Breaking Point

Ember listened, quite enjoying the feeling of Sophia’s hand on her hair. Normally she wouldn’t have sat so still, just letting herself drink in the other girl’s wise words, but something about that hand on her head… It tamed the blazing fires in her soul. It didn’t put them out, far from it, but rather, was able to bring them higher while keeping them under control. It was the oddest thing, as she’d never met anyone capable of doing such a thing to her before. It was like Sophia was reading her and knew exactly which part of her needed the most affection right now. Her head. Or rather, her heart, but the two were interconnected anyway.

Sophia was right… Ember did know exactly how dangerous a broomstick could be when you couldn’t control it. She had ridden her broomstick, not the one that had been exploded, but the one her Da had created with her in mind. He had wanted to make the perfect stunting broom that was also good enough to beat any other racing broom on the planet for her from the time she started pulling cartwheels on the toy broom he’d revamped when she got her steering down. No other kid’s toy broom went ten feet in the air and half as fast as a real broomstick. Ember’s mother had nearly cussed him out for that one, until she realized that her four year old could actual handle such a thing. But the other broom… The Comet…

That was the one that had scared her off.

“Fear as a super power… Your moving picture people are quite wise, aren’t they?” Ember stated after a few minutes, lifting her head up so she could see Sophia’s face. She understood the idea of it, the amount of adrenaline pumping through one’s veins so strong that you almost do anything. She’d never experienced itself in it’s full power, but she believed in it. She had had plenty of bursts of adrenaline that had made it easier for her to push off her broom, flip, and find it again. She was rarely scared of a trick once she mastered it, but there was always that underlying nervousness… and the worry when she was first working on one, that she’d mess it up really badly this time. She never let that fear rule her though, knowing she could overcome it, as she had so many times with so many different new tricks.

Ember closed her eyes as she felt Sophia bend down again, a kiss pressing against her head so tenderly she thought her entire heart might burst. She felt her breath catch in her chest, but not long enough to be physically noticeable. Sophia’s voice, whispering in her ear, her breath so close to her skin. She could feel the warmth of it, and smell the sweet scent of some post-candy mouth. She inhaled it and Sophia’s hair, reaching a hand up and grabbing hold of a lock of that beautiful brown head drapery once Sophia was back to sitting up. She twirled it around her finger, gazing up at Sophia, a small smile playing at her lips. It was a real one this time, not forced or sad, though she would feel the ache of her lost beautiful Nimbus for a while.

”I suppose that’s right though too… No one is ever brave unless they’ve got something to be afraid of in the first place, otherwise… Otherwise that’s not bravery. It’s pigheadedness. Mouse… you‘re incredible. I mean, you always know so much and the way you took down Morgan… I know you say it was just the fear allowing you to do so well, but you have amazing skills with a wand. You can heal and you can duel. I‘m grateful you came… If not, I dunno what I would‘ve done. ” Ember admitted, pushing herself upwards. She leaned over Sophia, one hand pressed into the couch on one side of the other girl’s legs, her hips pressed against Sophia’s thighs on the other. She stared at her, her other hand still tangled in Sophia’s hair.

Right then, Ember could have done it. She could have listened to every burning instinct in her body that was telling her to lean just a little bit forward and see for herself exactly what kind of candy it was Sophia had been eating. But she didn’t. She knew such an action probably would not have been welcome. And she didn’t want to ruin their friendship over something as silly as a kiss that would get them nowhere but awkward, especially because she couldn’t tell right now. Was Ember really attracted to Sophia? Well, of course. She knew she found her attractive… physically at least. That had always been there, especially with the Hufflepuff’s eyes. But she wasn’t sure if the newly found attachment was emotional as well, and that was something important to have. You couldn’t just go around trying to kiss people if there wasn’t any actual feelings behind it aside from lustful ones. And not only that, but there was no way Ember could have kissed a straight girl, knowing she would never feel the same way.

