who ? Padma Patil and Evan Potts. when ? Thursday 1st June, evening. where ? Padma's house, 70 Vertick Alley. what ? Padma needs a little help adulting. warnings/rating ? SFW. status ? Completed in gdocs.
It had been an uneventful day. Too uneventful, really, which had prompted Padma to try cooking something for herself that was more elaborate than pasta and sauce. How hard could it be, really, to grill a kind of vegetarian shepherd's pie? The answer, it turned out, was 'much more difficult than anticipated'. Padma had preheated the grill, as instructed, but when she opened it to put the mushrooms-and-potatoes inside, smoke had billowed out to unexpectedly fill her small kitchen, setting off the smoke-detection spell in the process.
"Oh shut up!" Padma shouted at the screeching patch of wall above her oven, where she could see the spell shimmering. "Finite incantatum!" The spell did nothing, and the wall kept screeching. Worried the neighbours were going to think she was really on fire, Padma tried several more spells - a silencing spell, something to clear the smoke away from the detector (and, thus, more densely into the remainder of the kitchen). When nothing worked, Padma threw up her hands and admitted to herself that she needed help.
Rather than go to her parents, who still treated Padma as a little girl, in Padma's opinion, she apparated to Evan's flat in Hogsmeade. Evan was an architect and would, she theorised, therefore be able to disarm a built-in smoke detector spell. He was also two years younger than Padma, but she was choosing to ignore that particular piece of reality. "Evan!" Her voice was too loud, the sound of the detector still ringing in her ears. "You have to come and make the fire-detection spell stop. Please."
--
Andrew was out at a practice, so Evan had sat down to do some work, before he started on the dinner since there was no rush. That was when the almost panicked knock at the door came. When Padma turned out to be the source for it, Evan frowned at her. “Is there a fire?” He asked only afterwards realising that maybe his tone sounded a bit too excited for his friend’s house being on fire. Fetching his wand and some shoes, Evan held his hand out to Padma so she could apparate them to her house. It turned out there was no fire (not sadly), even if there was an incredibly loud fire alarm.
Tapping his wand against the wall, Evan frowned when the fire alarm didn’t stop. He tried again to the same result and then sighed. “It’s faulty,” he told Padma (or well, tried to, because the alarm really was very loud). Walking out into the corridor, Evan located the source spell, tapping his wand against that. Suddenly the house went silent. “Well, thank fuck for that,” he muttered and then turned to Padma. “The kitchen one’s broken, you need to reset them all,” he explained. “I’ve deactivated them all at the moment, but obviously that isn’t going to be the most optimal solution.”
--
If there'd been an actual fire, Padma would have been a lot more panicked (and probably a lot less annoyed at the smoke-detecting spell). Still, she gave Evan a grateful smile and a 'thank you' when he held out his hand to be apparated to her house. Watching, she followed him into the corridor, looking up curiously at the bit of wall he'd tapped and breathing out an enormous sigh of relief when the screeching finally stopped. "Thank you," she said again. "You're the best." She gave him a grateful hug before stepping back to look at the wall again. "And… how do I do that?" she asked, when Evan said the spells needed to be reset. Padma wasn't stupid, but she'd never lived alone before she found this house, and there were a lot of things people apparently assumed you knew when you were 27, even if they knew you'd been in education pretty much all your life.
"Do you want a cup of tea? And a biscuit?" Padma lead the way into the kitchen, turning the oven off with a flick of her wand. "Maybe I'll stick to the oven and the hob in future," she said. "I've never grilled anything before, I didn't know it was going to fill with smoke." Most of the smoke seemed to have dissipated, at least, though Padma could still smell the tang of it in the air. "Tell me you had cooking disasters when you moved into your place too," she said, smiling. "It'll make me feel better." The food, though uncooked, was at least fine, and not burned to a crisp or anything. Padma felt quite proud about that, despite the mishap.
