February 12th, 1891 - Sonata #7 Debut

Noble was trying to have more patience for family excursions, because he was going to have to become desensitized or he was simply going to pass away during the season. Besides - this was at the very least Not a Ball, it was not even in the neighborhood of being a ball, and so he did not as much have to be looking out for romantic options for his sisters.

He had actually lost track of his family - his own ticket was tucked into the pocket of his jacket. Noble was catching up with one of his friends when he spotted her - since this was a little less social than a ball, he had not even thought to be looking for her, and his chest tightened painfully when he saw Daffy across the lobby.

It was easy enough to get close to her without being obvious - he'd been stealing moments of conversation with her for years.

"Miss Potts," he said softly; he was going to have to head over to the floor seats soon, but for the moment he had escaped them. Noble quirked an eyebrow at her: do you have a moment? He hadn't seen her in ages, had spent most of January trying to spot her at parties, and - surely they could find five minutes to slip away from their companions. 

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Daffy got her love of music and theater from her father. They always took the time to go to anything new when it came up. The pair loved to read plays and review new orchestrations as a way of spending time together. Basil Potts was always surrounded by women, even after longing for a boy, he had accepted the fact he would only have daughters. At least he could still share some of his passions with the girls.

Daff had donned a lavender gown for the evening, sprigs of the same fragrant flower tucked into her hair. It wasn't anything special and she was not often the kind to worry about such things, but it was as nice evening out, so she put in a little effort at her mother's behest. Apparently it had worked out however.

With the audience still milling around before the performance was set to start, Daffy had not expected the sudden arrival of a very familiar voice in her ear. Delighted by the turn of events, Daff smiled slowly and excused herself from her current conversation. "Fancy meeting you here, I didn't think this was your idea of a pleasant evening." She chuckled as soon as they were out of earshot of anyone nearby.

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"It's not," Noble admitted, because Daffy would have known if he was lying. "I'm here with the family, though." He wasn't sure how far away they could get from other people - they weren't near anyone else at the moment, but they weren't in secret, either, and he didn't want to get Daff in trouble. He really did need to talk to her, though.

She looked beautiful; the lavender dress and the sprig of it in her hair.

"Are you here with Mr. Potts?" Noble asked; her father liked music and plays and the sort of things the de Montfault theater put together, he knew.

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Knowing her assumption had been right, Daff could only chuckle quietly to herself. Being surrounded by people made it tough to elaborate without giving anything away, but this was as good as it was going to get unfortunately. "Kind of you to accompany them, then." Though she would have expected nothing else from him. Noble was nothing if not reliable, always putting family first. It was certainly one of the things she loved most about him.

"Yes just Father and myself tonight, Ama is working and Sen is still off enjoying newlywed life." With Dahlia and Calla still at school, it was really just her Thistle and Zin at home, but her two next oldest sisters did not have much interest in the orchestra. "He was chatting with a fellow herbologist however, which means I have a couple minutes of time to spare." Her father could go off on a tangent for hours if allowed.

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"Oh, no one can chat like herbologists," Noble said, although surely potioneers had a reputation for chatting relentlessly too, and he knew he could be guilty of it. "Our excursion was Ford's idea, I think now that we're out of mourning he wants to experience everything Hogsmeade has to offer." Read: he wanted Verity and Grace to be seen in public as many times as possible.

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Daff chuckled quietly. She rather thought anyone who was passionate about something, anything of interest to them, could chat about it for hours. She could certainly go on about flowers forever. She and Noble had gone off for hours about plants and potions ingredients in the past.

"Naturally," She mused, looking around the room at large to see if she could spot any of his siblings. Daff had never really interacted much with his sisters, both younger and very much in the debutante scene, which she was obviously not interested in for several reasons. Realistically it boiled down to the fact that she'd gathered the thought bothered Noble on some level and a distinct lack of common interests. She did remember his brother being amiable, however.

"I hear it will be quite the show, so at least it could be worse?" She was not the type for a ball or anything of that sort either, and neither was he, frankly. A new orchestral piece and some acrobats would at least be interesting.

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"Mm," Noble hummed. "Have you ever seen acrobats before? I don't think I have - at least not real acrobats, outside of the summer carnival." The carnies could be talented, sure, but Noble expected that the Sonata #7 contortionists would be more skilled. Privately, he was unsure that acrobats were really appropriate fanfare - it all seemed to be a little sexual - but he was not going to announce that to anyone, including Daffodil. (Well, maybe Ford, later, depending on how interesting the performance was.)

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"I think maybe at the summer carnival? Feels like a long time ago though." The carnival hadn't been around since before she graduated it felt like. It was hard to remember after all of the disaster summers they'd had over the years.

