He'd decided, while he pretended to look for the snitch today during practice, that he could not wait for the off season. While this year had started off looking like it was going to be a good one, especially now that he was on a team that looked as if they could go all the way, Vinny knew that the holidays were just going to bring him down and remind him of how not so far he'd actually come.

He did miss Victoria. He missed being loved, and that thought alone told him that it was more than just missing the woman that was the matter with him. He'd even managed to go on a few dates since their breakup, which helped the physical loneliness, but he was far from mentally fixing that aspect of his life. But, really. Women just seemed to bring him heartache and problems, so he decided, as Griff yelled at him to find the bloody snitch, that he was not going to worry about women in this next coming year.

Vinny decided he was going to think about himself, and do what he's always wanted to do.

That was why, the second he'd got home he dug through his closet and unfurled the large map of the world his father had given him when he'd graduated from Hogwarts. His father had always wanted him to travel instead of jumping head first into the world of quidditch, that Vinny was too smart to play a game for the rest of his life. Well, dad, maybe he was right.

The door opening and shutting did not make Vinny's marker miss a swish. "Derek! What sounds better, Paris then Brussels, or Brussels then Paris?"

Running her fingers through the folds of her dress, Glenda let no pleat or invisible lint go unattended to as she sat. Her dress was far too beautiful for those kinds of blemishes, and the task had proven to be a manageable distraction that was getting her through the rest of the night until it was professionally and socially acceptable to leave.

Oh, that sounded horrible. She really shouldn't be so unwilling to attend her own party. The WWN had really outdone itself, inviting practically the whole of the Wizarding World to help 'welcome her back' to Britain's airwaves. The network had been more than happy to accept her back when she (Sturgis) had contacted them, but had made no mention of something like this until last week after everything had been finalized. All she had asked for was her job back, but apparently her celebrity status had grown substantially with her absence and things like this had become necessary.

She had spent the first good part of the party clutching tightly onto Sturgis' arm, feeling not only uneasy but lost as witch after wizard continued to appear in front of her, asking questions, telling jokes and attempting to have ernest conversations with the woman of the hour. It felt strange having so many familiar faces and names rushed back upon her, and many times already she had wished she was her formal self. If this had been three years ago, Glenda knew she would have chatted up the entire room already instead of giving half-empty smiles, dutiful nods and soft answers.

Now, though, Sturgis had long ago left her side. A tactic she knew no doubt had been purposefully planned down to the minute. It had generated the same feeling within Glenda when he had shown up an hour early before this whole thing started, asking if she minded escorting him, and then offering to drop Tristan off at her Aunt and Uncle's to ensure that she would have enough time to get ready because she hadn't even gotten dressed yet. She knew he was only trying to help with her readjustment process, which made her love, and hate, him more because of it.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Glenda looked up to catch glimpses of the party from outside. Her aimless wandering had lead her to party's outside grounds, a rather nice garden area with sparkling lights and nearby fountain. A few people were nearby, but she didn't mind much. The atmosphere reminded her of Italy.


OOC: soo it's safe to assume Gleny basically knows everyone, WWN would've made sure all friends were here LOL and if she didn't, all famous people were invited anyway so YAY

Glenda had been watching Tristan play in the living room from the kitchen when she heard a knock come from the front door. The sound had caught her so off guard that she nearly slid off the tabletop and dropped to the floor in shock. No one came to the house, with Tristan still being too young to have friends and her increasingly anti-social ways, so it took a few moments for her to recollect herself.

Who could it possibly be? Tristan had given no notice to the knock, continuing to play with his new dinosaur and Quidditch sets on the floor. Thinking it would be best to not involve him, Glenda quickly walked toward the front door without saying anything. As she walked, she thought about what it could be. She supposed it was getting close to her son's birthday (three in two weeks!), so it was very possible there was an early gift in the post. That thought calmed her for a moment... until she remembered that wizards didn't use post-officers. She stopped in her tracks, now feeling unsteady about who could be behind the door.

No. The war was over. This was not England. She did not need to be overly paranoid anymore. She looked back at her son briefly, who had still given no heed to anything outside of his own interests. There was nothing wrong. It was normal to have people visit other people's houses. She continued to sooth herself with positive thoughts until she finally made it to the door.

Just for food measure, Glenda quietly pressed her face up against the door, peaking through the hole. "Sturgis?" she whispered, genuinely surprised to see a familiar face so far away from where it should be. Well this was--- unexpected. A slight frown formed on her face, unsure of what to think of this. Was it wrong that her mind automatically went to whether this would be good or bad? Taking a deep breath, she clung to the handle and threw the door open.

"Sturgis!" Glenda repeated, feigning a surprised tone easily. She produced a well-trained smile for him.

He felt like a giant jerk, a terrible boyfriend, and a horrible...father. Vinny wasn't really sure how well he was going to adapt to that last title, but he knew he wouldn't be able to figure out his role in Victoria and Ava's life if he kept hiding away. He was a loyal and true Hufflepuff, damn it! He needed to apologize to Victoria and spoil the hell out of Ava to make her like him again. She had always liked him.

