May 28th, 1893 - Hogwarts Coming Out Ball

The Coming Out Ball shouldn't be stressful for him, because Lester wouldn't be thinking about marriage for ages, but it was an end nonetheless. No matter what happened, nothing would ever be the same again, because most of them were about to go on and be adults. He wished he could claw back the weeks and months that had taken them here, because how had it happened so quickly?

Still, his job at the Coming Out Ball was mostly to be there and to be quiet. Even without being a debutante, it felt like everyone he had ever met was there, so he kept saying hello to people. It was a relief when he saw Alice, who was his friend and not an adult. Lester sidled up to her. "Alice," he greeted, with a short nod. "What do you think?" Of the Coming Out Ball, her own early-onset adulthood, or — anything. Whatever kept Lester from finding more relatives was fine.

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set by lady!

Tonight's ball was even more bizarre than last year's. Last year she was content with the knowledge that all her friends would be continuing on with their education and childhood. However, now she was forced to face the fact that they were all racing towards adulthood and the boys were leading the charge. Edison was likely to begin his auror training in the fall and Cameron would go on to a healing internship and Lester ... well, Alice wasn't entirely sure of his career aspirations. They were all scattering into the wind now, like baby birds finally leaving the nest.

She had spent the majority of the night chatting amongst her old friends and had just stepped off the dance floor when she caught sight of Lester. "Of what? Tonight?" She answered with a slight laugh. "It's a nice ball, granted I haven't been to very many. Are you enjoying it?"

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Amazing set by Bee!

Lester shrugged his shoulders at her. "I think I am," he said. He looked at the dance floor, which he had so far fastidiously avoided, and then back at Alice. "It's very — big." There were just so many people who were invested in the Coming Out Ball. Lester had known this, of course, but it was a whole other thing to be one of the Seventh Years at it.

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set by lady!

Having never been a graduate at the ball, Alice couldn't quite grasp the entirety of what Lester meant by big. It was an ending, that was for sure, and from here Lester would go on to live the rest of his life. But, in many ways, it didn't feel as big to a boy as it might to some of the girls — women now, she supposed. Men didn't marry for a decade still; any of the girls debuting tonight might marry by the end of the summer.

Such vastly different lives.

"It's certainly big, but you still have the summer before adulthood truly kicks in." There wasn't much he could do for work until his NEWT scores, so there was still some childhood left to be lived. "Any plans for it?"

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Amazing set by Bee!

Lester kicked the floor with the tip of his shoe, and then realized that if he scuffed these his mother would be irritated, and it also was not particularly professional of him to do so. "Not really," he admitted, and shrugged his shoulders at her. "Which I suppose is a plan in and of itself."

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set by lady!

She should have expected that Lester wouldn't have a solid plan in place already. Like the rest of their friend group (aside from Edison) he was secure enough to have the privilege of time. "That sounds like an even better plan than having plans," Alice admitted with a laugh - she'd give just about anything to not have to have endless plans.

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Amazing set by Bee!

Lester grinned. "I guess you're right," he said. "And I'll have to wait for N.E.W.T. results to know for sure." Was he going to go to the hospital, or was he going to do something else? The future stretched before him like a frightening abyss, and all answers seemed bad — no matter what Sloane had said when they talked on the Quidditch pitch.

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set by lady!

"What options are you considering?" She asked, turning from him only to reach for a glass of champagne from one of the passing waiters.

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Amazing set by Bee!

Lester swallowed. Moment of truth — if he was going to do it, then he'd need to be able to say it out loud. "Hospital," he finally said, "If I have the N.E.W.T. scores."

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set by lady!

"I'm sure you will." Alice reassured him despite the stinging bitterness she now felt. Another healer in their group. Another who would see success where she wouldn't. It was so entirely wrong. "Do you have a field of interest in mind yet?"

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Amazing set by Bee!

Lester shrugged his shoulders, entirely oblivious to Alice's internal reaction. "Not so far," he said, "Maybe Magical Bugs? But I want to do my trainee year before I decide."

  

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set by lady!

"I think that makes sense." She smiled. His sister had died in the plague, if she recalled correctly, so his wanting to heal such maladies felt fitting. "I wish you well with it, you're going to make a wonderful healer."

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Amazing set by Bee!

Lester flushed, his face turning pink. "Thank you," he said, thoroughly sheepish at the compliment. "That means a lot, Alice."

  

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set by lady!