End of Summer Party

The childish pout reached Elijah lips before had the chance to combat it and he watched Amelia go with a look of longing on his face. But as quick as the point came it disappeared and a scowl appeared in its place. Clearing his throat, Elijah turned himself away and focused on the girls. So, he was one down on the getting drunk idea but if everything else went down the drain then he and Julia could go somewhere. They’d probably end up on a park bench in the middle of London with four cans of beer. That would be how their night ended and they’d wake up slumped against each other with no recollection of the night before. Then they’d probably be arrested. Elijah smirked. There was no way in hell Viktor would bail him out of jail and his mother would quite happily leave him in there so maybe his one and only phone call would be to Khaat. She’d bail them out without fail.

He yawned and tapped the cigarette, sending the ash to the floor. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder and he turned to see Belle stood there. A smile lit up Elijah’s face and he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “How are you?” He asked sincerely. “It feels like forever since we last talked.” Oh, then he remembered Lily. His convictions and his feelings for her had become somewhat distorted now. Perhaps he wouldn’t mention her then. That would be the better idea. Although...he did miss the redhead. Elijah reached up and ran a hand through his hair, directing the cigarette away so the smoke wouldn’t get to Belle.

Cassiopeia was going to the ball. Okay, she was going to some Ministry Party. Point was, she was eleven and therefore no longer a painful embarrassment to her parents.

To be honest, she expected the party to be nothing if not snoozeworthy. Nothing with the word Ministry in front of it could possibly be interesting for an eleven year old. It didn't stop her rubbing it in her sisters' faces. They were staying home, being babysat with the babies.

Casually, Cassie sipped at the drink someone had given her when she arrived. Just as she was thinking that she was probably the youngest person here and that this party was going to be even more boring than she'd imagined, she caught sight of a girl even younger than herself.

Standing across the garden, the girl was speaking to an undesirable. Not only was her, for want of a better description, friend of lesser blood, but wasn't even fully human!

Cassiopeia felt it her solemn duty to set the poor girl straight. Of course, she'd have to be discreet, but Cassie was always discreet.

Belle smiled at Eloi. "I am afraid it has been ages, but you are looking as handsome as ever Eli. I do hope all has been well?" She asked.

If he did not bring up Lily neither would she, she only hoped he had been doing well since the last time they had talked. She had always liked Eli, he was a talented artist infact she still had the drawing he had done of her framed in her library. And when things were boring Eli could always be counted on to liven them up.

Brienne, after pouring herself a cup of punch, walked over to Eli and Belle. She put on her best fake smile.

"Lovely evening isn't it. You guys having any fun?"

She awaited an answer, but she was looking at Daniel, who was still talking to the boy. It appeared that he'd been dumped...or something.

"Heh, looks like Daniel has been turned down by that Veela boy. Heh, it's really interesting to watch." Of course, it was drama, which she didn't like very much if it concerned her in the least, but that was Daniel's problem, whatever it was. She even watched as she saw Daniel attempting to explain his weakness to male Veela to the boy he'd been standing with for the past minutes. Daniel's weakness was one thing that led him to come out of the closet, and left him in awkward situations.

Smiling sweetly at Belle, he embraced her and placed one more kiss to her cheek before pulling away. He had missed her a great deal. She was easy to talk to, a real friend. She didn’t judge or have ulterior motives like many of the other women he knew. She also didn’t turn him into her own personal pack mule like his darling Julia. Not that there was anything wrong with being someone’s lap-donkey but it was a bit strange. The point was that Belle was easy to be around. Elijah didn’t have to make an effort to keep up with what he was doing because they were just bobbing along the same line.

“Oh yeah, everything’s been great.” He chuckled. “My mother’s been trying to marry me off and Viktor has been contacting various Quidditch teams in an attempt to get me on one. The usual I guess.” He shrugged and smiled to himself. “How’ve you been? Something has...changed...” He walked around her as if to add effect and stopped back in the same spot as he’d been in before, a cheeky smile on his face. “I wonder if I can guess...”

Another girl joined the fold and Elijah looked around himself. Was he a woman magnet or did he look like one? Women spoke to women so maybe that was the case. Eli subtly touched his chest and there was nothing to suggest he’d turned into a woman so maybe the former was more likely. Either that or he was the little social flower his mother wanted his sister to be. Oh the irony. “He wouldn’t have been turned down if he went about it the right way...” Elijah said thoughtfully. “He’s too soppy. You’ve got to work a Veela to the brink...of course then you’ve got a sexually frustrated Veela on your hands and that’s not for the faint of heart..” Elijah smiled dreamily and chuckled to himself before placing the cigarette back between his lips.

