Together Again

[Dulciana Raevin]

Dulciana apparated with a faint pop onto the familiar street corner. Quickly regaining her bearings the dark haired women turned and quickly strode down the foot path only to stop a short distance away in front of an ever familiar house. Shaking her hair from her face Dulciana approached the front door, her heels clicking with every step. Her heart lept to her throat as she raised a pale hand to knock loudly at the door of her old friends house.

As moments passed Dulciana mentally composed herself. Although not seeing her school friend in years she didn't want to make the instance over emotional and therefore pathetic. She would, of course, keep that until they were out if public eye and inside the safety of Esmerelda's house. So keeping her face as neutral as she could muster Dulciana awaited the doors opening and the meeting of her old friend.

 

[Esmerelda Lazuli]

Reclined in a green velvet armchair, Esmerelda was desperately trying to relax during an unexplained absence of her husband's ghost. It was rare that she managed to escape from Lorenzo, but the Death Eater had a strange feeling today that she couldn't explain. She gave a guilty start when a knock sounded at the door, and immediately felt embarrassed about it.

Swiftly regaining her dignity, Esmerelda went to answer the knock. She opened the front door to a familiar face that she hadn't seen for a long, long time.
"Dulciana!" Pausing a moment to get over the surprise of seeing her old school friend again, so familiar and yet so different, Esmerelda remembered her manners. "I haven't seen you in such a long time! Do come in. How have you been?"

 

[Dulciana Raevin]

Dulciana grinned suppressing a laugh, she had expected some reaction, they hadn't seen each other in a long time; but this was something else entirely. Pulling her friend into a quick hug, she stepped into the familiar house. Yeah," she said sheepishly as she made her way into her friends living room, "I know, it feels like forever... I've just been, ah, busy." she said leaving it vague.

Dulicana sat and crossed her legs elegantly. "I've been okay. And yourself?" she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. It was good to be in the company of friends again, they had so much to catch up on.

 

[Esmerelda Lazuli]

Esmerelda accepted her friend's hug awkwardly; she didn't really do hugging, but it was true they had been apart for so long . . . she supposed that deserved a hug. "I know exactly what you mean," Esmerelda said as she sat down beside Dulciana. "My life's been pretty hectic too, what with Lapis starting Hogwarts, and Lorenzo . . ." Esmerelda trailed off. She didn't want to talk about Lorenzo. Thoughts of him had tainted all her activities lately, and she was determined he would not ruin her time with an old friend.

"What about you? It's been so long, what have you been up to?" Esmerelda gestured elegantly towards Dulciana, shifting the attention subtly away from her own activities.

 

[Dulciana Raevin]

Dulciana nodded, she couldn't really relate due to her lack of children but she understood all the same. "Lorenzo?" she asked wrinkling her nose at the mere mention at his name. She never thought that Lorenzo was good enough for Esmerelda and now it seemed she had been proven right. "What has that imbecile done now?"she asked raising an inquisitive eyebrow at her old friend.

Dulciana shrugged, she hadn't really be up to anything lately. "Er... I got divorced but... that's really all. Ungratefull prick took half the house." She muttered angrily. He hadn't been happy taking half her savings, feeling the need to pull the house out from underneath her too. But she didn't want to focus on the that. Beside she was more interested in what Lorenzo had done to her friend.

 

[Esmerelda Lazuli]

Esmerelda laughed. "Well, he died, if you can call that idiotic." Esmerelda knew about her friend's hostility towards her husband, and she didn't want to prove her right just yet. So she didn't mention how Lorenzo had died.

"Ungrateful prick, eh? Did I know him?" It was true that the friends had been out of touch lately, but Esmerelda would have liked to think she was acquainted with the man who had caused Dulciana so much trouble lately. She was surprised at the bitterness in her friend's tone. Esmerelda didn't remember Dulciana being a bitter person. Not like her.

 

[Dulciana Raevin]

Dulciana had to supress her grin at the news of Lorenzo's fate. It was widely known that she didn't like him but she didn't want to seem insensitive in any way. "Oh, er... sorry for your loss?" She wasn't sure if it was the right thing to say. She couldn't be sure of the circumstances of his demise, that and the fact that half of her wanted very much to dance with joy.

Dulciana shrugged vauguely "Probably not, it was after you left Scotland." she said. So much had happened since Esmerelda had left. Thinking about it she would have been better off if she had followed suit earlier. She wouldn't have been in this mess. "I should have come to New Zealand earlier." she said voicing her thoughts aloud.

 

[Esmerelda Lazuli]

Esmerelda left that comment hanging. She knew that Dulciana wasn't at all sorry for her loss, whereas for Esmerelda it was the only similar event she could remember feeling sorry for. Her regret was still painful, even after all these years.

"Oh, okay," Esmerelda agreed, perfectly willing to believe that she didn't know the man of whom Dulciana was speaking. If the truth about that certain person had been realised then, it might have saved a lot of heartbreak. Instead, Esmerelda changed the subject. "You really should have come over here sooner. I missed you so much! Have you caught up with Cassandra yet, by the way?"

 

[Dulciana Raevin]

Dulciana smirked, even Esmerelda knew that she didn't feel any sympathy about Lorenzo's death and clearly nothing more was going to be said about it.

Dulce laughed, "I should have." Dulciana regretted not coming over to New Zealand earlier but she had other matters to attend to before she could even think of coming over to a whole new country. "No, not yet, she's next on the list of people I have to see." she said, there were a few people on that list, not all of them were friends. "So what else has happened with you lately... have you met anyone since he died?" she asked. Dulciana was always one for keeping up with the gossip, particually after her lengthy absence.