Fic: "Not Quite Full" for gamps_garret
Happy witchwinter, gamps_garret!
Title: Not Quite Full
Your LJ Name: ?
Recipient: gamps_garret
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling. No money is being made from this story.
Pairing: McGonagall/Hooch
Rating: G
Word Count (if applicable): 2,400
Warnings: None
Summary: Wouldn't it be great if your best friend wrote your New Year's Resolutions?
Author's Notes: Love and thanks to my beta. This is more innocent then I usually write, I hope you like it gamps_garret. The idea for the story came from the Indigo Girls song Closer to Fine.
And the best thing you've ever done for me
Is to help me take my life less seriously
It's only life after all
Closer to Fine, Indigo Girls
"Xiomara Rolanda Hooch."
"Minerva McGonagall."
"I should have known it was you. You're the only one crazy enough to be on a broom on a day like today."
"And you're the only one crazy enough to be sitting in the stands writing on a day like today." She grinned as she sat, her cheeks flushed from the cold air and exercise. "At least I'm keeping warm. Your lips are going blue."
Minerva smiled back from behind her red and gold scarf before looking back down at her notebook.
"You're not studying, are you? This is a time for a break."
"It's our final year, Mara. There is no time for a break."
"You should have been a Ravenclaw."
"And you should have been a Gryffindor," Minerva replied, tugging at her friends blue and bronze scarf. "They got the two of us mixed up."
The girls had had this discussion many times since they had been paired together in 2nd year Transfigurations and discovered that Minerva was the studious one, and Mara the one who longed to be adventuring. Their joint love of Quidditch had cemented their friendship.
"So is that the Transfigurations essay Dumbledore set?"
"It's not actually homework. I'm writing my New Year's resolutions."
"Show me."
Minerva shook her head.
"Telling someone will help you stick with them. I'll be there to remind you and help you."
Minerva silently passed over her notebook and Mara read aloud.
"Seven newts. Win the Quidditch cup. Join the war effort. Keep my journal up-to-date. Tidy my dorm room regularly." Mara laughed. "You and your lists."
"I like lists. I can tick them."
"Minerva, this is the most boring list of resolutions I've ever seen."
"It's what I want to achieve this year."
"This is our last six months in school. You should be aiming higher."
"Nine newts?"
"No! Excitement! Adventure! Romance! And you may as well get rid of the Quidditch cup one. It's not going to happen."
Minerva smiled at the familiar jibe. "I don't want excitement, adventure or romance. I want to get my Newts then join the fight against Grindelwald. I may not be hero material, but I can be helpful."
"Do you ever think that friends can see what we need more than we can?"
"Sure. You need to study more and fly less."
"So you write my New Year's resolutions."
"What?"
"I'll write, let's say five New Year's resolutions for you. You write five for me."
Minerva thought for a long moment before nodding. "We'll swap lists after the prefect's meeting tomorrow morning. Let's go in before we both catch cold."
Minerva spent longer than she should have thinking of resolutions for her Ravenclaw friend. And because of this, she slept in and ran into the Prefect's room after Antonin Dolohov had already started speaking.
“And since Minerva is the last one to arrive today, she has volunteered for the late shift tonight.” She glared at the Slytherin who was Head Boy this year.
“I’ll be the second on late shift.”
“Thank you, Xiomara.” Minerva smiled thankfully at her friend.
“If there’s nothing else, have a good day everyone.” Everyone filed out of the room except Xiomara, Minerva and Antonin. “Minerva, the Head Girl being late doesn’t set a very good example. Think about it -”
“I was late, Antonin. It hasn’t happened before. It won’t happen again.”
He frowned before he walked out and the girls headed to a couch to swap lists.
“Shall we read them out loud to one another, or just swap?”
“Just swap.”
They each passed over a piece of parchment and eagerly read the New Year’s resolutions they had been set. Minerva was proud of what she’d written for Mara; it was a set of resolutions that could see her do very well in her Newts but was still fun. She was appalled with what Mara had given her.
“This is the most appalling list of resolutions I’ve ever seen!” Minerva looked at Mara. “It’s so boring, Minerva.”
“What about yours? This seems like a sure fire way to fail all my Newts and become a failure living worse than the poorest Squib.”
“You’re exaggerating, Minerva.”
