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+----- Thread: Finding a Friend :: Katerina (/showthread.php?tid=1265)
Finding a Friend :: Katerina - Matilda Nordstrom - 09-01-2026
”What about this one Matilda, it would look fabulous with your hair.”[i] Allegra asked, holding up a dress in a vibrant green color. This wasn’t an emerald green, or mint or even kelly. If pressed, the only world that came to mind was pea soup. If she said those words aloud Allegra would scowl. Then buy the dress anyway just to spite her.
Chartreuse… that was the color.
While it was true that Matilda looked great in green, this shade didn’t look good on anyone. Thankfully it was a summer cut, so she had a good excuse to leave it on the rack.
”We’ve found a lot of summer dresses, I was hoping for some more fall and winter options. I’m sure there will be occasions over the Christmas holiday.”
Allegra nodded, putting the offending fabric back on the rack. Drago would be so proud of her. No swear words were said, even though a few choice ones came to mind at the site of the dress.
Look at that… being all lady-like.
[i]”I’m sure you will need a few for Hogsmeade visits. A nice rust orange could be nice.”
For the love of all things holy, this woman must be color blind. For Merlin’s sake, SHE was also a red head, why would she ever think that rust orange would look good with her flaming red hair.
Not wanting to fight, Matilda kept her mouth shut. Being magical gave her the advantage of transfiguration. The color could be changed. And it would be.
"What about this one, Matilda? It would look fabulous with your hair," Allegra asked, holding up a dress in a violent shade of green.
This wasn't emerald. Or mint. Or even kelly.
If Matilda had to describe it, the closest comparison that came to mind was pea soup. She wisely kept that observation to herself.
Chartreuse. That was the word.
While she generally looked wonderful in green, this particular shade looked good on absolutely no one. Thankfully it was cut for summer, which gave her the perfect excuse to leave it where it belonged.
"We've found quite a few dresses for summer," Matilda said pleasantly. "I was hoping we might look for something for autumn and winter instead. I'm sure there will be plenty of occasions over Christmas."
Allegra nodded approvingly before returning the offending garment to the rack.
Drago would be so proud. Not a single sarcastic remark had escaped her lips. She was practically becoming civilized.
"I'm sure you'll need several for Hogsmeade weekends. Perhaps a lovely rust orange."
Matilda smiled. She smiled because Mrs. Beaumont had spent an entire afternoon explaining that ladies did not visibly shriek in horror. She smiled because apparently she was now an expert in self control.
She smiled because if she opened her mouth right now, she might accidentally ask whether Allegra had recently become color blind.
Rust orange. On a redhead. Merlin save her.
Instead, she tried to look anywhere but at her grandmother.
"That would be... memorable." It wasn't a lie. Fortunately, transfiguration existed.
If the woman actually bought the dress, it would mysteriously become emerald green the first chance Matilda got.
As they continued through the boutique, bolts of fabric and racks of dresses surrounded them in every direction. Silk, lace, velvet, chiffon. Enough clothing to outfit a small country.
Matilda's attention drifted toward the front of the shop, more interested in watching the people passing outside than another lecture on proper sleeve lengths. Without looking where she was going, she stepped backward.
Directly into someone.
"Oh! I'm so sorry," she said automatically, turning to face her victim.
Her eyes widened. For just a heartbeat she simply stared. Then every lesson about composure, manners and the appropriate way to greet a friend nearly flew out the window.
"...Kate?"
RE: Finding a Friend :: Katerina - Katerina Nikolau - 09-17-2026
Every morning and every afternoon, Katerina took the exact same walk. From the conservatory to her Chambre de Bonne, passing by the most extravagant, bourgeois houses in the entire city. It was like a reminder, perhaps. A way of keeping her old life alive, so as not to forget where she came from—and how hard she had fought to be where she was now.
Sometimes, the irony of having fought tooth and nail only to become poorer and unprotected against the unfairness of the world was enough to make her smile. Other times, she couldn’t help but feel bitter. Maybe, if her mother had stayed, she wouldn’t have had to give it all up just to live a semblance of the life she actually wanted.
That afternoon, however, she was feeling rather spirited. After months—maybe years—of working with the same starting melody, she had finally finished her first original song. One she would perform when she graduated, even as her professors kept telling her that the entertainment industry was no place for a lady.
