Ineffable Serendipity [JT]

Guest

"There are stronger currents here," he said, keeping his posture and tone nonchalant. This was just a normal conversation, like he had every day. (It wasn't, of course, but Jesse wasn't stupid enough to let on that this was an abnormalty. He wasn't after anything, after all, just fun and amusement.) "They used to have signs out, but I think a mu-- a teenager stole it. They really need to put up another one. There've been near fatalities here." He mentally cussed himself for the slip up, almost having used 'muggles'. Somehow, he'd gotten the idea that he was talking to a fellow witch, but he knew that to assume would be ... costly, if he were wrong. There were some things that could not be risked, and this was one of those things -- even if the statue of secrecy might be removed soon, if the vote went wrongly.

"I don't have a date," he added, moments later. "We were testing out dynamics; it..." He smiled, almost wryly, and shook his head once. "I shall say only that we were not compatible, although she was a rather nice person." The last thing Jesse ever did was talk badly about someone, especially a date. It wasn't (always) their fault it didn't go well, and Jesse had manners enough to know it was as much him as it was them. Why badmouth a family for something out of their control?

He let out a chuckle at her comment. "Your crazy friend sent me down," he said, not bothering to hide the truth. "She said she wasn't sure if you could swim well, and that she couldn't swim well enough to help you should you get caught in a rip tide." If he was ratting her out or not, Jesse didn't care; he only gave loyalty to his family, and these two muggle girls were not family. Once again, he mentally readjusted, unable to stop himself from thinking of them as his kind.

As she dove under, he simply waited, taking a deep breath and sticking his head under to watch her. As much as she claimed to be good, he knew he would never forgive himself if she got hurt because he believed her. People often underestimated the ocean, a mistake he never made; that was why he prefered the land. It was much more predictable than waves could be. The salty water stung, but in a familiar way, and he didn't mind it. When he saw her come up next, he lifted his head moments before she surfaced.

"I can show you a much nicer place to swim and see corals," he said, as if she hadn't disappeared and there hadn't been a lull in their conversation. "With lots of fish, too. Ever been snorkeling?"

Guest

As she rose to the surface she realized something: his stubbornness was making her own stubborn nature rise. Tess was naturally a passive person, and rarely showed her annoyance, but his calm demeanor despite him debating her was not helpful. It was charming she supposed that he wanted to help her out and cared for her wellbeing but she was a strong witch and she could take care of herself.

"They used to have signs out, but I think a mu-- a teenager stole it. They really need to put up another one. There've been near fatalities here."

She tilted her head curiously when he stuttered. Mu...muggles? Her eyes brightened thinking that perhaps he was a fellow wizard, that is until he continued on. Still, Tess could not risk it; she had never use da spell on a muggle before and she wouldn't start now.

At the mention of his 'date' not working out she frowned. She had been in one of those dates; awkwardly start up a conversation, never knowing if he just decided that they would marry. And worse, were probably the moment of rejection. When a strange hand would trace a place they were not suppose to be there and it was stopped, then the verbal attacks came. Her frowned deepened more.

"She was beautiful. It was a shame you did not give her a chance...I hope you were sensitive to her." her voice was soft, her eyes a bit sad for the stranger. "And as for my friend...she lied. I am not a weak swimmer, it's in my blood to swim." her pride almost made her speak about Vivienne her founder but she bit that back. "And she can swim just fine"

Her eyes trailed up to see Delia grinning widely and waving her hands. Tess never cursed but she murmured a small one at whatever scheme the girl above planned.

"I can show you a much nicer place to swim and see corals," he said, as if she hadn't disappeared and there hadn't been a lull in their conversation. "With lots of fish, too. Ever been snorkeling?"

That made her pause. The coral. The one thing she always found fascinating was somewhere around her and this boy knew. "The coral?" she whispered softly.

The riptide hit her back, making her surge a bit forward, but while surprised she took it in stride. Funny enough it only suited them by bringing her closer to the boy.

