Girls gone.....wild?

[Lily Drage]

Lily was pacing in the living room. Sumner was gone for the night to England for practice and she was going to be home alone in the apartment. She wanted to go with him, but work and her own practice schedule made that impossible. Instead, she had sent Maximus, their owl, to invite her sister in law, Estrella, to come for a visit. It worked out well that Uncle Leif and Aunt Daisy were nearby in Sydney and willing to watch the two young girls so the older pair could have a night alone. She had hurried out when Estrella had agreed and picked up a few necessities: Cherry Coke, Twizzlers, chocolate and wine. Lots of wine. The Warriors schedule had changed just that afternoon for the morning practice, delaying it until early afternoon. Ford and Courtney had taken advantage of that fact and had gone out to do various things, making things much easier for Lily and Estrella to stay in and get their drink on.

Checking to make sure that the wine was properly chilled and that the soda was the right temperature, Lily went to the window to look for Estrella once more, smiling as she saw the familiar hair heading up the front walk. "Bout time you got here!" she said with a laugh as she opened the door.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella couldn't have been happier to see her fellow eagle in that doorway. Her shoes smacking the pavement, the older of the two was soon off that walkway and hugging her best friend like no tomorrow. "You look great," Estrella commented, giving her friend a half-hearted smile and another hug before pulling away, "really great. If I didn't know better I'd say you could punch through a tree trunk."

It was obvious that Estrella needed cheering up. Her life as of late had been kicking her in the backside, and there was no one better than Lily to help her kick it right back.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily hugged her friend tight, having heard about what happened recently in her life. It pained her that the two were not able to get together before this, but they had been writing back and forth. "You look amazing for having recently had yet another baby. How is my adorable Goddaughter?" she asked, pulling her friend inside and shutting the door behind them. Lily set the wards and then took Estrella's overnight bag before leading them towards the living room. "I think all the training and things really help my muscles, whatcha think?" she asked with a bit of a smirk. "Everyone is gone for the night, so we have the place to ourselves. Well, we never know when Kale will pop in, but Court and Ford are out for the night for sure. Lemme give you the grand tour."

Quickly, Lily lead the older Ravenclaw around the apartment, pointing out the various rooms until they reached the suite at the end that housed hers and Ford's rooms. "Those two rooms I would avoid. That is Ford's bathroom and that one is his bedroom. Never know exactly what you will find in there," she said with a laugh. "And this one is mine and Sumner's room." She opened the door to reveal the tropical bedroom, perfect for facing the ocean outside. Lily set Estrella's bag down on the floor near the closet and turned to ask, "So, what do you think?"

 

[Estrella Drage]

Wincing, Estrella responded, "She's doing well." Even with a nanny and occasionally Persephone to help her, the woman was living a hell that offered no rest. The first two months were the worst. Daisy and Lief were nuts for taking Olivia and Lydia for the day, but then again, it was just one day. Lily's invitation to spend some time with her was a godsend; it meant a break. It meant that she could forget, at least for a night, that she hadn't seen her husband for months, and that she was raising two children on her own. Thank Merlin for small favors.

The brunette laughed and pinched Lily's left bicep. "Yeah, I bet you could catch a Bludger and throw it back," Estrella joked, glancing about the living room. It was a nice place, especially for such recent graduates. Quidditch seemed to really reel in the dough.

She followed Lily on the exclusive, private tour of the flat. There was no telling what the two witches would brew now that they had the place to themselves. A grin twisting her lip, Estrella moved into Lily and Sumner's room. She would take Lily's advice and leave Ford's room alone. However, she couldn't promise that Courtney's would go untouched.

