All Roads Lead to Rome [Tess]

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The comment about Rome, while initially casual, had sparked an interest in Delia, and she'd started seriously looking into that as an option. The December holidays, when school was just letting out, seemed to be the best option, and although she would've preferred November, skipping school for Tess was not an option. She, after all, had a reputation to maintain.

So, with a time period in mind, Delia had written to her father to inform him of her trip, and get his 'blessings'. It was, after all, only proper protocol, despite her knowing he would agree; he didn't want to lose her any further than he already had. Once that was settled, she began looking into places to stay and things to do. With her long-time penpal no longer staying there, she needed to find a place to stay. It wasn't hard, though, and soon enough -- with just a little research -- she had a private suite on hold for her and Tess in a quaint little town.

It was muggle town, but Delia didn't mention that to Tess in her note. As soon as the permission to Tess was granted and the conditions set by her father, Delia made the booking.

The final day of school was spent restless as Delia waited impatiently for classes to end. Rome was beautiful, and it was a place she longed to revisit. When the last class was let out, Delia immediately dashed to her common room, grabbing the large suitcase she'd packed the night before. As arranged, she met Tess at the Great Hall, and together they walked down to the entrance of Hogwarts and out to Hogsmeade, where a servant from Delia's father was waiting for them. Without much talk, he apparated them to a safe spot in Rome, and then left again.

Delia's eyes sparkled as she glanced around, quietly making her way through the streets with Tess beside her, until they reached their home for the next month. It was self-check-in, and Delia quickly let them in before glancing around and taking in the house.

"Welcome home," she said, dryly, to Tess, leaving her suitcase by the door and immediately moving to perch herself on one of the couches. "Damn. It's nicer than I'd hoped!"

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If she was perfectly honest, she was surprised by how a simple conversation about Rome through correspondence had made this a reality. If she was perfectly honest, she had never visited Rome on the simple fact of the politics of it all. Southern Europe historically had a different climate (not speaking about the weather), than the rest of the western European countries. The idea of propriety varied from one country to the next and her father refused to take her there.

So as her seventeenth birthday rolled around, and she had properly passed her apparition test, she felt ready to ask. Going to her brothers had been the first step; it was best to have both brothers be on her side before she sent to their father. Mycroft had been very tentative about being on her side; the idea of her going alone had been a “no”. And as she mentioned Cordelia, a bigger “no” was emitted. She had tried to persuade him only for him to go “No” which lead to some tears. It seemed that no matter how old she was tears seemed to work. In turn, her brother Winston had simply shrugged telling her to behave but to have fun.

Her request was simple; a trip with a pureblood friend (and her family) for her seventeenth birthday. When she had reminded her father of her birthday something odd happened: he seemed to be softer with her. She swore that when he kissed her forehead he actually meant to be caring. With the warmth in her chest, she rushed off promising to write and to be checked upon.

Once classes ended she found herself excited to now be seventeen and being able to travel. She had packed the week before with everything she would need. She tied her hair up with a ribbon and threw on a sundress under her winter coat before running to meet Delia. The Portkey was a quick one and suddenly she found herself in Rome…except…this wasn’t what she imagined.

She kept her confusion to herself and followed her friend to the door. It was the moment that the door closed that she paused.

“Why…why were there no witches or wizards in the streets?”

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If there was one thing that Delia regretted, if it could be called a 'regret', it was that she was of age. It would have been so much more fun if she hadn't been able to perform magic. In a way, it would be more challenging, especially for Tess, without the reliance of it -- at least of Delia's end. But still, even with her wand in her pocket, Delia promised herself to use it as little as possible. For now, doing things the muggle way would have to do.

Besides, she was with Tess, who was of age, and would probably do magic anyway. But, they going to be doing muggle tourist stuff and go to pubs and whatnot, instead of visiting the wizarding aspect of it. It had been a decision Delia had made from the start; she didn't want to be surrounded by people who knew Tess or her. Rather, she wanted to have the freedom to experience things that Tess never would otherwise, from bars to museums.

It would, she figured, be a welcomed change, despite the fears that no doubt Tess would first have. This, Delia was already prepared for.

Leaning back on the couch, she glanced over at Tess, her lips breaking into a large, sly smirk at the question. Unable to hold it in, she let out a long laugh, gesturing idly. Whether to the house, the town, or to the air, it wasn't clear. "That's because," she said, when she'd stopped laughing, a few seconds later, "my darling Tess, you're in the muggle side of Rome."

She let a second pass, for it to sink in, and went on before Tess would have a chance to speak. "Did I forget to tell you that?" she asked, the innocence to her tone broken by a mocking, wicked laugh. "Whoops," she added, this time tone sarcastic and dry. "Well, surprise I guess." She shrugged. "I've got us booked for some muggle tours and shit like that. You're so sheltered, babe." There was no judgement in her tone, only fondness. "I figured I'd take this time to break you in and show you things you've never dreamed of."

Standing, Delia moved towards Tess, eyes glinting as she grabbed the witch by the arm. "Speaking of that, I've got a reservation at a tapas bar in twenty minutes. I didn't think you'd know how to ride a bicycle, so I've taken the liberty of renting a scooter; I have... well, not a license, per se, but I know how to ride one and nobody is gonna think I don't have permission. All you gotta do is sit behind me and hold on tight."

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A flash of surprise and then immediately anger rushed through Tess and she found herself wobbling for a second. She...she was in the muggle side of the world? Her hands shook at the thought and she found herself actually considering hexing the older girl.

And then she did. Without meaning to, her emotions got the best of her and one of Delia's bags flew to hit her. For a second Tess was surprised by her violent actions. But she knew that her magical core did not take kindly to being laughed at. Had she had a better control with her emotions, she would not have reacted to brazenly with immediate action.

"Cordelia I could get in trouble! If my father knew..." if possible she got paler. "This is not okay." her voice broke. Nonetheless the other girl it seemed was trying to sheer her up as best as possible. (Well..how little she could.)

"That....can you give me a moment?" her voice wavered once more. "I...oh. Cordelia did you think I'd be okay? I-I know nothing of this world. And in twenty minutes I'll be okay?" she shook her head frowning.

» Thoroughly Indulged (Jake & Veronika - Rome)
» Coffee for Two? (Jake & Veronika - Rome)
» The Start of Something New (Rome - Veronika & Jake)
» Movie Marathon [Tess]
» Wicked Temptation [Tess]