Parkinson's Problem

"Ila, I heard what Ron did to you, are you ok? I swear to Merlin, if he did it on purpose, know that he's not going to get away with-"

"I'm fine, Ginny," Ila said as she peered into the mirror in the girls' bathroom that the fourth years shared. Ila and Hermione were getting ready for the Halloween party when Ginny decided to get ready with them. Her nose seemed to be healing pretty well. From far away, it didn't seem like she got punched in the nose accidentally. Ila decided to not tell her friends about what happened with Malfoy and lied, telling them Madame Pomfrey fixed her up. She, herself, could not comprehend what the hell was going on with Malfoy, so trying to put it into comprehensive sentences for other people was going to be hard.

"I can't believe he hit you," Ginny said.

"It was an accident, Gin," Ila said, putting her last accessory on to tie the look together.

"Why would he do something like that in the first place anyway?"

Ila and Hermione shared a look. Once Ila came back from the 'Hospital Wing,' she found Ron and Hermione each have a clump of hair, one belonging to Crabbe and the other belonging to Goyle. It seemed that her getting punched in the face wasn't in vain after all.

All they needed to do was to find Parkinson's now, which wouldn't be as hard as Ila initially thought it would be. The location of the Halloween Party had changed, now with the added students from Beaxtabatons and Durmstrang joining, they needed a bigger space. The only common room big enough to host that many students in one place were the Slytherins. So for one night, all the four houses would put away any of the differences they had aside to get drunk on fire whiskey and do dodgy things to each other. Forget all the plans Dumbledore had to introduce inter-house solidarity and make everyone host parties every week.

"Crabbe must've pissed him off," Ila said, checking herself one last time in the mirror before heading out of the bathroom.

"I thought you'd be there with him," Ginny said from the bathroom.

"If we were there, he wouldn't have gotten detention, and I wouldn't have had a broken-"

"What the hell are you wearing?"

"ARGH!" Ila fell to the floor, her hand over her heart, making sure it didn't beat out of her chest. "What the hell, Parvati? You can't just sneak up onto people like that!"

"Oh yes, I can," she said, her arms akimbo. "Especially when they're dressed up like that – what the hell are you wearing?"

Ila got up, brushing all the invisible dust particles from her outfit and stood in front of the mirror. Ila wore a white onesie that seemed two sizes too big for her. Small, pink ears protruded from the hood when she wore it up. A large pink oval was stitched onto her stomach, as well as pink paws on her hands and legs. She could see Parvati's scowling face as she explained what she was.

"I'm a mouse - you know, like the three blind mice?"

"Merlin help me," she muttered, talking to the ceiling. Parvati's own outfit was a lot more…scandalous than Ila's. She wore a dress that, if she bent down even an inch lower, would expose…things that shouldn't be exposed. "Ila, tell me the truth" – she walked in front of Ila, placing a pair of hands on her shoulder – "do you really hate yourself?"

"No, of course, I don't," Ila said, brushing her hands from her shoulders. "There's nothing wrong with this outfit. Hermione's wearing it too and Ron. It's supposed to be a group outfit."

"I like their outfits," Ginny added.

"See?"

"Ila, we're in fourth year now; we don't have to dress up like kids anymore," Parvati explained. "Besides Ginny, you're only in third year. You won't understand."

Ginny glowered at Parvati, who was too busy inspecting Ila's outfit and making faces one would make if they were about to throw up to even notice.

"Yeah, Halloween's the only time of the month where you can dress like a slut, and no one would really care," Lavender added. "C'mon, I bet you a lot of guys want to know what 'The Girl Who Lived' can bring to the table."

"I think I might throw up."

"That's it! You and Hermione are getting new outfits," Parvati said, opening her trunk and flinging out clothes to see what would be adequate costumes.

"Hermione's getting what?" Hermione called out, exiting the bathroom. Her expression turned to dread when she saw Lavender and Parvati sorting out their clothes for new costumes.

"Apparently, we're not sexy enough for this party," Ila said dryly.

"What about Ron?"

"What about all those new Durmstrang guys? We're representing Hogwarts, guys. We need to step up our game. We're going against bloody Veelas for merlin's sake," Lavender said.

"They aren't that good looking," Hermione murmured, but neither of the two girls did anything to stop Lavender and Parvati from dressing them up. Deep down, they both knew that the three blind mice that Hermione came up with wasn't the greatest idea, and as much as Ila didn't want to admit it, she was secretly glad that she was going to wear something a bit more 'slutty.'

Though she didn't know for who.

The next fifteen minutes are so; the girls were stripped, suffocated and beaten by brushes that far too prickly to be used for faces. She wondered if it was always this painful to dress up. Maybe that's why she doesn't get ready that often.

"Ta-da!"

Parvati and Lavender stepped away from the two girls so that they could see what they looked like.

