RP: To the victors belong the spoils
Date: 7 July 2005
Characters: Arabella Figg, many others (will add later)
Location: Stoatshead Hill Quidditch pitch
Status: Semi-private (open to all pairs from the end of the BBBB race)
Summary: The racers and the people whose bonnet they captured have their own picnics around the Quidditch pitch (or elsewhere if they wish)
Completion: Incomplete ( Read more... )
Characters: Arabella Figg, many others (will add later)
Location: Stoatshead Hill Quidditch pitch
Status: Semi-private (open to all pairs from the end of the BBBB race)
Summary: The racers and the people whose bonnet they captured have their own picnics around the Quidditch pitch (or elsewhere if they wish)
Completion: Incomplete ( Read more... )
He raised an eyebrow. "Nice gift. I'll have to drop in and see what she can do for me. This is the broom my parents gave me for my sixteenth birthday. It's a good one but it's a bit old now."
He nodded when she suggested the tree over to one side. "Looks good to me." He led the way over there and put his broom and bat down near the tree. He put the basket down as well and opened it, pulling out the rug he'd put in.
"Voila!" he said with a grin, laying down the rug. "It's not a picnic without a rug to sit on." He waited until she had sat down then joined her, pulling the basket over to him.
"Well, I can cook a bit. Jalo insisted that we learn so that when we left we didn't end up starving to death." He grinned then looked a little uncertain. "I hope you'll like what's in here. I made some of the traditional Finnish food I enjoyed."
He pulled out the first container and opened it, revealing small bits of adorned crispbread that he offered to her. "This is gravlax. It's salmon that's been cured in salt, sugar and dill. The white sauce is dill and mustard. And I have apple juice or a Finnish beer called Sahti. It's usually home brewed and this is some of Jalo's stock. It's kind of yeasty and actually tastes a little banana. Seems strange but it's pretty good."
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Setting her broom down, Ginny rescued the bandanna from the grass and tied it around her ponytail before helping him spread the rug out. "This reminds me of the picnics we'd have by the lake, well, except my brothers aren't here arguing over who hit whom with which Beater and my Mum isn't fussing over the food."
"Hmmm, cooking and common sense... I think I should thank Merlin that I managed to pick your bandanna." She said, sitting down on the rug. "Jalo sounds like a smart fella. I wish the Healers I apprenticed under thought of that. I'm sure some of the blokes I did residency with have managed to starve themselves. Either that or they married the first bird who knew how to cook."
"Finnish? Well, I'm up for trying anything once and well, you look healthy enough." Ginny took the container he offered, feeling a small flutter in her stomach at the low, lazy grin he gave her. Catching her lip, she said. "Gravlax, gotcha. I'll try some of the Sah-ti, please."
"So what did you think of the race? If I'd known you were going to come, I'd have looked for you before the race started. To, umm, say hello." Ginny nibbled on a piece of Gravlax, nodding her approval with a soft smile.
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Greg's smile dimmed a bit. "Mum and I used to do picnics on occasion during summer when Father was away. I used to pretend to complain but I never really minded. We used to talk a lot." His expression became slightly wistful. "She would have liked being here in Stoatshead Hill. She'd be the life of the party." He smiled shyly. "She'd have liked you."
He wasn't quite sure why he spoke of his mother to Ginny except... he felt comfortable telling her. His mother was usually a touchy subject because of how and why she had died but he wasn't lying when he said she would have like Ginny.
He chuckled as he took a piece of gravlax for himself and ate it. "Jalo knew that we couldn't always rely on living in a communal type setting like he had established. He's... pretty unusual for a vet but I like him a lot. I'm hoping he'll visit at some point but he's pretty busy."
He smiled shyly and pulled one of the chilled bottles of beer out of the basket, opening it and offering to to her. He then pulled one out for himself.
"It was pretty amazing actually," he said with a grin. "I don't think I would have managed to finish it. Some of the aerobatic involved probably would have had me falling off my broom, I think. One problem with getting this big. Very useful when playing as a Beater but not so good for tricky maneuvers." He gave a pleased smile when she indicated her approval of the food. "I wasn't entirely sure until this morning. I'd had an owl from a local farmer a couple of days ago saying he might want some help doing the drenching of his cows and he was thinking today would be a good day. But he owled this morning and said he'd have to reschedule for next week sometime. Apparently his wife wanted to go into London."
