"The Slytherins are hosting the Quidditch party - I know," Sean Wood, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, shook his head. "But they offered. Gryffindor's hosting its own, and they invited the Hufflepuffs. Now if we win against Hufflepuff next week, and they lose to Slytherin, we've got a chance at the Cup."
"No offense, Wood, but the Slytherins? Really?" Hazel asked, following him back from the pitch. "Ever since we beat them back in practice last month, they've been glaring at us in the corridors."
They stopped in the entrance hall, Wood turning to look at her. "They've been glaring at you. You're the Chaser that put a hundred points on the scoreboard in record time. They're afraid of you. I'll catch you in the common room later. Got to send an owl off to my cousin in Glasgow. Baby should be born any time now - they're thinking Oliver. Good name, don't you think?"
"Yeah," Hazel nodded. "It's a strong name. The Gryffindor cousin?"
"Aye, that's the Gryffindor side of the family. Mum was a Ravenclaw, Dad was a Gryffindor. Your boyfriend's a Gryffindor, too, right?"
They were interrupted by a crashing noise down the hall, both of them dashing over to find Peeves floating away from a pile of armor, the suits putting themselves back together while grumbling about him. "Oopsie," the poltergeist giggled, flying up the stairs with a whoosh.
The crashing attracted a fair amount of attention. Madam Pince stepped out of the library to see what was going on, hushing the nearly-empty hallway. Filch tore out of his office, swearing that he was going to get Peeves banished this time, something he had never been able to do. A couple of students followed Madam Pince out of the library, Remus among them. "Hey," he smiled, shouldering his bag as he walked over. "Quidditch practice finally over?"
"Sean, this is Remus. Remus, Sean."
The two shook hands, Sean looking him over. "I've seen you around before. You're friends with Potter and Black on the Gryffindor team, aren't you?"
Remus nodded, telling him that they'd been friends since the Sorting Ceremony five years before. When Sean took off for the Owlery, Remus and Hazel took off for the staircase that would split in two directions, carrying one of them to Gryffindor Tower and one to Ravenclaw Tower. "Are they going to be in flying shape after next Wednesday?" Hazel didn't dare mention the full moon in public. "I can stay up and watch the grounds, and get up early, but I know transforming still takes a lot out of them."
"They'll be ready," Remus assured her. "It's the middle of October. They've been training for weeks. They'll be ready." The strain in his voice was evident. He dreaded the full moon every month, but having his friends there made it a little better. And having her as a lookout helped too. For the last few months, Peter would scurry out of the secret passage below the Whomping Willow and check for anyone out on the grounds. Dumbledore knew, of course. And Hagrid had to, living so close to the forest. But any others were a risk. "I take it you're not coming to the party tonight."
Hazel shook her head. "I need a shower, and then the whole team is heading down to the Slytherin common room after dinner. They invited us to a rival party, since they're probably out of the running for the Quidditch Cup even if they do beat Hufflepuff. Two of their Chasers are out with injuries already, and they've only played once. They've got a great Seeker - it's going to be a hell of a match with Regulus and Sirius on opposite sides, but you guys don't play them until November, I think."
"That's right, Ashmore." James Potter bounded up the stairs behind them, broom in hand. "I saw you guys out on the pitch - your new Beater has one hell of an arm."
She bade them goodbye on the stairs, headed towards Ravenclaw Tower. Hazel was never a fan of James Potter. Loud and disruptive from the day they'd first sat down with the Gryffindors in Defense Against the Dark Arts, he gained a reputation for trouble. Between him and Sirius Black, and their reluctant crony Peter, who tailed after them, they caused more chaos than half of the Hogwarts professors had dealt with in their entire careers. Much more troublesome than Peeves, for one. And they had a habit of bullying first-years, though they had their favorite target among the older students too.
A couple of hours later, Hazel found herself, and about half of Ravenclaw House, following Sean down to the Slytherin common room. They marveled at the stone room, greenish light illuminating the decorations the Slytherin team had put up. "Ah, Wood, there you are!" The Slytherin captain shook his hand, clapping him on the shoulder and telling him they were welcome to start eating. The House Elves had prepared quite the spread, and some of the seventh-years had smuggled in mead and Butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks. Music started up, and the other Slytherins started leaving their rooms, joining the party. Before long, the common room was full of Ravenclaws and Slytherins, everyone breaking off into groups to talk.
"Who's that?" Pandora asked as Xeno brought over a plate full of snacks. She looked towards a boy who seemed to be about their age, his nose in a book despite the noise of the party. "How does he think he's going to get any reading done?"
