Juliana Malfoy was flipping through a book on Indian arithmancers when the bee pin she had attached to her tiny bag began to buzz. She was going to be late.

She took a deep breath. If someone's really my best friend, she reminded herself, they'll support what I've chosen to do. I just have to make it clear to her that I'm doing this for me--well, me and Michel--and not Grandfather.

She petted the tiny metallic bee's antennae, turning it off, and slipped it into her bag, checked her reflection in her compact, and smiled. Callie would be glad to see her, and when she had assimilated the news, she would have to admit that taking advantage of her grandfather's consternation to get what she already knew she wanted was a smart move.

(& everyone)

Callista breathed out, calmer, and indicated that everyone should sit down after looping Sabrina's leash around the leg of her chair and finding Naoto a perch.

"I'm so glad everyone made it," she said, smiling, and then Madam Puddifoot came into the room.

Before Callista could say anything, the shopkeeper smiled -- a little nervously. "Miss Zabini, there is a Miss Malfoy here--is she really with your party?"

Callista's eyes widened, but in point of fact it was a relief to know that nobody was already copying her dress designs, and she was glad to see her friend. "She is now," said Callista, beaming. "We've been friends since we were little."

Madam Puddifoot smiled, though she clearly was still a little nervous.

Juliana Malfoy walked into the room. She...also looked nervous. Callista got up and hugged her. "Liane, what are you doing here? I know you don't have holidays--"

"Crashing your party, obviously," said Liane with a grin, but then whispered "Family emergency," into Callista's ear. "Don't worry, everyone lived."

"As long as you're okay." Callista turned back to the group. "This is my best friend, Juliana Malfoy. Liane, meet Elizabeth Covington, Zoe Parker, Toru Mizushima..." she continued down the line.

Liane waved. She was always a little nervous around new people. Nowadays, the Malfoy name closed almost as many doors as it opened, and she herself was deeply grateful not to have been born during the family's alignment with the Dark Lord. That was part of why she liked it at Durmstrang. But these people would have been her classmates if she'd come to Hogwarts.

Zoe agreed with Elizabeth but now her nerves were setting in. She'd never been to a tea party before.

Zoe watched at the girl in the dress that Callie had made entered the tearoom and subsequently was introduced. At her name, the Ravenclaw gave a little head bow. She was super nervous now. Did she really belong with such fancy dressed and well connected people? A girl from the highland moors wasn't someone who often was found in this kind of company--at least the shy girl was thinking. 'Maybe I should've worn a dress?' she thought.

(& everyone)

"Zoe, what sort of tea do you think you would like?" Callista asked, smiling. "Everyone dig in, we've got loads of sandwiches and scones. It's a good thing I ordered the green jasmine tea, Liane, I had no idea you were coming!"

Liane was already pouring the jasmine tea and offered some to Zoe. "If you haven't had this before, you should try it--it's really good. There are flowers in it."

Callista blinked. There was a great big ring on Liane's left ring finger that Callista had never seen before. It caught the light coming in through the window--it was really quite sparkly.

"Er, I mostly drink Scottish breakfast tea," Zoe replied. She took a couple of sandwiches and some scones. "Looks very yummy." When Liane offered her some jasmine tea Zoe nodded. "Okay, I'd like to try some. I've nee had it before." Was it her imagination or was Callista a little out of sorts?

(& everyone)

Liane poured the tea for Zoe. "You're in for a treat," she said. After pouring the tea, she sighed.

"Callie," she said, "I see you've noticed the ring. I meant to ask you privately, but I came down here to ask you to be my maid of honour next summer. Grandmother and I convinced Grandfather that even though Michel is not one of the old twenty-eight, he is another Pureblood--and he is willing to take my name."

Callista let out the breath she'd started holding when she saw the ring. "Oh," she said, visibly relaxing. "Michel. Michel is good." She grinned, although she hadn't realised how serious it was when she'd been introduced to Michel during summer break. Then she started to laugh. "I still think we're a bit young, but...you'd better not think anyone else is making your dress!"

Liane relaxed as well. There'd been a time when she had shared Callista's views on early marriage. "I'm counting on you," she said firmly. "No way am I wearing my grandmother's dress."

