RP: Music Festival

[shh_luna]

Date: August 25, 2005
Character(s): Luna Lovegood, Ernie Macmillan, Caradoc Dearborn, Ginny Weasley, Lavender Brown, Ron Weasley, Eleanor Branstone, Zacharias Smith, Mandy Brocklehurst, George Weasley, Lisa Turpin, Draco Malfoy, Marietta Edgecombe, Arabella Figg, Julian Avery, Rabastan Lestrange, Katie Bell, Cedric Diggory, Wayne Hopkins, Eloise

Comments

[shh_ernie]

Ernie heard music and rolled over to glance at the clock. It was nearly noon. Although he'd made an excuse and turned in rather early last night, he'd had another nightmare. This one was so bad that he'd gotten out of bed and watched a movie before he felt comfortable going back to sleep. The end result was that he was now waking at noon

[shh_luna]

"Hello, Ernie," she said, grinning and lifting her hand in a wave as he walked over to greet her. "I'm really well. Happy that this is finally happening." She gestured around her. "After planning it for so long, and all."

She studied her friend closely. "How are you feeling?"

[shh_ernie]

Ernie glanced around. It wasn't overly crowded, but there were a fair number of people here. "It's a wonderful idea," he replied with a smile. "And a good turnout considering you opened your doors not too long ago."

Scuffing the ground with his boot, he thought about how to answer Luna's question. Finally, he looked up and said, "Er...alright...physically." He shrugged. Talking about it wouldn't get him anywhere as his conversation with Ginny had proved yesterday. "Does the festival coordinator have time for a bite to eat?"

[shh_luna]

"Thanks," she said with a smile, "and yes, it's going fairly well."

Ernie seemed a bit nervous as he began to fidget. "Well, you certainly look better than you did the last time I looked in on you at the hospital. I'm glad for that. I'm sure Eleanor made sure you got plenty of rest after you went home. Is she working at the shop today?"

She grinned. "Yes, I think I've a bit of time for food."

[shh_caradoc]

I'm definitely getting too old for this, Caradoc thought as he pulled his wand and cast a sound dampening charm. The Weird Sisters definitely were not his thing. He smiled and winked at one of the 20-something Musical Club volunteers who was snickering at him for casting a charm to block out sound.

[shh_arabella]

Arabella wasn't sure whether to roll her eyes or hug Caradoc. He'd pulled out his wand and cast some sort of charm to dampen the sound of the rather loud band that was playing. Hearing that the band was called The Weird Sisters, she'd tutted at the ridiculousness of the name. "I don't see any women in that group," she'd groused, remembering that some wizards had rather, well, weird senses of humour. Perhaps that had been the origin of the name? No matter. They were louder that a Reading Brewery delivery lorry banging its way up the M5.

"Thank you, dearie," she mouthed, giving him a thumbs-up sign.

[shh_caradoc]

"Am I showing my age if I state for the record that the jazz club Irma and I visited last weekend was much more my speed?" he chuckled. "This is very much like Kurt's band, Gaffaw. Be glad he didn't try to drag you out to hear them play when we were in New Orleans." Caradoc's youngest cousin played in a band that was popular with the college crowds. The band had begun picking up local nightclub gigs while Kurt was still at university. He and the other members continued to moonlight even after graduation a couple years ago.

[shh_arabella]

"Yes, and your speed is much closer to my speed, which is approximately Nat King Cole," she joked back. "Really? I didn't know Kurt was in a band. What sort of music do they play? Anything Muggle?"

She scanned the crowd, wondering if she would see anyone she knew of any age. Whenever she recognised someone, she gave them a bright smile and a big wave.

[shh_ginny]

She'd been at the Quidditch pitch that morning to carry boxes and levitate tables around but had begun to feel underfoot after that and opted to go home and catch a catnap before the festival began. Now, coming awake on the sofa with a book on her chest, Ginny scrambled up and checked the time. 'Sod on.' She cursed silently, dashing upstairs to take a quick shower and pull on a fresh pair of denims and George's button-down that he'd let her wear to bed two nights ago when she'd Floo'd over at 3 a.m. having woken from a nightmare.

Apparating to the pitch, Ginny gave the shirt a tug to straighten it and smiled as the music washed over her. Grinning, she went in search of a blanket, stopping to remind the volunteers where she'd be when they wanted to be spelled for a breather and, nicking a soft blanket from the pile, headed over to the grass to the left of the stage. Shaking out the blanket, she flopped down on it and folded her arms under her head as she stretched out.

[shh_george]

George walked through the crowd, his hands shoved in his pockets. There was a good turn out, and he couldn't wait to get the fireworks started. But it was still early and there was lots to be seen and he really wanted to grab some food.

A flash of red caught his attention and he grinned as he saw his sister laid out on one of the blankets beside the stage.