--
"You don't," Evan replied when Padma asked how she went about fixing the firespells. "Do you rent? Because if you do, you should just tell your landlord to update them. That should've happened anyway. Or if you own the house, you need to contact the fire officer in DMLE. Unless they'd been moved somewhere else in the reshuffle," Evan commented with a small frown before giving a nod when Padma asked if he wanted tea, because Evan always wanted tea. "It's not a difficult process, but by law a professional needs to do it. Like I can reset it for you, but it'll just do the same thing again if there's smoke," Evan explained as he followed Padma to the kitchen.
When she said she hadn't grilled anything before and thus hadn't expected smoke, Evan frowned at the cooker. "You need to leave the door ajar when you grill," he explained, before giving a small snort when Padma asked if he'd had cooking disasters in the flat. "I don't trust ovens," he told her seriously. "But I took a cooking class years ago, that helped a lot. Like not to have kitchen disaster, it helped not at all with the mistrust of ovens. But Andrew makes oven things so we balance out," Evan explained. "Before that, I didn't really cook at all. Oh, I did accidentally melt a plate because I didn't realise it was plastic and used it as a lid on a pan?" He offered. "Not quite the same, but still disastrous."
--
It was a relief to hear Evan say she didn't have to do anything, and made Padma feel less like she'd failed at being an independent person. "We rent," she answered, because Padma definitely hadn't felt grown-up enough to buy a house at any point thus far in her life. "I'll get the landlord to sort it." She was sure she had his contact information somewhere, and hopefully he'd respond quite quickly. "Thank you, Evan." She smiled at him, then turned to making tea for them both.
Evan's explanation of how she needed to keep the door ajar explained rather effectively why the oven had filled with so much smoke. "I'll remember that for next time," she promised. Maybe she could even try the shepherd's pie thing again later, once Evan had gone. For now, she was content to have tea and a biscuit. "I thought I knew how to cook," Padma said, looking mournfully at the oven. "I do alright with things in the oven and on the hob." And now, with Evan's help, perhaps she'd do okay with grilled things too. Padma didn't think she really needed to take a class. Maybe if she wanted to do fancier things, but that could wait. She laughed when Evan said he'd melted a plate he'd tried to use. "That definitely counts," she agreed. "Was your meal ruined? Mine should be alright, once I actually cook it the rest of the way."
--
"Oh yes, completely," Evan nodded when Padma asked if he'd ruined the meal. "And the pan," he added because that, too, had had to go in the bin. "But it's okay, because I have Andrew and Andrew doesn't really care about whether I ruin pans, especially not when it's quite funny," Evan added truthfully. Andrew had always been very excellent with Evan's disastrous cooking, he had been there to let Evan not poison him early on and everything. Reaching for the tea once Padma had provided him a mug, Evan blew on it lightly before taking a sip.
Looking around, Evan tried to figure if he'd visited Padma before. Possibly. "It's a nice place," he offered. "You live here with your sister, right?" Evan thought he remembered that, mostly because Padma, like Evan, was a twin. A different kind of twin, because Evan definitely looked nothing like Everley, not that he really thought Padma looked like her sister, but he did know that technically she did. "Everley and I haven't lived together since our parents house," Evan explained. "I did briefly live with my brother," he explained with a small frown. Evan didn't think Nate had much enjoyed that and Evan had mostly just not seen him during their cohabitation. He'd gotten on alright with their other flatmate, one of Nate's friends, but that was probably something that just made it more kind of depressing, that Evan was better at getting on with someone else. To be fair, Evan did get on with a lot of people much better than he did with Nate.
--
"I haven't ruined any pans yet," Padma said, feeling quite glad of that, because pans (and other cooking implements) had been a surprising expense when she'd moved out of student accommodation. "But I'm sure Parvati wouldn't mind if I did, especially if it was funny. I've ruined a few meals though, but never in the same way twice." Padma thought that was probably a pretty good thing, because at least she learned from her mistakes. "I won't leave the oven door closed next time I try to grill something," she promised.
