Eloise woke the next morning to a fuzzy mouth and pounding head. She groaned and pulled her covers over her head, regretting the last couple of shots of Firewhiskey. Her throat was still burning- why the hell do Wizards enjoy that shit? Blood rushed to her head and dizziness overwhelmed her, making her rapidly free her head from under the claustrophobic covers.
"Why?" She groaned softly to herself, slapping her hand over her forehead.
"Mood." Another voice moaned mournfully. Eloise slowly turned her head to look over to see Darcia in a similar position on the bed next to her. She was still dressed in the clothes from the night before, all rumpled and askew. She was clutching her head, as if she could squeeze the hangover away.
"I blame you. You're the one who was peddling Firewhiskey." Eloise grumbled. Darcia turned her head to look properly at Eloise, looking remorseful.
"And wine. Don't forget the wine." Darcia rasped. Eloise groaned again. The sheer mention of wine caused a wave of nausea to ripple through Eloise, making her shudder violently.
"Don't remind me." She cried out softly, clutching her stomach with one hand and her head with the other. Darcia grinned half-heartedly at Eloise, her own hangover blooming once more. The girls both simultaneously looked towards the ceiling, both wallowing in their very much self-imposed hangovers.
"Rise and SHINE!" A rather loud voice filled their dorms, and a chorus of disgruntled moans filled the room. The figure belonging to the loud voice danced around the room, opening curtains and flooding the room with light. Eloise snorted as she heard what sounded like a hiss come from Dominique's bed.
"C'mon ladies, it's already twelve o'clock! Get up!" The voice chided. Eloise slowly turned her head the other direction to see Gabby smiling brilliantly at them.
"How the hell are you so bubbly?" Darcia grumbled, throwing her arm over her eyes.
"What time did we even go to sleep?"
"We'll see, there's this thing called water. I generally have quite a lot of it before bed, really helps. I also drink it throughout the night and oh, here's a good one! I don't take shots right before I pass out." Gabby said smugly, "Oh, and most of us got to bed around 3."
"Yap yap yap." Chelsea spouted, mimicking Gabby's chipper tone, "Go away Parsons." She grumbled.
"You wouldn't say that if you knew the magical plethora of potions I have in my arsenal." Gabby teased. Several glassy eyes and rumpled heads turned towards her and Gabby giggled. She opened the bag she had draped across her shoulders, and started placing some vials on each of the girls' bedside tables. Eloise eagerly drank, and felt the dizziness and throbbing head fade away.
"A true godsend you are, Gabby." Eloise sighed, smiling up at her friend. Gabby reached over and silently stroked her head a couple of times as she passed by. Eloise, now feeling much more human, quickly jumped up and gathered some clothes for the day. She knew it wouldn't take long for the other girls to want to shower off last night's adventures.
Eloise quickly stripped off and eyed herself in the mirror. While the potions aided her hangover, she still looked absolutely awful. She had bags under her eyes, making her hazel eyes look rather dull, her hair was a rumpled mess, she had drool all over her chin and sleep deep in her eyes. Eloise stripped off and eyed her body with distaste. Eloise could never look at her body without zeroing in on the scars that littered it. Jarring marks, lashes and small, circular burns mattered her body. But beyond her scars, there were other things that she hated. Her boobs were on the small side, and she always felt like a prepubescent teen whenever she looked at them. She had stretch marks all over her hips, which she thought emphasised the little indent between her hips and thighs. Not to mention that her thighs seemed to carry any weight she gained, along with her stomach. She sighed at her reflection, turning away from it and into the nearest shower.
Eloise nearly moaned out loud as the blissfully hot water ran over her. She stood under the water for a while, feeling the water wash away the tension in her body. She bloody loved a good hot shower. It wasn't long before she heard the voices of her dormmates flooding the bathroom. She scrubbed at her skin and scalp, washing away the last remnants of her hangover.
Eloise was quick in the shower, though. She knew that the girls would start complaining soon, and she wanted to get down to the Great Hall before lunch finished- suddenly she was starving. Eloise shut off the water with a snap, quickly drying herself and dressing within the confines of the shower curtain. It was a routine of Eloise's that the girls were quite used to.
"Murphy, are you headed down to the hall? Did you want to bring up some sandwiches or something? I don't reckon we'll get down there in time." Delphine asked. Eloise threw a thumbs up over her shoulder as she rushed out of the room. She popped into her dorm, where Gabby was laying on her bed, no doubt waiting for the girls.
"I'm gonna go grab some food for the girls, wanna come?" Eloise asked, dumping her stuff in her trunk. Gabby jumped off her bed, a wide smile on her face.
"You're a genius." She noted, grabbing her wand from her bedside table. Eloise moved to do the same, shrugging.
"It was Delphine's idea, actually." She admitted. Gabby still smiled at her anyway, and held her arm out for Eloise. Eloise gently wrapped her arm around the smaller girl's and giggled as Gabby galovanted them out of the hall. Eloise noticed Lily watching the older girls and grinned and waved at her as they tittered by. Gabby continued to tug at her and in her eagerness, nearly caused them to topple out of the portrait door. Gabby hurriedly pulled the girls upright, a blush blooming on her face.
