Al's POV
I woke up and instantly regretted it. I hurt like hell all over my body. Where was I? I sat up and grimaced at the string of popping noises from my back as it cracked. My neck was stiff as stone and I couldn't move it at all, and my whole entire body was freezing cold to the point where it was going numb in some places. Ouch. Not to mention the fact that my eyes burned like you wouldn't believe and my eyelids felt as if I had replaced them with cement blocks. I was so groggy I might as well have been hungover
The entire length of my right side was oddly warm though. I smiled goofily at the sensation and curled up into whatever it was, circling my arms around it and hugging it closer like it was a teddy bear or something. I instantly felt warmer and nuzzled further into it before embracing my lazy side and falling back asleep.
...
Chandler's POV
For someone who'd slept on a kitchen floor with an obese cat (okay not true. He's quite fit for a little kitty) pressing on my lungs and cat fur shoved in my mouth, I felt pretty good when my eyes finally fluttered open. The sunlight was streaming in from the windows in the kitchen in warm, hazy triangles, the morning gray and blue like rain was brewing. Thankfully no house elves were in here like they had been in my dreams. Seriously, where were they? Aren't they always supposed to be lurking around in here?
I felt a light pressure on my ribs and smiled as I watched Baboo stretch and silently yawn like cats do, his soft little paws pushing up against my chin. What a weirdo...
I suddenly became very aware of someone else's presence next to me as they stirred in their sleep, the arm I hadn't yet noticed was wrapped protectively around me circling tighter. My eyes widened to the size of quaffles and I stiffened up, my whole body going rigid at a second's notice. So much for personal space…
What the Hufflepuff was going on? (yes I just said that. Kind of…) Think Chandler, think. What did you do last night? Okay, I woke up, got dressed, went downstairs, and then… I ate breakfast with Al and Scorpius! Good Chandler, now we're getting somewhere. Okay, then what? Let's see… Oo oo ooooooo! Quidditch try-outs! That's right! I totally kicked ass and I'm now officially on the Gryffindor quidditch team. And I hit Chuck Morton in the face… Holy Merlin. Please, oh please, please, please, please with Sour Punch Straws and Jolly Ranchers on top, please say that the creep hugging me (who smelled admittingly amazing, I might add- like green Sour Patch Kids and the captivating scent of quidditch pitch grass) was not Chuck Morton.
Holy hell. No. Just- no. I sat there paralyzed for a moment, absolutely terrified. I was too scared to sneak a peek at the hugger and find out if it really was Chuck or not. Damn you morning grogginess!
I finally collected my bearings and forced myself to be a brave Gryffindor and just look over my shoulders. One… two… three! I whipped my head around, my unraveled braid whipping the perpetrator in the face and making him sneeze adorably. Midnight eyelashes fluttered open to reveal bright green eyes the color of gleaming emeralds and the new leaves of summer on the trees back home. Whew- I literally sighed in relief, a huge wave of worry rolling right off my chest. A smile graced my face and he slowly smiled back, dimples forming in the corners and his eyes twinkling with that ever-constant Wotter mischief. It was only Al.
Wait. It was only Al- with the front of his gray guacamole-stained shirt pressed right up against the back of my dad's Penn State sweatshirt, with the legs of his navy sweatpants curled up in the curves of my freezing cold ones (short red flannel boxers with Yorkies all over them only get you so far), with his cold nose just moments ago pressed against my neck and his firm arm still wrapped around me with my hand holding onto it just for good measure. No. No no no no no no no. This wasn't supposed to happen here! This was my clean slate- my second chance. Albus Potter and his adorable dimples weren't going to ruin that for me.
The lazy grin fell right off my face and I scrambled up, for once towering over the poor boy as he looked up at me from the floor, confused. I felt really cold and… like I was missing something where he'd just been pressed up against me moments ago. I brushed it off and my defenses went up, flipping my crazy switch just as Chuck Morton and his giggly, blonde, Hufflepuff flavor of the hour walked into the kitchen, holding hands and looking disgustingly cutesy with each other. They froze when they caught sight of the two of us.
My eyes started to tear up for absolutely no reason and I angrily wiped them away before flinging my hand to the side. No wonder everyone called me Nutter. I was batshit crazy. Well, might as well take advantage of it.
