roaringlilyevans

[roaringlilyevans]

Lily felt a wave of relief when she realized that the person she had addressed with Annabeth. She would be better qualified than a random stranger to give Lily an opinion on what Marls would like best, and a smile broke out across her face in her delight to have Annabeth’s opinion. “Annabeth! I didn’t realize it was you, but I’m so glad. I’m actually shopping for Marlene. Do you think this would suit her?” She wrinkled her nose a bit and let out a laugh. “I have to admit that I’ve never really gotten the hang of what is stylish and isn’t in the wizarding world. I far prefer muggle attire.” A controversial statement, maybe, but Lily knew that Annabeth wouldn’t judge her for that. In fact, she probably understood better than most. After examining the robes again, Lily turned back to the other witch. “How are you doing? I haven’t seen you in a bit.”

Annabeth found that she never really enjoyed shopping but that she had to do it more and more often. She preferred to be comfortable and to not have to look so dressed up all the time but her job demanded that she look a certain way and that she keep up with appearances. She had spent more on clothes since starting her job than she ever had before. She knew though that she was judged harsher than others would be in her position and she didn't want to give anyone a reason to look down on her.

Gladrags had become a usual haunt for her and at times the owner would set things aside for her as they came in to make her shopping trips easier. She viewed the garment that lily was holding up tilting her head as she looked at it. "I think it's stunning. I'm sure anyone would love it."

[roaringlilyevans]

Lily was delighted that the streets around Diagon Alley were beginning to fill up again, people relaxing and returning back to normal life after the fright of the solstice festival. It brightened her day to see families walking through the streets, to hear the sound of laughter and chatter. Despite the dark times they were in (or maybe because of them), Lily felt a deeper appreciation for the beauty of everyday life. Stopping into the owl emporium in order to pick up a box of treats for her owl and some food for her cat, Lily was humming happily to herself as she searched for what she wanted when an unfortunately familiar voice accosted her. Closing her eyes for a moment and steeling herself, Lily forced a smile on her face before turning toward Bellatrix. “An apt colloquialism, considering the setting.”

Where: Eeylops Owl Emporium, Diagon Alley Who: @roaringlilyevans

The more people felt brave enough to venture out of their homes, the less Bellatrix felt the need to do her usual errands and shopping. With summer nearing, the Alleys were filled with many families looking for ways to keep the children entertained as the school year came to a close. The crowds grew as her irritation did and all she had left was stopping in to grab a few extra treats and feedings for her hawl owls. It was only as she was preusing the shelves did she even noticed the presence of someone familiar. "Look what the cat dragged in," Head tilted in interest as she smirked in Lily's direction.

[roaringlilyevans]

It was a beautiful day, and Lily couldn’t bear to be cooped up in her office over the lunch hour, so she found herself wandering the streets of Diagon Alley, enjoying the sunshine and trying to decide what carryout to treat herself to before she returned to the Ministry. Humming softly to herself, a bright canvas caught her eye, and she slowed her stride, approaching the man who was painting on the canvas. It was the sort of thing you saw all the time in the streets of Muggle London, but Lily couldn’t remember seeing someone doing this in the wizarding world, and she felt charmed by it. Stopping a few feet away, Lily felt the wind tickling her hair and the sunshine warming her face as she watched the man work. After a moment, she realized that someone else had stopped nearby to watch, and she turned to look at them, wanting to share this delightful moment with someone else. When Rosaline turned and addressed her, Lily was startled by the derisive tone. “I don’t know if he would consider it to be a waste,” she replied lightly, her gaze turning back to the painter.

Location: Streets of Diagon Alley Date: May Open

It was a beautiful day out, and Rosaline intended to enjoy the sunshine. It felt like winter had lasted far too long and she wanted to enjoy every moment of sun that she could. She had gone to Moribund's earlier to get some paperwork done, she much preferred to get her work done early before the staff arrived and to get out before a problem undoubtedly would come up. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a man with a canvas and easel where a small crowd had gathered. Rosaline looked wistfully at it, wishing that she were the painter. She knew her wishes and desires 'didn't go in society' and so she was stuck watching art, enjoying art, in secret, when nobody was watching her.

She felt someone watching her, and she forced a smile on her lips. "It must be nice to just waste the day painting, don't you think?" She asked, her voice derisive.

