Not the one

[Artemidoros Etherium]

OOC: Eleora, then open



Artemidoros had been somewhat surprised when Eleora offered the ballroom up to another before holding a function of their own. It was hardly the greatest of surprises that marriage had brought to his life, however, so he had taken it in stride. Honestly, they had spent so much time dancing without guests that perhaps it had become old hat. He flicked his eyes about the room, automatically finding his wife, in spite of her diminutive height. He could almost feel her presence now, not through any great magic, simply a bond formed by their long time together enhanced by the short time of their marriage.

He had a slight concern, however, as he had come up short on his count of created creatures during his round up. They were limited to the hall outside, however, so he hoped that no one lingered too long out there. Nibbler, the chipmunk, was particularly troubling his thoughts. The little fellow liked to chew cloth, and when backed into a corner, was one that could speak a few words. Somewhere, when he was working on them, the idea of small children like his cousins tainted some of the creations. He would make a sweep through the hall later.

"Hello, my love." He spoke just loud enough for her to hear as he approached from behind her. He could not touch her to gain her attention, though that was his first inclination. It was not proper, and if it were so for a married couple, would incite jealousy in the unmarried. "Are you free to visit with me for a while? I am certain that husbands are low on the list at these functions."

He stepped to her side, his civilian uniform almost sparkling in the lighting. He even wore the ceremonial sword at his side tonight, something he usually abstained from doing. Though this version of the weapon would not be good in a fight, something felt amiss with the evening, as if some greater darkness pressed on the house. He hoped it was nerves. This was their first attempt to hold a function, even if it was for another.

Then, as the music stopped, he remembered one of his duties. He caught the eye of the conductor and held up one gloved finger. Then he spoke up, knowing the ballroom's magic would insure that his voice carried to every nook and cranny. He probably should have arranged for the spell to amplify the actual host, but it had slipped his mind.

"Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. Though this function is not one of our own, we wish to welcome you to our home. It is so kind of you to share this evening with us. I wish you all the best in the coming year and wish to extend an invitation to visit us in the future. One small announcement needs to be made, however. If you come across any of the small creatures out in the hallway, please notify those in the cloakroom or myself. Though they are not dangerous, a couple of them have managed to escape their home. They are unused to visitors, so might not be very polite. I pray you: continue your revelries and have a grand time."

(Not to mention chewing on fabric. However, he would not say that aloud.)

  

[Eleora Etherium]

Eleora smiled at the sound of her husband's voice, turning to face him. "I always have time for you, dearest," she said softly, reaching out with a gloved hand to brush Artemidoros's hand briefly. Certainly it would not be appropriate to wantonly display their feelings in front of the crowd, but a small touch would not be amiss.



He turned then to address the crowd, and Eleora could not help but smile at his words. Some of the apparitions in the hallway had quite mischievous personalities. In many ways they were far more real than they probably should be, but the young countess found that it could be a great deal of fun to change into her animagus form and play in the front hallway.



"I suppose some of the denizens of our front hall were hiding when you attempted to round them all up," she said, amused, when her husband rejoined her. Husband! Had it really been a third of a year already since they wed? It seemed like such a brief time, especially considering that they had known each other for seven years now. Yet at the same time, she was getting quite used to being Artemidoros's wife.



Smoothing the front of her gown softly, Eleora blushed slightly at thoughts of their private dances in this ballroom. "It is different, having an audience," she said lightly. It had been some time since they had been given the opportunity to dance in public.

  

[Artemidoros Etherium]

"There seems to be enough of everything, thankfully. I know that was the responsibility of the organizers, but I did not wish for their lack of planning to reflect upon us unfavorably. Indeed, I was ready to have the staff step in to pick up any slack. I shall have to send my compliments."

Oddly, he felt more confident with Eleora in their house. In the year he had lived alone, he had been pushed to make more decisions than he had dreamed possible, and had done so without her input. Simply explaining things to her helped him to grasp the answer, even if she had no opinion to offer on the matter. It was a matter of trust and it prompted him to involve her as much as possible.

"Someone seems to be summoning butterflies in the garden. I suppose I should talk to him at some point; he seems talented, though one of the ladies is distracting him at the moment. I wonder if I could convince him to open a toy shop with some financial backing. If he enjoys this sort of thing, he would be a natural choice."

He caught the blush and did not attempt to figure out what brought it on this time. It seemed she would be over blushing about things by now, but understanding of the way women thought was not easy for a man. Trying to figure it out was an exercise in futility.

"I suppose it is different. Do you see any couples out there that surprise you? I have kept you rather busy between trips and setting up the house, so I imagine it has been hard to keep up with things. I have not even seen your sisters this evening myself. Would you care for something to drink?"

  

[Eleora Etherium]

Eleora smiled at the mention of butterflies in the 'garden'; depending on the spell being used, they might actually be quite real, in which case they would probably find the honeysuckle before long. Or they could be apparitions which would disparate ... or perhaps the wizard in question was not even really sure what he was doing. Some learned the basics, but never truly understood the magic.



