Chapter 16: A Rude Awakening

The next morning, Poppy woke up in an unfamiliar place. As she slowly opened her eyes, she recognised the green and silver drapes around the bed, the same ones that adorned the beds in her dormitory. The blanket she was under felt familiar and soft but something wasn't right. The bed seemed much larger than her own and there was a different smell in the air. Usually when she woke up, the scent of Becky's perfume was lingering in the air, and Victoria was packing on some powder that didn't really smell like anything but left the air sort of dusty. The biggest giveaway she wasn't in her own bed probably should have been the fact that there was a boy, or rather, a man sleeping next to her.

Poppy sat up in the bed and rubbed her forehead. She was feeling quite groggy and couldn't exactly remember what had happened last night. She noticed she was still wearing her party dress and had apparently slept with her shoes on. Poppy decided maybe it wasn't a good idea to get up just yet and she laid down again. When she rolled over, she finally noticed the person next to her. Poppy screamed out of fright and the man was quickly awakened.

"Shut up!" somebody in the room yelled. Poppy now knew where she was. She was in Marcus' dormitory and he was now sitting up on the bed, rubbing his eyes, trying to see what was happening.

"Why are you screaming?" he finally asked with a whisper, sounding drowsy.

"I didn't know where I was," Poppy replied.

"Oh," Marcus said and laid back again, closing his eyes. "That's okay, go back to sleep."

It didn't seem wise to continue sleeping while all of Marcus' roommates were around them but Poppy was too tired to argue with herself about what was smart or the right thing to do. So she allowed herself to drift back to a world of dreams.

A few hours later they were both awakened by the sound of somebodys alarm clock. Poppy was about to get up when Marcus gently took her hand and pressed his finger against her lips. They lay in bed for a while, completely silent and listening to Marcus' roommates getting dressed and scurrying off for breakfast. When he was sure they were gone, he opened the drapes around the bed.

"You may not want them to know you were here," he said.

"They might remember me screaming," she replied and he shook his head.

"Nah, only one woke up and he'll probably think it was a dream," Marcus said and smiled. Poppy was holding her head with one hand and taking her heels off with another. "Headache?"

"A bit, maybe," Poppy replied.

"Well, there's nothing a good breakfast won't fix," he said cheerfully. "Why don't you go get changed and I'll do the same and we'll meet in the common room?"

Poppy agreed and headed towards her own dormitory. None of her roommates were there. Luckily they had apparently went to breakfast early. Today was the day most of the students headed home for the holidays and they wouldn't return until after New Years. Poppy loved spending her holidays at school since it was so quiet. She always had the dormitory all to herself. Victoria and her friends used to make fun of Poppy for "not having a home to go to for Christmas" but this year they hadn't done anything of the sort.

Poppys head was filled with noise and she still couldn't remember last night. She had clearly had something to drink but wasn't exactly sure why. She remembered Oliver showing up to the Christmas Party and that something had definitely happened but was it good or bad?

She got dressed and went down to the common room. Some students were pointing at her and whispering. This wasn't new to Poppy but it hadn't happened in a while so she got even more worried about the previous night. She noticed Marcus waiting for her by the door and quickly hurried over, grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the common room. Once outside, she dragged him to a quiet corner.

"What exactly happened last night?" Poppy questioned with a firm but worried voice.

"You don't remember?" Marcus said with a slight smile.

"Obviously I don't remember! I wouldn't be asking if I did!" Poppy snapped. Marcus was not taking the situation seriously enough. She had woken up in his bed with a banging headache and little to no recollection of the party. Her friend Grace would've deemed the party a success based on this.

"Well, Oliver showed up and you two went to yell outside, then he and I talked and when we got back inside you had apparently thought it would be a good idea to drink all the punch and dance on the couch," Marcus explained. Poppy looked mortified as parts of the evening flashed through her mind. "At that point I carried you off to sleep and offered to sleep in the common room but you absolutely insisted I sleep next to you."

"Right, it's all sort of coming back to me. Thank you, I guess," Poppy said and still looked as if she couldn't believe it.

They headed towards breakfast and Poppy wanted to know what Marcus and Oliver had to talk about. He wouldn't give any details but implied that they understood each other better now. Poppy was slightly shocked. At The Great Hall, they went to sit at the end of the Slytherin table. Some students were looking at them funnily but everybody seemed to be more interested in the upcoming holidays. Grace waved Poppy over right as she was stuffing her face with a muffin. She excused herself and walked over to her friend.

Grace looked almost as if she'd walked straight to breakfast from the party with her smudgy mascara and messy hair but fortunately she had exchanged her party frock to a jumper and skirt. Poppy chuckled a bit at the sight.

"Is that how you're going home?" Poppy asked.

"I'll have plenty of time to clean up on the train," Grace said. "And sleep. Lots of sleep."

"I didn't get back from the party until maybe three hours ago," Grace explained. Poppy couldn't help but laugh.

"So, a good party then?" Poppy asked and Grace nodded.

"Yup, me and Cedric had a wonderful time after you left," she said with a grin. "He was so jealous of the Weasley twins, say thanks to Marcus for me. Speaking of... What happened?"

"Oh, right," Poppy said and motioned Grace to get within whispering distance. Then she quietly said, "This morning, I woke up in Marcus' bed."

Grace spat out about half of her pumpkin smoothie and effectively turned a first year students white shirt orange.

"Nothing happened, of course," Poppy continued. "He put me there to sleep and I asked him to sleep next to me and he did."

"Your stories are the worst. They start out with a bang and then it's just oh, it wasn't a bang it was just a pop," Grace complained and noticed a lot of the students were hurrying back to their dormitories. "I should go so I don't miss the train. I still have to pack my pillow for the trip."

Poppy and Grace got up and hugged and wished each other happy holidays. Grace scurried away with the rest of the students and Poppy returned to her table.

"I guess it's just me and you then," Marcus said as she got there and motioned towards Grace and Oliver who were leaving the school for Christmas.

"And the dementors," Poppy quipped. "You, me and the dementors are going to have a lovely Christmas."

A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating for so long, I've just been busy with work. I love all your reviews and the messages you guys have sent. Next chapter is coming soon.