Chapter 34, It's All In The Way You Spinet

As it happened, drunk drum shopping was a bit of a bonding experience. It was also lots of fun. Greybo attempted to talk Hydra into getting herself a keyboard, but she stuck to her preference for a piano.

"But you have to keep shrinking it down or expanding the room," Greybo groaned. "Eventually you'll break the fucker that way." As he spoke, he took a swig from the bottle of Firewhisky he'd bought off Aberforth before they all left the Hog's Head to go drunk drum shopping.

"I will make it work," Hydra said.

"Glimmer will help," Glimmer said. Distractedly he took the bottle that Greybo offered, frowning down at it. "Glimmer is to drink without a glass?"

"Don't be a pussy! My mouth is clean and I did not drool into the damned bottle," Greybo half shouted, laughing as he spoke.

Glimmer sighed and shrugged, swigging from the bottle. He held it up in the vague direction of Hydra and Mag who both shook their heads. The four stood in the middle of Musical Me, the shop in Hogsmeade that sold instruments that Hydra had somehow never noticed before.

"That's because it's only there when you need it, like the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts," Mag had quipped in playful sarcasm when Hydra expressed as much. The fact that Hydra had actually believed her for an instant showed just how drunk she was. That was Griphook's fault! He was the one to start them drinking Firewhisky, after all, and at such an early hour too.

He'd cut out when the others decided to go drunk drum shopping, though. That made sense, because Griphook would never ever be known for his ability to turn into a social butterfly. Mag wasn't much more social, but as the social activity involved music, she was willing to tag along. "Okay well we need to at least look into buying you a little baby piano if you won't be logical and use a bloody keyboard," Greybo said. "If you keep using magic on the piano you have at home, your parents will have kittens if it eventually breaks. Considering who you are, it's likely some old family heirloom."

"I don't think it is, actually, but your point is still valid," Hydra said. She suddenly found herself grinning uncontrollably at the goblin. He cared far too much about this keyboard piano situation. That meant he was totally in the band and sticking around. And she'd just bought Glimmer a very pricey fancy new drum set so he better not be going anywhere either. She'd allowed him to choose the set, as he was the one having to use it, and the damned elf had expensive taste. This was a thing Hydra definitely respected. That and knowing what one wanted. She watched in amused silence as Greybo dragged her toward a cluster of pianos in the right corner of the store, Mag and Glimmer trailing after. "What about this little one here. It's even got a padded bench. Why don't you sit down and try it out?"

"Yes," Glimmer said. "Glimmer has yet to hear Hydra play, after all."

"Greybo likewise has not heard Hydra play," the goblin added with a grin.

"Hardly my fault," Hydra said, settling down onto the small padded bench, which was actually quite comfortable. She'd never been this drunk before, so she hoped she could play drunk. Drawing in a deep breath, she placed her hands on the keys and began to play Let It Be. When she started singing, Glimmer and Greybo began to clap in time. "Yeah, she's buyin' it," Greybo predicted happily. "Sounds sweet." And it did. Though the piano was small, the sound was still full enough to satisfy, and Hydra was pleased.

"She's called a spinet. Sweet little beauty, isn't she?" The voice came from just behind Hydra. She turned to see the wizard who owned the shop standing beside Mag. He was tall with wide strong shoulders and a cascade of bushy blonde hair with a beard to match. He wore gray robes and had thoughtful blue eyes that looked intelligent. Hydra appreciated that he gave customers the space to look around without hoovering, yet knew when to step in, in order to provide useful information as well. "I think she likes you," he said, giving Hydra a warm smile. "And I'm not just saying that to sell her."

Perhaps it was the Firewhisky, but Hydra already felt a deep sentimental connection to this little piano. "I love her. I'm buying her. Though I think I have to pop home really quick and get some more gold." She'd spent most of what she had with her on Glimmer's shiny new drum set.

The wizard nodded. "She'll still be here."

"As will we," Greybo said, waving her off. "Oh and bring snacks if you can. This Firewhisky is making me hungry!"

"Are you asking me, as a house elf, to bring you food," Hydra demanded, looking down her Kreacher like nose at Greybo in mock affront. She was paying him back for making things all unnecessarily complicated when it came to offering to buy Glimmer his bloody drums.

"No," Greybo retorted. "I am asking you as my cool band sis to bring me some damn food because you are going home and all homes have snacks."

Hydra sighed, then laughed. The goblin was un-needleable it seemed. She caught the confused expression on the face of the blond wizard who owned Musical Me as she turned away. Only then did she recall that her full human illusion guise was still in place. He must have found her house elf comment to be rather odd, what with being quite unable to see her half elf features. Oh well, some things couldn't be helped and he'd likely had stranger folk in his shop.

