Chapter 6
Smashed
Sam stormed into the girls' dormitory and saw Angelina, Katie, and Alicia all sitting on Alicia's bed, gabbing happily and petting Unna who was sleeping comfortably between them. Sam tossed Katie's bag on the floor. "Have fun on your date tonight," Sam snapped without provocation before flopping onto her bed and drawing the curtains. Sam buried her face in her pillow and cried silently as she heard Angelina quietly asking Katie and Alicia to leave. Sam heard the two of them walk to the dormitory door and close it before Angelina slid open the curtain gently and sat on the foot of Sam's bed.
"So, what's wrong?" Angelina asked kindly. Sam groaned into her pillow pathetically in response. "C'mon Nimbus, you can tell me." Sam rolled over onto her back, her brown eyes shining with tears. Angelina tsked at her maternally.
"Fred is . . . he's . . ." Sam swallowed the rest of her words as she felt fresh tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"What happened?" Angelina asked. Sam sat up and hugged her knees to her chest.
"He just thinks he's got me all figured out. He thinks because he's known me for a few weeks he can tell me who I should talk to and what I should do and just . . ." Sam sighed and cocked her head to the side, toying anxiously with a strand of hair that had come loose from behind her ear.
"Why do you let him get to you?" Angelina asked, her voice laced with concern. Sam thought for a moment and finally shrugged. Because I like him, she thought to herself. "Well," Angelina continued, "it'll all be ok. You two are still just getting used to each other and, if I do say so myself, you're both a bit stubborn and it takes some time for two stubborn people to get along." Angelina smiled at her friend and brushed a strand of Sam's hair out of her face.
"I think you're right . . ." Sam sighed.
"So do you want to head down to dinner with all of us before Alicia goes on her date?"
"No, I'm not hungry," Sam lied, not divulging that she simply didn't want to see Fred yet.
"Alright. I'll try to bring back something for you in case you change your mind." Angelina smiled warmly at Sam and headed out of the dormitory, leaving Sam alone with her thoughts. Unna, having leapt off of Alicia's bed after the girls left, climbed up next to Sam, resting her head on her leg. Sam scratched her behind her ears, letting her mind wander. She started to doze off when she heard a light tapping at the window. She sat up and saw Salem sitting on the sill, a letter tied around his leg. Sam walked to the window and opened it, Salem fluttering in and landing on Sam's shoulder. He nuzzled her cheek affectionately as Sam untied the letter, seeing Adri's response to the infamous letter Sam had written two weeks ago which Fred had blackmailed her with.
Sam,
This Fred guy sounds interesting. Dreaming about him? Definitely interesting. Don't write it off too quickly, as we both know you're used to. Sorry for the late response. The semester just started and it's already crazy. Krista and Megan were devastated when they found out you weren't coming back. They're reading this over my shoulder and telling me to tell you they miss you and that they're going to visit over the summer. We all love you lots, and hope you're having fun. Write back soon.
Love,
Adri
Sam had found a quill and was working on her reply when she heard yet another tap at the window and saw a large eagle owl sitting on the sill this time. Sam reached out and pulled the letter off of its leg and the owl took flight immediately after. Sam noticed that the letter was addressed to her and was surprised to see that it was from Sebastian.
Samantha,
We're having a party in the Slytherin common room tonight and I'd love for you to come. If you'd like to go, meet me at the entrance to the Great Hall at 9 PM.
Sebastian
Sam checked her watch. It was a quarter to nine. Deciding that staying in the dormitory all night while all of her friends were going to be doing something didn't sound like her idea of a good time, Sam began rummaging through her trunk for something to wear. She settled on a denim mini skirt and a low cut polo shirt that showed off her body perfectly. She slid into a pair of sparkly ballet flats and quickly applied her makeup. She twirled her wand around a few strands of her hair and used a spell Adri had taught her the previous summer to put some loose curls into her hair. After checking her appearance in the mirror, Sam scratched Salem's neck and rubbed Unna's belly before heading out of the dormitory and into the common room. She saw Fred sitting near the fire reading, waiting for Alicia to return from dinner. He looked up as Sam began to walk past him, his eyes roving hungrily up and down her body. "Going out, Sammy?" Fred asked. His tone was harsh as he was still angry at her from their earlier conversation, but he couldn't hide the inklings of desire that crept into his voice.
"Going out with Sebastian," she replied, hardly slowing her stride as she passed him. Fred opened his mouth to reply, but Sam was already climbing out of the portrait hole before he had time to say anything, leaving him feeling completely flustered.