Vinny hoped the flowers and balloons would be enough to satisfy the girls, for the moment. Merlin, he really hoped Victoria wasn't too hurt by his fleeing, but it seemed to be a trend in his life. He completely fled the country after Marlie because he couldn't handle the change, the depression, so---so he'd come back, this time. For good, he believed. But she could always just tell him to get the hell out, but then! He was Ava's guardian by law! She couldn't keep him from seeing the baby, so there was at least that---

The bit of fire that swelled up in his chest at the thought of being kept away from Ava cemented the idea in Vinny's head that he was going to be this little girl's father. Okay, okay, good. He knocked on Victoria's door and was surprised to have it open so quickly, but not by his girlfriend.

"Who the hell are you?"

It had been a rough week. Last weekend a good friend of his and Victoria's, a former teammate actually from the Meteorites, had died in a broom crash with his family. Something about faulty breaks, the charms---It had been devastating, and the trip back to Moosejaw and then back to England still had him suffering from Portkey-Lag.

So when his lawyer called him in for an early morning meeting last night, Vinny was really not looking forward to it. He had no idea what it could be about, but was more than surprised to see his girlfriend waiting outside the offices.

"Hey," he leaned down to give Victoria a kiss, but was looking more than surprised at seeing her, "What are you doing here?" To have the both of them there made his insides start to twist; this couldn't be a good thing, could it? What if it was something that the papers had made up and they were questioning things?

Katerina let out a long, bored breath. It seemed like the Ministry had been holding an extravagant event every other weekend, as if they had nothing better to do. Of course there was so much to be done every day of every week, but with You-Know-Who gone and most of the death eaters either dead or behind bars, it seemed like the events committee had way too much time on their hands.

At least she got to go dress shopping. As Katerina declined a dance from a fellow in her department, she wondered if she actually had to wait for the Minister to blow out the candles of her cake before she could leave. It was supposed to be such an honor to be invited to these events, but when everyone was invited it took away the glamor, and then you were expected to sit around for a good two hours so that your department head could make sure you were making him look good.

She really needed a drink, or a hot bloke to start talking to her. On days like this Katerina envied her older sister, whose sole purpose in life was to marry rich, pureblooded men. It only took her a few moments to recall that her sister had seven dead husbands to deal with, and now a son for the rest of her life. Yes---Katerina would much rather be forced to mingle at these events than carry those sort of stories on her shoulders.

But, at the moment, she was bored, and let out a sigh in hopes that some handsome bloke would become concerned.

I need you to come get me out of MLE holding cells.

And bring some money for bail.

And an attorney.


- Davy

It was a beautiful funeral, as funerals go.

Miranda puffed her cheeks, hunched forward with her hands clasped between her knees. She felt like a child, stuck at an adult party and forced to sit on the couch in silence until it was time to go. There were things she could be doing, that she was supposed to be doing, but Miranda couldn't get herself up off the couch. How were people able to stand around and talk, and eat, and---some were even laughing. They had just buried their friends, their family, and now, apparently, it was time to eat off of trays and share stories and start talking about this funky smell that was coming from---

She let out a long breath and slumped back into the couch, putting a hand to her forehead to try and numb the headache she'd had for the past two days. For the past few months she'd had this constant throbbing in her skull and it didn't look like it was going away any time soon. Miranda stretched out her legs, knowing that she would have to stay at this gathering of funeral attendees until the last of the guests left. She was like family to Madam Rosemerta, she had to stay.

The sarcastic thought made Miranda's chest hitch and her hand slipped to cover her eyes to hopefully stop herself from crying again.

"Are you sure?"

Tristan nodded to his mother, his blue eyes wide as he stared up at her. Despite understanding that her child felt perfectly temperate, Glenda still pulled his coat closer to his chest and gently pushed his hat down to cover his face. For her, the temperature had nothing to do with it; anxiety and annoyance did. Anxiety because they still had twenty minutes until it was time to depart for their portkey, and annoyance because Rhys Nott had dared to attack them in the middle of the city just a few hours ago. Fortunately, Alice had been there....

Glenda glanced over at her friend, feeling nothing but brusque. Logically speaking, she knew she should be thankful that Alice was trained for things like this, and would make all the right decisions. Leaving Milan was without a doubt the safest option for Tristan at this point, but that didn't stop Glenda from feeling downright bitter about going back to England so soon. She wasn't ready yet, Tristan wasn't ready yet--- but there was no choice. They couldn't risk another attack: Tristan was too young, and soon the press might get wind of things, not to mention the location of their house might get revealed in the mix of it all. So, for the time being, back to England they went.

A sigh escaped her lips as she waited for another minute to pass by. She knew that this would be the time to talk with Alice, or at least something, but Glenda couldn't quite bring herself to turn and open her mouth to the other woman just yet.

WHO: Vinny Gudgeon and Heidi Twlifit
WHAT: Trying to teach her how to cook!
WHERE: Her house!
WHEN: Riiiight now?

( -- I didn't used to be like this, you know. )

WHO: Galvin Gudgeon and Gleny Prewett
WHAT: He brings over muffins and she's moving out :(
WHERE: Gleny's house
WHEN: Today!

( And no matter what you do you'll see things that make you think of her )