[oxfordshire] daydream in blue. [tag; harlan]

"Here, grab my bag."

With that, a tall blonde woman tossed a small purse over a high bricked wall, only to hear it drop on the other side. "C'mon, Lucy," Erika sighed, bemoaned, as she heard her friend apologise between giggles. "This was all your idea anyway," she called out to the girls across from her who had decided to gatecrash this party. They did this a lot and they usually got away with it - usually.

This was very different, though. In clubs, it was packed out. The lights were low and bodies were everywhere. If someone wore something non-descript, chances are they'd slip in unnoticed. But this was a stately home in rural England and her friends had officially lost their damned minds.

Placing her toes in the gaps in the high wall, Erika made her way up and over it, dropping down the otherside gracefully to a chorus of whoops and cheers from her friends, which she acknowledged with a sweeping bow and a snort of laughter. "Be quiet or we'll get kicked out." Lucy, Caitlyn, Rosie and Emma were Erika's childhood friends. All born and raised in a small town in Cornwall, they were still close and usually spent most of the summer together. They were all very different. Lucy was vivacious and flirty, Caitlyn was an academic, Rosie's family always worked the land so she liked the outdoors and Emma was a tiny bit crazy.  It was nice to be able to reconnect. They were a small piece of home wherever Erika might be.

There was some sort of string music catching on the gardenia scented breeze. There was laughter and chatter that drifted out from the large country estate, people in suits and dresses, champagne flutes in hand. She didn't miss the fleeting glances that were shot her way and she simply brushed some brick dust off her trousers and offered a beaming grin. It was one of those fancy garden parties that all Americans thought British people had every year. The type with teeny sandwiches and whatever croquet was. To a certain extent it was true but all the summer parties Erika had ever been to soon descended into chaos and she lived for it.

Entering through the gardens was a smart move. The cursebreaker assumed there was someone on the door. This seemed like an invite only kind of deal. It looked very uptight and a bit stuffy but if there was free food, she was in. To make sure she fitted in with high society, she decided to go by a different name that afternoon. Today, she wasn't Erika Trickett. Today, she was Evelyn Beaufort-Mountbatten, the most ridiculous name she could think of. Her nickname was Zippy. Why? Because posh people were bonkers. And it was fun.

It was a gorgeously hot summer's day beneath a bright blue and cloudless sky. The vast gardens were in full bloom and she'd be content to wander until her path was blocked by a heavy-set man in a dark suit that looked uncomfortably tight. "Could I take your name please, ladies?" he asked, looking at the group with suspicion in his eyes. "Oh, hello," Erika began in a convincing accent that masked the warm lilt of her Cornish one as she stepped forward and to him. "Beaufort-Mountbatten," she announced, her smile bright as the man looked through his paperwork before explaining that she wasn't on the list.

"That's absurd," Erika ploughed on, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she pouted. "My daddy is a Mounbatten, you know, the Mountbattens," she said in a stage whisper, her bright eyes wide as she hoped the man would clock the wealthyl connection and he did. "Madam, I am so sorry," he stammered and Erika kindly nodded her head, patting him on the shoulder. "It's absolutely no issue at all," she told him, her voice high pitched and sounding like she was chewing a giant toffee in traditional "it" girl fashion. It was entirely possible he'd tell someone else about her.

"Your secret is safe with me," she winked and the man blushed and gave an unsteady laugh. "Enjoy the party, miss Mounbatten," he whispered before he toddled off, leaving her to catch her breath. Erika swiftly turned to her friends. "Are you trying to get us booted out?" She hissed before she laughed. "Go and get some drinks and for the love of Merlin, be cool." With that, the girls fell into giggles and swayed up the path to the house, arm in arm, leaving Erika rolling her eyes.

Erika took a left, her strappy heels crunching underfoot as she moved away from the party momentarily and blinking as she found herself in a quiet space. Erika ducked beneath a heavy swag of scented wisteria, reaching up to brush it out of her way as she walked. The music was softer, muffled almost as though the hedges were keeping her secret. She drew closer to the fountain and tilted her head with a thoughtful frown, stopping on the edge of the water to work out if the man was holding a sheep or a pig or potentially something else entirely.

