Hallowe'en Gala at the Manor
I had every intention of coming back to update my journal about the Hallowe'en Gala but other circumstances permitted me from doing so yesternight. (It seems that consuming an entire cauldronful of martinis does not alleviate migraine headaches. Curiously, in fact, it rather put me right to sleep. This was not entire unwelcome as beauty sleep is important to a well-kept Lady of the Manor such as myself.) Please accept my humble apologies. I shall attempt to record everything that I witnessed last evening.
By seven o'clock all the finishing touches on the Manor decorum had been complete. Everything from the marble floors and staircases to the silver service trays had been polished to a gleaming shine. The magical creatures we had imported were in their designated areas with handlers nearby to ensure there would be no grievous injuries. (Further into my entry I will detail what occurred with the giant puffskein. I do hope the house elves can get the stains out.) Fountains flowing with beverages such as absinthe, crystale, a particularly fabulous merlot, and firewhiskey were bubbling in each corner of the main room where most of the Gala was to occur. Everything was absolutely fabulous and perfect. The Little Dragon had refused to wear the special robes I had set out for him but I could not be angry with him for his disobedience. After all, he had been viciously attacked by that dreadfully unrefined orphan not long ago! He was probably still traumatized and feeling unwell, the poor dear! Whilst I retired to my chambers to admire my gorgeous Rococo-era self in the mirror until most of the guests arrived, my charming son dutifully took his place in the entryway and welcomed everyone to our stunningly brilliant abode.
My darling husband came to my chambers at precisely 7:45 to escort me downstairs. My, but did he look dashing with his elegant cape and smartly tailored suit! He made quite the enticing vampire and even charmed two of his teeth to resemble fangs. I had hopes of utilizing those gleaming, sharp little things later on that evening in bedroom play but, alas, we were not able to properly retire to chambers together last evening.
Overall I was very pleased with both the number of guests who graced us with their presence as well as the imagination in most of the costumes. I am not quite sure what Xiomara was supposed to be. In fact, she simply appeared to be more mannish than usual. Had I no class at all, I would have reminded her that this was a costume party. However horrid her apparel, she at least seemed pleased with herself. I could have sworn she looked me over in the manner that Lucius did! Frankly, it made me more than a bit uncomfortable. I, being the refined and gracious person that I am, merely ignored this and blithely bestowed her a smile and a curtsey before moving on to converse with others in attendance. Sirius's costume was most peculiar as well. Adorned in some sort of rubbery black skinsuit, he had attached bat wings and horns to his person as well as charmed his eyes to appear completely black. As his attire slightly scared me, I tended to shy away from him for most of the evening. Severus was conspicuously absent, much to my chagrin. I so did wish to speak to him about a few concerns at Hogwarts involving my son. Unfortunately Sylvia could not have taken a leaf out of Severus's book and made herself scarce. It seemed as though every time I turned around she was standing there leering at me! Every once in a while I would catch a quick glimpse of one of her six hands (she had magicked arms to herself to complete her Shiva costume) giving me a rude gesture. That woman. Had I not had to play the part of the perfect hostess I surely would have hexed all of her hands off right then and there!
Everyone whom we had invited had appeared - staff from Hogwarts (and their guests), some of Lucius's associates, and a few of the more well-to-do families in Iverness and around the Manor. After about my fifth or sixth martini, I realized that Draco was strangely suddenly absent. As the Manor is quite spacious I could not expect to leave my guests in search of my son. As all the guests were adults, I decided that it was probably best for him to go off and do his own thing. Adult conversations can be dreadfully boring to children at times.
At the conclusion of a particularly enthralling conversation with Sibyll on necromancy, I excused myself in order to acquire a fresh goblet of martini when AGAIN I witnessed Sylia gesture obscenely at me. I then said a few unladylike things myself and we began to have a heated verbal battle. Just as I was thrusting my hand down the front of my bodice to secure my wand she disappeared. By this time I was rather irate and wanted to settle things once and for all. We have never gotten along and I feel we never shall. She lives to attempt to insult and infuriate me and I simply snapped when I discovered that she had vanished. Brandishing my wand and walking as steadily as I could manage considering the heat in the room and the few martinis I had already downed, I eventually found her standing near the fountain of firewhiskey. Before she could move for her own wand I had indeed performed a hex to make her hands fall off. Unfortunately only the magicked hands came off. Pity. Immediately after that I charmed her cosmetics to resemble a garish Muggle clown I once had the displeasure of seeing whilst doing a bit of banking in Gringott's one morning. The charm will last for 72 hours. What a shame I am not a current Hogwarts student as I would adore to hear all the jibes and jeers given her whilst she attempts to lecture. Arching one delicate brow in victory, I then curtseyed low and became lost in the crowd of costumed revelers. Childish of me, I know. It did make me feel a tiny bit better, though.