[roaringlilyevans]

Perhaps it was somewhat cliche, given her name, but Lily had always had an affinity for flowers. She loved to be around them, loved to grow them, and had a gift for using her magic to transfigure them. She could never resist a pretty arrangement, so one afternoon when she was strolling past the magical plant emporium and saw a delightful bouquet in the window, Lily couldn’t resist a stop inside. Fresh flowers would be a great way to brighten up her underground office at the Ministry. Browsing through the various buckets of flowers inside the shop, Lily slowly began to make her choices, compiling a gorgeous bouquet on instinct alone. Humming to herself, Lily was just grabbing a couple bunches of baby’s breath when a voice interrupted her reverie. Surprised, Lily turned towards the voice, first seeing the two bouquets held out in front of her, and only then seeing the face of the woman holding them. She knew who Narcissa Black was, of course. Even if they hadn’t taken much notice of one another during their overlapping years at Hogwarts, one could not be close to Sirius without knowing by sight those family members he had once left behind. Considering Narcissa’s question, Lily tilted her head. “I suppose most wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, but this one has a better balance of camellias. It makes the bouquet look a little fuller.” Lily shrugged. “But they’re both beautiful.”

      lost amongst the sweeping shelves of the magical plant emporium, optioning flower arrangements for upcoming balls, narcissa found that she was in desperate need of a second opinion. with a list of preparations as long as merlin's beard was said to be, the black matriach had taken it upon herself to split the work between the mother daughter pair by way of swanning off to paris to handle the glamorous tasks, leaving narcissa with what could only be described as more... menial ones. not that garlands and bouquets weren't important nor that narcissa's immense grace and elegance meant that she didn't look wholly at home amidst the white camellias and chrysanthemums but she curses her mother's unavailability all the same. spinning on her heel with a well rehearsed flourish to face the nearest bystander, she urges them to dismiss whatever it was that'd been previously occupying them in favour of her needs that obviously required immediate attention. ❛   two questions. ❜ the blonde poses, raising two almost identical looking floral bouquets to her new found companion with an expression of fair bemusement. these were her mother's instructions after all and despite wanting to follow them exactly, narcissa thought far more highly of her taste than of anybody else's, ❛   do these look any different to you and if so, which is your favourite? ❜

[roaringlilyevans]

Lily felt a wave of relief when she realized that it was Dorcas she had stumbled into. Maybe it was silly to be feeling on edge — after all, it was broad daylight and in the middle of Diagon Alley, who would be dumb enough to try anything? — but at the same time, too many sinister things had been happening in large groups of people for her to feel all that comfortable wandering on her own. She gave Doe a sympathetic smile when she realized that her friend too had been slightly spooked by their collision. Feeling Dorcas’ comforting hand on her arm, Lily breathed out. “I haven’t been in yet — I just came from the Ministry, and there’s nothing new there, just endless speculation and that constant undercurrent of worry. I wonder when Bagnold will make a statement.” She shook her head. “I just came to see Sirius on my lunch break. Checking up on all of our people, you know?” Lily smiled and reached up to grasp Doe’s hand, giving it a quick squeeze. “How are you doing?”

Doe had set the day low on her list - a week of cheer shattered by an unknown assailant. A creature - pitiful in it's lashing out. It hadn't been an easy fight. Fear had a bad habit of occupying violence, after all. The Order would be on the wolf's haunches, as would the aurors, and every ambitious journalist in London. She was chasing witness reports - disbelieving that the wolf would get this far, but unafraid to commit to her cause. Wand out in front of her, she stumbled back at the disruption, snorting softly as she rights herself. She lodged her wand back in it's holster, patting herself down. No good for a Hitwix to be startled - least of all in friendly company. A short smile touched her lips. "It's okay, darling. Better you than the anyone else." A comforting curl of her fingers around Lily's arm. "You hear anything while you were in there? I've got my ears on, but it's hard to be everywhere at once."

[roaringlilyevans]

It was rare that Lily sensed any genuineness from Gilderoy Lockhart, but his compliment lacked its’ usual arrogance and false air, so Lily was gratified to think that he really meant what he was saying. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of warmth towards him and gave him a genuine smile this time. “That’s very kind of you, Gilderoy,” she replied quietly, then looked over his shoulder at the pub. “I can see why some might feel that way, but I’ll always have a soft spot for the Leaky Cauldron. Just the history of it alone makes me love it.” She shrugged. “But I do love both of those pubs. I’m just here to see Sirius anyway.”

"You know, you are one of the kindest witches I know." While fake compliments passing Gilderoy's lips were common, this one was genuine. "I'm actually going; this pub is overrated anyway – much prefer the Fountain of Fair Fortune or the Hopping Pot. More patrons that appreciate my skills."