"A toy shop would be wonderful, something with a truly unique stock." She personally had a tiny welsh green that moved, a toy which reminded her of her childhood home in Wales. It was not really something she would let a small child play with -- it occasionally breathed fire and it tended to bite -- but little animals like that would sell well if they were made. She could also see false butterflies becoming quite popular in decorating.



At Artemidoros's question about couples that may have surprised her. "I know that at least Evangeline is here -- she is Mr. Grimstone's guest." She could not help but feel both worried and satisfied about that. On the one hand, she knew that her father would be furious about the obvious sign he could not control his youngest daughter. On the other, Elias Grimstone seemed to make Evangeline happy. "I can not imagine that Etana has missed the ball," she added, looking around the room.



She paused in her survey of the ballroom to smile up at her husband when he asked about a drink. "A drink sounds lovely. As for our guests ..." she nodded towards Darcy Potter "... our young Minister seems to have found company for the evening, and different than some months back. I believe his name was linked with Miss Ayumi Browning's at the Coming Out ball. Of course, Miss Browning is over there with Mr. Rupert Hamilton" -- a subtle nod in their direction -- "and the new Viscountess Browning seems to be quite happy with her husband. I am glad, that marriage was arranged quite hastily."



She paused, looking around again. "Of course, the real scandal is right there." She nodded towards Nola Haskitt and and Everett Grimm. "The paper reported rumors of impropriety, and I have heard that Mr. Grimm was fired from his post at Hogwarts as a result."

  

[Artemidoros Etherium]

"It is amusing to see someone else passing time using my æuseless' magic. There certainly was no enthusiasm for it while I was in school. No one could see a practical use for it, advising me to concentrate on potion making instead. They could not comprehend that I will never have to work. I am one of the fortunate, who can choose to work at what I enjoy, even if I cannot earn a living with it. This complements my talent in drawing, as does the ability to make potions, and even work out a charm to animate a portrait. I hope to spend my time creating work for those less fortunate."

Muggles were likely better at book keeping. Still, he had to employ wizards for his other investments. Only a select few could reconcile the books from both of his counting houses. With his inheritance, as well as careful planning, he had reached the point where he could exchange money for others in his situation. Even the shops in Hogsmeade had to stock some goods made by muggles. In fact, the purchase and resale of goods had become his greatest business. He might have to change his cards.

"Do you remember those model dragons we received in school? I think I have come up with a method of making them safe for children. It comes from the personalities I create for the constructs in the house. The only problem is, where do I find someone willing to loan me a child to test the safety of a fire breathing toy dragon with teeth? I might get a muggle to do so, but then the thing would not be animated. The charms prevent it from working where a muggle might see."

He listened to the comments on the couples, having only asked because he knew she would have an interest. It was important to pay attention however. Not only would it be impolite to ignore the conversation, she might ask his opinion on something she said. That was not a good thing.

"I wonder if I could find work for Mr. Grimstone that might help your family's opinion of him. Since I know little of him, I would have to do some research. I cannot possibly believe that if he were to open the post and find a million galleons, your family would approve of him any more than they do now. She will have a difficult task to make that work."

He motioned for and received their drinks, the staff members helping with the ball being familiar with his signals. Handing Eleora her drink, he listened as she continued. Her discussion of each couple had another purpose: he was prompted to think about each person in turn. This was invaluable in deciding who might be in a position of need, or be willing to help in one of his projects.

  

[Eleora Etherium]

"You will create work for them, and I will educate as many of them as I can ..." Eleora sighed softly, thinking of the amount of work she still had to do to start her school. It was lovely that there were others who wanted to do the same thing, but she felt as though the others were not interested in the project for the same reason that she was. She honestly wanted to help children like Declan Wood; there was so much promise there, and yet his schooling was in danger because no one had taught him the basics of reading and writing before Hogwarts.



As Artemidoros turned the conversation to the model dragons, Eleora could not help but smile; she still had her tiny Common Welsh Green, and she still sometimes had problems corralling it. In fact, less than a week before she had found it terrorizing an angry chipmunk in the front hall ... not that she had any idea how the model had gotten into the front hall, or why it seemed to have decided that the chipmunk was a rival dragon. "The desperate seem to be startlingly willing to let their children do things that they would not otherwise allow," she said softly. She trusted Artemidoros to keep any children even temporarily under his protection safe, but a stranger would have no reason to do so.



Her sister, though ... there was actually something that could be done there, something more than just trying to offer an opportunity. Unfortunately, it was nothing quite so straight-forward as offering him work. "Father will never approve of him. Mr. Grimstone is a halfblood, not born into wealth, and he did not ask my father for permission to court Evangeline. He is already being sponsored by Nicholas -- Mr. Flamel -- and that has done nothing to improve my father's attitude towards the match. Still, I think that Evangeline may be stubborn enough to see this through if she wants to. I am simply not sure what to do other than offer her refuge should father attempt to marry her off against her will."



She took the drink from her husband, sipping it slowly. "Do you ever wonder how much talent is wasted because those who have it have to scrape to live and never get to develop it?"

