Chapter 20 – One party, two parties?
HG
"Are we going to be the only Gryffindors there?" Katie asked as they walked the lower-level corridor.
"I don't know." Hermione said as she looked around for the barrels. "It doesn't matter, we have each other and besides I met some of the Hufflepuffs already, you'll like them. Gorden probably will be there. AH!" She nearly screamed in the empty corridor before she clapped a hand over her mouth. "The barrels." She said in a much lower voice as she pointed to her right. Three large barrels stood against an empty wall. Katie looked like this might have been a joke, but Hermione pulled her wand out and tapped the barrels in the school song's rhythm. After a few lines the wall slid soundlessly aside, revealing one of the few Hufflepuffs Hermione knew more than only by name, Gorden.
"Good evening, my fair ladies." Gorden bowed extravagant. "Welcome to our humble home."
"Hey Gorden." Hermione rolled her eyes playfully. "Did Cedric tell you to say that?"
"Maybe." He grinned sheepishly.
"Thought so." She said with a smile. "Gorden, this is Katie. Katie, Gorden." She gestured between the two. The two nodded at each other with a smile.
"Come on in, come on in. Cedric told me to give you the grand tour." He said as he stepped aside to let them pass, his arm gesturing over the crowded common room. "So, this is our common room." He stated the obvious with a grin.
The Hufflepuff room was cosy. With large soft armchairs spread across the room each with their own side table. The colours around the room were a soft yellow combined with a blue purple. In the right corner was a long table with drinks and snacks. Two large doors led to the girls' and boys' dormitories. Floor length windows let the last light of the day shine through brightly. You could see the grounds stretched out before them.
The room was filled with first and second year Hufflepuffs, who talked over the music or danced on it on the left side of the room. Hermione turned to Gorden.
"I like your common room, it's cosy and the windows are amazing. Great for reading." She said eyeing on the couches that called to her.
"Yeah, it's alright." He grinned at her.
"Are we the only Gryffindors here?" Katie asked as she teared her eyes away from guy who danced weird on the music.
"So far yes, we invited a few of the other houses to come tonight, only seconds years though." He scouted the room. "There." He pointed to an old large Victorian sofa. "That is Tori, Josh, Nick and Eliza from Ravenclaw. We invited the guys from your house, but I don't know if they are coming." He shrugged as he walked to the table filled with beverages.
"What's your poison?" He asked as he gestured to the drinks.
"What you got?" Katie said as she looked at the table.
"Fizzy orange juice, pumpkin juice, something called Coca-cola, Steve brought it with him, and two types of butterbeer."
"Two types?" Hermione asked as she picked up the bottles who almost looked identical.
"One's alcohol free." He pointed at the bottle on her right.
"I didn't know there was alcohol in this." Hermione asked surprised and glanced to Katie. Katie shrugged and she accepted the normal butterbeer from Hermione.
"There isn't much alcohol in it, you have to drink a lot if you want to get drunk." Katie explained, popping of the cap.
"Hm, I'll just stick with the none-alcohol one." She opened her own bottle as she glanced around the room.
"We are playing truth or dare later, if you want to join?" He asked looking between the two, when they didn't answer he continued. "I'll be over there if you need anything or want to join." He winked and walked to the group on the other side of the room.
Hermione and Katie walked to one of the couches near a large window and talked amongst themselves as they looked around the crowd. It didn't take long for others to join them and started up a game of exploding snap.
HG
About two hours later Hermione was talking to Rosie, a first year Hufflepuff who decided the join the party. She was telling her about her grandmother, who was a muggle, when she heard Katie laughing somewhere near her. Hermione's eyes scanned the crowd and she saw her sitting with Gorden and his friends, for a game of truth and dare. Hermione excused herself to Rosie and by the time she made it to Katie, the Hufflepuff was already in deep conversation with another first year.
"Hermione!" Katie called joyfully. "Come join us, it's fun."
Hermione couldn't deny the girl, who looked up to her with a toothy grin. She rolled her eyes with a smile as she sat down next to her.
"Hermione, this is Levi, Hannah, Katherine, David and Louis. Boys this is my best friend, Hermione." Katie grinned, pulling Hermione close to her in a side hug. Hermione smiled a bit weakly at the group as they greeted her. Her own rather large friend group was one thing, being throw into another with people she didn't know was something entirely else. "My turn." She started the game back up again as her eyes flickered between each of them. "Katherine, truth or dare?" When Katherine chose dare, Katie asked. "When was your first kiss?"
Hermione's cheeks blushed, just like Katherine's did. She was afraid what the others might ask her later and already regretted sitting down with the group. She tried to push down her fierce blush, she knew was becoming visible and looked to Katherine.
"I haven't kissed anyone yet." She mumbled as she twirled with her fingers, too afraid to look anyone in the eyes. Hermione's shoulders relaxed once the others didn't laugh at that and just moved on to the next one. "Katie, same question."
"Oh, I deserve that." She grinned but Hermione notice the waver in her voice. "My first kiss was this summer when I was in Ireland on holiday."
