March 20th, 1894 - Potts/Grimstone Wedding

Alright, this was nice. Now that the more stressful part of the ceremony was over, Daff felt more comfortable among her family and friends instead of front and center. She didn't often get nervous, but Elias must have been able to feel her hands shaking the entire time. It was only half nerves. It was more excitement than anything else. She was excited about to day of course, today was going to be fun and lovely, but really, she was exited for everything that came from this. She was ready to move back to Hogsmeade, into the house, she was ready to start that garden in the backyard and annoy Elias at all hours of the day and have dinner together and fall asleep together. That was what she was most excited about. Today would be enjoyed and remembered fondly, but she was very ready for tomorrow and onto forever.

If only she knew where she was going tomorrow, or tonight rather. Elias had alluded to the continent and gardens, but that was all she had. Honestly she would go anywhere, so it wasn't like she was all that worried either. She was looking forward to it being just the two of them for a couple weeks though, more than she thought was proper to admit. With dinner over, and everyone stuffed from Mrs. Plunkett's delicious cooking, Daff had lost Elias somewhere, eyes always naturally drawn to look for him, but he was engaged in conversation elsewhere, and so had started visiting with people she hadn't yet had a chance to chat with yet. Finding a gaggle of sisters and cousins, she wandered up behind a chair and laid her hands on the back of it.

"Everyone enjoying themselves?" She smiled brightly around at the faces of her favorite people, cheeks sore from all of the smiling she'd already done today. It wasn't likely to stop either.

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dress inspo (but VE obvs)
Potts Fam Invitational! Open to multiple family members!
2 posts/2 days please!

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   Millie Potts

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Of all the weddings she had attended, Millie certainly rated this in the top two. It didn't matter that this was her second wedding, or that Zinnia had deprived her of making it the third. The young witch gazed across to her cousin, whose reasons for not allowing attendance for her wedding were showing plainly now, admiring the way the maternity dress highlighted more of the woman's natural beauty. Her own dress looked far more plain than the extravagant outfit she had worn to Dahlia's summertime affair, no puffy sleeves or laced trim graced the simpler green dress that once belonged to her sister.

The decorated barn more than made up for any feelings of shabbiness for Millie, who had drifted to the edge of the mingling crowd after the wedding. Her mother had forbidden her to bring a book, so the young witch was occupying her mind by reading the crowd instead. It was far less interesting than a book might have been. In a book, the young witch could escape simply to a world so unlike her own, open and accepting of anything that could happen. It was easier, there, to imagine the connections and backgrounds of the different characters, and being wrong about them only added another level of luster to their sparkle. The real world, now, felt a little less lustrous and not so dramatic, leaving Millie yearning for a sparkle.

It arrived with a face full of smiles, yet fatigue hiding behind her eyes. Daffy's light floral-print dress wrapped around her like her own bouquet, far too fitting for the flower shop owner. Millie would have certainly believed it if Daffy claimed to have stepped off the page of a book herself, no matter how familiar she was with her cousin already. Daffy could have easily stolen the show if she wasn't the center of it already, and the young witch made the effort to meet her cousin's smile with one of her own.

She nodded, even as the young witch was desperate to ask about Daffy's plans and the state of the shop in London. Or why the Plunkett barn here in Hogsmeade had been chosen instead of the garden above her shop. The secrets that floated in the festive air felt just out of reach, and too much so for Millie to simply ask about them. So instead, she greeted Daffy in a more appreciative manner. "I am thoroughly intrigued," the young witch answered, dismissing the thought of lying outright. "There's such a sense of mystery lingering here in the barn, with these people...don't you think?"

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   Daffodil Grimstone

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Daff hadn't the foggiest what Millie was talking about, but she chuckled to herself anyway. "Mystery, hmm?" What was a mystery was how her mother was going to get all of these flowers down without her help, or who was going to take the extra cake. All of the things Daff usually worried about at the end of an event were none of her concern tonight. For once, she would get to just leave everything and let someone else handle it. What a freeing sort of thought. For all she'd been a little nervous about today, it was going well and she hadn't any need to be so worked up.

