July 2002
One of the most positive aspects of coming back to London had definitely been the fact that Melissa reconnected with her friends. She didn’t have many people she could deem as close, aside from her family and her fiancé, nonetheless meeting Eris and Varvara more often and on a constant basis had done wonders for her. As such, she had assured Varvara she would visit her new place, but with her promotion at the Daily Prophet, and the prior endeavours which triggered her indubitable success, Melissa hadn’t had the time to fulfil her promise.
That evening however, she was finally accomplishing her duty as a close friend. She had dropped by Varvara’s house right after work, having already established with Kendall that she could go to the Oxford Manor and spend some time with Magnus. Because she needn’t worry about her daughter’s well-being as she was with her older brother, Melissa could now properly relax and enjoy catching up with Varvara. While the two of them did talk rather often, their notion of ‘often’ unfortunately did not equal to the one held by most people – in the end, they were both successful witches, in high-ranking positions at their work places, so their schedules were oftentimes especially complicated to synchronise.
But it had been fortunate enough for them to find a common evening where they were both free. And Melissa had been especially eager to see Varvara’s new establishment; she had renovated her own house earlier that year, and Melissa was painfully aware of how stressful it could get, moving, arranging, and decorating, not to mention getting settled in a new place. She was there now to praise all of Varvara’s work – in the end, her friend did have the most exquisite of taste, which was undeniable.
Varvara had offered Melissa a tour of her house as soon as the younger witch arrived, and naturally the former Slytherin had enjoyed every chamber – it had been all especially elegant and exuberant. As they reached the bedroom though, Melissa let out a deep sigh as she allowed herself to take a seat on Varvara’s bed, gently arranging her
dress throughout her movement. “Ah.” Melissa let out, as she lazily stretched out and let herself fall on the bed, her long honey waves spreading across the covers. “It’s all so beautiful, my darling, but I cannot imagine how much time you invested in this all. In between the shifts at the hospital, your research, teaching, and other
satisfying activities,” Melissa let out a soft giggle at the last comment. “you’re basically deprived of any free time.” She exhaled, naturally finding a lot of similarities between Varvara’s schedule and her own.
She felt the need for a smoke. Her gaze instinctively moved from the ceiling towards the window, and Melissa’s eyes widened with surprise, the witch rolling in the bed, later on pressing her weight on her elbows as she arched an eyebrow. “Merlin.” Melissa remarked, the shock in her voice being especially noticeable. “It’s good my house-warming gift was a lot of wine, you’ll surely need it since you can see everything inside the place across the street.” London was quite remarkable, but it was sad how crowded it could get. Hopefully Varvara’s neighbour from across the street wasn’t completely unsightly, since her friend could surely see
everything.
“The room seems nicely decorated. Who lives there, do you know?” She inquired, her curiosity, as usual, getting the best of her.
@Varvara Zakharova 