Just shortly after Elizabeth had taken a seat, Madame Puddifoot announced Juliana Malfoy and the black-haired girl stiffened a little. She reprimanded herself in her mind as this was ridiculous. There was no need to worry about the Malfoys anymore. The times were the Covingtons had to stay for themselves were over. Elizabeth smiled a little. "Hello Juliana.", she said and reached for the tea pot once Juliana was done pouring tea in. Green jasmine was an exquisite choice and took one of the cucumber sandwiches from the small tray. She was about to take a sip of tea from her cup when the theme shifted over to marriage. It was impossible to overhear it and doing so would have been rather impolite. "Congratulations on getting married next summer.", she said calmly. The ring Juliana was wearing was surely a big one...but that seemed to be the usual deal if you were dealing with the Malfoys.

(really like where this is going xd)

Toru had nestled into the seat beside Zoe. "T-Thanks for letting me s-sit here." There was another Slytherin girl that they didn't really know, but had seen with Lorcan earlier. Toru gave her a small sheepish smile. "H-Hi... I'm T-Toru, from Hufflepuff." They said in Anne's direction. There was an announcement that a Malfoy was here for the party? Toru was now seeming more nervous, but now incredibly so. They had never actually met a Malfoy, but they couldn't all be as bad as what was written about them. The blonde girl seemed pleasant enough, and her being here was making Callista very happy. "Oh c-congratulations on y-your w-wedding, Miss Malfoy."

They slowly took a sip of tea from their cup after it had been poured. It was good manners to taste the tea before adding any sugar, cream, or lemon. Toru was proud they didn't make a face, before adding a cube of sugar to the tea and gently stirring so not to ring the sides of the cup.

(& everyone)

"Thank you both! I'm very excited. I've loved Michel for a while now, and the bonus is no more uncomfortable introductions to people I barely know except that we probably are cousins, if you go back far enough."

Liane relaxed a lot--Callista had taken it well, probably because it was Michel and not someone like that freaky Nott boy they had laughed about the year before. And it was always nice to have good news to break the ice with people who had probably heard the worst about her family.

"It's nice to meet you, Elizabeth, and Toru too--that dress is absolutely lovely on you. I hear a lot about Callie's school friends, like she hears about mine, but I hardly ever get to meet them, because we're at different schools."

Callista laughed. "She wants to set me up with one of their Beaters."

"I think you'd like each other," Liane said teasingly. "Okay, I'm joking a little, but honestly, I think you might. He saw your picture, and I know he likes you."

“Thank ye very much,” Zoe said politely. She thought the tea swirled like tiny marbles and streaks of jade and pearls. It was very lovely. She took in a deep breath and it smelt of Jasmine flowers. Now to take a sip. She sipped slowly. It was mellow, but she could taste the Jasmine flavour with a little hint of honey. “Hmm this is really good! I might have to buy myself some.” Liane then told Callista of her upcoming nuptials. “Oh congratulations.” Was it bad that she hadn’t so much as a single date?

“Of course Toru,” she said smiling to the young hufflepuff.

(& everyone)

"I'm glad you like the jasmine tea," Callista said to Zoe. "I like it too, but I like black tea with rose petals even better myself. I think most things are better with flowers though."

"Hence the rose petal biscuits." Liane picked up a large, heart-shaped shortbread cookie which had pink spots in it, looking almost like pink chocolate chips. "These are one of my favourite things from this place. Loads of butter and the pink chips are candied rose petals. You can taste rosewater and vanilla in the shortbread, too. Now here's a scandal."

She spread one cookie liberally with clotted cream and the bottom of another with strawberry jam, then made a sandwich with them and took a bite. "Amazing." Then she returned to her pear-and-Stilton and salmon-and-cream cheese sandwiches.

Elizabeth smiled at the younger Hufflepuff. "Nice to meet you Toru. I'm Elizabeth from Slytherin.", she introduced herself. After that, she looked at the others and listened to their talk. It was actually quite interesting...and maybe she was a little jealous. If she thought correctly - had there ever been someone she could talk to as Callista could talk to Juliana? Well, Corvus, but he was her fiancé, and that was something different than a friendship between girls. There was Lotta, but she was a muggle, and therefore blissfully unaware of magic - therefore, there was always something she had to be quiet about. Elizabeth sighed innerly and took a sip of her Jasmine tea which calmed her down a little. She shouldn't worry so much. She looked over to the cookies Juliana talked about just now. "These look amazing. I have a friend at home, her parents have a bakery, and they use flowers in their cookies as well.", she said, investigating one of the cookies before eating a piece of it. There was something she wondered about... But she wasn't sure if she should ask that.

(& everyone)

"Oh, that must be fun," said Liane. "We have a cook, and she's very good, but it's not the same as being able to go into a bakery and meet up with your friend and your other friends. Plus...not everyone I'm friends with feels comfortable visiting me at my family's home," she said with a slight blush. "Callie comes to visit fairly often, of course, and Michel has come several times."

