Shenanigans: That One Time We Got A Sheep Drunk

Ember blinked, unable to keep her eyes from widening as the door opened and a woman presented herself, in… well, not the most appropriate outfit for a lady to wear, especially one with a teenage daughter. For a second the Gryffindor was almost certain she had gotten the wrong door, but then her recognition kicked in. She remembered this woman, from the few times she had actually seen her, though she had not been nearly as scantily clad then… There had also not been men laughing on a nearby couch saying something about ‘dat ass‘… Oh. Eveleen was going to be so pissed. Ember had obviously shown up during a time that was not most opportune for the Ravenclaw. Had Ember been most girls, she might have called to Eveleen that she’d wait for outside the door, however, Ember was not most girls and there was no way she was going to wait when her best mate was in that flat and there were two suspicious males in there as well.

“Hi Ms. Swan.“ As Mary hugged her, Ember accepted it, not wanting to be rude. The woman smelt of alcohol, even this early in the day. Ember felt her stomach bottom out, eyes dashing rapidly around the flat, searching for the only thing in here that actually mattered to her as she was tugged inside via hug. She used one foot to close the door behind her, very grateful when Mary finally let go of her.

”No thanks…” Ember shook her head at the offer of a drink, jumping a little bit as a crashing sound came from somewhere else in the flat, no doubt Eveleen. Her eyes flickered to the couch, and then back in the direction of the crash, every fiber of her being wanting to head towards it. One foot lifted, hand moving to hold onto the strap of her rucksack as she tried to determine exactly from where that crash had come from. ”I’ve been fine, Ms. Swan. Is Eveleen…?”

And then the Gryffindor’s best mate appeared, her hair messy, face looking quite flustered and displeased with the current situation, and yet, she was still Eveleen, and Ember was impossibly glad to see her. Even if Eveleen’s voice held that tone she used whenever she was about to scold the Gryffindor for doing something stupid again, usually ending with a ‘Dim thing!’, Ember felt her stomach rise back up, joy filling her insides as she gazed hungrily at her best mate. It was a purely platonic hunger though, a desire to see someone she loved dearly so very badly that she couldn’t get enough of their face.

Ember watched as Eveleen strode forward, quite expecting her to whack her over the head with the cooler for having shown up unannounced and definitely not at the right location. She wouldn’t have blamed her though. With a mother like Mary, it was very clear why the Ravenclaw had never invited her over before. Yet, Evenleen put down the cooler, much to Ember’s relief, and took her hand instead. Ember gazed down at her little eagle of a best friend and then tugged upon her hand, her other arm coming up and wrapping quite firmly around Eveleen’s shoulders. She hugged the other girl to her tightly, bringing her head down and burying her face against those gorgeous locks of familiar hair.

”I know, I’m sorry. I was running early and got impatient and missed you, so I thought…” Ember said quietly, breathing in that scent that was purely Eveleen. It made her so happy, to finally be back with one of her best friends that she couldn’t help being just a little bit giddy, even if Eveleen was probably quite mad at her for having come here. She pulled back slightly, reaching up to scratch at her cheek the way she always did when she was feeling awkward. She looked down at her feet and then grinned at Eveleen, bright and happy, hoping she would forgive her obviously dim best mate’s lapse in proper judgment.

”Oh! I also really need a lady’s opinion as my mother is biased, I look okay right?” Ember asked hopefully. ”For…er… Well, you know.” The Gryffindor’s cheeks went pink a bit as she thought about Sophia and she reached up, flicking at Eveleen’s sunglasses gently, trying to distract herself. ”Those are neat. And you’re looking absolutely marvelous, my darling. Are you almost ready to head out? I can help you finish packing if you need me to.” Ember jabbered on slightly, not really sure what else to say when she knew she was in trouble. It was a tactic she used a lot though, to get out of being given a detention. Distract until they forgot.

Ember winced openly at Eveleen’s words, knowing she was in some serious trouble this time. Eveleen usually forgave her pretty easily, though, there had been a few occasions in which she’d had to bribe her a bit but Ember was almost certain the Ravenclaw had done it on purpose for the chocolate. That was all it took though, was for Eveleen to refuse her apology, for Ember to be properly scolded. She loved the girl so much that knowing she had done something to upset her, well… it was enough of a bad feeling to know never to do the thing again. Right, never show up at Eveleen’s door unless it was an absolute emergency, or she was actually invited to do so, which would most likely never, ever happen as it hadn’t in the past nearly six years of their relationship. So, it was a token of her deep regret that kept the Gryffindor quiet, her mouth shut tightly as Eveleen moved about, getting the things done that she still needed to do. She followed after her, from car to apartment and back again, not wanting to let her out of her sight too much with those two men on the couch.

