Giddy Brew
Chapter 25: Happiness is a Bottle of Firewhisky and Good Friends Near Midnight
A/N: Ack! Only five chapters left after this one. Absolutely frightening. I'm thinking of posting this on under the new generation section, but I have the fear. I'm not used to posting anywhere other than here. But I found a bunch of great slash archives, including the rare slash ones, that feature Silvia Kundera- my ABSOULUTE favorite slash author. She reminds me of Francesca Lia Block the way she writes. I love her. Oh, and I have a correction- I had the Ravenclaw Quidditch team play Gryffindor twice. Pretend that they've played Gryffindor once and Slytherin once. Anyway, this is the chapter in which you can look forward to the author rambling because she's out of ideas. Okay, done rambling. Review!
Elanore Kingston's day started with her ex boyfriend cat calling her across the table. Then her current boyfriend marched over from the Slytherin table and shoved her ex into his porridge. It wasn't really a bad way to start the day, really. She'd gotten a lot of popularity from the Glam magazine spread she'd done with Serendipity and Dana. Many a third year she'd caught pouring over the glossy black magazine, staring in awe at the three impeccably dressed girls on the cover. Naturally she'd yelled at each and every one of them and told them that they shouldn't possess such adult trash, but deep inside, she was loving the attention. She even suspected some of the boys were using the rag to take care of some of their more carnal needs. It was enough to make a girl blush with pride.
"Wow," Prue mused, "That was pretty harsh. Don't you care Ellie? I think Rufus is bleeding."
Elanore watched Rufus lunge at Joshua, only to miss as the brunette boy side stepped him. He crashed into the Gryffindor table, where a few first years scattered hurriedly.
"That did look like it hurt," Serendipity murmured, idly taking a bite out of one of her pumpkin pasties.
"He'll survive," Elanore smiled innocently, "Joshua won't hurt him too badly."
"You're enjoying this," Sylvester gasped. He had been sitting quietly near the outskirts of the group, completely sullen. He hadn't really spoke a word since Elanore had skipped out on the Dark Symphony concert for the Valentine's contest. They'd had three weeks of blissful silence from him.
"Hey, you spoke! Good to have you back, mate," Bobby slapped his friend a little too hard on the back.
"He stopped speaking? I hadn't even noticed," Prue told her boyfriend airily.
"That's cruel," Bobby admonished her, fingering her hair delightedly, "It's getting longer."
"I think I look like a fairy," the blonde suddenly turned grumpy, "A fat fairy. Why hasn't Whitney been scheduling Quidditch practice? The last game is next week!"
"We're playing against Hufflepuff. We don't need to worry," Bobby assured her.
"That's not true-" but before Prue could start in on why the Hufflepuff team was perfectly adequate, Casey plopped down beside her. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair wasn't quite as perfectly spiked as usual. That was probably better, because it had been getting almost as long as Cerulean's.
"You look...not quite as stunning as usual," Serendipity finished lamely, poking him lightly in the stomach.
"Ah, careful! I'm in delicate condition," he moaned.
"You're pregnant?" Elanore raised an eyebrow.
"No! I'm bruised. Band practice was really rough last night," Casey sighed.
"Thus the black eyes?" Quant asked, slightly disgusted. Everyone else was grossed out by the fact he was brushing his hair at the dinner table, but he was steadfastly ignoring them.
Casey fingered the area beneath his eye, and said, "I think that's because of the astronomy homework I had after band practice."
"Astronomy? I thought you were good at that," Sylvester asked through a mouthful of food.
"I've kind of been falling behind," he admitted.
Everyone at the table stared at him in awe. Casey wasn't the best student, but he never, never failed to do well in astronomy.
"What? I've been stressed!"
"Hey, we should have a study session," Prue suggested.
"A study session?"
"Yeah, up on the astronomy tower. Casey can catch up, we can copy his notes," she trailed off.
"I could nab a bottle of Firewhisky," Casey perked up immediately.
"We want to study, not get sloshed," Bobby said dryly.
"It's too early in the morning to talk about liquor," Elanore cried.
"It's too early in the morning to be alive," Frank groaned, appearing from nowhere and also looking like hell. It seemed to be a theme with the Icemen that morning.
"Stayed a little too late in Noah Weslen's love nest?"
"Shut up, Prudence," Frank growled, snatching a croissant off one of the golden plates before all the food vanished off the long table.
