Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
April 01, 2019 1:39 AM
For the baby. by Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
Mary had spent a fair chunk of time trying to decide whether it was kind of her to offer the Deputy Headmistress a gift to commemorate her own recent wedding. Since the woman hadn't been able to make it, she was afraid that a gift would seem bitter. At the same time, she doubted anyone would think she was capable of feeling bitter -- except perhaps Tabitha, who knew her very worst -- and she thought a gift for a baby could hardly be taken as rude.With this in mind, Mary took the opportunity to visit the Deputy Headmistress in her office during the first week of classes. She wanted to give Selina time to settle in, and wanted to take the time to make sure she'd done a good job. The magic behind her gift was similar to that she'd used for Tabitha's gift the previous year, and reminded her again that if she hadn't had such a passion for potions, she might've done halfway alright with Charms. She was sure she couldn't teach it though; her charms were all about her feelings.
Rapping softly on Selina's office door, Mary opened it when she was told to, and greeted the woman with a smile. Her clothes were in the usual style, but represented the new year with some bright colors; her high collared, buttoned gown was light blue, with dark blue trimmings. Her smiel was the brightest part of the outfit, and a simply wrapped, brown paper package in her hand reflected the more demure side of her self-presentation.
"Good afternoon," Mary said, nodding to the Deputy Headmistress. "I hope your break was wonderful."
After a moment of pleasantries, Mary offered the wrapped package. Inside, Selina would find a then glass orb with a soft orange substance inside. Again, as with Tabitha's gift, this was for the aesthetic, as Mary could've made the potion clear. She had decided that a sex-based color was too . . . distasteful for her preferences, and settled on a color drawn from Greece instead. The potion was based on the one for a pensive again, but this time Mary had charmed it to respond to the holder's emotions.
"For the baby," Mary explained. "Or yourself, but I caution using it in front of others. It's the sunset from Greece, our view during the ceremony, but it will respond to the holder's emotions and show different themes for that. The waves may get choppier, or the sky will turn grey, or it will just be perfectly bright, or any number of things. It's not a perfect way to tell if a child is hungry, but I thought it may be entertaining, and at least a little helpful!"
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Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
For the baby.
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Selina Skies
April 02, 2019 12:50 AM
For the newlyweds by Selina Skies
"Come in," Selina called, when there was a knock on her door. She smiled when she saw who it was, as she had been meaning to track down the Potions professor."Yes, absolutely wonderful," she beamed enthuasiastically. She was aware this was just the small talk section of their conversation but that was no reason not to express her genuine emotions, especially when they were such positive ones, and when Mary knew the reason already. "Yours too, I hope?" she added, aware that it was just as significant a question for the person opposite her.
"Thank you, that's very thoughtful of you," she smiled, genuinely surprised and touched that Mary had thought to get a present for her new granddaughter - especially as said granddaughter had been her reason for missing Mary's wedding. But then 'thoughtful' was probably the first word that came to most people's minds when describing the Potions professor, so perhaps it wasn't such a big surprise after all.
"Oh, that's beautiful," she smiled, as she peered into the orb, which continued to glow with reflected happiness, "I'm sure she'll enjoy looking at it.
"I have something for you too - well, for you two too. I was meaning to get you both together but... well, you found me first. Though I think it's fairer if you save it and open it with your wife," she smiled. She had sent a card, via Tarquin, for the day itself. She hadn't known what they were doing about last names and so had just addressed it to 'Professor & Professor' on the outside, and addressed them by their first names inside. She handed over a thin package, wrapped in paper decorated with silver bells and a large bow. The size of the package belied the size of the contents, as the inside of the paper was enchanted with an undectable extension charm. She had wanted the parcel to be small and convenient to carry. Once opened, it would expand into two large, fluffy white towels, embroidered with "Hers" and "Hers" both because Selina was the sort of person who gave pleasant embroidered towels as a wedding gift and because she wanted to make it clear she didn't have any problem with the situation. The towels were differentiated by the colours of the writing and the little coloured border that ran along each - yellow and a shiny bronzy brown for Mary, and red and gold for Tabitha.