"Hey Murphy! Parsons! Hold up!" Eloise turned around in surprise to see Nathan, Liam and James heading towards her. Eloise groaned and Gabby absently rubbed her arm reassuringly with her free hand.
"Hey guys!" She called back, pausing to watch them approach the girls. The boys looked to be in good spirits- bright eyed, energetic and all. They had already dressed for the day, in casual Muggle clothes as usual. Eloise took in the boys as they approached. Nathan had a smug look in his eyes and he'd styled his hair causally in a way that told Eloise it definitely wasn't so causal to achieve. Liam was the blearier one of the group, but as he approached Eloise noticed a rather large hickey on the skin on his neck, hinting to why he was so tired. Eloise was sure that if she looked, Dom would have a similar mark on her neck.
James was already eyeing Eloise when her gaze turned to him. She suddenly remembered the strange exchange between them last night, but was quick to dismiss it. She knew James was friendly, he was probably just trying to make conversation with her. She was the weird one, after all.
Eloise couldn't deny that James was attractive. He was tall and toned from playing Quidditch practically all his school career. His inky black hair was always messy, but it was a style that he very much embraced. His brown eyes were always bright and alert, but his handsome smile was what most of the girls giggled about. But Eloise thought James was attractive for more than his physical appearance. He was confident, holding his shoulders proudly. He was easy going and laid back, always happy to have a chat with anybody, no matter how much they bothered him. Even though she didn't know him that well, she couldn't deny that he was a handsome boy.
"How'd you two pull up?" Nathan asked as the three boys fell into step with them. Eloise forced her gaze from James at the sound of his voice and took a moment to process what he had actually said.
"Horribly, until Gabby came in with a bunch of potions." Eloise replied honestly. She turned her head to Liam, "What about you, Mr. Firewhiskey?" She asked kindly. One of the last things she remembered was Liam, chugging the last of a bottle of Firewhiskey with Dom and Emma gleefully forcing it down his throat. It wasn't pretty.
"Thank god for Parsons. You really come through with those potions. If I weren't with Dom, I would kiss you." Liam replied cheekily. Gabby rolled her eyes and punched Liam none-too-lightly on the shoulder.
"What about me?" Nathan whined, nudging Eloise playfully.
"You were the one feeding me Firewhiskey all night buddy, I'm not happy with you." Eloise joked, turning away from him and turning up her head, shoving her hands into her hoody. Gabby rolled her eyes at their dramatics and Eloise shot her a wink.
"Darcia was too!" Nathan whined, although Eloise could tell he was quite delighted with the fact that he got her drunk.
"Until he had his tongue down Abbott's throat, that is." Liam laughed. Eloise and James joined in laughing, as Nathan went a bit red, his cheerful pride taking a hit to bashful embarrassment. Interesting.
"Where are you heading, anyway?" Nathan quickly changed the subject. Eloise and Gabby exchanged a look and had to turn away from each other, hiding their gleeful sniggers at his embarrassment. Eloise knew that this would be relayed to the girls much later tonight, in the confines of their dorm.
"The girls wanted me to nab some sandwiches or something from the Great Hall. We've only just woken up." Eloise explained, looking over at the boys. Taking in their appearance, she noted that they looked a bit worse for wear, despite their strong, bright personas they were putting closer inspection, Eloise noticed that despite his positive demeanor, Liam was slouching and his eyes were glassy and unfocussed. Nathan had severe bags under his eyes and, upon further inspection, Eloise realised he was still wearing the same clothes as last night, rumpled from sleep. James himself was unusually quiet. His usually messy hair was a downright disaster, and he looked quite ashen. "You guys look like you need some too." She commented.
"I was thinking we should do a recovery picnic by the lake or something." James admitted, looking over at the girls. She nodded thoughtfully, turning to judge Gabby's opinion on the matter. The girl was looking between the group in excitement and Eloise squeezed her arm in agreement.
"Fresh air is good for the hungover soul." She mused. Liam and James looked surprised, as if Eloise having been hungover before was absurd, whereas Nathan snorted.
"Okay, tequila girl. How about we get a stash of food and head down to the lake and you go get the others from upstairs?" He proposed. Eloise grinned and nodded. She turned and headed back down the corridor, allowing Gabby to once again take the lead.
"Shan't be long!" Gabby called merrily over her shoulder. Evidently, Gabby was wrong. It took nearly half an hour for her and Eloise to get their fellow Seventh Years out of bed and out of the common room, with some of the boys cursing her from waking them up from their naps. Gabby actually resorted to threatening to take away their potion rights, which had them quickly climbing out of bed. The tired and hungry group trudged their way down to the Great Lake, where James, Liam and Nathan were waiting. The boys had haphazardly transfigured some branches and mugs into rugs. Eloise grinned at the gold mug now embroidered into the rug and sat down on it. Liam was looking at her, rubbing his neck sheepishly.
"Transfiguration isn't my forte. We should've got Dom to do it, she makes the comfiest rugs." He admitted, looking up the hill. Eloise had no doubt he was searching the straggle of Seventh Years for his girlfriend. James and Nathan, sitting behind him, snorted.