To celebrate my brilliant charmwork I had taken the liberty of attending to a number of martinis. Nibbling on an olive taken from the last goblet before me, loud voices and the sounds of a scuffle had garnered my attention. Turning my back to a house elf who had arrived with a fresh serving tray of drinks for me, I was absolutely stunned to see Sirius Black throwing a punch at my handsome husband! Gilderoy Lockhart was blocking my path to poor Lucius, teetering back and forth on lavender platform boots and shouting hello at everyone. I simply had to get to my husband and pushed the clueless man out of my way. Before I could cross over to Lucius's side, a huge flash of light went off in the middle of the ballroom floor. At first I thought it was a light show courtesy of the orchestra but quickly I was proven wrong.
When we began planning the Gala, Lucius and I had decided we wanted to acquire a Chimaera as the pinnacle of our collection of magical creatures for the evening. Everything concerning the order had been in place for weeks but apparently the procurer of the beast was a daft oik. Yesterday, instead of a Chimaera, a Giant Puffskein had been delivered! Naturally Lucius became enraged and sent the man a howler demanded the situation be corrected. He even took to hexing a few of the more dependable house elves! The procurer owled back and said that we were "stuck with the damn thing. Deal with it." Lucius had wanted to transfigure it into something more menacing but, admittedly, the Giant Puffskein was rather adorable. Hence, the friendly creature was placed in the middle of the ballroom in an overly large cage. The flash of light mentioned above changed that. Neither Lucius nor myself could see just who had done it but that matters not. What matters is that we now had an adolescent Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon inside the Manor! The last thing I saw before passing out from fright was the metallic grey scales of its hide glinting in the light and its red eyes staring at me. I woke up later in my chambers, still in my costume, on my mattress. Strangely, though, my bodice had been loosened and fastened incorrectly and the paniers were abandoned on the floor.
I must say if anyone can fill me in on what happened after I passed out and how the dragon was removed from the Manor I would be eternally grateful.
By seven o'clock all the finishing touches on the Manor decorum had been complete. Everything from the marble floors and staircases to the silver service trays had been polished to a gleaming shine. The magical creatures we had imported were in their designated areas with handlers nearby to ensure there would be no grievous injuries. (Further into my entry I will detail what occurred with the giant puffskein. I do hope the house elves can get the stains out.) Fountains flowing with beverages such as absinthe, crystale, a particularly fabulous merlot, and firewhiskey were bubbling in each corner of the main room where most of the Gala was to occur. Everything was absolutely fabulous and perfect. The Little Dragon had refused to wear the special robes I had set out for him but I could not be angry with him for his disobedience. After all, he had been viciously attacked by that dreadfully unrefined orphan not long ago! He was probably still traumatized and feeling unwell, the poor dear! Whilst I retired to my chambers to admire my gorgeous Rococo-era self in the mirror until most of the guests arrived, my charming son dutifully took his place in the entryway and welcomed everyone to our stunningly brilliant abode.
My darling husband came to my chambers at precisely 7:45 to escort me downstairs. My, but did he look dashing with his elegant cape and smartly tailored suit! He made quite the enticing vampire and even charmed two of his teeth to resemble fangs. I had hopes of utilizing those gleaming, sharp little things later on that evening in bedroom play but, alas, we were not able to properly retire to chambers together last evening.