"They've all got their own rooms, don't they? Down that weird expanding curved hall or whatever?" Hazel glanced between the two of them. "It's in Hogwarts, a History. Salazar Slytherin thought the open dormitory concept like we have was dumb, so he gave them their own rooms. I think they've got roommates until fourth or fifth year, and the older kids get their own rooms. The Prefects have the rooms at the ends and in the middle, so they can keep an eye on everyone. Don't you remember anything from History of Magic?"
Xeno laughed, popping a piece of toffee into his mouth. "I haven't paid attention in History of Magic since first year."
"Well I'm going to say hello." Hazel weaved her way through the crowd, giving Xeno and Pandora time to talk. They'd been sneaking glances at each other since the start of term, and after a month and a half, Hazel was done with it. She'd been goading each of them separately to talk to the other for a fortnight now. "Hi." She dropped into the armchair beside the boy, offering him a snack from her plate. "Treacle tart? They're delicious."
"Oh, er, thanks." He accepted one hesitantly, closing the book he'd been reading. A Modern Guide to the Dark Arts by Beatrice Lovett.
"That's an excellent book," she pointed out. "The best chapter is the one on vampires. Beatrice Lovett actually grew up in a Romanian town that was full of them. It was like the towns that are half Muggle and half wizard. I don't know how they managed, but I also don't think there ever were a lot of towns like that..."
The two of them sat there talking until the Slytherin Quidditch team called the Ravenclaw team over for a toast. As the Ravenclaws traipsed back upstairs an hour or so later, Pandora asked her about the boy she'd been talking to. It was only then that Hazel realized she'd never asked his name, and that she'd never given him hers.
It wouldn't take long for that to change.
Two years later, Hazel, Pandora, and Xeno made their way down to the dungeons for Professor Slughorn's Halloween party. The Potions classroom had been decked out with floating pumpkins, each of them lit with a cold flame, and a swarm of live bats that had taken to hiding in the shadowy arches. "I don't think he's here yet," Pandora said, handing Hazel a bottle of Butterbeer. She'd caught her best friend scanning the crowd. "Ugh, but here comes Lucius Malfoy."
Lucius Malfoy had graduated a few years before, but he was one of the may students Slughorn had Invited back for the occasion. Eager to show off his position in the Ministry, Malfoy had accepted, though no one quite knew what exactly he did there, and his stories never seemed to match up. He swept through the crowd, his emerald green cloak trailing behind him. Hazel and Xeno rolled their eyes. "I don't know why he was ever one of Slughorn's favorites," Xeno mumbled, downing half of his drink in one go.
"He's from a powerful family," Hazel reminded him as a group of Gryffindors came in. "Apparently that's all it takes. Oh look." Their attention turned to James Potter and Sirius Black, who were talking quite loudly already. Remus and Peter trailed behind them, both waving at their group. While Peter followed James and Sirius, Remus broke off to say hello.
He and Hazel still got along well, even though they'd gone their separate ways when she'd befriended the Slytherin his group detested. They'd tried to keep up their relationship for a while, but he'd made one too many excuses for James and Sirius. It had driven a wedge between them, but they still got along and spent time studying together. He'd put up with her new friend, and vice versa. The three of them would make an odd group in the library, but as the most studious people in their respective houses, they drifted together in the late night hours when everyone else had abandoned the library for sleep.
Molly Prewett and Arthur Weasley came to say hello a little while later. Slughorn made his way over just as their groups met up, greeting his students warmly. Everyone seemed to float around the room, gaggles of people swelling and shrinking as friends met up and ran into each other, as Slughorn's old students wandered into the dungeons, and as professors came and went, some of them not staying for too long and others, like Dumbledore, decidedly camping out near the snack table. Under his watchful eye, they never seemed to run out of Elf-Made wine, mead, and Butterbeer, even though Slughorn's stores had long since been exhausted.
Hazel, Molly, and Pandora found themselves standing in a circle, fresh glasses of Elf-Made wine in hand, discussing their N.E.W.T.s. "Arthur's going for one in Muggle Studies. I don't see the need, but he's set on working some sort of Muggle Relations in the Ministry," Molly said, taking a sip of her drink.
"I dropped that in fifth year," Hazel shrugged. "I've got my hands full with Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Arithmany, Ancient Runes, Defense Against the Dark Arts -"
"Honestly, I don't know how you're doing that many," Pandora sighed. "I thought I had a lot with Divination, Herbology, Charms, and Muggle Studies. Then again, you're always in the library."
Hazel had no idea either, but she made it work. "My mum's been teaching me Ancient Runes for ages. She loved it back in school, so it's not that difficult for me. Besides, you've got to have a lot of them for the Auror Office."
Molly frowned, worried for her friend. "I'm sure they'd take anyone they can get nowadays, as long as you can pass their training courses. Oh - he's here." Hazel knew exactly who she was talking about. She turned around to see her friend walking in with a group of Slytherins, many of whom she wasn't that fond of. But, "Snape's probably just left the library. He was there when I left, anyway."
