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**Juliet Raphael** · #1 (**permalink**) 02-14-2012, 03:10 AM

La Strega is one of the more popular Italian restaurants in the Wizarding World. The authentic fine Italian cuisine, although fantastic, takes a backseat to the breathtaking decor.

Each table is on an Isolated isle, which can be reached by private gondola. Each wall is charmed to depict scenery of Venice, Rome, Naples, and other famous Italian cities. Candles float in the air over all the tables and you can hear a charmed mandolin romantically playing in the distance.

SPOILER!!: Menu

Gabrielle · 02-18-2012, 07:31 AM

Mandie was directed to her seat, walking smoothly in her high heels. She had worn them in a vain attempt to make herself just slightly taller and less puny than she really was. She sat down, a little too nervous to notice fully the beautiful decor in the room.

She started fiddling with her napkin in her lap. What if he didn't turn up?! She kept stealing glances around her, hoping the man in the picture they had given her would walk into the restaurant soon.

Despite the fact that she had come ridiculously early, she still felt like Dominic should be there already. Mandie fiddled with a strand of dark hair hair that had fallen out of her French twist on the top of her head.

He had better come some. She had had her fair share of being stood up before. No fewer than eight times to be exact. Most of them during her teenage years at Hogwarts but every one as painful as the next.

To say she was nervous was an understatement. Her painted nails rapped against the table and her heavily makeuped eyes wandered the room. Resting for a second on a scene in Venice before flicking to the next one.

*PhoenixRising* · 02-18-2012, 03:12 PM

Dominic had no idea still what had prompted him the fact to apply for such a thing. It was daring. He was not daring. Maybe it was the mere fact that many of his peers from Hogwarts were in deeply involved relationships. Or maybe just the fact that despite himself, he was lonely. Even if he liked it that way. Even if the images of his last conversation with Willow still replayed through his head and haunted his dreams.

Nonetheless, he was here. With a single red rose in his left hand too, because proper manners dictated it. And whether or not he wanted anything to come after this wasn't important. In some sense, he didn't. He was going to enjoy some good Italian food and maybe find someone interesting to talk to. And if not, he'd go back to his normal routines, no harm.

So now, where was this Mandie Elliot? Scanning the tables with his golden topaz eyes, he searched for someone who might be searching for him. And finally, at the far corner of the room, his eyes laid rest on what he thought might be Mandie Elliot.

Crossing the room quickly, he swallowed all sense of pride and nervousness, and met her eyes. "Excuse me, but ... are you..." He almost said, Mystery Girl, but caught himself. That was Willow. He knew this girl's name. "...Ma...Ms Elliot?"

Gabrielle · 02-18-2012, 11:56 PM

Wait. Look there. There was a man searching the tables, was it him?? She readied herself, sitting up straighter in her seat and clipping the stray hair away from her face. Whew, calm Mandie calm. Oh look! He was making his way over to the table where she was sitting. Was that a rose?

He asked if she was...Ms Elliott? "Mandie," She said, "You're Dominic right?" It was obvious that he was. If he wasn't, it was just some weird guy in a restaurant who somehow knew her name. "Uh- are you going to sit down?" She had meant to say that politely but it came out a little rude. Mandie felt her face flush.

She supposed she better make some conversation, "Did you go to Hogwarts?"

*PhoenixRising* · 02-19-2012, 12:51 AM

Noting the girl's apparent anxiousness, Dominic was in half a mind to skip the whole dinner thing. Really, there was no need to be nervous. It was just dinner. With a total stranger. Pre-arranged. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except everything.

It was a stranger. She was a stranger. And she was informal too, it seemed.

"Mandie." He repeated, and nodded when she said his name. And then asked about sitting down, but before he did, he glanced down at the single rose. "Err... this... is for you..." Yup. He placed casually over her plate and then took the seat opposite her.

For a moment, he felt like lying and saying no to her question, but before the lie could come out, he nodded again. "Class of 2070. Was Head Boy too. And you?"

Gabrielle · 02-19-2012, 02:27 AM

Mandie picked up the rose delicately, sniffing it like they did in the classic muggle movies that she loved watching. It only had a faint scent. She replaced it back on the plate, not knowing where else to place it. Mandie gave a brief smile to Dominic. She had never been given a rose before. Flowers, yes, but never a rose.

"Thank you." She said, "Um- I don't really have anything for you. I mean- I- What do give a man on a blind date?" She shrugged sheepishly taking a sip of water from the filled jug in the middle of the table.

Oh, Head Boy. That was impressive. "Class of 2072. I wasn't a Head Girl or anything though." Mandie had helped pull a prank on her older brother at Hogwarts once but she didn't feel like that would count as an achievement in comparison to Head Boy. "You would have been in your final year while I was in fifth year but I can't remember ever seeing you around."

*PhoenixRising* · 02-19-2012, 02:52 AM

Noticing her smell the rose, Dominic waited, placing his hands together in his lap. Oh good, she appreciated the sentiment.

"An experience, I think, is enough for a man." She liked experiences, didn't she? "But you're welcome." Err ... okay, now what. Was this the awkward moment between before they ordered the food and after they already acquainted themselves? Did they even have a say in what food they got?