"RAPIST!" I screeched at Al, pointing a shaky finger at him before diving down to rescue my little kitty from his pervy clutches. I let myself have once last glimpse of Albus Severus Potter before giving him a scornful, maniacal eye twitch and running out of there like I had a freaking werewolf on my case, stumbling slightly on the kitchen tiles and ramming shoulders with Chuck, whose dull brown eyes stared after me, dumbfounded. So much for any plans I might have had for friends.
Al's POV
"Never knew you had it in you Potter. Nice," Chuck said with a cheeky laugh and a disturbing wink in my direction, his dark, smarmy eyes still trailing after Chandler's ass even after she was long gone. I was too shocked to respond, mind reeling restlessly. Chandler was such a puzzle. One minute she was cool and normal and the next she was completely off her rocker. If I didn't know her better, I would've thought it was her safety blanket-you know, something to fall back on when she got lost or self-conscious.
"That girl is crazed. Like, really messed up in the head," Chuck's friend said airily-vacantly, her minky blonde head tilted to the side with a stupid grin on her face, her eyes glazed over like she'd just heard a joke she didn't quite get.
"Yeah, but the crazy ones are always really wild," Chuck said repulsively, right in front of his slag of the morning too. She looked up at him quizzically for a moment before her grin came snapping back onto her face like a boomerang.
I was ashamed on behalf of the entire male population to have anything at all in common with Chuck, even something as small as gender. It was repugnant.
"You're such a prick," I spat at him, my eyes slicing through him. He looked at me, taken aback for a moment, before a slimy smirk twisted his face.
"It's funny, really- how different you and your sister are."
That was it. I snapped. Without Scorp here to hold me back I lunged at him, wrapping around his torso and tackling him to the ground. We both landed painfully on the cold tiles of the kitchen floor, me on my elbow, him on his shoulder. I quickly scrambled to compose myself and pinned him down. That was the last straw. This pervert needed to learn a lesson or two- actually, more like a hundred. Maybe it'd even bring his IQ up a point from sixteen to seventeen. He opened his mouth, a no doubt disgusting little tid-bit about my sister on the tip of his tongue, when images floured into my head-images of my sister and Chuck, of Chuck and my sister. Together. My hand reared back in a flash of jittery disgust and anger and then I could feel my knuckles steam-rolling into his jaw, packing one hell of a punch. His little friend let out a shrill shriek before abandoning him completely and flying out of the kitchens. What classy taste Chuck had…
"Don't you ever," I growled, sneering in his face, "talk about my sister again, you spineless prat!"
I pulled my fist back for another go, ready to punch the holy hell out of this slimy bastard. And that was the precise moment McGonagall decided to walk into the kitchens, Chuck's minky blonde cowering behind her, peeking up over her shoulder, having to stand on her tiptoes. I looked down then, averting my eyes from the flat disappointment in McGonagall's gray eyes. It always felt so shitty when she gave me that look- the one that said just how different I was from my dad and how she expected so much more out of the pride son of Ginny and Harry Potter. I apparently lowered the standards for the Potter/Weasley family. My fist fell to my side deflatedly and my eyes caught Chuck's. His lips lifted arrogantly in a crooked sort of smirk before he fell back against the tiles, groaning like he'd never been in more pain in his life. McGonagall gave me this look that completely conveyed the seriousness of my situation.
I was in deep shit.
…
Chandler's POV
I'd made it all the way to the Fat Lady before I'd stopped running, wheezing like I belonged on the Biggest Loser. Note to self : get fit. Ditch the Sour Patch Kids or something, I mean, my god Chandler. This is just depressing.
"Password?" the Fat Lady asked me, quite snobbily I might add. I didn't have enough breath to answer her and she quickly lost patience as I heaved and huffed and basically died.
"Password?" she insisted haughtily at me. I gave her my best glare before taking a gigantic gulp of air.
"Oh, shut it," I sneered at her, resulting in an appalled gasp. "Cornelius Pixies."
She huffed at me indignantly a bit before opening up her ancient doorway and letting me through. I stumbled in and flopped on the floor, desperate for air. I lay there on the rug, my fingers playing with the tassels, for a really long time, happily breathing in all the air I could.
"See. Told you she was mental. Rumor is she moved here because America kicked her out. Couldn't even fit in in her own country. St. Mungo's wouldn't even take her in. Guess we're just unfortunate."
I lifted my head to find my roommate Heather looking at me from behind the back of the common room couch with two other girls I'd never met before sitting next to her, eyeing me dangerously.
"She certainly looks the part," one with outrageously long eyelashes and platinum blonde hair snickered, making Heather roll her head back and let out a creepily perfect string of bell-like laughter.