"Don't call me that," she retorted, "Up to a study session on the astronomy tower tonight?"
"Study?"
"Okay, drink and copy Casey's notes session," she admitted, not the least bit guilty.
"I love the way you think," Frank beamed at her, "But isn't the astronomy tower you and Casey's special place?"
Prue stopped short, cheeks tinged with pink. She hadn't thought about that. Bobby was making a grab for her hand, but she pulled it away without thinking and glanced at Casey. He hadn't even noticed the remark, and was staring intently at one of the large arching windows of the Great Hall as though an owl would come crashing through it at any second.
In truth he had heard every word Frank said, but he thought it would be better to feign ignorance. He didn't want to upset Bobby, and he was too scared to look at Prue and see what her reaction would be. Casey thought of the astronomy tower fondly as 'their' place, but he doubted she saw it in the same light. She probably associated with boring old Professor Stellae rather than romantic nights with Casey.
"Nice," Serendipity said snidely, "Don't think that takes the heat off you and lover boy."
Frank blushed. Quant had leaked it to the rest of the group that he hadn't been spending the nights in his own bed, which explained perfectly why Polaris and the rest of the seventh year Gryffindor's had been looking so irritated each morning. It seemed with all the banging coming from Noah's, it was impossible to get a good night's rest.
"I think it's a good idea. Can I bring Joshua?" Elanore asked.
Promptly a cacophony of 'no's met her request. None of them liked the idea of spending time with a Slytherin, even if Elanore endorsed him. Dirk, obviously was an exception to the rule, for Prue at least. She jumped out of her seat seconds later to visit Dana over at the Gryffindor table. Dirk was standing over the ruby haired girl, talking with a slow smile. He brightened as Prue made her way over, and she was immediately caught up in Dana and Dirk's conversation.
"Wow, she just randomly ditched us," Serendipity remarked, examining her nails, "I think I'll go find Polaris now. Your boyfriend better not be touching him when I do."
With a threatening gesture towards Frank, she stood up and left.
"Does one of us smell funny?" Casey wondered.
"I'm not sure," Bobby replied, sniffing under his arm, then in Casey's general direction, "It's not us, mate."
Casually, Elanore announced, "Its Gethsemane."
"What?"
"Gethsemane Kenth, Joshua's sister? Remember, she got knocked out during the dueling match with Tisiphone Grant a while back. She woke up near the end of February. She was out for months! Anyway, Prue and Serendipity have been stalking her around the castle, jinxing her every chance they get. She's shooting them nasty looks from the Slytherin table. I think they thought splitting up might be wiser."
"No, I think leaving the Hall might have been wiser," Casey muttered, watching said girl rise from her table, wand ready. Dirk pushed Prue out of the way of a particularly nasty hex.
"Is she allowed to do that in front of the teachers?" Sylvester wondered, then had his question answered as Professor Esquiline marched up to curly haired Gethsemane and dragged her down to the dungeons kicking and screaming that Prue had started it.
Bobby frowned, "It's kind of mean to jinx someone who's been in a coma for a few months."
Elanore shrugged, "I don't really want her as a sister in law. I can only hope someone accidentally avada kedavra's her in later life. I doubt Prue or Sere have the guts to."
"Elanore! That's horrible," Sylvester gasped once more. His idol seemed to have fallen very far from her pedestal.
"Poor Sylvester, he's heartbroken," Bobby told Casey, who wasn't really paying attention. He was wondering when Dirk was going to get his slimy hands of Prue.
"I specialize in horrible. I really have no need to be nice to anyone anymore," Elanore sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm a bit worried about exams. Their in two months, you know."
"Two months of not studying," Bobby cheered, "Don't worry about them now."
Elanore frowned, "Easy for you to say. Didn't you fail most of your OWLs last year?"
"Uh…"
"But this is our last non-studying year at Hogwarts. We had OWLs the last, and NEWTs next year. This year is for relaxation," Casey said wisely.
"I don't relax," Elanore retorted.
Frank had been ignoring most of the conversation. He was still staring after Serendipity, "D'you reckon she'll really hurt Noah? Because he said he was going to go study with Polaris. And Noah is a bit touchy feely."
Doubtfully, Frank looked to his friends for guidance. Casey and Bobby shifted uncomfortably, they were still slightly uneasy about the whole Frank being gay thing. They accepted it, but they were a little weirded out by it. Sylvester on the other hand, was completely grossed out by it. He jumped to his feet, "I have to get to potions."