Ah water. Pouring himself a glass as well, he took a sip.

Class of 2072. Two years younger. "I kept a low profile." Or tried to. Obviously not low enough to escape the gaze of Shackleton to make him Prefect and Bontecou to make him Head Boy. "You graduated with Cel-an-dine, yes? She was your head girl." If she wasn't then he'd have been surprised, but he was pretty sure she was. "So have you any ... amazing triumphs during your time at Hogwarts? I'm sure you weren't that low-key." You know. Head Girl or not, she had to have done something.

Gabrielle · 02-19-2012, 06:38 AM

An experience is the gift for a man? Okaaay.

Mandie watched him also take a sip of water, "Yeah, I saw her around. But, I wasn't, you know, friends with her or anything." Yep, Mandie seemed to have kept a lower profile then Dominic had at any rate.

"Uh- well. I did perform a prank on my older brother during my second year with a bunch of my friends. I never got in trouble for it though. My brother didn't want his friends thinking he was a wimp." She smiled a little slyly, remembering the look on her brother's face when he had come out of the boys dormitory, screaming that there was a massive spider on his pillow. For all his macho, he was terrified of bugs. He hadn't known who it was until his friend told him his little sister had paid him a galleon to go and hide the spider underneath his pillow. Heh. Of course, she hadn't actually seen his face. His friend had taken a picture, a moving wizard one too. She kept it in a photo album.

*PhoenixRising* · 02-21-2012, 04:05 PM

Dom blinked in surprise. She wasn't friends with Cel-an-dine?! Oh my. Actually, this girl might not actually be so bad after all. If she really was as much a loner as his suspicions made her out to be. HE preferred to be alone and even HE was friends - somehow - with Cela.

He took another sip of water.

Prank on older brother. Hm. Standard little sister move. And standard big brother move too. "Are you sure it was the fact that he didn't want to be thought of as a wimp ... or simply the fact that he was protecting you?" You know, just saying and all. Protection, he's heard, is instinctive with older siblings.

"So you just have the one brother?" Just curious, is all. Really. Making small talk before they ordered; which speaking of which, WHERE was the WAITER?

Gabrielle · 02-22-2012, 03:26 AM

Her brother. Protect her? Ha!

"Hmm." Mandie said, swirling the water in her glass. Maybe. But she doubted it. "I think you may be overestimating my brother's kindness factor. Well- when he was that age anyway." Mandie grinned at Dominic after she said that. Her brother, Carl, had never been the sweetest cookie in the jar. He was okay now. But only just.

"Just the one brother, yeah." Mandie said, "So what about you? Any siblings at all?" She had always wanted a little sister but alas, never was it so. She wondered if he had a little sister. ~~Or whether he was good with little children.~~

As she waited for Dominic to answer, she noticed some small writing at the bottom of the menu: "Speak to order."

Mandie pointed to the writing on Dominic's menu, "I think we're supposed to speak what we want to order or something?"

*PhoenixRising* · 02-23-2012, 04:21 AM

Why did she seem so surprised at that suggestion? Was it that far off for a big brother to want to protect his little sister. Though he hadn't really been familiar terribly much with Cela's older brothers, he was sure that they wanted to protect her. Heck, sometimes even he felt instinctive to protect her.

"Subconscious protection then," Dom nodded, opening his menu and glancing through it, as she returned the question about siblings back to him. "Nope. Just me, and my mom. She's actually quite the famous potioneer." Of course he didn't inherit that fondness for the potions. "My father left us when I was just a young child... before Hogwarts even. Moved off to America." He shook his head, wishing he knew more about his father than his name. He didn't even know what his father did in America. Or if he was even still there.

Almost as if she read his mind - or perhaps she'd worked up an appetite before coming here - she pointed out the small writing to him. "Of course. Well I think I'm going to try the Ravioli di Funghi al Pistacchio. What about you?"

Gabrielle · 02-26-2012, 05:34 AM

Mandie raised an eyebrow. She could see that she would not be able to get to get the idea that her brother was a monster teenager was going to pass through his thick head.

"I'm sorry." Mandie said, and she was. Her father was not very good either. "My father left when I was in my fourth year. To be honest, I wasn't particularly upset. He was a quite the pureblood supremacist." He was furious when he found out about her having a relationship with a muggle boy. Sometimes she thought that might have been the thing that had pushed him over the edge and made him leave. Needless to say her father had made her leave the muggle boy. Mandie wondered what he was doing now.

"I think I'll have the um- Pansotti quattro formaggi?" Was that how you pronounced that?

*PhoenixRising* · 03-04-2012, 05:29 AM

She seemed genuine. That was good. Even if he didn't want her pity. Or anyone's really. Things happened for reasons the heart know not. "Don't be. He's the one who missed out my growing up. And it's not like I was without male role models either." 'Course they might not have been the best ~~considering one was in Azkaban Prison for several months~~ but at least they didn't just ABANDON him the way his father had.