"And look at what she's wearing! Must be a slag, too, if she walks in in the same clothes from last night after never coming back to the dormitory for curfew."
"You know," I said. "At least I wear clothes that cover my ass and actually serve a purpose besides showing off a total lack of cleavage. Guys don't have to be drunk or in a dark room to want me either, unlike you. " That shut her up. She turned back to her other perfect friends, who looked like they wanted to kidnap me in the dark of night and drown me in the Black Lake. The other girl, a pretty stick with olive-skin and sleek dark hair that framed her face edgily, scoffed and narrowed her eyes at me, clearly trying to brush off the very true and very embarrassing fact I had just brought to light.
"Hey Chandler!" a familiar voice rang out form behind me. I turned to see Rose, vibrant red hair spiraling wildly and blue eyes shining. I noticed a button on her shirt was buttoned wrong, but I didn't say anything. You would think she would be a little less obvious when it came to shagging Scorpius. She set her books down next to me, and faced me, her face flushed with excitement.
"You look excited," I mused. She just grinned at me in response.
"I am! Hogsmeade is this weekend!" she said, clapping her lanky hands together. She earned a glare from Heather but didn't seem to notice it.
"What's that? Isn't that the town like a mile down?" I asked, kind of confused as to why she was so excited. Were they like having a sale? No offense, but that town didn't really scream "WE HAVE KNEE SOCKS AND CAT FOOD YOU WOULD LOVE! COME BUY OUR STUFF!" It was more of a "We have creepy stores and most of them smell like dead birds." The latter wasn't really up my alley. Except for the creepy stores part...kidding! Kinda...
"Yes! Every few weekends or so, Hogwarts students are allowed to go down to Hogsmeade and spend the day there. Usually our family comes and visits, especially our cousins. And they have so many little stores and I usually end up eating my ass off. God I love food. And then there's the part where you actually have a place to go on dates. That's useful too. What's not to like?"
"Oh, are you going with Scorpius this time?" I asked, aimlessly twirling my dark hair around my finger. When I looked up to see her answer, she looked mortified that I had said such a thing out loud, blue eyes wide and panicked. Nobody around us had seemed to notice, but that didn't seem to matter to Rose. She roughly grabbed my left arm and pulled me into the corner by the bookshelves. She shoved a giggling set of second year girls away and glared at me.
"What the hell, Chandler? You can't just go around saying that out loud! People could have heard you!" she hissed, looking around frantically with nervous eyes like some twerp was going to come jumping out from behind the bookshelves.
"Rose, if you like him so much, just stop caring about what people think. It's not helping. Besides, angry Rose isn't exactly my favorite."
She looked at me for a second, like she couldn't believe something random and weird hadn't just come out of my mouth. I quickly looked away, hoping she would let it slide. Stupid mistake, Chandler.
"Whoa, Chan. That actually made sense!" She said, still looking at me. I quickly changed the subject.
"Okay, well then how about you, Scorp, Al, and I all go together? We could go look at what type of Dungeons and Dragons sets they have in the stores and you could meet my family!" I said. Rose gave me a weird look about the D&D thing, but eventually smiled and agreed to go.
Albus POV
"Nervous?" Scorp asked me, materializing out of thin air, walking up on my right as we headed outside. The toe of his shoe trapped the heel of mine and I stumbled forward, flailing my arms, rising a laugh out of him. I growled at him and pushed him roughly, sending his laughing ass fumbling for balance.
It was the weekend, and we were starting it off with a bang, a.k.a. a trip to Hogsmeade with Chandler and Rose. Rose had invited Scorp and I to go with them yesterday when we were eating dinner. I was curious to see if Scorp would agree to it, and as he accepted the invitation, I saw something in Rose's eyes I couldn't register. She looked surprised, but also almost... happy?
"Why the hell would I be nervous? It's Chandler and Rose, Scorp. My skinny ginger cousin and the spastic new girl," I said sharply, the words fumbling off my tongue a little to fast and taking the defensive side, running a hand through my hair with a harsh sigh. I tried not to let the swell in my chest at the sound of her name escape into the open, but Scorp knew me too well.
"Oh, come on, Al. You spent forever on your hair this morning, and you're a bloke. You never spend more than five seconds on it. Admit it. You fancy Chandler."