"I've seen lots of dancers before, I do enjoy the ballet." To be fair, Daffy was a fan of anything remotely artsy. She found beauty in a lot of places, in a lot of people, but when it was so clearly on display, it was truly a wonder. "Do you think you'll stay for the entirety of the performance?" She raised her eyebrows hopefully, maybe they could steal a few minutes again later when everyone else was preoccupied.

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Oh, Merlin, did people not stay through the whole performance? Noble was suddenly significantly more interested in this whole orchestral thing. "I think I might take a walk towards the rear staircase," Noble said easily, "Just to stretch my legs. At around the - oh, twenty minute mark?" Hopefully Daffy was willing to pop out towards the beginning of the show; Noble could not imagine sitting down for any stretch of it with the knowledge that he was going to see her soon. And besides that -- most of the attendees would be sitting, near the beginning, so maybe they really would be able to get a few minutes of actual alone time.

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"This one is rumored to be quite long," Daffy hummed out pleasantly, playing absentmindedly with as loose strand of hair that has escaped her updo. "Twenty minutes in, could be a good time to freshen up after I finish this champagne." Her father would be too enthralled to worry much about it, she suspected.

"I believe there's a powder room near the back stairs." Daff smiled softly, unable to meet his eye without giving too much away. It was risky, but worth it, in her opinion. It had been far too long indeed since they'd been truly alone. There were many a great things Daffy missed about Hogwarts, but the ease in which they could speak freely without the feeling of being monitored and watched was chief among them.

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"Oh, a powder room," Noble said, with a nod, "Good to know." They were coming close to the start of the show, but at least he would get to see her again - and Noble was confident that he could slip away. Going to the bathroom during a performance - especially one he never wanted to come to in the first place - was hardly weird.

"Well," he said, "I suppose I'll see you some other time then, hm?"

The sooner he headed in and the performance started, the sooner they could be alone.

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   Daffodil Grimstone

Convenient then. Daff was about to say something further when the lights dimmed and came back on, signaling that everyone ought to take their seats if they had them.

"It was a pleasure to see you Mr. Greengrass, as always. I do hope you enjoy the show. For a little while anyway." Daffy cast him a knowing smile over the rim of her champagne flute before gliding off to rejoin her father. She finished the rest of the bubbly liquid and quickly set it down as she caught her father's eye and waved to let him know she was coming. At least for a little while.

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Maybe Noble could be accused of being antsy while he waited for the first twenty minutes of the performance; he had his watch in his hand, and glanced at it every minute or so just to see if time was going any faster. The performance didn’t actually help, much - the contortionists were sort of sexual, the way their clothes stuck to their body and the way they twisted, and he understood why people felt that performances like this were disreputable. When his watch crossed the twelve mark, he whispered to Ford - who may not have even been listening to him - that he had to pop out to get a new drink.

Noble headed out of the theater towards the back staircase. Once out of the performance area and near the powder room, he glanced around carefully — he shouldn’t be spotted going in — and, not seeing anyone, backed his way in through the powder room door.

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set by Bee

Fortunately there were seated near the end of a row so that after a slow twenty minutes, in which Daff had almost certainly gotten caught up and nearly missed her timeframe, she whispered in her father's ear that two glasses of champagne before the show had been a poor decision and she would return when there was a good break in the performance to do so. Hopefully it would buy her enough time. Certainly some, but rarely enough.

She skirted up the aisle, trying not to look anyone in the eye as she slipped through the curtains and back into the lobby. She knew exactly where the powder room was, but took the long way to avoid any unwanted, questioning eyes. There were still a few people milling about, but nobody was going to question a young lady who clearly looked like she needed to use the lavatory. Once there, she didn't even hesitate as she walked into the powder room, closing the door behind her with a resounding click, leaning back against it, one hand on the lock, wondering if he'd gotten here first. "Anyone else in here?" She ventured quietly. It wasn't a particularly large room, but there a few places to hide if needed.

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Noble had stuck himself between a weird tallish shelf and the wall, because getting caught in a ladies’ powder room was not high on his list of priorities. His heart beat quickly with the risk of it — he had a number of excuses ready to deploy if he was caught - but the voice that rang out was Daffy’s.

”Hi,” Noble said, stepping out from his spot. ”It’s just us, and I think we have - eh, five plausible minutes.” And he was going to have to get a drink before he went back in.

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set by Bee

Relived that the voice that answered was Noble's, Daffy deftly flipped the lock on the doorknob and let out a soft sigh. "Never enough time it seems." They both knew it, but it didn't make it any easier.

"Something on your mind? You seem a little antsy..." Daffy was a naturally intuitive person, though didn't often say anything, especially with those she loved, but she'd spent many years now studying his handsome face to know when something was off. Gently she crossed to him and took his hands in hers, looking up at him expectantly, thankful for even the time to simply do that much.

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