sortinghat_logs | A mother always has to think twice,

Entry tags:

A mother always has to think twice,

WHO: Dolores Maryam and Marshall Lee
TONE: Amusing, motherly, Marshall being a grouchy pseudo-teen.
RATING: G
WHEN: 30th November
WHERE: Hogsmeade
WHAT: Marshall doesn't know how to shop. Dolores takes him down to Hogsmeade to find something to wear for the Yule Ball.
STATUS: Ongoing

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Dolores enjoyed shopping. More than that, she enjoyed shopping for other people far more than she enjoyed shopping for herself. That was part of the reason she'd suggested taking Marshall down into Hogsmeade to find something that he could wear for the upcoming Ball. Aside from that, she couldn't help but feel something of a mothering instinct towards the other vampire, even knowing that he was easily four times her age. He just seemed so lost sometimes.

Despite not really being able to feel the cold, she was still fussing, and as they entered the top of the main street Marshall would find himself assaulted with a scarf being wrapped around his neck, the soft fabric pulled up around his ears. Forgive her, Marshall, she really couldn't help herself.

"Now, which shop did you try before you gave up? We can avoid that one."

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Marshall did not enjoy shopping for clothes. To be honest he couldn't even remember the last time he'd actually gone out to somewhere that wasn't a thrift shop and bought something. Sometime in the 90's maybe?

The only things he really actually paid attention to and bought on a regular basis were things that had to do with music. Unlike a lot of vampires Marshall refused to be stuck in the century that he had died in. He had pretty much any regular piece of tech that you could think of.
He was actually really glad when Dolores had said she would take him shopping. He really didn't care about clothes but he actually wanted to look nice for this event and who better to go with than a lady who dressed very well herself?

Even though he wouldn't admit it out loud he secretly enjoyed being fussed over. Even in childhood he hadn't really spent that much time with his own mother before he had to go away to school. And then there was everything that happened afterwards...

Marshall smiled as the scarf was pulled up around his face. She really was a great Mum. He didn't feel the cold either but to him it was the gesture that meant a lot.

"It was Gladrags Wizard Wear." He laughed a little. "I should have known better just based on the name of the place alone."

Even knowing that he was so much older than her, she couldn't help but fuss over him. Very few people in the school got away with it - even Dumbledore had been victim to her mothering on occasion - and Marshall was no different. Well, he seemed to enjoy it in any case, so it wasn't something that she was going to stop doing.

When he told her the name of the shop she laughed and shook her head. Occasionally she would shop there, but she could rarely find things that were to her tastes - in fact she spent a lot of time just making her own clothing. She took his arm while they walked and smiled.

"You should have. Gladrags caters to the masses, my dear, and as such are limited in the styles that they offer. There are other places that may be more suited to someone of your tastes."

Marshall tucks her arm under his like a gentleman and walks beside her and occasionally guides both of them around puddles.

He chuckles at her critique of the shop. "Figures something like that would happen to me. Back at my place I have a computer so I usually just order stuff online. I rarely buy new clothes though. I think pretty much the only things I buy are related to music."

He thinks about it for a moment before admitting out loud "Maybe I need a new hobby or something."

Ah, what a gentleman he is. It was amusing, in a strange way, but she found herself smiling while they walked and gave a small chuckle, along with a light squeeze of his arm.

"So long as you are happy, dear, then your hobbies are fine as they are," she told him, guiding him down one of the smaller streets, to a clothes shop that she knew very well.

"But buying new clothes now and then never hurt."

Hey, chivalry never went out of style to him.

"True, but maybe I should branch out a bit. I just need to branch out a bit more I suppose."

He looks at the front of the shop. It was a lot more understated but in an elegant way than Gladrags was.

"I suppose not. It's just never been my thing." He goes up first and opens the door. "Lead the way."

And it was something she appreciated immensely. Dolores gave his arm a light pat and paused in front of the shop to let him take a look, giving a pleased smile when it seemed to meet his approval. She liked this place, and they'd no doubt be glad for the extra business. They were never fussy about giving her exactly what she wanted.

"Thank you," she said, stepping through the door and giving one of the attendants and cheerful wave. "Now, have a look and see if you find anything you like. If you take too long I might start to find things for you."

She looked amused, though. Mother mode was well and truly engaged.

"Gotcha." He began wandering around and occasionally touching a few things. Honestly he had no idea where he should even begin. Should he pick out robes first and then shoes? Or did you start from the bottom and work your way up? He blew air up into his bangs in exasperation. The only thing that had really caught his eye was a red cravat looking thing. He picked it up. Well, it was a start right?

