Feb. 14th: Hogwarts Hobnob

[Basil Benson]

"Indeed. I meant more as a way of introduction.

Unless that is literally your name? "

[Samantha McManus]

"This is Robin."

"She's our guest for... apparently the next sixteen years."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"I think everyone needs that now and again, especially if things got as wild as I heard they did."

"Yeah, I was out for most of it, unfortunately. As good as I am puppeting lots of myselves, when a second ME me is introduced the crossed signals are... not great." Yeah, that had been a major headache.

"Can I get you anything? Some punch or something to eat?"

[Natalie Denisov]

"Some punch would be good, so long as there's no alcohol in it. I'm off it for a while."

[Ian Quessaire]

Ian nodded in agreement with his sister before he approached one of the tables and set the bag down upon it. From it he retrieved the tolls of their trade, a pack of tarot cards being passed to Sookie's slender fingers. Candles, some chalk, some brass dishes with charcoal for burning loose incense. The area around the booths began to smell of honeysuckle, rose, and gardenia as the man wrote out strange little glyphs on the black tablecloth, moving to set things up in the back. A black stone teapot was placed in the middle of those glyphs, along with an assortment of worn and chipped china cups and saucers, few of them actually matching sets. The electric kettle was hidden from sight to at least keep some of the atmosphere, though the nearby pinball machine did make things a little less spooky. Some little glass clamp-lid jars were the last out of his bag before he put it away, giving the patrons their choice of black, white, oolong, or green tea for their reading.

[Sookie Quessaire]

While Ian set everything out to create an atmosphere of mystery, Sookie began entertaining the crowd with a variety of card tricks purely to keep the crowd occupied while her brother worked.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Some punch would be good, so long as there's no alcohol in it. I'm off it for a while."

Jez gave Natalie a little smile and a nod before she got up and went to get something to drink. Some polyjuice potion in one plastic cup and some butterbeer in the other; whichever one the woman didn't want, the Slytherin would drink herself. She returned to the woman and her seat, letting her take whatever glass she liked.

[Basil Benson]

"This is Robin."

"She's our guest for... apparently the next sixteen years."

"I see." Basil seemed a bit confused by the wording, but didn't query deeper.

"Pleasure to have you then Robin!"

Basil noticed Will and 'the boy, and addressed Will first.

"Will, you're turning into a house elf. Stop it."

[Will Stanton]

"Is...is that the wrong kind of costume for this party?" Will asked, admonished. "I'll go change..."

[Basil Benson]

Basil crouched down to Will's height with a warm smile on his face.

"Of course not, it's exactly the sort of costume for this party and you look fantastic. I only knew it was you because you're the only one this good at this sort of thing. "

[Will Stanton]

"No, no, not at all. There are at least a couple other people here as good as I am. And plenty more who put more time into their costumes."

[Basil Benson]

"Well you're the only one that I know anyways. If we want to get super deep into the science of perception, i could argue that if you're the only one I know of, that is effectively the same as you being the best, but that's a very heavy conversation for a fancy dress booze up, eh?" He joked.

[Natalie Denisov]

Jez gave Natalie a little smile and a nod before she got up and went to get something to drink. Some polyjuice potion in one plastic cup and some butterbeer in the other; whichever one the woman didn't want, the Slytherin would drink herself. She returned to the woman and her seat, letting her take whatever glass she liked.

Natalie takes the polyjuice, sipping at it quietly for a bit as she watches the various people at the party. "Where'd you find the fortune tellers?"

[Will Stanton]

"Well you're the only one that I know anyways. If we want to get super deep into the science of perception, i could argue that if you're the only one I know of, that is effectively the same as you being the best, but that's a very heavy conversation for a fancy dress booze up, eh?" He joked.

"...What?"

[Null]

"You'll not get any deep philosophical communication out of that one, I'm afraid."

[Basil Benson]

The negativity didn't seem to break Basil's stride. He was still smiling as he looked up at Will's other half. "It's fine. Not exactly Aristotle myself." He chuckled, getting back up into standing position.

"Who's up for drinks?"

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Natalie takes the polyjuice, sipping at it quietly for a bit as she watches the various people at the party. "Where'd you find the fortune tellers?"