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Ginny listened to him talk about his mum and was surprised when Greg said his mother would have liked her. She knew where his father's loyalties had lied and had only assumed that his mother had felt the same way but evidently that wasn't the case. She nodded soberly. "That's kind of you to say."
A trio of very young wizards walked past, chattering excitedly and Ginny watched them with an odd sense of the surreal. Taking the bottle he held out, she lifted it in a salute before taking a sip, considering the beer for a second before nodding. "This isn't bad. I can see what you mean about the taste but it's good. So is the gravlax, by the way. You miss him, don't you? Jalo?"
She looked over to where the crowd mingled by the basket table and leaned back, stretching her legs out and crossing them at the ankle. "It's odd how we can be surrounded by people so much and yet, still feel not quite a part of it all. Some days I miss the absolute chaos of the Burrow... I miss..." She blinked. "Well, it doesn't matter, yeah?"
Reaching out, she gave her broom an affectionate pat. "This little darlin' kept me seated perfectly, absolutely perfect for Seeking or Chasing. I was just happy to get a good run in and it was fun to see where I came in but still, Ron beat me and the twins would have for sure if they'd come." She took another sip of her beer before asking. "Drenching? I'm almost afraid to ask but... that can't be what it sounds like."
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He nodded. "Jalo was... more of a father to me than my own really." he hesitated for a moment then continued. "When I went to Finland, it was under an assumed name because I didn't want my father to track me down. After I got to know Jalo, I... really hated lying to him. I eventually confessed to him and told him why I'd lied. He understood and actually took further steps to protect me." He looked down at his bottle for a moment then back up at Ginny. "I owe him a lot."
"It was a bit like that at the Shelter in Finland," he said thoughtfully after taking a drink of his beer. "Even after Hogwarts I wasn't used to having so many people around all the time. It was a little uncomfortable at first but after a while I kind of got to like it. I still liked being on my own on occasion but the group common room we had was always pretty rowdy." He paused and grinned. "Jalo's wife ruled us all with a lethal wooden spoon though. And she could throw that thing with frightening accuracy if we got a little too smart for her liking." He sighed. "Unfortunately life goes on and well, most of us in my group are gone now. All off to our own jobs."
He stretched out on the blanket then turned slightly and dug into the basket, pulling out another container since they had nearly finished the gravlax. He opened it and placed it between them.
"These are cabbage rolls," he said. "The ones on this side are filled with minced beef, the ones on this side with vegetables and the ones in the middle with mushrooms. They're all seasoned with onion, tomato paste, pepper and spices."
He tipped his head back and laughed then eyed her with a mischievous look. "No, it's not. It's a method of getting oral drugs into a cow. Usually it's for worming and stuff like that. I don't know why it's called drenching but it's definitely a multi-person operation. It also guarantees a long and very tiring day."
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"At least he was understanding about it, could have made things a lot harder for you if he didn't. He sounds like he is a good teacher and friend. He must be very proud of what you've accomplished here so far, getting the shelter up and running properly, taking on all the farms and whatnot." Ginny said quietly.
She laughed the mental picture of a little Finnish woman hurtling spoons at Greg. "Mum, too! Merlin, that's funny. I thought only my Mum did things like that. She'd have half the kitchen utensils chasing us around the kitchen if we got out of hand, which, you can imagine, was pretty often. But, yes, life goes on. My family all live here and we rarely see each other anymore."
"Mmm, they sound delicious." Ginny peaked into the container he drew out of the basket, turning on her side to playfully peer over the top with a smirk before selecting one of the ones he said had mushrooms in it.
'Oh. dear.' She thought, keeping her features neutral when he flashed her a mischievous look, feeling a light flush rise in her cheeks. 'That's just not even fair.'
"How, exactly, does one... give a cow oral drugs?" Ginny asked before taking another sip of her beer and taking a bite of her roll. "I mean, I know what it's like to do that with a human but... Merlin, I guess you might be thankful but I'm thinking you'll just have to do it another day, yeah? Our jobs don't just go away when someone wants to go shopping for the day."
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He nodded. "Well, since I was essentially running away from the Dark Lord, he understood," he said ruefully then he smiled softly. "Yeah, he is. He keeps telling me to pace myself though. Not to work myself into the ground. He's right so I'm trying."
He laughed. "Seija was very proprietary when it came to her kitchen but she's also the one who taught us all to cook so I can't complain. She mothered us all indiscriminately."
He saw the flush on her face and wandered briefly what he'd said or done to cause it. He liked it more than he was willing to admit and he grinned at her smirk. He took one of the beef rolls for himself.