"He doesn't know that. He has no control over his feelings for male Veela. It's a weakness he had since he hit puberty. It was the thing that made him come out of the closet when people got suspicious. It lead him to meet another gay man, who loved him 'til he killed himself from torment" Brienne explained. She felt a sadness wash over her. "I kept Stanley's diary after he'd died. I never showed it to Daniel in fear that he'd become even more withdrawn, though I'm sure his own diary has a recount of Stan's death." She then smiled, "I'm sure he'll be okay the morning after he downs a couple fire whiskies. Hell, he'll likely get me some if he's nice enough". Brienne loved firewhiskey, even when she was too young for it. Silas gave her little amounts of it to soothe aches and pains. Daniel, when he was old enough to buy it for himself, got her a bottle.

Elijah’s eyes bugged out of his head and he took the cigarette from his mouth. His eyes travelled over to the man in question and blew the smoke out of the side of his mouth. “How the hell does he not know that? Weakness since puberty or not they are fantastic lays male or female but you’ve got to work them for it.” That was the odd thing about it. Elijah loved women like every other male his age but when it came to Veela’s he was besotted and rationality went out of the window. If he had the opportunity to chase a Veela then he’d do it whether they were male or female because at the end of the day, if you got them where you wanted them then you’d have a week full of sex that would have you in a daze for at least four days afterwards. Eli felt his eyes slip shut at the thought and he shivered wantonly, suppressing a moan.

His eyes opened again and he placed the cigarette between his lips, inhaling the nicotine. He took it away and held it down by his side, shaking his head as he did so. “Bloody Veela, they drive everyone with testosterone mad.” He chuckled and looked at the girl, raising an eyebrow a little. “So this guy is depressed, sexually frustrated when it comes to Veela’s and a useless flirt? God he must be English.” The Bulgarian shook his head and smiled despite himself. “He needs to grow a pair and flaunt what he’s got.” Elijah shrugged. “Otherwise the weakness is only exploited and he’ll waste a perfectly good Veela when the times come around. A bit of Quidditch, a lot more food, a hair-cut and a couple of exceptional nights out on the binge where he wakes up in someone else’s bed and he’ll be as good as gold.” The Slytherin grinned and pictured the scenario. “I could always lend a hand if you can convince him.” He winked and grinned slyly.

"Sure, I don't like seeing him like that. He takes it out on me when he's not nice. Either blaming me or someone else for his own problems. I'd take all the help I can get" Brienne said. "What do you mean a little more food? I thought everyone liked skinny people". That was her generalization of people. They only liked skinny people, she knew from experience when people told her she was too fat.

"I agree, he needs to grow a pair", Brienne said.

Ah, sexual frustration turned into regular frustration; Elijah knew it well. It was incredibly fun to watch when it wasn’t yourself experiencing it. Elijah looked back at her and his eyebrows shot to his hairline before gesturing to himself. He was tall, hardly light but it was all packed as muscle. “What do you reckon the Quidditch is for, sweetheart? Entertainment? The Quidditch would tone him up and the fat would turn to muscle and of course...it’s fun.” He chuckled and smiled. “Skinny and wiry is boring anyway. Curvy or...in his case, muscley is much more fun. Never make the mistake of thinking that people and guys in particular like skinny women because that’s not the case. We like something to grab.” He grinned cheekily and flexed his fingers as if to prove whatever point he was making. It was true though. Skin and bone was as boring as hell which was probably why he never took skinny models and preferred the healthy looking ones.

“And I’m pretty damn sure I can sow the seeds although I am no gardener.” Eli assured her. He gestured to Daniel and put his cigarette back between his lips. “Can I meet him?” He asked. It was such an odd request and offer to make. Elijah was pretty damn sure he’d have to go through the basics with this guy but if he’d had a lover before then he couldn’t be that clueless. Or maybe the man opposite him wore the trousers. Eli sized Daniel up mentally and smirked. Oh yeah, there was no way this guy wore the trousers in any relationship. Even a sodding librarian with no self-esteem would have more authority.

"Sure, you can meet him. Believe it or not, when he was with Stanley, the boy had a lot less guts than Daniel did. He was a hopeless romantic himself", Brienne said. She looked down at her own curves and sighed, "If men like curves so much, why am I not getting any? I've got curves from here to Timbuktu. All very squeezable and desirable, more cushion for the pushin'. Or are all the men I go after actually gay or taken?" Brienne's wolf-like ears pricked upward, her tail wagging a little. "You know why I have these ears and tail, right? It's not because I'm some unique race. I'm a werewolf that was conceived on the night of a full moon when my father went werewolf during coitus. He injured my mother badly". She smiled at Eli, "Y'know, I like your cheekiness. It's fun".