no other thought than to love

[Minnie Pendergast]

Minnie had been looking forward to this party more than she could possibly say. Though she sometimes found herself feeling a little awkward at such gatherings tonight was utterly different - this was her uncle's house and her favourite auntie (though she would never tell Aunt Olivia that as she had already done so much for her!) was the hostess and she had the duel pleasure of being amongst the Pendergast Roses and being with almost all of her extended family.

Even being in mourning was, for once, not as upsetting as it usually was! Putting on her gown for the evening had not led her into thinking sad thoughts about her father and all the people that had been lost in the summer, but instead she had been filled with thrilling excitement and pleasure at the treats that were to come. The only fly in the ointment was that Ivy wasn't here - although Minnie was rather pleased to think that very soon her friend would be able to move in more or less the same circles as she did and they might see more of each other. They would never be the same of course, even Minnie wasn't idealistic enough to believe that, but it would be a start!

She had been swept around the dance floor three times now and she was rather giddy with it all, feeling almost entirely happy for the first time in months. Oh Merlin, it was exhilarating and her smile only grew as she sipped at her drink and glanced around the room again, looking for somebody to talk to.

  

[Mathias Beaumont]

Mathias had come to the Halloween Ball after hearing that his youngest sister, Anais Beaumont, was here along with the rest of the Pendergast Roses. He'd come to make sure she stayed out of the arms of.... unfriendly gentlemen and that she was also following the rules. Mathias himself loved to dance, and though he didn't celebrate Halloween like some witches and wizards he still knew how to have fun. Mathias had spent the majority of the night next to the punch bowl, watching in amusement as young wizards dared each other to spike the punch bowl to no avail.

Mathias himself had been in search of a wife—something that had been a little difficult due to the high amount of mourning debutantes in Hogsmeade. The only woman he'd taken any interest in that wasn't mourning was Zephyra Zane, but he was having serious second thoughts on the matter of possibly courting her.

Mathias had come dressed in a nice suit, in hopes of making acquaintance with either a nice gentleman to call his friend or a nice young woman—preferably an upper class pureblood—to possibly get involved with. He was getting older every day, and he didn't want to be the last of his siblings, even if it was realistic, to get married. The curly-haired pureblood make eye contact with a woman he recognized as Miss Pendergast and immediately averted his eyes in a polite manner.

He glanced up once more before hesitantly walking towards her in hope that he might get a dance or two. When he made it to where she was standing, Mathias bowed respectfully and removed his hat. "Good evening, Miss Pendergast," he said politely, offering her a somewhat-shy smile.

  

[Minnie Pendergast]

Minnie’s attention was caught at the sound of her name being uttered by a distinctly masculine voice and she looked up with expectant eyes, her lips curling into a small smile as she realised who it was.

It was a rare thing indeed for Minnie to discover somebody she both knew by name and rather liked in person at a ball, and to be allowed to speak to him, which she assumed she was given that nobody had jumped in to ensure that their conversation was chaperoned just as much as their activities were. Mr Beaumont had always struck her as a particularly pleasant young man, handsome without being cruel and his sister was the most charming young lady so it made perfect sense for his manners to be equally pleasing!

“Good evening Mr Beaumont,” she smiled brightly, never one to be overly withdrawn when it came to smiling at anyone and everyone she met. He looked rather dashing in his suit too and she ran a self-conscious hand over her hip, smoothing out the material less it had become disarrayed during her foray into dancing. Perhaps she would be asked again? Oh Merlin she hoped so – it was rather liberating for once to feel a little more confident and she was determined to make the best of it!

“Are you enjoying the evening thus far sir? I think it’s quite enchanting but then with my aunt being the hostess I suppose I am obliged to!”

  

[Mathias Beaumont]

Mathias' costume wasn't anything to be that proud of—it more or less looked like he was wearing a regular suit with a pirate's hat. He'd always felt a little self-conscious wearing anything out of the norm, which is why he was usually humble in the patterns and colors he wore. It was rare to find him wearing muggle clothes for more than two days at a time, as he chose to wear his father's fancy and bejeweled robes he'd inherited after his death. Mathias had always had a soft spot for brunettes, and Miss Pendergast was dressed quite beautifully. The two of those combined was the perfect recipe for a flustered Mathias.

"This evening is lovely. So many people have wonderful costumes." But I wish I could say the same about myself, he thought, glancing down at himself for a moment before lifting his eyes back to meet her's. "Have you had many dances?" he asked curiously, looking at the dancing cards in her hand.