Hermione whipped her head so fast, she thought she might have sprained it. This was news to her; Katie didn't say anything about that to her. Katie's eyes carefully flickered to Hermione and gave her a look that told her they would talk about it later.
It took a while before they finally turned to Hermione, they probably gave her time to adjust to the game and the questions that were asked. They asked questions like first kiss, first crush, if they ever got caught doing something they weren't aloud, or even just what the weirdest dream was they had. The dares were quite innocent so far, just David had to try to get into the girls' dormitories but just like at the Gryffindor tower it wasn't aloud. David got in 2 meters before he was blown back by a gush of wind and landed on the floor, which cushioned itself. Katie had to chug and butterbeer back in one go. And Gordon was now wearing one of his (clean) underpants on top of his head.
"I think it's time for... Hermione." Gorden said as he pointed at her. He took a while to decide who to choose, but Hermione had a feeling he knew from the start and was just building up the suspense. "Truth or dare?"
Hermione bit her lip nervously as she glanced around the circle. "Dare." She choked out.
Gorden rubbed his hand, a wide grin on his face, like he had hoped she would pick dare. Hermione groaned inwardly at his reaction.
"What to do, what to do..." Gorden said as he looked around the common room. "I've got it!" He said pointing his finger in the air. "I dare you to go into Cedric's room and nick something."
"What?! You want me to break in his room and steal something?"
"Just something small, nothing he would miss." Gorden shrugged.
"Gorden." The other Hufflepuffs warned. But Hermione jumped up to Gorden's surprise, he didn't think she would actually do it.
"What room?" She asked not looking at Gorden, but the door to the boys' dormitories.
"Third door on the left, then first door on the right."
"Hermione, you don't have to do it." Katie said as she stood up and placed a hand on her arm. Hermione looked over her shoulder to the others before she whispered.
"It's okay, I need to leave something behind as well."
"Alright." Katie nodded with a confused look and sat back down. "Good luck!"
HG
Hermione took in a deep breath before she walked over to the door. With one last look over her shoulder she opened it and stepped into the empty narrow hallway. It had 8 sets of doors, four on each side, while the narrow hallway ended with another floor length window, that now aloud the moon to shine through. With a stammering heart she opened the third door on the left. When she stepped in another two sets of doors separated the dorms, and one door in the front with a label that said bathroom. With a trembling hand she opened the door to presumably Cedric's dorm. When the door opened, she knew in an instant it was Cedric's. The first bed to her left was filled with ribbons of his favourite quidditch team and the Hufflepuff one's. He had a few pictures on his desk, one with him and his parents, one with his best friends and the group photo that was taken at the end of last school year. Hermione took in his side of the room, which looked clean and organized in comparison to his roommates. She recognized Matt's side too, having a picture of a girl on his nightstand, Hermione knew it was Holly. Hermione took a parcel out of her back pocket and placed it on his desk. She was just about to pick up a quill to take to others when the door opened. Hermione tripped in surprise and fell with an humph on Cedric's bed.
"Well, I don't think my date will appreciate another girl in my bed." The teasing voice of Cedric boomed through the air. Hermione's face grew hot and beet red as she turned slowly, Cedric was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest with a wide grin on his face.
"I-uhm-well, you see."
"Hermione, I'm kidding, sort off." He smiled as he pushed himself away from the doorframe and helped her up. "Well, I think she actually would get jealous if another bird is in my bed."
Hermione let him help her up and she looked down, trying to hide her red filled face. "Gorden dared me to break in and nick something."
"Ah, that explains it. Gorden can be a little too..." Hermione looked up when he didn't finish his sentence and he saw him pull a face. "So, what did you plan on nicking from my room."
"Just a quill."
"Alright." Cedric turned and went to pick up a quill from his desk, his hand stopped over the holder when he saw the newly arrived package on his desk. He turned to Hermione with a raised eyebrow.
"It's your birthday present. I didn't know if I would see you tomorrow, so I brought it tonight. I brought it to your room because I didn't think I'd see you tonight."
A smile appeared on his face as he lifted the parcel, he turned and leaned on his desk. "Can I open it now?"
"It's your present." Hermione chuckled and stepped next to him and leaned against his desk.
Like a giddy schoolboy, he tore the paper from the box. He started to laugh when he saw a picture of him on the pink girly bike from this summer inside the box, next to it a tiny replica of the bike. He placed the photograph on his desk, alongside the bike. When he turned back another picture was inside, one of him and Hermione as they raced after an enchanted ball in his garden that summer.
"This is amazing, Mi." He smiled and pulled her in a hug.
Hermione smiled against his chest and mumbled. "That's not all."
Cedric turned back with a raised eyebrow. "Oh?"
Hermione grinned wickedly and picked the bike up and placed it on the floor. "Tap your wand against it." Cedric looked between her and the broom before he leaned down and tapped it. Within a second the bike enlarged, and an exact replica stood in front of him. "It's more than just a paperweight." Hermione snickered.
"How did you?" Cedric asked, looking perplexed.
"I asked Professor McGonagall to help me. She and Professor Flitwick did the same with my broom, but because the bike isn't magical it was easier to put the spell on."