"You only know that from all those times shagging her in empty classrooms." Nathan teased, taking a sip of what Eloise could only assume was Butterbeer. James beside him groaned and slapped him up the back of the head.
"Dude, that's my cousin you're talking about!" He groaned. Eloise giggled into her hand, whereas Gabby rolled her eyes.
"Boys." She said, shifting out of the way as James and Nathan began to play wrestle. Soon, the others joined them, some rolling their eyes at the boys rolling around on the rugs, others laughing and cheering them on. Eloise smiled and laid back on her elbows, simply watching. Eloise stretched out her legs, turning her face up to the bright September sun as she crossed one ankle over the other. Heading towards winter, Eloise knew that these warm and sunny days were soon going to fade into cold and snowy days, and she'd be damned if she didn't spend her day off basking.
Some of the girls had the same idea and soon Eloise was surrounded by a few of her dorm mates. They idly chatted, coming and going over the course of the afternoon, but Eloise didn't mind. She snacked on sandwiches and sipped on Butterbeers, watching as Liam and James were jokingly (or at least, Eloise hoped was jokingly) threatening to throw Emma in the Great Lake.
In fact, most of the weekend passed in the same manner. As promised, Eloise spent the next day catching up on her homework with the group, the not-so-quiet group taking up a rather large space in the library. Although Eloise loved studying with Lily, she had to admit that it was nice to spend her time studying with people in her classes. Conversations flowed from the course work to who could throw a paper plane the furthest (Darcia gloated for days afterwards) to anecdotes from over the years.
What Eloise enjoyed the most over the weekend, however, was watching the budding romance between Chelsea and Nathan. Nathan, so usually loud and boisterous, was shy and charming around Chelsea. Chelsea, ever so confidant and charming, was very much the same. The relationship was so far shy smiles and fleeting touches, which Eloise thought was amusing given how they'd spent most of Friday night with their lips locked. If anything, it told Eloise how much the pair actually liked each other. It was confirmed when Nathan followed Eloise as she went to collect more books for her Transfiguration essay.
"So El…" Nathan began, nervously scratching the back of his neck. Eloise had turned to him absently, her mind still searching for the right book.
"What's up?" She questioned, turning back and skimming through the row in front of her.
"Do you think that Chelsea is into me?" He asked abruptly. Well that had certainly got Eloise's attention. She abandoned searching the shelves, turning to Nathan. He was sheepish, grimacing at her as if he was wondering why he had opened his mouth.
"Why are you asking me? No offense, but I'm sure Lavender would know more about that than I would." Eloise asked, not unkindly, just curious.
"Well you're my new bestie, isn't this the sort of shit we talk about?" Nathan replied. Eloise raised her eyebrow in return.
"Since when am I your bestie?" She questioned, her lips quirked in amusement.
"Since I decided that I liked you at the party and especially now, when I need girl advice." Nathan admitted. Eloise laughed at him and Nathan groaned in frustration, making to walk away.
"Wait, wait!" Eloise called out gently, pulling him back by his elbow. Nathan looked at her questioningly to see her smiling at him kindly, encouragement clearly in her eyes.
"You're silly to come to me for advice," Eloise began gently, her smile widening as Nathan's frustration visibly grew, "She's clearly into you." Eloise told him, gently resting her hand on his shoulder. Nathan looked back at her in a pleased sort of surprise.
"Yeah, you reckon?" He replied, still unsure. Eloise laughed, rolling her eyes at him.
"Definitely dude. Just relax and stop being do nervous!" She told him, pushing him in the direction of the group. Nathan allowed himself to smile, moving in the direction Eloise pushed him in, but looking back at her.
"Thanks Murphy, you're the best." He said sincerely, before heading back to the group, a spring in his step. Eloise giggled after him, turning back to the bookshelf. However, finding her book wasn't the only thing on her mind anymore. Between her friendship with Lily and her budding friendship with Nathan and her year mates, Eloise was practically giddy. Although she knew that she still had a mountain of coursework to do, she was quite liking having people to distract and encourage her through it.
Glancing back at the group, she felt a twinge of regret. Eloise stopped for a moment, reminiscing on the past couple of years. What would have it been like, to have been more involved with her year mates throughout the years? Would this new world have been her normal?
Eloise blindly grabbed a couple of Transfiguration books, walking back to the group. There was no point dwelling on the past, especially when she was enjoying her now. She planted a grin on her face and physically shook her head, as if to shake off the negative thoughts.
Her grin only widened when she caught the look of abject horror on Liam's face as she approached.
"Dear God woman, how many books to you need?" He exclaimed in horror. Eloise laughed, thinking of Hugo's very similar reaction. As the rest of the group fell into a running commentary on Liam's lack of work ethic, Eloise fell into contentment. With a relaxed sigh, she opened the next book.
When she looked up, she couldn't help but grin at Chelsea and Nathan's entwined fingers on the desk between them.
Hey guys! I am so sorry this chapter took so long to upload! I have the story all planned out, but I had a bit of writer's block getting the story moving! The next couple of chapters should see the story picking up, with more interactions with James and Eloise coming up!