Different was the first thing that Ila could think of. Very different.

Ila was wearing a dark green dress that thankfully reached mid-thigh, a few inches more than where Lavender and Parvati's ended. With a square neckline that showed off her collarbone, the sleeves on the dress were long, flaring out towards the ends. While her hair was usually in a French braid, Parvati managed to do an elegantly braided half up and half down look, which was topped off with a flower crown, something that was also added to Hermione's costume too. Stepping closer, her eyebrows had gotten thinner, her eyelashes were long, and her lips were a lot redder as if she had finished eating vindaloo.

"Those eyebrows only last for a few hours," Parvati said as she watched Ila inspect herself in the mirror. "I wanted to thread them, but I decided not to. You'll be in too much pain."

"How kind of you," Ila said sarcastically before turning to Hermione, who was wearing a long white dress with a gold belt tied around her waist, matching her crown. She, too, looked startled at her new look.

"Ron's going to kill us, isn't he?" Hermione asked, staring at the mirror.

"Yep."

Ila turned around to Ginny and showed her new look off. Their costumes were much closer to Ginny's – since she was also dressed as a fairy – than Ron's.

Hermione sighed, but it seemed her transformation outweighed whatever Ron's reaction was going to be, and she headed out of the door. The four other girls followed her down the stairs to the common room, where many of the other students were getting ready. While many of them were too busy getting ready themselves, Ila saw a few people do a few double takes, especially towards Hermione. There was a look of recognition, but it seemed that they couldn't quite put a finger on who the girl was. Ila even heard a few whistles thrown their way.

"What the hell are you guys wearing?" Ron said, staring open-mouthed at his two friends. "I thought we were going as the three blind mice. Since when did the three blind mice wear crowns and dresses?"

Ron was wearing the same onesie with his hood up.

"Because they're not going as the three blind mice," Parvati said from behind them.

"But we had all decided – meaning it was a group decision that we were all going like them," Ron said.

"Well, maybe Ila and Hermione wanted to go with a mature option this year."

As they headed to the Slytherin common room, Ron, Parvati and Lavender argued the entire way there, Parvati and Lavender defending their choices about dressing the two girls differently. At the same time, Ron complained about how stupid he looked being one blind mouse before ranting about how going as fairy queens was a stupid idea.

"No guy is even going to care because no guy even likes fairies."

"No offence Ron, but your opinion when it comes to what guys like about girls is entirely irrelevant."

"You little-"

"Password," Crabbe grunted.

Even in the dim light, Ila could see the bruises around his nose and his eyes where he got punched. It looked like Malfoy didn't use any of the Dittany on him.

"Slytherins are pricks," Seamus announced.

Fred and George were the party's hosts, which Ila couldn't understand how they managed to convince the Slytherins to use their common room for it. Crabbe huffed, glaring at Ron before he stepped aside and let them into the room. Immediately, the group was hit by blaring sounds that were loosely tied together to form a melody and glaring lights that flashed into different colours all around the room.

Ila forgot how much she hated these parties.

She had only been to three, but every year, she thought she would love it, and every year, she came out hating it. She did try her best to get into the swing of things, but it's just so hard when something bad happens every year. The first year, she and Ron helped Hermione in defeating a troll in the girls' bathroom. The second year, the Chamber of Secrets opened, causing the worst year of her life to start, and third year, her godfather broke into the school and attacked the Fat Lady, making the party shut down early.

The group quickly scattered, Lavender and Parvati making their way to the Durmstrang boys that had been eyeing them, while Seamus, Dean and Neville went with a few of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff boys in the corner. Ginny seemed to have already disappeared.

"Can we find somewhere quiet?" Hermione yelled over the shrill of the music.

"First, you betray me with your costume, and now you don't even want to party properly," Ron said. "Why are we even here?"

"I'm sorry that my ears are practically bleeding because of the music!"

"You're so dramatic. It's not even that bad-"

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Ila told her friends, even though she knew that they weren't going to hear it. She walked away from her friends and towards the stairs that led up to the girls' dorms. On the way, she saw Viktor Krum, leaning against the wall, a cup in his hands. He was by himself, staring into the crowd. Well…when Ila slyly followed his gaze, it was towards Ron and Hermione.

"Hey!" he shouted to Ila, just as she was about to walk up the stairs. "You are friends with them?"

"Yes," Ila said hesitantly.

Krum watched her two friends once more. His eyes never left them.

"Are they together?" Krum asked, pointing to her two friends who were still arguing.

Together? Ron and Hermione? Together as is in…together – together? As in they actually like each other past being friends? As in, they actually enjoy being around each other's presence? As in – what!

"No. Are you ok?" Ila genuinely asked, concerned that she would have to take him to the Hospital Wing.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he said.

