Disclaimiferous! No, all rights go to JKR and WarnerBos and this is merely a fanfiction. Ho-kay?
When Colin had first found the apartment in Diagon Alley, above one of the little second-hand bookstores, he'd been worried that the place wouldn't be big enough, but like most things in the Wizarding world it's outward appearance was completely misleading; there were three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large study, a self-contained kitchen-cum-dining room and a pleasant little sitting room with a balcony. If anything, the place was too big.
But the apartment was reasonably priced, so he'd taken up the rent anyway and decided to ask around, sending his friends notes to see if they knew anyone who was looking for a flat.
The first response had been somewhat surprising, and hadn't actually come around because of the friend-of-a-friend pleas. Pansy Parkinson had been struggling through the years after the war, and her family situation had crumbled spectacularly, so she was looking for a place to stay and get some fresh air, fresh sights and just get outside and away from the claustrophobic atmosphere at Peregrine Hall. She'd spotted the advertisement he'd placed on the notice board of the Leaky Cauldron and they'd met up for tea, with an arrangement quickly being made and then settled with an affirming handshake and twin smiles.
The next Saturday Pansy moved in, helped by Colin (who, quite frankly, couldn't believe how many boxes this one woman could fill with useless trinkets and clothes), and the share house was born.
Pansy had never been one for modesty, and she often wandered around the place without a shirt, darting about trying to find the perfect outfit. She couldn't have cared less about her exhibitionism, and really, to be fair, when one had a figure like hers, why would you be anything but shameless? At first, Colin blushed like a milk-maid caught in the haystack, but eventually it became the norm and he barely blinked an eye (literally, he ogled her as much as he could because she was stunning and he was a young virile adult male). She was actually quite stunning, having grown into her features somewhat since school (oh, Merlin, how she had hated the pug-like nose her Parkinson heritage bestowed on her).
The second answer was a double-header, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, which brought the total number of Gryffindors in the apartment to three (a point that Pansy often bemoaned, though it was always in jest – at least, it ended up that way, after the initial awkward few days of mutual enmity).
Lavender was a bubbly character, with thick blonde hair and blue eyes and a predilection for buying high heeled shoes and then wearing them about the house for no reason other than the fact that they were gorgeous, expensive and she loved them.
Parvati, her best friend, was quieter, though just as giggly. She enjoyed reading actual books and only the occasional gossip rag, as opposed to Lavender's policy of 'anything longer than Witch Weekly belongs in school (which I have graduated from)'. Olive skin, luscious dark locks that cascaded down her back in waves and almond-shaped eyes signalled her Indian heritage and her exoticism meant that Thursday dinners were Colin's favourite.
They took turns cooking meals, or shouting take-away.
Strangely enough, it was actually over spilt milk and a raise that the ice was eventually broken and the conviviality that now flowed through the house was created; Pansy and Parvati worked in the same place and Parvati was up for a promotion and was on her way to the interview, but she'd collided with a careless co-worker and ended up with tampered magical liquid all over her; Pansy had stripped off her own shirt and they'd switched before realising that they could just as easily have used magic to clean it and subsequently burst into laughter.
Incidentally, Parvati had gotten the promotion and the friendships had blossomed, and the girls – outnumbering Colin – tended to manipulate the evenings with girls' nights (he'd been exposed to rather too many sad, girly movies since bringing the television set into the house), nights out and catch-ups, but the young man didn't have the heart to berate them and instead, he merely sat on the couch in the sitting room and held weaving conversations with them as they flitted about while he ate leftovers and whatever Lavender had baked throughout the week.
After the first incident with Pansy wandering about barely clothed, Lavender had exclaimed in relief that she was glad she didn't have to be prudish and proceeded to do the same thing. Parvati was less of a flaunter, but when she did, she did it with style, usually in a way that made Colin's face turn bright red, and have him leave the room out of necessity lest he embarrass himself majorly.
The best part, however, was the fact that they were all so used to his presence that they didn't bother about modesty when they were changing, and whether he was there or not they'd be whipping shirts and skirts on and off and he just got to sit there and enjoy the show.
Sometimes, being 'one of the girls' was kind of awesome.
Random, as usual, but I was feeling in rather a Colin mood. Could probably be better, but I'll let you check it out and then maybe I can tweak things. Read and Review, Snookumses!