Estrella crossed her arms and wandered slowly to the window. "I think it's beautiful." She stared out over the ocean before turning back to Lily. "I mean, the whole place is. You're really quite the decorator! Did you do this all by yourself?" Sumner's sister had a feeling that her brother wasn't really the creative type.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily smiled as her sister in law complemented the decorating. "Yeah, I did do most of this on my own. Surprisingly, Ford helped me out a bit with some of the more complex decorating spells. But I did have just a bit of time on my hands while I waited for Sumner to get done with school, you know," she said with a wink. "I spent quite a bit shopping for the furniture and things. Took me forever to find things that would not be too girly for Sumner but yet not too dude-like for me." She stroked her hand along the deep ocean blue cover on her bed. It reflected the color of the ocean outside the sliding doors that lead to the patio she shared with Ford and then the beach beyond.

"So, what shall we do first? Wine?" she asked, giving her longest friend a goofy grin.

 

[Estrella Drage]

"Ford helped you decorate?" Estrella snickered, "Well, there's always more than meets the eye, I suppose." With a grin, she added, "We just never know how much." She nodded at what Lily had said. The older of the two women wouldn't have the time or patience to put something like this together. She'd hire someone before she took the time to decorate a room herself. "Maybe you'll be the wizarding Martha Stewart someday?"

Wine was a very inviting word at the moment. Estrella would hug the term and its four letters if she could. "That's the best idea I've heard in a long time!" she exclaimed, "Would this happen to be goblin-made?"

 

[Lily Drage]

"I know. Ford really isn't a decorator but he was able to help get those fans up and the ceiling pieces mounted up. I really doubt that Sumner would have had the patience for this, so I was glad to get it all done before he finally was home for good." She moved to lead her sister out to the kitchen. "I do believe that I picked some up, along with a few other treats."

Once they reached the kitchen, Lily moved swiftly to pour out two large glasses of the beautifully red liquid. She took a sip after handing Estrella the other glass and then lead them from the kitchen out onto the patio. Taking a seat in one of the loungers out there, she sipped on the wine in her glass and relaxed. "So, how have things really been going?" she asked, knowing that her sister in law has been going through hell.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Treats were good. Estrella normally would have been concerned about losing baby weight, but at the moment, she could really care less what sweet, sugary concoction simmered in her stomach tonight. She was all too glad to take the glass of wine from Lily, sipping off the top before following her sister-in-law outside. The drink proved to be even better than Estrella expected. She and Lily were going to have a great time.

Quick to kick her shoes off and stretch on the lounger, Estrella closed her eyes and made some more wine vanish before spilling to her friend. She knew that she could tell Lily anything. "Terribly," she started honestly, "Well, worse than terribly, but I think you get what I mean. Lily, I haven't seen him for over a month, and he hasn't been home for four." She flashed her wedding ring at Lily, then staring at it before dropping her arm to the side. "He doesn't know about this. He doesn't know his daughters exist. As far as I know, he can't even walk. He should be with me. Merlin, I'm his wife." The anger that arose whenever she thought about this subject- and it was always on her mind these days- was subdued with another sip of wine. "It's not right at all. I'm the one raising two kids, kids he doesn't even know about. I deserve the say in this situation, but does his family care? Not one bit. And they've done an absolutely shoddy job at letting me know what's going on. I don't even know when he's coming home." She took a deep breath, glad that she was finally able to get this out. It was a wonder that Estrella wasn't hollering all of this at the top of her lungs and tearing her hair out. Somehow, she was calm. "I miss him so much, and I know Olivia does too. He hasn't even met Lydia, for Merlin's sake!" She swallowed hard before continuing, "I know that he might not remember anything that happened between us. I'm worried that he won't stick around when he finds out what's on his plate."

Estrella sighed heavily, taking yet another drink. Her smile was weak at best. "These are cute glasses, where did you get them?"

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily sat back and listened as her oldest and dearest friend spilled about everything. She was aware of parts of it from what was shared in floo conversations and letters, but a lot of it was still not fully understood. She knew Jaken had been injured, and that he had lost his memory, but how it happened, she was still not clear. "I can't imagine what you are going through. I know how hard it is when Sumner and I are apart for work and when he was in school, but I could not imagine if I was not able to talk with him at least. I'm so sorry, Strella, I really am." Lifting her glass, she let the warm, red liquid slide down her throat, then spoke again. "How did this all happen anyways? Did they ever catch who did this to him? Oh, and I got these at a cute little shop in California."