"I know it's a little unconventional," a barn on the first day of spring, but the date had been Elias' idea and she had never been the traditional sort of person, so it had been a good solution to making sure everyone could come. This had wound up being bigger than Dahlia's so the rooftop of the shop was out. The weather was still a little chilly for a backyard fete at the Grimstone residence in Irvingly, which had been her first thought, but the fact that the charms around Hogsmeade didn't quite extend to the Plunkett's farm had truly solved the problem of making sure Mr. Grimstone could attend and fit everybody that had wound up on the guest list. Plus it gave Betty a personal hand in it, "since her boys kept failing her on weddings."

"But it's been more than what I could have hoped for." The decorating, the brief little ceremony, the food and the laughter and the air of everyone being here to help them celebrate, it all made her wonder how she got so lucky.

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   Millie Potts

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Millie was so enamored by the intrigue she found blooming around her, she didn't think of what her words could have meant to a bride on her wedding day. At once, she felt a pang of guilt as they came floating back at her, carrying a new meaning for Daffy. There was only so much to be grateful for a simpler dress on this day, lace and puffed sleeves would have surely made her drown completely as the young witch shrank down from humility.

"Oh, I hardly meant to question your planning, Daffy," the young witch put in meekly. She tried to keep her eyes on her cousin, peering out from beneath the folds of her skirts. "It would be just as wonderful if we were all in Aunt Laurel's living room."

There was more than enough for the young witch to be satisfied with the wedding and its reception. She certainly didn't think ill of Daffy or any silly notion of conventions not followed. It was true that Millie might have better enjoyed herself in a corner, book in hand, but that wasn't very conventional either. "If anything was a little unconventional..."

She trailed off, moving her eyes off of Zinnia before they betrayed her. No one was saying that today, so Millie shouldn't either. Nor think it, really. So what if Zin decided she couldn't share the best secret of all time with her closest cousin? Or if she deprived Millie of the only chance she might have had at actually being a maid of honor? No, she couldn't think about that.

Not on Daffy's wedding day.

"...umm, nevermind." Millie tried to think of something diverting to say, and came up empty instead. It felt rather unceremonious, on a day when she should have been primed for ceremony. It seemed as if, at once, all the formality and fancy from her novels had departed to leave her barren and embarrassed. If only she had the talent like Anne or Greta might have done, to whisk off the conversation to another subject entirely without losing face.

"I really liked your vows." Millie tried for something else, hoping it wasn't as flimsy as it sounded in her head. She gave her cousin a wan smile, almost wishing Daffy might move on, or someone else could come to rescue them instead. It was never this embarrassing to be caught reading a book.

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Daff hadn't taken Millie's words to heart. There was a ten year age gap that Daff knew counted for a lot. She hadn't been able to keep her thoughts to herself all of the time at that age either. Well, except maybe things like that comment. Daff eyed her cousin carefully, only giving a bit of a look before following the line of conversation.

"Thank you, we wanted to keep them short, so we could party longer." Her laugh was genuine as that had been her thought process exactly. Daff was very much a behind-the-scenes sort sort of person; speaking up in front of this many people had been what had worried here the most. Keeping everything to a short exchange of some heartfelt vows felt like all that was necessary. Elias knew how she felt about him and she was nearly as in love with the way he made her feel as she was with him. That had never been in question, so she supposed she didn't quite know why everyone else needed to hear it, but she had gotten through it.

"I'm excited for Dahlia's cake." After her sister and Quin had made their own wedding cake, it sort of seemed like a new tradition. Daff's requests had been more on form that taste; she had left the flavor up to Elias as long as it wasn't too big or too wild. It suited with the white frosting and the little frosting flowers and leaves sculpted onto the layers and she was excited to try it.