Jez took a sip of her butterbeer, the flavour way too rich to not give her a sugar rush. "Ooh. I... honestly don't know. I think Basil must've found them. But it looks like fun. I think I'm gonna check it out in a bit, I've never done the tarot card thing before."

[Natalie Denisov]

"Why don't you go now? I don't want to monopolize your time. I think I'll go over and say hello to Sam."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Why don't you go now? I don't want to monopolize your time. I think I'll go over and say hello to Sam."

"Actually... you're kinda right. I don't wanna monopolize all your time either, especially if there are people you wanna mingle with. And someone's gotta get the ball rolling when it comes to playin' games." Jez gave Natalie's arm a little pat before she got up and headed for the fortune tellers, taking a seat in front of the tarot card reader.

"I'm not British so I'm not really into tea, sorry." She hated showing favoritism.

[Sookie Quessaire]

"Hello child." The card reader greeted Jez.

"It's fine, we girls know more about these matters anyways." She stated, looking at her brother with a sidelong grin. She was obviously joking.

"I will first need you to shuffle the smaller deck, and set it down. You may cut it if you like.

After that I will need you to do the same with the larger stack. Then, I can read."

[Natalie Denisov]

Natalie finishes her punch and begins wheeling over to where Sam's standing with Vivienne, "Hey, Sam."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez wiggled in her seat a little bit before she took the smaller deck, observing the design on the back for a moment before she began to shuffle the cards. She then turned to the larger deck, which she shuffled and cut. "Like this?"

[Sookie Quessaire]

This particular set of cards was highly unusual, definitely not the Rider-Waite deck that had become standard issue to Renaissance fair entertainers and people who read at parties for fun. The back design bore an intricate pattern of silver thorned vines, all shaped and framed around a purple heart.

"Yes, very good."

Sookie reached out and flared her fingers over the cards with a dramatic flourish that was entirely for show.

Once she was certain she'd flicked her wrists about enough to feel she had Jez's attention, she flipped the cards at the side, top to bottom, left to right.

In the top row was a woman, hanging upside-down. She appeared to have her leg wrapped in a scarf, clearly meaning to be upside-down. She had a tranquil, thoughtful expression on her face. "The Hanged Man. This top card represents you. You as you are currently." She commented, tapping her finger to it before moving to the bottom row.

"The Eight of Swords." The card had a woman surrounded by swords, as if in a cage, and the swords numbered 8. She was blindfolded and bound. This woman didn't seem distressed persay, but she definitely wasn't happy. "The card in this place represents the physical realm. Your current state of being in this world."

Sookie flipped the middle card next, revealing a woman on a throne. She sat in an attentive position, and a wand held deftly in her hand. However, she was upside-down from Jezabelle. "The Queen of Wands. This card represents the mental realm. What is in your mind."

Lastly, she flipped the third card which was in the upright position again, like the first of the trio. It depicted a trio of people, two women and a man. All of them had chalices in their hands, and they each drank from another's cup instead of their own.

"The three of cups. This card represents the spiritual realm. This is the message the spirits mean to send to you."

Sookie's eyes dashed between the cards laid out in front of her, and a knowing smile spread across her face.

"I see...

Here, the hanged man represents looking at something from a different perspective." Sookie's well manicured nail moved to the Eight of Swords. "The Eight of Swords here, is representing repression. Something is preventing you from moving forward, some sort of self imposed restriction. A secret perhaps?"

Her hand moved next to the middle card. "In this combination, The Queen of Wands in reverse symbolizes a re-establishing of your sense of self. You must learn to accept what or whom you are."

Her hand fell to the last card. " The Three of Cups here represents collaboration and bonding.

I believe the spirits are trying to tell you in order to move forward, you must look at yourself in a different fashion and embrace who you are on every level. If you do not, it will continue to imprison you as it is now, and prevent you from the connections you wish to make.

This is your fortune child." Sookie finishes, smiling again.

Something about her statement rings true in Jezabelle's mind. So true, she cannot ignore it.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jezabelle didn't believe in any of this stuff. After all, she'd watched videos about cold readings and suggestion and all of that good stuff. But something about this just... clicked. Maybe the advice was vague and she just filled in the blanks herself, but it made sense to her. While she was an active member of XUPS, she didn't exactly tell people WHY she was a member. And there were many friends who didn't know... some of whom she found rather cute. It wasn't like she was going to just stand up and scream out her secret, but she was going to start being a little more upfront than just by what sneakers she wore.