"Aha. So the truth comes out. You're a pureblood." He mused playfully, wondering and hoping she knew he was teasing about blood status. There were more important things than blood status to worry about; like honor and dignity and integrity.

And now that they've ordered.... as if on cue ... a rather slow dance melody began playing out of the blue. He glanced around awkwardly, before looking at Mandie. This was where he knew he was supposed to ask her if she wanted to dance, but for some reason ... words were ... difficult.

"Wannadancewithme?" he asked, albeit so quickly and quietly, his words jumbled together. Dominic coughed. "Err... I mean... Mandie Elliot? Would you ... do me the honor of sharing this dance with me?" He asked, rising and with hand behind his back, he bowed politely, extending his other hand out to her. He knew manners . . . sometimes.

Gabrielle · 03-05-2012, 07:17 AM

He got a small smile at that comment. "A Pureblood. Yes. A strange one with muggle tendencies." Mandie laughed, grinning awkwardly for slightly too long.

Oh jeepers. The music. It had changed and Dominic had noticed too.

O______O

She sat, twiddling her thumbs in her chair. She didn't want to seem too... over-enthusiastic? At Dominic's voice; Mandie looked up at him and flushed pink. "Um- sure." She grasped his hand and stood up. Oh no, did he notice her magenta face?! "Err- shall we um... go to the dance floor?" She gestured to the wide ball room floor near their table.

*PhoenixRising* · 03-09-2012, 03:03 AM

"We don't mind strange." Obviously, considering he had earned a nickname of weird boy by a certain Ravenclaw. And that Ravenclaw was never quite normal herself.

...

For some strange moment, for the briefest second in time, he half wished she didn't dance. That perhaps, maybe, just maybe, she's sprained an ankle or something. But before he could back down on his word ... his question, he felt the delicate hand of hers take hold of his own ... as she grew flushed. "Yes." Because that was all he could say, as he led her toward the dance floor.

"So, Italian restaurant and dancing. Did you ever imagine you'd go such a place?" Dominic spoke softly.

Gabrielle · 03-09-2012, 06:15 AM

"We?" Mandie asked dubiously. He was referring to himself and...who? That was...kinda strange.

...

Mandie felt herself led out onto the dance floor and tried to control her cheek colour, glancing in the reflective glass on a painting of Venice; Mandie noticed the colour had subsided in the majority. Good.

She turned back to face Dominic and now worked on organising her feet and hands to dance to the waltz like music in the background. Dancing had been a skill her mother had taught her; only classical of course. Mandie had been okay at it well... better than most of the girls her age had been anyway.

At Dominic's question she raised her gaze from watching where her feet were treading, to his ~~handsome~~ face, "No, not-not really. I expected a blind date to go into shambles actually." Mandie fluttered her eyelashes, not intentionally in a flirtatious way, she just a little embarrassed.

"How about you?" She asked, "Were you expecting a dream date with a pretty girl, or... you know, one with someone like me?"

*PhoenixRising* · 04-05-2012, 09:37 PM

Huh? We? Had he said we? Oh right, of course. "Yes we. Because I'm more than one," because he was so awesome, duh. Wasn't she ever so lucky to have been picked to go on a date with him?

....

Leading her out to dance, he adjusted his hand appropriately on her waist. Thank goodness Lena had least given him some useful bit of knowledge over the years, rather than just her insanity with experimental potions. Dancing he could do.

Noting her flushed expression again, Dominic smiled in amusement at her answer. "Shambles, eh? Well I'm glad it's going better than you expected," It was always a good sign for a first date. And not in shambles was a good thing, lest he'd have to eat alone as he'd practically been doing anyway.

Ah... the twister! She throws the question around! "You're a pretty girl," Dominic said defensively. "And honestly, I don't know what I expected, but I can't say that this a horrible evening." Actually, he did know what he expected, but he knew it wasn't going to be like her, so he didn't voice that.

Gabrielle · 04-11-2012, 04:23 AM

Mandie giggled and shook her head, "Of course."

...

She gave a smirk when he answered the question. She was not denying what he said. "Not a horrible evening?" She asked, "Well, I guess that's okay." Mandie smiled and moved her hand from her forearm to his shoulder.

"Erm... so-" Uh oh, what was she supposed to talk about? Right. Music. "Do you play a musical instrument?" Lame thing to talk about Mandie. She looked away and focused on dancing for second. Rarely messing up as her feet remembered where they should fall.

*PhoenixRising* · 04-13-2012, 03:25 PM

Dominic shook his head, a smile playing on his lips as he caught her own smirk. She was a nice girl, he wasn't going to deny it. "Not a horrible evening at all. I met a new friend in the area." And Merlin knew he needed to be more social.

Feeling her move her hand to his shoulder, he smiled down at her. Music. "No. My mother was very into potions, as aforementioned and never thought it prudent to allow her son to take up learning a musical instrument." He mused, realizing then how hungry he was. What was taking the waiter so long anyway? They did it on purpose, no doubt. "But that's not to say I didn't learn how to charm an instrument to play music on its own. That I can do quite well, actually. What about you?" He half expected her to be the opposite, but what did he know? Divination wasn't a strongpoint of his.

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