Not Your Typical Holiday ((Leland))

[Angela Merciano S7]

((This place takes place during the winter holiday. Dining Room , Merciano place))

The Christmas of Angela’s sixth year at Hogwarts had been one of the worst ones yet, Angela had decided. She came home expecting the usual. Lush holiday evenings with presents, parties, and fancy dinners were the norm at the Merciano household. Hector-Miguel, Angela’s beloved grandfather and the head of the infamous Cavalieri gang loved any holiday that brought the family together. Many would find it hard to believe that Hector could ever be capable of such a form of compassion. What with all the hits he’s ordered on innocent people and the addictions he supported by stealing and smuggling money, many people thought Hector-Miguel would be a cold and heartless man. In fact, the truth about the head of the Cavalieri gang was much the opposite of popular belief. Family had always been first in Hector’s book. His immediate family was his pride and joy. Then came those in the Cavalieri. As long as the members of both of his families were loyal to him, he was the nicest man alive. He had been known to send the sons of loyal Cavalieri members off to college or support entire families as a reward for their parent’s work. Angela admired that man more than anyone else in the world. He had so much power, and he knew how to use that power to his advantage. It was because of this that Angela always looked forward to going home for the holidays. Angela’s parents and grandfather would always shower her with gifts and praise. She was the favorite of all the Merciano children, though of course the others didn’t exactly go unloved. Angela’s cousin Nico was the only one who really had a problem with the parental figures of the Merciano household, but that was his own fault. If he didn’t want to be treated like the house pest, he shouldn’t have started shacking up with that filthy Hemingway.

But of course, that holiday vacation had been the worse ever for everyone—not just Nico. Just days before the children were let out for the holidays, Marissa Merciano went missing. Marissa was Angela’s loving mother, and it killed her to know that someone had taken her from her family. She was sure it was the Hemingways who took her away, which made Angela all the more eager to see Damara Hemingway again and punish her personally. Throughout that entire holiday, there were long extended Cavalieri meetings going on practically nonstop with members walking in and out of the doors and staying in all the guest rooms until they began to think that they owned the place. Christmas Day had been no better. Angela and her sisters had opened their gifts alone as her father and the rest of the family attended yet another meeting to try and get Angela’s mother back. But of course, Hector-Miguel wasn’t just going to let his children suffer throughout the entire Christmas holiday without making up for it. In fact, just days after the meetings and search parties began to die down; Angela’s grandfather had agreed to let Angela host a party in June to kick off the summer. The best part was; she would finally get to show off the beautiful home she lived in.

Of course, Angela didn’t waste any time. She’d already called the best event planner she could find and he would be heading toward the Merciano mansion in a matter of minutes. Angela had already seen to it that she knew everything about the man, who seemed to be one of the best event planners England had to offer. Normally, the journey to Liverpool from London wouldn’t be a fun one, but this Astor man was a Slytherin graduate, so he could be there in seconds. His records had detected quite a bit of illegal work, but he had never worked for the big guys like the Mercianos or the Hemingways so he was safe. Of course, this didn’t mean that Santino Merciano didn’t put up a huge fight about having an outsider inside the Merciano household. “You said so yourself he’s a shady man! And not even Italian, Angelita you must be crazy!” Santino protested, using his favorite nickname for his daughter as Angela cleared the large south dining room (which was nowhere near the size of the dining area the Mercianos used for special occasions) table for the event planner’s arrival. Her head was already whirling with ideas for the party. She wanted it to be a masquerade, and guests wouldn’t be allowed to enter without their own fancy mask. How lovely that would be. “Well papi, this guy knows what he’s doing. He’ll probably know who we are and what we do, so he’ll be careful. I’ll keep my eye on him to make sure he doesn’t see anything he shouldn’t. I’ve got it all under control! You need to learn to calm down. I’m going to have a party here in just a few months time, and half the kids in my school don’t have an ounce of Italian blood in them. Mom wouldn’t have minded.” Angela said innocently.

