#( 𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄 ) ━━━ * convos !

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𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽  :  hogsmeade village  ! 𝙵𝙴𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶  :  @graciieux​  !

so, it wasn’t his best made plan. he could hardly be blamed for that. mattie had provided the opportunity in the first place by dragging him along to the tree lighting ceremony by side apparition and then wandering off into the crowd to find their friends, leaving him alone to wander the familiar village under unfamiliar circumstances. if they’d stuck by his side - as promised, he might add - then they’d have stumbled upon gracie in a kind of ... neutral territory, and henry wouldn’t have spared even a thought to how he might strike up meaningful conversation or, perhaps, how to ask whether that was something she might be interested in at all at some point in the future. mattie’s friends were generally off limits. he respected that. but when mattie was nowhere to be seen, and gracie’s sibling - he knew they were some sort of bird, maybe a lark, or a robin - having bounded off a while before and never returned, he sort of figured that keeping grace company was an acceptable thing to do, and... well, whatever came of that was fine. right ?

it took him a few minutes to work himself up for it, but, finally... “grace. hi,” he smiles, all white teeth and dimples, his ungloved and chilly hands glued to the insides of his pockets. wix milled all around them, waiting in the queue for cocoa or standing around for the christmas tree lights, but ( as per usual, at least since the gala ), his attention was focused on her, from bobble hat to cheeks rosy from the cold. “are you a willing participant, or... did you get dragged out here as well ?” 

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𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽  :  fortescue’s ice cream parlour, diagon alley  !

“i hate to say it-” he gives the impression of really meaning it, too - eyes wide and earnest, lips curved into a sympathetic frown, he gestures helplessly towards where he just came from the back of the ice cream parlour, “but we’re all out of that flavor. sorry for getting your hopes up, but seems somebody cleared us out before you got here.” truth be told, a lot of people were clearing a lot of unused flavors, and henry couldn’t actually find it within himself to be mad about it. fortescue’s did good business during the summer, but the colder months were difficult. gimmick or not, midnight on diagon alley was likely going to tide them over through the holiday season - which was probably why he felt compelled to offer, “freckle & hyde’s just as good. d’you want a sample scoop?”

[blvdgers]

𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽  :  the ministry of magic ( undecided level ), london  !

if the ministry gala is teaching him anything, it’s that even if he had been born with magic, he never would have been cut out for ministry work. the various presentations that he’s listened in on are interesting enough ( sometimes in a way where he can tell that no one else in the room is as invested as he is, which is impressive, because even when he’s hanging onto every word, a large majority fly right over his head ), and he can appreciate the importance of it all, but... well, he’s never had to find his way out of such a maze, before. he walks past the same potted plant at least three times before he finally gives up - retracing his steps until he finds the closest occupied space to hover awkwardly in the doorway of, clearing his throat to draw their attention. “’sorry-” for interrupting, for being a bother... it was a blanket apology, said more to be polite than anything, “do you happen to know how to get back to the atrium, from here? i think i got a bit turned around.”

[blvdgers]

𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽  :  the ministry of magic ( atrium level ), london  ! 𝙵𝙴𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶  :  @graciieux​  !

“so, i don’t really know my champagnes-” he admits, sheepishly, doing his level best to keep the four flutes ( two to each hand ) that he has chosen to take back to their table in one trip entirely steady. he’s amazed that he’s made it back at all given just how many times the soles of his new shoes scuffed along the marble floor of the atrium and threatened to trip him, and he’s weirdly chuffed about how little of the various drinks he’s left behind him. a few drops here & there surely won’t hurt anybody ( he hopes, at least, and he’s choosing not to glance behind him ), and he has four almost completely full glasses to set down before gracie, proudly. “i didn’t know which you’d rather. there’s dom pérignon, moët and chandon, mercier-” he taps each glass as he parrots back the unfamiliar names, eyebrows knitting together as he realises he’s gone wrong, “or maybe... this one is mercier, and that one is the ruinart... ? i’m actually-... not so sure anymore. shit. i’m sorry, grace.” 

[blvdgers]

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:   fortescue’s ice cream parlour, diagon alley   !

henry had always been taught that when the endlessly annoying bell over the door gave a cheery jingle he was to abandon whatever it was he was doing, fix a smile in place and make his way to the counter. it was an early lesson he usually kept in mind, but today wasn’t a day for the pleasantries of his fathers time - and besides, they were five minutes past closing, even if the sign hadn’t been turned AROUND. he still had plenty to do before he could head off to get ready for practice, and he was pretty sure that the late florean would forgive him skipping over a couple steps if the end goal was still the kindness that the fortescue’s were so well known for ; with his arms still elbow deep in the industrial sink out back and a smile his customer couldn’t even see glued in place, he called, “i don’t have much left to offer, but you’re welcome to help yourself to the free samples.” ( there weren’t many of those left in their green stripped tubs, either, but at least it was something ). 

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𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽  :  the grandstand, tutshill racecourse  ! 𝙵𝙴𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶  :  @dolors​  !

