Life comes forward with the most unexpected bouquets of surprises, at times. Varius found out, now, how tiny some of the most stunning ones could be: it was, clearly, for the first time in his life that he saw, tonight, an Andra who was not absolutely sure of herself, and of how to act.

“You think I can do this?” she asked him, biting on her lower lip - a most common sign of nervousness - as she adjusted the diamond-studded bracelets up her wrist. They were of lovely design, these delicate pieces of jewellery but, for her, they were no more special than any of the other items she could afford with ease.

- Even as they sharpen tastes, riches blunt the senses.

“Definitely, cousin,” Varius tossed back encouragingly, and he gave her a brief but warm pat on the back, as he spoke. “Go out and stun them! Not literally, of course.” The statement was followed, at once, by a cheeky grin; and it was a sign of how nervous she was that she did not glare at him, or smack his head with his handbag.

“They’re all going to be watching me,” she mumbled, looking down at her hands. She liked how slender and white her fingers were, and the sight of them offered her a bit of comfort, in this moment of ... well, distress. For her. “To see how the new hostess turns out, if she is up to the Castle 'standards' ... and I know that Bellatrix will try to make things difficult for me. She hates me.”

“Oh forget her Anderz,” Varius said, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. “She's not like that. Besides, she wouldn’t go out of her way to make trouble for you, because she just doesn’t think you’re that important." Cue cheeky grin. "Stay clear of her, and she’ll stay clear of you. That’s the way she is. In fact, she can be pretty nice.”

It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that Andra did not call Varius things-unmentionable-in-decent-fan-fiction for calling her “Anderz.” “You," she said, very coldly. ".. are just saying that because Bellatrix Black is Jenna White’s best friend."

Varius raised an eyebrow at the icily-uttered accusation. "Excuse me?" He said, a little coolly. "I know Bella. I -"

He trailed off, spoke no further, because Andra chose that moment to take a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. She could not, she had just decided, let talk of the older Black sister ruin her night. With a cold sigh, she let her eyes scan the bright hues of the crowd - scan it, until her sharp gaze came to a very abrupt halt. “Lucius is here," she said quietly, without turning round to look at her cousin.

Varius chuckled - he was all too aware of Andra’s crush on the guy in question. “Don’t look now," he said quickly. "Your Dream Death E is with his old hag of a mother.”

“Don't call him that!" Andra snapped. Lucius might be a death eater, but she had always chosen to ... forgo that piece of information. Overlook it. "... and do you mean Mafilda?” Her distaste for the 'old hag' was, of course, most apparent from the uncouth way she uttered the woman’s name.

Varius nodded. “Last time I met her, she was kind enough to let me know that I had grown fatter than ever,” he said, with a roll of his eyes – he knew too well that he was anything but fat. Had a pretty toned chest, in fact. “Anyway, be on your toes and keep your eyes peeled. There’s no knowing what Mafila Malfoy is capable of.”

Andra held her head little higher.

“Wish me luck, Varius; wish me luck.”