As Sam walked to the Great Hall, she noticed with satisfaction that she was earning a lot of looks from the guys she passed. Usually not one to worry too much about her appearance, Sam was feeling surprisingly confident and attractive. When she reached the Great Hall, she saw Sebastian standing outside with a few of his friends. As soon as he saw Sam, he looked at her with the same starved look that Fred had fixed her with before she left. Sam smiled at him seductively and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "You look amazing," he said with a sly smile. Sebastian wrapped his arm around her waist and the group turned to head toward the Slytherin dungeon. Before they had gone too far, Sam heard Alicia calling her name.
"Sam? Wow, you look incredible! Where are you going?" she asked as Sam turned toward her.
"Thanks! Just going to hang out with Sebastian tonight in the Slytherin common room."
"Oh, alright! See you later!" Alicia turned to go but Sam stopped her.
"Hey, I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. Guess I was just feeling a bit stressed. Have fun tonight on your date, ok?" Alicia grinned at Sam before heading once again for Gryffindor tower as Sam walked with Sebastian to the Slytherin dungeon.
The Slytherin common room was completely different from the Gryffindor common room. It was much darker and colder in a way, populated by large, high-backed, black leather chairs and green couches. Sam imagined that it would probably have seemed much more intimidating had it not been filled with Slytherins all drinking and talking together cheerfully. Almost as soon as they had arrived, someone had supplied Sebastian and his friends with drinks. Sam was handed a clear glass full of a smoking liquid. "Bottoms up," Sebastian said with a wink as he drained his glass. Sam did the same, coughing as the taste of Firewhiskey and something she couldn't quite identify hit the back of her throat. Just as she was recovering from her first drink, Sebastian was handing her another. Sam nursed this one much more slowly, the alcohol already making her head swim. Sebastian introduced her to his friends she hadn't met yet. Sam was surprised to find that, after a few drinks, the Slytherins were much warmer and more welcoming than when she had first met them. As the night wore on, Sam conversed easily with a group of sixth year Slytherin girls, all of whom were informing Sam that Sebastian was crazy about her. Sam felt herself blush deeply, although she wasn't sure if this was because of what she had been told or the copious amounts of Firewhiskey she'd been consuming.
"Feeling alright?" Sebastian asked her after seeing Sam stumble as she was looking for a place to sit.
"Mhmm. Think I'm just a bit . . ." Sam trailed off, searching for the right word.
"Drunk?" Sebastian supplied, chuckling softly. Sam nodded and giggled. "Well, we could go lie down for a bit in my room," Sebastian suggested. Sam nodded again, resting her head on his shoulder. Sebastian wrapped his arm around Sam's waist and led her into the Slytherin boy's dormitory. He laid her down on one of the large, black four poster beds, leaned down, and pressed his lips to hers. Sam wrapped her arms around him, pulling him onto the bed with her. Sebastian eagerly began kissing his way up Sam's neck and again found her lips. Sam moaned quietly, opening her mouth while Sebastian's lips were on hers. He slid his tongue into her mouth as his hands began searching all over her body. As his hands began to travel over Sam's flat stomach and under her shirt, Sam's clouded judgment became momentarily clear. She pulled away from Sebastian and pushed his hand away.
"I think I might be a bit too drunk for that," she said with a lopsided smile. As he was above her, Sam looked at Sebastian. His dark eyes were fiery, passionate, and his handsome features looked sharp, almost dangerous, in the low light of the dormitory. Sebastian, too, was watching Sam closely. Her dark eyes were softened from the alcohol and she looked so helpless beneath him . . . so trusting and vulnerable. He kissed her more fiercely this time, but kept his hands to himself. After a few more minutes, though, Sebastian's hands were finding their way over Sam's body yet again, this time up her skirt. As Sam tried to protest, Sebastian pressed his lips to hers even more intensely. Sam felt herself growing anxious as she tried to pull herself away. Just as Sebastian was about to find his way under Sam's underwear, the door opened. Sebastian sat up off of Sam, seeing another sixth year boy standing in the doorway.
"Someone said they heard Snape coming," the boy said, looking a bit embarrassed at walking in on the two of them. Sebastian nodded, sighed in frustration, and rolled off of the bed. Sam was still lying on top of the comforter, a bit shocked and feeling very nauseous.
"You better go, Samantha. Don't want you getting in trouble." Sebastian offered her his hand and helped her off the bed. He walked her to the entrance to the dormitory and kissed her on the cheek before sending her out. Sam, still very inebriated, felt disoriented and a bit upset that Sebastian wasn't walking her back to Gryffindor common room, as well as feeling completely shocked about what had occurred in his bed. As she was making her way out of the dungeon, she nearly ran right into Fred.
"Why are you down here?" she asked, surprised.