Padma smiled when Evan said it was a nice place. "Thanks," she said. "Parvati and I have very different taste, so the kitchen is a bit of a compromise." Their bedrooms were where the real differences could be seen, because they'd worked on the communal spaces together. She nodded again, to confirm she lived with her sister. "She's away for work a lot, but I've got my Guinea pigs, so I don't get lonely." Anne, Gilbert and Diana were - luckily - in a pen that was cleverly enchanted not to let them get disturbed by noise, or smoke. "How's Wigglebutt?" Padma asked, since she was thinking of pets. "Are he and Jim still getting on?" It was sweet, Padma thought, that the cat and the duckling seemed able to cohabitate. "How long have you lived with Andrew now?"
--
Evan nodded when Padma explained how her and her sister had different tastes. “Everley and I also have different tastes,” Evan offered. He assumed it was the same. To Evan, he didn’t really see what the difference was just because Padma and her twin were ‘identical’ (which, Evan didn’t think they were anyway) and him and Everley not being identical (which they definitely weren’t, Evan was much taller). “Oh, yes, I forgot you have Guinea pigs,” Evan commented. “Do they do tricks?” Not that Evan’s pets did trick so maybe that was an unfair question.
“Jim and Wigglebutt are fine, as tight as ever. Wigglebutt’s now got his little paddle pool so him and Jim hang out at it a lot. I think they like it more than the bath, which is good, because Andrew and I like having our bath back,” Evan said with a small shake of his head before taking a sip of the tea as he thought about how long it’d been since him and Andrew started living together. “About four years?” He offered. “We moved in about a year after we started going out. We rented for a while and then we bought the flat we’re in now,” Evan explained. “I’ve lived with Jim for longer,” he added truthfully.
--
"Do you and Andrew have similar taste?" Padma asked. She'd seen Evan's flat, of course, but she didn't know how much of it had been determined by Evan's tastes and how much (if any) by Andrew's. "Did you and Evie ever share a room? Parvati and I never did officially, but for a while we spent more time together - in whichever room - than apart." And then they'd grown up, and sharing a single bed had become vastly less comfortable. Not to mention less practical, once they got to Hogwarts. "They can do tricks!" Padma answered, smiling with obvious pride and excitement. "Mostly they just come when you call their names, but Gilbert can turn in a circle!" It was a useless trick, but Padma was quite pleased with having taught it all the same.
Padma smiled, then sipped her tea, as Evan talked about his pets. "A little paddle pool!" she exclaimed. "You're so good to your pets, Evan." It was very pleasing to Padma when people spoiled their pets, as long as they did it in ways that offered enrichment, rather than just food that would risk making the pets unhealthy. "I'm glad you and Andrew have your bath back, though. I love my bath, I don't know what I'd do if Anne and Diana decided they wanted to take it over. I already have to fight with Parvati sometimes." They didn't really fight, of course. She nodded when Evan added that he'd lived with Jim longer than Andrew. "But Andrew likes Jim," she said, since that was very much the impression she'd got, "so that's alright."
--
Evan have a small hum when Padma asked if him and Andrew shared a similar taste. The flat had been mostly designed by Evan, so he wasn't quite sure whether he could say it definitely reflected both of their tastes. "I don't think Andrew can be trusted to decorate on his own," Evan decided, because he did mostly imagine ridiculously mismatched colours and a lot of tartan. "But we both wanted a swing in the bedroom, and a bath, so we picked those. And I think most of our colour choices are quite... neutral, I guess?" They weren't boring but they also weren't Gryffindor red. "And I built Andrew a music room, all of that's his," Evan commented.
"No, Everley and I didn't share," he shook his head. "I had my own room," he added since Evan also hadn't shared with Nate. When Padma said Gilbert could roll over, Evan gave an excited 'ooh'. "Can I see it?" He asked looking around as if the mention of the Guinea pigs was going to make them suddenly appear. He did also smile widely at Padma when she told Evan he was good to his pets. Evan did certainly try! He was sure he spoiled both a bit too much, but they were happy and that was what mattered. "Andrew now likes Jim. It did take a while. Which, I mean, you've met Jim, it's not really surprising."