Elanore objected, "We don't have potions till second period."
Sylvester had already left.
"He's such a prat," Bobby told Frank.
"The biggest," Casey agreed, "And I'm sure Serendipity won't hurt your boyfriend. Too badly."
Bobby added with a sparkle in his eye, "Yeah, I'm sure she'll leave all the necessary equipment alone."
Frank blushed, but smiled gratefully at his friends.
Double potions with Hufflepuff was always the Ravenclaw's favorite way to spend the class. Except this week, when most of the Hufflepuff's were adamantly ignoring their classmates due to the upcoming Quidditch game. There normally weren't such bad feelings between the two houses, but when it came to Quidditch, nobody pulled their punches. Kiddy Bolton and Dante Young, the only two Quidditch players in the sixth year sat huddled in the corner, surrounded by guards. The only person who didn't seem to want to protect the two was Deianeira Britton. She was right up front, the farthest she could be from the happy couple. Normally, she spent most of her time with Kiddy, but neither girl seemed to keen on each other. Atlanta Zanzlyope was playing intermediary, warily trying to avert her eyes from the death glares they were trading.
"What's going on there?" Prue asked.
Elanore raised her hand, "I know. Atlanta told me that Deianeira burst out that she'd been snogging Dante forever."
"No!"
"I know, impossible, right? Deianeira told Perseus the same thing when she broke it off with him, poor boy."
"No, I mean I thought I saw Deianeira and Dante snogging in the empty third floor corridor, but I figured I had to have been seeing things!" Serendipity exclaimed.
"Kiddy and Dante are like the perfect couple though!" Prue gasped, "They've been together forever."
Neither Serendipity nor Elanore replied. They had always thought that Prue and Casey were the perfect couple, even when the two weren't together. If they couldn't work it out, then why should Dante and Kiddy get to?
"We should tell someone," Elanore suggested, "Look at Dei, she's miserable."
"Why should we make Kiddy miserable in her stead?" Serendipity asked.
"Because then we'd win at Quidditch," Prue quipped.
No one laughed. Prue scowled, "It was a joke."
"It was a bad joke," Serendipity corrected.
"Look, if it were you and Polaris, would you want to know?"
Serendipity bit her lip, "Probably."
"Let's tell her after Quidditch. That way, no one can accuse us of cheating," Prue said sensibly.
Amethyst Esquiline walked in at that point, pointy heeled shoes clicking sharply with each step she took. It was rumored that the Flavian brothers had brawled over her in the Hogs Head, and that she wasn't particularly happy about it.
True to form, she snapped a nearby ruler against the chalk board in front of the class, "Today. Today we will be mixing Polyjuice potion. This is only on the ministry approved curriculum so that you know what the potion is and how to recognize it. Neither the ministry nor Hogwarts advises use of the potion on your own time, unless it's needed for your future careers."
"Yes ma'am," the class chorused obediently.
"Additionally, I will have none of this Quidditch class divide. Each and every one of you, pair up with one member of the opposing house."
The class groaned.
"Silence," Professor Esquiline hollered, "I will not have jibber jabber during this exercise."
Oriole sidled up to Prue and asked if she wanted to pair up. The blonde agreed, after making sure that Elanore and Serendipity had paired. Elanore was with Elliot Page and Serendipity had goaded Atlanta into joining her. Casey was with Dante, Sylvester was sitting with Rufus. Bobby was next to large Trudy Swann.
Quietly, Oriole told her, "I don't think Casey likes me."
"Should have stuck with Krit, I guess," Prue said, trying to sound kind and failing miserably.
"I guess," Oriole looked so solemn, "Could you pass me the essence of wormwood?"
Prue shoved the little vial towards the mocha skinned girl, "Just add a drop."
"I can read the recipe," Oriole rolled her eyes, "Doesn't this take like a month to make?"
"Last night was the full moon," Professor Esquiline announced right on cue, "All the ingredients we need are right here. No excuses."
"I suppose not," Prue said wryly, "I need half a lacewing. I seem to have broke this one."
They worked through most of the class in silence.
"You know, I bet Casey just doesn't know you well enough," Prue said casually, glancing at the red head. He was laughing over something with Dante. Maybe Dante was telling him how stupid his girlfriend was and that he was screwing Deianeira on the side. Prue tried not to feel so cynical; she'd been in a bad mood since Gethsemane had tried to hex her that morning.
