North Yorkshire, evening. 7.45pm.

There are certain social rules in regard to what is appropriate to wear on a first date. These rules are unspoken and generally quite well known amongst the female of the species. There are also certain social rules as to what is appropriate to wear when having dinner at your date's home. Another prevalent concept.

Viv's problem however, had been in trying to find the area in which these two sets of rules overlapped. This was only a minor worry earlier in the evening, one that she debated when she wasn't telling herself off for agreeing to the imminent arrangement. A date! A date with an auror! She couldn't have been thinking straight; it must have been the children. They were so adorable and they'd made him look like a half-decent human being.

Now that she stood in the center of a long, narrow lane in North Yorkshire, Vivienne's worries dissipated-- though she did wonder if Ed had invited her out to the middle of nowhere to do away with with her. It was a quaint place and the weather up here was only slightly colder than she had anticipated. Autumn was still some ways away. She had decided on a fine black, knitted dress and her most sensible pair of heels; it was a practical, vaguely flattering combination. As the witch walked towards the end of the lane, she looked down at the short piece of parchment in her hand:

The cottage at the end of the lane,
Heavencrest Lane,
Ugglebamby,
North Yorkshire.

Not that she would ever admit it, but Viv had expected a very different address. A bachelor's pad in London, maybe, or even a house on the outskirts. Whatever she had expected, it did not involve apparating this far up north. She folded up the parchment and slipped it back into her purse when it became apparent that she was reaching her destination. Her expression was mistrustful but she was intrigued. The cottage was tiny and picturesque, almost striking in what light remained from the setting sun. Vivienne thought that it did not fit the auror's image in the least.

That was the gist of her thoughts as she arrived at the cottage doorstep and knocked three times on the heavy wooden door. As she waited for the occupant to answer, she tried to ignore the general nervousness of a first date, like butterflies in her stomach-- and tried telling herself that Ed Pratt wasn't worth butterflies quite yet.

Pratt's Knoll Cottage

Edward Pratt was not a chef and neither would he ever claim to be one. Up until his divorce he had mastered toast, baked potatoes and burgers. Since his divorce he had been forced to master far more. Now he could cook pasta, pumpkin pie and freshly made chips. Now, for his first (and hopefully not last) date with Healer Vivienne Thorpe, Eddie was trying something more adventurous and he hoped, tastier.

So the beef stew was in the giant pot on the stove happily simmering and tenderising his meat as Eddie was wiping down the surface where half of the flour he’d used to thicken the stew had ended up. What he wasn’t aware of however, was that the other half happened to be in his hair and on his forehead. The vegetables are all waiting in another large pot of boiling water and the small puppy Winston was sat obediently at Eddie’s feet waiting for his new master to drop him any more food.

Unfortunately for the puppy, nothing fell and instead Winston was instantly animated with excitement and yapping as someone knocked on the door.

“Shhh, boy. Stay...” Puppies were certainly not the best at following orders and instead of remaining where he was, Winston ran for the door, almost getting caught beneath the auror’s feet and slipping on the wooden floor in the small hallway. Nerves stopped Eddie from chuckling at the newest addition to his house and instead he continued to wipe his hands on the tea towel before he pulled the front door open.

A smile grew on the auror’s lips as he saw for real that Vivienne hadn’t decided to change her mind when she was simply sent an address by owl earlier that day. And she looked very pretty. Suddenly he felt very daft stood before her with an apron covering his shirt and trousers. And he hadn’t yet taken more potion after the day at work so the thickly rimmed spectacles sat comfortably on his flour covered face.

“Viv!” He cried, pulling the door fully open and indicating her come inside. “Excuse the apron. Took longer to prepare dinner than I thought it would. Come, come in.” His eyes quickly shot to the small hound now excitedly running around Vivienne in circles. “Don’t mind dogs do ye?”

The sound of barking and yipping was cause for Viv to take a step back from the doorway in surprise, before it was swung open by a rather homey looking wizard who she did not recognize at first. "Viv!" came the voice of Ed Pratt from the man whose hair and head were peppered white, while the old-fashioned spectacles resting on the edge of his nose magnified a pair of familiar green eyes. It was probably the apron that threw her off most, however.