"W-wow, you're good." She stood up, her face a bit flushed. "Do I... owe you anything?"

[Sookie Quessaire]

"Oh don't worry about that right now. I'm sure I'll be paid more over what I'm worth by the end of the night.

Go enjoy your party."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez nodded and smiled, though not entirely certain what the woman meant by that. Perhaps Basil paid for their entire gig? Speaking of which... the woman headed back into the party, scanning for the man in question. Finding his invisible self talking to some shapeshifters she approached the group with a grin.

"I hope everyone's having a good time so far? Eat up, drink up! We're here to have fun!" The realism of Will's Dobby self would probably have been unsettling to anyone who wasn't used to being around talented mutants such as them. But Jez had spent a good chunk of her life in Genosha, so she didn't flinch as much as most.

"Basil, you have GOT to try out the fortune telling." Was it his imagination, or was there a little bit of honey in her voice, a little coyness in her smile. Strange. Meanwhile another Jez was gushing to Colette about her outfit, the goo girl's back to her boyfriend across the party.

[Basil Benson]

"Oh?" He replied. He wasn't really that interested, but he figured he'd give off the wrong vibe for a party if he refused.

"Alright then.

I'll be back in a flash!" He commented to other party goers, then allowed himself to be ushered off by Jezabelle to the man reading tea leaves.

"Uhm, hi. I'm Basil?" He stated, not really sure what he was to say to the other man.

[Samantha McManus]

"Oh hey there, Nat." Sam smiles.

"I can feel you again there. Have a breakthrough?"

[Sean Hall]

Sean watched the fortune-telling show impassively. He wasn't concerned necessarily unless demons started getting summoned or souls were being eaten. Instead he was only interested to see if magic was being wrought or not.

[Natalie Denisov]

"Oh hey there, Nat." Sam smiles.

"I can feel you again there. Have a breakthrough?"

"You could kind of say that. A doctor at Muir had some ideas for dealing with the situation and so here I am, in the flesh."

[Samantha McManus]

"That's great news. Have you told Shari?"

[Natalie Denisov]

"Not yet. I just got back not long ago. I was hoping she might be here, but I can find her later. I heard things got kind of crazy around here while I was gone."

[Ian Quessaire]

"Uhm, hi. I'm Basil?" He stated, not really sure what he was to say to the other man.

The man watched Basil as he sat down, narrowing his eyes for a moment before he opened the glass jar that contained the white tea leaves. If Basil wasn't so sure of his "condition" he might have suspected the seer of sizing him up. "Hello young sir" came that deep baritone voice with that strange not-French - not-Southern accent, taking a pinch of the white tea and dropping them into a cup.

"This is your first time, no?" He asked while pouring some hot water from the teapot and into the cup, letting it steep. "Do not worry Monsur Basil, it is all very simple. While the tea steeps, I want you to concentrate on your future destiny. You must wish that the leaves in this cup will present themselves in the right symbols. If you do not, they will tell whatever story they wish - if you do not care, why should they, no?" He gave a big smile, his long fingers hugging the cup as he waited. After about three minutes he drank the small amount of tea and placed the cup back upon the saucer, sliding it toward Basil.

"With your left hand, take the cup by the handle. Move it rapidly in a circle three times, counter-clockwise - fast enough to coat the inside of the cup with what is left. Then slowly turn the cup and place it upside down upon the saucer."

Sean watched the fortune-telling show impassively. He wasn't concerned necessarily unless demons started getting summoned or souls were being eaten. Instead he was only interested to see if magic was being wrought or not.

Sean would get the sense that there was some sort of energy afoot, most likely magical in nature. It manifested as an aura around the fortune tellers themselves, and did not feel to be malicious in nature.

[Basil Benson]

Basil did as requested, both in focusing his thoughts and following instructions. He was of course skeptical, but he figured it'd be more fun if he actually did focus on what he wanted for the future. That way he could giggle with Colette later how off the fortune teller was.

