RP: Bowling with the Boys

[shh_kingsley]

Date: 22 June 2005
Characters: Kingsley Shacklebolt, Ernie Macmillan, Ron Weasley
Location: Five Alarm, then Exeter
Status: Private
Summary: Kingsley, Ernie and Ron on bowling, beer and birds.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[shh_ron]

Ron was really glad it was Friday and even more glad that he was going bowling with Kingsley and Ernie. He'd not seen much of Ernie since he arrived in Stoats so this would be a good chance to catch up with him. As for Kingsley, Ron had taken a real liking to the man when he and his best mates had first moved into the house he used to share with them. Kingsley had turned out to be a lot more than a huge, dark Auror. He was also very smart and funny and Ron enjoyed his company. After they were done bowling he would go straight to Lavender's flat and spend the weekend. She'd been very accommodating. "Go have fun with your friends," she told him, "but try not to get too pissed." He could have fun, he knew, without getting stinking drunk, and if he did, he could count on no fun after he left the boys

[shh_ernie]

As soon as Ernie left work, he Apparated home to change into something more comfortable. He had no idea what bowling entailed, really. Eleanor had attempted to explain, something about pins and a ball and gutters. She'd finally given up, laughing, and told him that denims and a shirt would be fine.

He left a note on the kitchen table, reminding her where he'd gone and that he loved her, and headed to the Five Alarm. He walked in a few metres behind Kingsley and joined the other two men at the table.

"Hello, Ron." He nodded. "Kingsley."

[shh_kingsley]

"Loaded question that one. I'm good, though. How the hell are you?" He smiled as he heard yet another voice behind him.

"Ernie. You're looking very muggle. Both of you actually. I don't know about the two of you, but I'm starved."

[shh_ron]

"Hey Ernie, good to see you," Ron said, extending his hand and shaking Ernie's. "Been a long time, hasn't it?"

Ron shrugged. "I don't wear robes much any more unless I have to. Muggle clothes are more comfortable and they make it easier to fit in someplace like Exeter. Speaking of which, I'm starved too. Shall we go to Queen Street now and get some of that pizza?"

[shh_kingsley]

"Slow down, Ernie. We'll have to carry you home to Elle and I don't think she'd like that." He shot Ernie a crooked smile. "You're shocked? Imagine how I felt when she brought up the idea? Look, I know I'm not young anymore, but I'm not so sure she's been a kid since she left Hogwarts. In many ways, Susan seems more mature than I am."

"I reckon we all do at that." He picked up his glass again took a drink. "You know, I'm counting on you two blokes for advice. I'm a bit out of my element. I'm also hoping we can keep this between us for awhile. I'd rather not spread it around until we've had more time to see if this has a chance, you know."

[shh_ron]

"Yeah, 'spose we've all had to grow up a lot in some ways," Ron observed. "Sometimes I feel like I'm about 40 -- no offense, Kings -- but other times I feel like I'm still only 18. I'm sort of retarded around women so I'm lucky Lavender was willing to give me another chance."

"Advice?" Ron's ears perked up. "You mean about women?" He snorted. "Damned if I know. I'm still trying to figure out what she sees in me. Sometimes I look at her and think, blimey, she must be mental."

[shh_ernie]

The food needed to come soon as Ernie was beginning to feel the effects of draining half a glass of ale. Deciding that he wouldn't drink any more until the chicken arrived, at least, he pushed his glass away.

"You think that too?" Ernie asked Ron in disbelief. "Eleanor keeps wondering why people tell me that I'm the lucky one. As if it isn't completely obvious that she's...what's that muggle expression...'out of my league.'"

He looked at Kingsley. "I try to muddle through as best I can. And believe me, I've made some rather bad mistakes." He traced a finger through the puddle his glass had made on the table. "Not the least of which is proposing when we thought she was pregnant." His head snapped up. "Please don't mention to her that I told you that. I'm certain she'd be mortified."