Staring at her host quite apparently, she crossed the threshold into his cottage and heard the door shut behind her. Well. She was in the madhouse now, so there was no turning back. Something excited and fluffy was running around her feet, barking infantile yelps with unprecedented zeal. "Don't mind dogs do ye?" Ed asked but she was already kneeling down on one knee to greet the creature, a hand extended to keep it from continuing its frantic circling.

"Not at all," Viv was unable to suppress an affectionate grin as the dog stopped to inspect her arm curiously, "I'm quite the fan. My brothers had two German Shepherds in Nice, they're very friendly animals." The creature sniffed at her forearm, his furry nuzzle warm and ticklish. Then, standing back up and still looking down at it, she made a gesture with her hand-- as though she were holding on to something -- before waving it suddenly down the corridor. Not missing a beat, Ed's pet went chasing after the imaginary ball.

Vivienne finally shifted her gaze to her date. She felt unexpectedly relaxed here. There was a congenial ambience to the home and even without giving the entrance a good look, she knew it was charming place. Unpretentious. Her smile widened: "Bonsoir, Ed. I like your hair, it's very distinguished," the witch looked pointedly at what she now could see was an abundance of ill-used flour: "A litte... premature, even for a family man."

Eddie watched the puppy happily sprint off to catch nothing with a soft smile on his lips. He’d only had Winston for a couple of weeks. The kids had begged for a dog since they could speak and Quincy and he had always said no. She’d always said there was enough mess around the house to deal with a dog as well. Ed had always wanted a dog but he’d never wished to undermine his wife. Now he could and the kids would prefer coming to stay with him. It was a win, win situation. Except the fact that very often he would return home for a long day at work to find the puppy had marked its territory in very inconvenient places like his slippers.

The comment about his hair caused a tiny frown to crease Eddie’s forehead. It was the same old shaggy dark blonde hair he always had. He never did anything to it. He could never be bothered to other than wash it. But then she mentioned it being premature and he took a few steps down the small hallway to greet himself face to face in a mirror.

Eyebrows rose rather dramatically as his eyes involuntarily widened. “Whoa!” The ghostly looking character gasped before pulling his glasses off. No wonder things hadn’t been quite so crisp and clear as usual; they too were covered in flour. “Well did I not mention to you I was really 60?” he asked, popping his glasses in the chest pocket of his shirt before brushing a hand through his hair to rid it of the excess flour. Next he wiped his face and felt all the flour falling off onto his apron.

With there being considerably less flour now covering his face and in his hair, Eddie looked back at his date. She wasn’t quite as clear as she had been with his glasses on but she looked very attractive nonetheless and he offered her a smile before stepping forward. “I’m glad you made it.” A quick peck was placed on her cheek before he stepped back to glance her over. “Ye look lovely.”

“It’s not the easiest place to find but I like it that way.” The teatowel was thrown over his shoulder as he started to walk back into the kitchen. “Privacy is something you can’t put a price on in my job. Can I get ye a drink, Viv?”

Not for the first time since she had seen Ed Pratt at the hospital with his children, Vivienne somehow felt that she was being courted by a teenage boy as he stepped forward and kissed her right cheek briefly. It was an odd feeling. Where, she wondered, was the ill-tempered and cocky wizard she had met with in Diagon Alley?

"Thanks," was all she could say in reply to his compliment, eyeing him carefully now that the flour had been almost thoroughly shaken off. The spectacles had been a nice touch but he'd tuck them away and was back to looking a little more recognizable.

Her date led the way down the corridor as he talked about the cottage. Viv followed him and half-listened as she looked around the passageway with curious grey eyes, taking in everything that she could about it. Homes were a reflection of their owners. By that account, Ed came across as quite the neat homemaker.

"Can I get ye a drink, Viv?" He asked, causing her to pull a mildly confused gaze away from a framed picture she'd seen on their way into the kitchen. It had been a fairly recent snapshot with father, daughter and another child that she couldn't quite identify. Vivienne turned her attention to the kitchen: "Oui. Red wine, if you have any."