"Please, have a seat, if you're not busy," she offered, "I have some pictures,"she smiled, already reaching into her purse in a way that suggested she had these to hand at all times, " and I'd love to hear more about your wedding.
"Help youself to coffee," she indicated the pot on the desk, conjuring up another cup. "This is the birth announcement card they sent out - I think it's a nice memento, and they're the very first pictures of her," she added as explanation, as obviously she had found out in a much more personal way than being owled a mass produced card. "Girls seem to run in the family," she added. As, Mary might be forced to conclude having inspected it, did aggressive genering and overly long, frilly and pretentious names. The card was incredibly pink and headed with 'It's a girl! Inset was a close up of a baby. It looked, as all babies did, like a baby. It was well wrapped in a pink blanket and fast asleep. On the opposite side was a group shot with tired-looking mother and proud-looking father holding the bundle. In between this were the details
Araminta Lorelai Selina Fairthorne
Born 12th December, 3.54pm
There followed details of her weight and length and how delighted everyone was.
"And here we are - three generations," she held out a photo which had herself, her daughter - wavy blonde hair framing a face that gave a very strong impression of what Selina might have looked like at that age - and the small pink-hatted bundle, tilted so the camera could see her.
"We all got together, Franklin's family and ours, to have her first Christmas together. Obviously she didn't have a clue what was going on, but we spoilt her rotten anyway. It's just so easy to buy baby things - they're all just so cute.
"Now, it must be your turn..." she smiled. "Feel free to tell me in detail from start to finish. I love weddings. I was sorry I couldn't be there, but..." she indicated the photographs with a smile that suggested 'Who could tear themselves away from that?'
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Selina Skies
For the newlyweds
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Mary Brooding
April 02, 2019 9:18 PM
I guess we are, aren't we? by Mary Brooding
Mary accepted the gift and the seat, smiling at both. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "That means a lot to me, and to us." She caught herself before extending into some diatribe about how wonderful the word us was and how lovely it was that they were married and all the fun things."She's perfect! She's so beautiful and strong, look at her!" Mary cooed, examining the pictures Selina offered. "Awe, and mom looks like she's doing well." She ogled each picture, the perfect subject upon which to inflict any proud relative of a new baby. Despite the sore spot this subject had been with Michelle, Mary did love babies, and seeing such a warm side of Selina made it even better.
"That's such a strong name, too. This little girl is a lucky one." Mary made all the appropriate faces, gestures, and sounds as she examined each picture and made comments like, "Oh, she's beautiful!" and the like. It was exactly the sort of thing that could cheer her up even when she wasn't down, and she felt like she was positively glowing.
"Thank you for sharing those with me, that's so special," she said, sipping a cup of coffee she'd taken at some point during their shared excitement. She wasn't usually one to go for coffee, particularly since Tabitha's forceful addition of tea into her life, but there was something special about a good, strong cup of coffee and a good, strong woman. This was a moment to enjoy, and the aroma of fresh roast coffee was exactly the right one for it. "I'm so happy for you and your family."
When the conversation turned to Mary's wedding, she tried not to look too self-indulgent. "It was perfect," she breathed, blushing despite herself. She figured it was safe to enjoy such displays of open adoration for her new wife now, while she had the excuse of newlywed love to go for her. Some people, like Selina maybe, would still find their love properly precious in a decade or two, but others would hardly allow a word be dedicated to discussing it, and Mary would take the opportunities where she could.
Starting from the preparations and admitting to some of her anxieties over the whole ceremony, Mary talked through the events of the day. She described the paper lanterns, floating flowers, sunset, garden, and everything else that she could think of. She couldn't, of course, properly describe Tabitha.
"And then there she was," Mary said, slowing down as she remembered. Her eyes were glassy and a smile brushed her expression. "She was just there. For me. I couldn't imagine anything happier than that."
Talking about that made Mary feel squishy and mushy inside, so she shook herself slightly and went on to talk of some of the more colleague-appropriate parts of their extended stay/honeymoon in Greece. Touching on some of the sights they'd seen and the beauty of a Mediterranean Christmas, Mary finished her recounting with a sigh.
"It was perfect," Mary said. "So perfect."
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Mary Brooding
I guess we are, aren't we?
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