SIXTEEN

The Hufflepuff party lasted for hours, the crowd becoming less cramped hour by hour, as the younger years eventually headed to bed after countless attempts at begging for sips from the older years' drinks. Some older students had done the same, while others had not been able to make it to the comforts of their rooms, having passed out on various armchairs and couches around the common room, their peers going about their late-night antics without a second glance.

The students left to venture the common room had sprawled out into their own drunken groups. A few couples had found intimate corners amongst the room while loud, messy games of exploding snap went on around them. A small gang of girls danced to the CD player still going, Eve venturing into the group at one point in the night when her favorite Spice Girls song came on. She had long forgotten the number of drinks she was on by then.

Eve stubbled from the grasp of giggling girls around her and made her way to the couch that held a lonely Fernando. The boy grinned when he saw her coming, patting the empty spot beside him.

"I've got to say, Eve, you better stick to quidditch. You're definitely not the most gifted singer," Fernando grinned, obviously referencing Eve's earlier rendition of "Wannabe."

"I'll have you know; my mother always tells me, "Where there is passion, there is talent,"" Eve grinned, taking another sip of the drink she still found in her hand. Fernando rolled his eyes and grabbed her glass.

"Spoken like a true hippie from Brighton," Fernando grinned, taking his own sip from Eve's drink.

The two sat in silence for a moment, watching the students amongst them in drunken ease. In her scanning of the room, Eve spotted Lucie in a quiet corner with Matthew Keirn. The prefects were in an intimate conversation far too out of reach for Eve to hear, but she could see Lucie laugh and Matthew's arm linger on her waist. Eve thought about pointing out the scene to Fernando next to her but decided to give her friend a moment of privacy amidst the chaos, even if Eve had already caught her.

"Cedric would have loved this."

Fernando's comment caused Eve to whip attention towards him, but when she read his face, she only saw his contented, inebriated grin, as if what he said was any other drunken thought that could have come between them. Eve supposed, in a way, this sentiment was still valid.

"Yeah, he would," Eve replied, taking her drink back from his grasp and tossing back a small gulp. She wondered what Cho was doing right now.

"I can't believe it's my last year," Fernando said now, his grin now tinted with a shade of melancholy. Eve smiled and nudged his knee with her own.

"You've got to make it count then, haven't you?" Eve replied.

"Yeah, I suppose," Fernando nodded, getting up from the couch in a swift motion, his footing wobbling for a moment as he collected control of his limbs.

"I'll be back," Fernando said, leaving Eve alone now as he headed into the direction of the group playing exploding snap. Douglas's card had just exploded, and Eve watched him yell in dramatic defeat, shoving the boy he had been playing against.

Eve watched the game from a distance for a moment; her concentration finally cut when she felt her stomach growl uncomfortably.

Food.

Eve realized there was nothing more she wanted in the world right at that moment than to eat. Nothing that would make her happier or more content. She got up from the couch, her grasp still on her drink, but she had new motives of action for the night.

Eve headed for the door of the common room, only to stop again when she heard a whistle from behind her.

"Oi, Queen Eve, you going to the kitchens?" Dawson called from his spot across the door, where he was enduring his fifth round of drunken Wizard's Chess. The boy found unnecessary competition everywhere.

"Wow, Dawson. Are you a mind reader?" Eve grinned, but the boy didn't look the least fazed by her comment.

"Pumpkin pasty, please. I beg of you," Dawson replied before darting his eyes back on his game.

Eve nodded, even though Dawson was not looking at her anymore, and sauntered off towards the tunnel that would lead her outside. She huffed uncomfortably when she knocked her head on the low ceiling, causing her to spill a part of her drink on the floor, much to her drunken dismay.

Eve was pleased when the corridor was empty on her arrival. She took a deep huff of air, the chilly corridor giving her slightly overheated body a slight shock of energy. She made it down the passage quickly, finding herself where she needed to be, in front of the giant painted still-life of a fruit bowl.

Eve raised her free hand to the pear, tickling it in feverish anticipation. A giggle escaped her lips as she thought about how funny this all was, the magical pear and the magical door. She giggled more when she thought about how things were just going to get more amusing when she would find the house elves running amuck in the kitchen ahead. Her life was a strange daydream sometimes, at least at this weird, magical school.

The house elves were exactly as Eve thought they were going to be. Dinner had ended a few hours ago, but the food was still out amidst the clean-up hour.

