Slughorn's party was flashy and exhuberant, with music and happy Hogwarts students prancing about. Mac was with Travis, the blond-haired Gryffindor from his dormitory. Wherever they turned, they always found some kind of odd character that met his gaze. Hags, vampires, mutants of all sorts were present in Slughorn's office. Mac even thought he glimpsed the great Gwenog Jones.
"This is much cooler than I thought," said Elissa as she walked over with some punch. "I met Magnus Macdonald! The Dent-Head Magnus Macdonald!"
"Who?" asked Cordelia the Ravenclaw, who was Elissa's guest.
"Dent-Head!" cried Elissa, clearly insulted at Cordelia's confusion. "The one that tried to revive the violent sport of Creaothceann in the 1960's!"
"Duh, Cordelia," said Mac sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Everyone knows Dent-Head Macdonald."
Cordelia looked even more confused, and Mac laughed with Elissa.
The party started to wind down around 10:00. Finally, Mac figured that it was time to go, and he and Travis followed Elissa, Cordelia, Renee, and Katie into the hall.
"That was great!" said Katie. "Elissa and I met Gwenog Jones! She was amazing in person...better than I could have imagined!"
"It was a little uneventful besides the famous people, though, don't you think?" asked Mac.
Renee nodded.
"Hey!" said Cordelia, her voice suddenly soft. "You want excitement? I know something that'll be just that..."
--
"So you know the plan, Travis?"
"Yes. I hide in the broom cupboard to make sure you all can get back into the castle."
"And you're sure you don't want to come with us?"
"No. I prefer to stay out of trouble."
"Okay," said Cordelia. "Whatever you want. Well, now we're off into the night!"
Mac was the first out of the oak front doors. He surveyed the empty front lawn. "It's all clear," he whispered back to the girls. "Everybody out." He crept onto the silent grass, hearing the muffled footsteps of the others behind him. The cool night air was delightfully crisp in comparison to Slughorn's stuffy office.
"Mac, there's a really nice hill over that way," whispered Elissa. "Come on, follow me."
The small group changed direction and treaded behind Elissa to the crest of a grassy slope. Mac breathed deeply, savoring the fresh scent of grass. Elissa plopped onto her back and stared into the night sky.
"Darn," she said. "It's a full moon. All the light pollution will make it hard to see some of the stars."
Mac joined her on the lightly damp grass and followed her gaze toward the moon.
"It's so beautiful, though," said Katie from Elissa's other side. "Just like a giant crystal orb hanging on night's star-spangled canvas."
"Katie, you're so poetic!" exclaimed Cordelia rather loudly.
"Shhh!" hissed Elissa.
"No one's gonna hear us," murmured Renee. "There's no one but us anywhere on the grounds, and probably no one out is Hogsmeade, either."
Mac felt Elissa stiffen beside him, but she kept control of her temper and didn't say anything. He smiled to himself at her patience.
They were silent as the stars twinkled overhead. Mac looked for constellations that he recognized from Astronomy, but it was certainly not his best subject.
As if reading his mind, Elissa pointed to a group of stars almost directly above them. "That's Orion...the hunter or something. I don't know much about it, but I'm sure my dad does."
"Is your dad an astronomer?" asked Cordelia.
"No, he just likes stargazing. Always has..."
They group was silent once again as the moonlight draped over them.
"Name some other constellations, Elissa," requested Mac.
"'Kay. Well, there's Taurus...and Pisces the fish...and you can kinda see part of Perseus over there, but there are some high clouds..." Her voice trailed off. "That's pretty much all I can recognize without a chart..."
Mac didn't mind too much that she stopped talking. The silence was nice, like an old friend back from a long vacation. Why couldn't the calm go on forever?
--
A/N: I really appreciate reviews, and concrit is always nice. Any kind of feedback would be totally awesome... Oh, and thanks sophiecolette. You rule.