Leaning against the car, Ember waited, as Eveleen bid her mother goodbye, and then turned, staring at the passenger side door for a moment before her eyes found the handle. She tugged at it, stumbling backwards slightly as it opened much quicker than anticipated, not smooth like a regular door did. She had never been in a car before, always going by foot or Floo to where she needed to go. Her mother always side-along apparated with her to get to the Hogwarts Express platform as it was much easier than trying to drag a child through to the closest floo and then walk through Muggle London just to get to the station.

Ember tossed her rucksack into the back seat before climbing in, reaching and tugging the door shut with a slight air of awkwardness. She blinked, looking around, eyes fixating mostly on the buttons in the center of the dashboard, the gleaming numbers on the clock. It took her a moment to even realize that was what it was, having never seen a digital one before, so much more used to the classic hands and face. She opened her mouth, about to ask Eveleen about all of the buttons and things, but quickly shut it, not wanting to dig herself deeper into a hole with her best mate. Instead, she had a silent battle with the seat belt, once she had watched Eveleen put hers on. She wasn’t sure of the purpose, but then again… she didn’t understand half the things Muggles did. She located her belt, by the upper part of her seat, and tugged at the wrong end first, getting only momentarily confused when it stuck and didn’t want to come to her. So she grabbed the other end, and ahhhh… there it was. She pulled, getting the belt to behave as she turned, finding both halves of the buckle and connecting them… backwards at first, and then flipping until they clicked together. She smiled slightly and released the belt, only to have the slack of it shoot back at her slowly, tightening around her.

So proud of herself, Ember turned to look at Eveleen, about to tell her to see, but paused, turning back away, remembering she was in the middle of being punished for doing something naughty. Instead, Ember brought her heels up onto the edge of the seat, hugging her legs and resting her chin down on her knees, tilting her head slightly to gaze at Eveleen as the Ravenclaw moved, letting her head rest on the steering wheels. The captain’s wheel, Ember thought to herself. Did that mean she was the first mate because she was in the front seat? Well, she was no pirate, but perhaps knights and pirates both did have swords, so maybe it was alright.

As Eveleen turned in her direction, Ember held her breath, waiting for a proper scolding, but it never came. Eveleen just gazed at her, and then spoke, her words not being what Ember had expected. She felt her cheeks tinge slightly pink as Eveleen told her she looked beautiful, her skin never hiding the blood flow when it happened. She smiled, gentle, reaching out and patting Eveleen’s head before leaning over and planting a kiss on her cheek. ”Thanks… I brought cake. From Madam Puddiefoot’s. Mam got it special for you.” However, the Gryffindor did not tell Eveleen how much her words meant to her, the simple clarification that she hadn’t failed at being a girl today like she usually did. Or rather, the kind of girl people expected to see when they looked at one, not her usual ragamuffin self with the wild hair, torn up clothes, blood, bruises, dirt, and bandages decorating her skin. She’d had her Mam heal her all up yesterday, not wanting Sophia to worry about not being around to do it over the past few weeks.

Ember shifted slightly, digging into her pocket as Eveleen asked about Sophia’s address. She hadn’t managed to memorize it yet, so she’d written it down at the end of the school year before she’d had to bid the sweet Hufflepuff goodbye. That had been hard… She’d thought she’d hug all the air out of Sophia before she’d finally let her go. And then promptly hugged all of the air out of Eveleen as well. ”Here. It’s this one.” Ember flipped the parchment over, away from Eveleen’s address and read it out loud, her heart beginning to thrum. Her palms started to sweat and she rubbed them quickly on her skirt, hugging her legs once more. ”So-phi-ah.” She grinned, the name spilling from her lips with as much love as she had in her, giddy as she hugged her legs tighter, shaking with joy at the idea of seeing the girl she was desperately in love with again. Her eyes dashed around as the car moved, not used to the vibrations of it, though, it wasn’t too different from the train. The main thing was that Eveleen was in control of it, and that was actually quite a reassuring thought. Eveleen was reliable and good at things, why should driving a car be any different? ”Sooo… the buttons…?” The Gryffindor reached forward, finger lingering slightly over one of the radio buttons, eyes gazing at Eveleen curiously.