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella nodded, shrugged, and then nearly drained her wine. She was going to need more soon. "Don't apologize, Lily, it's not your fault," she said softly, "How did it happen? I don't even know how it happened. We were in Minnesota, for Merlin's sake!" The brunette sighed and rest her head on the back of the chair. One didn't have to be Albus Dumbledore to recognize her frustration. "He left to buy food and diapers. When he came back, I don't think he even knew who he was. I don't really know what the hell happened. And I'm still confused, Lily. His brother and his father found him. Not just random wizards. His family!" Estrella's expression was quizzical at best. Of course, she had doubted the worst- but why in the world would they do something like that to him, and then take him in? It didn't make sense.

"They told me that some guy had attacked him and then wiped his memory. Probably so he wouldn't remember who did it, but the guy really effed that up. You know what they haven't told me? What they were doing there in the first place." Sure, they'd given her lies, but never the whole story. Whatever little trust Estrella had in them had died a painful death over these past few months, if not that horrible night.

 

[Lily Drage]

"Wait," Lily started to speak, then stopped, drained her glass and waved her wand to bring the bottle out to the patio. Filling both glasses again as she spoke, she continued. "Which brother? That creepy stalker dude? Merlin, what was he doing in Minnesota? And Professor Styx was there too? That makes no sense at all!" She took another drink from her glass, then spoke what was on her mind. "Is it possible....that....that they might have had something to do with it? How do they explain themselves being in the last place that I would ever expect them to be?" Styx always had creeped her out, even before she and Sumner had to serve a detention with him that ended with her shirt in shreds. Lily wondered if Jaken had done something so horrible that his father sought retribution on him -- or it if was just a coincidence that they were there.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella nearly thanked the bottle of wine before directing her gratitude toward her friend. She laughed nervously and took another drink. "Creepy stalker dude doesn't sum it up," she muttered, shuddering. Her hand wandered to her neck before falling back into her lap. She'd made the mistake of blasting Hades into a bookshelf at one point. Thankfully, he had stopped harassing her.

"But yes, him. And my father-in-law. You're right, it doesn't make any sense." She swallowed hard and looked out over the ocean. The breeze floating in was wonderful. "It's very possible. This isn't the first time I've considered it either, but... they swear up and down that they were there by coincidence. They don't have a good explanation. Dad told me not to trust them." She sighed before adding, "Then again, he doesn't trust anyone." Estrella shrugged and continued to drink.

"How have the Warriors been doing? Kicking some kiwi butt?"

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily listened carefully, but could not shake a feeling of unease about the whole thing. "I think Dad is right. I never liked Styx to begin with, and that creepy dude, what was his name again? Hercules? Well, he just screams trustworthy you know." Her words dripped with sarcasm, showing her attitude towards her former professor. "Right now, I think Dad is on target. I don't trust them. At all."

As the talk turned towards their favorite sport, Quidditch, Lily leaned back and began to relax a bit. The wine was doing its job well. "The Warriors are certainly kicking some arse this year. We are leading in our division. I am just glad that we don't have to play the Falcons this season. I love my husband too much to compete against him like that. How was teaching? What are you doing now for a job? Anything yet?" she asked as she leaned back and took another drink of her wine.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella was tipping back her glass when Lily said the name Hercules. She nearly choked, coughing and sputtering as a laugh rolled out of her throat. "Hercules?! Merlin, I am going to have to use that one next time," she giggled. Laughing about things wasn't going to make them go away, but at least it made her feel better. She nodded and returned to her drink. It was good to tell best friends things in case- something happened. "I don't trust them either. If I didn't have to deal with them, well, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't."

A smirk that could stand the grains of time lit up her face. While Lily was a best friend of hers, her lifelong devotion to the Falcons would never die. "I'm glad you don't have to play them either. If it came to a game like that..." she laughed, "I'd be rooting for you to get your head bashed in. And it wouldn't do for Sumner to have to scrape you off the field!"