She paused and wondered what Elizabeth was thinking. She was Slytherin, and didn't seem to be too nervous.

"You have to watch out for the peacocks," said Callista, laughing. "They're very big, very white, and very loud." Callista had enjoyed her visits to the Manor, even though there were a lot of things you didn't talk about in front of the elders. But there were several friends she and Liane had in common that everyone was happier Lucius Malfoy hadn't met. "Tell us about your friend, you hardly ever talk about your friends at home."

Meanwhile Liane had noticed that the younger girl (or so she thought), the Hufflepuff, was looking at her nervously. "Tell me, Toru-san, how long you've been wearing lolita. Your coordinate is very nice."

“Aye tis pleasing,” she replied. Black tea with rose petals? Zoe couldn’t think of any response to that as it was simply too foreign of a concept. Rose petal biscuits? She hadn’t realised that’s what those were. She thought they were food colouring or something. “Sounds interesting,” she said for want of something better to say. When Elizabeth mentioned she knew of the practice of eating flowers in baked goods Zoe was feeling more nervous and out of her comfort zone. The mention of the private chef made Zoe feel small. She didn’t know who Michael was other than Liane’s fiancé and she certainly didn’t know what Lolita was. Zoe felt she had nothing to offer and shrunk into her shell. She was way out of her depth.

(& everyone)

Callista glanced at Zoe. "Is everything all right?" She took the plate of rose petal biscuits and offered it to Zoe. "You should try one, they're delicious. Everything is, though--have you tried the sandwiches yet?"

She was afraid Zoe was having another attack of the not-good-enough voices, but she didn't know what to say. After a moment she leaned over toward Zoe and spoke, very softly: "If you're feeling nervous, just try and imagine the first time Liane and I went out by ourselves in the Muggle world without my older sisters. Don't be afraid to ask us things; neither of us bites, and we've all been out of our comfort zones."

"I-It's very nice t-to meet you and Anne, Laine." Toru smiled at Liane and relaxed a little. "T-Today is a-actually my first day. C-Callista-Senpai l-let me borrow this d-dresss." They admitted sheepishly, but seemed pleased that the older girl was complimenting them. "M-My cousin has b-been trying to get m-me to wear Lolita f-for ages, though. S-She owns a s-shop in Shibuya. O-Oh!" Toru quickly dug into their bag and pulled out what seemed to be shrunken magazines. With a wave of their wand, they grew to full size. It was the newest editions of Lolita magazines that wouldn't be released for another week or two. They held them out to Callie. "I-I asked Ruriko t-to send them for y-you."

They noticed that Zoe was starting to act a little odd and gently pat her hand under the table for confidence. Not that Toru was particularly brave, but they could tell this was a safe space. They took a sandwich and gently nibbled on it and gave Zoe a small smile.

(& everyone)

"Eeee!" Callista took the magazines and grinned. "Thanks, Toru! You want them back when we're done, of course?" She sort of hoped not, but it would be rude to assume that they were a present.

Liane smiled. "I'd wondered," she said gently. "I've seen Callie wear that, but I didn't want to assume. She really wanted the lavender, but it sold out. I tried convincing her to charm it lavender, but she said that was 'cheating'. Cheating who, I don't know. She paid for it, it's not like it's a replica. That colour looks better on you, no offence to Callie. For a beginner, you're doing really well."

She smiled at Zoe, who seemed to be rather withdrawn. "If you want to try Callie's rose tea and compare, it's right here." She wondered--though it would be impolite to ask--if the girl was Muggle-born, and if that was why she was so nervous. People tended to assume she shared her elders' prejudices, but she'd seen where that had got them. She did value her bloodline, because it was a rare thing, but she honestly didn't understand why people hated each other so much when it seemed to cause nothing but trouble for everyone.

There were questions she had always wanted to ask her grandfather, but it seemed disrespectful, after he had disavowed so much in which he had once believed, and had even spent some time in Azkaban, which left its mark on him, as it did on everyone who had ever been there.

"I never had a lot of friends until I went to Durmstrang," she finally told Zoe, somewhat impulsively. "I used to get overwhelmed all the time. It passes, if you can just remember you have as much right to be here as everyone else. You were even invited. I'm the party-crasher, here. I wanted to share my excitement with Callie. But I didn't want to spoil anyone else's fun."

