I know you've been burned but every fire is a lesson learned [~ Emmitt]

This had to work.

It had been a while ago that Elaine had seen her friend Emmitt Dawkins for the last time and to be honest he had looked like shit. It had hurt the young woman to see her friend that broken and it had hurt even more that she hadn't been able to do anything about it. She understood completely why he was feeling like that, she would be exactly the same if she'd went through everything he had went through, but it still made her sad to see him like that. Sad and angry. Angry at the assholes who were responsible for his condition. Yes, most of them were either dead now or in Azkaban but there were still lots of people running around the ministry, people who should be rotting somewhere instead of making the world a worse place.

Elaine ran her hands though her hair and closed her eyes for a second, trying to banish the thoughts from her head. Today wasn't the day for dark and gloomy thoughts, not if she really wanted to cheer up Emmitt. Because that was exactly what she wanted to do. The former Ravenclaw had bought a bottle of her favourite and rather expensive red wine and also a bottle of firewhiskey. She didn't want to make the wizard drunk but she wanted to distract him from… well, from everything.

Her self-made pizza was almost done and the witch used the last few minutes to change into one of her favourite dresses. She quickly brushed her hair and applied some light make up before she put the pizza in a box and the bottles into her bag. Elaine wasn't one hundred percent sure that he would be home but she doubted that he'd be gone for a long time and she'd just wait if he wasn't there. It was rather late, almost nine p.m., but it was Friday and he surely wouldn't have to get up early on a Saturday, would he? Everything would work just fine, she was sure about it.

The muggleborn slipped into her boots, grabbed her bag as well as the pizza box and apparated to her friend's place. Emmitt didn't live far away but with all the stuff in her hands the young witch was too lazy to walk. Moreover the pizza would get cold and where was be the fun in having cold pizza? Merlin. Please let him be there. Elaine rang the door bell and a wide smile was already on her face. Hopefully he'd react well to her little 'attack'. After a few seconds the door opened and her big brown eyes were sparkling when she saw her friend behind it.

"Surprise!"

The first thing Elaine noticed was the bow tie that was hanging loosely around the man's neck and the slightly damp hair. It seemed that he had dressed in a hurry and Elaine wondered what he'd been up to. Surely he hadn't already planned to go to bed, had he? It was late but not that late. The brunette observed his face closely, trying to make out if his condition had gotten worse again. She knew about his depressions but the reason for it had happened two years ago and she'd thought that he felt at least a little better by now. Sure, everything had been traumatic but as far as she knew he was seeing a therapist and that had to help, right? At least a little?

He smiled but somehow she doubted it was a sincere one. It wasn't that she thought he didn't want her to be there but something was just off. Her own smile didn't fade away though when she entered his flat and she held the pizza box right in front of him. "We haven't seen each other in a while and I thought it would be nice to catch up again. I made pizza and brought wine and… well, something else." Here she paused for a second and winked at her friend. "You know, I guessed I just missed talking to you and then I had nothing to do and asked myself why not? So I made something to eat, bought drinks and here I am. You really don't mind, do you?" She was talking fast but that was nothing new. Emmitt had always been one of the few people who was able to keep up with her.

The former Ravenclaw moved straight to the kitchen counter and placed the pizza box on it before she got the two bottles out of her bag and put them right next to the box. "The pizza is still warm. I hope you're hungry?" The young woman looked over her right shoulder at her friend, still smiling brightly. "There's a bit of everything on it so you should find something you like." Without thinking much about it, Elaine flicked her wand and two glasses flew out of the cupboard and landed right next to the wine bottle. She flicked her wand again, quietly muttering a spell and the bottle opened and poured the dark red liquid into the two glasses.

Elaine knew that she was being quite forward but she didn't think Emmitt would mind. He didn't know her any other way, after all. After cutting the pizza into various slices she put them on two plates and placed them on her left arm. The fact that she had worked as a waitress quite a few times was clearly showing. Once more the petite young woman muttered a spell and the two wine glasses followed her when she made her way to the table. She spun around when everything was neatly arranged and faced the dark-haired wizard. "Dinner is ready."

"Then it's good that I'm here. I definitely don't want you to starve." At that she winked again and smiled affectionately at her friend. Elaine knew that he had to find his own way out of his depression but she could at least made it a bit easier for him. Kill it with kindness would probably be the best motto here. Sad thoughts weren't allowed today even if that meant she had to smile and talk all the time. Not that is was usually a problem for her. The young woman loved talking and smiling came natural to her. Sure, she could be angry or sad as well but she tried to keep those moments at a minimum.

When she turned around again after preparing the pizza and their drinks, Elaine noticed that Emmitt had taken off his vest and her light pink lips formed a fake pout. "What a shame. I really liked the vest. It looked good on you. You should wear it more often. Now I feel overdressed." Her words were accompanied by another wink and she hoped that he understood that she was just kidding. Well, mostly. The vest had really suited him well. It was nice to see him in good shape even though she knew that looks could be deceiving. He dressed well but that didn't mean that he was actually fine. The former Ravenclaw really wanted to be able to read his mind but unfortunately she couldn't.

"Always. You know I'm always here for you. No matter if it's to talk about anything serious or if it's just to have fun. That's what friends are for, don't you think?" He'd always been there for her when she'd been younger - she still could remember the day she had met him for the first time so well - and now she was gladly returning the favour.

Damn. She hadn't even thought about whether he liked wine or not. The slightly disgusted expression told her that he didn't but since he didn't say anything, Elaine stayed silent as well. It confused her a little why he kept drinking but maybe he was just being polite. At least he seemed to like the pizza. "You were indeed hungry, weren't you?" The brunette laughed softly and took another sip of her wine. To her it tasted wonderful and it was a shame that he didn't like it. Maybe he'd appreciate the firewhiskey later. It wasn't her intention to get drunk but a bit wouldn't hurt anyone. It was astonishing how much higher her alcohol tolerance had gotten since her trip to Asia or well… since she'd started spending lots of time with her best friend.

"I've been good, thanks. And not really. Same old life, I guess. A few days ago I accepted another teaching job. Two girls, seven and nine. They're lovely. Other than that… Nope. Nothing new. What about you?" What she really wanted to hear now was that everything was fine, that he was feeling good. Maybe even that he was seeing someone again. She knew that he had loved Fiona with all his heart but there was always a moment when it was time to move on. But somehow… somehow she doubted that that was what he would say.