Closed A Planned Reprise PV Angelfyre McCubbin

2 September, 2022

When the owl pecked at her dorm room window at o'dark thirty, AngelFyre had a sneaking hunch she knew what the message was going to be about and from whom. She had gotten up extra early, just as she had done a year ago, and had gotten dressed in preparation to sneak out of House Hufflepuff, but she had been slightly delayed. She was on her hands and knees, not in any way appreciating the cold, hard flagstones in that moment while reaching under her bed for the shoe she had accidentally kicked beneath it. It was then that she heard the owl pecking the window pane.

A huge smile lit up her face as soon as she retrieved the note from the raptor and turned it over to make certain it really was meant for her. You never knew. It could have actually been meant for the badger who had lived in this room before her. It was the start of a new year after all. Things were in flux. It did not seem inconceivable to AngelFyre to think that even in the world of magic, mistakes could happen. She had been on this merry go round before. She knew well that mistakes happened in the world of magic. But not this time! It most definitely was her name written across the outside of the folded parchment and it was in Shiawase's hand.

She remembered, too! But of course she would! There were just some things you could trust friends to hold close to their hearts, and this little pact, of a sort, made in the spur of a moment last year, would be just that. AngelFyre had planned all summer to be on the second floor before the crack of dawn on the first full day back at Hogwarts, but she was not entirely certain Shiawase would be there. Now she knew that this would be their thing for sure. No reminders necessary. They would likely each leave Hogwarts with the memories and camaraderie of seven such first full days under their belts.

But she needed to hustle if memory #2 was going to take place before the Corridors filled up with the rest of the student body. Grabbing her surprise for Shiawase off the corner of her desk, she quietly snuck out with the stealth of a ninja and then flew like the wind to the second floor. She stopped, only briefly, to wave to the woman feeding her chickens in the painting she had met last year, and to wish her a good morning. "Good morning, Adana! Wonderful to see you again. Will talk more another day.... I have an important date to keep right now."

Shiawase... and the ghosts... would be sadly disappointed, or maybe even slightly amused, to find that AngelFyre's singing had in no way, whatsoever, improved over the past year.

Rounding the corner, third turn to the left, not even a little out of breath, she saw Shiawase sitting there. AngelFyre squealed in delight, clapping her hands excitedly and ran over to give her friend a hug.

"Sorry I am late. I had not forgotten. I just had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction; two feet and only one shoe. Quite a bother, really, but I am here now and ready to make some ghosts cry," and she just beamed from ear to ear at her friend.

Shiawase had been early to their meeting. And so it was natural that she'd have to wait a bit. But the silence stretched on, time kept moving, and there was no AF in sight. What if she'd forgotten? What if that chance meeting in the halls last year just didn't make as big an impression on her as it had for Shiawase? What if she got her owl but had no idea what it meant? Shiawase had spent most of last year in the library or studying. She made some friends, of course, but not too many. AF, though, was probably quite popular. She probably made a lot more friends than Shiawase did. So, maybe she just didn't remember . . .

Shiawase laughed the thoughts away. She was being silly, after all! AF may have made a lot more friends since then, but Shiawase was among the first friends she'd made! And she just knew, in her heart, that when they bumped into each other the first time, it meant everything to both of them!

The feeling was confirmed when AF showed up, squealed, and rushed over for a hug. Which of course, Shiawase accepted gleefully, holding her arms out for the hug, squealing as well.

"No worries! I understand! I can't say I have the exact same problem. I'm very meticulous about keeping my shoes together. Putting them on takes long enough as it is! Sometimes, I don't even bother and wear slippers. Nobody can even tell." She laughed. "Indeed! Time to strike fear into the hearts of every ghost in the castle! A-one two three four!"

And Shiawase began singing the Ghostbusters theme, taking off her robe and tossing it aside dramatically as she did to reveal the costume underneath, as well as a box on her lap. As soon as the robe was clear of her wheels, she began dancing as she sang. She kept trying to harmonize with AF, but she was so focused on her dancing that she sometimes forgot to sing. And other times, she forgot to dance as she sang instead. Her timing throughout the whole song was very off. But it didn't matter, because in that moment, Shiawase felt like a pop star.

And when they were finished, she laughed.

"Take that, ghosts!" she said between fits of giggles. Then she cleared her throat and suddenly looked very serious. "I actually made you something at home to celebrate this anniversary." She beamed as she held the box up for AF. "Here you go. Happy . . . anniversary? Reunion? Ghost Busters Day? What should we call this?"

@AngelFyre McCubbin

If it were possible... and believe me, it was... the two witches' enthusiasm to sing and dance to a reprise of their now, official annual tradition of 'The Ghostbusters' theme, was far greater than their combined talent. But the good news was they each had their own strengths which played up against the other's weakness. Shiawase, by far, had the superior singing voice, so they were covered there, even if AngelFyre's caterwauling made Shiawase's attempts at harmonizing simply impossible. They both got a little tickled at her valiant attempts nonetheless.