Ember quickly pulled her hand back, slightly startled by Eveleen’s sudden outburst about not touching the buttons. She gazed at her friend, blue eyes wide, darting between Eveleen’s face and the buttons, wondering what possible purpose they could serve that would have her Ravenclaw reacting in such a way. What kind of things did those buttons do? Shoot fireballs, perhaps? Make them invisible? Ooo… or maybe it set off those lights she sometimes saw on cars, the ones with the sirens, though, Eveleen’s didn’t appear to have any lights on top of it. Bummer. Although, if Ember remembered correctly from her Muggle Studies class, those kinds of vehicles belonged to some kind of Muggle law enforcement group… Peace-men? That seemed like the right name for someone trying to catch criminals. Okay, now she was really tempted to press the buttons. However, the Gryffindor lifted both hands in the air, a sign of surrender, and then, sat on them. She had already used up all of her forgivable action points by showing up at Eveleen‘s door unexpectedly and she did not want to push her mate’s buttons (literally or figuratively) any further than she already had. Especially when the Ravenclaw had all the power to get them where they were going. Ember had no clue where the musical festival was, let alone Sophia‘s street. It was a small miracle she‘d even managed to find Eveleen‘s. To be honest, Eveleen also already seemed to be a bit on edge, which both surprised and intrigued Ember. Normally the Ravenclaw was so… level headed. ”The buttons are off limits. Got it.”

Upon being delegated a task to keep her busy for a couple of minutes, Ember’s hands flung free from beneath her thighs and she turned in her seat. Her eyes scanned the backseat, moving over her bag and falling upon Eveleen’s. She reached, stretching and straining slightly at the seat belt to grab hold of the rather girly case the Ravenclaw had described. ”Aye, ‘leen.” The Gryffindor beamed, fingers barely managing to pinch the corner of the case before she fell back into her seat, pulling it with her. She tugged it open, eyes lighting up with wonder as she was greeted by small round things. They looked kind of like impossibly flat, metal donuts, and yet, she knew there was no way they were for eating. Her head tilted to one side in pure curiosity as she flipped through the folders, reading the titles. Some were more colorful than others, some had strange names, and occasionally, a list with more titles. Ember went through them all, twice, an inkling towards their purpose on the tip of her tongue. Eveleen had said they were some kind of Muggle magic. The small discs reminded her of something… ”Oh! Shit. ‘leen?! Are these baby records?”

Ember’s eyes danced as she finally selected one of the discs, holding it by slipping one finger through the center hole, gazing at it with wonder. She knew what records were. They went on a gramophone, a device with a crank and large funnel-type thing that emitted the sound. One of her great aunts had one, an old thing sitting in the corner of the living room that she had always yelled at Ember for getting too close to, especially when she had been smaller. Though, if old Aunty Carla was feeling generous, she occasionally let Ember, or one of her cousins, turn the crank with her. Slow and deliberate movements until it had gone far enough. Then she would place the needle and they would all stand back as the sounds from the record somehow were carried up through the funnel. It still astounded the Gryffindor, actually, whenever she went to visit Aunty Clara down the lane, not because music was rare in her clan, but because the gramophone was so different from the wireless radios that could be found in every house on Ember’s street. Ember had such a radio on the desk of her bedroom that occasionally managed to pick up a Muggle station, but those were usually so staticy, unable to make it’s way through due to the sheer amount of magic in the air. She preferred the wizarding stations that came in clear anyway, the songs familiar and comforting, though, her favorite to listen to was the one that covered all of the Quidditch matches for the British and Irish Quidditch League.

”Where’s your gramophone?” The Gryffindor asked without waiting for an answer of confirmation that these were, indeed, ’baby records’ as she’d called them. Her eyes glanced around, finally landing on something that resembled a crank attached to the inside of her door. That had to be it! Oh, but where did the record go? Hmmm… Well, she could start the crank at least. Switching the CD to her right hand, preferring her left (which was closer to the door anyway), Ember leaned forward, grabbed hold of the crank, and turned. A slight breeze started to play at her hair and she looked up, having not expected that, and stared, as the window moved downwards while she continued to crank the handle as far as it went. Her cheeks heated up and she laughed, turning her head to look at Eveleen as the wind from the movement of the car rushed in, sending her hair back in an impossibly pleasant way. Unable to help herself, Ember leaned, letting her head go slightly out of the window, letting the wind whip at her face the same way it did when she was flying, but not nearly as hard. And then she remembered how long her mother had worked on her hair and pulled her head back in. They hadn’t even gotten to Sophia yet, and here she was, almost ruining her curls for a moment of exhilaration.

