A/N: To new readers, welcome to chapter one. To old readers, I have changed the chapter a bit… not tremendously but a few tweaks here and there to improve it. The story stays the same

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5

THE CRAPULA INCIDENT

MUSICAL MOOD FOR THIS CHAPTER: THE PINK LAUNDRY - HOT! DAMN

"You know I can tell you're lying when you start acting like a bitter Shakespearean king, right?"

Warm, orange light flooded the corridor so that the shadows of the elaborately stained glass windows cast intriguing patterns onto the stone floor. People didn't seem to notice the swirls and colours that draped the entire hallway, however, stepping over them carelessly as they moved in tight-knit clusters towards their various dormitories. A tinge of excitement lingered in the air and it seemed to inspire more whispering and giggling than usual.

"Hey, Seth!" Someone yelled behind me and I turned to find Tarquin Digby jogging along the brilliantly light corridor, dodging a group of chattering girls. With his brightly patterned jumper he looked slightly out of place in the ancient hallway; a fact that apparently wasn't missed by the girls either as they cast appraising looks at him.

"Long time no see," he panted when he caught up with me, "I almost didn't recognise you."

"Let me guess," I said, "I don't look like a little boy anymore."

At that, Tarquin's slender face broke into a broad smile. "I wouldn't have put it like that." He pushed the black-framed glasses further up his nose. "How are you? How was your summer?"

"Good." It wasn't entirely true, but I didn't feel like elaborating on how I had spent the majority of my holidays hiding from my family. It didn't quite make for a jolly summer story. "Yours?"

"Great. Listen." He came a bit closer and furrowed his brows. "Sam Henderson asked me if you were going to the back-to-school party tonight." He gave me a long, curious look and I could feel the heat crawl to my cheeks. "I had no idea the two of you were so chummy."

"We're not chummy," I mumbled in a failed attempt at sounding cool. I had successfully avoided Sam ever since my rather awkward exit at dinner yesterday, hoping that he would somehow just stop acting all flirty with me. The simple truth was that flirting with boys was not only out of my comfort zone but also that I just was lousy at it, which mortified me.

"I said I didn't know." Tarquin went on, either elegantly bridging my awkwardness or actually not noticing it. "Are you going?"

We had reached the bottom of the sprawling staircase in the entrance hall, stopping at the first step. The heavy wooden doors were opened wide to admit the golden light of the setting sun that poured into the castle, dipping everything into a warm glow. A few students were just now trickling back in from the grounds, just in time to get ready for the first official party of the year.

"Well, Katie really wants to." I said slowly, watching closely as Tarquin's entire body language changed all of a sudden.

"Oh, yeah Katie." His long, thin arms were suddenly restless as though he wasn't sure what to do with them and the tips of his ears had turned a deep magenta. "How, um, is she?" His voice had cracked at the word 'she' and he quickly cleared his throat.

I tried hard not to grin and looked down to my shoes, pretending to examine my laces.

"Well, you know Katie. She's always good," I paused shortly before I said, as casually as possible, "She broke up with John."

"Oh, did she?" He was nodding his head, trying unsuccessfully to sound unaffected by the news, but, even when we said our goodbyes, he was still positively beaming, his walk fairly springy as he ambled off to the Hufflepuff common room.

Katie was going to kill me.

"There you are!" There was a hint of accusation in Katie's voice as she watched me put down a pile of books on my nightstand. She was sitting on my bed quite naturally, her legs crossed and her curls wrapped into a fluffy towel turban, smelling distinctly of coconut. "I already thought you'd been slain by a big-ass book."

I only grimaced at her, which had to suffice as reply, and leaned against the windowsill that divided our beds. It was slightly ajar, letting in a crisp breeze that was at odds with the glistening light of the setting sun. "I met Tarquin just outside the library."

"Oh great. You didn't tell him about John, did you?"

Rats. She was good.

"No, of course not." The moment I said it, I knew that my voice had been far too stiff and sing-song-y to sound even remotely natural. Even someone who knew me less well than Katie would have probably seen right through my feeble attempt at lying.

"You know I can tell you're lying when you start acting like a bitter Shakespearean king, right?"

"I know," I sighed as I drew my legs up onto the sill to wrap my arms around them. Ironically, the Woodleys were exceptionally gifted liars. Everyone in my family had the literal 'poker-face'; an imperturbable control over their facial muscles as well as voice that made it practically impossible for anybody to call their bluff. It was yet another lovely family trait that somehow eluded me.

"Well, it doesn't really matter now, does it?" Katie jumped up from my bed, sounding immensely chipper all of a sudden. "I'll just have to put up with having him run after me like a lost puppy all year."

"Which is absolutely terrible!" I cried out in a mock-dramatic manner, earning a drastic eye-roll from my best friend. "I mean, the shame! How can you even bear it?"