She looked at her list again: make snow angels, cut class, visit the Forbidden Forest, skinny dip, kiss passionately under a full moon. She grimaced. She had written a list for Mara that centred on studying regularly, training properly in Quidditch instead of just fooling around, and taking her prefect responsibilities seriously.
“You’ll help me, won’t you?”
“I’ve already drawn up a study plan.” Minerva paused. “You’ll help me?”
“We’ll start at the next big snow.”
The next month seemed to pass too quickly, and work continued to pile up. Minerva was pleased with how Mara was sticking to her resolutions; the two girls studied together every night, curled comfortably on a couch in the study room on the seventh floor that Minerva had found in 4th year.
It was the beginning of February when Minerva caught Mara staring out the window into the distance.
“What are you daydreaming about?”
She looked slightly guilty but answered with a smile. “I was just thinking it looks like we’ll be able to start your resolutions tomorrow.” She pointed to the dark clouds coming in over the Forbidden Forest. “We’ll get a lot of snow tonight.”
“Well, if you plan on gallivanting around the place after class tomorrow rather than studying, we’d better get some work done now.”
As the two girls dipped their quills and began writing yet another Transfigurations essay, the snow began whirling outside.
Minerva woke to a blanket of white outside her window. She remembered Mara’s comment from the night before and dressed warmly, thinking she’d be making snow angels before the day was over. But she didn’t see her friend at breakfast, and they didn’t share their morning classes. She was just sitting down at lunch when Mara found her.
“Come on!”
“Can’t this wait until the end of the day?”
“No.”
“Until after I’ve eaten?”
Mara held up a basket. “I raided the kitchens. Come on!” She pulled at Minerva’s arm, and Minerva grabbed her cloak as she was dragged from the bench. As soon as she was out of the Great Hall, Mara took off at a run and Minerva’s shorter legs struggled to keep up.
When they stepped outside Mara stopped and breathed deeply. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were quickly reddening from the cold and she looked alive.
"Do we have to do this in public? Because I don't think snow angels from the Head Girl is very dignified."
"No." Mara was dragging her towards the Forbidden Forest. "We're going somewhere private for you."
"No. Mara, no. Only one resolution today."
"I thought you'd like to get through as many as possible in one day."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
Mara was slowing down at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. She stopped by an old oak and looked cautiously around. With the snow reaching their ankles they were the only ones crazy enough to be outside.
"Are you ready to tick an item off your list?"
Minerva took a deep breath. "Are you going to get us killed?"
"No. I promise." Still clasping hands, they stepped into the forest.
Mara seemed to know where she was going. She led Minerva surely down a path, past the dark shadows, ignoring the strange sounds that Minerva was jumping at. She led the way into a clearing where the weak sun muted the shadows.
"Ready for number two?" Mara was standing very close, looking down into Minerva's eyes, her gentle breath warm against Minerva's face.
"Yes."
There was a quick shove and Minerva found herself lying on her back in the snow, Mara looking down on her, laughing. A cry escaped her lips and she sat up, a frown crossing her face.
"Angels, Minerva. Angels."
Sighing, she flopped back into the hole she'd made and wiggled her arms and legs.
"Properly, or no tick." Mara knelt in the snow beside her and grasped an arm. "Like this."
Warm fingers encircled her wrist and dragged her arm in long, slow arcs through the snow.
"The other arm now."
Obediently, Minerva mimicked Mara's movements with her left arm as the other girl moved on her knees to Minerva's feet.
"I don't need help with my feet."
"I think you do." The hands closed around her ankles and spread Minerva's legs wide before closing them again. "Now you have to do a full one by yourself."
Mara hauled Minerva to her feet and guided her to take a giant step away from the spot she'd been standing.
"It's an angel!" Minerva could hear the wonder in her own voice.
"You've never done this before?" Minerva just shook her head. "Ready for another one?" This time a nod. "Lean back."
Mara grasped her hands and leaned backwards, creating a counterpoint to Minerva's own tilted body. When Mara let go, they both found themselves in the snow. Minerva giggled, then quickly put a hand over her mouth.
"Angels, Minerva! And you're allowed to laugh!" Mara's own chuckle echoed through the clearing and soon she was standing in the middle of an angel, watching Minerva get snowy in her own. "Again!"