Running her finger over the rim of the glass, she looked back to Lily. She was in a noticeably better mood than she had been in when she arrived. The fact that there was no screaming and hollering going on probably helped. "I've applied for a job at the Ministry. I want to be an Obliviator," she laughed, then added darkly, "There have got to be people out there who know how to scramble brains properly, after all." Estrella hoped avidly that she did get the job; she and Jaken needed to be bringing in some sort of income.

 

[Lily Drage]

"What is his name then? Hermes? Hera? Hortensia? Hildeguarde? Herpes? Hom-an-om-a-ding-dong?" she said, trying to cheer her best friend up. She had an uneasy feeling about the whole situation, but knew that they just needed to keep their guard up around the Styx family and let them fail before anything else can be done.

Lily had to laugh at Estrella's devotion to the Falcons. The fact that her brother was now on the team didn't help her any. "Oh, so you think that Sumner can outfly me? I do believe you know exactly how well I play, and Ford and I have moves that haven't even been on the pitch yet. I believe Sumner would have to be the target, m'dear, not me." She then stuck her tongue out at the older girl then smirked before draining out the rest of her glass.

Filling the bulb with the delicious red liquid, Lily was a bit shocked to hear Estrella's new career choice. "Obliviator? Wow! Very cool. I hope you get that job."

 

[Estrella Drage]

If Estrella was rolling before, she was hysterical now. Someone had tried and failed at transfiguring her face into a beet. "Hades," she coughed, wondering what would happen if she were ever to call her brother-in-law any of the aforementioned names. Tears slid down her cheeks until her neck was soaked and she was hacking for all she was worth. She definitely needed to laugh like this, as she hadn't since, well, before everything jumped off a cliff without a broomstick in hand.

"Maybe not, Lils," the twenty-year-old laughed, "But I do have faith in my Falcons. They will make Ford into jelly and you into a pancake breakfast if you're not careful." She nodded as she swirled her glass and finished off another round of alcohol. In no time, the wine would probably do wonders for the both of them.

 

[Lily Drage]

"Ohhhhh, Hades. That's right. I like Heracles better," Lily replied, smirking yet again at Estrella. It was good to hear her laugh like the old days back in the dorms. She did not like Jaken's brother at all, in fact he scared the stuffing out of her anytime she saw him. Fortunately, she rarely ever saw him. There was just somthing about Hades Lutrov that creeped her out like nothing and noone else. For now, making fun of his name was just the medicine that they both needed for a good laugh -- and to forget for a moment their suspicions that he was far, far worse than anything they ever could have imagined.

"Oh, darling, do you forget the results of that game you attended when we played them? I might have been battered and bruised by the end, but I was no pancake. In fact, which toned up blonde was it that scored 70 points that game? Hmmm. I wonder." She stuck her tongue out at the older brunette, not mentioning that the Falcons ended up winning that game by 10. It wasn't from lack of effort on the part of the Warriors team. The Falcon's managed to smash a bludger into their seeker's side, knocking them off the broom just as they were going to catch the snitch and secure victory for the Warriors, allowing the Falcon seeker to get the snitch instead.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella would have hugged Lily had they not been comfortable already. The older of the two sighed, drawing in the salty breeze. Maybe she and her friend could take a dip in the ocean later. There were so many things that they could do, and they had so little time. It was too bad neither of them had a Time Turner. While she needed more than just a night to wash her mind of what was going on in her life, at least she and Lily were able to scrub away the surface.

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Wait, don't you mean that game where the Falcons won?" she teased, knowing the Warriors had played a tough game. The kiwis had done pretty well, considering the team that they had been up against. Lily's performance had been one to remember. Estrella would have cheered for the Warriors at any other game.