[Null]

Sean watched the fortune-telling show impassively. He wasn't concerned necessarily unless demons started getting summoned or souls were being eaten. Instead he was only interested to see if magic was being wrought or not.

"No 'it's a culture, not a costume' quips from our resident wizard?" the boy said, coming over to talk to Sean.

[Ian Quessaire]

After a time, Ian turned over the cup and gazed into it, then to Basil, and back to the cup. He turned it, lifted it, looked at it from all angles as though he were appraising a precious gem, before finally setting it down. He extended one long index finger, pointing to the rim of the cup. "This, is your present. The looking glass: you desire to know the truth, even if it will be unpleasant to you. The bones suggest that you have recently or will soon overcome some great difficulty using your courage." His finger followed around the rim, to another symbol closer to the handle. "It seems that you are quite the ladies man. The guitar represents a strong power of attraction for the opposite sex but also pleasant adventures ending in a happy love affair."

His finger traveled further inside. "I see omens here, good and bad. Here; beans symbolizing quarrels with relations. And this, the weasel; There is someone whom you associate with who is sly of great cunning, but of whom you hold no suspicion. You should be cautious. Do not worry Monsur Basil, the good outweigh the bad, look." His finger traveled to the other side of the cup. "The fan represents a love of admiration, frivolity, pleasure. The canoe implies a friendship will lead to a love affair but..." He turns the cup slightly. "That may be a letter, it looks similar to a J. The symbols can be a little suggestive at times. But I see no lines leading from this to..."

His finger travels down again to the bottom of the cup. "The distant future. A basket within a wreath. The latter speaks of marriage and much happiness, the former of joy in domestic duties."

"So it would seem, Monsur Basil, that whatever unsettling news or unpleasant events have befallen you, there is a happy ending in store for you. And you even get to sow your wild oats, as it were. One might say the good has outweighed the bad, would one not?"

For all of his skepticism, Basil would find that too much of this hit close to home to be merely coincidence. There may be something to this tea reading business.

[Basil Benson]

Basil was invisible to the stranger, but to Jezabelle he seemed a bit disturbed by what he'd said. The tea reader had definitely struck some chord or another, and the young man stood quickly muttering a 'thank you' as he left.

His mind was focused on wanting to not think about what the man had said.

"Madame! Where are you?!"

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette was still talking with a Jez when Basil called for her, her countenance a little more green than when he left her; someone's been into the potions.

"I am right here Matou. Is somezing ze matter? You sound troubled."

[Will Stanton]

Will was next up, headed for the tea reader, as the house-elf awkwardly clambered onto the chair.

"So, this looks pretty neat. How does it work?"

[Basil Benson]

Everything the man had told him about sowing wild oats and a love affair with a friend that had the letter J in their name set him on edge.

He'd never thought of himself as a playboy or a heartbreaker, and while he couldn't deny he found Jez attractive, he was currently in a committed relationship with someone else. And now, for some unknown reason, he was compelled to find that person *right now* and settle this.

Basil closed the gap and seized her quickly, laying his hands on her shoulders.

"Madame, I need you to listen.

I have these feelings for you... I don't even know how to describe them, but they aren't the same as the ones I felt for Amber.

When she left me alone, I despised my loneliness. I'd do anything I could think of to fill the void it created until she returned.

When you leave, I pine the lack of you. Not just the taste or feel of you. Or the things you do for me or to me, but you.

I miss the sound of your voice. I miss your excitement at all the little, new discoveries you make every day. I miss the little observations that only your particular insight adds. Even when they are nerdy... Especially then.

And as insane as this sounds, I even miss missing you when you're present, because being away from you is the exact flavour of bittersweet ,backwards, melodramatic nonsense I'm into.

And every day I experience a 'shit my pants' bout of fear at the thought of what's going to happen when a better man or woman than I takes a liking to you and you realize what a terrible human being you've settled for because I barely survived Amber and I don't have any clue how I'm going to survive the loss of you. The one thing that consoles me is that I know the misery of being without you when you finally leave me for good is going to be so fucking exquisite.

What I'm trying to say is..... I think I love you.

And so long as you'll have me, I promise that I'm in this with you until the end of the line."

Basil wasn't exactly screaming these professions, but he also wasn't quiet either. Anyone close enough could definitely hear him go into the monologue.