RP: Potions and Dinner

[shh_eleanor]

Date: 24 February 2005
Characters: Eleanor Branstone, Ernie Macmillan
Location: The Bookworm, Ernie’s flat in Copper Towers
Status: Private
Summary: Ernie and Eleanor have their first date. Potions & dinner, but no kissing, apparently.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[shh_ernie]

Ernie was nervous. In a way he hadn't been since...well, it had been a very long time. He'd spent the morning in Exeter, shopping for dinner ingredients. On a whim, he'd popped into a clothing store; he was tired of work shirts and his blue jumper

[shh_eleanor]

“You look nice,” she said, giving him a good look over.

She blushed a bit when he took her bag, but didn’t protest. It was polite and gentlemanly. Eleanor thought he should be giving lessons to some of the gits she had run across. “Thank you.”

“I’d like to walk, if you don’t mind,” she said quickly. It was a nice night, if a bit chilly out, and Eleanor didn’t see any reason to rush.

[shh_ernie]

"Sure, we can walk," he agreed. They began walking north on Alpha Street and Ernie made sure that Eleanor wasn't walking on the side on which he had the bag. He didn't want it bumping into her. Plus, he could walk a littler closer to her if it wasn't in the way.

"I cheated a bit," he admitted with a shy smile. "I made the shepherd's pie earlier today. I thought you might be hungry and not want to wait while I peeled and cooked potatoes, and fried up the meat, and such." He'd also stopped by the dairy and picked up some ice cream for dessert. Chocolate, of course. But that was a surprise.

When their hands brushed for what seemed like the millionth time to Ernie, he wondered if it would be alright to take hold of hers. Technically, handholding and kissing were two different things.

[shh_eleanor]

“How very clever of you,” Eleanor said with a laugh. “Dinner would be nice first,” she added with a smile.

They were walking so close that she kept feeling Ernie’s hand brush against hers. Her pulse sped up a bit, and she kept smiling shyly over at him. “I remembered the books. I brought four, they should keep you busy for a while.”

[shh_ernie]

"And how you do know I don't read quickly?" he said, pretending to be offended. "For all you know, I could finish those four books by tomorrow." Grinning, he added, "'Sides, it'll give me something to do while you make this potion of yours."

His nervousness had abated somewhat by the time they turned onto South Street. His building wasn't too far now; if he wanted to hold her hand, he'd better do it soon. Swallowing hard, he grasped her hand lightly, continuing to talk as if he'd done nothing out of the ordinary.

"How's...er...work been this...week?"

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor laughed. “So much for the help then,” she told him with a wink. “I guess I’ll just slave over my hot cauldron alone while you read.” She pretended to sigh sadly.

Her eyes widened in surprise when Ernie took her hand, her stomach giving an excited leap. She was starting to think he wasn’t going to.

She turned her head toward him whith a grin. “It’s been good. I’m enjoying it. Hermione is nice to work for; she’s so organized about everything. How’s work been for you?”

[shh_ernie]

Well, she didn't pull away. That was something. And she grinned at him. Also a good thing.

At her description of Hermione, he snorted a bit, "Organized? Well, that's one word for her. Sixth year in potions, she had all these lists. She made me block out time to study with her weeks in advance." He shook his head at the memory. That's when his crush on Hermione had started to fade.

They were at the entrance to Copper Towers. "Well, here we are," he said, pushing open the door with his free hand and stepping aside slightly to allow Eleanor to enter. For once, the lift was already waiting and they took it to the second floor.

"Work's fine," he said with a shrug. It was the same old, same old. Patrol with Cormac, studying the Auror handbook, meeting with Mr. Robards, being stuck in the file room with Mrs. Pince. He removed the wards from his door.

"It's not...it's rather small," he said apologetically as he opened the door.

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor laughed softly at Ernie’s description of Hermione. “She can be a bit much at times, can’t she?”

She gave him a smile as he showed her into his flat. “It’s fine,” she told him, looking around. “Mine has broken windows and a hole in the roof.”

Her eyes lit up when she spotted the record player. She’d seen one before at her old boss’s house, and had nearly given herself away trying to figure out how it worked. Fortunately Sally had just thought that she was so young she’d never seen one before.

“You’ve got a record player!” she said excitedly. “Do you have any records for it?”

[shh_ernie]

"A hole in the roof?" he repeated, trying not to sound too alarmed. "Is that safe?"

He set her bag down on the floor near the door and shrugged off his blazer, throwing it over the arm of the couch.

