InsaneJournal

Who: Dewi Sullivan and Henrietta Pucey
What: Looking for things, finding unexpected things
When: 5 October, Sunday
Where: Dewi's flat
Rating: PG-13, at most

Hooking up with Dewi the night before had been just what the healer ordered. All right, maybe the healer that had patched Hen up after she was out of the match didn’t specifically say that, or anything at all related to it, but in Hen’s opinion, they should have. She’d been mad at herself for getting hit by that last bludger - she’d seen it out of the corner of her eye, but didn’t have time to react before it had hit her straight on the head. The hit hadn’t been the worst she’d ever had, but the healers had insisted on checking out every single bloody thing, since head injuries were the worst kind to get. She knew she didn’t have a chance of getting back in the game, even if they were done with their poking and prodding before Albus caught the snitch, ending the match.

She’d had plans to go out with a friend who had just gone through a bad breakup, and she saw no point in cancelling them. The healers had said she was fine, although they’d suggested a good night’s sleep wouldn’t hurt. So she went out, planning on not staying too long, and not drinking, figuring that was a good compromise. Another friend had shown up later, so leaving her first friend with her second friend, Hen headed out of the bar, only to run into Dewi.

Now that it was morning, Hen didn’t regret it at all (Dewi was a really nice guy, who she didn’t need to give the ‘I don’t want anything more than friendship’ speech to). Of course, she did feel a little bad for hooking up at the flat that was her brother’s, but they’d apparated straight to Dewi’s room, and Hen figured she could avoid Doug just fine. She was up and putting her clothes back on, getting ready to leave, except she couldn’t find her shoes.

She made a face and sat on the bed next to a still-snoozing Dewi. She poked him lightly in the side. “Hey Dewi, are you awake?” she asked, at her normal volume.

One of the lovely things about Dewi’s work, and there was a lot that was lovely about it, was the fact that he was usually able to sleep in. Which is pretty handy when you’re living a go-out-and-dance-and-bring-a-girl-home sort of lifestyle. Dewi was a pleasant sort of bloke anyway, but never having to make up for lost sleep definitely helped him stay easygoing, even when he was being woken up after a busy night.

“Nnn, wha’s that luv?” he said, rubbing his eyes ineffectively against the sound. He yawned and squinted up at her, mouth dropping into a grin when he saw who it was. Ah, Henny Penny, tha’s right. Good girl -- lady -- woman? Good whatever, helpin’ a bloke celebrate even when she’d had a loss herself. Good on her. Good night, too, even before he ran into her. Duw but a good win was a great thing. Made you feel like you could dance for hours, made you wanna try. And he wasn’t even on a broom!

Maybe that was why he’d been out so long even after the team celebration. Hadn’t been able to work off enough of the energy just plain mascotin’ -- tried, but he needed more.

Henrietta grinned at his sleepy state. He was cute that way, although she would probably steer him towards the loo to brush his teeth before she’d kiss him again. But she was that way with most blokes. Despite her hippie, free-range, all-natural lifestyle, she was surprisingly strict about the very basics of dental and personal hygiene. You could care about the environment and make sure you didn’t make everyone in a five-meter radius wish they had a cold.

“Oh, you are awake,” she said innocently, as if she hadn’t just caused the waking up herself. “Good. So, I need your help. It’s very important,” she added, her face not betraying the fact that she was not at all serious.

Dewi covered his mouth as his face split in another yawn -- ladies don’t like the morning breath, mate -- and he slid up to a sitting position. “Suuuuure am, luv, and what’s all the fuss then?” You’d be hard pressed to find Dewi looking entirely serious, even woken up in the middle of a good sleep. He had a face full of friendly creases and eyes that smiled without any input. But you couldn’t say no to a nice girl you’d had a nice night with, not when your muscles were still pleasantly weary from it.

“I can’t find my shoes,” Hen said, wrinkling her nose. “I thought I tossed them over there” - she pointed towards the door - “but I can’t find them.” And it wasn’t so much that she cared about the shoes. Material possessions could always be replaced. But these were a rather distinctive pair of trainers that she’d drawn all over, and Doug was sure to recognize him. The last thing she needed was him walking into Dewi’s room for something and spotting his sister’s shoes.

“Can you help me look?”

“Sure sure,” Dewi said, yawning again. Funny how a girl could care so much about a pair of shoes, even a girl like Hen -- and when she could just as easy apparate home without ‘em, too. It didn’t occur to him that it might be because of her brother. Doug knew they’d hooked up before and hadn’t got berkish about it, so as far as Dewi was concerned, it wasn’t like to upset ‘im now. Whether that was true, o’ course, was another matter.

“Just lemme hit the loo first, an’ I’ll be all right to help ya,” he said, sliding out from the sheets and grabbing his boxers.

“Thanks Dewi,” Hen said, running her fingers through her more-than-a-little-disheveled hair. She watched Dewi leave the room, then put her hands on her hips and surveyed the room. She’d looked in that corner, and that one. Her eyes rested on the closet door. She hadn’t opened it, but maybe Dewi had thrown them in there when she wasn’t looking?