"Alicia told me you were down here with Rone . . . just wanted to make sure you were alright . . ." Fred was looking at her with concern. Sam nodded, temporarily ignoring her instinct to snap at him. Sam stumbled forward as she attempted to walk up the stairs out of the dungeon. Fred wrapped a strong arm around her waist and supported her weight. "C'mon Sammy, we need to get back up to the common room before someone finds us." Although Sam wasn't very heavy, she could hardly stand on her own two feet, making the journey up to the common room an extremely laborious one for Fred. Just as the two of them emerged at the top of the stairs coming out of the dungeon, they were greeted by Professor Snape.
"Going somewhere, Weasley?" he asked coldly. Fred didn't answer. "Follow me," Snape hissed, sweeping through the dungeons to his office. Once they were in Snape's office, Sam and Fred sat in front of Snape's desk. Sam had trouble keeping her eyes open. "Miss Nimbus, have you been drinking?" Snape asked icily. Sam's cheeks flushed a deep pink as she nodded. Snape rummaged for something in his desk and emerged with a small silver flask. "Drink," he instructed simply. Sam drank from the flask, an icy potion hitting her lips. She suddenly felt her head clear and stomach settle. "Now that we're all coherent, I think I should retrieve Professor McGonagall to handle your punishments." Snape smiled icily at the pair of them and exited his office.
"You shouldn't have come looking for me . . ." Sam muttered to Fred abashedly once Snape had left.
"And left you with Rone instead? He obviously was taking great care of you, letting you walk back to the common room alone in that state," Fred answered. Now that Sam was sober, his stinging tone from earlier in the evening had returned. "You really are an idiot, Nimbus. Can't take care of yourself, going to the Slytherin common room alone; have you done anything else completely reckless that I've missed?" Sam didn't reply. White hot anger was beginning to bubble in the pit of her stomach. She hadn't asked Fred to play hero and come rescue her, so why was he so mad? After what felt like an eternity of sitting in silence waiting for Professor McGonagall, the door of Snape's office opened as she walked in and sat behind the desk.
"Well, this is certainly not the best way to start the weekend," she began, looking furious. "Mr. Weasley, Professor Snape has told me that he found you out of bed with Miss Nimbus. What were you doing out of bed?"
"I was looking for Samantha, Professor," he answered.
"Very well. Miss Nimbus, Professor Snape said that he found you intoxicated when he saw you with Mr. Weasley. Is this true?"
"Yes, Professor," Sam answered meekly. She had never been in trouble with a teacher before and it terrified her.
"I think it goes without saying that I am utterly shocked to hear this and disappointed that a student from my house was found in this state. Fifty points from Gryffindor, and you will serve detention next Saturday in my office, Miss Nimbus. Mr. Weasley, ten points from Gryffindor will be taken for being out of bed and you, too, will serve detention with Miss Nimbus. Now, the two of you get to bed this instant. I don't want to hear of an incident like this from either of you ever again." The two of them got to their feet and headed out of the dungeon and up to the common room.
"I bet Rone is feeling plenty pleased with himself," Fred said as they walked to Gryffindor tower.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, her voice dangerous.
"Oh, you know, get a helpless girl drunk, do what you want with her. That's what I mean. How far did you let him go, Nimbus?" Fred asked cruelly. Sam stopped in her tracks and stared at Fred, incredulous. "Don't look so shocked, Sammy. I figured you had a bit of a slutty side to you. I just didn't think it would only take a few sips of Firewhiskey to bring it out." For the second time that night, Sam's eyes began to fill with tears at Fred's words. Fred plunged on recklessly, flinging his words at her like weapons. "Upset that I have you figured out? That I know what kind of girl you really are? You're easy, Nimbus." Fred immediately regretted being so brutal. Instead of lashing out at him angrily as he had expected, Sam simply looked up at him with an immense amount of pain in her deep brown eyes.
"That's not what happened at all . . ." she said through her tears "I didn't want him to . . . just . . . that's not . . ." her words trailed off as she felt a lump form in her throat.
"He did something to you . . ." Fred said, his voice softening, his face conscience-stricken.
"Not really . . . he stopped when I asked him for the most part, but - " Sam stopped her explanation abruptly, anger filling her once more. "I don't need to explain this to you. You think you know me so well? Go ahead and think what you want. Think I threw myself at him and that I'm easy. I don't care anymore, Fred. These past three weeks you've been playing games with me and I'm sick of it, so you know what? You stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours because, to be totally honest, I hate you, Fred Weasley. I think you're disgusting." And with that, Sam whipped around and headed for Gryffindor tower alone, her eyes still stinging with tears.
Author's note: Sorry for the long delay between chapters, but good news! I've already got chapter 7 mostly written, so expect it sometime this week! Please keep the reviews coming! They totally brighten my day. :)