--
Padma frowned slightly when Evan said Andrew couldn't be trusted to decorate on his own. "Why not?" she asked. She didn't know Andrew well enough to guess. "Would he put band posters everywhere?" Padma had known a few people in her Ravenclaw dorm who'd been big fans of posters, and Padma mostly found them a little tacky, especially the ones that winked and flirted exaggeratedly. But, presumably, Andrew had grown out of that - if he'd ever experienced it at all. She smiled at the reminder that Evan's bedroom also had a swing, as well as a bath. "I think those are excellent choices," she said. She wouldn't quite make them herself, but she could certainly see the appeal. "I'd like one of those bench swing things in a garden one day." Her flat had a small garden, but not one really big enough or that sort of thing yet. "Do you have a drawing room, if Andrew gets a music room?"
Only too pleased to show off her training skills, Padma nodded and immediately stood up, carrying her tea through into the living room where the Guinea pigs lived. She sat down beside their pen and called Gilbert over, making sure Evan was in a position where he could see before she prompted him to roll over. It took a couple of attempts, but he did finally oblige. "There!" she exclaimed. "Good boy, Gilbert." After rewarding him for his good behaviour, Padma glanced over at Evan again. "Would you like to pet one?" Thinking back on their conversation about Jim, Padma could certainly see why he might take some getting used to. "At least Wigglebutt's less intimidating," she said. "Than Jim. He's not less intimidating than Guinea pigs." Both were pretty non-threatening.
--
"No," Evan said shaking his head. "He'd put tartan everywhere," he informed Padma. It might not necessarily be true, but Evan was really quite sure that if Andrew had his way, they would have more than a tartan coloured chair and a few quilts. "That sounds nice," Evan commented because a bench swing was definitely something that made a garden look more welcoming, or well, it did in Evan's opinion, and clearly in Padma's, too. "I don't have a drawing room, but I have my drawing table and I do my projects around the flat, I quite like it." And Andrew never complained about the mess, which was nice.
Following Padma to the living room, Evan sat down to watch as Padma called out to Gilbert as Evan gave a small 'ooh' when the Guinea pig responded by coming over. Then when he rolled over, Evan offered another 'ooh' this time more excited. "That's excellent," he decided. Neither Jim nor Wigglebutt really did tricks, not ones on command, though Evan could usually persuade Jim to scare the ponies on demand when they went to New Forest for their walks. "Yes, I'd love to pet one," Evan nodded setting his mug down and holding a hand out expectantly for a Guinea pig.
--
Evan's answer made Padma laugh, picturing Evan's flat draped in tartan. "That's definitely something you want to avoid," she agreed, wrinkling her nose expressively. There was nothing wrong with tartan, of course, but there was definitely a limit to how much of it you wanted. "I suppose drawing doesn't take as much space as drums," she mused. "As long as you like it, that's what matters," she said, nodding. "No the most unique of sentiments." Moving quickly on, Padma added, "I can't imagine buying a house. I don't even know how." She was also quite sure she couldn't currently afford it, so she was happy to leave learning how to buy a house until she could. She probably wouldn't buy one with Parvati, either, because as much as she loved her sister, she didn't intend to live with her forever. "Did it make you feel really grown up?"
Carefully, Padma handed Diana, who was the friendliest (if not the cleverest) of the Guinea pigs to Evan. "That's Diana," she said. "They're all siblings, so I got them all together." She smiled. "I wasn't lucky enough to have a pet come adopt me, so I had to pick what kind I wanted." Which had been difficult. "But I'm happy with my Guinea pigs. They're very sweet."