Minerva nodded, and quickly found herself in a competition to see who could make the most snow angels. The competition ended when she heard the school bell ring in the distance.
"Oh, we have to get back to class." She picked up her discarded scarf and moved towards the path they'd taken.
"No." Mara began dragging her in the opposite direction. "This is tick number two."
"We can't skip class today." Minerva jogged to keep up.
"It's only double transfigurations. We've finished the work and Dumbledore won't even miss us."
"Mara…"
"And it's another tick."
Minerva wasn't sure why, but she allowed herself to be dragged down another track to another clearing, this one housing a small pool with fresh grass surrounding it. She was shivering as she brushed snow off her arms.
"Time for tick three."
"What?" Mara pointed at the pool. "Oh, no. We'll freeze to death, even with a warming charm."
"A warming charm is not needed." Minerva found her arm being pulled on again. As she drew closer to the pool, she found her fingers defrosting and saw the steam rising from the water. A hot spring. “I found it a year ago. Don’t tell anyone.”
Mara was shedding her clothes quickly, but Minerva still stood still.
“What are you waiting for?” Mara asked as she pulled off her vest.
“I can’t get in there naked with you.”
“You get changed in the Quidditch locker rooms all the time.”
“That’s different. That’s not soaking for a long time.” She glanced back at the castle. “And we really should get back to class.”
“But it’s a third tick.”
“Fourth.” Mara looked at her questioningly. “Forbidden Forest, snow angels, cutting class. Skinny dipping will be fourth.”
“Then it’s only kissing passionately under a full moon. Don’t you want to get nearly everything done?”
Reluctantly Minerva began stripping; feeling self-conscious next to Mara who had a sleek body like a lioness from more training than Minerva found time to do. In comparison she felt soft and, well, mushy. She watched Mara’s lithe form step into the spring and her friend closed her eyes and relaxed in the warmth. Minerva took advantage of this by quickly shedding the rest of her clothes and stepping into the water before Mara opened her eyes again.
Mara smiled at her, and there seemed to be something behind the smile, but before she could interpret it, the girl turned away and grabbed the basket.
“Lunch?”
They transfigured a table to sit in the middle of the pool and ate their fill of roast chicken, crusty bread and roast vegetables. Mara poured some wine for them both and they relaxed again into the water.
“I still have one tick left.”
“You do.”
“There’s no boy here that I want to kiss me passionately, Mara.”
“There must be someone. Avery? Riddle?” Minerva shook her head. “Dumbledore?”
Minerva laughed. “He’s so old.”
“But very handsome.”
“I must be a late bloomer. There just aren’t any boys I’m interested in.”
"What about girls?"
"What?"
Mara had been looking at her intently, but relaxed back into the pool as the Minerva watched. "Girls. Have you ever thought about kissing a girl?"
Minerva laughed. "What sort of question is that, Mara?" She sunk lower into the water. "It's getting dark. Maybe we should head back."
"Maybe we should." Mara transfigured their scarves into towels and Minerva carefully turned her back to Mara before she climbed out of the water.
The sun set quickly and it was full dark when they began walking towards the castle. Minerva looked across at Mara, wondering what was going through her head; wondering why she'd asked that question. Their wands shone weakly, but a full moon shone in the sky.
Full moon.
They had reached the edge of the forest and Mara smiled shyly over her shoulder before she began walking back.
"Mara, wait!"
She had no idea why she was doing this, but she stepped closet to Mara, tilted her head back and pressed her lips to the Ravenclaw's. They were cold under hers, and still. She pulled away, sure she'd made a mistake, until Mara's head followed hers and a slim hand threaded through her damp hair and she parted her lips, not sure what she was expecting. She felt like she was melting as a tongue invaded her mouth and a thigh pressed between her own. A moan rose from her chest, escaping into the sky and Mara eased away. Minerva felt her friend's cheek against her hair.
"Why did you do that?" It was a whisper as Mara breathed deeply of the cold air.
"So I'd tick everything off in the same day."
Mara stepped away and pointed to the sky. "Look closely."
Minerva did and saw that a sliver of moon was missing. "Three more days?"
"I think so."
Mara looked uncertain. This time it was Minerva who smiled confidently. "I guess we'll have to try this again in three days." She reached a hand to caress a soft cheek. "But do you think we can practice before then?"
