February 14th, 1891 — "Courtly Love" Charity Party, Southhampton

Emrys had received two invitations for the day, which was not unusual — by February most of the socialites were feeling restless, missing the past season but too far from the next to begin planning parties, and such a ridiculous holiday as Valentine's Day offered a suitable excuse for them to break the dreariness of winter with a flurry of invitations. So having multiple events was not unusual; the events themselves were. Later that evening he'd be headed to his niece's birthday party (apparently; he had managed to get through her entire life so far without ever knowing her birthday was on Valentine's Day and he thought it a little ridiculous, frankly, and was wondering if it was really true or whether she'd just made it up because she was a silly child and her head was full of romance), and right now he was... here.

"I can't believe anyone's doing this," he remarked blandly to the nearest person, as he watched a dapper young fellow with a wave of bouncing blond hair take position in front of a closet which contained a boggart. Emrys hadn't seen a boggart in person since school, and he had personally felt it was something akin to torture at the time — like stringing someone up by their thumbs in the dungeon for detention. The fact that anyone would be subjecting themselves to one willingly was beyond comprehension. The idea that they were doing it to win someone's love (even in jest) was even worse.

The closet door opened and the boggart emerged, changing from a nebulous dark cloud into what appeared to be a cross between a kelpie and a tiger; it was made of water and weeds but had sharp teeth and claws. Disgusting. Emrys couldn't really believe he was watching this, but wasn't sure he'd be able to look away. The fellow tried and failed to subdue it; someone else stepped in before it attacked a nearby partygoer.

"What d'you suppose would happen if someone's boggart gored someone to death?" he mused. He was not sure boggarts were even capable of this, but they might be, and it certainly wasn't the type of spectacle the event planners had in mind this afternoon, he was sure.

  

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Lou made this! <3

Minty had purchased a proper bouquet of flowers, in the hopes that one of the flowers would at least secure her a connection with one of the male guests. She was getting desperate to marry. Even though she was somewhat pretty and had an enviable dowry, she had yet to secure a match. She felt that men avoided her!

(It didn't help that she often bored them to death.)

She was hanging next to the displays with the boggarts. The whole spectacle made Minty somewhat antsy. Many of the boggarts were repulsive or made loud noises and she felt uneasy.

A man next to her, who Minty recognized as Emrys Selwyn, made a comment to which she could only smile awkwardly, but politely. Could he mean that he was similarly anxious about facing the boggart? Minty couldn't blame him. She had hated that lesson in Defense Against the Dark Arts. She nearly got a panic attack when it had been her turn to face the boggart, which took the shape of a banshee. (Minty really hated screaming.)

Minty's eyes widened at Mr. Selwyn's question. She rather awkwardly replied: "Um, well, I suppose, they would die, Mr. Selwyn." Well, no shit. Minty flushed at her unimaginative answer.

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   Bella Scrimgeour, Emrys Selwyn

"Of course they would die," Emrys responded, with biting sarcasm before he could stop himself. He was trying to be nice to young women, now, but old habits died hard and he just hated vapid conversations. "I meant what would happen to the rest of them. Someone spent a good deal of time and energy orchestrating this entire event. They'd be ruined if someone died and everyone was traumatized," he pointed out. "Maybe they'd shut down the season the way the Ministry handicapped Quidditch."

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   Cassius Lestrange

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Lou made this! <3

She deserved the sarcasm. At least Mr. Selwyn was willing to continue the conversation with her instead of politely excuse himself and leave! That was often the case when Minty said such stupid things in conversation.

If there was one thing Minty had envied Bella for, it was her ability to have conversations with ease. She overthought her answers so much, that they ended up bland and boring.

"Oh no!" Minty could only say to the suggestion of the Season being canceled. "That would be terrible! What would we do if there was no Season? Nobody could ever get married then and that would be disastrous for society, I would say, for then there would be no births and the population would drop!" Even though her words sounded a bit erratic, her tone was a mild one.

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His musings appeared to have alarmed her. Emrys watched her dissolve into slightly frantic worrying. He honestly had trouble believing she was serious. It was like the sort of thing a playwright might devise for an actress to say in a bad satire. Her entire speech could have been replaced by one line from a narrative voice: a girl so sheltered she has lost all notion of reality.

And then she claimed that if no one married, there would be no babies. Emrys couldn't help himself: he laughed loudly at that.

"It's not quite so dire as that," he said, when his laughter subsided. "The human race existed before the invention of the social season, you know. But don't worry, I'm sure they won't cancel a thing. These ladies don't mind a little blood on their hands. And the fellow who died would most likely be a willing martyr for the cause."

