Who: Mandy & Padma When: Friday, 5 December Where: Ravenclaw dormitory Rating: G What: birthday gifts! and mud!
Muddy boots, muddy trousers, muddy uniform, and a muddy broom in the broomshed. Ravenclaw Quidditch practise had been, well, muddy. Wrinkling her nose, Mandy traipsed through the common room, trying to keep as much of the grime on her rather than the floor or furnishings; no need to be a complete slob. And it was chilly; the castle in December was always freezing, but after a good Quidditch practise, it was worse. She grinned, however, when she saw the letter on her nightstand, containing the promise of tickets to two matches over the hols, and the thought of a gift picked out by herself, courtesy of her parents. Overall, not a bad birthday. She laid clean robes out on her bed, then busied herself with readying for a hot bath to wash away the mud that seemed to be growing. Maybe it was actually a lifeform?
Mandy's path to their dormitory was an easy one to follow, and Padma smiled, casting a small Charm without thinking to tidy much of the unwittingly tracked mess. Small package in hand after a rather fortuitous visit paid by owl, though not the one she hoped most for, Padma ascended the stairs, grinning at the moment's contemplation on Mandy's face before the Ravenclaw took notice of her. "A new birthday ritual, perhaps? Does the slathering of mud signify birthing blood?"
"And the ritual sacrifice of dozens of small animals, in honour of my birth." Mandy looked up from her inspection of the mud on her uniform top. "Is this moving?"
Stepping closer, though not so much that she might be muddied in turn, Padma studied the splattered pattern of mud on Mandy's uniform with a look of absolute seriousness. "You may have been contaminated. I'm sure Luna has a copy of The Quibbler lying about with a detailed description of miniscule mud creatures. Shall I ask her?"
"I may have been. Aliens from Saturn have come to roost in my Quidditch uniform. This means only one thing," Mandy stated solemnly, looking up and into Padma's eyes. She let the moment draw out, face completely serious. "They play Quidditch on Saturn."
Laughing, Padma shuffled the package in her hands. "A far finer gift on your birthday than I can offer."
Letting the tail of the shirt fall, Mandy wiped her hands on the front of her uniform. "I honestly don't know how I got so messy. I feel like I'm five years old," she complained. Tossing the rest of her cleaning essentials (including a yellow rubber duck, given as a gift from her brother before term started) into her bucket, she shook her head slightly. "You didn't need to get me anything, dearest."
"Need had naught to do with it." Padma considered Mandy's rather muddied condition, holding fast to the gift. "I'm not sure if I'm proferring a gift to the traveling Quidditch pitch or to you."
It took great strength of will to not launch into trying to sell a Quidditch pitch. "Depends on which me you mean. I believe that there are several of them." She grinned, though. "Oh, come on, Padma, please? I won't get it too terribly dirty. Promise."
Her reluctance having been mostly in jest, Padma readily relinquished the package.
Curiosity piqued by the oddly-shaped package, Mandy turned it over in her hands, testing its length and the variations in shape before slipping her fingers beneath the paper. "This," she said, "is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant." Grinning broadly, she turned the small, antique telescope over and over in her hand. "I mean it, Padma, this is so very wonderful. Thank you."
Beaming, Padma inclined her head to her friend. "I know some have thought to alter the few misnamed stars or systems, but I thought it charming as it was."
"You're right, it makes it more interesting... I'm glad only a few were changed," Mandy admitted. She caught her lip between her teeth. "Oh, now I don't want to bathe. I want to run to the Astronomy tower and play. See what havoc you've wreaked with a simple gift?"
Crossing to her bed and lifting a book from the window sill nearest, Padma composed herself. "There is never such mischief managed without some intent." Her grin was broad and teasing as she glanced at Mandy. "You'll manage a bath before I finish a single page, I'm sure."
Mandy raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge? I think it is."
Padma shrugged, opening the book and settling it in her lap. Her eyes crossed from page to Mandy's still form, something akin to taunting glinting in her eyes.
Slowly, deliberately, Mandy placed her gift on the bed and retrieved her towel and bucket. "I accept," she drawled, walking near Padma and, with a merry, mischievous look in her eyes, drew a slightly muddy finger across the other girl's cheek. "And I shall win!" Nose up, she sailed from the room, preceeding herself with trailing towel.
Face wrinkling in laughter, the mud creasing, Padma leaned back against her bedpost, pleased with the smallest of entertainments shared between friends. Eyes roaming in all directions but that of her text, she thought to let the mud dry before going for a wash herself, lamenting not in the least absurd sentimentality.