"Maybe things are different in…from wherever you're from, but I can one hundred percent assure that those two" – Ila pointed Hermione punching Ron in the arm – "will never, ever, ever get together. Even if they were the last two people on Earth, they would rather shove cotton balls down their throats and suffocate to death than having to even think about getting together with the other person. Is that clear?"

Krum stared at her, slightly scared. "I-is that no?"

"Yes – no – wait, they aren't together!"

Ila could have sworn the flicker of a smile on his face before he went back to sipping his drink. He pushed himself off the wall and joined the crowd in the middle. Ila took his space, watching the crowd in front of her. Soon, she found her eyes drifting around. They were searching for someone. Even though the party was held in his common room, Ila couldn't see him anywhere.

Was she disappointed?

Ye –

No. She wasn't. And even if she was, the only reason why was because there's an opportunity that she missed on arguing with him.

Fortunately for Ila, she soon forgot about the lack of Malfoy as another person quickly filled it.

"Hello, Potty," Parkinson slurred. She stood in front of her, swaying side to side. She was wearing an angel costume – which can Ila be the first to point out the irony in that – with heels that Ila didn't know could make them that high. She stepped towards Ila, who wanted to do nothing more than sink into the wall and disappear. It wasn't because she was scared of Parkinson but because she was scared Parkinson would throw up on her. Maybe it was the lights, but she was looking rather green. "The fuck're you doing here?"

"It's a party…." Ila said as if it was obvious.

"Hmm, but – but you're not a Slytherin…you have to leave if you're not a Slytherin…leave! Go!"

"Yeah, if it wasn't obvious, most of the people here aren't Slytherins, Parkinson. Tell me to leave, and you're going to have to make three-quarters of the party to leave too."

It seemed that Drunk Parkinson was a lot more emotional. Within a few seconds, she went from angry to, are you fucking kidding me? I am going to kill you if you speak one more word, angry.

"Do you have any fucking idea how much of a fucking bitch you can fucking be? Huh? Do you know how many times I see you and get so fucking angry! Do you know what you do to me?"

"I'd apologise, but Parkinson, I'm not the one who's making you angry," Ila replied calmly.

Parkinson scoffed, looking around to see if anyone heard the offensive thing Ila had just said.

"Oh my bad, I didn't realise that it was your fault. Who's fault is it then? Is it – is it that table? Is it – is it this cup? Is it the fire whiskey? Who's fucking fault is it then?" Parkinson said, her voice getting louder as she spoke. "It's never your fucking fault, is it! It's always mine, isn't it? I can't get a fucking break, can I?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Every single fucking time I bring you up, I get shut down by fucking Drakie of all people. Like how the fuck does that make sense? He's supposed to hate you, so why the fuck does he keep on standing up for you. It does my bloody fucking head in!"

Ila wasn't sure if Parkinson was getting angry at her or if she was ranting at her.

"Right…" Ila said. Once she finished her sentence, Parkinson threw her drink at the floor and grabbed Ila by the shoulders, pulling her close. Were there tears in her eyes? Since when can Parkinson cry?

"What is it?" Parkinson's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Huh?" Ila was too busy trying to push Parkinson away from her even to focus until Parkinson said –

"Why does Draco like you and not me, Ila? What did I do? What do you have that I don't?"

Ila stopped. She stared at Parkinson.

What.

The.

Fu –

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ila said, unsure of – well, everything. Ila felt Parkinson's nails grip deeper into her shoulders.

"Don't. Act. Fucking. Dumb. Potter," Parkinson said shortly. "You damn well know what I'm talking about. Everyone can see it off a mile away, you and Draco are in love with each other, and I can't do anything about it. He's in love with you, and I don't know what to do. I thought it since first year, but it wasn't until this year did I get something that made me believe it. He keeps on being nice to you; he keeps sticking up for you. I thought I was going crazy until I asked my friends, and they thought the same." Parkinson's grip tightened with every word, but Ila was too confused even to feel what was going on. "Draco and Ila sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first come's love and then comes fucking Pansy over because they both fucking hate her guts when she doesn't even fucking know what she's doing wrong."

Ok.

So it also seems that Drunk Parkinson is also really intense.

And a tab bit insane too.

"Let go of me, Parkinson," Ila said, prying Parkinson's arms away from her shoulders, but she wouldn't budge.

"Stay away from him," Parkinson muttered before pushing Ila back into the wall and finally letting go of her. She turned around and stared at her hands. "WHERE THE FUCK DID MY DRINK GO?" Stumbling into the crowd to find another drink, Parkinson disappeared.

So maybe now she needs the bathroom.

Ila walked up the stairs closest to her. Locating the fourth year girl's dorms, she opened the door.

AN: Sorry about the lack of updates. I recently came back from a trip to Edinburgh. I even got to see some of the places that actually inspired Harry Potter. Did I get inspired?

I think I got more inspiration from the nine-hour coach trip...but inspiration is inspiration.

Hope you enjoy the story