  

[Minnie Pendergast]

Minnie had not had a single moment of doubt as to what her costume would be. She might not have actually seen cousin Elmer yet – perhaps he hadn’t come, which would be rather disappointing for Aunt Helena and Minnie felt terribly sorry for her – but if he did see her dress she was quite sure he would simply know that she was Annabel Lee. It could be their little joke!

She cast her eyes over Mr Beaumont briefly – it would hardly do to be caught ogling him after all! – and she noticed his hat with a small smile. It was rather charming and Minnie quite suddenly found herself thinking about the stories she had read of pirates and how dashing and romantic they were heralded to be.

“A few,” she said rather more coyly than she had perhaps intended it to sound. It was perfectly true of course but it would be utterly uncouth of her to admit to her pleasure at being rather popular tonight! She held tight to her dance card but made sure it was facing down so he could not see and did not think she was a terrible flirt who had filled up almost her whole card! “I love to dance though, very little gives me as much pleasure as dancing at a ball.”

  

[Mathias Beaumont]

Mathias could understand that a young woman would be interested in dancing with a bunch of eligible bachelors—he did have four sisters who all went through similar phases. With such pressure from society to get married, there was no doubt in his mind that Miss Pendergast would have quite a few dances. Nodding his head, he tried to sneak a peek at her card but was unable to see any of the names on there.

"Do you still have room for one more dance?" he asked, his face flushing momentarily before he calmed himself down.

  

[Minnie Pendergast]

Minnie smiled at the question, glad she had managed to make an impression even if it was likely a small one. She hardly considered herself a particularly fascinating debutante – although she had the weight of her family name behind her to compensate which always helped! – but even Minnie, for all her demurring, flattered herself that she was at least pretty enough to garner dances!

“It would be my pleasure Mr Beaumont,” flipping her card over Minnie made a show of perusing the dances remaining although she knew them by heart. There was a quadrille coming up soon but she did not think it would be the best idea for a dance with a gentlemen she knew so little, it was, after all, hardly a dance that always showed a lady’s figure to its best advantage. At least she thought so from her experience of watching them!

“Perhaps a waltz would suit, I believe there may be one about to begin and I am not engaged for it?”

  

[Mathias Beaumont]

A waltz would be a perfect dance. Growing up in the upper class, he'd been forced to learn many, many dances ranging from traditional French dances to commonly-used English ones. He'd never enjoyed dancing class as a young child, but now he understood the importance of a dance: it was a way that men socialized with women, getting a feel of what she was like through small talk.

"A lovely choice," he said, giving her a smile. He was careful not to be too revealing nor too warm, not wanting to give her false ideas that she was specifically a woman he was interested in. It wasn't that she wasn't, though; Mathias liked to keep his options open, especially when it came to a possible wife.

While he didn't want to be exclusively infatuated with a single woman again—he'd already made that mistake once—he still wanted to make a good impression on her. Miss Pendergast was exactly what she sounded like: a Pendergast. While he hadn't been aware of the name until his adulthood, there was no doubt that they were influential in the wizarding world. His younger sister attend a Pendergast's finishing school, and there was even a street named after the family in Wellingtonshire! "I don't mean to be rude, but I'm rather curious. Would you mind sharing what house you were in while at Hogwarts?" he asked. That was a simple question he asked many women he met.

  

[Minnie Pendergast]

Minnie grinned at the question, always happy to speak of her days at Hogwarts and she tried this time not to be struck by how much she missed it. Unfortunately it had perhaps been the time in her life when she was happiest so it was incredibly difficult to ignore the tug her heart felt when she remembered happier times of not having to be charming at balls and instead being treated as though she had a mind during the day whilst eating sweets and swapping endless dreams with Ivy.

“Hufflepuff,” she supplied, her voice brimming with price and fondness for her old house although Minnie had never been the sort to find any particular quarrel with any of the other houses. “And yourself Mr Beaumont?”

It had always struck her as a curious thing, the way the sorting hat seemed to arbitrarily decide who went where based on a few characteristics one might have when they were eleven years of age. She had certainly changed her outlook – never having imagined she could be friends with a girl such as Ivy O’Neill – but perhaps other did not and remained true to the character they had always possessed. Or perhaps the hat simply knew something they did not! She liked the mystery of that solution the most!