"I don't fancy her, Scorp. We're just good friends." I said, my last words trailing off unconvincingly as I spotted Rose and Chan over by the gate. Rose's hair was cascading down her back in a waterfall of flames that flickered with her every movement, and a pale blue dress was painted on her body, flirting with her knees. It was a little too tight, in my cousinly opinion, but-shocker-the guys staring at her ass didn't seem to mind one bit. Usually my blood would be simmering to a proper boil and I'd be walking over right now to pummel their pervy asses, but my attention was otherwise captivated by the other more quiet girl standing next to my loud cousin, the small smile playing with her lips utterly entrancing. A pair of candy apple red shorts were shocking against her lean tan legs, and her white top fit her so perfectly it was literally hypnotizing, stripes stretching across her chest. Her hair was pulled back, and her smile was painted with red lipstick that was enough to drive a bull crazy. She laughed at something Rose said, her head tipping back just the slightest fraction as her eyes lit up with mirth, making the curled ends of her ponytail tickle the back of her neck. Next thing I knew those dark inviting eyes were suddenly on mine, and they seemed to glitter as she noticed me. I felt an elbow nick my ribs and it snapped my attention back into the real world- the world where Chandler was excitedly grabbing Rose's elbow and dragging her towards us. I spared a look sideways away from my friend Chandler at Scorp to find him already looking at me knowingly, his eyebrow raised in mischievous accusation.
"Hey guys!" Chandler greeted us, pushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Rose was one step behind her, and was laughing as Scorp glared at Baboo, tucked into Chandler's arms.
"Why did you have to bring the bloody cat?" He asked, still looking like he wanted to kill it. Chandler pulled Baboo protectively against her chest tightly. Lucky cat...`
"Because Ty is coming today, you silly radish!" she said, acting like radish was the most practical adjective in the world and rolling her eyes playfully. Rose and Scorpius shared a confused glance.
"Who's Ty?" Rose asked.
"He's coming with my dad to visit me today. You'll love him!" Chandler said in a contagious excited rush. Before Rose could ask another question about Ty, Chandler turned on her heel and started skipping down the path to Hogsmeade, singing some pop song out loud to herself and that bloody cat of hers. I laughed as Rose joined her and I heard Baboo meow disdainfully. Scorp winked at me, then took off after them.
...
"Omigosh!"
Chandler just about flipped her shit. She reached over me and grabbed the edge of the table in one hand and the edge of the booth with the other, scrambling over me. Her foot was squashed up on top of my leg for a moment while she tried to climb out of the booth and I hissed, the heel of her oxford digging into my thigh. She didn't seem to notice. Or care.
Chandler scrambled out, running in a dead sprint to the other side of the tavern, jumping into an older man's arms. I went on high alert for a second. What exactly was going on here? Did we need to call Dateline for an intervention?
"Whoa," the man laughed, his arms coming up to wrap around her torso. He set her back down on the ground, trying to unravel her arms calmly from his neck. He finally succeeded and Chandler let go, smiling at the man brightly for a moment before letting out a scream and dancing around a bit, hopping from foot to foot. She crouched down and picked something up, smiling and giving it quick kisses all over. Was it a dog or...
"Channy!"
Yeah, pretty sure it wasn't a dog. Unless she'd enchanted it to keep up conversation with her... Sounded plausible. Chandler turned around to reveal a little blonde toddler in her arms with a toothy smile. My eyes widened. Did everyone in America have an episode of Sixteen and Pregnant in their name? Suddenly the older guy smiling fondly down at her seemed lot more sketchy...
Chandler made her way back to the table, the toddler mouthing at her hair and tangling the thick strands in his chubby hands.
"Guys," she started, bobbing on her toes and smiling at the little boy, "this is my baby brother Ty. Ty, say hello."
"Hi," the toddler, Ty, waved. And now I felt stupid, ducking my head to hide the embarrassed flush I could feel creeping up my neck, which was ridiculous. Why was I embarrassed? It's not like Chandler was a mind reader (fingers crossed).
"Hi," we all chorused, Rose squealing a bit at what I assumed was how cute the kid was. Scorp just snorted at her, swallowing down the rest of his Butterbeer. She scoffed and swatted his arm with the back of her hand, turning back with a high watt smile.
"So, uh," I coughed as she slid into the booth again with her brother, meeting her eyes across the table. "Who's your baby daddy in the corner?"
Chan's eyebrows cinched in confusion and she whipped her head around to see who I was talking about.
"Oh, that's just my dad."
Scorp choked on the Butterbeer he stole from Rose and then everyone started laughing, the tension dissipating. That's how most of the night was spent - laughing and telling stories over our drinks.