"You think?" Oriole brightened.
"Maybe," Prue shrugged, "We're having this astronomy study session tonight…"
"Oh, I don't need to study. I'm great at astronomy."
"You should definitely come then. Casey's normally great at it, but he's been lagging. It won't just be him and me, the rest of our friends will be there. I bet Casey will really appreciate it."
Oriole beamed, "Then I'll come!"
Near midnight, the saints snuck out. When they got to the astronomy tower without incident, the icemen (with the exception of Sylvester, who had feigned sickness) and Oriole were already waiting for them. Bobby and Casey already seemed half drunk.
Oriole walked up to Prue frowning, "I thought you said this was a study session. And didn't you tell Casey I would be coming? He looked shocked to see me."
"I forgot," Prue admitted, "And normally we don't study this way."
"I was hoping not," Oriole said dryly, the she hiccupped, "Which is sort of why I figured no studying would get done. I had an itsy bitsy shot."
"Aw, man," Serendipity plopped down next to Frank, who was babbling about Noah to a disinterested Quant, "We missed the party."
Elanore grabbed the bottle of Firewhisky from Bobby's grasp and took a large swig, "We didn't miss it. They didn't even start the party yet."
Prue and Serendipity shared looks and recited, "You can't start the party without us."
"Because we are the party, baby," Elanore cheered. It took less than a sip to get her smashed.
"Let's play a game," Oriole commanded the group, jumping up and down.
"What kind of game?" Bobby asked, intrigued.
"Spin the bottle!"
"That's immature," Elanore frowned, "Besides, the bottle's still half full."
"How about strip exploding snap?"
"Sylvester! That's dirty!" the girls yelped.
Sylvester shrank back into the wall, "Just a suggestion."
"Never have I ever!" cheered Casey, "Let's play never have I ever!"
"Stupid. Most of us have done the same things, except Oriole. It'd be mean to sneak up on her."
"You know Prue, there's been a lot of things that are too mean to do lately," Serendipity told her friend, "We're getting weak."
"True," Prue was watching Casey who still looked crestfallen that Prue had shot down his suggestion.
"Oh fine, lets play never have I ever," Prue laughed, "You look like a hurt puppy."
Casey made a face.
"Come on, you overgrown mutt," she grinned, "Tell me what you've never done."
"Never have I ever been a girl," Casey said proudly.
"Cheating," Serendipity and Elanore called.
"But it's true," Bobby said, "He's never been a girl. Except that time he dressed as one, but he wasn't actually one."
"Fine," Serendipity begrudgingly poured four shots of Firewhisky. Oriole's was only about half a shot, but the girl was so drunk she didn't notice.
After Prue had gulped back hers, she said, "You know, this isn't going to last us very long."
She held up the half empty bottle.
"Don't worry," Quant managed to tear himself away from Frank's drunken babbling for a minute to reveal three bottles behind him, "My source is very generous."
"And who is this mysterious source?" Elanore inquired.
"He won't tell," Bobby told them all in a very confidential manner, "No matter how much you beg. Trust me, I've tried."
Everyone tried to erase the image of Bobby on his knees begging to the often sadistic Quant from their minds.
"Okay, here's one. Never have I ever had sex," Serendipity said thoughtfully, then watched to see who drank. Frank, Elanore, Bobby, Oriole, and Quant all poured themselves shots. Prue and Serendipity stared at Casey. It couldn't just be them three, could it? And for some reason, Prue hadn't pegged Casey as the virginal type.
Just as she thought such, he reluctantly poured himself a drink, and with a half forced smile said, "I don't even remember it, so perhaps it doesn't really count…"
"Are we really such prudes?" Prue wondered to her friend. Casey finished his shot with a sheepish grin.
Serendipity shook her head, "All our friends are sluts. That has to be it."
"Your turn, Bobby," Elanore grinned, cheeks tinged with pink.
"Aha. Never have I ever dated a Slytherin," he nodded, and when Elanore glared at him, he held up his hands in protest, "What? I couldn't think of anything else. I'm a bit hammered already, you know."
Elanore took a large swig of the bottle and said, "My turn. If we're going to be specific like that, never have I ever had a smoke. And don't even pretend you haven't, Bobby Stone. I've seen you out there in Hogsmeade with Casey!"
"Hey," Casey protested. He poured three shots and handed one to Bobby. When he handed the second to Prue, she looked confused. Then she recalled Valentine's Day, when she shared Casey's cigarette and thought it was awful.
