Oh the joys of working night shift. Edith Holthouse was the "lucky" obliviator chosen to man the department at night this week. It made sense to her, in theory, that things could happen at any time of the day that would need her attention, but she would much rather be using her evenings doing more productive things, like drinking. Being at work would be worth it, if there happened to be any work to be done. She had finished her paperwork in about twenty minutes (not because she was good at it, but because she put minimal effort into it) and had spent the remaining time doodling, not fixing memories. She had filled up for pieces of parchment with squiggles and things by the time her relief had shown up.
"Finally," the woman muttered, not bothering to hide her frustration at her luck of the week. She hurried past all the witches and wizards arriving for work; as she didn't have anyone to see or impress at work, she hadn't bothered wearing robes so Edith didn't have to stop to change her clothes before she emerged on the streets of London. Pausing, Edith looked to her left, and then to her right. To the left lay home, where her roommate, an incredibly ancient woman that wasn't too fond of wearing clothes. But to the right lay salvation: a pub that would be so uncrowded and so wonderful that Edith didn't hesitate to make her decision. She set off to the right, found her pub, and settled in nicely.
It only took about an hour until Edith stumbled back out into the daylight. She was well drunk and well prepared to face her roommate. But after a few steps, she heard the saddest, most unfortunate chirping sound. There, on the ground, was a little bird, it's wing obviously broken. Normally, Edith wouldn't pay too much attention to the little thing, but Edith wasn't in her usual state. She had had a little bit of alcohol on her empty stomach in the early morning. Now, she was super-caring-about-broken-little-birdies-with-sad-sounds Edith! She scooped up the bird and cradled it in her shirt (her shirt was far too large for her so there was plenty of extra fabric) and took off down the street in a sprint.
She rushed through the Leaky Cauldron, not completely sure why she was taking the bird to the magical vet instead of a regular one for regular birds. But reason was for unhelpful people! Edith managed to only trip twice on the cobblestones of Diagon Alley, keeping the bird safely tucked inside her shirt through both of her tumbles. And there it was! Her oasis. Animal's Kingdom. Were they open? Instead of searching for the hours on the door like any reasonable person, Edith instead insisted on trying to push the door open. To her luck, it worked, although she was sort of looking forward to the dramatic pounding of her fist on the door to signal her arrival. Oh well. Maybe on her next bird rescue.
"Hellooooooooo," Edith yelped, "I have rescued a bird!" She gently pulled the birdie out of her shirt and set him gently on the counter. "Please, please, pleaaaaase, help the bird! You can't let him die! I'll just die if he does." Edith was being extremely dramatic, something that was very familiar to her in her inebriated state. She hiccuped and tried to hide it, desperately not wanting to let on that she was a bit tipsy. Oops. Probably too late for that.