@roaringlilyevans

[roaringlilyevans]

Lily laughed. “Maybe if I didn’t have to go back to work, I’d risk it. I don’t remember you ever leading me too far astray in the past.” A debatable statement, maybe, but she also knew that Sirius would never leave her unprotected or let her get herself into too much trouble. He might cross the line plenty, but he had a knack for keeping her from doing the same. “I'm sure it might feel hard to look past it, but you guys have years of friendship to consider. I’m sure he’ll be groveling for forgiveness soon enough.” Her tone was light and teasing, but changed upon hearing his question. She was relieved that the boys had had an uneventful excursion with Remus, but still feeling out of sorts and wary about everything that had happened. “I was fine. I wasn’t anywhere near when all of it happened — I only arrived after it was all over. It has me worried, though, obviously.” She frowned.

"Here I was concerned you were okay with leaving me in charge of creating an alcohol concoction," He chuckled. "Remus didn't appreciate the last one I created, and I'm still a little offended." Sirius would get over it eventually, but he needed a moment of dramatics to solidify the offense. "Uneventful until hearing about what happened here," He murmured. "Were you okay?" There was no denying he still felt a little uneasy at having been gone that night.

[roaringlilyevans]

Location: gladrags wizardwear Date: May 11 Status: open

Lily frowned as she examined the set of robes she was holding away from her, trying to decide if they would look cute on Marlene or if they were just too fancy. She didn’t shop at Gladrags that often, preferring to find thrift stores or just wear muggle clothes (which in her opinion were far more comfortable than wizard’s robes), but she had it in her mind to get a special present for her best friend, and they were known for having the most fashionable styles. They could all use some cheering up these days, and new, cute clothes always seemed like a good way to go about it.

Lily sensed another person nearby and turned to them, holding out the robes for them to examine. “What do you think of these? Do they say 'I look fabulous and belong on someone just as fabulous' or are they too flashy?” She wasn’t entirely sure she could trust her own judgment on what was in style, so maybe they could help her out.

[roaringlilyevans]

Lily groaned from her place on Marlene’s bed, making a face at her best friend. “This is why I avoid coming over, you know,” she replied lightheartedly, knowing that Marls would know she was joking. It probably was good for them to get out and have some fun, but Lily had been uninterested in doing just that, considering how south things had gone the last time they were all out. At least there was no Ministry-sanctioned event tonight — that seemed to be the kiss of death these days. She begrudgingly took the dress Marlene handed her and stood up, starting to strip off her work robes and put the dress on instead. Looking in the mirror, Lily frowned. “You might have a point about the frown lines.”

Lily scoffed. “I don’t much mind the thought of being a lonely spinster with nothing but cats for company — especially if you’re one with me, how could I ever get lonely?” The thought of juggling a dating relationship with everything else that was going on in the world just sounded exhausting. She’d had a couple of romances during her Hogwarts days, but Lily had never found anyone that really made her heart skip a beat in the way she idealized. Well, maybe there was someone out there who could evoke that response in her, but she wasn’t anywhere near ready to admit it. “I think I can handle my love life on my own, thank you.” There was a hint of teasing sass in her voice, but she did mean it. The last thing she wanted was her friends trying to match make for her. “So where are you dragging me tonight?”

Who: @roaringlilyevans Where: Marlene's apartment

"We- are going out. And no I will not stand for your objections or anything of it-" Marlene spoke adamantly as she pointed at Lily grabbing something from her closet and handing it to her friend before pulling another dress for herself. "We'll both end up with permanent frown lines from worry if we don't have some kind of break." Marlene knew Lily. Knew that her best friend would have been just as she was, trying to find some kind of answer for everything that had happened. To Marlene it felt all consuming. Forgetting to breathe from the over whelming notion of actively doing something than idealing wasting time waiting for someone to do something.

"Besides that, we need to get you a date before the whole world burns into fire around us and we end as lonely spinsters with cats for company." The witch spoke sarcastically with a light smirk on her face. While granted it was true, with the state of the world a love life was far from a priority. Yet still wasn't it life that they were all wanting to protect? "So-.. anyone you have your eye on? Or do I need to pull out my very highly qualified wing woman status once more? Just ask, Sirius he can verify."