It was an odd childlike thing to do but whenever Erika saw a statue with water, she treated it as a wishing well. Digging into her pocket, she extracted a coin and quickly flicked it into the fountain, watching it land with a satisfying sploosh! Something caught her attention in her peripheral vision and she hastily backed up and stepped easily into one of the lush hedgerows, concealing her from view. She held her breath as a young couple walked by, laughing and holding hands, and she exhaled quickly in relief. Great. Evelyn Beaufort-Mountbatten's cover hadn't been blown just yet.

@Harlan Bellamy



[Setting location inspiration - Buscot Park, Oxfordshire]

It was sweltering. Harlan wished more than ever that he wasn't wearing a button-down and slacks, but the event had called for it. Well, technically, it called for black tie but he had never been a fan of rules. Inside even, he could feel the Summer heat as it seeped through the opened French doors that revealed the vast gardens out the back of the estate. 

He was at the home of the Van Doren family. The very same Van Doren family who had single-handedly raised enough funds for the Griffins to carry them for at least six more seasons. And as such, the captain of the team was obliged to partake in this sort of thing. The schmoozing shit that he hated. The rest of the team was there, somewhere, behaving themselves, he hoped.

It was then when Harlan was cooling off in the kitchen, getting a fresh drink (mezcal something), when he spotted Cat Klein heading in his direction.

That was his fucking cue.

As far as the league of donors was concerned, she wasn't the most insufferable— by comparison— but they had their history. It was a history that he was certain that her husband would not be happy to hear about, though Harlan personally had never reciprocated any of her advances. He swiftly made his way to the patio, back into the heat, glad even then for the escape.

It seemed that all evening he might be doing this, dodging people, avoiding conversation.

The gardens were vast. Quite honestly they looked like a good place to lose just about anyone. Before he knew it he was making his way down the path undercover of the trees sweeping overhead that almost entirely blocked out the sun bar a few glimpses through the green. As the sound of the crowd behind him became distant, something else caught his attention. A familiar blonde— ducking into a bush?

"Very smooth..." He leaned to where he knew she was as he strode by. What on Earth was Erika Trickett doing in a place like this?

Erika froze. The hedge she was hiding in was uncomfortable, the pointy ends of the finely manicured twigs were digging into her bare back as she shifted. She knew that voice and she could see him between the leaves. Unable to help herself, she snorted. Typical Harlan, cool as a cucumber as he wafted by.

It took her a couple of seconds to disentangle herself from her hiding spot before she popped back out of it, a twig sticking out from her loose waves as she brushed herself down. "Thank you," she replied as she curtsied playfully. "I'm great at hide and seek. Sorry," she added, sounding anything but. "I thought you were security," she mused as she looked over her shoulder, scratching her nose absently, still not completely comfortable.

"What are you doing here?" Erika asked suddenly, head tilted as she followed Harlan as he walked but careful to keep a respectful distance. It didn't seem like Harlan's style but the Harlan she knew liked fast food and dive bars. But then again, back in Paris, he was hesitant to eat a taco so maybe he wasn't the same. "Living your Jane Austen fantasy?" She grinned widely as she eyed the sprawling estate over his shoulder. "There's a lake over there if you fancy popping out of it like Mr. Darcy," she suggested innocently before it hit her.

"Is this your party?" Erika asked, eyes wide. "I swear, I'm going to throttle Lucy," she muttered darkly as she came up to stand next to him before she heaved a heavy, exasperated sigh. "Bit poncy for you, isn't it?" She asked Harlan with a smile as she eyes his smart-formal appearance before flicking her eyes back to the statue in front of them.

"I heard you won the league," she began with a smile. "Congratulations. Big feat," she added, impressed as she started to play catch up. "I really didn't have you pegged as a garden party kind of guy," she admitted with a shrug. "What's the food like? Cucumber sandwiches? Sausage rolls? Mini burgers?" She joked. "Keep me away from the Pimms though, lest you see me doing somersaults on the lawn," she grimaced. She didn't even like the drink but it did something terrible to her.

Her hand went into her pocket to extract another coin, which she held out flat on her palm to Harlan. "Make a wish," she urged him, nodding to the fountain. "And have you got any plasters? I think I scraped my knee when I scaled the wall to get in."