Title: Not Quite Full
Your LJ Name: ?
Recipient: gamps_garret
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling. No money is being made from this story.
Pairing: McGonagall/Hooch
Rating: G
Word Count (if applicable): 2,400
Warnings: None
Summary: Wouldn't it be great if your best friend wrote your New Year's Resolutions?
Author's Notes: Love and thanks to my beta. This is more innocent then I usually write, I hope you like it gamps_garret. The idea for the story came from the Indigo Girls song Closer to Fine.
And the best thing you've ever done for me
Is to help me take my life less seriously
It's only life after all
Closer to Fine, Indigo Girls
"Xiomara Rolanda Hooch."
"Minerva McGonagall."
"I should have known it was you. You're the only one crazy enough to be on a broom on a day like today."
"And you're the only one crazy enough to be sitting in the stands writing on a day like today." She grinned as she sat, her cheeks flushed from the cold air and exercise. "At least I'm keeping warm. Your lips are going blue."
Minerva smiled back from behind her red and gold scarf before looking back down at her notebook.
"You're not studying, are you? This is a time for a break."
"It's our final year, Mara. There is no time for a break."
"You should have been a Ravenclaw."
"And you should have been a Gryffindor," Minerva replied, tugging at her friends blue and bronze scarf. "They got the two of us mixed up."
The girls had had this discussion many times since they had been paired together in 2nd year Transfigurations and discovered that Minerva was the studious one, and Mara the one who longed to be adventuring. Their joint love of Quidditch had cemented their friendship.
"So is that the Transfigurations essay Dumbledore set?"
"It's not actually homework. I'm writing my New Year's resolutions."
"Show me."
Minerva shook her head.
"Telling someone will help you stick with them. I'll be there to remind you and help you."
Minerva silently passed over her notebook and Mara read aloud.
"Seven newts. Win the Quidditch cup. Join the war effort. Keep my journal up-to-date. Tidy my dorm room regularly." Mara laughed. "You and your lists."
"I like lists. I can tick them."
"Minerva, this is the most boring list of resolutions I've ever seen."
"It's what I want to achieve this year."
"This is our last six months in school. You should be aiming higher."
"Nine newts?"
"No! Excitement! Adventure! Romance! And you may as well get rid of the Quidditch cup one. It's not going to happen."
Minerva smiled at the familiar jibe. "I don't want excitement, adventure or romance. I want to get my Newts then join the fight against Grindelwald. I may not be hero material, but I can be helpful."
"Do you ever think that friends can see what we need more than we can?"
"Sure. You need to study more and fly less."
"So you write my New Year's resolutions."
"What?"
"I'll write, let's say five New Year's resolutions for you. You write five for me."
Minerva thought for a long moment before nodding. "We'll swap lists after the prefect's meeting tomorrow morning. Let's go in before we both catch cold."
Minerva spent longer than she should have thinking of resolutions for her Ravenclaw friend. And because of this, she slept in and ran into the Prefect's room after Antonin Dolohov had already started speaking.
“And since Minerva is the last one to arrive today, she has volunteered for the late shift tonight.” She glared at the Slytherin who was Head Boy this year.
“I’ll be the second on late shift.”
“Thank you, Xiomara.” Minerva smiled thankfully at her friend.
“If there’s nothing else, have a good day everyone.” Everyone filed out of the room except Xiomara, Minerva and Antonin. “Minerva, the Head Girl being late doesn’t set a very good example. Think about it -”
“I was late, Antonin. It hasn’t happened before. It won’t happen again.”
He frowned before he walked out and the girls headed to a couch to swap lists.
“Shall we read them out loud to one another, or just swap?”
“Just swap.”
They each passed over a piece of parchment and eagerly read the New Year’s resolutions they had been set. Minerva was proud of what she’d written for Mara; it was a set of resolutions that could see her do very well in her Newts but was still fun. She was appalled with what Mara had given her.
“This is the most appalling list of resolutions I’ve ever seen!” Minerva looked at Mara. “It’s so boring, Minerva.”
“What about yours? This seems like a sure fire way to fail all my Newts and become a failure living worse than the poorest Squib.”
“You’re exaggerating, Minerva.”
