She was quite pretty—even more so with her cheeks tinted the faintest pink, and with her plump lips curved into such a sweet smile. He normally wouldn't have continued to stare, but they were alone, there were no noises to distract him, and the adrenaline of sneaking away from the crowd with the young woman was enough to have him all out of sorts.

And all out of good judgment.

His smile widened ever so slightly. Taking her response as an admission of her own complacency, Freddie took a step forward, leaned down, and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips.

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— set by mj <3 —

The kiss – her first – was rather different than she imagined it would be. The press was firmer, more tangible, elicited feelings elsewhere that she hadn’t even considered before and despite the fact that kissing was also far more frightening than she could have possibly envisioned she didn't especially want it to end.

A stance she immediately regretted when the door to the billiard room audibly clicked open and the swell of voices nearby swept into the room.

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Bee is tremendous, isn't she?

“Freddie?”

Harriet hissed in irritation as she closed the door behind her quickly. Whatever her sons got up to in their own time was their business – Merlin, she didn’t want to know what Fitz did most of the time – but she had always assumed they understood the golden rule that young ladies of quality were off-limits.

And this was a Lestrange of all girls. Not an especially important one admittedly but Harriet had no intention of irking Lucius Lestrange by bringing scandal on even his butler.

“Get back to the party, Miss Lestrange, your aunt will be missing you.”

Harriet turned on her son, in the now rare and steely mood that had seen her navigate her children though their upbringing with the legacy of their father’s false accusation hanging over them.

“I never want to see you with her again, is that understood?”

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Lady is magnificent and so is this set <3

It was not his first kiss, but it was his first with an innocent. He felt bold, daring, dangerous—and then, as quickly as they came, those feelings disappeared and were replaced by embarrassed, frazzled, shocked.

He pulled back from the kiss as his mother's voice filled the air, his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. He went out of his way to avoid his mother's scorn since his Azkaban stint, and now he felt like a child who'd been caught with their hand in the candy jar. And poor Miss Lestrange—he did not need to look at her to imagine how she looked or felt. He did reluctantly, though, and and only touched her one last tine on the arm to ensure her it was safe to leave.

He turned to face his mother, his lips set in a deep, almost startled frown, and nodded.

"Yes," he whispered. He glanced at Miss Lestrange out of the corner of his eye.

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— set by mj <3 —

Frozen to the ground Gretchen looked between mother and son and tried to aim for the sort of nonchalance she imagined her older cousins affecting in moments such as these, but she failed miserably, withering under Mrs Prewett's gaze and only too happy to take the way out Mr Prewett offered. She kept her walk dignified though - trying not to let it show that her hands were shaking - and found herself within earshot of Nephele, who didn't seem to have noticed her absence.

One mercy, at least. Now all she had to do was pretend she had never behaved so recklessly and it would all be well. Surely the Prewetts wouldn't wish to make a fuss? It had been such a short, small thing really - even if Gretchen suspected she would recall the moment with great clarity later - but there was no reason for it to go any further.

She simply had to avoid ever seeing Mr Prewett again. Easy.

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Bee is tremendous, isn't she?