"What am I doing here?" Harlan repeated incredulously. "You were just in a bush—" He turned back to Erika with a bemused look, his confusion still quite clear.

His Jane Austen fantasy. He smirked. Any other day and she wasn't far off base. Today, though, was different. He was contractually obliged to be here at this fundraiser. No matter how painful. Truthfully, there were a dozen other things off the top of his head that he would rather be doing. "A Griffin's party," He correctly her with a nod. This entire thing was way too fucking poncy for his taste, she wasn't wrong, but it came with the job.

"What are you doing here?" Harlan stopped her as she asked what kind of food was inside. He derived it meant that she hadn't yet been inside at all. The thought that maybe she had come as a plus one crossed his mind, but then, why was she hiding?

Ever the fast-paced individual, she tucked a coin into his hand and demanded that he make a wish. "I—" Harlan paused. It felt like she was always on hyperspeed or something. Now she was bleeding. He could hardly keep up. "Er— no, I don't," He tossed the coin lackadaisically, as if he believed in that sort of thing. "Are you alright?" He asked, looking to her legs seriously before catching the whole scaled the wall bit.

He took a step back, grinning. "You're telling me you snuck, into this?" What he would give to be able to sneak out.

"Well, yeah," Erika replied as she blinked three times in rapid succession. "I like shrubbery?" She offered as she picked out a leaf from underneath the strap of her top. Then she realised. "Oh," she answered as the penny dropped finally. That made sense because this definitely was not a nightclub. It looked very...restrained. "Another one?" She asked Harlan with wide eyes before she grinned. "You look uncomfortable," she noted, her big blue eyes giving him a quick (and obvious) once-over.

"Oh questions, questions," Erika pooh-poohed his question as she flipped her hand through the air nonchalantly. "Would you believe me if I told you I'd crashed the wrong party?" She asked, batting her eyelashes innocently.

Harlan threw the coin and Erika let out a gasp of horror as she flung her hand to her chest. "Rude!" She chastised the Quidditch player as she looked for the penny in the muddled water. "That wish is now null and void. Hope you weren't expecting anything dramatic," she tutted with a shake of her head. Was she okay? "Tickety-boo," she answered with a sunny smile, looking down to catch the crimson stain on the knee of her left leg. "No big deal."

He stepped back but Erika kept her distance. "Ah, no," she corrected him, holding up an index finger as she grinned. "It wasn't my idea. It was Lucy. You know Lucy?" She asked Harlan, having been sure they'd met at previous parties. "Tall, leggy, short dark hair? Probably flirted with half of your team? Anyway. In all fairness, I didn't think any of us knew this was your shindig."

She sighed. "I'll level with you," she smiled. "It's hot out. We assumed there was some free drinks around her somewhere so naturally, we just wanted to enjoy the English countryside." With that, Erika looked around. It really was a nice venue but it was so large, no one was really...interacting? Wasn't that the whole point of a party? "It's --" she struggled for a word. "Nice?" She ventured as she pulled a face. Nice was a boring filler word.

Absently, she brushed a lock of bright blonde hair behind her ear, not wanting to be rude. "Did you have to come to this?" Erika asked as she looked around their secluded little spot. "No offence but it's a bit shit," she went on, grinning. "I thought you'd be in a bath filled with champagne now, celebrating your win." She blinked. "Or are you planning on doing that in one of the fifty seven bathrooms you've got here?" She added jokingly, wiggling her eyebrows.

Erika Trickett had an answer for everything. It was easy to see why she excelled in her career— he imagined that the life of cursebreaker required just as much wit, if not more, than physical prowess.

"What!" He fought a grin as she nearly lurched in the fountain after the coin. "What, was I supposed to close my eyes?" Harlan teased, absently scanned the otherwise pristine clear water, finding the shining silver just as it hit the bottom. "Oh, trust me I wasn't..." He chuckled. Wishes, luck— fucking astrological signs— that kind of thing never really appealed to him.

So it was all Lucy's idea. Somehow Harlan had a hard time believing that Erika hadn't been the brains of the operation, the skeptical furrow of his brow said as much. "I remember Lucy," He nodded. She certainly made sure people couldn't forget her. "Hey— I won't alert the guards, don't worry," A smile broke across his mouth. "So the countryside you've certainly taken advantage of, but no drink?" He noticed her empty hand.

