THIRTYSEVEN
Even in the midst of magical lockdown and barbaric behavioral guidelines, trouble still brewed its way into Hogwarts. If anything, the call to reckless undoing and rebellion was stronger than ever with such restrictions in place.
In other words, if you tell teenagers not to do something, they probably won't listen.
And to elaborate on this point, if the chance to have a party arises, the party will be had.
And at this current moment, Eve couldn't find a single thing to wear to said party.
It was Saturday, and from a glance out of her dormitory window, she could see the orange of the setting sun and the prospects of the evening grow in view.
Eve hadn't seen George since the night of the DA meeting when his invitation for the evening was first presented to her. In the days since, she caught glimpses of him and his brother's identical crimson heads through corridor crowds and occasional lunchtime waves, but nothing more. Eve knew they were up to something, and technically, she knew what that something was. But she also knew, whatever the boys had planned for their evening of celebration, it wasn't just going to be with the effort of scoring the usual alcoholic contraband. No, the boys always did exceptionally far too much.
The creek of the door sounded, rousing Eve from her thoughts and turning her eyes to Fiona. The girl shut the door with a carelessly loud thud.
Fiona sauntered to the front of Eve's bedframe, greeting her with a wickedly sharp smile, a particular expression seemingly permeated on her face since the moment Eve told her of the evening's plans the day before.
"Are you all prepared for tonight's festivities?"
"What's there to be prepared for?" Eve asked.
"Oh, I don't know," Fiona answered, pausing for a moment to collect the genius of her thoughts, "The general called for debauchery: lawless spell making, irrepressible drinking, euphoric sexual awakening."
"You're truly the voice of our generation, Fiona."
Fiona grinned at this, accepting the praise with all the sincerity Eve didn't mean.
"What are you wearing?"
"Oh, now you're asking the important questions," Eve said, raising herself from her pillows and gesturing to the empty bed in front of her. "I have absolutely no idea."
"And you're lucky I'm full of many," Fiona replied, turning her direction to where the real magic lay. Eve heard the latch of her friend's wooden chest flip open.
The few minutes that continued after this were in pensive silence, Fiona tediously placing various pieces of her wardrobe out on all sides of her, Eve watching from a distance behind her with no understanding of action.
"What are you looking for?" She finally asked.
"Something that will fit that arse of yours," Fiona replied, without a glance up from her work. Eve rolled her eyes and continued her silent observation.
After a moment or two longer, a shriek-like sound came again from the girl crouched on the ground. Eve asked her friend what was wrong.
"I knew I had it somewhere. Never will I doubt myself again," Fiona remarked, and before Eve could inquire on the finding, a flash of red was thrown across the room, stopping when it hit squarely on Eve's chest.
Eve huffed and raised the garment in her hands to examine it.
The blouse was a deep crimson red, short-sleeved, and with a heart-shaped neckline adorned with a tiny ribboned bow in the middle.
"Oh, this is lush."
"I know," Fiona replied, sending Eve a look of pure, contented teenage confidence, "Boys can't resist red. Especially, Gryffindors."
"This has been tested out before, then?" Eve grinned, giving the blouse a little wag from her grasp. Fiona grinned back.
"And it worked every time, darling."
Now, Fiona's eyes crossed over the rest of the clothes sprawled out in front of her, grabbing and tossing various pieces as she continued in her prophetic search. She grabbed a dark navy jean skirt from the pile and held it up for Eve's eye line.
"That will definitely not fit my arse."
Fiona considered Eve's point for a moment before raising herself from her position on the floor. Eve watched as she crossed her bedframe and grabbed her wand from her nightstand. Wand in hand, Fiona lifted the skirt in her grasp.
"Engorgio."
The spell was only cast for a few seconds, but in its incantation, the jean skirt grew in an inch or two. Fiona grinned and tossed the clothing to Eve.
And so, the outfit crisis was solved.
It wasn't long before the girls were joined by Lucie, the blonde studying the crime scene of clothing and cosmetics with a careful eye.
"Surely, you two will be cleaning all of this up-"
"Tomorrow," Fiona finished.
"I don't see why you can't just pop by for a bit, Luce," Eve remarked.
"Prefect night patrol, I already said," Lucie replied with a light sigh, although Eve could see a hint of bemusement in her eyes directed at the two girls.
