It had been a rather lovely day out for the family. Evangeline always found she rather enjoyed this sort of event--somehow, the inclusion of all-ages activities made things feel more relaxed, even accounting for the seeming boundless energy that children possessed. She nearly envied them, though she wouldn't have gone back to her own childhood for all the galleons in the world.

The children had quite worn themselves out by early evening, and Evangeline had sent them home with their nanny, expecting that she wouldn't be more than an hour or two behind them. She'd fallen into conversation with an acquaintance, and they'd made their way to the barn to observe the dance when the time came--Evangeline didn't intend to dance herself, but she found she rather enjoyed watching other people dance, so she was enjoying herself all the same.

She had caught sight, at one point, of Elias in the crowd of dancers, and she'd watched him for a couple of minutes, feeling rather nostalgic and blissfully not much else--a product of time and old wounds not being kept fresh by misery, she thought. He was dancing with one of the Misses Potts, she thought, though she didn't know which one. She'd shared a dormitory with a Thistle Potts at Hogwarts and was reasonably familiar with the florist shop in Hogsmeade, but that was about as far as her knowledge went, really. Not that it particularly mattered, of course. Enough time had passed that Eva was well over her heartache, but she'd only ever loved one man in her life so far, she thought it was only natural that she feel curiosity at the sight of him with someone.

Still, when her attention was pulled away again, she didn't really think much more of it. So a few minutes later when Evangeline excused herself to find some refreshments, it was with a little start that she recognized the woman in front of her. "Not at all," she said easily. She reached for the apple slices the woman pointed to, saying, almost casually, "Miss Potts, isn't it? I think I know your sister."

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