Rolling up the window and setting the CD down in her lap, Ember panicked slightly, hands reaching up and stroking down the sides of her head, trying to make sure she hadn’t actually gone and screwed up her hair the one time it was pretty. Normally she wouldn’t have cared less, but something in her was girly today, an inner need to impress Sophia’s mother by not being some kind of ragtag wild child. She was, technically, an adult now, at least in the wizarding world, even if she didn’t feel like it. She leaned, peeking at her head in the little mirror Eveleen had been using to look behind them out the back window without touching it, and grimaced. She swore, the highly inappropriate Irish words rolling off her tongue with ease, using her fingers to try and rearrange her locks into what she deemed presentable for today, though, she hadn’t actually screwed them up. They were just slightly out of place, oh but Sophia… Sweet, darling Sophia, who was always seemed so well put together and organized when she was relaxed and not afraid of someone attacking her. Sophia, who had never seemed to care what Ember looked like and hugged her even when she was sweaty and covered in blood and dirt.

”Aye. Got one. Not sure what’s on it though.” Ember sighed, stopping her fussing with her hair and lifting the CD again. It was a plain blue one, permanent marker words on the front. ”Eveleen’s Bootilicious Dance Mix. Anything involving your impossibly sexy booty must be good, but girl, them aaaaankles.” The Gryffindor drawled slightly, winking as she held out the CD, hoping to try and ease whatever had Eveleen acting slightly anxious. They had written a couple of times over the past few weeks of course, making sure they had all of their plans and place for certain. The Ravenclaw had said she hoped Duane would be joining them, but that he might not be able to. Comparing her own feelings towards Sophia and knowing how she would be if the Hufflepuff wasn’t a sure presence on this adventure, Ember was certain Eveleen might be a little bummed if Duane didn’t come. Especially as she knew that Eveleen cared for the boy enough to give her Vcard to him, and since Eveleen had never shown any desire toward any kind of relationship prior to the Slytherin, there had to be something impossibly special about Duane that Ember couldn’t see. It was her duty, as best mate, to make sure the Ravenclaw was happy and had a good time on this trip even if her boyfriend ended up not coming. Thinking about the closeness Eveleen had with Duane made the Gryffindor’s heart ache a little bit, longing for the same thing with that adorable little mouse of a Hufflepuff. At first she had worried her organ was failing, like her father’s had, but that wasn’t possible. It had to be emotional as the Healers had looked her own heart over when she was eleven with such scrutiny, it had been determined, that while possible for it to be like her father’s, it was strong and unlikely to cause her any problems.

”Do you think Mouse is excited to see us? Merlin, what if her Mum doesn‘t like us? I‘d have to wait til September to admire her splendid arse… No offense to your gorgeous butt, but hers… Whew…” The Gryffindor exhaled noisily on purpose, her eyes glazing over slightly. She, admittedly, had sometimes lingered slightly when strolling with Sophia, just so she could take a moment to watch her walk, especially if the Hufflepuff was wearing that one pair of jeans that seemed to hug her more than the others. Her eyes cleared as she pointed to the CD. ”In all seriousness though, please tell me I’m right about this being a baby record.”

Ember watched, eyes full of wonder, as Eveleen fed the disc to the car. At least, that was how it looked to Ember. One second it was there, the next, it had been taken into a slit near the odd clock. The oddest thing, was how it seemed to of grabbed the thing from Eveleen's hand as soon as it was inserted far enough. Ember decided, right there and then, that she was not going to be putting her fingers anywhere near that thin hole. "It ate it." She stated bluntly, watching as Eveleen braved the buttons, the display in the clock changing, filtering through the letter T and some numbers until it hit five. Things seemed to click and whir within the slit for a moment before the music began to play. It was an odd sort, obviously Muggle in origin and Ember had no name for the genre. The beat was good, and while she didn't catch half to the lyrics, Ember liked it. She could tell in the way it was starting to make her butt jiggle. "I have no clue what you just said aside from that fact that it was all probably some form of gibberish, but color me impressed with your Muggle magic."