"If I were on night patrols, I would do anything but patrol," Fiona stated.
"Matty and I take breaks, of course," Lucie said, sending the two girls a slight, innocent grin, which Eve countered with a raised brow. She looked to Fiona, who mouthed 'Matty' with overzealous disgust.
"Well, take a break in the Gryffindor common room," Eve continued.
"How about, instead, when I see you two stumbling back to your rooms later tonight, I just pretend I didn't see it?"
"As if you wouldn't do that anyways-" Eve began.
"As if Eve is going back to her room tonight," Fiona interjected. Eve sent her a look, which Fiona replied with a loud cackle.
Lucie turned her full attention now to the new topic of discussion.
"Eve, you know three other boys share that room with him?"
Eve sent Lucie an incredulous look, while Fiona's laughter took full capacity of the room.
"I don't know which one of you is more ridiculous," Eve sighed.
The girls spent their remaining time in their dormitory like this. Makeup was gently applied to each other's faces, pop tunes played on the muggle CD player, and several jokes on Eve's virginity were made.
When the hour struck half-past nine, Eve slipped on her black loafers.
By now, Lucie had left for her night patrols, and Fiona was already antsy for a spiked drink. The pair slipped out of their dormitory with one last gaze at the mirror.
The Saturday night brought its usual level of liveliness to the Hufflepuff common room. Younger years shouted through chess games, older years crowded amongst each other and exchanged unmarked bottles, and couples found their usual dark corners for fondling. There was hardly a glance in Eve and Fiona's direction as they found themselves at the bottom of the stairs and in the middle of the teenage merriment, much to Fiona's dismay.
Eve caught Fernando's head amongst a group of seventh years crowded around the fireplace. She watched as he took a swig out of a small flask and handed it off to a boy beside him.
"Wells!"
Fiona's voice caught Fernando's ear, and he turned to find the two girls a distance away. He grinned and made his way over.
"I would pay good money to watch Umbridge catch you two wearing those outfits."
"Wishing ill on your childhood friends, how miserable you are," Fiona grinned.
"Oh, I'm actually bloody fantastic," Fernando replied. He met Eve's face with a grin, and she caught the glimmer of early inebriation in his eyes.
"We're off then?" Eve asked.
"Oh, she's eager, isn't she-" Fiona laughed.
"I'm actually waiting for Douglas. I said I'd walk with him."
Fernando didn't meet Eve's eyes as he said this, but before she could make a remark, she felt a grip on her arm.
"The girls get their own entrance, fine by me," Fiona said, and with a tug, she pulled Eve towards the door.
Through the tunnel and out of the barrel, the girls met the cool quiet of the outside corridor. Eve brushed her skirt down and grinned.
"It would be kind of funny if Umbridge caught us looking like this."
"I'm pretty sure she'd rip this halter top straight off me, no magic needed," Fiona grinned.
The walk to the Gryffindor common room felt like an eternity between the stairwells and Fiona's kitten heels. By the time the portrait of the Fat Lady came into view, Eve, too, felt the desperate need for a drink of something spiked.
"Mimbulous mimbletonia."
At Eve's words, Fiona turned, casting her a look of bewilderment, before her attention was grabbed by the woman in the portrait letting out a heavy sigh.
"Fine, fine. Just go through," The woman said, giving an exasperated wave of her hand as the portrait swiftly swung open.
Eve and Fiona gave hushed thank you's and rushed through the door, listening in the quiet of the tunnel as the door closed behind them.
"I'm assuming we aren't her first unexpected guests," Eve said.
"Nor hopefully her last. I'm looking for a party," Fiona grinned, leading the way down the tunnel ahead.
"Strange, no music," Eve said, but just as the pair reached the clearing of the common room ahead, a pop of sound was heard, and the commotion of the party met their ears.
"Well, that's a powerful silencing charm," Fiona said, her voice raising in Eve's ear as the music boomed through the room.
Around them, students filled the crimson gold sheen of the room. At the fireplace, each surface of the dark red couches was filled with muggle-clothed students, talking amongst themselves, the glasses in their hands sparkling with the yellow glare of the flares. Past them, more students gathered, their conversations louder and more frenzied, and as Eve examined their activities closer, she could see they were playing some sort of game amongst themselves, swapping sips of their drinks with pieces of food she couldn't make out. A boy amongst them had skin tinted a pale purple color, and a girl beside him had ears five times its normal size.