"Blossom!" Eve called, far louder than she had intended, but the attempt had worked. The tiny house elf apparated in front of her in a second, Blossom's face contorting in a vivacious grin as she recognized the source of her name.

"Miss Eve! So nice to see you, even if it is so late. Were you hungry still from dinner? Shall I get you something?" Blossom asked.

Eve paused for a moment, thinking what could possibly satisfy her in a time like this. She said the first thing that popped into her head.

"Can I have a bowl of Coco Puffs, please?" Eve asked, immediately pleased with the answer of her favorite cereal, "Oh, and a pumpkin pasty, please, for a friend."

Blossom disappeared in a flash, and Eve took a moment to sit by the kitchen bench, setting her drink down next to her to serve as her only companion for her dinner. Blossom returned a minute or so later with Eve's wishes.

Eve giggled at the massive bowl Blossom handed her as if the elf had poured her the entire box of cereal. Blossom also returned to her a pumpkin pasty, neatly folded in a clean napkin. Eve grinned, thanking the elf graciously and watching Blossom go about her work again.

Eve sat quietly and watched the elves work. The food didn't exactly make her feel soberer, but it did comfort her previous unease. She thought about Fernando's odd mood, and Lucie's drunk flirting, and how she used to eat Coco Puffs with her dad on summer mornings when she was little. She felt strange nostalgia and drunken carelessness, and for a moment, she thought maybe she'd puke.

Her thoughts were broken by the loud yells that came from the portrait tunnel. Eve thought maybe other Hufflepuffs had decided to venture into the kitchens as well, so she didn't immediately cast her attention onto the next arrivals. A shot of surprise ran over her when the first voice amongst the group spoke.

"Boys, I've seen a lot of strange sights around this school, but this has got to be one of the greatest."

Fred Weasley obscured Eve's vision now as he stood overhead, and when she turned slightly, she caught sight of George and Lee Jordan making their way over to them. The latter boys looked at her with curious surprise before breaking out in the same amused countenances displayed already on Fred's face.

"Jeez, is there not one place in this castle that's not penetrated by you lot?" Eve sighed.

"Oh, I can think of a few places," Fred replied, wiggling his brows and causing laughter amongst his friend and brother.

"Poor choice of words, I suppose," Eve shrugged, taking another spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

"Oh, Miss de Santos is intoxicated," George observed with a grin. Eve couldn't help but grin back, grabbing the glass that was still beside her and handing it to him. George studied the liquid for a moment, wrinkling his nose as he judged it closer to his face.

"Drink it," Eve commanded, giving a dramatic motion of her arms, "Don't play mysterious now."

George grinned at her words, taking a swig of the mixture and immediately handing it to Fred. Fred took his own gulp and passed the last bit to Lee, who finished it in one quick sip.

"Oh, that was downright terrible," Lee coughed, looking at Eve with an almost concern in his eyes.

"Don't be rude. That's a Helga Hufflepuff recipe," Eve grinned. The boys stared at her incredulous looks, causing Eve to laugh.

"That was a joke," Eve replied plainly, going back to her dinner. She watched the boys make way for themselves amongst the kitchen, grabbing amongst various dinner plates, sometimes eating immediately, other times stuffing pieces in their pockets.

Lee came back to Eve's side first, both his hands filled with multiple loaves of bread and a large slice of cheese.

"Oh, I forgot to say, Eve, you were excellent out there playing today. Everyone was losing their minds," Lee grinned, between bites of bread.

"Yeah, someone, in particular, was," Fred called from a stack of pastries on the other side of the kitchen. He shot Eve a playful look, but she only returned a confused glance.

"Well, thank you," Eve replied, turning back to Lee and smiling.

The twins finally finished their ransacking, the boys sharing untraceable words between one another as they reached Lee and Eve again, their conversation stopping once they got into earshot.

"Well, we're off," Fred said with a pleased smile, the boy's hands full of various food items Eve couldn't even begin to distinguish in her state of mind. She noticed George had none in his hands, which caused her to raise her brows for a second.

"Since you are a young, unaccompanied, inebriated muggle-born girl, you probably shouldn't walk back to your dormitory by yourself," Fred continued, looking at Eve with a fake worried stare.

"That's a lot of labels to put on one person," Eve replied, looking at Fred with an raised look. He was clearly playing onto something, but she didn't have the energy to play back.