What AngelFyre lacked in vocal skills she made up for in her dance skills. As soon as Shiawase revealed her costume after their song began, AngelFyre smiled widely and secretly chided herself for not thinking of doing the same thing herself. Good news was that there was next year, and four more after that!

Her friend had her hands full though, trying to harmonize with Hogwarts' Best Worst Singer. On top of that, there was the pure physicality of manipulating her wheelchair in a confined hallway which was a lot to manage. AngelFyre knew she was sensitive about being helped with her chair, and she was respectful of that... truly... but this little production was a team effort, so sometimes teamwork was called for in such situations. As they moved into the last chorus, AngelFyre leaned down to her friend and whispered, "Bring it home, Shiawase. I have the dance moves for our big finale covered." And before any protestations could be uttered, AngelFyre placed her hands on the handles, tipped the chair back towards her with Shiawase's feet at about 45° off the floor and spun her easily around for their grand finale!

When they had finished their nonsense and Shiawase had admonished the ghosts, they both dissolved into a fit of giggles. "Mea culpa for man womanhandling your chair. I know it is not your favorite thing, but I hoped in this one instance it would be okay," and AngelFyre looked down at her own feet with her hands clasped behind her back, trying to suppress a grin. "Bark at me now if you are going to so we can get that over with and then move on to the surprise. I cannot wait to see what it is. I have a little something I made for you, too, but if you are upset with me, I may wait to give it to you. No sense in giving you ammunition to hurl at me," and she burst out laughing again.

AngelFyre smiled as she reached into her robe and grabbed her surprise to hand over to Shiawase while taking the proffered gift offered to her. When she opened it up and saw the fabulous cookies, her eyes just lit up. First, they smelled delicious, but AngelFyre could not get over how cute they were. "These are awesome! How did you do this? They look too elaborate for a cookie cutter, am I right?" She reached in immediately and took a bite out of one, her eyes near rolling into the back of her head. "Ohhhhh. They are delicious!" she said as she offered the box for Shiawase to take one or three if she so chose to do so. "Can I just say I am glad that Simon does not like sweets. This leaves more for me!"

As she delicately licked the crumbs off her fingers, she thought about Shiawase's question. "I rather like Ghostbuster's Day, actually," and smiling while nodding appreciatively at her costume she continued, "I wish I had thought of that. Next year I will be better prepared for sure," and she winked at her.

"So, where to now, gal pal?" she asked eagerly. "We have some catching up to do."

Shiawase was quick on the uptake. When AF leaned over and whispered to Shiawase to bring it home, and she had the dance moves for the finale covered, Shiawase had just enough time to raise her arms at an angle. Good thing, too, because her hands were just down by her wheels to manipulate them a moment ago, and if she had her hands down there when they went in for the spin, it could have been disastrous. If she had put her arms straight up, when AF tilted her chair, she may accidentally have hit her, but since she went for an angle, AF was in no danger. It overall looked like they planned it together, and Shiawase laughed.

She adopted a very serious expression when AF apologized.

"Mmm. Well," Shiawase said. She took a deep breath. This was meant to be a fun day and she didn't really want to bark at AF, but she did have to give a slight lecture. And so she folded her arms. "It's not so much that you grabbed my wheelchair without asking . . . and more that it was dangerous, you know? My hands were right there. If I didn't catch on to what you were doing, that could have been bad. There is absolutely no way you can make this up to me."

Shiawase winked. "Unless, of course, we practice together for next year. There are rehearsal rooms we can practice dancing in. I went there to practice ballroom dancing last year. So, we could maybe go there to practice together, if you'd like? That way we could really nail it next year!"

She laughed along with AF.

"Now, come on. You know I'd never throw things no matter how mad I am. I am a proper lady." She winked and soon they were exchanging gifts.

"Oh, wow! Thank you so much! I love it!" she exclaimed. And then AF asked her how she did it with the cookies and Shiawase laughed.

"Well, you're right. It wasn't a cookie cutter at all. I made the cookies from scratch and shaped them like that by hand!" The reaction when she took a bite was exactly what
Shiawase was hoping for. She took a cookie when offered with a smile. "More for you indeed! And there's plenty more where those came from! I love cooking!"

Shiawase nodded.

"Ghostbusters' Day it is! Happy Ghostbusters' Day, AF!" she declared. And she beamed when AF nodded appreciatively at her costume. "It took so much work to make this happen! And now I have my Halloween costume set, too!" She laughed.

"Oh, right. We can't very well stay in this hallway forever, huh? I didn't think that far ahead."

She blushed slightly, embarrassed she hadn't thought it through. "What's your first class today? Maybe we can talk on the way to that?"

@Angelfyre McCubbin