"I don't know about you, but I will be avoiding the Weasley drinking games," Fiona's voice rung in Eve's ear, and she nodded a reply.
Eve turned away from the disfigured students and eyed the middle of the room, where a makeshift dancefloor was situated. Beside the sea of swaying students, a long wooden table was situated for ultimate convenience, displaying an array of bottles and punch bowls.
Without another word, Eve pulled Fiona through the crowd, passing faces she recognized, some she couldn't quite place, many Gryffindor, some from other houses.
"Punch?" Eve asked, glancing around the table with mild discernment. She couldn't even begin to wonder where the twins had managed to attain so much booze.
"Punch? Are we in third year?" Fiona remarked, grabbing the dark-labeled bottle closest to her.
Grabbing a pair of glasses, Fiona poured a generous swig in each one, handing a drink off to Eve with a wide grin.
"To get the blood moving, as my father would say," Fiona said, raising her glass. Eve grimaced, but she cheersed her glass with Fiona's and took the shot of Irish whiskey with a long single gulp.
And as soon as her glass emptied, Eve replaced the drinking with coughing, her throat burning with the harsh liquor. Almost immediately, she felt a hand slap the middle of her back. She turned upon the impact and met the grinning faces of Fred and Lee Jordan.
"I believe I just saved your life, Eve."
"Consider that your gift to George," Lee said to Fred, and the boys erupted in a burst of laughter that closely mirrored giggling schoolgirls.
"Pissed already? The night's just begun, boys," Fiona remarked, eyeing the two Gryffindors with amusement. Eve took another gulp of air.
"Sounds like you just need to catch up," Lee replied, reaching between the pair of girls and grabbing the bottle they had just drunk from. He began to fill his glass, and then Fred's, and without question, he took each girl's glass in his hands and poured.
"Such a gentleman," Eve said with a sigh, taking the filled glass back in her hands. "Happy Birthday, Fred."
Fred grinned and raised his glass, the group cheersing and taking the shot of whiskey with a quick motion.
This time, Eve didn't cough, although the liquor still burned as it went down, and she could feel the familiar warmth begin to grow in her abdomen.
"Where's your brother?"
"Thought you'd never ask, Eve," Fred said, his eyes turning to some various location across the room. "He's in the middle of rigging a card game. Obviously, he hasn't spotted you and that skirt yet."
Fred's words caused a loud laugh to erupt from Eve, and she could tell immediately the alcohol was already hitting her senses. Fred grinned, as if reading her thoughts.
"I'm sure loverboy will find you soon enough," Fiona said, and in a quick motion, her arm pulled Eve in the direction of the dance floor.
Pushing through the bodies, Fiona turned back to Eve, a sharp grin on her face as she raised her hand and revealed the bottle they had just drunk from only moments ago.
"Think they'll miss this?"
"I have a feeling it's already forgotten," Eve grinned, taking the bottle in her hands. With the confidence from her past shots, the third went down quickly and painless. Fiona laughed and grabbed Eve's hand, giving herself a twirl.
The girls swayed with the music, taking small sips as they moved. Still, no sign of George was made as time passed, but the more Eve drank, the task of finding him lessened in her ambition. He'd have to come to find her.
"Are you girls sharing that?"
"Where the hell have you been?" Eve yelled over the music as she wrapped an arm around Douglas's tall shoulder.
"Fashionably late, of course," Douglas grinned, wrapping an arm around Eve's waist as if the drunken support she needed now was evident.
Fiona handed the bottle to Douglas, who took it with a long swig. He reached to hand the bottle back to her, but Fiona had already turned to dance with a Gryffindor boy beside them.
"Looks like it's on me and you," he said, putting the bottle in Eve's hand.
"I have a feeling I should have stuck to punch," Eve said with a weary laugh, but she accepted the bottle in her hands anyways.
"Where's your man of the hour?" Douglas asked now, giving a turn of his head around the room but not giving any particular attention in any direction.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him yet," Eve shrugged. She used her free hand to pull Douglas into stumbled dance move, and the boy laughed and began to sway with her.