"Oh fine," she ignored the rest's incredulous looks and poured back the shot.
"I think it's my turn," Quant volunteered, "Never have I ever set fire to the transfiguration classroom."
"That's cheap!" Serendipity whined.
"This game is stupid," Elanore agreed.
Prue reluctantly poured the three girls shots, but was sure to put in, "That really wasn't our fault in the first place, you know."
"Can I go, can I go?" Oriole demanded, angry at having been left out of all the inside jabs they were getting at each other.
"Sure," Bobby grinned.
"Okay. I have a good one," Oriole beamed, "I think. Never have I ever kissed two people who were related. I always wanted to though."
Prue drank. Casey followed quickly after with a protest of, "What, at the time I didn't know that Tisiphone and Megaera were related! It was second year, okay."
"That so falls under dating a Slytherin," Bobby said.
Casey frowned, "We never dated, we just snogged a bit."
Frank interjected, "Mate, you get around way too often."
"Bet you a galleon they start talking about sex again next turn," Serendipity slurred slightly.
"You're on," Prue said, feeling a bit guilty for taking advantage of her friend. She seemed to be the only one who remembered it was her turn next.
She cleared her throat and started, "Never have I ever…"
They played the game for another half hour. As Serendipity predicted, after Prue's turn they kids had started talking about sex. Prue and Serendipity had zoned out and started playing a drinking game of their own with Prue's set of muggle playing cards. Casey decided their game looked more fun, and jumped in. Soon it was two in the morning, everyone was playing Prue and Serendipity's game of 'fuck the dealer', and none of them were steady legged enough to walk back to their dormitories.
"We should stay up and watch the sun rise," Casey slurred.
Oriole giggled, "How romantic. Or it would be, if you liked me. Casey, why don't you like me?"
Watching her face fall, Casey quickly covered, "I like you, I like you!"
"No you don't, you won't go out with me," the small girl bawled.
"Mood swings?" Frank suggested.
"Major," Prue drunkenly agreed.
"It's not you, it's me," Casey protested to Oriole, who had collapsed in his arms. Tearstains darkened his pressed blue shirt.
Serendipity winced, "You never, ever say that."
As Oriole's hysterics got worse, Casey stammered, "No, I love you!"
Oriole's head snapped up, "What?"
Prue demanded, "What?"
Serendipity shook her head, "Why would he say that?"
Elanore giggled.
"You love her?" Bobby asked dumbly, "But I thought you loved Prue."
He clapped a hand over his mouth, "I didn't say that. I did not say that. But, you love her?"
Quant looked at Frank, who was beaming and singing about the joys of young love, "Our friends are morons."
"No! No! I love everyone," Casey said happily, "Especially Prue. And Bobby and Serendipity and Elanore and Frank! I'm even fond of you, Quant."
"Gee, I'm flattered," Quant rolled his eyes. He was sobering up quickly.
"But I want you to love just me," Oriole cried.
"I'm sorry Oriole," Casey looked puzzled, "I can't just love you. How would I love everybody then?"
"You're a dummy," she screeched, looking severely hurt, "I want to go back to my room!"
"I'll take you," Quant murmured, "You too, fairy boy."
Despite loud protests, Quant swung one of Frank's muscular arms up around his neck. Oriole clung to his other side. With a grim smile he bid Bobby, Casey, and the girls goodbye.
"You know, loving everybody is a big accomplishment," Serendipity was teasing Casey, who had taken to braiding her long red hair.
"It is pretty huge," Elanore pitched in, watching Casey braid, "You know, I think you get kind of gay when you drink."
"No, no," Casey disagreed, "That's Frank."
"He's gay when he's sober too, sugar," Prue informed the redhead, and he stopped braiding and crossed his arms.
"Really?"
Prue sighed, "You really have had too much to drink."
"So have you," Casey accused.
"Have not."
"Have too," Serendipity put in, feeling her stomach lurch, "We all have."
Serendipity, Elanore, Prue, Bobby, and Casey started the long trek back to the Ravenclaw dormitory, disposing of the Firewhisky bottles off the astronomy tower balcony.
"Oops!" Elanore exclaimed, "I hope no one was down there."
"It's after three in the morning. I doubt anyone was down there," Prue said seriously, right before she stumbled down a step, pushing Serendipity face forward into Casey.
"Ooh," Elanore shrieked, "I'm telling Polaris."