"I'll walk you back," George said rather quickly. Eve looked between the twins and their strange expressions. She couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Alright, whatever," Eve shrugged, taking one last bite of her now soggy cereal. She watched as Fred and Lee quickly scurried out of the kitchen, sending two grins in goodbye and heading through the tunnel. Eve listened for their loud footsteps to fade and fall behind the portrait door.

"Fred cares about safety a lot," George grinned, watching Eve now carefully from his position in front of her.

"Thought Potter caught the basilisk already," Eve replied with her own grin.

"I've found drunk girls to be just as much of a hazard as giant serpents," George stated.

"You just want to know where the Hufflepuff common room is," Eve countered, looking at the boy now with a challenging look.

"I already know where it is, Eve. I know where everything is in this castle," George replied easily.

Eve studied his face for a moment. Perhaps it was her drunken state that caused more shock than she had thought. No one was supposed to know where the Hufflepuff common room was. Historically, it was the most untraceable common room in the castle, not to mention impossible to get into for non-Hufflepuff members.

"Prove it," Eve said finally.

George grinned, extending his arm out to Eve, who took it aimlessly, George carefully raising her from her seat. Eve sighed, realizing how much she had actually needed the help getting up.

Eve led the way out of the kitchen, the pair hobbling in the tunnel a lot quieter than their previous company had.

"Watch it," George mumbled, his arm finding Eve's shoulder as she stumbled out the portrait door. She couldn't help but giggle about how silly she felt now, drunk and awkward, and with a boy, like they were coming home from a date at the cinema.

Eve watched George close the portrait behind them, and she began walking in the opposite direction of the corridor from her common room. But before she could take a few steps further, George caught her arm and lightly pulled her back in his direction. The move made her feel breathless. Perhaps it was her tired state or because she was very aware at this very moment how attracted to George Weasley she was, but both explanations seemed to be heightened by the alcohol in her system.

"I can't believe you're trying to trick me," George grinned, giving Eve a disapproving shake of the head, and releasing her arm much to her dismay. She followed in his direction all the same, though.

Once the stack of barrels came into view, Eve knew that George knew. Eve rolled her eyes and opened her mouth the spill her obscenities to the boy, but he spoke first.

"You know, Eve, you look really pretty tonig-"

George stopped his words as their approach of the common room entrance also brought into view two figures standing beside it. They were stood close, Eve thought maybe in an embrace, but when their footsteps got closer, and therefore more audible, the two people turned and pulled apart. Their faces caused Eve to gasp and drop Dawson's pumpkin pasty. George quickly picked it back up.

Fernando and Douglas had vastly different looks on their faces. Fernando looked his own bit of shock at first, but it quickly turned to sheepish embarrassment. Douglas went from embarrassment to confusion as he studied Eve and George Weasley standing together in front of him.

"We're friends," Eve shrugged, gesturing towards George in hopes of clearing her friend's confusion, as well as defusing the tension a bit. But it didn't seem to do much.

"Yeah, us too," Douglas replied, sighing deeply and giving one last glance to Fernando, moving past him and heading for the common room door. They all watched silently as he tapped the barrel in quick motions and disappeared just as quickly behind it.

"You better not have been watching the code," Eve said finally, turning to George with an alarmed looked. George grinned.

"I would never threaten the integrity of the great Hufflepuff house," George said with false sincerity. He handed Eve her wrapped pastry and nodded to her and Fernando.

"I'll see you guys at the DA meeting," George said rather politely, and he turned on his heels, earning a murmur of "Goodnights" from the two remaining Hufflepuffs.

Eve turned back to Fernando, who was already watching her with a curious look.

"Which one…" He began, and Eve now recognized he didn't know which twin she had been with.

"George," Eve replied. Fernando nodded.

"I knew you were staring at one of them for far too long at the Hog's Head," Fernando said, earning a sheepish grin from Eve.

"Nothing's even happened," Eve shrugged with genuine care. Because it was true, nothing had happened between them, really. At least Eve told herself so.

"And you and Douglas?" Eve asked now, even though she figured now was not the time she'd get an earnest answer.

"Nothing's even happened," Fernando shrugged with the same casual mindfulness, turning to the barrel and tapping away, the door springing open with the correct combination.

Fernando's answer was enough for Eve for the night. She had no energy left in her for any serious circumstances. So, the two chose silence, walking through the tunnel, back into the blurry haze of brewing alcohol and burning teenage exploits.


Author's Note: Wooooooo a bit of drama and romance for ya'll!