"Well, you might not have to look much farther," Douglas replied, turning Eve in his arms and in the direction of his eye line.
And in doing so, Eve's eyes found where everyone else's in the room was already pointed towards.
Fred and George stood on a large wooden table, presumably one meant to be studied and not stood on, and were presently assembling the crowd of students to surround them. Loud whistles and cheers from the crowd rung through the air and Eve could see the table wobble dangerously under the boys' unsober condition.
"Listen, you lot! We'll make this short and sweet," Fred began, raising his drink in his hand like a toasting best man.
"To the glory and good of the Weasley's name," George continued.
"And to what will be left of Umbridge's reign," Fred finished.
The boys toasted and shot their drinks back to the sound of resounding applause.
"Do you think they practiced that?" Douglas asked amidst the commotion.
"All week," Eve answered.
The second the twins hopped off from their makeshift stage, the celebration was in full swing again. Exploding party streamers crackled and sparked over their heads, while at the Weasley's games corner, another victim grew 8 feet tall.
"Care to join?"
Eve laughed as she felt an arm snake its way around her waist.
"You've got a thing for giants, aye?"
"Not as much as I do for extra limbs."
"Maybe we can settle for purple skin…. As a birthday present."
George grinned, gripping Eve's hips to give her a gentle turn, so she faced him now. He gave her a long look.
"I think that outfit might be a present enough."
"Quite easy to please," Eve grinned, tossing an arm around his shoulder as the other still held the whiskey bottle.
"You have no idea," George replied, his growing smirk cut by a violent hiccup.
The couple fell into a fit of giggles, George grabbing the bottle from Eve's hand.
"We seem to have misplaced our glasses," he said, and just as quickly as he had made this observation, he flicked the cap off the glass stem and raised the bottle to his lips.
"If you think for a second I can carry you up to bed, George Weasley, you are sadly mistaken," Eve said, snatching the bottle back into her hands and taking her own swig.
"I don't have an answer to your question, but I like where your mind is at, de Santos," George grinned, and another hiccup fell from his lips with sloppy ease.
Eve laughed, feeling far too hazy and unsteady to create a clever rebuttal. She was drunk; it was undoubtable now, the familiar feeling of dizzy glee. She glanced amongst the room, the faces of her friends and classmates blending in with the blur of sparkles and shine.
When she turned back to George, he was fishing something out of his pocket.
"Hold out your hand."
Eve giggled and did what she was told. A small solid ball was dropped in her hand, black in color, and with a short string hanging out from one end. From Eve's muggle upbringing, she could see the resemblance to a grenade. Which perhaps would have been alarming if not for being at a Weasley birthday party. She laughed and waited for an explanation.
"New product we've been working on…. uses Peruvian instant darkness powder," George explained in a low voice, which was virtually impossible considering the music blaring and the screaming coming from the game table.
"I'm assuming it creates… instant darkness."
"Merlin, I love a girl with critical thinking skills," George grinned, nudging Eve's hand with his own in calculated encouragement.
"Pull and throw?"
George nodded.
And without any further inquiry to give, Eve pulled the latch, and the ball was promptly thrown into the middle of the dance floor.
And precisely a second later, the darkness powder proved to be instant.
Before Eve could begin to react to her handiwork, the room filled with a dark black fog, and yelling began to overtake the sound of the music's base.
But amongst the chaos, there was exactly one person prepared for it all, and in another second, his arm enveloped Eve's, and she was pulled through the black abyss. Bumping against unknown bodies as she went, she could feel George's direction change and his pacing begin to slow.
"Watch your step. I think these are the stairs."
"You think?"
Eve's question was answered when she felt George's hand slip from her grasp and her body momentarily being pulled to the ground. George had tripped, but at least they did find the stairwell.
Step by step, the pair stubbled up the stairwell, the dark fog doing no favors when mixed with their drunken senses. But as they climbed, the haze began to disperse, and when they finally reached the top of the stairwell, Eve could see clearly where they had ended up.
George began to laugh, loudly and without much air. His arm outstretched for the facing of the door, where he leaned against it for support amidst his drunken hilarity.
"I can't tell if you're going to puke or not," Eve said. Her words, although with concern, were still paired with amusement.