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   Minty Scrimgeour [Sofia]

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Lou made this! <3

She made him laugh! Was her comment witty then? Minty smiled shyly as he laughed, proud of herself for causing him that reaction.

She blushed when he pointed out that humanity had existed before the social season. He had a point and it was especially embarrassing that Minty hadn't thought of that, seeing that History of Magic had been one of her favourite subjects at school. That being said, she was quite ignorant about how people in other walks of life lived. The only reality she knew was that of the upper class.

"You think?" Minty asked the man awkwardly, unsure of what to say. "Mrs. Finch or Mrs. Wildsmith never stuck me as very violent..." She hadn't taken his comment that literally, but she was at loss of anything witty to say. "Though I suppose Mrs. Finch could slay someone with her gaze!" She flushed at her comment and glanced around, hoping that the domineering hostess wasn't withing hearing distance.

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   Emrys Selwyn

Emrys thought he was going to have to explain his comment when she first responded, but her addition about Mrs. Finch's gaze made it seem she'd understood him after all.

"There are many kinds of violence," he said sagely. He was not typically one to be doling out advice or philosophical maxims, but only because he wasn't typically invested enough to offer an opinion. He certainly had opinions, and a wealth of experience (though he supposed compared to this young woman anyone might be considered to have a wealth of experience). "Though Mrs. Finch's gaze could only slay someone who didn't mind being killed by it."

  

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Lou made this! <3

Minty's brows furrowed. "What do you mean, sir?" her tone that of genuine confusion.

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Merlin. Emrys knew young women were supposed to be ignorant in the ways of the world, but this was a bit ridiculous.

"I mean," he said with deliberate space between his words. "Women only have as much power as other women grant them."

  

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Lou made this! <3

Minty's palms had begun to sweat.

"What kind of power, sir?" she asked awkwardly. She wanted the ground to swallow her whole. "You mean... Them being pretty?"

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He raised an eyebrow at her question. He thought he'd been fairly obvious so far, so if she hadn't caught on now she might never. "The only power women have in this world," he answered, with a smug smile. "The power of their tongues."

He glanced back towards the young man with the boggart. "They say Helen had a face that launched a thousand ships, but that sort of thing only happens in old fairy tales."

  

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Lou made this! <3

"Ohh," Minty made, finally figuring out what he had been getting at. His Homer reference was also something that she could get. Finally. "Well, the entirety of the Iliad is a big allegory I would say, it shouldn't be taken literally," she commented, proud of herself for her literary knowledge. "I believe Helen is a symbol of all those pointless reasons that drive men to war and how vanity brings sorrow to man." She paused before asking: "So if you were Paris, you would have given the apple to Athena then?"

  

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"I don't think I would have been in such a predicament in the first place," he returned with a shrug and half a smirk. "Paris was chosen as judge for being exceptionally fair, if I recall. He'd previously called a contest to his own detriment, and I would never do such a thing," he said, shaking his head.

So she liked literature — at least she knew about something, then, which was good. He was beginning to worry that she was an idiot, but perhaps she was just sheltered.

  

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Lou made this! <3

Minty didn't know about that particular detail, but she was impressed by his niche knowledge of the Iliad. Finally, they were having a conversation she could keep up with! "So you are more like Zeus, then," Minty commented. "I do not suppose you are an animagus as well?"

  

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The idea that he might have the attention span to become an animagus was quite ridiculous, and he found himself laughing loudly at the suggestion. "No, I most certainly am not," he said, shaking his head but still smiling. "And if I were I don't think I'd be inclined towards the sort of things Zeus got up to while disguised as an animal."

His mouth was moving a little faster than his brain; he'd almost continued with something along the lines of I'm satisfied with the human variety but stopped short. If she knew any of the stories about Zeus at all then she would know he was talking about sex, and an admission like that might shock her to the point of fainting. On the other hand, it would be almost worse if she didn't know what he was talking about, because then she might actually ask. If she came right out with a naive question like that he didn't think he'd be able to keep a straight face, much less answer her.

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   Minty Scrimgeour [Sofia]

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Lou made this! <3

Minty had read versions of Greek mythology that were, for the most part, appropriate for a sheltered Victorian girl, so she had a skewed idea as to what Zeus did when he transformed into an animal.

"So you would go through the proper route of doing things concerning the woman you love?" she asked. "I see, Mr. Selwyn, that you are not very romantic. You wouldn't chose the love of the prettiest woman on earth, or turn into golden rain to be with the woman you love!" She gave him a shy smile.

  

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