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   Millie Potts

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Three daughters married in under a year. It was almost a miracle. While Laurel sincerely wished that Zinnia's wedding and subsequent marriage had come about through drastically different means, she couldn't help but feel prideful that her brood was settling down. This time last year she had been fretty over four unmarried daughters and a fifth that would be debuting in only a year. Now, though, Laurel could focus her energies on Thistle and Calla (come May).

She looked about her pleased to see that the wedding had come together well and that everyone seemed to be having a good time. Everyone had blended together as seamlessly as they did one of her Christmas Eve parties and left her having to do little in the way of interventions to keep conversations going. Perhaps, she mused rather unkindly, this was because Quincey's friends were not in attendance. For such an outgoing man his friends did seem to make it hard to have a fluid party when it came to socializing. It was not their faults of course, the dears, but rather she felt that Mason, at the very least could do with a wife. There wasn't much she could do about the brooding Mr. Adlard, however. His wife had done an admirable job though.

Content with the success of the party Laurel moved away from Betty to check in on the bride. "I believe she has outdone herself this time." Laurel slid into the conversation smoothly, winking at Millie.

Then she turned the conversation. "Well now, Miss Millie, you aren't going to find yourself a husband too soon now, are you?" She hummed, teasing her niece with the easy pride of a mother suddenly divested of five of her seven daughters.

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   Millie Potts

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Mama Potts' is a joy thanks to Bee <3

Her relief was nearly tangible that Daffy didn't notice the direction of her glance. It soothed the ache of her fingers, which longed to run along the silver links in the chain at her throat, hidden today beneath more layers of ruffled cloth and ties than Millie could ordinarily bear. Her smile deepened when the topic moved on, to the sculpted cake which adorned a more central place in the barn.

Millie's gaze was drawn to it then, feeling the rumble beneath her skirts that she hoped wasn't audible. Hadn't they only just finished eating? "It looks too good to eat!" The young witch found herself uttering less filtered thoughts, and hoping her cousin wouldn't take that to heart. She desperately wanted to taste it now, even if only a morsel. Dahlia's baking and her husband's decorations had turned out a wedding cake that she was certain tasted as irresistible as it looked.

Flashing Daffy her grin, Millie to admitted a bit more greed than she should have today, "I'd still take a piece, even two."

The young witch swallowed her last word as the familiar tones of her aunt slid into the conversation, feeling her spine stiffen at the wink Laurel passed in her direction. She knew better than to speak so brazenly with the bride, especially in close earshot to other family members. For a moment, Millie worried her aunt would pass the word back to her mother, but she only turned her full gaze onto something else the young witch would rather not consider.

"A...husband?" The word felt foreign when dancing on her own tongue, when Millie began to consider it for herself. It was an odd sensation as the rest of her felt cold, with a strange feeling at the bottom of her stomach. Marriage, and the notion of who she might be matched with, always felt like something so distant. "Not before I pass my OWLs, I do hope."

A wicked thought made her carry on, heedless again of being among familial company. "And there may not be many bachelor professors at Hogwarts left for me by then, in any case."

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Daff was starting to think there was something about weddings that made people lose their senses. Her mother's presence in the conversation was unsurprising, but teasing poor Millie about finding a husband now seemed a little off base. Three weddings in one year should have been sufficient. Daff almost felt bad for Calla and Thistle after this. Being the only two left unwed was certainly going to be a challenge their mother would readily accept. Hopefully Laurel would realize that only two of the seven of them had married shortly after their debut. The rest of them had taken their sweet time and that was how it should be. Ama had always known what she wanted and she was good at getting those things to happen. Dahlia's whirlwind fairytale romance was not their norm either. Both Senna and Zinnia had taken their time and though she knew nobody saw Zinnia's coming, Daff still had to think it might just have been what her sister needed (without the scandal of course).

"I should rather think that is a long way off." Daff chuckled, trying to keep the tone light. There was no need to make anything awkward, not today. Daff couldn't pretend to know much of what Millie was referring to at Hogwarts, but she supposed it wasn't of much concern to her. With Calla graduating this year, Millie would be the only Potts there for a bit, until Ama's oldest was due to go. "Plenty of time to enjoy the cake, of which I am honestly unsure as to what flavor it even is." Daff teased, though it was true. She had left that up to her sister and brother-in-law, knowing Dahlia and Quin would make excellent choices based off Elias' favorites. "We'll find out soon enough though."

