August 11th, 1894 — Perseid meteor shower

A meteor shower felt like a good, family-friendly place to take Gwenog — even if Art had found astronomy boring for most of his Hogwarts career. Meteors were interesting. He wanted Gwenog to be smarter than he was, and if producing an interest in astronomy could help her get there, then he was happy to do it.

She'd listened through the lecture, had watched some of the meteors, and then, because she was only five-and-a-half, fell asleep curled up on the picnic blanket Art had brought with them. Art tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned back on the blanket; this wasn't his idea of a perfect evening, but he was not in any particular rush, and he wanted Gwen to have good memories of it even if she fell asleep.

It didn't take him long to start people watching; it didn't take him long to spot her. "Evening!" Art called out; he waved. "Ben's sister." He'd met November before, but this was the shortest way to greet her.

  

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set by MJ <3

The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes--
The life still there, upon her hair--the death upon her eyes.

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Nova blinked. Was Mr. Pettigrew talking to her? She threw a quick glance over her shoulder to see if anyone behind her was responding with more recognition than she was. There was no one, so he clearly was addressing her but... OH! 'Ben's sister', that was her. She thought it was probably the first time she'd ever been addressed thus.

Good evening, Mr. Pettigrew. She offered him a shy little wave back. Nova knew Arthur Pettigrew was a friend of Reuben's, but she hardly shared her brother's attachment to him. She knew the generalities of his past and couldn't say she thought highly of someone so careless with their finances, but that was a long time ago and clearly there was more to him than that if Reuben had cherished their friendship for so long. He seemed to have truly learned from his past mistakes, or at least there was no sign of impending financial ruin that she'd heard about. Not that it was really any of her business and she hardly courted gossip, but it was impossible to forget things about people once heard.

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Outfit | Tag: Arthur Pettigrew | Notes:

  

Art had met November Pettigrew Malfoy before, but every time he saw her, he was surprised by how shy she was. At least she'd waved. "Here with your husband?" he said, hazarding a guess. It seemed like something Mrs. Malfoy would do — to Art's memory, she was smart, and smart people tended to enjoy things like meteor showers.

Art might like it too, if he tried at it.

  

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set by MJ <3

The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes--
The life still there, upon her hair--the death upon her eyes.

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Yes. She looked about her and realized that she'd completely lost sight of him in the momentary distraction of Mr. Pettigrew. He is just over... thereabouts. She glanced in the direction she'd been trailing after him in (really this is what she got for dawdling). And are you here with Mrs. Pettigrew? She fairly certain his wife was called Desdemona but they weren't on first name terms anyhow.

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Outfit | Tag: Arthur Pettigrew | Notes:

  

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"She's visiting her sister tonight," Art answered; he was not sure that it was true, but Desdemona was not available to him tonight. He gestured to the content form of sleeping Gwenog next to him, with her skinny limbs and shock of curly hair. "I took our daughter, but she couldn't stay up for long."

  

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set by MJ <3

The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes--
The life still there, upon her hair--the death upon her eyes.

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How sweet. She meant it, even if she hadn't said it gushingly as some might. As she looked at him, she found herself wondering - not for the first time, but for the first time in a long time with any seriousness - what sort of encouragement or discouragement he gave to Reuben when Reuben was in one of his more challenging periods for life choices. Was he a good or bad influence upon him? These weren't particularly helpful thoughts to be having in his presence and so she looked up at the sky for a moment to distract herself.

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art- Nova stopped and looked away from the stars. Had she only thought that or said it out loud? She looked at him sheepishly as embarrassment started to creep in. Do... Do you like poetry, Mr. Pettigrew?

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Outfit | Tag: Arthur Pettigrew | Notes:

The following 1 user Likes November Malfoy's post:1 user Likes November Malfoy's post
   Arthur Pettigrew

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Art blinked at Mrs. Crouch; his brow creased with confusion. At least she looked sheepish about it. "I can't say I'm the biggest poetry person," he said; a hopefully-polite way of saying no.

"You like poetry, right?"

  

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set by MJ <3

The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes--
The life still there, upon her hair--the death upon her eyes.

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Deeply so, yes. It was disappointing that Reuben's good friend was not a connoisseur but not altogether surprising, she would've been more surprised if he had been. And novels.

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Outfit | Tag: Arthur Pettigrew | Notes:

  

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She liked poetry, liked novels — Miss November had always struck Arthur as odd and academic. Marriage, apparently, had not changed her. "Do you have a favorite?" Art asked. He was a little surprised that she was still talking to him.

  

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set by MJ <3

The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes--
The life still there, upon her hair--the death upon her eyes.

---

It was difficult to declare any one novel her absolute favorite, there were a handful she frequently went back to, but even of those she wasn't sure she could fairly choose an overall favorite. She pursed her lips slightly as she gave the question the serious consideration it was due. Well, I did recently re-read The Mysteries of Udolpho, it is certainly one of my favorites. Have you read it?

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Outfit | Tag: Arthur Pettigrew | Notes:

  

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Art hadn't read it, but also hadn't heard of it, so he shook his head and smiled pleasantly. "No," Art said, "I'll have to check it out." (He wasn't sure what his angle was. Proving to November Crouch that he wasn't scary, maybe?)

  

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set by MJ <3

The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes--
The life still there, upon her hair--the death upon her eyes.

---

Nova wasn't quite sure how seriously to take his response. Would he actually read it? Did it matter really if he did? She wanted to think well of any friend of one of her brothers, but she knew well enough by now that certain people saying they would read something she recommeneded did not mean they meant to do so in earnest. If he actually did though she'd be amply impressed. Then again, maybe she should spare them both the awkwardness should they have a conversation in the future where it might come up? You need not feel any obligation to do so on my behalf. Immediately she regretted saying anything. Didn't she sound full of herself? He probably never had any intention to read it anyway and now didn't she sound like she would've held him to his word otherwise, a word that was only intended to humor her?

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Outfit | Tag: Arthur Pettigrew | Notes:

  

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Now that was an interesting response. "I could be interested in poetry," Arthur said mildly, watching her carefully — he was pressing carefully, because she had the aura of a person that he could easily make uncomfortable, and he suspected that she would already be uncomfortable with having been dismissive of him.

  

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set by MJ <3