[roaringlilyevans]

Recognizing both the arrogant tone of voice and the man it belonged to, Lily had to bite back a groan. Gilderoy Lockhart was harmless, really, but that didn't mean he wasn't annoying. Lily had never known another person with less self-awareness or less ability to read others. At least in this he had a point -- she was often quite clumsy and by now it was a well known fact among those who had been her acquaintances since her days at Hogwarts. "I'm glad you find it endearing," she replied, forcing her tone to remain friendly. "Are you coming or going?" She gestured to the entrance to the pub in front of them.

Gilderoy was cursing himself for getting kicked out of the Leaky Cauldron again for "harassing patrons," which was absolute dragon shit. He was sure they had asked him to sign their robes. "Dusty old place anyway." he muttered right before someone bumped into him. He looked the woman up and down before recognising her.

"Lily. Clumsy as always, but it suits you – rather cute actually."

@roaringlilyevans

[roaringlilyevans]

Lily didn't spend much time in Knockturn as a general rule, but after her conversation with Sirius, she had headed this way to see if she could find Remus who was on duty taking pictures of the scene. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice another presence in the alley until it was too late to avoid him. Startled by that forever familiar voice, Lily was loathe to admit that there was still a part of her that recoiled from the sneer in his tone, as if she still was the one person in the world who was never on the receiving end of it. Sev. Registering his question, Lily felt herself bristle. Now that she knew the truth about Remus, she had been well caught up on everything that had happened between the Marauders and Severus, and she couldn't help thinking it was a veiled reference to her friend. She wasn't sure how to respond. She was, after all, out here looking for a werewolf - the werewolf in question was just Remus. "Out covering your master's tracks?" Lily didn't know for sure that Severus was involved with the Death Eaters, but she had always believed that was where he was heading after the dissolution of their friendship, so it seemed like a good guess.

WHERE: Knockturn Alley WHO: @roaringlilyevans

With the additional presence of law-enforcement, Knockturn Alley had gone from being a safehouse for the less-than-savory, to yet another corner of the world to avoid. With Mulpepper's in compromise, Severus' directives felt clear. Corin was loose, and any inkling that The Death Eaters' had their hands in the attacks were wiped from the establishment in the aftermath. Nursing a strong cup of coffee, Severus stepped out into the spring sun - the whisper of the investigation on the wind. Life's blunt edges often came in pairs, and bad things had a habit of following the leader. Jostled, he snapped his head up to sneer at the culprit before falling completely silent. His brows bunched together, fingers squeezing the cup a touch tighter. It's an uncertain moment, the vision of Lily in a place shrouded with shadow. They didn't speak anymore - hadn't in years and Severus' tongue felt heavy with that truth. What did you say to a woman who had done so much to become a stranger? Fancy seeing you here? Right. "Out hunting werewolves?"

[roaringlilyevans]

"Yeah, probably not the best idea. I am supposed to go back to work at some point so I shouldn't be drunk for that." Lily gave a shrug and a cheeky grin. "I guess just a butterbeer, then." Lily leaned forward with her elbows on the bar and took a moment to think about his question before she gave him some bullshit answer. She hadn't been part of any of the chaos of the night before and had only arrived to see the aftermath, but anytime something like this happened in the wizarding community, it shook Lily. A world that had once seemed like a dream felt far more like a nightmare as this war continued to heat up. She sighed and gave Sirius a shrug. "I'm okay. I guess I should have expected something like this at a ministry event, but I let myself get lured into a false sense of security. How are you?" She lowered her voice. "How was last night for you guys?"

"Are you sure about that?" Sirius asked and moved to get her a drink. hesitating in doing so just to make sure she was positive. He didn't mind following direct orders, but leaving things to chance left room for getting creative or accidentally picking something too strong. His own tolerance could be blamed on the latter option. "You alright, Red?" The question was accompanied by a quick once-over. He was stressed despite not having been involved the night before. It was the one thing that had him eager to work even though the shift wasn't all that entertaining.

[roaringlilyevans]

After her conversation with Sirius, Lily decided to just stay on her stool at the Leaky Cauldron and have lunch. After all, she was technically taking a lunch break, though she had been gone far longer than the usual allotted time. After all of the events of the previous evening, though, all offices at the Ministry were a little chaotic, so she doubted her absence would be noted. Unfortunately, Sirius was called off to attend to the lunch crowd coming in, so Lily was left alone at her stool while she picked at her fish & chips.

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed a man take a seat a couple stools away, so she jumped when the sound of his voice startled her. It took her a moment to register what he had said, enough time that he made a second comment, and Lily shook herself, turning to make a decent reply.