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   Millie Potts

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"I should hope not before you pass your NEWTs!" Laurel exclaimed, throwing a hand up to her heart as if she might faint. Goodness, no Millie was much too young. And what was this about single professors at Hogwarts?

"I'm still surprised you let Dahlia and Quincey pick the flavor, my dear." Laurel shook her head slightly, but then again her Daffodil had always been the one to blow in the wind, to let the details slide by. It had made her such an easy child.

But then she turned back to Millie unwilling to let her niece off the hook. "Now Millie, dear, what is this about single professors?" Oh, of course Laurel heard plenty of gossip in the community and from her family, but with Dahlia graduated and Calla rather more reticent (alright, oblivious) in regards to gossip, Laurel was missing the gossip of the students.

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   Millie Potts

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Mama Potts' is a joy thanks to Bee <3

Millie's hand flew to her throat, almost a perfect mime of her aunt's own reactions. The boisterous woman could have rattled the silverware on the other side of the barn with just her voice. It was a feat that the young witch felt herself draw back in anticipation, her fingers only soothing the edges of her nerves as they brushed over the silver links of her necklace. When the barn remained standing and her mum remained where she was, deep in conversation with neighbors who were also attending, Millie let out the breath she had been holding in.

The young witch was grateful that Aunt Laurel had such high ambitions for her, she had the voice of a terrible foe to cross.

She could really only nod and smile with relief as the conversation seemed to move back to the wedding cake. Easier subjects, and far more pressing to the wedding party. Privately, Millie agreed with her aunt, with ambitions for her own to pass her NEWTs. That was too far in the future to think too much about yet, she couldn't let herself get distracted by idle dreaming. Like the sort she let herself be lulled into until Laurel's words pulled her right back into the forefront of the conversation once more.

"Oh, well..." she started, glancing over to Daffy with a plea in her eyes. If anyone could pull a Potts woman back from the edge, it was certainly her own daughter. If anything could pull Aunt Laurel back from wherever she wanted to go. Millie pulled her hand away, finding the same tenacity in her aunt that she'd found mirrored in Jessamine Parkinson last fall. A kindred spirit that had already led her astray once. All sensibility seemed to fly from Millie though, as it did for the plot of a hearty book, or a juicy rumor. "I suppose you heard about Miss Flitwick's engagement with Professor Prince, the whole school knows so I thought Calla..."

Millie shook her head, wondering just what Aunt Laurel spent her time on if it wasn't keeping abreast of the goings-on. "It's such a scandal, a professor courting a student! Quite a few parents know as well, it's been all over Witch Weekly. I saw them staring at each other from across the room, and that was just before we heard about their match. Everyone at school is just waiting for which professor will start courting someone next, and there's only so many bachelors on staff."

By this point, her mouth was feeling a bit dry. Millie chalked up the unusual feeling to the rash of conversation, one she had not expected to be so passionate about at her cousin's wedding. Her nerves had apparently disappeared, and it wasn't clear yet whether that would turn out in her favor yet or not.

"If you ask me, I think it will be Professor Skeeter." Millie ran her finger along the inside of her necklace, back and forth in a thoughtful manner, waiting for her aunt or cousin to finally get the humor in it all.

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"Elias picked the flavor," Daff contested lightly. Leaving it up to Dahlia would have been fine too, but Daff had done so much of the planning that she had thought involving Elias in some of the details would be more fun. The conversation turned though and the more information came out, the wider he eyes got. Daff was wildly disconnected to anything that went on at Hogwarts, but knowing Professor Skeeter personally, and even beyond school, she highly doubted anything of the sort would be happening there!