"I did," Harlan confirmed with a mildly disappointed looking nod. "Comes with the job, I guess," It could definitely be worse, he reminded himself. People worked very hard to get to this sort of thing. "At least I'm not the one who snuck into it—" He paused to look over at Erika with a slight grin. It was true, he had to be here, she chose it. "— a pleasant surprise, though..." He commented before waving over the waiter he saw stumbling around trying to look busy with the tray of something that looked like gin.

"Champagne baths is the afterparty," He lowered his voice to Erika just before turning back to the poor bloke who looked even more out of his element than Harlan was.

Harlan laughed and she blinked. "Yes," she answered him, completely deadpan at his lack of taking her seriously concerning the wish. She grinned quickly and shrugged as she peered over and into the fountain, sliding her hands into the pockets of her trousers. "Your loss," she added as she blew at her hair with a smile. They were magical but wishing wells were a different kind of magic - pure and childlike. He could use a little bit of fun.

Erika laughed again. "You'd be hard pressed to forget her," she joked warmly, sliding her eyes over to him. "She remembers you, too. I think you're the main reason we're here." Her tone was playful but there was an edge to her voice. As much as she adored Lucy, the other woman had an uncanny knack of losing her head over men. "Oh I know you won't," she told Harlan brightly as he mentioned the guards. "I've already met one. I gave them a fake name and charmed the pants off him, naturally," she added with a dimpled grin before she rolled her eyes.

"If you were a better host, I'd be holding a drink right now," she joked as she looked around their little green space. "Strike one," she grinned as she looked around. "Even if you hate it, it's a pretty sweet place to have a party," she admitted, wondering if she'd have chance to have a snoop around the vast and palatial house, maybe steal a couple of bars of hand soap because they'd be nicer than the brand she had at home.

"Are you planning on playing croquet? We could have a wager," she added innocently. Erika was a big kid and she'd always loved lawn games. Whether it be croquet or bowls to skittles and water fights. "I've already thought of your forfeit when you lose," she added with a slow grin.

Erika rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I can sneak back out of it if you want," she shrugged carelessly before she smiled, genuinely. "Likewise," she offered breezily. "It's always a pleasure. Oooh," she was stopped by the arrival of a smartly dressed young man. "Thank you," the tall blonde replied as she took a glass and sipped. "Grapefruit?" She asked after she'd swallowed, pausing to sniff it before fishing out a slice of strawberry and chewing. "Really nice, though, whatever it is."

After the waiter had scuttled off, Erika's eyes widened as she gasped. "Oh wow, now it's a party," she added gleefully. "What happens in a country estate, stays in a country estate?" She grinned at Harlan before shaking her head. "Don't tempt me," she warned him as she drank. "I've always wanted to do that and fulfil my dreams of becoming a modern day Cleopatra."

Harlan waited until the kid with the bowtie was out of earshot before turning again to Erika with a slow grin, his gaze catching a spot of sun that peeked through the foliage overhead. He stepped out of the way and into for the shade— it was too damn hot for that.

"I know better than to take a bet with you, Trickett," He nodded at her over his glass, licking his lips before taking a drink. It was cool, refreshing, a bit sweet for his taste but he would make do. Anything to keep cool. He lifted a brow in thought. The last time that they had any sort of bet on anything it ended well for him (despite losing) so he would be lying to not admit that thought was there, somewhere in the back of his mind, that fucking dive bar pool table.

"Well knowing you—" Harlan teased, leading them to stroll through the gardens without direction. In places like this, at parties like this, the key was to keep moving. Turning back to Erika, he studied her for a moment before opening his mouth to speak again. "—nothing would surprise me," He completed his thought, turning to see the high fences around them, enclosing the grounds. "If you made it over that... I wouldn't doubt it," He said more quietly as he walked, trying desperately to not imagine her in any kind of bath at that moment, champagne or not.

"So Lucy, then?" He couldn't help himself. There was a noticeable hardness to Erika's tone when she'd mentioned her friend fancying him earlier that he couldn't avoid harping on. "Single?" Harlan teased, pausing to touch one of the leaves, leaning against a rather ostentatious statue amidst it all.

