the staircase itself, and it saved her from having to switch her hold on it awkwardly at the last minute. Then, at about the same time, Heleen asked how she and Sienna had met.

"We met at St. Mungo's," Camila explained. "Auguste was my…" She paused for a moment, trying to remember how to say what she meant in English. "…roommate. We had Hag's Fever," which was something she knew had been publicized because of how it had interfered with her European tour. It was also something that she hoped she never had to deal with again. It had been awful, but she couldn't really complain, in hindsight. She'd made friends out of the experience. "And you?"

Sienna Aurélie Linslee
@nixie
@seph

[Sienna Aurélie Linslee]

Sienna wasn’t going to lie – she’d been a little nervous about the first meeting. As far as she knew, none of the other girls knew each other from before, and Si usually didn’t mix friend groups like this. Her relationship with each of them was extremely different – well, it had to be considering how each of them had met and what they’d built their friendship off of. And sometimes opposites could attract, and make the friendship work, and sometimes they just couldn’t.

But Si had faith that tonight was going to be a blast. There was a tinge of awkwardness to the conversation – the sort of stilted formality that came with meeting someone for the first time. But everybody was getting more relaxed, and if they weren’t now they’d definitely be after opening the first bottle of wine. But, chatting with Nixie while the others went on ahead, that felt as natural as always. And really, Si shouldn’t be surprised. Meeting new people in a place you didn’t know had to be nothing after breaking curses and going all Indiana Jones on ancient tombs (or whatever curse-breakers actually did).

“Thanks!” Si responded with a bright smile as Nixie complimented Gus’s house. “It’s my--” she cut herself off. Sienna had been about to say it was her friend’s place, but that wasn’t the case anymore, right? She giggled a little nervously as she finished instead, “it’s my boyfriend’s place!” They’d dated before, but it still felt, well, weird to be able to say it out-loud instead of it being one of those stray late-night thoughts. She’d resigned herself years ago to accepting the ‘just friends’ status, and it would take some time before that wasn’t her first impulse anymore, she supposed.

“But how’ve you been, Nixie?” Sienna asked with interest as she led her up the stairs. “The lockdown must’ve driven you mad!” She could hear Heleen and Camila up ahead, but didn’t speed up her pace or anything – they’d be together all night, and it had been ages since she’d last seen the curse-breaker. At least before Hag’s Fever had become major news, she thought.

@nixie
@seph
camila calderón

[Deleted]

“it’s my boyfriend’s place!” Ah boys. A subject her mother hadn't quite let up on. When she was home, she was always being pestered about getting married and settling down. Settling down was something that Nixie didn't thing she would ever be able to do. She had a hard enough time attending Hogwarts for seven years. But it was nice that her friend had a boyfriend. "If my mother were here, she'd ask if he had friends" Nixie said in a joking manner. Her mother really would do that, but it was still meant as a joke. The place was really nice though.

Sienna asked how she had been. “The lockdown must’ve driven you mad!” Nixie laughed. "You have no idea. I come back to London from Egypt, only planning to stay a week or so. Then travel stopped." The girl gave a big sigh. She just couldn't sit still. The last few months had been torture. Not to mention the muggle boys her mother insisted to have over for diner at least once a week. "And I was supposed to go to Rome. Hopefully I can still go soon. Now that things are starting to open up. How have you been?"

@seph
camila calderón
Sienna Aurélie Linslee

[Deleted]

Heleen followed the music as Sienna said. She was surprised and kind of stunned by how big the house was. She was even more surprised to find how Carmen and Sienna had met. Apparently they'd been hospitalised, well Carmen and another super star. How on earth had Sienna gotten mixed up with all the rich and famous people like that? Not that she minded being in her quiet little corner of the world but she hadn't really expected this. It was kind of odd how vastly different their lives had turned out. She smiled slightly, feeling a bit more at ease at the odd version of normal that she and Sienna had meeting. It hadn't been at a famous place, oddly enough.

Then Carmen asked how she knew Sienna and Heleen smiled slightly and shrugged. "We actually went to school together. We weren't in the same year but we both found we spoke a less common language at school, which certainly helped. I did see Auguste back then but we never really hung out. I was a bit of a studious nerd and he was..." She trailed off, not really wanting to be rude. The boy had pretty much been nothing but a troublemaker in their school days. She hadn't really known what to expect but his reputation in terms of fame lived up to his behaviour in school quite a lot. "He wasn't exactly the type to go to the library for the books, let me put it that way." She said. Despite his lack of studies, he had obviously done well for himself. Heleen just hoped that he had abandoned the old habits now that he and Sienna were dating. His reputation wasn't that good and she didn't want to see her friend get hurt... again.

camila calderón Sienna Aurélie Linslee @nixie

[camila calderón]

Never having grown up in a world of fame, the experience of just going and hanging out at her friend's house that also happened to be a mansion was relatively new to Camila, too. She knew that most famous people didn't live as "common" people did, and it had been a really big shock as soon as she had skyrocketed to sudden fame. It didn't always feel like she belonged as a celebrity, either, and she didn't know how different Sienna's friends would think that she was from them.

Heleen had met Sienna in a much more typical way: at school. They hadn't been in the same year, Heleen explained, but they spoke the same language. Camila understood completely how that would have been beneficial, speaking a different language from most people she met. She wouldn't have minded having more people with whom she could speak Spanish or Portuguese, but she wasn't ungrateful for the company she had.

"I did see Auguste back then," added Heleen, "but we never really hung out. I was a bit of a studious nerd and he was…" Camila understood, even though Heleen didn't complete her thought right away. She explained it by saying that Auguste "wasn't exactly the type to go to the library for the books", which made sense. Knowing how he generally was, Camila could see that without difficulty and giggled a little.

"Yeah," she laughed. He had a rebellious streak.

Eventually, they made it to the top of the staircase, and Camila moved off to the side with her suitcase to make sure that she wasn't blocking the stairs for the others.

Sienna Aurélie Linslee
@nixie
@seph

[Sienna Aurélie Linslee]

Sienna gave an impressed whistle at Nixie’s casual explanation about her travels. The curse-breaker threw around her travel destinations like they were no big deal – Egypt, Rome, and who knows where else – but it was extremely impressive. Si rarely got to travel for work, only occasionally when it was time to harvest an ingredient personally or organize a shipment to/from abroad. But curse-breaking sounded exciting, and if it wasn’t so dangerous Si might find it more attractive as a career option. “I hope you still get to go to Rome,” Sienna responded thoughtfully, before adding teasingly, “and bring me back a souvenir! It’s been ages since I’ve been to Italy.” She couldn’t deny she missed Rome terribly, although she imagined Nixie would be doing something dramatically different from simply visiting the tourist sites.

She gave a light-hearted shrug at Nixie’s question as they walked down the hallway. “I’ve been good. Not much has happened, but for once, I think that’s a good thing. Work is good, Gus is good. I can give you all the gritty details if you really insist,” Sienna joked as she opened the door to where Camila and Heleen were talking. She closed the door with a flourish and flopped on a couch dramatically. “Ok, we’re all here! Everybody, welcome to literal heaven on earth. Gus has been banished to another part of the house for the night, so it’s just us! Does everybody know each other now?”

As Si spoke, she cast a critical glance around the room she’d set up. She wanted it to be reminiscent of her sleepovers with her Muggle friends and her time at summer camp, so she’d set up plenty of snacks (enough to get sick off of if one was so inclined), a few unopened bottles of wine, and naturally a nice TV set-up with some of her childhood favorites on standby. Merlin, she was looking forward to this – a nice lowkey girls’ night with her favorite people.

@nixie
@seph
camila calderón