"Odd, that, considering the attack last night. I guess it happened so late that the Prophet didn't get it in the morning edition of the paper." Lily shrugged, returning the man's smile with a sheepish grin of her own. "I'm glad to hear there's nothing else big that's happened, anyway."

WHEN: 27TH MARCH 1968 WHERE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON WHO: OPEN

News travelled fast in Wizarding London (depending on who you knew, of course), and while he had heard murmurs about this and that from various conversations that surrounded him, nothing had grabbed his attention. Yet. Xander had positioned himself at the end of the bar, the Daily Prophet in hand, as he perused the paper while waiting for one of his associates. 

“It seems like a slow news day,” he muses, tutting his tongue, flipping to the puzzle segment of the paper. He’d always gotten bored quickly, much to his parents’ chagrin when he was younger. And it was a full moon yesterday, something that - no matter how hard he had tried - he’d always taken the care to track. He hadn’t been to see Mason, it had been years, and yet part of him still worried. 

“I suppose a slow news day is good.” A smile tugs at his mouth, not certain whether it was for his own benefit, or those around him. It had seemed lately that no news was good news. The difference was subtle (but present), particularly when he still travelled frequently between England and home, the former slowly changing before his eyes every time they returned.

[roaringlilyevans]

where; maryse's flat when; 27 march 1986 who; closed for @marysem

Despite her attempts to locate all of her loved ones at the scene of the events, Lily hadn't come across Maryse, and even though she knew that her friend hadn't been one of the attacked, she was still too worried to not check up on them. So it was that she stood outside of Maryse's flat at the crack of dawn, waiting for them to open the door. Lily had only gotten a couple hours of sleep and would have to head into work soon, but checking up on her friends was far more important than sleep. When the door swung open, Lily sighed in relief. "Thank heavens, are you okay?"

[roaringlilyevans]

where; the leaky cauldron when; 27 march 1986 who; closed for @letoiledechue

After her mishap and conversation in the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron, Lily was relieved to enter the pub and see Sirius behind the bar. Luckily for her, the pub was fairly dead this afternoon, which would give them relative privacy. Lily supposed that after the events of last night, most people weren't too keen to wander around Diagon Alley right now. Making her way up to the bar and sitting down on a stool, Lily slapped her hand on the bar dramatically. "I don't care what you give me, but make it stiff." She took a moment to look Sirius over, feeling worried even though she knew he hadn't been anywhere near the scene last night. He just looked like Sirius, thank Merlin.

[roaringlilyevans]

The events of the night were long over before Lily heard about the commotion and made her way to the scene, but she had heard enough of the panicked conversations in the streets to be feeling a little bit frantic by the time she arrived. Werewolf attack, multiple injured, unconscious. She was desperate to make sure that none of the people she loved were the ones being whispered about, but so far she hadn’t been able to find any of her friends. So when she spotted Dougal, she breathed a sigh of relief before hurrying up to him and grabbing his arm. “I’m sorry, I’m sure you do, I just have to know if you’ve seen Marlene. Or Maryse, Doe, anyone.” She let go of him and wrapped her arms around her torso, feeling shaken by the look on his face and the pools of blood still coating parts of the alley. “What the hell happened?”

x OPEN STARTER x Time: After the Event Where: On the Streets So much has gone down and a piece of himself was absolutely distraught he couldn't do anything to help the people who were hurt. He was happy his friends and loved ones weren't hurt, but he still wasn't able to help them. Even turning the werewolf into a duck, which was silly but he assumed would be helpful didn't work out. Now he just wanted to grab Annabeth, make sure Marlene was safe and head home to take a nice relaxing bubble bath before he had to go into work the next day and deal with the entire situation. "Look I just want to go home --" he wasn't sure who he was saying it too, but Dougal was tired and done.

[roaringlilyevans]

where; outside of the leaky cauldron when; 27 march 1986 who; open starter

Lily hadn’t seen any of the boys after they disappeared for the evening to be with Remus during his transformation, but she was dying to know their take on the events of the night before, so during her lunch break, Lily headed to the Leaky Cauldron to bother Sirius during his shift. She had been cleaning up after herself and Remus in Slug & Jiggers, so she had missed all of the commotion until everything had already unfolded, but another  werewolf attack was something she knew they would all be concerned about. Even if Remus’ condition wasn’t common knowledge, there was always a danger to him whenever something like this happened. With all this on her mind, she wasn’t paying much attention to what she was doing, so when she apparated into the alley behind the pub, Lily nearly knocked into someone. “Oh bollocks, I’m so sorry,” she said, holding out a hand to steady the person.