Fights and Firewhiskey
That weekend, Tiger Lily found herself helping her cousin put up fliers about the Halloween dance. They walked out of the Ravenclaw common room, laughing.
"Hey, Bi? Why aren't the prefects doing this?"
Bianca rolled her eyes. "Because I wanted them out immediately, and I'd have to call a meeting and explain what was going on a hundred times to a bunch immature prefects who don't listen."
Tiger paused and looked back at her. "Well if you're that passionate about it."
She laughed. "Oh, shut up."
The girls continued to put fliers on the wall while heading toward the Slytherin common room.
"Are we going to have to do the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff common rooms too?"
"No, James is doing those. And if he doesn't . . . I'll hex him."
When they finished wallpapering the deserted Slytherin commons, they started down the next corridor. Suddenly, someone grabbed Bianca's arm and pulled her around and toward him.
"Blaise, I've got work to finish."
"Yes, but you've got something else to finish first," he said, smirking, and pulled her closer.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She grinned innocently.
"Oh I think you do." She sent him wide, innocent eyes and shook her head slowly. "Okay, I'll remind you."
When he began to kiss Bianca deeply, Tiger Lily rolled her eyes. "Come on, get a room."
Blaise pulled away and looked at her, then grinned. "Okay."
And Bianca was kidnapped to the Slytherin common room.
"Uh- wha- Wait a minute! What do you want me to do with these? I'm not a prefect!"
Bianca looked at her cousin incredulously. "How about hanging them in the hall?"
She laughed and yelled toward the closing Slytherin portrait hole, "You owe me, Bi!"
Tiger Lily finally finished the third floor corridor and turned the corner happily; unfortunately, she ran straight into someone else and she and her papers flew everywhere. Professor Malfoy caught Tiger before she hit the ground.
"Long time, no see," he said. She smiled and kissed him in reply.
He began to help her pick up the fliers and read one.
"What is this?"
"The students are getting restless, so Bianca and I had the idea to have a dance, and Dumbledore agreed. So . . . this is it."
"So . . ." he began cautiously, raising an eyebrow. "Who all can go?"
"Anyone and everyone," she said, slowly grinning. "With anyone."
He grinned back. "Anyone?"
"Anyone."
"Will you go with me?" Tiger Lily laughed. "I know, I feel like a schoolboy. But will you?"
She smiled and kissed him. "Of course I will."
James sighed. He had asked Bianca to go to the dance with him, but she'd refused, explaining that she'd already decided to stay in and study that night. It was so like her. So he was sitting in their common room, bored out of his mind. Finally, he decided to see if he could help her.
He went over to her portrait and knocked. "Bianca?"
"Not now, please."
He narrowed his eyes. That, on the other hand, was not like Bianca at all. James tried to open the door, but it was locked, so he went into her dorm through their bathroom. He would not normally have done so, he reminded his nagging conscience, but he was worried about her.
She was gone. She must have changed her mind and gone on to the dance. Fine then. He wasn't going to sit alone all night.
After scanning the Great Hall, he found Tiger Lily dressed all in shiny black leather dancing with someone costumed as an executioner. Dancing next to them were Blaise, with half of a white mask on his face, and Kat, hair flowing freely with a slinky green outfit on. Then Blaise and Kat kissed.
Bianca groaned. James had come down to the Great Hall and he was watching her with wide eyes. She took Tiger Lily's hand and they hurried over to talk to him.
The first thing out of his mouth was, "You're Kat."
"Shit."
They dragged him off to an empty corridor.
Blaise, seeing the trio exit, nudged his professor. "What do you think they're up to?"
"With those two, there's no telling."
"True. You wanna go get a drink?"
Tiger Lily immediately hit the roof. She was panicking. Bianca stopped her.
"Let me handle this."
Tiger sighed and nodded. Bianca whispered something into James' ear and he finally nodded begrudgingly.
When the girls neared the entrance hall, Tiger turned to her cousin, cocking an eyebrow. "What'd you say to him, you little vixen?"
"Not much – you know he always melts when I'm around."
They snickered.
"Hang on." The cousins froze and turned around to see James glaring at them. "What did you just say?"
"Er . . ." Bianca frantically searched for an excuse. "I said let's find Blaise – I always melt when he's around."
James looked flushed and irritated. The girls exchanged glances.
"Bianca, I've had enough! I won't just be your little pet anymore!" He took a deep breath. "Come to Hogsmeade with me next weekend – or the Kat'll come out of the bag."
He exited and there was a long silence.
Tiger Lily found her voice first. "Bloody hell – when did Longbottom grow a spine?"
"I don't know . . . But I'm in some deep shit now . . ."
The brunette fell into a fit of laughter. "You're fucked."
Bianca stared daggers. "Just wait until your dad finds out who you've been shagging."
She turned to leave as Tiger's jaw dropped.
"Hang on. We haven't shagged yet."
Bi turned around. "Yet."
"Yet?" came a new, much deeper voice.
Tiger Lily whipped around. "Er . . ."
Bianca grinned merrily at her cousin. "You're fucked."
"Not yet, apparently," said Blaise, grinning at Malfoy.
Tiger cleared her throat. "Er . . . did you boys need something?"
"Boys?" Professor Malfoy sounded offended.
"We got bored of the party," said Blaise. "So care to join us for a private one? And maybe you can turn that yet into a have, Tiger."
She could only stutter as her companions, save Draco, laughed at her expense. Professor Draco Malfoy was nothing but suave and sophisticated, and he started down the corridor.
"Are you coming?"
They went to his personal chambers, deciding to have some drinks together. The professor looked at the girls in doubt.
"Well, ladies, what'll it be?"
Blaise took the liberty of answering for them. "They're lightweights, Professor. Strictly butterbeer."
Grimly, Malfoy said, "Don't call me that. If you can't call me Draco, call me Malfoy."
Bianca peered at Blaise. "I'll have firewhiskey."
"Make that two."
The blonde sent them a sidelong glance. "Have you ever had firewhiskey before?"
"Of course we have," Tiger said with fiery green eyes. "What kind of place do you think we run, Professor?"
He set their drinks down. "Kitty, behave."
"Whatever you say, Professor," she whispered into his ear, nipping it for good measure.
He took a deep breath and drank down half of his firewhiskey. Tiger, with a calculating look, chugged her entire bottle, then winked at Bianca. The boys stared at Tiger, then Blaise glanced at Bianca, who snorted and took a sip of her drink.
After about an hour, they were still sitting and conversing freely in Draco's rooms. They seemed an odd bunch away from the party: Tiger Lily as Catwoman and Bianca as Poison Ivy, Draco as an executioner and Blaise as a beautiful phantom of the opera, though the boys had their masks off by then.
Tiger sat on Malfoy's lap and kept shifting irritatingly. Ultimately, Draco gestured to the other male. Blaise cleared his throat and whispered into his partner's ear. She blushed, nodded, and they exited with a quick goodbye.
Tiger Lily shifted again as she turned to speak to her own partner. "Why'd you make them leave?"
He turned her around and kissed her fiercely. He wound up carrying her to his bedroom, where she nearly found out what he was like in Bedelgium. Unfortunately for her, he had taken in one important fact as they were fooling around.
"I won't sleep with you while you're drunk, Tiger Lily."
She laughed. "I'm not drunk," the last came out in a slur.
He shook his head and kissed her on the forehead. "You are. And I refuse. We'll talk about it again later – when you're sober."
She groaned, but quickly sleep overcame her.
Meanwhile, Bianca had taken Blaise back to her private dorm. And she wasn't nearly as pissed as Tiger Lily was.