"I think you might want to actually do that. I have no idea how these things are even supposed to fit..the only thing I really have any experience with are these things."

She hung back and watched him, knowing almost instantly that he had no idea what he was doing. However, she could wait until he decided that he wanted help, and once he did, she gave an airy sigh and plucked the cravat from his fingers. He seemed to like this, so she could build around it.

"Do you have any objection to wearing black, Marshall, dear?" she asked. "And I must point out that wearing a black suit is not quite the same as wearing a black t-shirt."

He let her whisk the cravat away and was secretly really glad she knew what kind of questions to ask him. He shook his head when she asked if he objected to black.

"No, black is cool. Most of my regular clothes are black, red, and grey. I like darker colors and things that aren't too fussy."

Oh man, there really were rules to this kind of thing.

"It's not? So...black doesn't instantly make this stuff work huh?" He stared at the racks of robes a moment before turning to her and asking. "Okay, so what kind of rules are there that I should be following?"

"I thought that you might." Dolores turned to him and looked thoughtful. Clearly, in this environment, she was in a different state of mind entirely and she looked like she was imagining how everything in the shop might suit him as she appraised him silently.

"Anything too bright would drain your complexion," she said then. As vampires, they were naturally pale already and dark, warm colours suited them far better. "Black would look very well on you, I think, but we must take care to make sure that it is not too drab."

She paused, and gave the cravat in her hand a small wriggle. "This is a good starting point. Now, do you have anything that I am to absolutely not put you in?"

Marshall could see that she was completely in her own kind of fashion zone. The only other times he had ever seen her so serious and matter of fact was in the hospital wing.

"No brights. Got it. That won't be a problem anyways. I think the brightest thing I own is a white t-shirt."

What didn't he want? That was an easy question at least. He held up his fingers as he ticked off what he disliked.

"Nothing with ruffles, lace, bows or anything else frou-frou. I kinda like simple things."

"Aha, I might have guessed. A little too pre-Victorian for you, mm?" Wizarding fashion was always so far behind in terms of such things but she was sure that she could find something that he'd like. There was a reason she shopped in this particular store, after all - the owner was muggleborn, and tended to draw influence from both worlds.

She took her time looking around the place, drawing out a few things and carefully putting them over her arm. When she finally returned to Marshall, she had almost everything picked out, carefully co-ordinated around the cravat that the older vampire had liked.

What she had ended up with was a stylish, cleanly tailored black suit lined in red silk, which she held out to him. "I think you'll look quite charming in this."

"Yeeeah, I suffered through ruffles once and I don't care to repeat the experience." He grinned.

He watched her as she went about pulling things and working her fashion magic. Dolores always dressed wonderfully herself so he had complete trust in her tastes.
When she was finally finished and handed him what she picked out he looked over it carefully. It sharp and not fussy in the least.

"This is perfect. I haven't even tried it on yet and I know I want it." He smiled at her and joked. "If nursing doesn't work out I think you'd have a great career as a personal shopper or a stylist."

"I'll keep that in mind for the future," she replied with a laugh. She did have a rather long future ahead of her, after all. Though, nursing had worked out quite well for her so far.

You never knew when a change of direction would come in handy, though.

"Now, go ahead and try these on so we can make sure they fit." Dolores was, however, rather sure that they would.

Oh no, the part he was dreading the most..actually trying the things on. He sucked it up though and proceeded to find a dressing room from the overly happy to help sales girl.
A few minutes and several muttered curses later he finally made his way out smoothing the clothes out as he did.

"It seems like a pretty close fit..what do you think?" He held his arms out and turned around. "Does it look okay?"

She was waiting close enough to hear his muttered cursing and smiled to herself, shaking her head and answering the sales girl's passing comment on her 'son' with a small chuckle.

When he stepped out, she clapped her hands together and made a soft sound of approval, moving over to straighten the cravat and check the fit over his shoulders.

"It looks very handsome, dear. Do you like it?"

Marshall blushed a little when he overheard the sales girl comment. Personally he didn't think Dolores looked remotely old enough to have a teenage son!

He let her fix what needed fixing. He hadn't tied a cravat in a pretty long time so he was a bit rusty.

"I actually do. Well, about as much as I can like dress clothes anyways. These at least suit me personality wise. Do you think the fit is okay? I'm not sure if it needs tailored or not, I mean, it doesn't feel too big anywhere."