She looked at her list again: make snow angels, cut class, visit the Forbidden Forest, skinny dip, kiss passionately under a full moon. She grimaced. She had written a list for Mara that centred on studying regularly, training properly in Quidditch instead of just fooling around, and taking her prefect responsibilities seriously.
“You’ll help me, won’t you?”
“I’ve already drawn up a study plan.” Minerva paused. “You’ll help me?”
“We’ll start at the next big snow.”
The next month seemed to pass too quickly, and work continued to pile up. Minerva was pleased with how Mara was sticking to her resolutions; the two girls studied together every night, curled comfortably on a couch in the study room on the seventh floor that Minerva had found in 4th year.
It was the beginning of February when Minerva caught Mara staring out the window into the distance.
“What are you daydreaming about?”
She looked slightly guilty but answered with a smile. “I was just thinking it looks like we’ll be able to start your resolutions tomorrow.” She pointed to the dark clouds coming in over the Forbidden Forest. “We’ll get a lot of snow tonight.”
“Well, if you plan on gallivanting around the place after class tomorrow rather than studying, we’d better get some work done now.”
As the two girls dipped their quills and began writing yet another Transfigurations essay, the snow began whirling outside.
Minerva woke to a blanket of white outside her window. She remembered Mara’s comment from the night before and dressed warmly, thinking she’d be making snow angels before the day was over. But she didn’t see her friend at breakfast, and they didn’t share their morning classes. She was just sitting down at lunch when Mara found her.
“Come on!”
“Can’t this wait until the end of the day?”
“No.”
“Until after I’ve eaten?”
Mara held up a basket. “I raided the kitchens. Come on!” She pulled at Minerva’s arm, and Minerva grabbed her cloak as she was dragged from the bench. As soon as she was out of the Great Hall, Mara took off at a run and Minerva’s shorter legs struggled to keep up.
When they stepped outside Mara stopped and breathed deeply. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were quickly reddening from the cold and she looked alive.
"Do we have to do this in public? Because I don't think snow angels from the Head Girl is very dignified."
"No." Mara was dragging her towards the Forbidden Forest. "We're going somewhere private for you."
"No. Mara, no. Only one resolution today."
"I thought you'd like to get through as many as possible in one day."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
Mara was slowing down at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. She stopped by an old oak and looked cautiously around. With the snow reaching their ankles they were the only ones crazy enough to be outside.
"Are you ready to tick an item off your list?"
Minerva took a deep breath. "Are you going to get us killed?"
"No. I promise." Still clasping hands, they stepped into the forest.
Mara seemed to know where she was going. She led Minerva surely down a path, past the dark shadows, ignoring the strange sounds that Minerva was jumping at. She led the way into a clearing where the weak sun muted the shadows.
"Ready for number two?" Mara was standing very close, looking down into Minerva's eyes, her gentle breath warm against Minerva's face.
"Yes."
There was a quick shove and Minerva found herself lying on her back in the snow, Mara looking down on her, laughing. A cry escaped her lips and she sat up, a frown crossing her face.
"Angels, Minerva. Angels."
Sighing, she flopped back into the hole she'd made and wiggled her arms and legs.
"Properly, or no tick." Mara knelt in the snow beside her and grasped an arm. "Like this."
Warm fingers encircled her wrist and dragged her arm in long, slow arcs through the snow.
"The other arm now."
Obediently, Minerva mimicked Mara's movements with her left arm as the other girl moved on her knees to Minerva's feet.
"I don't need help with my feet."
"I think you do." The hands closed around her ankles and spread Minerva's legs wide before closing them again. "Now you have to do a full one by yourself."
Mara hauled Minerva to her feet and guided her to take a giant step away from the spot she'd been standing.
"It's an angel!" Minerva could hear the wonder in her own voice.
"You've never done this before?" Minerva just shook her head. "Ready for another one?" This time a nod. "Lean back."
Mara grasped her hands and leaned backwards, creating a counterpoint to Minerva's own tilted body. When Mara let go, they both found themselves in the snow. Minerva giggled, then quickly put a hand over her mouth.
"Angels, Minerva! And you're allowed to laugh!" Mara's own chuckle echoed through the clearing and soon she was standing in the middle of an angel, watching Minerva get snowy in her own. "Again!"