The Gryffindor grinned, pointing at the closest heating vent, mistaking it for a speaker . Eveleen had quite a few speakers, though she supposed that might just be how the Muggle magic worked. "What is this? It is bloody fantastic!"Ember watched as Eveleen braved going near the slot again, increasing the volume of the music, and unable to help herself, the Gryffindor began to wiggle in her seat, rocking out as close a pace to the pumping bass as she could get. However, she was not a good dancer in the first place, let alone stuck sitting down. She just kind of ended up looking like some flailing monstrosity who had lost complete logical control of their body. Oh, but that was half the fun anyway.

Ember's terrible dancing ceased as soon as Eveleen began speaking again. She smiled at the small jibe, knowing perfectly well exactly how much her own mother absolutely adored Eveleen. But then, what was there not to like about the Ravenclaw? Well, aside from her ridiculous fear of heights, but then, some things just could not be helped. No, her mother's love for the girl mirrored Ember's own. She wasn't sure if it was because Eveleen was the first true friend Ember had brought home, or if it was simply the Ravenclaw's personality that had hooked Meghan Stonefyre, but whatever it was, her mother approved in her choice of a best mate. And usually asked Ember why she couldn't try to at least behave a little more like Eveleen on a daily basis. She just hoped Sophia's Mum liked them nearly as much as her own mother did.

"Eveleen, you're going to make my head inflate." Ember smiled, shaking said head, but much appreciating her friend's words. It calmed her slightly, her nerves running a bit less rampant. The Gryffindor tended to have a bit of an ego and she knew it. She would not have been opposed to hearing every single little lovable thing about herself in detail from her best mate. Ember laughed, bouncing forward slightly as Eveleen quickly brought the car to a stop, deliberated their location, and get them moving back the way they had just come from. Ember's seat belt locked into place from the jolt, but she didn't notice, not yet at least. "Lady Eveleen, mine earlobes would do thy armpits so hard the plaster would fall off the walls and they'd still be asking for more. Sophia might not have a choice in the matter. My earlobes are quite irresistible, though, I like to think her mother has much more class than to let that capture her heart. Especially as mine is quite hopelessly taken already. Oh the scandal! Although, if she sees your kneecaps before she sees my ear lobes..." Ember taunted, wiggling her eyebrows as Eveleen parked the car. She blinked, head shooting around to stare up at Sophia's building, heart starting to race again.

Thus, the great battle against the seat belt resumed. Ember leaned, took a moment to figure out how the inside of the car door worked, and pushed it open. She swung one foot out, and then was quite bound still to the seat, having forgotten to undo the belt. The red head struggled against it for a moment before stilling and looking down, her cheeks flaming up. She was not normally one for blushing in such situations, however, she really hoped the Hufflepuff was not looking out her window. Ember turned, still straining against the belt, and found the button to undo it. She fell quite gracefully out of the car, knee hitting and scraping against the side walk. Pausing for a second, Ember assessed the situation and decided she had won the battle before pushing to her feet, drawing her wooden sword from her belt, and raising it in the air much like she had always done with her broomstick. The Gryffindor beamed at Eveleen in victory, ignoring the stinging in her knee that indicated she'd taken a couple layers of skin off of it, but at least it wasn't bleeding. "Come, my fair companion! Let us seek out the ever delightful Lady Healer."

Ember reached out, grabbed hold of Eveleen's hand, and promptly took off running. She dragged the Ravenclaw along, in through the doors of the building and then up the stairs, taking them two at a time to the second floor where she was pretty sure Sophia's home was located. She stopped at the top, staring down the hallway for a moment before her eyes found the right door number. Marching over to it, Ember kept a firm hold on Eveleen's hand, her own sweaty and shaking slightly from the adrenaline currently coursing through her system. Then, the Gryffindor hesitated, looking from the door to Eveleen and back again before getting her nerves under control enough to actually knock. After which, Ember promptly took a side step backwards, behind Eveleen, effectively hiding herself while still remaining in view. She gripped onto her best mate's hand tightly, not entirely sure why she was so anxious about this. It was only Sophia and her mum after all... She was being silly. Ember didn't get nervous and if she did it was a very rare occurrence with an actual reasonable explanation. And she especially didn't partially hide behind Eveleen. Merlin, what was wrong with her?

"I hear footsteps, do you hear footsteps, pretty sure those are footsteps." Ember stated quickly, leaning forward slightly so she could whisper it in Eveleen's ear as well as place her chin down on the shorter girl's shoulder. The smell of chocolate and laundry soap surrounded her brain and she calmed. She reached forward, wrapping both arms tightly around the Ravenclaw's waist, holding onto her, feeling as if she didn't hug something she might explode.