"Is there any other way to pass the afternoon?" Clementine asked, smiling up at her other brother. Certainly it was more engaging than Verity's seriousness over the coming months. She supposed she couldn't really blame her sister; after all, Verity's first pass at society had been delayed first by their father and then by his death. Still, the Hufflepuff was young enough that fun still too priority over function, at least on day that might otherwise be terribly grim.

  

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— set by mj —

Now relieved in her anxiety and in a decidedly good mood, Grace greeted her brother with a smile and nodded.

"Apparently Verity is getting a new wardrobe for Christmas, I the moon, Clementine a journal, and Ford a wife. Is there anything you'd like to add to our list, brother?" she teased, pulling the quill out of the ink well on the side table as if about to start a list.

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Grace had, unknowingly, just summed up for Noble everything that had been tormenting Ford throughout this entire conversation, which meant he had nothing to add. Instead, he offered his brother a look that spoke volumes about how he felt about new wardrobes, requests for the moon, and wives. He shifted his gaze to the wall and took a sip of his drink while trying to compose his facial features into something resembling a doting and indulgent older brother without a further care in the world than his sisters' happiness.

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   Clementine Greengrass, Grace Greengrass

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Set by Lady!

It was impossible for Verity to miss the look Ford shot their brother from her position on the piano bench. A look meaning what exactly, she didn't know, but it couldn't have been good. Was Noble aware of whatever the reasoning they moved from the country, then? Verity dropped her stare to a random spot on the floor instead of Ford. Eventuslly, she would pull the truth from him.

"Don't forget the ribbons, shoes and parasols," she added lightly. "A wardrobe isn't complete without the accessories."

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   Grace Greengrass

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set by mj

"Hm," Noble said. For effect, he rolled his eyes; Noble had been less and less patient over the past year, and gestures like this were not uncommon. He supposed he could have tried to bail Ford out now, but they could talk about it later - establish set budget for the girls, refuse to go over it. Noble was not going to indulge parasols before the actual season, that was just ridiculous.

But none of this was his job.

But he could not leave Ford entirely at sea, either.

"Well, if we're making wishes, I'd like a boat," he said, voice entirely sarcastic. "Seems reasonable, yes?"

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   Clementine Greengrass, Reuben Crouch

"A rowboat, perhaps," the Hufflepuff allowed, "but I daresay you'd have little use for much else in Hogsmeade. Now a new coach, that could be decidedly practical—would one consider that to be an accessory?" This last was directed to Verity.

  

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— set by mj —

"A new coach?" she asked, feigning excitement with a sharp gasp. "Why, we'll need a new set of horses, too—and a stable. Could I name it, Ford? Noble?" she asked, smiling so wide the corner of her eyes crinkled.

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Well, that was just ridiculous, and Ford did not think it would be letting on to too much to say so. "Name the stable?" he asked dryly. "We hardly have room for such a thing. Marry someone who enjoys the races if you fancy naming horses," he suggested. He took a drink and cast about until he found a discarded copy of the Prophet, less because he was inclined to read it and more because he wanted a clear visual representation of his unwillingness to continue the conversation.

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   Aldous Crouch

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Set by Lady!

"A coach is most certainly an accessory." She laughed before Ford cut in with his suggestions. They had the room for a stable back at home, she wanted to point out, but he'd gone and sold their manor up from beneath them. And moved them here. The only benefit to come from living in Hogsmeade was the proximity to social events.

"I doubt our husbands-to-be require an enjoyment of racing to build us stables." She commented lightly. "Owning property with great buildings is a confident display of wealth, and any man we marry should be delighted to be involved in such."

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   Lavinia Rose

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set by mj

"I'll keep that in mind for when I'm off seeking a heiress," Ford snapped, annoyed that the subject hadn't been dropped yet. "In the meantime I don't believe any of your prospects will be significantly damaged by the lack of a livestock yard."

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   Cassius Lestrange

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Set by Lady!

None of his sisters ever knew when to let something drop, did they? A stable would have been out of reach even when they had money. Noble took a sip of his drink and regretted coming in here when he could have been brewing potions in peace. "Well," he said lightly. He was going to have to try to get them on a different subject before Verity very possibly tried to rip Ford's head off. "At least a rowboat would make it easier for me to drown myself. Anyone care to join me?"

Noble's definition of 'lightening the mood' was a little loose.

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   Aldous Crouch, Reuben Crouch, Verity Swann

"That isn't funny, Noble," Clementine chided. There had already been too much death in the family.

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   Verity Swann

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— set by mj —

Grace grew quiet as the topic of death. She was not quite as saddened by the mention of it as she'd been months ago, but it was still fresh in the collective conscious of the family. She said nothing.

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Ford recognized Noble's attempt to disperse the tension he'd thrown into it, with his comment about marriage and livestock yards, but it wasn't exactly successful. At best, they'd traded everyone be angry at Ford energy for everyone be sad again energy, which wasn't much of an improvement.

"Sorry, Noble, Clem doesn't think you're funny," he said dryly. "Guess that's no rowboat for you, then." Although his tone was flat, he shot his brother half a smirk as if to say, well, I thought it was funny.

In the abstract, dark humor sense, of course. If Noble actually died, he'd be falling to pieces immediately.

  

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Set by Lady!