"Mate, can I talk to you for a second?" I asked Scorp a few days later.
"Course. 'Bout what?" He asked, drying his hair with his towel. He had been gone quite a bit for the last few days, and I only saw him in class and at dinner. I guessed he had found a new shagging buddy. Or he was apart of some under ground sex cult that had meetings in the dungeons...
"What do you think of Chandler?" I asked, getting straight to the point. Scorp raised an eyebrow in surprise and I saw a small smile form on his lips. My eyebrows furrowed when I realized they looked kiss-bitten. Who was this girl?
"Um, she's alright. Definitely hot, worth shagging. But I probably wouldn't date her; she's kind of insane. You know she asked me today if I was secretly into BDSM: Badly Dressed Straight Men? And when I said no she just gave me this look, shook her head, and walked away!"
I laughed at his story, partly because of how creeped out Scorp looked and partly because I could imagine Chandler doing exactly what he had said. I fiddled with my hands, trying to hide a fond smile, then looked back up as Scorp started talking again.
"She's a tough nut to crack, mate. I wonder what she's like when she isn't around people. It was so strange the other day when she was with Ty and her dad. She was so normal and so happy. I mean, she's usually cheerful, but how she acted around them, makes me wonder if all of this is just an act?"
I nodded and processed his words. I was surprised at how deep they were. Scorp wasn't usually so serious, but he had his moments. Was the Chandler we had all grown to know and trust not who she claimed to be? And if Scorp was right, what had made her like this? I brushed my teeth and climbed into bed, hoping that Scorp's theory wasn't true.
Chandler's POV
"Bum-bum-bidum-bum-bum-bidum-bum." I hummed, walking down the hallway. October was almost over and that meant Christmas was ever sooner! I love Christmas! Except those creepers who dress up as Santa in malls and let little kids sit on their laps and ask what they want. All the parents know what Santa wants. Ho, ho, ho. I quickly smiled as I saw Rose coming out of her History of Magic class. Her red hair was frizzy and falling out of her ponytail and her appearance was less than immaculate. Somehow I knew she hadn't been with Scorp. She looked stressed. I let out a little squeal of relief at seeing her and ran over to her in some sort of tip-toe-with-flailing-T-Rex-arms manner.
"What's wrong?" I asked, smiling warmly and understandingly at her as I walked in stride with her, my steps overly-exagerated. She looked at me angrily.
"How can you be so calm? It's infuriating! I mean- ugh! We have so much homework! And Halloween is this weekend! I have to get a costume for the party, finish my Vampire essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and now Professor Blanke has informed shoved a new five-page essay on Goblin History and the Effect on Modern Day Wizardry and Spellcasting down our throats!"
She was practically shouting and I cringed in fear of the pissed off ginger. I used to know this kid with red hair who once dumped a jar of ginger on a girl who made fun of him. It was really weird...Wait, Rose is staring at me! What were we talking about? Oh yeah!
"What Halloween party?" I asked excitedly, suddenly very. I really like Halloween. I mean, it's my favorite holiday. Last year I took Ty trick-or-treating because my dad let me skip school that day to take him. I was a girl version of Captain Hook from Peter Pan, and Ty was a MUCH cuter version of Smee. It was pretty adorable. Until some guy asked if I could walk his plank... And then I decked him. Haha get it? I decked him! You know, like pirate talk? I thought it was pretty funny...
"Well nobody is supposed to know about it but everybody does. That's kind of the way things go around here. Ever since my fifth year and their sixth, my cousins James and Fred have thrown a huge Halloween party. Since we're family, I'm automatically invited as long as I haven't been a stupendous bitch to them. Although, considering it's Fred and James, it'd be pretty hard to be a bitch to them at all. The party is invitation only and you have to be a fifth year and above. Even though Fred and James are graduated, the tradition still carries on and they always show up."
"What happens at the party?" I asked, blinking, interest peaking with every highschool-glamourous word. I could just imagine these two studs that all girls wanted in their beds by the end of the night and all the guys wanted to condemn to bed rest out of sheer envy.
"Well, everyone wears a costume and drinks and dances and by the end of the night you're so out of your shit that you always, always wake up costumeless in someone else's bed. Then we all walk our shameful asses to class and suffer through lessons and the year's most infamous hangover."
"Sounds riveting."