While Angela wasn’t pleased in the slightest that her mother had been kidnapped, she still rather enjoyed the perks bringing up her disappearance caused for her. Angela’s father was putty in her capable hands to begin with, and now with Mrs. Merciano’s disappearance, she could get virtually anything she pleased. Her mother, one of the most talented manipulators Angela had ever met, would have been proud. “Fine.” He grumbled, making Angela smile smugly. Suddenly, she noticed one of her personal house elves (Angela had two for herself, and everyone else all had at least one) appear at the door. Rosa knocked on the door quietly. “Um, I’m very sorry for interrupting, but Mistress Angela, your party planner is waiting at the front gate and I was wishing for your permission to let him enter.” The little house elf squeaked timidly. Angela smiled broadly in her father’s direction. “Ohh look he’s here! Ok Rosa, let him inside and send him in here. Make sure he comes straight here and that he doesn’t run into any of our family on the way in.” Angela ordered, sitting herself down at the head of the table, ignoring the two guards that appeared behind her just moments after her father left. Of course he was going to insist on the babysitters. Well, at least he didn’t bring Emilio. That would have been a mess. Angela rolled her eyes but waited with a smile for her party planner to enter.

[leland]

Leland was a laid back kind of guy. One thing he always stayed true to was himself. He never did anything that was out of character to himself- whether it was inappropriate or rude to someone, it was always genuinely Leland Astor. He was the kind of guy who never put on a front for anyone. He treated everyone the same way he wanted to be treated too. He was raised by a single father and his older brother. With only men in his life, he was still raised to treat members of both genders with dignity and honestly. He was an Astor, and he held the name with poise. His family was a wealthy 'old money' family from the States. Although, he doesn't participate with his family and their plentiful business in the states- he is still very connected to his kin. Living on his own in London, was his prerogative. He held a well paying job and loved what he did. He did what he wanted on his own terms, and pretty much was his 'own boss', almost.

On a day like today, Leland had a rude awakening he did work for someone other than himself. And he had to do what his boss said to bring more money and publicity into the company. Leland was a columnist for entertainment, world wide. His critiques of places to go and music to listen to, were sold to newspapers, music logs, and on line loggists who kept track of the new 'up and coming' stars. Leland never let his job go to his head. He liked writing, he loved music, and loved having a good time- his job was his 'wife'; his life. Today of all days, Leland woke up in his loft with a phone call from his boss.

Rolling over in his bed, he picked up his cell phone. "Hello?" He spoke through groggy vocal chords, most likely stained with cigarette smoke and liquor from the night before. "Leland, come on. Wake up. I scheduled you to meet with Angela Merciano. She is the daughter of Santino Merciano..." he paused as Leland sighed heavily on the other end of the line. "I know you hate house calls, but this would be good for us. They are good paying customers." His boss explained as Leland spoke up, "Yeah, Yeah... I know." Leland clicked the phone to hang up as he laid in bed for a moment, thinking. He lived in a muggle town, but he worked for a pseudo muggle business. His boss was a graduate of Durmstrang Institute, and learned how to separate the wizarding business into two parts. The family he was going to meet today was a well known, wealthy family. Leland had heard the name a few times overhearing conversations. He wasn't about to deal with a teenage drama queen, but it was his job- and he had to do what he had to do.

Pushing the white covers on his bed to the side, he put his feet on his floor. Trying to steady himself from the hangover that just set in. Groaning under his breath- Leland shuffled his feet to his bathroom here he went to take a shower to wake himself up.

Only about an hour later, Leland was done with his shower, fully dressed, and done with breakfast. With his special drink he always downed after a rough night, his hangover was gone. The smell of cigarettes- gone, and the soft smell of cologne laced his collar. Grabbing his keys, Leland made his way down to his garage to get in his car, and make his way to the Merciano House.