Serendipity's only response was to promptly right herself and shove Elanore straight into Bobby's arms. Her snub nose hit Bobby's, and their mouths bumped together in a teeth shattering kiss.
"If you do, I'll tell Joshua," Serendipity said smugly.
"Hey, you just kissed my boyfriend," Prue said wondrously, not looking too broken up about it.
"Stone, are you cheating on Prue?" Casey demanded angrily, barely able to hold himself up.
"What? No! You saw what happened," Bobby looked back and forth between Casey's furrowed eyebrows and Prue's laughing face.
"Casey, it's okay," Prue told her friend, whose anger died immediately.
He sunk down to one step, "I don't feel so good."
"Join the club," Serendipity felt her stomach turn again, "Can we hurry this party up?"
"Sure!" Elanore pointed a finger down the stairs dramatically, "Follow me."
None too quietly, the group trooped down the stairs. It was a miracle that the caretaker didn't hear them noisily making their way towards Ravenclaw, shouting obscenities and singing The Black Orbit songs at the top of their lungs.
"Agh! Bleeding statues," Prue yelped, stubbing her foot on a bust of a huntress. Serendipity was inclined to agree with that sentiment, having been stabbed in the thigh with the rather sharp arrow of said statue.
"Are you alright?" Bobby inquired to both girls.
Serendipity replied first, "Frankly, I'm over the moon about life."
"Way too gone to care," Prue supplied helpfully.
"You know what I like about girls?" Casey asked suddenly.
"That they're girls?" Bobby suggested, as though it were obvious.
Even the girls stopped to hear this one.
"No. I like that they wear those short, short skirts," Casey grinned lewdly.
"I'm never wearing a skirt again," Elanore declared.
"As if anyone wants to look at your legs, short and stumpy," Casey frowned.
Elanore slapped him then said coolly, "You know, you should really make up your mind to be a lovable drunk or a mean drunk. Don't waver in between."
"Absobloodylutely," Casey nodded, as though this were the best advice he'd ever heard, "I completely concur."
"You're an idiot," Serendipity raised an eyebrow. They'd finally reached the entrance portal, but when they reached the common room, they were surprised to find that almost everyone was awake.
"What's going on?" Serendipity wondered.
"Oh, you're back!" Antoinetta, to their surprise, threw her arms around Elanore's neck. The matter was clarified seconds later when she whispered, "I've been covering for you all. If the head asks, you've been working on a project over at Gryffindor. You should only get a week's detention that way."
"Why would we want only a week detention? We don't want detention at all," Elanore burst, offended at the thought.
"Definitely not," Prue burst.
"Get it together," Antoinetta scoffed, "Your breath reeks of alcohol. If the head catches you like that, you'll get a month, minimum."
"I can fix that," Casey cut in, and quickly performed a charm on each of them that left their mouths minty fresh.
Frustrated, Antoinetta said, "That isn't the point. I wouldn't have said you lot had gone at all except…well, a fifth year's gone missing."
"You can't be serious. Where would it have gone off to?" Bobby wondered, "Maybe they've snuck out for the night."
"It's two nights now," clarified Antoinetta, "Jasminder Shah, she wasn't in her bed last night, but her friends thought she'd snuck off to see a boy. But she wasn't in classes today, and she hasn't come back."
"What about the boy?"
"Well, her friends mentioned that she'd met this dark haired fellow in Care of Magical Creatures. They were out in the forbidden forest, searching for unicorn droppings and she'd wandered off. She thought he was a Slytherin or somewhat, they said. She told them that he'd asked her to meet, but she didn't tell anyone where."
"What a fucking moron," Casey snorted.
"Casey!"
"It's true! If it was somewhere dangerous, she should have told. Now there's all this fuss and we've all got ourselves detention."
"You don't need to be quite so insensitive," Serendipity huffed.
"I know Jasminder," Prue said thoughtfully.
"What?" Bobby asked, "You do?"
"So do you. And Serendipity," Prue told them, but both looked surprised at the prospect of them associating with a fifth year they'd barely heard of, "She's Matilda's friend, you know. That wisp of a girl that follows her around at Quidditch practice. Matilda told me that she was one of her fans. Up till then, I thought she fancied Cherridy, myself."
"Oh! With the glasses? Shy little thing," Serendipity remarked, now recalling one of the few brave souls who had braved all types of foul weather to cheer on the Ravenclaw team as they practiced.