Erika laughed, high and loud. "Put that on my tombstone," she joked, genuinely tickled but rolled her eyes as he refused to take her up on the bet. "Such a bore," she added with a melodramatic sigh before she grinned. "Right, right," she nodded, as though deep in thought. "You're a man with responsibilities now," she smiled again. "Can't be photographed having a genuinely good time any more."

Harlan moved away and she followed, one hand in her pocket, the other firmly around her glass as she drank. "This is dangerous," she announced. "You can't even taste the gin." His offhand comment made her grin as though he'd just paid her a genuine compliment. "Thank you," the tall blonde answered, touched by how he wouldn't underestimate her again.

She followed his gaze and she snorted in the most unladylike way. "Why do you sound so surprised?" Erika asked, head tilted and bright blue eyes shimmering in the bright sun. Harlan might think twice about thinking he had everything figured out and yeah, maybe scaling the walls wasn't the brightest idea. "I'll knock next time," she nodded as she trailed after him, her heels crunching in the gravel as he led her away. That would surprise him even more.

Thank goodness Harlan's back was turned so he was unable to see her scowl. As he mentioned her friend, she pulled a face and drank her cocktail, mumbling something less than complimentary under her breath. "She's single," the cursebreaker announced and tried hard to keep the annoyance out of her voice. Erika wasn't usually jealous of her friends - they were all close - but something about the way he said it just rubbed her up the wrong way.

"You guys already got together, though, right?" Erika asked lightly, her eyes sliding over to his profile to gauge his reaction. "At least, that's what she said happened," she shrugged casually, face tilted up to the sky to let the sun warm it. "She spared me the details, thankfully," she grimaced playfully. Lucy could have been lying about the encounter but Harlan was the talk of the evening. She hadn't been jealous then but she was annoyed by it now.

As he leaned against the statue, she stepped around it, scuffing her heels along the floor. "She's inside," she offered, nodding her head towards the large house. "Shall I go and get her for you?" Erika smiled, stooping to sniff one of the flowers and sneezing gently soon after. "I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on," she added gamely, her plan of not being spiteful falling apart at the seams. "I'm going to need another one of these drinks," she muttered, looking around in vain.

Harlan recognized that tone. Her voice was sharp in a way that he could feel right in his chest as a warning sign. It was a far cry from those weeks ago at her flat in Paris where words were slow and laden from the bubbles of the champagne, those shos of tequila sleeping on the back of her tongue. Not that it was specific to Erika, of course, but this was a rare break from her usual impossibly cool and confident exterior. In some sick way it only egged him on.

You guys already got together, though, right? His face turned. They hadn't, but there was that one moment in the cloakroom... fuck. "No," Harlan said definitively. They hadn't anyway, not really, depending on one's definition of 'getting together.' "No details to share," He wasn't sure what the motivation was for the things that he was saying. "Thankfully?" He repeated, eyebrow quirked, mouth twitching up at either end into a smirk.

"Erika Trickett, are you... jealous?" Harlan took a step back as if in awe of the revelation. In all of his humor, he was genuinely surprised. She wasn't the type, he thought. Particularly when it came to him. But he would be lying if he said that he wasn't flattered, in some strange (and definitely not healthy) way. "Would you, though?" He pressed his luck, nodding to where the home was, behind them through the gardens where Lucy may or may not have been. "We've got a lot to catch up on, so bring the bottle as well..." He touched an appreciative hand to her shoulder, hand easily wrapping around it as he grinned.

Erika's head whipped around quickly to fix Harlan with an astonished look. "No?" she blurted out, her bright eyes wide in shock as he refuted Lucy's claim. She blinked. "Well damn," she remarked with a thoughtful frown, her annoyance lowering to rest on a gentle simmer now. "You'd better have a quick word, then," she mused. "That's her claim to fame, shagging a Quidditch player." Erika hadn't divulged her and Harlan's past. It wasn't really a "past". It was more like a tryst.