So, Ember settled for cupping Sophia’s cheek and planting a very chaste kiss upon the girl’s forehead instead. ”I suppose I’ll have to write my mum and see if she can send the beast of a broomstick then… But… You’ll come with me right? When I work on learning how to control it, in case things go sour?”

Ember stared at Sophia, lost for a moment in those gorgeous hazel eyes, reading something in them so quickly as she was sure it was a trick of the light. The very next moment, Sophia was speaking again, as though she hadn't even felt the sudden sparking of electricity Ember was still currently experiencing. Unlike Sophia, she was not very good at compartmentalizing all of her thoughts or feelings, so, she drew back, letting her body fall back down again, scooting until her head had returned to the Hufflepuff's comfortable lap. She'd have to be careful not to let her face get too close to Sophia's from now on, should she be tempted. It was probably just a fluke though. She had never actually liked someone, like, really really genuinely liked them. She had dated a few boys sure, made out in a couple of broom cupboards, but those had been purely physical relationships. A little hand holding in the hallways, a couple of make out sessions, and two weeks later it was over when the boy realized how impossible she was to get to sit still long enough to get his hand up her shirt. As in, never gonna happen. She had never kissed a girl before though, and Sophia's lips looked incredibly tempting. All soft and pinkish red and... Sweet. They would be sweet, she just knew it.

And then the Hufflepuff went off on some crazy slew of words and Ember couldn't help but laugh. It felt wrong though, to be laughing when her broom was gone... Her poor, poor broomstick. And yet, at the same time, just sitting here, being with Sophia, had calmed her down enough to focus on something else that was a lot less painful. The Gryffindor reached up, grabbing hold of the Hufflepuff's chin and tugging her down a little bit. "That's silly, Mouse. I mean... I know the school has some sort of protective magic to it, and that it can kind of think for itself in a weird way, but I don't think your presence was responsible for my broken elbow. I've broken almost every single part of my body except for my neck and spine, and my other elbow. I've even broken my my arse a couple of times... All at school. Who knows, maybe I'm being silly and you're right, but... Saying something like that, would imply you as being a jinx, and there's no way you're one of those, just because you can heal. No, I think it's more, it was simply a coincidence. My elbow, that is. And I still... I'd still feel a lot better if you'd spot me. Don't worry if you feel like it's dangerous though, I can always ask Eveleen. That way there's someone to drag my corpse back up to the school. She's used to it." Ember flicked at Sophia's hair, only teasing her a bit. She couldn't help it though. The poor girl looked so frazzled and it was kind of impossibly endearing at the moment. Merlin, she was cute.

No. No, she needed to behave. Ember needed to be good and not let her physical desires overcome the lovely friendship she had found in Sophia. She had never really been able to talk to anyone like this before, not about emotions and stuff. It made her feel a bit bad that it wasn't Eveleen she was talking to, but then again, she and Eveleen had their own special way of communicating. Maybe this feelings thing would belong to Sophia. The Hufflepuff had always spoken fairly openly about feelings, even the bad ones, while the Ravenclaw was more reserved about such things. That had to be it! That was why it was easier. It was simply the girls' differing personalities that did it.

"As for... You know... Bruises and stuff..." Ember frowned for a moment, and then got her resolve back. This was Sophia, girl who she had just bawled and puked in front of. No matter how embarrassing it had been, Sophia had been nothing but kind about it, soothing her and telling her it was strong to admit when you were feeling weak. So, Ember sat up, and then, quite promptly, straddled the poor Hufflepuff, staring at her with a dead set serious look on her face. She rose up on her knees, shimmying in her pants, cocking them to one side and pulling far enough to reveal the entirety of her left hip bone. It was quite a nasty red, already starting to turn blue and purple. "Bludger during practice. It's not too bad, but it... It..."