Overall I was very pleased with both the number of guests who graced us with their presence as well as the imagination in most of the costumes. I am not quite sure what Xiomara was supposed to be. In fact, she simply appeared to be more mannish than usual. Had I no class at all, I would have reminded her that this was a costume party. However horrid her apparel, she at least seemed pleased with herself. I could have sworn she looked me over in the manner that Lucius did! Frankly, it made me more than a bit uncomfortable. I, being the refined and gracious person that I am, merely ignored this and blithely bestowed her a smile and a curtsey before moving on to converse with others in attendance. Sirius's costume was most peculiar as well. Adorned in some sort of rubbery black skinsuit, he had attached bat wings and horns to his person as well as charmed his eyes to appear completely black. As his attire slightly scared me, I tended to shy away from him for most of the evening. Severus was conspicuously absent, much to my chagrin. I so did wish to speak to him about a few concerns at Hogwarts involving my son. Unfortunately Sylvia could not have taken a leaf out of Severus's book and made herself scarce. It seemed as though every time I turned around she was standing there leering at me! Every once in a while I would catch a quick glimpse of one of her six hands (she had magicked arms to herself to complete her Shiva costume) giving me a rude gesture. That woman. Had I not had to play the part of the perfect hostess I surely would have hexed all of her hands off right then and there!
Everyone whom we had invited had appeared - staff from Hogwarts (and their guests), some of Lucius's associates, and a few of the more well-to-do families in Iverness and around the Manor. After about my fifth or sixth martini, I realized that Draco was strangely suddenly absent. As the Manor is quite spacious I could not expect to leave my guests in search of my son. As all the guests were adults, I decided that it was probably best for him to go off and do his own thing. Adult conversations can be dreadfully boring to children at times.
At the conclusion of a particularly enthralling conversation with Sibyll on necromancy, I excused myself in order to acquire a fresh goblet of martini when AGAIN I witnessed Sylia gesture obscenely at me. I then said a few unladylike things myself and we began to have a heated verbal battle. Just as I was thrusting my hand down the front of my bodice to secure my wand she disappeared. By this time I was rather irate and wanted to settle things once and for all. We have never gotten along and I feel we never shall. She lives to attempt to insult and infuriate me and I simply snapped when I discovered that she had vanished. Brandishing my wand and walking as steadily as I could manage considering the heat in the room and the few martinis I had already downed, I eventually found her standing near the fountain of firewhiskey. Before she could move for her own wand I had indeed performed a hex to make her hands fall off. Unfortunately only the magicked hands came off. Pity. Immediately after that I charmed her cosmetics to resemble a garish Muggle clown I once had the displeasure of seeing whilst doing a bit of banking in Gringott's one morning. The charm will last for 72 hours. What a shame I am not a current Hogwarts student as I would adore to hear all the jibes and jeers given her whilst she attempts to lecture. Arching one delicate brow in victory, I then curtseyed low and became lost in the crowd of costumed revelers. Childish of me, I know. It did make me feel a tiny bit better, though.
To celebrate my brilliant charmwork I had taken the liberty of attending to a number of martinis. Nibbling on an olive taken from the last goblet before me, loud voices and the sounds of a scuffle had garnered my attention. Turning my back to a house elf who had arrived with a fresh serving tray of drinks for me, I was absolutely stunned to see Sirius Black throwing a punch at my handsome husband! Gilderoy Lockhart was blocking my path to poor Lucius, teetering back and forth on lavender platform boots and shouting hello at everyone. I simply had to get to my husband and pushed the clueless man out of my way. Before I could cross over to Lucius's side, a huge flash of light went off in the middle of the ballroom floor. At first I thought it was a light show courtesy of the orchestra but quickly I was proven wrong.
When we began planning the Gala, Lucius and I had decided we wanted to acquire a Chimaera as the pinnacle of our collection of magical creatures for the evening. Everything concerning the order had been in place for weeks but apparently the procurer of the beast was a daft oik. Yesterday, instead of a Chimaera, a Giant Puffskein had been delivered! Naturally Lucius became enraged and sent the man a howler demanded the situation be corrected. He even took to hexing a few of the more dependable house elves! The procurer owled back and said that we were "stuck with the damn thing. Deal with it." Lucius had wanted to transfigure it into something more menacing but, admittedly, the Giant Puffskein was rather adorable. Hence, the friendly creature was placed in the middle of the ballroom in an overly large cage. The flash of light mentioned above changed that. Neither Lucius nor myself could see just who had done it but that matters not. What matters is that we now had an adolescent Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon inside the Manor! The last thing I saw before passing out from fright was the metallic grey scales of its hide glinting in the light and its red eyes staring at me. I woke up later in my chambers, still in my costume, on my mattress. Strangely, though, my bodice had been loosened and fastened incorrectly and the paniers were abandoned on the floor.
I must say if anyone can fill me in on what happened after I passed out and how the dragon was removed from the Manor I would be eternally grateful.