"It's a lot of fun," Rose said, still trying to convince me. "Last year, I got so drunk I slept with my worst enemy. It was insane. That's how me and Tall, Blonde, and Abercrombie ended up... the way we are."
"You mean Scorp," I asked, sort of getting lost in all the babble running off her tongue. She rolled her eyes at me like I was the world's largest idiot.
"Yes."
"Really? Classy. Like silverware." I said, my voice hazy, my mind starting to wander off.
"That makes no sense at all, Chandler."
"Neither does getting drunk out of your mind, but people do it anyway."
"Look, are you coming or not?" Rose asked, getting up and looking at me pointedly.
"Count me in. Bitch." I said, trying to sound like the tough badass American I was. She laughed at me in my face and walked off to go meet Scorpius, swishing her hips like she was Queen Bitch. I walked off in the opposite direction to meet...to go meet Baboo. All hard-ass motherfuckers surely do the same thing.
Albus's POV
I fucking love parties. Everybody drinks and dances and nobody really gives a shit. Everyone turns into inhibitionless hypocrites and we all just have a great time. Unless it's a lame party. Then I'm out in five seconds. But James and Fred's annual Halloween party was exactly the opposite of lame. It was LEGENDARY. Each party was greater than the last, and produced the kind of crazy, ridiculous, utterly unbelievable stories you told your grandkids because you were too ashamed to tell your real kids. James and Fred always brought the best booze, the best music, and made sure anybody who was anybody was there. It was held in the Room of Requirement and James and Fred always hired Fourth Years to guard the corridor for teachers. They do a good job and they are the first to get invited to the same party next year. If not, well, they can bugger off. There's plenty more eager Fourth Years to go around.
Everyone's required to dress up in a costume so if the party gets busted, no one can be identified, and while most girls just use it as an excuse to dress like glorified London prostitutes, most of the guys dress up as random muggle super heroes or my dad. It gets really awkward really fast when they do the latter. This year, I was going as James Dean. He was this famous muggle actor who was a total badass. I even bought a leather zip-up jacket and blue jeans just for the occasion.
Tonight was the night: October 31. Last year I drank so much Fire Whiskey that I shagged Heather Thomlinson, that awful pretentious slag from Gryffindor. Rose wouldn't let me hear the end of it for six months. Six. Months. I wanted to bang my head against a wall until my head throbbed so much the pounding drowned out her nagging. Not to mention the fact that Heather followed me around like a lost puppy for two whole weeks afterwards. Ugh. Can you say desperate? Well, I can. DESPERATE.
I was standing in front of the mirror, messing with my hair. I slicked it back a little, a few impossible pieces sticking out, and grabbed a cigarette.
"Ready to go?" I asked Scorpius, who was fixing his hair in the mirror behind me. He was going as a "sexy nerd" and had thick-framed glasses on, a blue collared shirt tucked into a pair of khaki pants, and a pair of loafers on his feet. He explained to me earlier that the shirt "showed off his muscular arms" and "the khakis look fucking hot". I would totally tap that.
"Yeah, let me grab some condoms." He said.
"Are you fucking serious?" I asked, giving him a glare. His number one thing about parties was that the girls got drunk out of their shit. And drunk girls = easy shags. He grinned at me and nodded towards the door. As we exited, I gave him a good thump on the back of his head. When he looked back, he was grinning like the idiot he was.
...
When we arrived at the party, it was in full swing. People in costumes stretched as far as the eye could see and farther, booze fucking everywhere. Red cups adorned the staircase banister like dominos set to fall, whole bottles of Fire Whiskey and fruity muggle shit were clutched in the hands of buzzed party-goers like their life depended on emptying the contents. People were dancing to some muggle pop song and I even saw some couple already pairing off. The room was decorated with Halloween props and orange and black streamers and decorations were everywhere.
"Al, this night is going to be fucking awesome." Scorp muttered to me, and I nodded vaguely in agreement. As we headed to the food area, two familiar voices caught my attention. I stopped and Scorp noticed, turning around with this puzzled look on his face.
"Al-"
"Al!" My brother James echoed loudly, yanking me into some strangled form of a brotherly hug. His arms constricted my arms against my ribs uncomfortably but I sent him a wobbly smile anyways. His arms were soon replaced by Fred's, who was just as enthusiastic and even more lost on the concept of personal space. He let me go, flashing a Weasley grin and stepping back, giving me full view of their costumes. This year Fred and James were dressed up as...Hawaiian tourists? They both wore tacky Hawaiian short-sleeve button-downs and those funny khaki shorts muggles wore with sandals, not to mention the tacky leis around their necks.