  

[Artemidoros Etherium]

"I will not create work for them as much as I will use the best to fill positions I where I need them. It is up to them to succeed or fail on their own, as it should be. You will find that you can offer all the education you wish, but they must grab the opportunity and earn the rewards on their own. I believe the old saying is, æGive a man a fish, and you feed him for a night. Teach a man to fish, and you can feed him for a lifetime. In either case, the man will starve unless he is willing to work with what he has to better himself."

He tossed off the rest of his drink, taking care to leave a small bit in the bottom of the glass. Rather than wait for a servant, he tapped his wand to the glass and refilled it from the remnants. It was his home, so he could take a bit of leeway with custom.

"Still, working with children will be a boon for your project. They will not have had the time to learn the bad habits life can teach them. Children are less susceptible to Despair. Once that settles in, it can be difficult to help anyone change their life around. My greatest failure in school came as a result of someone who had fallen to Despair, or her close cousin, Disbelief that something good could happen in their life. I made that regeneration potion as a senior project, giving a man born with no eyes his sight. He promptly lost them as his mind could not cope with a gift of that magnitude. He felt himself unworthy, and so he was. I do not believe I ever shared that with even you."

He drank some more of his new drink, pondering her words. He had the feeling that relations with Eleora's elders would one day force him into some distasteful acts. Of course, he could not discuss that even with her. She might have a problem with even a husband who removed the trouble from the equation.

"Of course we could put them up here, if it comes to that. If I thought it would help, I would speak on their behalf. I cannot see how my words would sway your father, however."

Perhaps the problem with his creations came from his own mind. As he pondered the last few minutes, and analyzed himself, he realized that he had swung from amused to a slightly irritated mood with no real reason. Perhaps he should suspend his works of art until he found a better emotional balance.

  

[Eleora Etherium]

Eleora nodded softly, gazing out at the crowd. Here and there she could spot someone who, despite the fine clothes they had been provided for the occasion, obviously was out of place in the grand ballroom. The poorer citizens did not throw balls, nor did they regularly wear silks. This was odd for them, and it showed on their faces and in their movements.



Sipping her drink idly, she quoted from a translation of Hesiod. "Only Hope was left within her unbreakable house, she remained under the lip of the jar, and did not fly away."



There had to be a way to release Hope from the jar. Perhaps in some small ways they could do so. In other ways ... well, they could not give sight to those who thought it unworthy any more than they could fly unassisted ... and yet now she could.



She offered no words of consolation; they would not have made a difference. Instead, Eleora reached out briefly to place her hand on Artemidoros's arm. She was always here for him, and she always loved him. It was not his fault that the blind man could not learn to see, even when given that gift, but she suspected that in some corner of his mind he blamed himself.



"Perhaps believing he was worthy would have made all the difference. I learned a great deal in becoming an animagus ... a great deal that was not directly involved with the magic, but which I needed to know. If I had not believed in myself, I could not have done it. Belief colors many things, both in magic and in life. I doubt that anything would sway my father's opinion of Mr. Grimstone, but at the same time Evangeline is one who can push through because she believes herself free -- or at least capable of freedom. It colors everything ..."



Eleora trailed off, sipping her beverage once more. There was much to consider. Was that what she needed to do in teaching children -- instill them with hope, with belief in their own potential? They all had so much promise, after all.

  

[Artemidoros Etherium]

Artemidoros followed Eleora's gaze as she perused the crowd, attempting to discern her intent. He remained clueless until she made the comment about Hope. Obviously, she was looking for hope, or the lack thereof, on the faces of the attendees. He set about doing the same. She might ask his opinion.
"My hope in life came from you and from my cousin. I hope you do not follow his example and disappear, not that I expect you would. I am unsure that hope would remain for me alone. I do wonder if I should look into the animagus transfiguration. Perhaps that would help me understand myself better. Then again, I express myself in many ways now. People only have to look at my art for an insight to my make up."
He paused to consider where his art, the paintings and photography at least, had taken him. One could easily see how he perceived or felt about the subject simply by looking. It was quite a different thing for him to put feelings out where others could see them. Perhaps his animations were another form of art. He suspected that the personalities of the squirrels, for example, came from shards of his own personality. As with the caricatures, he might exaggerate something in them, but the base trait was there.

"I wonder which part of me is expressed by the more troublesome squirrels. They seem to have facets of my personality. Lately, I have begun to wonder if I should find ways to work those pieces of myself into my life. Practical jokes, for example, always amused me when they were done well: that is, amusing without being cruel."

  

[Eleora Etherium]

Eleora smiled softly, squeezing her husband's hand gently. "We shouldn't let ourselves be too serious. I wouldn't want your only outlet for your humor to be the squirrels." Not that the squirrels weren't amusing, but she did not want either of them to become stunted.

"Maybe we should look to do something ... fun. I suppose it's a little cold to fly kites, but we can certainly find something to do. I would not want us to become too serious." Her eyes sparkled as she grinned; in many ways their relationship had always been a somber one, but they did know how to have fun. "Maybe we could race toy dragons in the halls and scandalize the servants."

But at the moment, there was a ball, and the whole of the new year was coming up. There would be a great deal of fun to be had, and projects to figure out ... new years had so much promise.