Bath
"The password's Mandrake." Lily whispers into Emmeline's ear, as the pair arrive at the statue of Boris the Bewildered. Emmeline's bones are aching even more now; her legs trembling from the effort of climbing to the fifth floor with her broomstick in one hand, Lily's shoulder in the other. She's covered head to toe in mud, and her scarlet Quidditch robes are covered in the green brown smears of the pitch.
Emmeline looks like a right mess, and she does not like it one bit at all. She is, after all, Emmeline Vance, the most neurotic member of Gryffindor House who takes to making everyone else's beds, cleaning up after them in the common room despite the fact that the house elves will arrive to clean in within hours, and must have each and every single one of her textbooks assembled in a neat alphabetically ordered stack at the foot of her bed before going to sleep each night.
That's not the same Emmeline who is unleashed on the Quidditch pitch, however. James Potter knows that Emmeline well, he sees her every other evening at Quidditch training, gripping her beater's bat like it's the railing keeping her from plummeting to her own descent. Anxiety-ridden Emmeline is cast to the side while the new Emmeline takes over, the one whose dark eyes don't widen with fear each time a Bludger is sent her way, but instead furrow and choose the target who she deems most worthy of receiving a Bludger to the head.
Now that the match is over, neurotic Emmeline has taken over. Emmeline is tired. It was the longest match she'd ever played- six hours, Merlin damn it why did Macmillan take so long to catch the bloody snitch- and her legs are screaming for relief.
Emmeline Vance is not a rule-breaker. Emmeline Vance does not take part in the stupid pranks that Sirius tries to cajole her into joining; she does not join Marlene in her seemingly weekly indulgences in Firewhisky (usually). Emmeline Vance is a headstrong and well-mannered fifteen year old who won't allow her principles to be swayed.
Emmeline also values hygiene, and when it comes to principles and her own cleanliness, the latter takes priority. Hence why she nods briskly at Lily, swiftly hands her the broomstick, and pronounces the aforementioned password with dignity and confidence.
She dunks her head under the bath and holds her breath when a few moments after scrubbing the mud off of her forearms, Alice Longbottom walks in to wash the red paint off of her face. Though her principles have been swayed, her reputation will not be.