--
“Drums, and guitars, and keyboards, and basically all other types of musical instruments,” Evan commented. As much as his drawing table probably did take up more space than drums, at least technically, he definitely did not need a whole room, and Andrew really did. Evan did give a small laugh when Padma commented how her sentiments weren’t exactly unique. “I still appreciate them,” Evan assured. “I guess,” he nodded. “I think realising that it’d be easier if we bought a flat and knowing we could afford one, that felt pretty grown up,” Evan explained.
Taking Diana carefully, Evan held her close to his chest, bringing his other hand up to pet the animal softly. “I think I’d like to pick a pet one day,” Evan said honestly. “I wanted to get a kitten before Jim brought Wigglebutt home, but now we have Wigglebutt and we didn’t think another cat would be good idea,” Evan explained and then raised his eyebrow at Padma. “Do you think even if Wiggelbutt stays little forever, we might be okay to get another cat at some point?” Padma, Evan figured, was probably one of the best people to ask.
--
"That's very impressive," Padma said, eyes widening slightly as Evan described the list of instruments that Andrew played (or just owned?). "I struggle to remember to practice my clarinet, and that's just one thing." Padma did enjoy it, though, when she remembered. It was very pleasing to be able to make music that sounded like music, even if Padma wasn't very passionate about it, and hadn't performed since she'd left university. "Do you play anything?" she asked. She'd never heard Evan mention playing anything, but then it wasn't as if she talked about her clarinet very much, unless it came up in conversation. At Evan's explanation of how realising they could afford a flat had felt grown up, Padma nodded. "My parents keep telling me I'll never be able to afford anywhere unless I get married," she confided. "Which isn't very helpful." It was also, probably, true, which was quite sad.
Watching Evan take Diana, Padma smiled at the careful way he handled her. "I think so," she answered. "If you got a kitten, it probably wouldn't be big enough to hurt Wigglebutt immediately, and by the time it was it would have learned not to. Especially if Jim will help teach it." Which, from the way Evan talked about Jim and Wigglebutt, Padma thought he probably could be. "I see a few people who have birds and cats, and as long as you train them not to be aggressive towards one another they can get along fine."
--
"It is very impressive," Evan agreed happily because he was always more than pleased to have a chance to praise Andrew. He did also give a small shake of his head when Padma asked if he played any musical instruments. "No, I don't really get music," he admitted and then shrugged. "I like watching Andrew play." Which was the most enjoyment Evan ever got from music, but it was very enjoyable. He also frowned when Padma commented how her parents said she wouldn't be able to afford a place unless she got married. "That's not true," Evan said. "Plenty of unmarried people can afford to buy." Given, it was hard to deny that property prices had gone up a lot, but that still didn't mean you had to get married to buy.
Petting Diana softly, Evan smiled at the assurance that they might be able to get a kitten. "Maybe not just yet," Evan said. "I mean, we're still waiting to see whether Wigglebutt with hit a growing spurt. But in a year or something." It would give them plenty of time to decide what might work best and so such. "Thanks," Evan added with a smile.
--
The way Evan agreed that Andrew was very impressive made Padma laugh. "I'm sure he's pleased to have you telling people how excellent he is," she teased. He was, after all, a Gryffindor. "I like live music," Padma agreed, when Evan said he enjoyed watching Andrew play. She could definitely understand that, because she enjoyed watching talented musicians herself. "Hopefully, Andrew's new band will start performing soon, and then you'll be able to watch him play more often." Padma assumed watching actual concerts was rather more satisfying than watching Andrew practice at home, if only because he'd actually play all the way through pieces rather than stop and start in order to perfect certain sections.
When Evan said plenty of unmarried people were able to afford to buy property, Padma smiled at him gratefully. "I suppose we'll see how it goes. I'm not really worrying about it yet." Currently, Padma's salary was definitely not enough to think about buying somewhere to live, and she had no significant savings for a deposit. It was all something she would put off until later - for future Padma to deal with. "That sounds very sensible," she agreed, when Evan said they'd wait before they thought about getting a kitten. "But when the time comes, I can put you in touch with some people who've trained their pets to live together, if that would help."