"Nice shirt," he said, striding up to her and groaning as he sat down beside of her. "You have good taste, buying something so spiffy. I hope you weren't expecting anyone, cause you get me now instead." He grinned and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "How are you, babe?"

[shh_ginny]

A shadow crossed her view only a second before George spoke and Ginny smiled broadly as he sank down on the blanket beside her. Pressing a kiss to his cheek, she laughed, giving the shirt a tug. "Isn't it? Regular posh, I am. Thought you knew that."

"Well, I was expecting a handsome, funny wizard and look at that! I got one." Ginny smirked. "I'm doing okay, still a little sleepy. Took a catnap after helping to set up this morning and only just woke up."

[shh_george]

"Of course I knew that," he said, smiling at her. "And you certainly did get gone." He laid down beside her, propping up on his elbow and studying her face. "And how did you sleep last night, angel?" he asked, brushing her hair back from her face. She'd scared him showing up in the middle of the night, out of breath and trembling. But he'd have rather had her frighten him than try to handle it alone.

[shh_lavender]

After a long morning in bed and bit of a surprising discussion about sexual fantasies, Lavender and Ron made their way to the Music Festival. Lavender had been looking forward to it for a while, seeing it as an important step in getting the hospital the attention it deserved and, more importantly, to publicise the rebuilding that was needed.

The weather seemed perfect and Lavender took the opportunity to wear a dress and enjoy the sunshine. The people that they passed seemed to be enjoying the music and Lavender was so happy for Luna that all her planning had worked so well.

[shh_ron]

Ron was in a very good mood when the time came to go to the Music Festival. He was happy and relieved that his talk with Lavender had gone so well and he was still grinning when they arrived at the Quidditch pitch, where the festival was being held. Lavender looked brilliant, the sun was shining and the crowd that had gathered seemed to be having a great time. It was a perfect day to relax and do as little as possible.

After dropping a small donation in the donation box, Ron picked a sky-blue blanket for himself and Lavender to lie once they found a good spot. "Luna's done a great job organising this," he said. "Couldn't ask for a nicer day to have it."

[shh_lavender]

Lavender kissed Ron's cheek after he lay out the blanket for them, sitting down and looking towards the stage. "Yeah, she has. We'll have to congratulate her if we see her."

She sighed happily, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's a beautiful day." She was glad that she could spend the day with Ron and there was a lovely sense of community around with so many people gathered to enjoy the festival.

[shh_eleanor]

The shop hadn’t been very busy. She’d had a few customers in the morning, but for the most part it had been pretty dead. She figured that everyone was out enjoying the Music Festival. Eleanor decided she was probably wasting her time keeping the shop open, and decided it probably wouldn’t hurt to close a little early

[shh_zach]

It was fairly crowded at the festival. Zach hadn't been too interested in going, after all the last festival like this he'd been to had led up to finding Macmillan bloodied and half dead in the street.

He kept close to Mandy and knew there would be no walks for him tonight, nor anyone he cared about.

A tap on his shoulder made him turn and he smiled widely when he saw who it was. "Elle! How are you, love?" He pulled her into a hug, holding on tighter than he would normally. He'd been worried for her. "How was your first full day at the shop? Everything all right? You all right?" He pulled back to look at her. "I can run it tomorrow if you need me to? I hate leaving you there... how's Macmillan?" He'd not seen him so it was safe to ask. "And oh wow, I want you to meet Mandy." He stepped back, his arm going around Mandy's waist and pulling her closer. "Mandy, this is Eleanor. Elle, Mandy." He was terribly excited. He'd been dying for the two of them to meet.

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor hugged him back, it was good to know that she hadn't completely put him off after the drunken lunch at Socks last weekend. Or, more importantly, mentioning the prefect badges to Ernie while he'd still been standing there. "I'm good, and it went well. Actually, it was pretty dead, so I closed early. I thought that Ernie might like to get out of the house for a bit, but he'd already left by the time I got home. And I'm usually closed on Sundays, or that was the original plan, anyway, so you don't have to work for me tomorrow. Enjoy your days off," she told him, shaking her head. "Ernie's doing fine. He went to see the Healer for a follow up appointment yesterday, and apparently he's getting better."

She grinned when he introduced Mandy, and offered her hand to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mandy. I've heard many good things about you from Zach."

[shh_mandy]

Mandy stood back a little, smiling and waiting as she watched Zach hug the pretty young woman who'd greeted him. When she realized who it was, she took the opportunity to look at Eleanor more closely -- she'd heard enough about her from him that she was intrigued. She did seem very sweet indeed, both cheerful and sensible at once.

"Hi, Eleanor ... Elle?" she tried as she took the hand she was offered. "It really is so nice to meet you after hearing about you for weeks." She laughed. "Zach's been spreading the good word both ways, apparently. In fact, it feels like I know you a bit already."