"He's taking nearly as many N.E.W.T.s as I am," Hazel told her, "though I have no idea why he's bothering to study for Potions anymore."
"He's been studying you in Potions," Molly smirked over the top of her glass.
Hazel turned a shade more pink, rolling her eyes. "Just because we work together all the time - we've been good friends for a while now!"
It was Pandora's turn to speak up. "Okay, fine, you're at the same cauldron or whatever. But he sits next to you in Charms too. And you two have your own table at the Three Broomsticks." Hazel turned a shade pinker at that, smiling into her drink. "Saoirse told us. Last Hogsmeade trip, when Molly and Arthur and Xeno and I were at Madam Pudifoot's - Saoirse spotted the two of you. She's convinced of it too."
"Okay, look -" But Hazel didn't have time to get the rest of her sentence out. Snape had appeared at her elbow.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," he said, taking stock of how Molly and Pandora were looking at him.
"Oh, umm, Molly, Pan, and I were just talking about N.E.W.T.s," Hazel managed, shooting a pointed glance at the others.
They were too fast for her. "Pan, is that Lena Moran over there in that group of Hufflepuffs? We should say hi, haven't seen her in ages -" Molly pulled Pandora away, leaving the two of them alone.
"Sorry about them, I think the Butterbeer's getting to her."
Snape leaned on the wall next to her so they could both survey the crowd. "It's fine. They can't hide what they think about my friends nearly as well with all of that Butterbeer in their systems, now can they?"
"I think they just wanted to let us talk, Sev," Hazel frowned, realizing how close they were. Their friends were circling the party, mingling with some of their professors and old students who had come back just for the occasion. Slughorn's parties were legendary, after all. "They know I haven't seen you in a while."
"I'd hardly call two days of Quidditch practice 'a while'. Besides, we spent all of double Potions working together," he reminded her.
"Best Amortentia I've ever seen, Mr. Snape. Miss Ashmore," Slughorn nodded as he walked by. "Quite promising. Quite promising indeed. Ah, Ludo! How have the Wimbourne Wasps been treating you? What a match you had over in Cardiff! Four hundred and ten to ninety, wasn't it?"
They watched him shake hands with a man in black and gold robes. One of his old students who had gone on to make a name for himself in the Quidditch world, no doubt. At the mention of Amortentia, Hazel could've sworn her companion had turned a shade less pale. She could feel her own cheeks glowing, whether it was from the heat of the room, the Butterbeer, or something else, she didn't know. Or she'd rather not know, anyway. So she smiled brightly, saying, "Anyway, we haven't seen each other as much as usual, is what I mean. Sev, I -"
"Yes?" He raised an eyebrow, Hazel finally looking back at him. She couldn't lie. Pandora and Molly were right. She'd found her gaze straying over to him a lot more over the last couple of months. Even in the middle of a Quidditch match, she'd find herself scanning the crowd, trying to find him amongst the Slytherins. And she couldn't deny that she'd caught him doing the same. He'd actually started going to Quidditch matches, for Merlin's sake.
"Nothing. Nevermind. Actually - Do you remember the Quidditch party we met at? Before we actually met, like for real?"
The two of them stood talking for ages. It was quite late when Hazel felt his hand brush up against hers. At first she thought it was nothing, that they were just standing rather close, squeezed into a spot amongst all of the other partygoers. But when he looped one of his fingers around hers, she knew for good. They kept talking like nothing had changed, but in one small movement, everything had changed.
They never talked about it, not once in the month and a half leading up to the winter ball, when their worlds would diverge. Not that either of them wanted to force the conversation. From that night on, though, they sat a little closer, and whenever James and Sirius would head their way, Sev would reach out for her. Even when they weren't in imminent danger of whatever hijinks James and Sirius were planning, they would, on occasion, reach out for each other, cautiously holding hands in the library late at night or when they were waiting in Astronomy Tower, watching a cauldron bubble as they practiced potions for their N.E.W.T.s. Neither of them wanted to ask what it meant, and Hazel thought she'd let Sev broach the topic when he was ready.
It never happened. They went to the ball together, which ended in a row. The next night they'd met up in Astronomy Tower, both of them feeling guilty. It was the last night of the term, and when Hazel had forced him to show her the Dark Mark he'd been branded with, they both knew any chance at anything was over. He'd been bold enough to kiss her goodbye. leaving her more devastated than she'd thought.
Years later they would find themselves at another one of Slughorn's parties, talking about the last one they'd been to together. There would be no hesitation then, Sev leaning in to kiss her like he'd been longing to do so many years before.