 

[Lily Drage]

"Won? Don't you mean the game that they got lucky in?" Lily teased right back, half serious about the result. The Falcons were about to get their butts handed to them when they got that lucky shot in. "Besides, I do believe you have to root for the Warriors in every game they play. Its a requirement of being family." She then stuck her tongue out at Estrella and took a drink from her glass again. She was downing a lot of wine, but since she didn't have to go anywhere she really didn't care. "So, what else do you want to do tonight other than get excessively drunk?" she asked with a giggle.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella snorted, curling her lip in disgust. "There was no luck about it, Lily Drage," the brunette scoffed, sticking her tongue out, "They only made you think it was luck. And a requirement of being family? Hellooooooooo? I am cheering for family." Estrella tipped back her glass, loving the warmth that swaddled her. She thought on Lily's inquiry. Getting completely smashed would be a blast. However, they would need other things to do to accompany their drinking. "Ummmm... paint our nails? Send prank howlers? What do you have in mind?" Estrella would've suggested going swimming, but that didn't seem like it would be a great thing to do while intoxicated.

 

[Lily Drage]

"NOW you might be, but then, well, you had no excuses," Lily snarked, smiling the whole time. She summoned another bottle and quickly refilled both of their glasses. "I think prank howlers would be a great idea actually. Who shall we send them too? Valcan?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows. She was really feeling no pain at this point, not completely intoxicated but just enough that her inhibitions were gone. Lily waved her wand and summoned a few sheets of parchment and two quills. "Ok, I am totally up for it. Why is it that I wanna send one to Blake, tell him exactly what he lost out on?" Having said that, she busted out in laughter, doubling over in her giggling.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella crossed her legs, leaning forward to Lily. She was serious, then, about sending the howlers. A wicked grin sliced through Estrella's features. Merlin, this is going to be fun. She was tempted to send a particularly nasty one to her in-laws, but that endeavor would likely blow up in her face and not theirs. "Maybe because he did lose out?" Estrella laughed, "Though, don't be too mean. I'm sure he'll be reminded enough!" Estrella always found it amusing that Lily had dumped her best friend's god-sibling, Blake, and ended up with her brother, Sumner. Estrella reached for the quill and thought of possible candidates. "Maybe Bruin? I mean, that letter might find it's way, and he's always up for a laugh... or maybe Kat and Sumner?" The last she had heard, the lion and snake were living together in England.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily's face lit up and she couldn't help but smile at the idea of the howlers. "Totally! I think Bruin SOOOOOO needs a howler for not keeping in touch with his friends better. And Kat and Chace need one. Tell them to step away from the other one." She busted up laughing hard again, the alcohol taking control and making her extremely giggley at the moment. Grabbing the quill and a parchment, she started to pen one to Bruin, reading it aloud as she wrote.

Oh Captain, My Captain,

Just because you are all graduamat graduated now doesn't mean that you can forget us little peoples. Some of us miss you and want to hear from you once in a while to know that our Big Brother Bear is still alive and stuffs. Are you? Alive? WE MISS YOU!!!!!!

Lots of loves,
Lily Drage formerly Potter

She held the paper out to Estrella. "How's that sound?" Lily asked with a laugh, drinking more wine down.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Laughing into her glass, Estrella took another gulp before putting quill to parchment. "Sounds great to me!" Hopefully, Bruin would get a kick out of it. She wondered where the message would land. Machu Picchu? Mt. Everest? In any event, she was certain HNZ's former resident bear was somewhere exciting. The witch began her letter to the recently graduated couple. While this was a howler, it was obviously sarcastic when she read it aloud.

Kat and Chace,

You lovebirds better watch out, or you'll come down with a case of pregnancy. Scary, right? Hold out too long and

Estrella blew a raspberry, shaking her head. "Bollocks. I guess creativity got jealous because I'm good friends with this wine today. Where should I be going with this exactly?"

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily summoned Maximus from his perch and was tying the letter to Bruin to his leg when Estrella asked what to do next. "Lemme-rrrread-it," she slurred out as she took the parchment from the older girl. "Sounds good so far, might want to say something about things shriveling up and drying out or something along those lines. No. Wait," she gave a conspiratorial look. "Use it or loose it, baby!" With that, Maximus was ready to head off on his journey to find Bruin with their prank howler.