Spout
“Thanks for meeting us Penny.” Iris greeted when they arrived in the Artifact Room.
“Yes, thanks Penny! I can't wait to start... whatever it is we're about to do.” Murphy laughed as Iris closed the door behind them.
“Iris told me you're looking to speed up your Quidditch commentating so we're going to brew a babbling beverage.” Penny smiled brightly.
“The babbling beverage? When I last experimented with that it made me spew nonsense uncontrollably!” Iris laughed, placing her hands on her hips.
“Yep, thats the babbling beverage for you! It'll have you babbling nonsense in no time.” She smiled and turned to her ingredients.
“I love a good nonsense babble as much as the next person, but are we sure thats the right potion? When I'm in the Commentary box I need to be crystal clear with high quality quips. There's no time for nonsense as Chasers fly by at lightening speeds.” He asked Penny, a little concerned as to what the girls had in their mind as he bent over onto his knees to look at what Penny had laid out on the floor.
“Don't worry, we'll only use the potion to loosen up your tongue and unlock your full fast talking potential.” Penny assured him. “Just a sip will be fine just to warm up a little.”
“You'll get a sense of what it's like to perfectly enunciate at high quality velocities.” Iris put her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.
“Exactly! Think of this as a voice exercise, Murphy.” Penny agreed happily.
“And I'm certainly not suggesting you take the babbling beverage before a match.” Iris assured him as she laughed.
“Well, I definitely trust your judgement Iris-er Coach.” Murphy caught himself, tossing her a wink. “Sounds like the perfect exerciser to improve my commentating!”
“Great! Then lets start brewing!” Penny clapped her hands together and sat on the ground to start her brew.
“What would happen if we cast Sonorus before drinking the babbling beverage?” Murphy asked the girls who both erupted in laughter at the mere thought.
“Oh my goodness, I can just see Snape's face.” Iris smiled as she leaned up against a crate.
“Imagine, I love potions, but he does have the best resting bitch face.” Penny joked, and Murphy nearly fell over. He had never heard her swear and it sounded so silly coming from her. “Iris, can you hand me the valerian springs and dittany?” She asked and the white haired blonde handed them over to her gently.
Penny worked hard on the potion but he spotted Iris peering over her best friends shoulder and raise an eyebrow.
“It's really quite... Red... Isn't it?”
“It... Is.” Penny nodded. “Perhaps Murphy should only drink a bit.”
“Woah now, I'm not just some guinea pig, have mercy ladies.” He held up his hands and they smiled at him. He counted himself lucky to be spending time just relaxing with them, joking and chatting about silly inconsequential things. He wasn't sure the last time he had seen Iris so at ease, and he honestly had never just sat back and watched Iris and Penny be alone together to just be themselves. It was refreshing, and honestly just a sweet simple thing to enjoy.
Penny complimented Iris on her cardigan and Iris told her she could borrow it whenever she wanted, so long as her favorite skirt was returned, and they happily bickered about clothing. He quickly realized that the girls shared a lot of their wardrobe with one another. He found it funny, as guys did not do that, well at least his roommates didn't. Andre would probably share something with him, but Murphy was half afraid of the colors and patterns in his wardrobe. He almost snickered to himself when he thought about himself in some leopard print shirt or v neck cut t-shirt.
“Are we ready to speak some nonsense?” Penny asked excitedly.
“Yes! I am not!” Murphy announced.
“What?”
“Sorry, just getting a headstart.” Murphy winked at her.
“Top marks for spirit, Murphy, lower marks for humor. Now drink up.” Iris teased as Penny handed out little cups of the potion.
“Well, bottoms up ladies.” He raised his cup before bringing it to his lips.
“Working... work... How do we know...?” Iris asked. “WORKING WHACKING THACKING!”
“Quidditch... Quidditch Quaffle... QUIDDITCH QUAFFLE QUIBBLER FIBBLER FIBBLE FABBLE!”
“BABBLING BABBLE ZABBLE BABBLE YABBLE!” Penny blurted. “Pabble pibble babble... babble... babbling beverage...”
They all nearly doubled over with laughter. It was almost like medicine for the soul. Murphy had been in a bad place that morning, and he knew Iris was always tense, this was honestly what they both needed.
“I think it's wearing off.” Penny said, clutching her stomach.
“Yes, words are starting to be words again.” Murphy laughed.
“Well, there you go Murphy, thats the babbling beverage.”
“How do you feel?” Iris asked him.
“I feel... Like I can talk faster than ever, and looser even. Almost as if my old voice was locked up in Azkaban and now it's free!”
“Splendid! It seems Iris's experiment worked!”
“It has indeed! Another unconventional training exercise from Coach Rosewood.” He announced, giving her a round of applause.
“Sounds like your training is progressing well.”
“I think so, but what about you Coach?”
“Yes! You're training is right on schedule. You've mastered these exercises quickly, and we should have you back in the box in no time.” She assured him.
“That's good to hear, because I'm eager to get back in the commentary booth.”
“I bet you are, but I'm still not sure what the next exercise should be.”
“I'm not sure either, but I trust you Iris.”
“Why don't you think of your training like brewing a potion? The missing exercise is just a missing ingredient.”
“That's brilliant Penny!” Iris smiled brightly.
“I suppose you would just need to figure out what that missing ingredient is..”
“Well we started with some Quidditch history, and then added the Amplifying charm and babbling beverage...” Iris rattled off, counting on her fingers.
“I sharpened my voice... Now I need to sharpen my....” Murphy offered.
“Oh! I know! Sight! You should work on your visual acuity next, then your training should be complete.”
“Brilliant!”
“And I know the perfect way to hone your visual skills, but to do so we're going to need a swarm of pixies.” Iris winked with a gleam in her eyes.