She wrinkled her nose in distaste as she trailed after him. "How would you like it to hear all the gory details about your friend doing it?" Erika asked plainly, pausing to offer a melodramatic shudder as though she found the entire thing simply repugnant. Under any circumstance, they'd all be giggling over it but now knowing that Lucy might have lied about the entire thing, it made Erika regret how she acted with her.

"Of course I'm not," came the quick and terse reply as she snorted derisively. Jealous! How mad. At the same time, her slim fingers accidentally snapped a fat rose off the bush she was passing. To style it out, she simply tucked the bloom behind her left ear, looking like a flamenco dancer and she cleared her throat. "Don't be so silly," she chided Harlan lightly with a roll of her eyes, tossing her curtain of blonde hair haughtily over her shoulder. Of course she was jealous but she'd die before she admitted it.

"Get your head out of your arse," she snapped, the simmer now turning to a boil as he gamely clapped a hand to her shoulder. She held her breath and closed her eyes, wondering how she'd ended up being Harlan's skivvy and regretting mentioning this at all. He could find his own bloody dates.

"Sure," Erika said quickly with an overly bright smile. "Whatever you want. It's your party." With that, she strode off, letting his hand fall off her shoulder as she mentally tried to get her head straight. She didn't think she was spiteful but Harlan had touched a nerve.

"Lucy!" Erika called, standing on her tiptoes to wave frantically at her friend who turned. Lucy's face fell as she saw Harlan - her eyes widened and panic was clear on her face, a tell-tale sign that she was a liar liar, pants on fire. Lucy hastily grabbed Rosie's hand and high tailed it away, causing Erika to frown again, unbothered.

"There goes your Cinderella," she nodded as Lucy attempted to blend in. Erika folded one arm across her waist, sipping at her drink casually. "Better catch her before she loses her shoe," she remarked, aware she sounded annoyed but not caring. Erika bumped Harlan with her hip quickly. "Hurry up, lest she turn into a pumpkin."

Shagging a Quidditch player? Harlan made a face. He wouldn't have called it that exactly, his time with Erika's friend, but then again... it depended on the definition. "No, thanks," He commented at her suggestion that he "have a word" with her. Even if it had been the case between he and Lucy, in no world was it his place to speak with her about what she chose to do or say about her own sex life.

Something about the way that the witches voice— cold, almost— cut through the background noise from the party beyond had sent an alarm bell off somewhere in the back of his mind. He'd been joking (kind of) when he mentioned the jealousy bit. This was Erika. They'd always teased like that. But that evening seemed different. He had enough experience dealing with women who expressed their feelings through the subtle nuances of sarcasm to know, and he was catching serious hints.

Harlan furtively glanced at Lucy when Erika called out to her, his blue eyes apologetic, but she hurried away with her friend before she could have seen. He wasn't in the business of making other people feel bad without reason. Suddenly their teasing seemed unnecessary.

Erika bumped into him, but Harlan didn't exactly push back as he usually would with a bit of banter. "Is that what you'd like me to do?" He was a bit more serious now, casting his eyes over her for a moment, the sun setting over the gardens casting an orange glow over everything. He hadn't pegged Erika to be the jealous type and he hated to admit that he was a bit disappointed. "Don't make her feel bad..." Harlan commented, nodding to Lucy's back as she slinked indoors. If it was what Erika wanted, for him to fuck off, then at least he would have said that.

Erika bit her lip as a wave of guilt washed over her. She'd seen the look of pure panic in Lucy's eyes and once the initial elation of having her point proved had worn off, she was left feeling nauseous. Like a popped balloon, she felt deflated as Harlan looked at her. It was different from how he always looked at her. This wasn't Paris. They weren't reminiscing. This didn't feel comfortable.

His eyes washed over her and she frowned, instantly filled with righteous anger. How dare he? He told her to go and get Lucy, so she did. Erika abandoned her drink by placing her glass on the floor, the sweet taste now more like metallic in the back of her throat. Harlan wasn't blameless in this. All of these stupid parties had finally gone to his head.

Looking away, she sighed sharply, her arms folded tightly across her chest as she pursed her lips. Was that what she wanted? "Of course it's not," she answered him softly, refusing to meet his eye because she hated that look on his face. "I wouldn't break into your party if I wanted to spend my time with someone else," she admitted, reaching up to take the rose out of her hair because she wasn't a fourteen year old girl.