"Oh, shut up Macbeth!" She had picked up my pillow and threw it so hard that I lost balance and canted towards the ground - but not without taking Katie down with me.

"You idiot!" She cried as we both collapsed onto the hardwood floor in a heap of giggles and snorts, rolling around like complete loons. It was only when I spotted a pair of dirt-caked brown boots in front of me that I finally stopped laughing and looked up.

"I didn't mean to interrupt." The burly frame of Bernice Claville was looming at the foot of my bed, staring down at us in all her broad-shouldered glory. Just like her voice, the expression on her round face was sober, not allowing for any sort of interpretation of her mood. Honestly, I had been thoroughly scared of her throughout my entire first year - until the day she had saved me from a horde of bullies by throwing her books at them. It had also been the day she had been discovered as a beater for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

"No, of course not. How was practice?" I nodded towards the sapphire blue ensemble that covered her body. There were visible streaks of dirt on her cheeks and strands of strawberry blonde hair stuck to her sweaty forehead.

"Good," she shrugged, "We might finally beat Gryffindor this year. They didn't even have tryouts yet."

"That's good, right?" I said with the air of someone who had absolutely no clue about Quidditch, which was an impossible thing to admit at Hogwarts, of course, where people flying about on broomsticks enjoyed privileges that others could only dream of.

"Yes." Bernice shifted slightly, her boots leaving muddy dirt streaks on the floor. "Listen, um, I was just wondering, if, um, well – Ursula said she heard you two talking about the party tonight?"

"Yes, we're definitely going," Katie piped up before I even had the chance to protest. I would have preferred slipping into my most comfortable pyjamas and cuddling up in bed with a nice cup of tea and one of the new books I had procured from the library, however, I also knew I would eternally feel bad for skipping out on my best friend just because I had the exciting lifestyle of an 80-year-old cat lady.

"Oh great! I um - I wondered if maybe I could... join you?"

I could feel Katie's elbow pressing hard into my ribcage but chose to ignore her not so subtle attempts at protesting. "Of course! Come with us."

Katie moaned softly next to me, but I was sure Bernice hadn't picked up on it.

"Great! I'll only be a minute," she said and then stalked off towards the bathroom, leaving massive dirt stains in her wake.

"Are you serious?" Katie groaned as soon as the bathroom door had snapped close, "Bernice, really?"

"Oh, come on!" I pushed myself off the floor and held out a hand to my best friend. "It'll be fun."

Katie didn't reply, but the frown on her forehead remained as she let me pull her to her feet. I knew that, even after all these years, she was still secretly hoping that somehow, miraculously, we would suddenly strike up a friendship with the popular crowd and, showing up with a girl most people only knew as Bulky Bernie, probably wasn't that beneficial to her plan.

"Did you see how excited she was?"

"No," she said, still in a peeved tone, "because her face always looks the same, Seth."

"Oh rot!" I waved my hand in the air like I was swatting at an invisible fly, deliberately ignoring my friend's argument as I pushed her towards her wardrobe. "Come on, the party starts in half an hour."

"Fine," she sighed and finally turned to the colourful assortment of clothes that inhabited her closet, "at least we're going."

The Great Hall – a construction that was already impressive by itself – looked even more awe-inspiring than usual with a blanket of glittery stars hanging underneath the bewitched roof like they had actually fallen from the sky. The light was soft and the music loud, though nobody was dancing yet as people seemed to scramble around the elf-run bars that offered snacks and, most importantly, butterbeer.

"That's so cool!" Katie was bouncing excitedly, her glittery blouse reflecting the light like a genuine disco ball. Her thick, curly hair was held in place by a velvet bow tie barrette that matched her bright pink lipstick and the converse sneakers on her feet. She had led the way into the Great Hall with Bernice and me trailing behind a little awkwardly. Mostly, I wasn't sure what to do with my arms, which suddenly felt weird just dangling next to my body. What the hell did I usually do with them?

"Right," Katie beamed, "Let's get a drink." She pushed ahead through a group of girls and again, completely overwhelmed by the situation, Bernice and I were left to follow her lead. We weaved clumsily through the chattering mass of students – Bernice accidentally knocking a few people over in the process – until we finally reached one of the busy bar counters.

"Alright!" Katie thrust a bottle of butterbeer into my hand before letting her gaze wander across the room, her light blue eyes shining with anticipation. "Let's do this!"

Exactly two hours and twelve minutes; that was the amount of time I had been standing against this exact same stretch of wall, nursing the exact same bottle of butterbeer that had turned lukewarm in my hands. By now, people were dancing trance-like to Muggle hip hop, holding their cups and bottles up to the enchanted ceiling. In the darkness, the mass seemed to move as one, almost like a giant, multi-colored creature.