She shrugged and went to open the closet door, not really thinking about the fact that this might be called snooping. She wouldn’t have cared if the situation was reversed and it was her closet Dewi was searching for shoes in. The door open, she looked inside, then blinked once or twice before opening the door further. The head of Kitty Catapult was staring back at her. “Huh,” she said to herself. Either Dewi was the mascot or he’d slept with the person in the kitty costume directly before her. The latter seemed unlikely.
The toilets were right around the corner, just barely out the door, and Dewi wasn’t there long. Though he didn’t take the shoe-situation too serious -- they’d be there somewhere, and even if the floor’d opened up and swallowed ‘em Hen could buy new shoes easy enough -- there wasn’t much to do in the WC, and nothing to interest him more than the pretty girl in his room. He was slowed down more by Elliott than anything else, the cat having followed him with a welcoming chirrup as soon as he set foot out the bedroom door. Poor little guy hated being locked out, and he loved a chance to drink from the faucet.

In a jiff-and-a-half he was done, and snatching up his slightly-damp cat, he called out cheerfully to Henrietta with a complete lack of consideration to anyone else in the flat who might still be sleeping. “Find anythin’ yet, luv?” He didn’t wait for an answer, but followed the question back into his bedroom. He was halfway across the room when he realized where Hen was looking, and he didn’t have to see past her to know exactly what she’d stumbled across. The memory of last-night-before-the-party popped up in his mind with a guilty start -- being so pumped up and eager to celebrate that he’d thrown off Kitty and shoved her in the closet… apparently without bothering to put up the usual wards to keep anyone but him from opening it.

“Aw hell, not again,” Dewi said.

Hen felt slightly guilty at that, but not terribly guilty. She’d discovered he was a mascot, not a serial killer or something. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

Still, she knew she had to seem properly apologetic. And she was. Just not terribly so. “I’m sorry, Dewi,” she said. “I thought you might have tossed them in there or something…” She shrugged. It sounded like an even lamer excuse when she said it out loud. “It’s early,” she admitted. “I’m not thinking too clearly. But I won’t tell anyone, promise.”

Elliott the traitor-cat, friendliest beast in the flat (tho he seemed to forget who fed ‘im!) wriggled from Dewi’s arms and jumped down to rub himself against Hen’s ankles.

“Aw, well,” he said, scratching his head. Of all the people who could’ve found out, Henny Penny was one of the safer. She didn’t need anything from him, she didn’t expect anything from him. And maybe she’d not judge him for it too much, like he thought some girls would. Even the muggle girl who’d found Kitty before, she just thought he was kinky. So it could be worse.

“Thanks, luv,” he concluded. “Had good luck not gettin’ hit in the groin yet, an’ if word got out she ain’t a lady all through I wouldn’t escape it much longer.”

Henrietta reached down to obligingly scratch Elliott behind the ears, then easily jumped from her spot near the closet onto the bed. She didn’t even need to use her excellent Chaser skills, since his room was small enough that the leap wasn’t far. She landed with a less than graceful thump on her rear, but luckily James wasn’t around to see it and correct her form.

“Well, I think it’s cool,” she said. “I’d never have guessed it, so you’re doing a great job of it, obviously.” And really, it didn’t make her think much differently about Dewi. If anything, it might have made her admire him a bit more. She’d always thought he was the type of guy who was more in touch with his feminine side than most, but she hadn’t guessed how much that was.

“Well, if I didn’t have so many errands to run this morning, I’d suggest another go,” she said, already moving on from the Kitty thing to the next topic. “But I really do have to run.” She sighed and looked around once more. Had her shoes been charmed to walk off on their own when she wasn’t looking? “Let me know when the shoes show up.”

“S’a job an’ a role,” Dewi said with a sheepish shrug. “Fun too, good exercise -- great team. S’worked out alright, alright.” After the girl who called him a furry (tho she’d been pretty adventurous herself) he hadn’t expected anyone to think it was cool. He wasn’t ashamed or nothin’! Folks just didn’t understand.

It was probably good Dewi couldn’t read her mind, though, because while he wasn’t exactly a Macho Macho Man, in touch with his feminine side wasn’t really how he thought of himself either.

But he couldn’t read her mind, so surprised, pleased and a little sheepish was all he felt -- and less sheepish by the second, especially when she jumped back on his bed.

“Awwww. But you got all day for errands,” he said, hopping up next to her and grinning up close.

Hen leaned back as he leaned towards her. “But you have a limited amount of time before you kill me with your morning breath,” she said, giving him a friendly pat on the knee.

“I tell you what,” she continued. “Next time the Arrows win, I’ll come to you for a private celebration party. Sound fair?”

“Sure sure, it’s a deal,” Dewi said, disappointed but not crushed. Now was better than later, but later was better than ohmygodwhat’swrongwithyou. He hopped back off the bed and onto his feet -- but not before giving Hen a quick peck on the cheek, turning his departure into half an escape from potential hippie-feminist wrath. Not that he didn’t respect Henny Penny, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t gonna tease her!

“And make sure Doug doesn’t find my shoes,” was Hen’s parting remark before pulling her wand out of her pocket and Apparating home.