Two large pots were boiling away on the stoves, while a sprinkling of white powder littered the counter surfaces, "You're cooking," she stated in a nonplussed tone and then quickly recovered: "A man of many talents. In the interest of being honest Ed, I have to say you're not what I imagined at all."

The Healer leaned against one of the less busy counters, tilting her chin down slightly to give her host a sharp but playful look. Not that she ever had an interest in being honest. "Do tell, Monsieur Pratt, what will we be having this evening?"

"You're cooking," Vivienne stated as Eddie took a bottle of red from the rack and removed his wand from the pocket of his black trousers. "A man of many talents. In the interest of being honest Ed, I have to say you're not what I imagined at all." Eddie pointed his wand at the cork and began to twist the tip very slowly while smirking. He wondered what Viv had expected from the single father of what she thought was two. He damn well couldn’t afford an expensive restaurant and free flowing drinks in a bar she probably felt at home in.

The wine cork finally jumped out from the bottle neck and Eddie went to catch it with his hand. Thanks to its speed and his lack of glasses he missed it.  He swiftly took the glasses from his shirt pocket and pointed his wand at them, muttering a quick cleaning spell.

“Well, Miss Thorpe,” Eddie began as he slipped the glasses back up onto his nose and smirked across at Vivienne. “we are havin’...” he paused as he instead focused his attention on pouring two healthy measures of wine into the glasses. He held one out for Viv. “in fact first, tell me what ye expected.” Ed lifted his own glass into the air before bringing it close to his lips. “Then I can wow ye with me culinary expertise or the children currently hiding in the pantry waitin’ to come out and give it another stir.”

Miss Thorpe was infinitely preferable to Mrs Healer. Even if she was married to her job.

Vivienne accepted her glass daintily and held it by the stem, observing her host with a thoughtful expression now that he had his spectacles back on; she was trying to decide whether or not they made him look any more attractive. Smarter, maybe.
Ed was holding the answer to her question at ransom, and at a price she wasn’t sure she wanted to pay. Hiding her grin behind her glass as she took another sip, Viv considered him over the rim, an intelligent glint in her eyes. She lowered the drink and set it down lightly before resting her hands along the counter.

“What I expected…” the witch trailed off, pausing to briefly contemplate that. Would he be flattered or offended, she wondered, having already witnessed the fragility of his pride once, in the Leaky Cauldron? “A London wolf,” she began in a diverted tone as she met Ed's gaze: “combed back hair, polished shoes and charismatic one-liners just waiting for the right words to set them off.”

Vivienne leaned back against her arms with her grin fading very slightly as an image of such a man slipped into her head; it was the image of most men you would find in her city. Most men she’d dated, at any rate.

“You’re a very a different breed, non?” she said this in a softer tone and partially to herself: “All for the better, I’m sure.”

Whatever a ‘London Wolf’ apparently was, Eddie was rather certain it wasn’t him and it seemed rather obvious to him that Vivienne wouldn’t have thought such a thing. The simple way he spoke and his normal attitude alluded to the fact that the auror was in no way a city man. He liked the countryside, the north, the hills and fields and privacy that living in the middle of nowhere outside of the city afforded one.

As Vivienne continued the auror couldn’t help but smirk at her. A comb very rarely saw the mane of shaggy dark blonde hair atop his head and if his shoes were polished, that was from dog saliva and a very eager tongue. It was somewhat amusing she’d expected such a figure at the door and Eddie briefly wondered if she’d wanted to be greeted by such an impeccably put together form of ‘London wolf’ness.

“Shaggy, flour covered hair (no comb in sight)....” he began to muse, having placed his own wine glass on the kitchen table behind him, he now leaned against the wood, arms crossed as he studied the pretty witch before him “polished glasses and...” He stopped and grinned cheekily “well the charismatic one liners will come after I’ve finished this.” Eddie indicated his drink and offered the healer a small wink.

Then the auror bravely ventured, “Well, you look how I expected”. He paused, watching her carefully. “Beautiful. Well put together. Elegant...and looking like you’re extremely excited to try my amazin’ cookin’.” The cheeky grin continued to tug at the corners of the spectacled man’s lips.

“All for the better, then? Ye didn’t  right fancy a pillock with slicked back hair and shiny shoes at the door?”