"Is it close by?" her tone still tentatively. "I used to have this book that would talk about them. When you opened them they would-" she paused. She knew muggles didn't have the books that emitted the charms that projected the ocean around them. "pop up."

But snorkeling? She didn't know what that was. Her body seemingly sunk into herself.

"I-I've never snorkeled. Not quite sure I...I know what that is" she admittedly a bit nervous. "No! Never mind I'm find thank you. I can pop back where I need to be in no time."

Guest

"Beauty?" he repeated, amusement in his tone. "Yes, she had that; but is beauty all there is to marriage?" If he picked his partner solely on how they looked, he would've been married a long time ago. But Jesse had, by some stroke of luck, realised early on that physical and even sexual attraction was the least of his worries. What he needed was someone who he could be proud to introduce as his wife. Love as another matter; he did not kid himself to believe, even for a moment, that he would find what some called 'true love'. Care, fondness, these were attainable. Love was not. Not for him, in any case. It wasn't his duty to love; it was his duty to preserve his family line. "I date," he added a moment later, "With the intent of marriage. Old fashioned, I suppose, but..." He smiled again. "It's a family tradition. And beauty alone would make an awful wife."

He followed her gaze to the cliff, raising another eyebrow as he saw Delia up there. His suspicions were confirmed in that moment, and he shook his head once. "Well, I suppose there's not much we can do now, is there?" he asked, humour in his tone. "Unless you're able to climb up the cliff face without assistance; or did you not think how you would get out of the water?"

Jesse could see, almost at once, that the idea of corals had piqued her interest. "Pink ones," he added, a moment later. "The ones we're famous for. It's a ten or so minute walk, back the way you came and through a path that only locals know. Delia can come with us, if she wants." He hesitated at the mention of popping up. Were there pop-up books of corals? He knew what they were, of course. But it seemed an odd thing to have, especailly for one her age; weren't those books for children? "Pop up," he said, popping the first word. "I see. That sounds... interesting. I have yet to see a book that does that."

This comment, however, made him falter entirely. "Have you never been to an ocean before?" he asked, judgement out of his tone. A very light frown creased his eyebrows. That couldn't be true; she'd mentioned currents. "Snorkeling is what you do with a mask and a snorkle," he added a moment later; maybe she was just really sheltered. "A snorkle is like a tube, so you can breathe. If you've never done it before, it's a great way to see the corals clearly, without needing to keep coming up for air."

Guest

Tess' drowned deepened. "For Merlin's sake of course a person's value lies deeper than skin deep. Your twisting my words, for I was not the one on the date. I was the one trying to salvage it." She did not comment on the mention of dating for marriage for it hit too close to home for her.

In pureblood society you met, then an hour later for all you know you could have gotten engaged. It was a scary thing and for her the biggest fear after disappointment. Love would never come that was a given, but the least you could request was respect.

His teasing about Delia made her a slight bit annoyed. Turning over to look up she murmured "I could definitely get up without assistance, don't you worry about me" She murmured something that sounded like "hex her" under her breath.

It was obvious now by his tone that he was not fond of whatever she mentioned about snorkeling. At his mention of ever being in the ocean she nodded. Still, as he dumbed it down she knew she would use the one thing she knew:

"Apologies, snorkeling, I-in France it's something totally different" she looked embarrassed. "That's all, but yes, I've been in the ocean multiple times and I would like that yes."

And she really did. Even if it meant spending the rest of the day with a muggle, so long as she saw the coral and maybe snuck into the grotto she would mark that off of her list. Tess knew she was doing wrong by hanging out with a boy unsupervised, but she'd done worse things right? Her mind reminded her of when she made out with a waiter to spite her family. 'Not the time, not the place, and you know better' her mind reprimanded her.

Guest

"For Merlin's sake of course a person's value lies deeper than skin deep."