Ember struggled for a moment, her voice getting lost in her throat as she tried to get out the words. She locked her eyes on Sophia's, and a little bit of courage surged through her before she looked away, cheeks flushing. She sat back now, knees bent, quite comfortably resting on either side of Sophia's legs, arms reaching up to wrap around the other girl's neck, hanging off of her gently as her hands tangled a bit in the Hufflepuff's lovely soft hair. "It hurts." She stated softly, biting her lip and peeking up at Sophia through her flaming reddish-brown lanky curls.

Ember blinked as Sophia suddenly went quite still, but it didn’t last very long, the other girl seeming to come to her senses. Perhaps Ember had thrown her off slightly, judging by the shocked expression, by sitting on her, but then again, she hadn’t been able to help herself. She hadn’t been able to go in for that kiss she had felt pulled toward, those tantalizing Hufflepuff lips, just sitting there, waiting. So, she’d opted for the next best thing, a cuddle. It wasn’t wrong to sit on your friend right? She’d sat on Eveleen quite a few times in the past, jokingly though, and never quite like this. There had never been any straddling of the Ravenclaw. Ember supposed it was normal to be a little bit surprised when someone sat on you and suddenly started pulling down their pants though… Huh. She hadn’t even thought about it when she was doing it.

Sophia seemed to come out of it a bit though, her eyes moving away from Ember’s and going to the bruise on the Gryffindor’s hip. Ember leaned slightly, to give her a better view of it, knowing she’d be able to tell how to fix it easy, or if the bruise went deeper than anticipated. Ember was pretty sure it wasn’t that serious though. Normally, when she ended up with a bruise that went into the bone, she could feel it a lot more than she was feeling this one and oh… Merlin.

As Sophia’s fingers found Ember’s skin, the Gryffindor shivered a little bit, turning her face in a way that her healer would not be able to see it for fear that she would be able to read the emotions going through Ember’s eyes right now. She knew her eyes would give her away, unable to hide the absolute enjoyment she was getting out of gentle fingers moving so sweetly across her skin. She winced a bit, as they pressed on a particularly tender spot of the bruise, but it only lasted a moment. Ember waited patiently, not even noticing that Sophia was paying a lot more attention to this bruise than she had the one that had been on Ember’s ribcage that one time. And even if part of her, deep inside, did notice, she was enjoying this far too much to pay any attention to it. Merlin’s pants, she liked the way those fingers felt, so soft and smooth, running across her hip so carefully. It was the absolute best bruise inspection she had ever received in her life. Part of her felt quite guilty though, about liking it so much… She shouldn’t. Not when Sophia was not getting the same exact reaction to it… She couldn’t be. Ember wasn’t a boy.

But then the fingers were gone, and Ember settled a bit, re-centering herself on Sophia’s lap as the Hufflepuff pulled out her wand… and then actually said the spell out loud. Now, this, more than anything, threw the Gryffindor off. She knew, without any doubt, that Sophia was perfectly capable of doing that particular spell non-verbally, and usually, that was exactly what she did. So why had she spoken it this time? Was the bruise worse than Ember had expected and therefore, needed a little more force behind the spell for it to work? Yeah, that had to be it.

As the spell warmed, and then cooled, healing the bruise, Ember let out a sigh. She flopped forward, hugging Sophia tightly and burying her face against the other girl’s neck, so grateful she had such a nice friend who was willing to make her feel better. Physically and mentally. She held on tight, her hands gripping at the back of Sophia’s shirt, relishing the feeling of her softness and warmth like she always did when she hugged her.

Ember pulled back, kissed Sophia’s cheek before nuzzling at it, and then slide off her lap, moving back to sit beside her again. She wiggled her pants, pulling them back up to where they were most comfortable and leaning to one side, letting her head fall against Sophia’s, knocking them gently together. ”Thanks, Mouse. It feels much better now. I… I feel better now.” Ember sighed, reaching out to pick up Sophia’s hand. Ember placed it on her chest, over her heart, her smile soft. ”In here. I guess… I guess Eveleen was right again. Talking helps, but it‘s easier with you.”