"Fine. I will bring food," she said, then apparated away. Only then did she realize that she had broken school rules and gone home just as Mag had been concerned would happen. Damn! Well she hadn't planned to buy a bloody piano, though perhaps she should have. Albus probably wouldn't mind. Sighing she sprinted down the hall toward the library where the family emergency safe lived behind a book shelf in a hollow nook. Only when she reached the library door did she realize in some horror that she'd nearly burst in without knocking.

The daddies weren't expecting her home, so she very easily could have walked in on something quite inappropriate and horrifying that she never wanted to see. "Hi, Daddies! Hydra is home to grab some gold for..." As she spoke another horrifying fact struck her. She'd just drunk-Apparated home! That was dangerous. She groaned, just as the library door opened to an excited Kreacher on the other side.

"Good. Hydra is home!" He embraced her jubilantly. Why did she have to be drunk for this? What was going on? Idly she wondered if she needed another drink for whatever it was. Daddy Kreacher appeared to be happy, though, so everything must be alright. "Kreacher found a discrepancy on an old map. The discrepancy was in an old forest. One map made it far smaller than it was on an even older map, and, well to make a long story short, Kreacher believes he has discovered something very important." He squeezed Hydra's shoulders in his excitement.

"He and Master Regulus traveled there with Blaise Zabini and Gellert Grindelwald. Kreacher wanted to take them in case Gellert Grindelwald might have any visions which could provide more information. Alas he did not. At any rate, we believe that Kreacher has discovered an elf woods. A forest touched by elf magic so deeply that Kreacher can feel it emanating from every tree and even from the ground.

Well he is not fully certain if the ground is emanating, but perhaps it is. The trees certainly are, though. They are also petrified, though Kreacher is uncertain if the petrification is due to age or some sort of magic. Kreacher has no way to tell. He was about to go to Hogwarts for Hydra and Loughness, because he would like them to see this most special of forests, so he finds it a perfect coincidence that Hydra has come home at this very moment!"

"Are you sober," she asked carefully.

Kreacher frowned. "Of course Kreacher is sober. Does Hydra believe him to be imagining things?"

She shook her head. "No. I was just hoping you could Apparate me back to the music store because I stupidly drunk-Apparated here due to sort of forgetting that I was drunk."

"You what?" The exclamation came from Daddy Regulus who joined Daddy Kreacher in the doorway of the library as he spoke.

"I also need snacks," Hydra continued. "Doesn't matter what kind of snacks. I have a feeling that Greybo and Glimmer will eat anything."

"Who," Daddy Regulus asked carefully.

"We found a Goblin to play guitar in our new band thanks to Graven, and Griphook found an elf to play the drums for us," Hydra explained. "I need snacks."

Kreacher sighed. "Kreacher will go and see what Stormy has. Wait here." He brushed past Hydra and hurried off down the hall toward the kitchen. Left alone with Daddy Regulus's look of disapproval, Hydra was glad to be too drunk to be ashamed or concerned over potential consequences.

"It is Griphook's fault,"she muttered. "He got the drinks." She left out the part that she'd apparently annoyed him when asking him to get the drinks because he was not doing anything else in particular. It was a bloody reasonable request. Had she just been sitting about while he and other goblins counted their gold, she would not have at all minded going for drinks, after all. "Do you and Daddy Kreacher know where the music store is," she asked. Daddy Regulus gave a tight nod without verbally replying. His expression was grim, and that could not be a good thing. Hydra sighed, wondering if it would be too much to hope they would simply appreciate that she was usually the good one and let this slide.

"Is Loughness with you," Regulus asked after several long seconds of silence. Was she being drunk-paranoid, or had her father just vamped out and read her mind? If he had, though, he should not need to ask where Loughness was. Then again she had not been thinking of where Loughness was. "Hydra?"

She shook her head. "He is at Hogwarts."

"Very well. After we get you back to the music store, we can all go there to get him before visiting the petrified forest."

Though Hydra hated to miss the rest of the hang out with her new band, she very much wanted to see this petrified forest that apparently had lots of elf magic in it for some as of yet unknown reason. Before long Kreacher hurried back into the room with an old picnic basket over one arm and a frown on his face. The grandparents were floating behind him and Hydra wondered if he'd told them that she was drunk. Would they care? This was entirely new territory.

"If only we could see this forest," Walburga lamented. "Usually I do not mind being stuck here, in the home of my fathers, but sometimes I miss being able to see the world." She shot a glare at Regulus. "And before you start in wondering if we wish to cross over, no. Crossing over would not allow us to see the bloody mysterious forest either." Hydra was relieved that her grandparents were lamenting their lack of travel capability rather than her drunken condition.

"I promise to give you all the details," she told them with a smile. She hoped that it did not look like a drunk smile. Could a smile look drunk?

"That's a good dear," Walburga said, smiling at Hydra fondly.

"Let us go, then," Kreacher said, reaching for Hydra's arm with his free hand. Regulus placed his hand on Kreacher's shoulder and they were off.