His breath momentarily caught, and he pretended that it was one of the waves that were constantly pushing and pulling him. Was she a...? Was there a chance that his instincts had been right? They usually were, of course, but Jesse was not someone who followed them from the get go. Instincts could be wrong, and impulses were not always right. There was nothing smart about blindly following your gut, although there was nothing smart about ignoring them altogether, either. So far, he'd not heard a single muggle use that phrase, but he didn't want to get it wrong and have to obliviate someone, either. "Merlin's sake? That's an odd little phrase; wherever did you learn that?" he commented, his tone taking on a mild dryness, hinting that he knew the exact answer to his question.

"You said she was beautiful; I did not disagree. She was -- is. However, I had spoken with her for the past hour, and her mind was not sharp. She is a product of her society, with thoughts and opinions the same as every other female I've met from her... our ... world," he replied. There was no point hiding this; he was not ashamed of wanting different than most would. "If I married her, it would have been for her beauty alone; Merlin knows she did not have much more to offer, other than the traits of a wife I am told to desire after." The slight emphasis he put on merlin would, hopefully, show her that -- if she were a witch -- he was of her world, too. If not, she would merely think he was teasing her.

"Oh?" he inquired, his mind taking him back to his French lessons in Beauxbatons. He could speak it, no doubt, but was there anything in France that could be called 'snorkelling'? Not in the times he'd been there, and definitely not in French. "What is it in France?" he asked, genuinely curious. She was either lying or not. His question would soon prove which, and, in the case it was the truth, he would learn something new. There was never an end to learning, not that Jesse minded. It kept him from becoming idle.

"I think you will like snorkelling, if you like the ocean. There are better ways to see it, of course, but snorkelling is fun. You get to wear fins that almost make you like a mermaid."

Guest

"Merlin's sake? That's an odd little phrase; wherever did you learn that?"

Her lips parted and she looked a bit wide-eyed. 'Fuck' she thought. What if she hexed him, would what even work? No she wasn't allowed to do that. The real and most painful part of this was that she was a terrible liar. Delia always made fun of for stumbling over her words. Would running be bad? Well...she wasn't in a house meant for the brave.

But as he continued to talk about the poor girl, he made it explicit that this was a serious thing, an idea of a date did not exist in his mindset. And she wondered if that's how all muggles were, that is until he siad "If I married her, it would have been for her beauty alone; Merlin knows she did not have much more to offer, other than the traits of a wife I am told to desire after."

Genuine surprise rose within her at him repeating it. The teasing was clear but the searching look in his eyes made her realize that he too was a wizard. Relief flashed within her and she felt her shoulders finally relax a bit. Slowly her cheeks reddened a bit more wondering how long he knew she was a witch, and if he knew for a while was he simply teasing her. Did Delia know?

But when all was said and done it was obvious that she wasn't a muggle, and she was actually just an ignorant witch on anything that slightly had a connection to the muggle world. And worse off, if she was perfectly honest, there was no word in her French vocabulary for something such as a snorkeing mask.

"You...you mean the bubble charm" she eyes brightened a bit curious as to what he would say. "Or gillyweed?" she swam closer to him to judge his reaction and more importantly to keep her voice down. "Unless..snorkeling is your desired method. What would you want?"

Guest

The look on her face confirmed it for him. There would have been no fear, no near-panic, if she'd merely been repeating a phrase she'd heard, only explanation or a shrug. His smile twitched bigger, and he ran his hand through his wet hair, pushing it back. This was an interesting development, and he ran through everything that had happened so far. From the way she spoke about beauty and didn't question him talking about society or marriage, it seemed that... But surely not? That was the bit that confused him. If she were, indeed, a Pureblood, it would explain the uncertainty about muggle terms, but why would a Pureblood be there, alone, without someone following after?

And for her to not have left the moment he joined her in the water was, well, another intriguing point. He supposed the other girl -- Delia -- was a halfblood or muggleborn; she seemed to be more relaxed in general about things, and the language that came from her mouth was definitely not something a Pureblood family would condone. It was Tess that made him think the most.