The Gryffindor scooted, pressing herself closer to Sophia and quite enjoying the weight of the other girl's arm around her almost as much as she had liked Sophia's fingers against her skin. She was usually the one tucking people up under her arms, so to have it be the other way around.... It was weird, but it felt incredibly nice at the same time. She tucked one arm up and then slid the other one out, wrapping it across Sophia's stomach and locking her fingers into the material of the Hufflepuff's shirt. She tugged, pulling her friend close, peeking up at her through her hair. She liked this, the whole being the one getting cuddled thing, as opposed to the one doing the cuddling, of course, she probably wouldn't ever admit to it out loud though, because being the bottom half of something like this, it was probably some kind of sign of more weakness. While she was starting to come to terms with that showing such a thing could be considered strong, she was not about to fully let go of her need to always be the bold, daring Gryffindor she was. At least, not verbally. And definitely not around anyone but Sophia... And maybe Eveleen if she got better at it. Right now, she would let herself be the weaker one... At least for a little bit longer. She kind of.... Kind of enjoyed it.

Ember glanced up, smiling at the slight variation of her name that Sophia had used. That was a good sign, she thought, indicating how comfortable Sophia had become around her as well. The Hufflepuff had seemed much less nervous lately actually, now that she thought about it. A little more readily accepting of a Ember and Eveleen's friendship and a lot less like she was scared they were going to abandon or hurt her. Though, it had mostly been that way since their Hogsmeade trip, Ember knew she still occasionally saw little bits of doubt flicker across her friend's face. They never lasted long, as though Sophia was internally correcting herself.

Frowning, Ember reached up, stroking gently at Sophia's cheek, as the girl said she worried that no one wanted her around, confirming the Gryffindor's guess of her still having doubts now and then. It seemed like the Hufflepuff was trying though, really hard, to remind herself that those kinds of thoughts weren't true. That took a special kind of bravery, to be able to battle your own inner self like that. Ember knew that much too well from her own experiences, trying to tell the bad things to shut up while she forced a smile on the outside. But then, her pushing her feelings down, wasn't as noble as Sophia's, as the Gryffindor was just running away from her feelings instead of actually fighting them.

"Eveleen will always worry. It's not her fault though, she's incredibly afraid of anything that involves her feet leaving the ground, for the most part. We used to go bird watching though, when we were little. That's how we met actually.... She went up a tree, and like a cat, was too scared to get herself back down. I just happened to be goofing off nearby and coaxed her onto my broom with some chocolate. Best mates ever since. She only holds me back when she thinks I'm about to do something incredibly stupid." Ember smiled, thinking about her best mate shaking her head and telling her to not be so ridiculous, but in the end though, she always let Ember be, because she knew there was no stopping it and the Gryffindor wouldn't learn even if she hurt herself. "But you're right. that's the kind of thing my Da used to say too... He said 'Lass, you can never succeed at something unless you let yourself fail a couple of times first, but you have to at least try even knowing you might not get it right.' Merlin, he said that a lot. And then he'd go to his shop and swear when he couldn't get a broom just the way he wanted it, but he never gave up." Ember laughed, turning her head and nuzzling at Sophia, the memories not so painful when she felt so... So impossibly cared for. "And just for the record, Mouse, I will never, ever, not want you around. So, don't you ever think for one second that that's ever the case. You are much too fabulous." And comfy, and damn you smell good, how do you always smell so fantastic? And pretty, so... Soooo pretty. And warm and kind and gentle and Merlin, I could kiss you, but you'd probably freak out and this friendship thing we've got going now would be utterly destroyed. Ugh, why do you have to be so wonderfully attractive? Ember almost groaned, her brain running away again. She needed to make sure to keep a tight leash on herself, or she'd definitely do something regrettable. Behave. Physical attraction is not worth losing a friend over, no matter how good kissing her would feel. I still want to see her fucking belly button.