"If you're happy with them, I think that they fit you very well." She was clearly pleased with what she'd picked out, brushing her hands once more over his shoulders to straighten the jacket out.

"I did tell you that I could find something for you, did I not?"

"I think these will be just fine." He lets her fuss and pays attention to how she does it so he can fix it himself later. He smiles at how pleased she is with how things turned out.

"I never doubted you for a minute." He grinned. "And now..I think it's your turn to go shopping for yourself. And it's no use saying no either! If you don't pick something out for yourself I'll pick something out for you and you don't want me to do that."

"Very good!" And she was fully prepared to leave it at that, happy that she'd managed to find something for Marshall so quickly. When he stopped her, though, her expression could only be compared to a deer caught in the headlights. She wasn't really used to treating herself like that. Or being treated by someone else. Marshall would be one to understand how self-sufficient being a vampire forced a person to be.

"Oh, you don't need to do that. I'm sure that I have something I can wear back at the castle."

He smiled at her look. He understood her surprise. He hadn't bought anything for someone or had anyone buy him anything in ages.

"Don't be silly. I want to.
Come on, I finally have people in my life I can actually buy gifts for now and it's something I really want to do."

He gives a cute little mock pout.

"Come on, please? You can consider it an early Christmas gift from me."

Dolores made a quiet, uncertain sound and looked about the shop. It went against everything in her to let a student buy her a gift, but of course she had to remind herself that Marshall wasn't like the other students, and he could certainly afford this.

Not that the latter point changed anything.

It was only knowing that he wouldn't let up that had her letting out a soft, fond sigh and putting her arm around his shoulders for a moment, giving him a brief hug.

"Alright, dear. If it is to be a gift. Would you help me choose?"

Even though he would never admit it to himself Marshall was actually kind of excited that he had people to buy presents for over the holidays. Regardless on whether she agreed or not he was going to buy her something.

He grinned happily when she finally agreed.

"Sure. Um..how about something in green? You always look nice in green."

Edited 2012-12-23 01:57 (UTC)

It was easier just to let him have what he wanted, and she didn't mind terribly that it would mean that she got something that she wanted out of it too. She looked pleased with his suggestion, and nodded, putting her arm around his shoulders as she browsed through the available gowns.

It didn't take her long to find one that she liked, and she drew it from the rail to hold it against herself.

"What do you think?"

He let himself lean into her and be steered around as they browsed. True, he wasn't too crazy about shopping for himself but he was having a good time shopping for her instead.

When she pulled out the gown he nodded, gave a cheeky wink and a thumbs up and quipped "Drop dead gorgeous."

It took her only a split second to catch the joke, and she covered her mouth as she laughed. She took the dress to try it on, and Marshall could probably hear her softly cooing in approval before she made an appearance. The colour of the gown utterly complimented her own colouring, even the pale shade of her skin, and she twirled in front of him, bare feet padding silently on the wooden floor.

"Does it suit me?" she asked, though it was quite clear she had already decided she liked it.

He smiled as he did indeed hear her noises of approval. He took it to be a good sign. When she came out he gave a low whistle of approval.

"That looks awesome!You're not just going to turn heads. You're going to break necks."

She twirled again and brushed her fingers over the fabric. Ah.. but could she afford this? Dolores shot Marshall a look, knowing that he wanted to buy something for her.

"Oh dear, I do hope not. That would create a lot of work for me," she said with a laugh, clasping her hands at her chest. "It has been a while since I bought a new dress. I wonder if I might make something like this."

He raised his eyebrows at her look and nodded again. He rarely spent any of his money and he could definitely afford it.
He laughed. "I guess I didn't think of it that way."
He made a face at her comment about making something.
"I'm sure you probably could, but the question is do you really have the time? Just get this one. Please?"

"I might have the time, but..." It would make him happy to buy it for her, wouldn't it? That alone gave some sway to her decision, but he was right, too. She probably wouldn't have the time to make something quite this pretty.

"... Very well."

He grins.
"Then before you try to change my mind I'm going to go pay for it."
Before she can protest again he heads to the register. The smiling salesgirl smiles even wider when he tells her that he'll be buying both the dress robes and the dress. She clasps her hands and tells him what a wonderful son he is for doing something so nice for his Mum.
Marshall resists the urge to roll his eyes but just smiles and nods as he pays for it.
After he does he comes back over and smiles.
"All done. Just take it up when you're finished and they'll wrap it for you."

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A mother always has to think twice,

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