It wasn't difficult to see why Vivienne hadn't recognized Ed at the door, earlier. The image she had just articulated bore little resemblance to the one stood before her now.

She raised an eyebrow when he told her that she looked how he expected: “Beautiful. Well put together. Elegant...and looking like you’re extremely excited to try my amazin’ cookin’." Not exactly what she would call a charismatic one-liner but it was close enough to the predatory male figures the Healer was used to dating. Smiling obligingly, she nodded in thanks to this. Compliments didn't phase her.

That cheeky grin of his, however, did tease a similar tug from her own lips, though. Endearing bastard. “All for the better, then? Ye didn’t  right fancy a pillock with slicked back hair and shiny shoes at the door?”

Viv threw her head back slightly in a light laugh and shook her head, hair tickling her shoulders: "Mon dieu, no!" Without really thinking, she replied: "I know too many of that kind. They become boring," the glass of wine was picked up again and brought to her mouth.

"On the other hand," Vivienne paused to take a sip, "I'm gambling away a familiar evil for an unknown one." Because, of course, she wasn't quite convinced of Ed's appeal. Too many things she didn't know and not to mention, he was an auror. "But come now, mon chef. You owe me our menu."

Eddie would have informed Vivienne that he was not in fact an ‘evil’ as she called it. That he would be the best thing to happen to her in many years, he had no doubt. He would have accompanied this thoughtful explanation by letting the cheeky grin playing on his lips grow. He would have proudly explained what was cooking in the pan and how he had cooked this delicious taste sensation by himself. He would have even given her a cheeky taste of the delights to come when they sat down to dine and compliment his culinary expertise with great enthusiasm.

He would have...

If the pan hadn’t have exploded behind where his date stood.

There was a loud bang as the metal lid flew off the pot and launched into the air, slamming against the ceiling of the small kitchen. Along with this, stew flew into the air, splattering against the ceiling, the walls, and the couple and a shrill scream was ejected from the dark haired beauty stood opposite the auror.

Before he knew it, the healer fell forward against him and he was face to face with the pretty face, arms full of stew decorated female.

The auror blinked, stunned and confused to suddenly be in such close proximity to this particular witch.

“Beef casserole.”

If Vivienne had expected that at any point during this evening, she would find herself in Ed Pratt's arms, this was most assuredly not the way she would have imagined it.

The loud bang had not been enough to shock the normally anchored Healer but the moment a splash of hot stew came in contact with her back, she articulated an unfortunately piercing shriek, and pushed herself away from the counter in a rush. Hell, that was hot.

"Beef casserole," was all the wizard had to say, having caught the unsettled witch-- who, for the record, was feeling quite unglamorous. Lashings of stew in your hair could do that. Viv met his stunned expression with her own astonished look and suddenly frowned, comprehending.

"I can see that," she muttered, cheeks red, and without moving away from her date, grabbed on to his shoulder to steady herself while she wiped a blob of gloopy stew from her cheek: "What on earth did you put in it? I've had cauldrons with better reactions." The witch gingerly licked her finger, tasting the stew. A little too salty, she thought with practical manner, but didn't say so.

Then, glancing back up at Ed, Viv's blush deepened and she finally leaned away from him. Too close for comfort. Her frown relaxed slightly and she sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. She tried not to flinch at the conflicting textures: "Désolé. We should probably clean up first, oui?"

Grey eyes surveyed the kitchen in dismay. So cooking wasn't really one of Ed's talents, apparently.

Despite the fact that bits of beef stew smeared the left lens of his glasses and ran down his stubbly cheek, Eddie wasn’t wishing to complain too obviously about his present situation. His date had fallen into his arms after shrieking and as of yet she didn’t seem to be moving away. Instead she placed a hand on his shoulder to steady herself after the blast from the cooking hob.

Unfortunately, however, the witch did move back ever so slightly from her date as she ran a hand through stew splattered hair. Once more strange words came from her mouth but by now Eddie had figured it was a foreign language. And each to his own, as long as she wasn’t insulting him, she could say ‘desolate’ all she liked. And he understood ‘wee’. Everyone knew ‘wee’ meant ‘yes’ in Frogland.