Only a few hours later. Leland arrived at the mansion. The extended driveway lead Leland up to the house. Taking his keys out of the ignition he opened his door. Stepping out of his car, he grabbed his jacket from the side seat and put it on. He wore a pair of nice designer jeans, with brown leather prada shoes. His maroon pin-striped collared shirt was casual, but his style. Leland dressed to impress, He knew how to look nice. Walking up to the front door, he was greeted by a house elf. Following the short elf into the vast entry hall, He was directed to walk into the dinning room where she waited. Walking in the room, Leland's cool, calm, and collected composure followed him. He was greeted by a younger girl who sat at the end of a long decorated table. Walking up to her, he smiled. "Hello, I'm Leland Astor." He said with his hand out, as a gesture to shake her hand.

((OOC: Figured I'd leave it open ended on your part. Hope that's alright- that I didn't jump right into the plans. Figured Angela was into the planning, and Leland would more or less see if he could make it happen.))

[Angela Merciano S7]

Angela knew her father would want to tighten up security at the Merciano place. For all they knew, this Astor man could be working with the Entourage. She highly doubted it though, because knowing her father and grandfather, Leland Astor wouldn’t be anywhere near the Merciano place if he had any sort of connection with the Cavalieri’s oldest foes. Angela had read the background check her grandfather had performed on the event planner and was surprised to see that the older man was a native of the United States. How odd. Angela didn’t see many of those around Liverpool and Hogwarts. There were a few at school, but Angela didn’t pay much attention to the American born students at school. She only had interest in those who could one day enter the Cavalieri, and those were the Spanish and the Italian—the only two classes of people that could be trusted with such a high honor. Angela didn’t see why they had to be so exclusive. The Entourage accepted people from all over the United Kingdom, but that was simply because they settled for second best and second rate. If they had some class, their family would only be made up of their natural born kin, not just any desperate idiot who decided to join them. Angela glanced behind her, noting the three larger, more experienced bodyguards that had replaced the two smaller backups Angela had seen at her sides just a moment before. Perhaps Angela’s Grandfather didn’t trust Leland Astor as much as he did earlier?

Angela didn’t care if Astor could be trusted in her home. He wasn’t looking through her grandfather’s office, so she didn’t care. She had a party to plan and not much time to make sure the event was perfect. If she couldn’t have her mother by her side planning this party with her, she was going to make this next holiday the best one ever with this party so Marissa Merciano had something nice to return to when she did. So, with that thought in her head, Angela sat back and got her things ready so she could plan the best end of the year party Hogwarts had ever seen. Leland Astor leaned forward to shake Angela’s hand but before Angela even thought about moving; her three guards stepped forward to protect her. Each had a wand at the ready and loaded guns hidden somewhere ready to be fired if anything were to happen. Angela merely sighed. “Guys, it’s fine. Chill out, will you?” Angela said calmly to her guards, who stepped back again in response. “I’m so sorry about that. There’s been a bit of an…issue with security here lately, so my grandfather is doing everything he can to make sure all of us are safe.” Angela said with a sigh, trying not to think of her still missing mother. She shook Leland Astor’s hand politely.

Of course, Angela didn’t honestly think this Astor guy was anything more than just an event planner, but that was just her. She had her party on her mind, so anything like a Trojan Horse event planner was automatically blocked from Angela’s mind. “Mr. Astor, I take it? I’m Angela Merciano. Now let’s get down to business, shall we?” Angela glanced at her house elf, who immediately stepped forward and pulled out a chair for Angela’s guest to sit down. Angela situated herself back in her seat as well as her elf quickly dashed across the room to pull out her chair for her. “I did a lot of research prior to calling you, and I have found that you’re the best around. As you can probably see, money is not an issue for my family. We expect the finest. I’m having a pretty formal event to celebrate the end of my sixth year in June, and I would like a live performer. Who do you think would be available to play for my little party?” Angela questioned, adding in her very charming and political smile. Angela was raised to be respectful to important people. She had a very short temper, but she knew how to be civil to those who deserved it. With his connections in the music business, he had the potential to give Angela what she wanted for the perfect celebration. She’d be damned if she was going to let this opportunity run away from her.