He supposed she could have been from a sheltered halfblood family, one that never ventured to the muggle world, but the way she spoke didn't suggest that. She was eloquent and fluent, speaking as though trained in the art of, well, talking to people. It was a Pureblood trait, that much he knew.

At his comment, she relaxed, and he let out a laugh. "Well well," he commented, dryly. "I suppose we both thought we were dealing with muggles. We magical folk should really have a way to reveal ourselves to others. A code word, for example." He was outright teasing, now, eyes glittering in humour and posture relaxed. He needn't be so careful with his words. "Although I suppose that might not be necessary soon," he added. Politics was in his blood, and while they were trying to stay out of it as much they could, it wasn't an easy task. Breaking the statue of secrecy would be a devastating change to the Pureblood world -- to the wizarding world at a whole -- and Jesse wasn't sure he liked the idea.

Her comment made him laugh again. "Yes, that, too, although I was refering to the muggle sport of scuba diving. I have no idea how to describe it, for I have never partaken in it myself, but it's a sight to behold. Perhaps we may make a detour after, and I can show you the sights." He paused, considering something for a moment, and then flashed her a deep smile. "If -- that is, since -- you are a witch, I suppose I could take you to a better spot. It's too rough for snorkelling; however, a few simple charms and that won't be an issue. The corals are practically untouched there, and visited by nobody but a select few; it's located on private property. My family helps to guard the corals used by our wandmakers, but it won't be an issue to bring two guests to view it."

Guest

"I suppose we both thought we were dealing with muggles. We magical folk should really have a way to reveal ourselves to others. A code word, for example."

And for the first time since meeting him - Tess laughed. A genuine happy laugh where her eyes glittered in amusement. She didn't expect to meet a wizard where Delia promised her a muggle time. She briefly wondered if he was a muggleborn, as he was very comfortable with muggle lingo. Still...it was nice.

"Although I suppose that might not be necessary soon,"

Ah yes, the statute. She shook her head at the thought. "Once that occurs, I will surely know nothing of this world, though I should not be talking about politics." her tone was a bit self-deprecating. Being a female meant your voice was nothing when it came to it. "But you can only move forward I suppose"

As he explained scuba diving, she grew even more confused. Did muggles not have figured out something like gillyweed. Looking up she realized Delia was no longer looking down. Did she want to be alone with a boy? She had done that before, with Jacques at the stores, nothing too dangerous. But here no one knew her...she didn't even know him.

"Where are my manners" she laughed softly and moved her hair back to face him properly. "I should know the name of the young man who is offering a trip to the coral reefs." Swimming forward she stretched her hand to properly greet him. No matter what his blood status was, she could not push away her normal behavior. "My name is Tess and you are?"

Guest

His smile froze a little at her comment, although he kept it in place and didn’t let it drop; unless one was looking for it, there wouldn’t have been any noticeable changes from when it had been real. “The world is a confusing place; I strive, rather, to know a few places very well rather than a little of everything, which comes to nothing,” he said, letting his guard down a little more now knowing she was a witch. It was harder to explain things like that to a muggle; they didn’t always seem to grasp politics outside their own country. It wasn’t that that had made him pause though, but rather her second statement. That was a very Pureblood ideology, one that he wasn’t sure he agreed with entirely. Perhaps not out in the open just yet, but Jesse saw nothing wrong with women having an opinion, and being able to partake in discussions — at least, behind closed doors. The last thing he wanted was a mundane wife who couldn’t hold her own.

And pray tell why ever not? he wanted to ask, the question on the tip of his tongue. But he bit it back in case she was a Pureblood. He had, after all, an image to maintain — one of tradition and pride. He may have been looking for slightly different in his choice of a wife, but that did not mean he was vocal about it. No, Jesse was far too smart for that.