Callista smiled gratefully at Liane, then handed Zoe a magazine. "Zoe, take a look at this. You won't be able to read it unless you cast a translation spell, but you can look at the pictures. These are more of my lolita magazines, I get a lot of design ideas from here, and someday I'm hoping to have my work show up in them. Do you think you might ever take a break from your career in journalism to model some of my things? You're going to be brilliant, though, you'll probably be way too busy."

Toru shook their head and put up their hands in surrender. "N-No they're for you. R-Ruriko is a-always willing t-to nurture new d-designers." They chuckled softly. "E-Especially since I-I've been b-bragging o-on your designs." They flashed Callie a warm smile and winked.

They finished nibbling on the sandwich and moved to try a scone next. Toru added some clotted cream to the biscuit after trying a bite the first time. "I-I could help translate f-for you, Zoe." Then they turned to Anne. "Y-You're f-friends with Lorcan, r-right?"

“Aye,” Zoe said with a smile. “Tis all fine thank ye. I have a tuna sandwich.” Then Callista added the little pep talk and she nodded though she really had no idea what to say. She smiled at Toru. “Nice charm,” she said softly as the magazines returned to full size.

“Th-thank ye,” she said to the offer of the rose tea. “Ye don’t have friends at Durmstrang?” she asked unable to stop herself. “I did nee have friends till recently. Just animals. Speaking of, why are all yer animals white? Callie said they all were. She was talking to Blade about peacocks and such. Mentioned ye had a white one and it sounds like maybe yer dog is nee friendly at least that was my thought. But Paddy’s dog needs some training too. It’s shame I can nee get the muggle trainer Victoria Stillwell here. She’s amazing with dogs. And this guy named Jackson is amazing with cats. Though I think I’m pretty good with both…” she realised now she wouldn’t shut up and trailed off with the excuse of needing a bite of sandwich. She cleaned her hands before taking the magazine. “Ooh pretty. Would ye really want me to model?” she asked with surprise. “Thanks Toru. I do nee know Japanese. I do know Scottish Gaelic though.”

(& everyone)

"Oh, Toru--do thank Ruriko for me." Callista smiled. "And if she wants to follow my Instagram, you know what it is, right?"

Liane was happier now that Zoe seemed to have opened up. Even if she hadn't understood what Liane had said, exactly. "I do have friends at Durmstrang, but I didn't have many till I got there. It took me a while to make them. I thought that might have also been true with you, though for different reasons of course. For me, well...it's harder to make friends when people are scared of you, even if it does mean nobody messes with you. But nobody was scared of me at Durmstrang."

Liane laughed and glanced at Callie. "I will tell Zoe the same thing I told you, Callie: if you want to know why all the animals are white, you'll have to ask my grandfather. I think it might just be one of those 'we've always done it like that' kinds of things, but I do know that the peacocks were my great-grandmother's pets originally. I think the problem with Pooka--my dog--is that he is perhaps too friendly. He's knocked poor Callie over once or twice!"

Callista laughed, too. "Pooka's a handful. Though even he behaves himself in front of Liane's grandfather."

"Sort of," Liane allowed. "He likes you, and he likes Michel. I told Grandfather after that Nott boy that I couldn't marry anyone my dog hated. That, he understood."

"Zoe, do you mean Jackson Galaxy?" Callista asked. "I've watched a number of his 'My Cat From Hell' videos. More, after the pygmy puff incident. I don't think he quite approves of servals as pets, but everything he says about Savannahs works with servals, too. And of course I'd want you to model!"

Liane cocked her head to one side. "Pygmy puff incident?" If Sabrina had eaten a pygmy puff, Callista wouldn't have brought it up over tea, so probably it was hilarious.

(and all)

“Oh sorry, I misunderstood,” Zoe said. “Why should they be scared of ye? Are ye part dragon or something?” She didn’t look scary. “Ah okay well if I ever meet him, I’ll ask. I think white peacocks are gorgeous though. Aww he sounds sweet, if not over enthusiastic.” She nodded. “Aye Jackson Galaxy. He’s nice and really understands cats. Well ye take very good care of Sabrina and meet her needs. Most people can nee or do nee do that. I think that’d be his objection. I would model for ye, of course.” She blushed but of course she’d want to help a friend. Zoe giggled. “Oh the puff incident. Paddy tripped and she knocked this bloke named Blade. He’s a bit er surly but he’s also pretty good looking. Anyway, Blade lost his balance and fell into the puffs. Callista had to freeze Sabrina in midair as the serval dove for the puffs. Meanwhile Blade looked like he was for sale in the stall as one big pygmy puff. It was hilarious. Then when he got out bright pink puff kept following him and adopted him. He changed it’s colour to white.” She was having a giggle fit thinking about it.