Absently, she ran her fingers over the velvet blooms. "Sorry," she said quickly. She looked past him to see Lucy's figure disappearing into the crowd. "I'll say sorry to her later," she promised. The soft string music didn't really match the situation. It might have been just her but it felt a little colder outside now that the sun was setting. Harlan had seen another side of her and he didn't like that. That was absolutely fine, of course, but she didn't think he could pick and choose which parts of her he wanted to hang out with.

People were starting to filter inside, she'd noticed. It gave her something else to focus on as they chatted and laughed. It must be close to dinner time, she figured. She didn't want Harlan to go but she wasn't sure if he really wanted to stay.

"What're they serving?" Erika asked, nodding her head towards the manor house. She wondered if it would be fancy like venison or something more down to earth, like pie and mash. She couldn't see it somehow. "I'd kill for some fish and chips," she mused, head tilted as she saw an old couple holding hands pass by. She gave Harlan an open invitation to stay and people watch or to go inside, whatever he wanted to do. "But that is adorable," she announced, pointing at the little old couple as they smiled at one another, allowing herself to heave a heavy sigh. "Couple goals."

So she had known it was a Griffin's party.

Harlan raised an eyebrow as an amused smile pulled at the corner of his mouth to say without words. He wasn't sure he had the right—knew he didn't— but it was nice to hear. Flattering, coming from Erika, who he had just assumed had dozens of younger, more worldly, exciting people to gatecrash on the account of. His gaze following their mutual friend (was she a friend to him, probably not) as she went inside and he let out a breath of air that he'd been holding. Erika really hadn't any need to apologize but he let the conversation carry beyond that.

"Italian something or other..." His smile was a bit of a grimace when reminded he was going to have to sit through the whole dinner service, after most of the other guests had long filled up on hors d'oeuvre and were sent on their way. Blue eyes, bright under the sun the peeked through the bushes overhead, followed to the back of the manor. It really was beautiful, he'd give it that.

"Fuck, why would you say something like that?" Harlan let out a groan but smiled when his gaze landed back on Erika. "What I would give..." He thought out loud. "You know there is a chippy just up the road, out by the water," He offered, knowing that was not a feasible option.

"Oooh, lovely," she replied politely to the mention of Italian food. Not really her favourite but also didn't matter because she wasn't invited. Erika glanced over at him curiously. "You really hate those things, don't you?" The tall blonde asked with a smile, looking away. "Can you ever just say "no"?" He was a Quidditch player, not a performing monkey.

The noise he made caused her to snort in amusement. "Sorry," she replied, sounding anything but. She smiled back at him, her arms folded across her chest as she tapped her foot against the ground. "I can get you something?" She offered helpfully with a shrug. "It's your party. You can't vanish but I can," she joked. "I'll get something," she announced with a nod. She hadn't had a chippy tea in ages.

"This place has a lake, right?" Erika asked as she started to back away. Harlan said "water" and all these sorts of English estates had something that resembled a lake or a fishery. "Be back in five." And with that, she disappeared from view.

It had actually taken her the better part of fifteen minutes to access the chippy, following the smell and cursing her heels. The man behind the counter had given her an odd look, as though he wasn't used to seeing ladies in evening wear. With a bright smile, she ordered chips. And curry. And mush peas. And a bag of potato scallops because she couldn't help herself before she hightailed it back.

"Ah, there you are," she greeted him as she made her way across the grass, her white plastic bag bulging with food as she came towards the water's edge and sat down next to him with a happy sigh. Her heels were kicked off as she wiggled her toes and dipped them into the surprisingly warm water. She unwrapped the parcels and set the cardboard trays between them on the grass, offering him a little wooden fork before picking up a chip and groaned, eyes closed.

"Oh yeah," she mumbled, with a nod as she tilted her head back and towards the setting sky. "That's the stuff," she agreed, picking up another. With her mouth full, she offered Harlan a thumbs up before opening up the peas and the curry and dunking a chip into both. "I'm convinced these are better than sex most of the time," she admitted. She held out the chips to him with a wink. "Don't say I don't treat you right," she joked. "How long do you think you've got before they realise you're missing?"