"I can't time either," George replied, another chuckle escaping his lips before straightening himself to face the door. "Was a good trick, though, aye?"
George's dormitory was empty when they stepped inside, much to no surprise. Eve glanced over the surroundings carefully, looking between the unmade beds and empty boxes and bottles scattered around the room. The dormitory appeared to have been the headquarters of the twins' top-secret festivities and undoubtedly took the toll for it.
"Just what a girl wants to see," George said, after noticing Eve's staring for a moment. He laughed and threw an empty container for flying sparklers off his bed.
Eve grinned and took a seat, leaning her head back on his bedframe and kicking her loafers off the edge. She sighed.
"My head's spinning."
"Yeah, mine is too," George nodded, crossing the frame of his bed and positioning himself beside her.
For a moment, neither of them said anything, the room filling with the sound of their slow breaths and the echo of music coming from the common room far below. Then Eve felt a hand brush her knee, and she turned to meet George's eye.
"I'm going to miss you, Eve. A lot."
George's words were tender, if not a little shy, and Eve could see a glimmer of earnest amongst the sheen of drunken countenance.
"We still have two months, George."
"A lot can happen in two months."
Eve wanted to ask if he meant something by this, if his words directed to something specific, that there was something only he knew was yet to come. But the chance came and went as she watched George open his mouth again to speak.
"I wish I had gone out with you sooner."
"Yeah, but you didn't know me back then."
Eve's reply caused a small smile to grow on George's face, and after a moment, he gave a small laugh and a shake of his head.
"I don't know why you always talk like that about us."
"Like what?"
There was another pause as George mulled over his answer to Eve's question. She couldn't tell if he was streaming together something heartfelt to say or if it was just the delay of alcohol taking over. Perhaps both.
"You talk as if we didn't go to the same school for the last five years."
"That's not really knowing someone, George."
"Yes, but," And again, he paused to choose his words, and this time, Eve knew he had something to say.
"I knew you could make passes with your left hand during quidditch matches. And that you sometimes drew during study hall instead of doing your work. And I remember that green dress you wore to the ball last year, with your hair up just like this."
As George spoke his last words, he raised his arms to the back of his head and motioned, what Eve could guess, was an imaginary up-do.
She laughed and wished desperately to kiss him.
"I suppose maybe you're right," she said.
"I am. I knew you, even if you didn't know me."
Eve grinned, and when she saw the sincerity in George's eyes, she began to laugh.
"What?" George asked, laughing along with her even if he didn't know the purpose. Eve put a hand on his arm.
"You're possibly the easiest person to know at this school. You're a foot taller than everyone, and you enjoy starting fires."
George laughed harder now, and Eve continued.
"George Weasley, you're a menace, you know that?" Eve said, laughing as she raised herself from the bedframe to lean over George, her arm steadying herself on a spot on his chest. "I can confidently say you've left your impression."
George grinned.
"You're very beautiful."
There was no shyness in George's voice as he said this. And Eve could see the drunken confidence now shining through.
"You're so gone," she said with a laugh.
"Yes, but both things can be true."
Eve grinned.
"I just realized we haven't kissed all night."
A wide grin grew on George's face at Eve's observation. Hands found their way onto Eve's waist, and in moment's time, the space between their bodies was erased.
Their kisses were rough and entirely sloppy, and hands entangled as they slipped between one another's bodies with feverish frenzy.
George found his way to Eve's neck, taking his time between kisses and bites until Eve knew his mark would be left for the next day. Without leaving his lips, Eve raised herself so she could straddle him fully, her body colliding with his in a harsh thud.
She found her lips with his again, and their kisses continued, deep and desperate, and she could feel her body begin to grind on his with inherent ease. She felt a groan leave George's lips.
"Eve."
The sound of Eve's name escaping George's lips was a type of magic she hadn't grown accustomed to just yet. Butterflies filled as she heard it again.
"Eve, no, wait."
Eve stopped now, feeling George's hands pull them apart with a fast reflex. She raised herself to look at him fully.
"What?"
George took a slow breath.
"I actually do think I might puke."
Author's Note: Finally found a rainy day to sit down and get to this story. Thank you to everyone who is still reading this! Life is crazy right now, but everyone must feel that way, right?