“I didn’t put anythin’ odd in it.” Eddie mumbled, wiping the stew from his glasses with the sleeve of his shirt. “Just cast a self mixing spell on it...”

Looking over Vivienne’s head, behind his thickly rimmed glasses, eyes suddenly doubled in size and his arms reached out, grabbing Viv and pulling her down as a metal ladle zoomed overhead followed by a wooden mixing spoon launching itself across the room. Fortunately his practiced quick responses meant they kept their heads in tact if not their clothing. Eddie was able to appreciate this from the new crouching position before Vivienne when he suddenly once more grinned. “I’ve never tried stew before.”

Green eyes surveyed the witch inches from the tip of his nose. “I’m sorry about yer dress, Viv.”

It was, maybe, all for the better that the one Auror she knew was not particularly good at cooking. For where, then, would he have room in that thick skull of his to keep all those quick moves of his?

Vivienne nearly bit her tongue in surprise when Ed pulled her down to the floor and something she didn't quite see went flying through the space previously occupied by their heads. She swore under her breath, feeling the sting of her knees having suddenly hit the floor, and glanced down to meet with one of the wizard's infectious grins. It made her want to smile back, so she did.

“I’m sorry about yer dress, Viv.”

As though this had just occurred to her, she quickly looked down at her knitted dress-- her smile turned rueful. Well, it was nothing a good cleaning spell couldn't handle but she'd probably never get the stains off. Vivienne felt her date's green eyes on her when her gaze shifted back, and bit her lower lip thoughtfully. They were quite nice eyes.

At any rate, circumstances kept pushing them together this evening, "It's just clothes, don't worry about it..." she said in a quiet voice. It felt like they were in a tiny dugout at muggle war and another mine was due to go off at any moment. The pot of stew had been the enemy, naturellement : "Are... are we expecting another attack or is it safe to stand up, you think?" Viv raised an eyebrow at Ed.

Vivienne didn’t look mad with Eddie and his lack of ability to control a cooking pot and this made him feel just that little bit safer despite the utensils laughing themselves at his head. If his date wasn’t trying to attack him things weren’t actually going too badly. He’d had certainly had worse dating experiences since his divorce with Quincy. If one could call them dates...Eddie had gone a little off the rails with various muggle women after the second time he’d split from the mother of his children.

But Viv had smiled when he smiled and now she eyed him carefully, verbally questioning the safety of their current position crouched on the floor practically nose to nose. Ed didn’t look perturbed in the slightest. As far as enemies went, ladles and pot lids were like cuddly toys laughing themselves at him compared to what he’d dealt with in the past.

Green eyes flashed up to look over Viv’s head at the pot still boiling on the stove. It looked safe enough to approach now, but it was rather close and pleasant down on the ground with Viv. He certainly hadn’t expected her so close so soon. Eddie hadn’t even been sure at the start of their night if she was still a lesbian. Did she still completely dislike him? Or had she turned?

“It looks dangerous out there.” He whispered quietly to his date, trying to look serious despite the grin threatening the corners of his lips. Ed was surprised the dog hadn’t run in from the garden barking at the commotion. Apparently chasing gnomes was far too much fun.  “I reckon we should definitely stay down here a bit, Viv. Save us being exposed to fire.” The auror hadn’t realised he was still holding Viv’s arms.

“I reckon we should definitely stay down here a bit, Viv. Save us being exposed to fire.”

As far as playing pretend went, the situation wasn't really that far from reality. The dangers of Ed Pratt's kitchen were not to be underestimated. Vivienne giggled at his caution however and leaned forward a little, shaking her head as she tried not to laugh too loud, "If I didn't know any better, Ed..." she whispered as their temples nearly touched: "I'd think you were trying to keep me down here with you."

Her grey eyes met with his and Viv, very much aware of the hold around her arms, slipped her hands over his shoulders: "It's a good thing that I do know better, isn't it?" Just as smoothly, the witch moved apart from him and pulled herself away as she leaned against the counter cupboard. She brought her legs up between the two of them, the hem of her skirt barely giving way to the scar on her right calf.

Vivienne locked gazes teasingly and grinned at the wizard: "Your kitchen has us hostage, Ed."