"Way to go all out," Scorp mused as he yanked them into hugs, clapping them each on the back. James and Fred hugged him back and when they stepped back they were all smiles, which were complete one-eighty's from the bouts of skepticism and insecurity they'd had when they first met him.
"Thanks, brahhhhh." Fred said, dragging out the word like a surfer wannabe. I rolled my eyes as James handed me a drink.
"So Al, any girl you hoping to take home?" Fred asked me as he casually sipped from his drink, his eyes glinting with mischief as they flickered up at me from the rim of his cup.
"Chandler." I heard Scorp mutter and I elbowed him in the ribs sharply, smiling uneasily at my brother and cousin whose interest seemed to spark.
"Who's Chandler?" James asked, turning to Fred and waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Fred just grinned, tapping an eager melody int the side of his cup.
"Does our wittle Albie have a crush?" Fred asked dauntingly.
"Crush is an understatement. I think he's bloody obsessed with her," Scorp said with a bit of a crude laugh tagged onto the end.
As they all laughed, I just glared. James, Fred, and Scorp were great. Until they turned into douchebags.
"I think she's around here somewhere..." Scorp trailed off, standing on his toes and craning his neck to search for her in the crowd. "There she is," he said with a conniving little grin, pointing behind me. When I turned, my eyes immediately caught hers. She was dressed as a gypsy, with a band around her forehead and a thin silk green skirt that went a little past her knees. She wore a gold bra thing that glinted and glimmered in the lights of the party with fringe hanging from it. Saying she looked sexy would be the biggest understatement of my life. Rose was right behind her, wearing short brown shorts and a red tank top that settled on her belly button. She had a brown fringe vest over it and a headband with three feathers attached. She wore brown boots that went mid-calf and they also had fringe on them. I heard Fred mutter a "holy shit" somewhere in there.
"Hey guys," Chandler said as she came up to us. Keep cool, Al. Keep cool.
"Hey Chan, I would like you to meet my brother James and my cousin Fred." I said as she looked at them. I saw a small smile tugging at her lips and I figured she loved their costumes.
"Pleasure to meet you, darling," James said, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it. Chandler laughed and then shook Fred's hand as he introduced himself personally. I couldn't stop looking at her. She was perfection. Suddenly she turned to say something to Rose and I saw two long ghosts of scars on her stomach. They were both barely visible in the light but I still noticed them. Why the hell were there scars on her stomach? Suddenly a song started to play and Chandler screamed.
"I love this song! Who wants to dance?" She asked, walking towards the dance floor. James happily obliged, to my disgruntlement.
As soon as the music started, Chandler began dancing. I recognized the song quickly. Some muggle thing called "Hips Don't Lie".
Chandler was moving her hips back to the beat, grinding on James at the sharp switches in tempo, a bright smile flirting with her grinned down at her, his hands ghosting up her hips. She laughed and I couldn't watch it anymore. I turned around and started dancing with the first girl I saw, some hot twin who smiled at me in the hallways. I grabbed the girl's hand soon after, blocking out all thoughts of Chandler as I took the twin back to my dorm.
Chandler's POV
I skipped into the Great Hall, feeling great and cozy-legged with my first of November knee socks on. I surveyed my fellow wizards, noticing the younger half looked luscious, while the other half looked recently run over by an elephant. I noticed Al, Scorpo, and a few others of their bro-basket drinking out of a dark flask over at the Slytherin table. I tore my attention from them and quickly located Rose and Lily, who were sitting next to my other bearable roommate Alice.
"What's up, my shit-faced sisterhood!" I said, taking a seat next to Lily. Lily groaned and let her head bang on the table.
"Not today Chandler," Rose grumbled from across the table, her hands shoved in her wild ginger hair. She took a hit from some mysterious looking water bottle, grimaced, and then passed it over to Lily.
"Ugh, this organic shit isn't working Lily! I can't go to Divination like this! It's already enough of a headache already!" Rose exclaimed, pressing her hand to the side of her head. Lily just grumbled something unintelligible into the table and Alice stroked her hair.
"Well okay then," I mumbled, slipping the water bottle out of Lily's half-conscious hand. I took a whiff of it and coughed. It had its own brand of stench, geez.
"You should've just asked me for my Grand Mammy Ham's Helluva Hangover potion. All this organic pumpkin crap is going to do is make you bloated."
"Ugh," the gingers chorused.