"Yes well, unless you all know where she's gotten to, it's detention for all," Antoinetta said darkly.
They did end up with a week's detention a piece, the only exception being Saturday, when the Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw Quidditch game was to occur. Even then, it was only Prue, Serendipity, and Bobby who got off. Elanore and Casey begrudgingly wished their friends good luck the day of the game. It was two days later, and not a word had been heard from Jasminder Shah.
Right before the Ravenclaw team was about to go out on the pitch, Quant and Frank ambled into the changing room.
"Now, you haven't come to sabotage us, have you?" Whitney barked, but most of the venom was gone from her voice, replaced by her love for Apollo. Most of the Ravenclaw team missed the old, vicious Whitney. She never would have allowed other teams to enter their sanctum right before the game.
"Ah, we have to talk to Prue, Sere, and Bobby. It will only take a second," Frank said timidly.
"Alright," Whitney replied evenly, "But no funny business. I will not hesitate to hex you both into kingdom come."
"Relax, there are friends," Bobby rubbed the captain's shoulders jokingly, "You shouldn't be so tense."
Before Whitney could launch into a speech about how important this final game was to win the cup, Quant and Frank had pulled Bobby aside. Prue and Serendipity were already waiting, wearing identical impatient looks.
"We think it was Puck."
"What?" Prue asked blankly, images of hockey games in her mind.
"Puck," Frank stomped his foot, "That guy Quant and Fortune ran into in the forest. You know, the creepy one?"
"Uh."
"Ignore her. She never listens during those get-togethers we have," Bobby smirked wryly.
"You think it was Puck who did what?" Serendipity questioned.
"Who took Jasminder Shah," Quant said.
"And what evidence are you basing this on, Sherlock?" Serendipity asked.
"None," Frank frowned, "But it makes sense. She met a dark haired stranger in the forest."
"She told her friends that she thought he was a Slytherin," Prue objected.
"Well I certainly got Slytherin vibes from this guy," Quant replied calmly.
"But wasn't he…I don't know, I just imagined he was older than all of us. Why would a fifteen year old girl go for someone old?"
"Serendipity, I never said how old he was. He looked barely twenty. He could easily be younger."
"If you say so," the redhead shrugged.
Bobby, who had always been the biggest supporter of this mystery, shocked them all by saying, "I get that this is important, but we have a match to play."
"Well go on then. You'd best win," Frank smiled, "I can't believe Hufflepuff beat us. You should give them a right good ass whooping in return."
"Will do, captain," Bobby saluted his friend.
Ravenclaw lost. By one point, Ravenclaw lost. Most people thought it was because Radovan wanted to spite Whitney for going out with Apollo. He'd caught the snitch just as she'd been going in to score the ten points that would have won them the game.
"Bummer," Prue breathed, plopping down next to Serendipity in the locker room. The other girl was seething, threatening to kill Radovan in a number of exceedingly painful ways. Obviously the boy in glasses was giving her, and the rest of the team a wide berth to cool down in. Whitney had collapsed sobbing into Apollo's strong arms.
"It's Quidditch," he said soothingly, "Not the end of the world."
Secretly anyone who heard was wondering if he was actually happy that neither of them had won.
"You do realize that all of Hufflepuff will be intolerable for the rest of the year," Prue remarked.
"They have to be, it's the only glory they'll ever get," Serendipity said snidely.
"Oh, I'm sure one day they'll all get high paying ministry jobs and use us as servants," Bobby announced, deciding to use the opportunity of gossip to snuggle up next to Prue.
"I'm all sweaty," she protested.
"He doesn't mind," Bobby indicated Polaris, who was sitting back to back with Serendipity. Whitney had given up on outlawing other teams from the locker room. After all, there was nothing left to sabotage now.
Prue arched a brow, and Bobby quickly said, "Neither do I, neither do I!"
"Hey, Serendipity, you need to cool off. What do you say we take a walk around the grounds?" Polaris suggested to his girlfriend.
"I do not need to cool off," she retorted indignantly.
"It was just a suggestion," Polaris replied calmly, not at all put out by Serendipity's attitude. A second later she leaned her head back onto his shoulder.
A small smile crossed Polaris's lips as she said, "But maybe just a small walk."
"I'll get you a cupcake from the house elves."
"Mmm," she smiled, "You know the way to my heart."
Read and Review Please. I know this was kind of short (nine pages in size ten font), hopefully the next one will be longer.