Cedric tapped the bike quickly again and when it shrank, he put it back on his desk. "In case you forgot, you're absolutely brilliant." He kissed her cheek and before she had time to respond, Cedric had picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
"Cedric!" Hermione shrieked.
"Oh, right the quill." He teased and stopped for a moment to hand her a quill.
"That's not what I meant!" She poked his back with the quill. Cedric just laughed and he bounded out his room, Hermione still over his shoulder.
"Thanks for the present, Mi."
Hermione leaned her head on her arm as she gave up struggling. "You really like it?"
"Of course, it was one of the best days I had this summer. Even with the pink bike." He laughed and Hermione couldn't help but laugh with him. Their voices carried through the narrow, empty hallway and when they entered to common room still laughing, all the heads in the room turned to them. Hermione frowned when Cedric had stopped laughing, she tried to look over her shoulder to Cedric, but he started to let her down gently. When he had put her down, she looked up at him as she cocked her head.
"We have an audience." He whispered with a grin and nudged his head behind her. Hermione's eyes widened before she slowly turned around. Then she noticed all the eyes on them, Cedric placed his hand on her back, nudging her forward as they stepped further in the common room. People started talking again and that's when Hermione noticed the twins sitting with Katie, both an amused look on their faces.
"Here you go." She grinned as she placed the quill in front of Gorden.
"What's that?" Fred frowned.
"Gorden dared me to nick something from Cedric's room." Hermione shrugged and sat down, Cedric sat down next to her, only his lap to be filled with his date within seconds. The girl glared at Hermione before she fussed over Cedric.
"You did a dare?" The twins asked in shock. Hermione pursed her lips at them before she tossed a peanut at each of them, but both caught them with their mouths. "Thanks, Granger."
"Why did it take-" Gorden started, his eyes flickering between her and Cedric. But Hermione jumped in.
"My turn." She looked at the twins, Cedric and Cedric's attached date. "Are you in?"
"Sure." Cedric smiled, the girl reluctantly nodded, and grumbled when Cedric put her down on tge chair next to him.
"Oh, we're in little Granger." Fred rubbed his hands with a mischievous grin.
"Alright then. Rusty, truth or dare?"
"Dare of course."
"No surprise there." Hermione and Katie said simultaneously, they looked at each other in surprise and both chuckled.
"Don't steal our twin speech." George pouted, which made Hermione and Katie roll their eyes.
"Dare then." Hermione looked back to Fred as she thought over potential ideas. "I dare you to let someone draw on your back with perma-ink and by someone, I mean Georgie."
"I thought you were going to give me a more fun one, but alright." Fred opened up his buttons of his shirt and let it slide from his shoulders. Now it was Fred who had eyes glued on him, by practically any girl in the room. Cedric had summoned a bottle of perma-ink and a quill, George accepted it with a large grin. He tipped the end of the quill against his chin as he thought about what to draw.
"Get on with it, George." Fred looked over his shoulder to his twin. "I feel exposed." He whispered. George looked around the room and he started laughing.
"I thought you liked the attention."
"Not when I'm the only one partially undressed." He grumbled as he tried to shield his chest. That's when the others at the table started to laugh too.
"Fine, fine." George sighed dramatically as he dipped the quill in the ink. George concentrated hard on the task as he drew on his twin's back. A few minutes later, Hermione stood up when George signalled her over. She started to laugh when she saw what George drew, Katie shot up immediately and went to take a look herself, she too started to laugh.
"What? What did he draw?!" Fred asked jumping up and tried to look at his back.
"George." Hermione gasped. "Wow, this is amazing, why didn't you tell me you could draw like that." She nudged his shoulder, he looked up at her with a sheepish grin as he shrugged. Hermione turned back to Fred. "It's suits you." Hermione laughed as she sat back down. "You should get it tattooed."
"Tattooed?" George looked at her confused.
"It's like perma-ink but it stays on you for the rest of your life. You can get it in black or use colours. But the way I heard it; it hurts. A lot."
"Wicked." The twins' chimed. Fred had given up on trying to look at his back, but as he was twirling around everyone in the room had a chance to look at his temporary tattoo on his back. It was Fred himself as he rode a unicorn between the clouds.
"Cedric, truth or dare?" Fred asked.
"Truth."
"What were you and Hermione doing in your room for that long?" Fred asked with a toothy grin. Hermione snapped her head towards the older twin and glared at him furiously, but he couldn't be fazed, he had his eyes on Cedric. The whole table was looking from Cedric to Hermione and back.
"She gave me my birthday present." He smiled at Hermione.
"And that was?" George inquired some more. Cedric looked at George with his own grin.
"Only one question, Weasley." George huffed at the Hufflepuff. "Truth or dare, George?"
"Truth."
"Who do you think is the most attractive person in this circle?" George looked taken aback by that question and let his eyes room the circle. "And Fred doesn't count."
"Why not?" The twins chimed together.
"Because then you're just saying that you are the most attractive of the bunch." Hermione snickered. The boy grumbled as his plan failed.
"Then it's a tie." His eyes flickered between Hermione and Katie, sending them each a wink. Hermione and Katie rolled their eyes playfully at him before the game continued.
Early update! - Happy Easter! 💝🐰