"I'm going to murder you Lily." Rose threatened. Lily gave her a look, pretty much stating "You're going to kill me when you look like that?"
"So," Alice sighed. "What happened with everyone last night?" I glanced at Rose, who shrugged.
"I woke up in some Ravenclaw's bed. I left before I figured out who he was. I'm guessing we shagged, but I was too trashed to remember the details."
"Liar!" I coughed into my food, earning a glare from Rose. Lily and Alice didn't seem to notice anything. Lily took her turn next.
"I didn't fuck anyone," she said casually. "Some guy asked me like three times, but I feel like it." Lily had a weird expression on her face, like there was another reason she wasn't sleeping with anyone. OMG what if she was a lesbian?! I once knew a lesbian: she was nice and I had nothing against her, but then she and her girlfriend went to the Grand Canyon. They never came back...I think they joined a lesbian cult or something. Do they have those?
"What about you, Alice?" Rose asked. "Anything happen with him?"
Alice blushed a deep red, sparking my curiosity. Who was this "him"? Hope he isn't a Hufflepuff!
"Well..." Alice started, all of us leaning forward to hear what the usual quiet girl had to say.
"You guys know Matt Bancroft, that hot Slytherin in our year?" She started, looking nervous. I glanced at Matt, who was sitting across from Al and Scorp. He was tall, muscular but lean, with dark hair: major sexy boy alert.
"Yes...?" Rose answered excitedly.
"Well," Alice said, "I've liked him since Fifth year and last night at the party, he came up to me. He was really drunk, but we started talking and he called me beautiful...and I let him come back to our dorm."
"Oh my god!" Lily said.
"What happened?" Rose asked, looking overjoyed and fearful for her friend at the same time. Alice sighed.
"We didn't shag. We almost did and I really wanted to, but I pushed him off. He passed out like two minutes after."
"What stopped you?" I asked. "That boy is a fine piece of ass!"
Alice blushed at my comment, but her face looked sad.
"I just didn't want to have sex with him when he didn't know it was me he was getting with."
I nodded, and so did my other red-haired buddies. Rose put her hand on Alice's shoulder. Alice was different from all of us, more shy. She was careful and wasn't going to be with guys she didn't feel loved her back.
"Don't worry, Alice. Just be patient: he'll fall for you soon enough!"
Alice smiled at Rose, but looked pretty doubtful ad she looked down at her teacup.
Al's POV
A shadow fell over the Slytherin table and I looked up to see a groggy Matt Bancroft standing there, rubbing the hangover out of his eyes and teetering there on the spot.
"Can we help you"? I asked, raising a peevish eyebrow. I've never liked Matt. It wasn't for any obvious reason; he'd never been a prick to me. There was just something about him that screamed MAJOR ASSHAT TOOL to me. But then again, he was a helluva lot better than Chuck "The Slut" Morton.
Scorp sent me a glare across the table. Unlike me, Scorp didn't actually mind Matt. In fact, they were kind of mates. Tool-mates, like they bonded over their mutual douche-bagginess.
"Have a sit, mate." Scorp offers to Matt, with the best bro-smile he could muster with the state of his residual drunkenness.
"Thanks," Matt smiled tiredly, sliding in across from me and Scorp. He looked kind of like a dejected puppy in his hangover state. It made me feel bad for wanting to kick his face in.
"So what'd you get up to last night?" Scorp questioned, raising a devilish eyebrow.
"No fucking idea," Matt groaned, burying his head in his hands, his palms digging into his eyes. "If you hear anything, please, do tell."
Scorp chuckled. I just smirked because he looked absolutely shit miserable.
"Sounds like a fun night," Scorp joked. Matt just lifted his head to glare at him. The glare quickly morphed into something nearly pity-inducing, all frantic puppy eyes and shaking hands.
"I dunno, mate," he began, his eyes flitting around before settling nervously on the Gryffindor table where Rose and the girls were giving Chandler dry looks. "But I think I might've fucked that batshit Harris girl."
My heartbeat was pounding loud enough to shatter glass.
"Oh," Scorp started, his mouth shuttering open and quickly closing awkwardly, not sure what to say. I was gripping the table hard enough I thought my knuckles might pop out of my skin.
"I vaguely remember making out with some fit bird, but I dunno. I woke up on the floor of the Gryffindor dorm next to a bed, and there was that bloody cat beast of hers screeching at me from on top of the bed. And her knee socks were strewn all over the place."
Well shit fuck damn.