"  blimey-  ”  he  manages  to  get  out  in  between  a  hearty  cough,  the  cigar  that  he  took  an  incautious  puff  of  immediately  held  as  far  away  from  his  person  like  that’ll  do  him  any  good.  henry  has  smoked  before,  even  if  he  never  made  a  habit  of  it.  he  knows  what  tobacco  tastes  like  &  that’s  absolutely  nothing  compared  to  the  acrid  smack  of  the  unfamiliar  wix  brand  that  he  only  now  realises  probably  wasn’t  made  for  him.  it  takes  another  long  minute  of  spluttering  to  clear  his  lungs  (  first  clean  inhale  of  breath  accompanied  with  a  “  can’t  be  having  that,  now-  ”  ),  and  then,  sheepishly,  he  offers  the  rest  of  the  four  pack  to  his  nearest  neighbour  with  a  simple,  “  they’re  too  strong  for  me,  mate.  ”

[blvdgers]

𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽  :  the grandstand, tutshill racecourse  ! 𝙵𝙴𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶  :  @hoggleswart​ ( millicent bulstrode )  !

he  knows  he  can’t  hide  even  before  he  makes  an  attempt  to  do  just  that.  his  fortescue  coworkers  are  on  their  break  (  and  enjoying  the  event  they’ve  scored  tier  two  tickets  for  without  having  to  spend  a  PENNY  )  and  there  isn’t  anybody  left  to  mind  the  van  when  he  spots  millicent  bulstrode  in  the  crowd,  so  his  DUCK  beneath  the  counter  is  all  for  absolutely  nothing.  when  the  annoying  little  bell  that  sits  on  the  counter  dings,  he  has  no  choice  but  to  rise  back  up  into  the  frame  of  the  truck  window,  trying  to  look  less  sheepish  than  he  feels.  “  millicent,  ”  he  greets,  his  overall  demeanor  too  cheery  to  sell  the  story  that  he’ll  run  with,  if  pressed  (  oh,  i  was  only  trying  to  clean  up  these  plastic  spoons  i  dropped,  of  course  ),  “  hi.  what  can  i  do  for  you  ?  ”

[blvdgers]

𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽  :  the grandstand, tutshill racecourse  ! 𝙵𝙴𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶  :  @audaciia​  !

“’spot a winner?” for what it’s worth, henry does his best not to frighten her with a sudden appearance at her side, free hand brushing against her elbow gently before he ever utters a word or steps into the empty spot to her left. the hippogriffs beyond the barrier continue to trot in circles without acknowledgement of his arrival or the crowds at large and he spares them only the most cursory of glances before he turns to take her in, in all her glory. forever taken aback and always sure that his words will let him down, henry decides then and there that his best bet is to simply smile goofily and offer the fortescue’s ice cream tub that he’s cradling in his other hand, sure that it’s the little things that stand in his favor. “your favorite. it’ll cool you down.” 

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𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:  the  white  wyvern,  knockturn  alley  ! 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆:  @efflcrescent​  !

“  ‘mind  if  i  squeeze  in  here,  mate  ?  “  it’s  hard  to  be  casual  when  the  music  that  he  had  incorrectly  assumed  would  have  been  OVER  by  now  is  still  blaring  loud  enough  that  he’s  forced  to  try  and  shout  over  it,  but  henry  does  his  very  best.  clapping  the  other  on  the  shoulder  as  he  settles  against  the  bar  (  little  regard  given  to  the  stains  his  powder  grey  suit  -  miraculously  unwrinkled  -  is  almost  surely  going  to  pick  up  from  a  far  from  gleaming  countertop  ),  he  flashes  a  toothy  smile  in  ajay’s  direction  and  gestures  towards  the  busy  barman.  “  can  i  get  you  a  top  up  for  your  troubles  ?  “

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𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:  merlin’s music hall, diagon alley  ! 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆:  @iismene​  !

“pst,” he does his best not to draw undue attention to either of them, but even the low noise he does to draw ismene’s attention earns him a dark look from the greying man that sits on her other side. the expression he flashes back is as genuinely apologetic as his original confusion was plain to read upon his face, and henry’s eyebrows go back to being deeply furrowed when he turns his full attention back to his neighbour. “do you have any idea what’s going on?” he murmurs, having decided that she is better choice to bother than his utterly absorbed ( in this absolute mess ) mother, sitting to his right, “am i meant to, do you think? or is it one of those ‘find your own meaning’ things? and what am i meant to be finding, exactly, if that’s... it?”

[blvdgers]

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:  merlin’s music hall, diagon alley  ! 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆:  @hoggleswart​ ( millicent bulstrode )  !

“so,  uh...  millicent,”  this  abandoning  of  the  formalities  expected  of  him  by  flossie  during  their  introduction  doesn’t  exactly  come  easy  to  him.  missus  bulstrode  (  as  he’d  been  calling  her  under  his  mothers  loving  gaze  )  was  appropriately  distant  &  non  committal,  but  using  her  first  name  in  this  attempt  at  casual  conversation  (  only  attempted  at  all  after  several  minutes  of  rather  awkward  silence,  not  quite  indicative  of  the  easygoing  nature  that  he  was  sure  his  mother  had  used  to  sell  him  )  feels  wrong  &  as  if  he’s  somehow  committing  to  this  set  up  that  has  been  so  WILDLY  sprung  on  him.  the  crooked  half  smile  that  he  directs  her  way  isn’t  exactly  up  to  his  usual  standard  -  discomfort  clear  in  equal  measure  by  the  way  it  sits  upon  his  features  and  the  way  he  shifts  his  weight,  one  foot  to  the  other  -  but  it’s  an  attempt,  which  is  more  than  can  be  expected  of  him  under  such  short  notice.  “can  i  get  you  a  drink  ?”