She should marry, they said. She didn’t have money, but she was educated, and her formation at the conservatory could be used as the most beautiful of gowns to fool the right suitor into marrying a penniless woman.
Katerina didn’t listen, not for a second. She had already come so far as she tried to forge her own path; this was not the moment to stop. Whatever concerns she had about her future, she had compartmentalized them in the smallest of boxes, right at the back of her mind. It was a part of her brain she only deliberately picked at when she needed to perform. Her grief, she had come to discover, was her best weapon. Not her music, not her discipline—but her melancholy.
As she passed by a nearby store of gowns she could no longer afford, Katerina instinctively brushed her fingers against the fabric of her dress. It was one of the few she had been able to take from her house before fleeing, and therefore, it was still good. A little outdated, maybe—but Katerina had the grace to make it seem like it was a deliberate choice, rather than a necessity. She wore it as though it were the latest trend, with her chin held high and the gentle sway of her hips with every step, catching eyes every time she passed through a crowd.
Then, as she was looking ahead again, something surprised her. A voice she hadn’t heard in so long that she wasn’t sure how she had recognized it. Her lips parted in shock, a gasp breaking the silence before her voice did. She turned around, grabbing Matilda Nordstrom by the shoulders.
“Tilly,” she said, her voice soft.
A beat. Katerina pulled her in, wrapping her in the tightest of hugs as her citrusy, floral scent filled the air between the two women.
RE: Finding a Friend :: Katerina - Matilda Nordstrom - 09-23-2026
“Tilly.”
It wasn’t what she said, but the way she said it. Her voice, filled with that sisterly love in one word caused Tilly’s breath to catch as they hugged. Merlin she had missed her.
In a soft voice, still hugging Kate, ”What are you doing here?”
Pulling away, Tilly had a large smile on her face, words would never be able to explain how much she had missed her. So much had happened in the last few years, and now everything with Drago. They had MUCH to discuss.
”Ahem.” Allegra interrupted. ”Matilda, who exactly is this.”
Her eyes met Kate’s, expressing all she could in that one look. She knew about Matilda’s issues with her grandmother. The training. The abuse.
”Grandmother, this is my dear friend Kaa..lynn, from Hogwarts. She graduated a couple years ago. We lost touch, so this is quite the surprise.”
Allegra’s eyes ran down the length of Kate, assessing. Judging. Thankfully, Tilly didn’t out Kate, that would have stopped this reunion in its tracks. After some less than favorable press, Allegra Nordstrom would have marched Matilda away in seconds.
"And who are your parents? Grandparents?"
Tilly held her breath. She knew the look currently on Allegra’s face and what it meant. It was the same one her grandmother gave a horse before deciding whether it was worth purchasing.
If Kate answered well, there was hope. If she didn't… Well. Tilly would be saying goodbye almost as quickly as she'd said hello.
Stepping in, before Kate could answer was a knee jerk reaction that she hoped she didn’t regret. ”She is a cousin of the Asquith family. Pureblood of course, from France, if I remember correctly.” Looking at Kate with a questionable look.
This was a calculated risk. Allegra knew the Pureblood society of Sweden, Ireland and England. While France was someplace she loved to visit, she didn’t often attend functions. She also knew that the Asquith family was one she wasn’t familiar with.
When the silence returned, Tilly cleared her throat. "If it pleases you, Grandmother... we were only hoping to catch up. It's been several years. Perhaps over tea?"
Allegra regarded her granddaughter for a long moment. Then Kate. Then Matilda again.
Finally… "One hour."[i] Her tone left no room for question. [i]"Tea. Somewhere respectable. You will return directly afterward. I trust I don't need to remind you that you are expected home for supper."
Tilly's shoulders nearly sagged with relief, nodding simply at her grandmother. "Very well. Try to uphold the family name please.”
She adjusted one immaculate glove then turned and continued toward the next shop as though she hadn't just granted Matilda the greatest gift she'd received all afternoon.
Tilly waited exactly three seconds, then looked at Kate with eyes as wide as saucers.
"...We have one hour. Let's go have a drink… It should probably be tea, but I’m open to other ideas. Now…” A grin spread across her face. "Start talking."