"Millie," she eyed her cousin carefully, knowing her mother would probably take on a more chastising role. "Professor Skeeter is a friend of the family and of Quincey's." Daff looked around at her brother-in-law laughing a full-bodied laugh across the room and wondered what he would have to say on the matter. "We don't need to go spreading any unlikely rumors about him." Half of the Potts sisters and cousins had him as a professor and he often did business with the florist for planting needs in the greenhouses. He had always been upstanding in every respect. This kind of talk could cast an unfavorable shadow across his professional career.

Looking briefly at her mother, Daff hoped that everything at Hogwarts was not quite so dramatic, but what were they to do about it? With Calla graduating, and a couple of years before Ama's oldest was set to go, it would just be Millie for a bit. At least they wouldn't have to worry about her in that regard.

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   Millie Potts

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"I didn't mean anything by it. It's just what I've heard," the young witch whined plaintively, her voice fading in the throbbing pulse of the new revelation in her head. Thump-thump, it went, knocking at her throat, carving out a lump there. Her fingers traced over the curve of her neck, almost certain that her cousin and aunt could see the lump, painting her as guilty as a thief. Which she wasn't, nor a rumor-monger. Not like Miss Parkinson, or the eldest Miss Valenduris, or...

Thumb running over the necklace again, Millie worked to soothe her nerves. Daffy wasn't at the school, she couldn't know. Her voice might have come back to her again, if not for the immense presence of her aunt. Aunt Laurel would hear any disparaging word, and then soon her mum would. And once Mum heard, Millie would hear an earful about proper behavior, especially around family. Which virtually included Professor Skeeter, a point that the Hogwarts Fourth Year found it hard to remember.

She nodded, her silence consent to her cousin's stern implications. Her lips worked over each other as the young witch put her hands down, clasping them in a contrite position. Millie wouldn't say a further word about it, Daffy and Aunt Laurel would certainly understand by now. It had been her error, a major miscalculation, to think her family would want to weigh in on the staircase gossip at Hogwarts.

It was only so thrilling to discuss the rumors at school. They carried Millie through class periods, itching to arrive at the next where someone, anyone, would have another morsel of details. One after another, strung together, to paint a portrait worthy of framing and hanging on the wall. After all, even the Hogwarts portraits did their part to spread the word, picking them up from student and faculty indiscriminately.

Plaintive eyes returned to glance at the cake across the room, savoring the details of the conversation around her. It was hard to know what Daffy's husband, whom unlike Dahlia's concerned himself with wooden brooms over delicious confections, might favor in tastes. Millie, herself, would have insisted on a chocolate, layered with...oh, the mind swirled with possibilities. Fruit, or a whipped cream, or confections she could scarcely dream up before the reality of choosing one for a cadre of wedding guests.

There was no chance she would ever let her future husband choose alone on something so vital, Millie decided.

"When will the—," she ventured, hoping to change the subject. Almost, once again, putting her own foot in her mouth. Millie couldn't ask when the cake would be served, that would simply invite questions about her health and habits. Hogwarts might not much question when a student was stuffing themselves, but their parents and robe seamstresses certainly would. "—dancing begin, Daff?"

It seemed a harmless-enough subject by now.

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Laurel had indeed heard of the engagement. She had not, however, realized there were quite so many eligible gentlemen on staff. She'd certainly be asking around about this in the future. Millie's coloring had heightened and thinking of the young ladies thinking that the professors might start courting them.... well it was worrying.

"I hardly think Mister Skeeter would do such a thing." Laurel added after Daffy's gentle remonstrations. The gentleman seemed thoroughly aboveboard and she had always had a fondness for him. She had hoped that he might indeed marry into the family, but it looked less likely with each marriage.

Millie's question was followed by the first sounds of Fred's fiddle from across the barn. "It seems as if it will be beginning now." She turned to Daffy, "You'd best go find Elias.[b]" She told the bride and then looked back at Millie "[b]And I ought to find my dear herb." And then she was bustling off into the crowd to find her husband.

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   Millie Potts

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Mama Potts' is a joy thanks to Bee <3