"Using a drenching gun," he said promptly. "It's sort of a glorified syringe but with a squeeze handle and long enough to get a short way down a cow's throat and made of metal because they chew on it a bit. You load it up with the dose then work it past the back of the cow's tongue then fire away." He nodded. "Yeah, it has to be done so it's only been postponed. It's not dangerous work, just hard, manhandling all the cows. Even for someone like me, it's tiring."
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Giving her head a minute shake, she gave him a wry look. "I was just about to say you weren't trying awfully hard but you are here, aren't you? It's a beautiful day and hopefully you are enjoying yourself."
"Sejia. Pretty name." Ginny laughed. "Mum tried to teach the boys how to cook but that was like trying to catch a wet cat. By the time she got to me, I don't know if she tried to make up for lost time or what but she did manage to teach me enough so I don't starve. I'll admit that I'm not a gourmet chief, though. Not me, nope. I'm happy with a nice beef stew or a pan of lasagna."
The roll was quite good and she picked out a beef one to try next, finding herself hungrier than she realized from the race and all the excitement after.
"They chew on it? Oh!" Her eyes widened. "They don't bite, do they? I mean, they're cows. It's bad enough when my patients bite me but they aren't that big, thank Merlin. Then again, getting bit is probably half your day isn't it? Ever since I changed over to the internship, I don't see regular patients anymore so the occasional bite is a thing of the past for me."
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He looked over at Ginny and smiled shyly. "Yeah, I'm enjoying myself," he said, knowing he was talking more about the picnic than the rest of the day.
"I mostly do the basics when it comes to cooking," he said as he took one of the vegetable rolls. "I can cook more fancy food but it takes a time and energy that I usually don't have after work."
He laughed. "Well, I think anybody would chew on something being shoved down their throat," he said with a laugh. "And cows do bite if they're annoyed enough though they kick more than they bite. Horses will bite more readily. And yeah, bites and scratches and pretty much par for the course. That and getting peed on."
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You are flirting... with the vet! With Greg Goyle! And blushing!
'I am not flirting. Not even a little.'
Blushing...
'Hush.'
She shook her head, replying. "I've a friend who fancy cooks, sends me left-overs. That's about the extent of it for me. Even if I had time, I just don't have the inclination. I mean, it's just me so why bother, right? And no, the cat doesn't count in that."
"Ah yes, the good ol' days of... well... Friday. Bites, scratches..." She sighed and laughed. "At least you have the novelty of having patients that can't hex you. My first week in Incurables, polka dots. All. Over. And I do mean... All over. Big. Pink. Polka. Dots."
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Well... that was interesting. And good... he thought... as long as she thought it was good. And she seemed to. Okay... he really needed to stop that or he was going to start stammering.
He pulled out a larger container this time then fished into the basket for a couple of plates, fork and knives and a sharp knife.
"Okay, this is an interesting one," he said with a grin. He opened the container to reveal a largish oval-shaped loaf of bread. "This is called kalakukko. It's a traditional dish and it's bsically a rye loaf with fish, pork and bacon cooked inside. It even has a traditional way of eating it."
He sliced off the top of the bread then cut it in two and spread it with butter before offering one half to Ginny.
"You cut off the top and eat it with butter then slice the rest of the bread, eating it with the filling. Don't worry about the bones in the fish. The way this is cooked, they'll be so soft you probably won't even notice them."
He took a bit of the bread, chewed and swallowed it. "That's why I often don't go to these kind of measures," he said with a laugh. "If it's just me, I don't need to make a fuss. But this is definitely worth it."
He laughed at the idea of Ginny with pink polka dots. Not meanly but just at the mental image. "I don't think pink polka dots would go with your hair," he said with a grin. "Green maybe but not pink." He chuckled. "True, my patients can't do that but some of them can be dangerous."
He paused and looked thoughtful as he remembered the almost surreal incident with the runespoor and Harry Potter.
"Shadow found a runespoor down near the river a few days ago. She was quite seriously hurt. She had a bad gash down her side. She didn't want to let me near her and I wasn't going to push the issue since runespoors are very venomous. I had to get help from Potter, which was... interesting."
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"This is quite good." Ginny sighed wistfully before taking a bite of the bread, letting the flavors sink in before taking another bite. "You're going to make some witch very happy someday, Mr. Greg." She teased comfortably.
She chuckled with him, remembering the incident. "No, no, you don't understand. All over. Even my hair! I had polka dots on the bottom of my feet! Pink! I don't even bloody well like pink. It was… oh, sod on, it was funny as hell but it took two senior Healers an hour to get them off me. Talk about embarrassing."
