When Jack had first gotten to the party he'd tried to offer help - to be useful in some way but he'd been promptly shoo'd out of the kitchen and into the parlor. Instead of a task he was given a cup of cocoa and told to enjoy himself. It gave him something to do with his hands at least.
He had been to enough Potts' gatherings to know they were something special. Dressed in his best waistcoat and trousers for the occasion, he stood at the perimeter watching the gathering for a few moments before finding a conversation to join. It was a large and lively gathering; Mixed in with the familiar Potts faces there were a few he didn’t recognize. Probably cousins, he decided without much thought.
From the look on her face, the cousin wearing green stripes felt very out of place and it was strange but somehow gratifying to think he might be more at home here than some family did. He was just the boy one of their daughters had befriended and he wasn't one of them… but after so many years he did have a place there, in his own way.
Even more strange than the unfamiliar cousins - there was someone there he recognized from work. Jack had come across Mr. Honeyduke often enough on his patrols and visits to Hogsmeade that the man seemed almost familiar, even if they weren't formally introduced. He pushed away from his contemplative corner with the intent of striking up a conversation with the candymaker, or even Mr. Potts if he could be found, because that's what men did at parties right? Find the other men?
Instead he found himself running smack into someone. He'd been focusing so hard on skirting around the hems of - well, skirts actually, that he hadn't seen the giant of a man coming through the door way. He was midway through a laughing apology when he realized it was yet another man from work.
"Jack Dorset." he answered with a puzzled look, offering his hand to shake. "You make brooms, right?" Had the Potts' invited all the High Street merchants?
He had been to enough Potts' gatherings to know they were something special. Dressed in his best waistcoat and trousers for the occasion, he stood at the perimeter watching the gathering for a few moments before finding a conversation to join. It was a large and lively gathering; Mixed in with the familiar Potts faces there were a few he didn’t recognize. Probably cousins, he decided without much thought.
From the look on her face, the cousin wearing green stripes felt very out of place and it was strange but somehow gratifying to think he might be more at home here than some family did. He was just the boy one of their daughters had befriended and he wasn't one of them… but after so many years he did have a place there, in his own way.
Even more strange than the unfamiliar cousins - there was someone there he recognized from work. Jack had come across Mr. Honeyduke often enough on his patrols and visits to Hogsmeade that the man seemed almost familiar, even if they weren't formally introduced. He pushed away from his contemplative corner with the intent of striking up a conversation with the candymaker, or even Mr. Potts if he could be found, because that's what men did at parties right? Find the other men?
Instead he found himself running smack into someone. He'd been focusing so hard on skirting around the hems of - well, skirts actually, that he hadn't seen the giant of a man coming through the door way. He was midway through a laughing apology when he realized it was yet another man from work.
"Jack Dorset." he answered with a puzzled look, offering his hand to shake. "You make brooms, right?" Had the Potts' invited all the High Street merchants?
![[Image: Vy6in0.png]](https://b.l3n.co/i/Vy6in0.png)