Cup of Roasted Coffee

9; karaoke with the bois

"Oh, Emma!" Paul had just stepped out of his car to see Emma leave her Uber. It was freezing cold outside but apparently that wouldn't stop her from wearing a black skater skirt with a 90s t-shirt tucked in. No jacket, as always. She rushed over to him with the sound of her Converse sneakers following every step.

Emma blew the hair out of her face and pulled herself into a hug in order to block out the cold. "Paul! Fancy seeing you here," she joked. "Melissa told me this was your idea?" They walked side by side up to the door, continuing their talk.

Paul looked down towards her. "Well, technically, yeah." He knocked on the front door for them. They stood there awkwardly for a couple of seconds. Suddenly, the girl beside him had an idea. He could tell by the way she let out a gasp and turned to face him, a cute habit he noticed she picked up.

"I will pay you if you sing something tonight. Anything song at all, as long as you finish it." The offer didn't surprise him at all. She had brought it up before, just not the money aspect of it. Now, she had his attention somewhat.

"How much?" He was expecting about a dollar from her. It was a dumb bet made up on the spot. There was no way she had random money lying around for him to take.

"$15." Nevermind then. They shook on it just in time, because right after, Bill opened the door with a smile. "Hey! Come in, come in," he held the door open wide so they could enter and led them into the main living room. Even though Bill was a single man, he had a hell of a house. The living room was equipped with two TVs and a karaoke machine that came with a mini foldable stage Bill made himself. Paul figured it had something to with either him having so much free time or him wanting to impress Alice. Either way, no one was complaining.

Inside the living room was Bill, Alice, Deb, Charlotte, Ted, Sam, and Melissa. They all said simple hellos before Bill stood on the mini stage. "Ok," he clapped his hands together, "who's first?" After heavy debate, they decided they would go through the list of songs and if anyone wanted to do one, they would do just that. No one said anything until they got to the G's though.

"Wait, stop!" Alice jumped up and pointed at the screen. "Do that one!" Highlighted on the top screen was a song titled Going Back to Hogwarts. She wasn't expecting anyone to know it but was fully prepared to do the entire thing herself. That's when a couple people stood up.

"I call Harry!" Called Sam.
"Oh I want in. Add me as Ron." Ted said, grabbing a microphone.

"Hey, no fair, I want Hermione!" Alice crossed her arms and pouted jokingly. Everyone rolled their eyes. "No one called Hermione yet. Go on ahead."

Paul looked at Emma expectantly. She was a huge Harry Potter fan whether or not she was willing to admit it to the group. He nudged her with an elbow. "You could be...Ginny? Is that her name?"

"Yeah, but Ginny doesn't have any singing parts. Besides, I'd rather sit here with you and make sure you survive the show tune." Emma laughed but was quickly shut up by Bill tapping her arm with a mic.

"We still need a Draco Mal-"

"Oh hell yeah." Without hesitation, she took it from his hand and hopped down. So much for making sure Paul survived.

The music started and the lyrics appeared. It was go time.

"Underneath these stairs, I hear the sneers and feel the glares of my cousin, my uncle and my aunt." Everyone suppressed a laugh. Sam wasn't necessarily a bad singer, just a little flat. They could live with it. Most took the time to prepare. For example, Charlotte(who had joined in to do Ginny's lines) was putting Emma's hair in a ponytail for her and Ted was putting on a blue headband. Fun for the whole family.

Sam finally got to the more upbeat parts and Emma had taken to swinging her ponytail around. Paul may or may not have snuck a quick video. In his defense, it was cute video. He'd have to send it to the group chat later.

"Sick of this summer and this waiting around. Man its September so I'm skipping this town. Hey it's not mystery, there's nothing here for me now!"

After that, everyone had joined in to say the first verse. "Gotta get back to Hogwarts!" Even Bill, Melissa, and Deb. Paul not so much, but that was understandable. He was fine filming from a distance. They would probably want the videos later and he didn't mind.

"Where everybody knows I'm cool!"

With the minor exception of Ted almost kicking down the mic stand during his dramatic entrance as Ron(it nearly broke Emma's face after it hit her there exactly but she's fine now), they were having a blast so far.

"It's been so long, but we're going back."

To everyone's surprise(except Bill and Paul), Alice had a gorgeous singing voice. Even when singing Hermione Granger's simpler parts. When the three got to harmonize, it was pretty clear she deserved a record label. Not to mention, Charlotte was a damn good actor. Her whining when Ted clapped his hands above her head might've caused everyone to go deaf for a couple of seconds but still got a good laugh.

When the Cho Chang song began, Charlotte, Emma, and Melissa all somehow knew the dance and were able to do it together. They earned their fair round of claps and then it was Bill's turn to attempt the Cho Chang ballad. He wasn't perfect but it would do they supposed.

"For Cho Chaaaaang!"

The heavy beat started and that's when Emma hopped onto the stage. She did the hole shabang: singing, acting, British accent, and a bit of dancing added in there somewhere. Paul was quite impressed. He didn't know the girl was such a theatre nerd.

"And then I'll be the one who is totally awesome!"

You bet your ass everyone on that stage joined in to say "Yeah you'll be the one who is totally awesome!"

Paul thought he had seen the worst of it. Nothing could've prepared him for the crowd of mostly grown adults singing along to this Harry Potter musical song. Bill was known for his extensive collection of musical theatre karaoke and it really showed. It had been fun seeing Emma enjoy it but now it was overwhelming. He started to carefully plan out either an escape or dramatic death. Both would work.

"To Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin!
Back to the place where our story begins at Hogwarts, Hogwarts
Man I'm glad I'm back!"

The song had ended and the players sat down. "I hope that wasn't too horrible for you," Emma walked up to Paul, her words only audible to him since everyone was dissolved in their own chatter. He shrugged. "At least I got $15 out of it." He held his hand out.

"Uh no!" Emma shook her head. "I said if you sang something, not if you sat through something."

Melissa gasped. "Paul said he'd sing something?! Quick, pick a song!" She grabbed the remote and threw it at him. "Someone get the camera out!"

-♡-

3 hours later and Emma, Ted, Sam, and Melissa were drunk off their asses, and they thought A Very Potter Musical was 3 hours of magic. Ha, this was so much better. It was fun for Bill, Paul, and Charlotte to watch their chaos explode. Not so much when they had to step in.

Emma was a smart drunk. She knew more when she was drunk and that included how to get away with shit. So, when the sober guards weren't paying attention, she picked up the mic stand and charged at Ted, who was outside about to jump into the pool. It was revenge for the minor event earlier.

To say the least, the night ended in a pool party and multiple noise complaints from the neighbors.

Oh, and don't worry. Everyone took the offer to sleep over.