"See, this is where I mentally kick myself for not paying more attention in 'Care of Magical Creatures' classes since I've no idea what a runespoor is except, well, if you needed Harry's help, it had to be a snake." Ginny said with a wry grin. "How did that go, if you don't mind me asking?"
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He blushed and ducked his head. "I don't know," he said wryly. "I don't cook like this too often."
He paused then broke out in a grin. "I don't know if I can match pink polka dots. The worst I ever got was a stampede of about a dozen sheep upending me into a pig sty. It was muddy, smelly and cold but at least it all washed off pretty quickly."
"Yeah, runespoors are snakes," he said with a nod. Then he warmed up to his subject. "They're actually native to Burkina Faso and they're a protected species there. So Merlin only knows how this one got here. Possibly a private collector. Anyway... runespoors are orange with black stripes and have three heads. Each head has a different personality. One is the dreamer, one is the planner and one is the critic."
He paused for a moment, trying to work out the best way of wording his dealings with Potter. "It was... a little weird. He acted kind of strange at first but he seemed to loosen up a bit after we got to the runespoor. He seemed to kind of enjoy speaking to her. He said she had a sense of humour." He looked a little thoughtful. "You know... I wouldn't mind being able to speak to animals. It'd be pretty useful."
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Smiling innocently at the rise in color in his cheeks, she said. "What makes you think I was talking about your cooking?"
A young couple strolled by, arms around each other's waist, oblivious to anything but each other as they bent their heads together to talk in low murmurs and for a moment, Ginny thought of her brother and his girlfriend, wondering where they might have taken themselves off to after the race.
"Stampeding sheep. Now that's a mental picture I never thought I'd have. I hope you weren't hurt." She replied easily. "I don't know if that beats polka dots but it's better then the time a nutter turned me into a hummingbird."
Ginny shifted to lean back on her elbows, taking a drink of her beer. "Three heads? It's amazing to think about, isn't it? I wonder how they ever agree on what to do or where to go. Do they all sleep at the same time, do you think? If they are a protected species, what will you do with the one you have? I mean, you can't let it loose here if it's venomous, right?"
"She must have been ironic, then." She said neutrally, her gaze dropping to his hands for a moment before she looked away, tapping down thoughts that had no place at a picnic. "Dad used to say, 'Be careful what you ask for, you might just get it'. Somehow I think you might regret having that ability. I'm surprised no one has bothered to make a charm to translate though."
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His blush deepened and he was a bit lost for words for a moment. "You're not?" he blurted out then he closed his eyes, feeling just a touch mortified. One of these days he was going to learn not to disconnect his brain from his mouth when he was surprised.
He swallowed hard then chuckled a little weakly. "Nah, stampeding sheep are just very noisy and woolly. I just ended up getting wet, muddy and smelly." He relaxed a little more. "Now that is one risk you don't have with animals."
"They're very unusual," he agreed. "She seems very intelligent from what Potter was translating. As for what I'll do with her, well... I don't actually know. I suppose she should go back to Burkina Faso but if Potter doesn't mind and she agrees, she could always stay with him or at the shelter. I'd be happy to have her stay. She's very beautiful."
He chuckled again. "Yeah, he's got that right. I'd probably get annoyed at the constant chatter. It'd just be useful in those cases where the cause of the animal's illness isn't easy to find." He sighed. "A lot of times in those cases you don't figure out what's wrong until the necropsy."
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Ginny frowned, tilting her head to the side in confusion, not quite understanding why he was blushing until he spoke and then feeling awkward to have made him uncomfortable. "I'm not but feel free to ignore me. I spoke without thinking and I don't want to muck up your lovely picnic."
"It might be nice to look at but with three heads all thinking different things and being poisonous, wouldn't it be dangerous to have around if you couldn't understand it?" She asked, curious and a little concerned. "I wouldn't want to see you in a professonal capacity, Greg."
"The last thing I want is to understand what Godric is saying. That sodding prat's looks are more than enough to get the point across, especially when he clearly thinks I've done something daft - which is often, or worse - like the other day, when he fell into the tub when I was in the shower. Merlin! You'd think I'd made up a devious plan to get him wet." Ginny shook her head in exasperation, then sighed. "Sometimes I don't even get those answers. If one of the patients... most of the time, the family doesn't want any intrusive procedures and even when they do, it's not always clear."
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