[shh_kingsley]

The chicken wings showed up and Kingsley asked for pitcher of water and more napkins.

He was actually relieved to hear that both Ron and Ernie seemed to think they were lucky to have the women they did. "I thought I was the only one who thought 'what in the world would she want with me?' but it looks like I'm not. I'd question her sanity except she's one of the most grounded people I've ever met."

Kingsley's head popped up when Ernie mentioned pregnancy. He didn't think he was ready to share Susan's desire for a family, or the close call he had, but he wondered about Ernie's. "You proposed?"

[shh_kingsley]

"Not those ladies. The ones in the corner behind you." To be fair the group Ron was looking at were whispering too, but they were almost all old enough to be his own mother. The ladies in the opposite corner looked to all be in their early to mid-thirties. He rolled his eyes.

As they reached the Megabowl, he explained a bit more. "The gutters are little troughs that run on either side of a wood lane. There's no water involved. They have balls there you can use. You can either rent shoes..." at their looks, he chuckled, "or there are a few discreet corners where I can transfigure your own. They even have a machine that keeps score if you don't want to do it yourself. You get two chances to knock down all the pins. If you do it on the first try, it's called a strike. If you do it in two, it's called a spare. A lot of times, you only knock down part of them, but you get credit for those too. We'll watch a frame or two or someone else bowling before you try, alright?"

[shh_ron]

Ron listened closely as Kingsley explained about the gutters, the lane and the shoes. "You can transfigure my shoes, thanks," he said quickly. "I had enough of used shoes growing up. I mean, people's feet have been sweating in them, right?" He pulled a face. His reputation for being a slob was a bit overdone, Ron thought; he'd been messy enough but he wasn't dirty. He showered, he shaved, he changed his clothes, and he did not want to wear shoes that didn't fit and were full of other people's sweat. The only person he ever wanted to trade sweat with was Lavender. Better to hold that thought for much later.

"Okay, let's watch some bowling."

[shh_ernie]

When Kingsley explained about the gutters, Ernie was relieved that there wasn't any water involved. He made a face at the thought of wearing someone else's shoes. That sounded...unsanitary. "Transfiguration works for me, too," he agreed in a quiet voice.

Kingsley led them toward the...lanes? And they positioned themselves where they could watch several lanes without being overly obvious. Ernie watched very carefully as one person after another walked up to the line--wearing someone else's shoes!--picked up their ball, stuffed their fingers into it, and threw it toward the pins. Which sometimes flew apart with such a tremendous force that Ernie wondered how they didn't break. Other times, the ball would veer into the gutter and roll harmlessly down the lane, usually evoking laughter and ribbing from the other bowlers. He hoped to Merlin that didn't happen to him.

[shh_kingsley]

It was great fun watching the looks on their faces, but he held back his amusement. "Transfiguration it is. I sort of figured that would be the case." Kingsley directed them to an out of the way space and it only took a moment to have the fitted up properly. "Mine are in my bag. I'll put them on while you two pick a ball. But first we have to buy a game and get an alley. The first game's on me

[shh_kingsley]

"Ten frames. The more strikes you can get in a row, the better your score. For each strike, you add the ten plus your next two balls. If you bowl all strikes, you end up with 300 points or 30 points per frame. Don't fret about the score. It takes a bit of practice to get good. Hell, I"m still not that good."

Ernie bowled his frame then Kingsley explained a bit as he took his turn. "Rule No. 8 of Muggle Tenpin Bowling: It's best to attack from the side. The problem with my last shot was that it was 'on-the-nose', a head-on hit to the headpin, that one front and center. It seems like it would be the most efficient way to knock everything down, but it usually results in a split, like the one I had last time. Now, if you can spin it so you work your way around the side...." He aimed and let go, just so...

All ten pins went down in a crash. "Strike. Kind of like life. It's good to face it head on, but it's the spin you put on it that makes it exciting. Now let's bowl."