Instead, he fixed his smile into a more natural one. “Moving forward; isn’t that what they say this is? A new era where muggles and wizarding folk come alongside each other?” He let out a very soft, dry chuckle. “They forget history is doomed to repeat itself, if the same erroneous ways are dug up and followed. I do not think muggles will take well to the news — not all of them.” Talking politics like that with a female was, admittedly, somewhat of a slight risk. If she didn’t understand, it was fine. If she did, and went back and reported his thoughts, it would be another thing altogether. Still, he hadn’t said anything he wouldn’t at any of the balls he attended. The only difference was the audience. And besides, he could always lie about it later, if it came to it.

The question of manners seemed to solidify, in his mind, that she was a Pureblood. He took her hand, raising it and pressing it to his lips, holding it there for a count of two quick beats, as trained, before releasing it. Whether done in other countries, Jesse wasn’t sure, but the Valentino family had some rather old fashioned ways, at times; this was one of them. “Jesse,” he replied. “Lovely to meet you, Tess.” He notes the lack of last name, which made him doubt his initial certainty of status. Most Purebloods, whether a casual setting or not, offered their last name in introduction. It was a way, perhaps, of subtly letting the other know of their status.

With one corner of his mouth twitching into a smile as he noted that he himself hadn’t done this, he once again settled into uncertainty of her blood purity. It didn’t fully matter to him — he’d be friends with her whether muggleborn, Pureblood, or even ‘tainted’ like a werewolf — but he was curious nevertheless. “Have you ever apparated directly from water?” he inquired, glancing towards the cliff where Delia had been moments ago. “It’s the quickest way up, unless you’d rather attempt to scale the cliff itself.”

Guest

Tess was admittedly nervous about the fact that she was voicing her opinions on the politics themselves. She was never meant to know more than necessary, and yet her brother...he would write her owls of the proceedings and she would try to make due with what little he could give her. She did not want the statute to be removed; she could only imagine how power hungry and vicious people would get from both sides. The thought of being overtaken by muggles, she shivered at the thought.

His words, while a bit vague were comforting and she found herself smiling softly. "I too share that same ideology. This is the first time I've been allowed to be away without a lady by my side." she looked a bit mischievous when she couldn't help but add "as you can see Cor is no lady. But...one day, if I could ever be given permission, I'd like to visit all the oceans, rivers and all quaint lagoons in the world. I'd think that'd be grand." Her smile softened to a wistful one. If only she'd be born a muggleborn or halfblood, at least then she'd have no one undermine her opinions, but she knew very well her husband would mandate where she went one day and the closer to eighteen the fear of her fate was becoming realer.

When his humor was clear regarding the statute, she took his comment as a sarcastic one. There would be no peace. "Even at my age, I know that many families, my own included, will be seeking out more power. There is never enough land, never enough dominion in this world to soothe souls. I only can imagine muggles are the same way."

It was scandalous the way she was speaking so freely about politics, but it seemed natural to do so. She was on vacation admittedly alone and without supervision, she jumped off a cliff without anyone worrying, and now she spoke with a wizard who had no shame in his ideologies. 'Halfblood' she decided. A pureblood male would have treated her more of a porcelain doll, to delicate for such commentary.

But as he took her hand and kissed it, she made eye contact with the new acquaintance. Jesse her mind mulled over the name wondering if she knew any pureblood family. No halfblood would have known, to do that would they? Still, a genuine pleasure rose to her face as she reiterated his name. "Jesse...it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You're the first wizard that I've met in the island, unless the others also allowed me to make a fool out of myself."

“Have you ever apparated directly from water?” he inquired, glancing towards the cliff where Delia had been moments ago. “It’s the quickest way up, unless you’d rather attempt to scale the cliff itself.”

She shook her head. "Not really no. I've recently received my permission to do so, and I've never apparated if not from one land mass to another" she admitted a bit embarrassed. She'd rather be honest that spliced she supposed. "And as for climbing? As you can see" she paused to signal herself, "I'm not made to make such a climb"