Problem Politics [the Lady Morgana]

[Rhea Shafiq]

Rhea was glad that, despite being in mourning, it was acceptable for her to take tea in the club; she was far too social a creature to spend her entire six months of mourning hidden in her house. No, she would grieve properly, but she would do her best to grieve as publicly as was seemly.

She passed a cup of tea from the tray to Mrs. Mysterium. Although she did not think much of the other woman taking any part in the running of a shop, she did understand the need to protect her son's inheritance ... which Rhea assume the shop was! A woman had no need of an apothecary, not with a son to care for her.

"I am quite glad that I cannot vote; Mr. Shafiq will make the best choices for our family. It must be so stressful to have to make that sort of decision! My only opinion on the matter is that Mr. Carmichael should pull out of the race out of shame. Imagine, saying that sort of thing in the paper!" She could barely bring herself to think of birth control, much less actually say the words. It was positively scandalous!

  

[Briljantia Mysterium]

Finny was glad that she finally seemed to be making acquaintences in town, if not friends just yet. Mrs. Shafiq was a nice enough woman and was willing enough to talk to a twice widowed woman who'd found herself saddled with a shop. Normally Infinita would leave the running of the shop to its manager but at present time...there wasn't one and it was all she could do to learn everything she could in order to keep things running smoothly. Its income would keep her from having to dip too much into the savings her husband had left her. Taking the tea with a smile, Finny took a sip then perched the cup in her lap as she listened to her sitting companion.

"Yes, I do miss leaving such things to my husband. But Caelius needs me to vote for him so I will do my best." Truly it was a mess, all the candidates. It was hard to keep them straight and there were so many issues and sides that she was hard pressed to keep up but she would because she had no choice. One thing she knew for certain was that she would not vote for Mr. Carmichael. "I do agree about Mr. Carmichael. To say such things." She frowned and shook her head. Though she truly had no desire to attach herself to another man more out of fear of killing him than anything else, she would gladly leave this business to a man if she could. "I wonder that he does not? Surely he hasn't gotten a warm welcome for his words?"

  

[Rhea Shafiq]

"Men can be such stubborn creatures. I might be slightly more understanding if he did not have a wife, but really! Mrs. Carmichael should have taken him in hand. If Mr. Shafiq tried anything of the sort -- well, I am not one to tell my husband what to do, but there are times when a wife must put her foot down!"

She shook her head and sipped her tea; she could not believe that Mrs. Carmichael had so little sway over her husband as to allow him to say things like that. "At least there is a wide variety of other candidates to choose from!"

  

[Briljantia Mysterium]

Infinita smiled, though truly she'd never had much experience with being a particularly willful wife. In fact she'd been too young to even entertain the notion with her first husband and her second husband was quite agreeable and never gave her much cause to disagree with anything he said or did. But for the sake of conversation she nodded. "Yes I suppose you are correct. The only man in my life, though is my son and he doesn't usually put up too much of a fuss."

Taking a sip of her tea as well, Finny was glad that Mrs. Shafiq was leading the conversation. While she herself was no longer in mourning, she'd been cooped up with her late husband's advisers up until the point of moving to Hogsmeade and then it had been a matter of settling in and getting the house up and running with staff. Then there was the shop; she had half a mind to contact one of the estate keepers and have him take care of the shop for her, or even sell it, but in the long run it would provide her with enough extra money that her inheritance from her husband would last well past the point that Caelius graduated. "Yes, we can be thankful for that. Frankly, though, I will be glad once the elections are over and things settle down once more."

  

[Rhea Shafiq]

"I quite agree," Rhea said. She would not be able to participate in the parties over the summer, nor the ones related to the election; however, it would be nice to to have everything settled once more. It was bad form to murder the Minister; it was far better to vote him out of office. There was much less upheaval that way.

"The little Mr. Mysterium is doing well?" Rhea asked cordially. Children were such a joy, and it was very distressing when they were not doing well in one way or another.

  

[Briljantia Mysterium]

Infinita smiled, a bright and unguarded smile at the mention of her son. Truly he was her only reason for existing at the moment. While she'd truly mourned her husband as they had been friends of a sort, she hadn't been totally devastated by his loss. She'd been trying her best over the past several months to find Caelius playmates and perhaps even find a suitable family with a daughter to betroth to him.

"He has adjusted quite well I think. I am still trying to secure playmates for him. He is growing too fast though, I think. He will be at Hogwarts before long and then what will I do?" Sometimes she wished she and Aurelius had had more children. In a matter of years she would be alone in the house much of the year and would have to find something to do with her time other than spoil her precious boy. "What of your children? Do they grow too quickly?"

  

[Rhea Shafiq]

"I would think that they grow at quite the proper pace," Rhea said somewhat stiffly. Too quickly? Seventeen years a piece, that was what you got with a child. Of course, the years overlapped, but it was still as much time as anyone else got unless -- Merlin forbid -- the child was simple, or a daughter failed to gain a husband. And the latter, thankfully, could be solved by a little arranging of things by the girl's parents.

"My eldest is doing so very well in Hogwarts, and my middle child goes off this year. It's all quite exciting."

  

[Briljantia Mysterium]

Smiling, Infinita nodded, both looking forward to and dreading the day that her son got his letter to Hogwarts. She’d thought about perhaps sending him to Durmstrang but since moving to Hogsmeade had decided that Hogwarts might be a far better option. She rather liked Hogsmeade, it was a nice little town and she was growing as an individual. She was making do.

“I am glad to hear that your children are well. I am anxious for the time when my boy goes to Hogwarts. I am sure he will do well though.” Taking a sip of her tea, she smiled.

  

[Rhea Shafiq]

Ah, yes -- Mrs. Mysterium only had the one child. "I am certain that Mr. Mysterium will do quite well. Children of our sort usually do." By that she meant, of course, the children of wealthy purebloods; halfbloods did quite well too. Muggleborns less so, but some of the, especially those from privilege, could frequently adapt.