Whispers in the Hollow

”Mouse…?” Ember stared, confused for a moment before Sophia was leaning in, taking her cheek and quite boldly pressing their lips together again. The Gryffindor's eyes closed and she released a content little sigh mixed with a laugh of amusement, allowing herself to melt into the other girl as though it were as natural as breathing. Her own body moved, shifting to better accommodate the closeness needed for such kisses. Her leg maneuvered, slipping between Sophia's as the Hufflepuff draped hers around Ember's, the Gryffindor's bending upwards, bare thigh pressing gently upwards at the juncture of Sophia's thighs, simply comfortable. A long freckled arm came up, splaying over Sophia's waist, palm planting flat against the Hufflpuff's back and tugging her closer as well. Her fingers moved gently, tracing small spirals against the fabric of Sophia's shirt, accidentally causing it to ride up until she hit skin. She didn't shy away though, simply letting her hand press the shirt a bit higher, feeling at the soft surface of Sophia's bare back, relishing the shape of it, tracing her spine with her fingertips.

The redhead moved again, tilting slightly, her tongue playing along her girlfriend's lower lip questioningly, fully intent on pressing the Hufflepuff onto her back so she could kiss her more properly from above. However, before she had even managed to do so, she stopped, letting her body roll back more fully onto her side, remembering all too clearly what had happened the last time she had pinned Sophia beneath her. She had frightened the Hufflepuff to the point where she hadn't even recognized her, screaming and freaking out, turning Ember totally upside-down above her on the couch in the gamekeeper's hut. Sophia had been so afraid… and Ember had vowed she'd never do anything to cause such a reaction ever again. So, she backed off a bit, behaving and doing her best to be gentle, letting Sophia lead instead of pressing for more than she knew the Hufflepuff was ready for.

Pulling her head away, Ember broke the kiss, staring at Sophia tenderly, her own cheeks flushed with wonder and excitement that this was actually happening. Lifting her hand, the redhead pushed back some of Sophia's hair from her cheek, kissing at her nose, her mouth, her eyes. ”Foc, Sophia. You're so. Damn. Cute.” She enunciated each word with another press of her lips to skin, not caring where they landed so long as it was someone on that gorgeous face. One finger found a lock of Sophia's hair, twirling it as Ember gazed at her her eyes sleepy again now that she was beginning to settle into the pillows and warmth that was the gorgeous being beside her. Her lips moved, an old tune flowing from between them, her voice awkward but gentle, fingers still idly playing at Sophia's hair. ”Cooome ooover the hills…. My bonnie Irish lass. Come oveeer the hills… to your daaaahlin'. You pick the rose love… and I'llll make the vow. And I'll be your...”

Ember paused, her cheeks heating up scarlet at the end of the line, unable to finish it at the moment. She had barely just entered this relationship with Sophia, it was brand new by minutes, not even an hour old… there was no way she could finish that line and not feel awkward about it, or worry about scaring the poor Hufflepuff off. So, instead, Ember gulped, and pushed up a bit. ”My Da...” She said simply, reaching down the bed to her desk. She pulled open the top drawer, extracting a leather bound book, and flopping back again. She pushed the front cover open, holding it up so they could both see. ”He was always singing. That was his favorite song… mine too. He always sang it at bedtime. I… I still do sometimes.” Ember admitted, cheeks still red.

The book wasn't so much a novel as it was a scrapbook. Eveleen had made it for her in her fifth year for Christmas with a lot of help from Meghan to gather things to actually put into it. There were scraps of torn jeans, first place ribbons from flying competitions, broom idea sketches, and a chipped piece of tooth from one of the Gryffindor's molars that wasn't visible when she smiled but barely just. However, it was mostly photos. ”I don't think I've ever shown you...” Ember turned a couple of pages, skipping over photos from when she'd been a tiny little thing with an impossible amount of long, brightly colored curls. Instead, she found what she was looking for, the page opening more easily than the others, obviously gazed at often. ”This one.”

It was a man. Not exceptionally old nor young, his hair brown and decently long, flowing in waves down to his shoulders. Sky blue eyes shone from his face, mouth moving to form a crooked grin, not looking at the camera, but rather, the tiny red-headed thing perched on his work table. Ember was probably about nine, both her front teeth missing, long thing legs dangling and freckled, kicking back and forth as she grinned up at whomever was taking the photo. ”I love this one. Dunno why… there's plenty of them, but this one…” The Gryffindor shrugged, stroking a finger down the edge of the picture solemnly.