Minerva nodded, and quickly found herself in a competition to see who could make the most snow angels. The competition ended when she heard the school bell ring in the distance.
"Oh, we have to get back to class." She picked up her discarded scarf and moved towards the path they'd taken.
"No." Mara began dragging her in the opposite direction. "This is tick number two."
"We can't skip class today." Minerva jogged to keep up.
"It's only double transfigurations. We've finished the work and Dumbledore won't even miss us."
"Mara…"
"And it's another tick."
Minerva wasn't sure why, but she allowed herself to be dragged down another track to another clearing, this one housing a small pool with fresh grass surrounding it. She was shivering as she brushed snow off her arms.
"Time for tick three."
"What?" Mara pointed at the pool. "Oh, no. We'll freeze to death, even with a warming charm."
"A warming charm is not needed." Minerva found her arm being pulled on again. As she drew closer to the pool, she found her fingers defrosting and saw the steam rising from the water. A hot spring. “I found it a year ago. Don’t tell anyone.”
Mara was shedding her clothes quickly, but Minerva still stood still.
“What are you waiting for?” Mara asked as she pulled off her vest.
“I can’t get in there naked with you.”
“You get changed in the Quidditch locker rooms all the time.”
“That’s different. That’s not soaking for a long time.” She glanced back at the castle. “And we really should get back to class.”
“But it’s a third tick.”
“Fourth.” Mara looked at her questioningly. “Forbidden Forest, snow angels, cutting class. Skinny dipping will be fourth.”
“Then it’s only kissing passionately under a full moon. Don’t you want to get nearly everything done?”
Reluctantly Minerva began stripping; feeling self-conscious next to Mara who had a sleek body like a lioness from more training than Minerva found time to do. In comparison she felt soft and, well, mushy. She watched Mara’s lithe form step into the spring and her friend closed her eyes and relaxed in the warmth. Minerva took advantage of this by quickly shedding the rest of her clothes and stepping into the water before Mara opened her eyes again.
Mara smiled at her, and there seemed to be something behind the smile, but before she could interpret it, the girl turned away and grabbed the basket.
“Lunch?”
They transfigured a table to sit in the middle of the pool and ate their fill of roast chicken, crusty bread and roast vegetables. Mara poured some wine for them both and they relaxed again into the water.
“I still have one tick left.”
“You do.”
“There’s no boy here that I want to kiss me passionately, Mara.”
“There must be someone. Avery? Riddle?” Minerva shook her head. “Dumbledore?”
Minerva laughed. “He’s so old.”
“But very handsome.”
“I must be a late bloomer. There just aren’t any boys I’m interested in.”
"What about girls?"
"What?"
Mara had been looking at her intently, but relaxed back into the pool as the Minerva watched. "Girls. Have you ever thought about kissing a girl?"
Minerva laughed. "What sort of question is that, Mara?" She sunk lower into the water. "It's getting dark. Maybe we should head back."
"Maybe we should." Mara transfigured their scarves into towels and Minerva carefully turned her back to Mara before she climbed out of the water.
The sun set quickly and it was full dark when they began walking towards the castle. Minerva looked across at Mara, wondering what was going through her head; wondering why she'd asked that question. Their wands shone weakly, but a full moon shone in the sky.
Full moon.
They had reached the edge of the forest and Mara smiled shyly over her shoulder before she began walking back.
"Mara, wait!"
She had no idea why she was doing this, but she stepped closet to Mara, tilted her head back and pressed her lips to the Ravenclaw's. They were cold under hers, and still. She pulled away, sure she'd made a mistake, until Mara's head followed hers and a slim hand threaded through her damp hair and she parted her lips, not sure what she was expecting. She felt like she was melting as a tongue invaded her mouth and a thigh pressed between her own. A moan rose from her chest, escaping into the sky and Mara eased away. Minerva felt her friend's cheek against her hair.
"Why did you do that?" It was a whisper as Mara breathed deeply of the cold air.
"So I'd tick everything off in the same day."
Mara stepped away and pointed to the sky. "Look closely."
Minerva did and saw that a sliver of moon was missing. "Three more days?"
"I think so."
Mara looked uncertain. This time it was Minerva who smiled confidently. "I guess we'll have to try this again in three days." She reached a hand to caress a soft cheek. "But do you think we can practice before then?"