"You know, maybe we should just go to bed," Katie sighed as she watched the pulsating crowd in the middle of the Great Hall. She looked thoroughly disappointed by the way the evening had turned out and I couldn't help feeling bad for being such a lame party companion. Bernice wasn't much help either; she hadn't said anything for more than an hour and I wasn't entirely sure that she hadn't fallen asleep with her eyes open.

"No!" I said firmly, "We're not going home. We're going dancing!"

Katie blinked, looking fairly startled by my declaration. "Seth," she finally said with a small smile on her lips, "you don't have to do this. You hate dancing."

She was right; I did hate dancing. It was one of the things I was absolutely rubbish at and I hated being rubbish. However, for Katie, I was entirely prepared to make a fool out of myself.

"I'm serious, let's go." I grabbed my best friend's arm determinedly before turning around. "Bernice, what about you?"

We both looked at our roommate expectantly, but Bernice didn't even stir and just sat on her chair, gazing into space with quite glassy eyes.

"Right. Just the two of us, then."

Ignoring her protests, I pulled Katie with me until we had reached the edge of the throbbing cluster of people that was now shoving against us as they winded their bodies. The air felt hotter and more humid all of a sudden and the beats vibrated in my ears, dulling everything else around me. Katie had begun to move quite expertly and I nodded my shoulders along to the rhythm with as much tact as I could muster.

Next to us, a group of Hufflepuff boys with ties around their heads had started dancing along as one of them was holding out two brightly orange colored drinks, willing us to take them. He grinned and showed us his thumbs-up as Katie yelled a 'thank you' over the music, toasting him with her cup. She looked positively radiant when she raised her eyebrows at me, her mouth forming the words 'Oh my god'. We had never before been supplied with drinks by random guys; that usually only happened to girls like Demeter Notte and her friends.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you," a voice suddenly said right next to my ear and I turned a little too abruptly, spilling gooey orange liquid all over someone's lovely white button-down shirt.

"Oh shit! I'm so –" I actually wanted to say sorry, but the shock of finding Albus Potter's face looming so close to mine put me off completely. Even in the dim light, I could see that his eyes were startlingly green.

"No problem," he said with a smile, his cheeks blushing slightly, "It's good you didn't drink it, it's got Crapula in it."

"What?" I looked at the cup with the remaining drink in my hand and took a careful sniff: the treacherous smell of honey mingled with a definite acidic note left no doubt; the drink was indeed interspersed with the highly intoxicating Crapula potion.

"Do you mean to say," Katie asked with wide eyes, "that those boys wanted to drug us?"

Albus ran a hand through his untidy, black hair. "Well, yeah."

"Oh my god," Katie just stared at her drink in awe like she had never seen such a wondrous thing. She didn't look exactly happy about the fact that someone had tried to drug us, but she definitely didn't look appropriately repulsed.

"Thanks for the warning," I said to Albus as I took Katie's cup out of her hand. She didn't protest, but a deep frown appeared on her face as she stared at the drinks that were emitting thin streams of smoke by now.

"Yeah, no problem." Albus grinned and lifted his hand to his hair once again, but then stopped in midair and just dropped it awkwardly again. "Um, your name is Elizabeth, right?"

"Seth," I supplied and, after feeling Katie's elbow jabbing into my ribs, I added, "and this is my friend Katie."

"Hi," she gushed, giving Albus a goofy smile that I had rarely seen on her before, "I'm Katie."

"Um, yeah," Albus grinned, "so I've heard."

Katie didn't seem to notice her mistake and simply nodded enthusiastically. I wasn't sure how much butterbeer she had had already, but it definitely must have been more than one bottle.

"So, um..." Albus was still smiling. "You're in Ravenclaw, aren't you?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

Before Albus could answer, someone had turned up the music and a booming voice proclaimed that McGonagall had left to go to bed, which caused a round of cheers that echoed through the Hall, momentarily drowning the thick beats.

"Books!" Albus yelled back, leaning in a little bit closer. The gooey stain on his shirt gave off a sour smell by now that was biting in my nose. "You always carry around loads of books, so I just guessed."

"Yeah, Seth's a total nerd!" Katie cried so loudly that the people around us began to snicker. She was swaying oddly to the music and her face had gone a shocking shade of pink. It looked like she was literally glowing, but not in a healthy way. "And she used to look like a boy!" A sputter of giggles that was most unnatural for Katie erupted from her mouth, leaving a dim smile on her face.

Something definitely wasn't right here.

"Katie, look at me," I said firmly, feeling a sudden uneasiness crawl up my spine. Her eyes couldn't focus on me and she began to giggle wildly again.

"You look funny." Her fingers had started kneading my cheeks as a curious expression spread across her face. Instinctively, I looked down to the poisoned drink I had taken from her just minutes ago; at the edge of the glass was a faint pink stain.

This couldn't be good.

A/N: Hello there awesome reader! If you read this, you probably made it through this chapter and I would absolutely LOVE to hear what you think! Reviews make my day so feel free to drop me a line or two :) Thank you for reading!