"A what?" When he turned around, Eleanor was peering at the large electronic device. His eyes widened. "You know what it is!" He sounded almost as excited as she did. "Can you show me how to use it?"

Remembering his manners, he asked if he could take her coat as he moved behind her. He leaned forward a bit, wanting to know what she smelled like.

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor waved her hand dismissvely and gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s fine for now. Rose helped me put some shielding charms up, and I’ve talked to someone about getting it fixed. It’s two story, I just stay on the ground floor,” she explained.

“Sure! I could show you how to use it,” she told him opening the door underneath the player. “Ah! There are the records.”

She took her coat off and handed it to Ernie with a smile before she pulled a record out of the cupboard. Marvin Gaye, she wasn’t familiar with him, but she pulled the black disk out of it’s cover and set it on the player, plopping the needle down randomly. The music started to play, and Eleanor turned to Ernie. “That’s all there is to it.”

The song was nice, the man singing had a nice deep voice.

I've been really tryin, baby
Tryin to hold back these feelings for so long
And if you feel, like I feel baby
Come on, oh come on,
Let's get it on…

“Oh, Merlin,” Eleanor whispered, her face turning bright red.

[shh_ernie]

Ernie set Eleanor's coat on top of his and watched as she pulled a flat black disk out of what he thought were photographs. It seemed easy enough to put it on the player and place the arm down. A few seconds later, music came out. It had a nice rhythm and made him want to dance with her.

While he wasn't exactly sure what was being gotten on, the blush on Eleanor's face gave him a good indication. He felt his own face heat a bit, but he was determined not to make a big deal about it. It was a song; it didn't mean anything other than that.

And he still wanted to dance with Eleanor. Holding out a hand, he said, as coolly as possible when a man was singing about shagging, "Would you like to dance?"

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor was about to apologize for the music when she saw Ernie blush in return, but her voice seemed to have gone. She was not expecting him to ask her to dance. She gaped at him for a moment before nodding. “Yeah. That would be nice.”

She took his hand a bit awkwardly, and placed her other on his shoulder. She soon forgot all about the lyrics as they swayed to the music. Ernie smelled just as nice as he had at Socks. She tried to pick out individual notes for reference later on, but it was difficult to concentrate.

She felt a little disappointed when the song ended, but it was probably for the best. Its our first date, she reminded herself. “So dinner,” she said quickly, pulling back slightly. “Since you actually cooked, and all.”

[shh_ernie]

She smelled nice. Not lavender-y, his brain said before he quickly smothered that thought. Sweet but not overly so. He inhaled a bit as they moved to the music.

The song ended and she pulled back a bit. All he could focus on was her mouth. He leaned closer before he caught himself. No kissing, he sternly reminded himself.

"Yes, dinner," he said with a nod, still keeping his hand on the small of her back. Reluctantly, he let go and moved toward the kitchen. The shepherd's pie was in the oven under a warming charm. He turned back toward Eleanor. "I have beer and wine and butterbeer and juice. What would you like?"

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor took a deep breath and shook her head when Ernie wasn’t watching. She thought about what to drink for a moment. Alcohol probably wasn’t a good idea. Especially if there were going to be songs about shagging playing in the background. “Butter beer will be fine,” she told him.

“Do you need me to help you set the table, or anything?” she asked, feeling a bit foolish just standing around watching.

[shh_ernie]

Ernie was pulling the shepherd's pie from the oven. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't have a table. I mostly sit on the couch and eat." Why in Merlin's name hadn't he transfigured something before going to pick her up? He shook his head. "Not very proper, I'm sorry to say."

He summoned two bowls from the cupboard and filled them. Pulling two glasses from another cupboard, he opened the refrigerator and took out two bottles of butterbeer. A quick charm chilled the glasses and he poured them each a drink. He levitated everything into the living room and set it down on the coffee table.

"Please have a seat," he said with a smile.

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor shook her head. Alcohol would definitely not be a good idea. “Yes, I’m very observant,” she teased. “The couch will be fine.”

She looked around the kitchen as he got the food ready, spotting a pile of unopened letters sitting out on the counter. Her fingers itched to find a spot for them, but she refrained from actually doing it. She would be mortified if someone came into her home and just started cleaning. The last thing she wanted to do was offend Ernie. Or make him think she was going to ask him to start blocking out time to see her weeks in advance.

Eleanor took a seat on the couch and picked up her bowl. She took a bite and then smiled over at him. “It is better than Socks.”