Chapter 4
Rose's POV:
"No! Not that one, get the purple one!" Dominique whined.
I sighed impatiently. For the last twenty minutes, Dominique had been obsessing over her makeup, clothes, and hair. The reason? Colin Finnegan's annual start of the year party.
This event was legend around Hogwarts, and had been going on since our third year when Colin spiked the pumpkin juice bottles in the kitchen with fire whiskey and served it to every Gryffindor in the common room and beyond. It soon became an impromptu party and Colin had been carrying out the tradition ever since. This year, it had been rumored that Colin had brought in a special Irish whisky and had filled piles upon piles of cauldron cakes with it. Every student wanted to try some; so naturally, every student would be in the Gryffindor common room that night.
Dominique has had a long standing crush on a mister Fletcher Patterson of Ravenclaw house. And yes, the other houses are invited to Colin's party. Word of the party gets around, and soon everyone knows the password to the common room. Usually we have most of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff lots arrive, and a few brave Slytherins. Every year, Dominique has tried to hit it off with Fletcher, and every year she came to no success. Fletcher had been dating a certain Lucy Longbottom of Gryffindor house up until the end of last year. Apparently, she had dropped him like a hot cauldron for another student in Ravenclaw and left Fletcher heartbroken. I know Lucy, and even though her dad was an innocent sweetheart back in his day at Hogwarts, and a damn good Herbology major now, she has never been a goody two shoes.
"Pass me the lip gloss!" Dominique said, holding her hand out expectantly.
"Which one? There must be at least twenty here!" I replied, looking among the vast lot of pinks, corals, and reds littering her bedspread.
"It doesn't matter! As long as it's pink and very sparkly!" She demanded. I picked up one that looked acceptable and handed it to her.
"Is all this really worth it?" I asked uncertainly. The party was due to start in a few minutes and Dominique wasn't close to being ready. Her hair was still in curlers and her outfit was still spread out on my bed across the room. I had been finished ten minutes ago. Tonight I was wearing a light red sweater with a gold tank top underneath to honor dear old Gryffindor house, skinny jeans, and gold sandals that I had fished out of my closet. My hair was in a loose ponytail, and I had a little bit of shimmer on my eyelids and a creamy lipstick.
"Of course it is! Do you know why?" Dominique said excitedly. She was taking the curlers out of her hair now.
"Do I even want to know?"
"Tonight's the night Fletcher will finally kiss me!"
I rolled my eyes. Dominique was beautiful and available, and every boy in Hogwarts was very aware of that. However, she only had eyes for Fletcher.
"Is he?" I asked. She sent me a shooting glare. "I mean, he and Lucy just broke it off a few months ago, don't you think it's a bit soon for him to start dating another girl?"
"Is it? I think it's been far too long myself." Dominique answered.
"Yeah, well, time can seem different when you've been dumped." I muttered.
Dominique looked horrified.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Rose! Here I am going on about Fletcher, and you've just ended things with Robin!"
"It's okay. Really, go knock Fletcher dead!" I said half-heartedly. She smiled at me sadly and then left to change into her partying outfit. I sat back on my bed and picked up a faded muggle romance novel that was sitting on my bedside table. My mum secretly adored these and had a whole box full under her and Dad's bed. I found the box a couple of years ago and started eating the books up. The titles were stupid, the covers were stupider, but the stories were brilliant. It was easy to get lost in a good romance and picture yourself as the leading lady being swept off by the man of your choice. Up until now, that man had always been Robin, and I suddenly had a strong urge to chuck the book across the room.
I could hear music booming downstairs and voices floating up the dormitory stairs from the common room. The party had already started.
"Dominique, are you ready?" I called.
"Nearly!" She yelled from the bathroom.
I didn't even want to go to this party, but my family insisted that everyone absolutely had to come, and Dominique wouldn't go unless I did. She came out from the bathroom looking…well, stunning.
She was wearing a shimmery silver top, dark jeans, black boots and a red and gold bracelet. Her hair was a mass of blonde, bouncy curls and her makeup looked no less than perfect.
"How do I look?" She asked, twirling around.
"Sexy." I answered with a wink. She giggled.
"Do you think Fletcher will like it?"
"It'll knock him off his guard, that's for sure." Dominique looked satisfied and we made our way down the stairs.
The party was already blooming when we stepped into the common room. The room was full of people donned in red and gold, and I could spot a few random Ravenclaw girls standing by the fireplace. James was chatting them up and I rolled my eyes. Leave it to him to roll out the "welcome mat" as he liked to call it.
Albus came up to us, two beers in his hands. He handed one to me and one to Dominique.
"Hello, ladies!" He said loudly and swaying slightly. I could tell he had already had one too many drinks.
"What's in this?" I asked, gesturing to my cup.
"It's just butterbeer." He said. "Why? Do you want something stronger?"
"No. Definitely not." I never drank more than one drink at a party, and never something heavy anyway.
"Want a cauldron cake?" Colin asked, coming up to us with a bowl full of chocolate cakes. I loved chocolate, but I knew there was Irish whiskey inside, and I didn't dare get tipsy tonight.
"No thanks." I said politely. Colin looked slightly disappointed. He had had a little crush on me since second year, and according to Albus he had never really gotten over it.
"I'll take one!" Dominique said. She was already swaying to the music and she reached for a cake. Colin looked slightly happier and went off to offer cakes to other party goers, but not before Albus could grab three cakes.
Dominique and I mingled a bit, and darted to the other side of the room when I saw Robin hanging out with the same Ravenclaw girls James had been flirting with earlier. After a while, I knew she had had enough waiting.
"Have you seen Fletcher around yet?" She asked me. I shook my head. Granted, the common room was packed. It was easily the largest turnout Colin had had yet.
"I'm going to find him." She said determinedly and she shoved her butterbeer into my hands.
"Wait!" I called after her, but she was gone. Dominique had already consumed a spiked cauldron cake and two butterbeers. I was hoping she wouldn't embarrass herself.
I sauntered over to the couches by the fireplace and sat down. Leave it to Dominique to ditch me and leave me with no one to talk to all night. Even if she didn't find Fletcher, she would be swept off her feet by another guy eventually. Chances were I wouldn't see her until very late tonight. I sipped what was left of my butterbeer and was planning on people watching when Colin slipped into the seat beside me.
"Two butterbeers Weasley? Didn't know you had it in you!" He said loudly. His breath smelled like beer and chocolate. In case you're wondering, it's not a good mixture.
"This one is Dominique's." I said, lifting up the cup in my hand.
Colin eyed it, and then took it. He downed it in one gulp.
"Thanks, Rosie! I needed that! Speaking of Dom, any idea where she's headed off to?" He asked. I barely had time to point in the other direction when he was off again. I guess his little crush on "Rosie" was really gone for good.
After Colin was gone, I headed over to a table by the window and sat down. It was quieter over here, and I hoped I would attract less attention. I looked around the room and saw a couple of Hufflepuffs by the beer taps. On the other side of the room, some Ravenclaws were having a deep conversation with James, Albus and Hugo, the lucky blokes. Hugo's date must have been at least three inches taller than him, and that wasn't quite the reason his gaze kept drifting to her chest more than her eyes while they talked. There weren't that many Slytherins around, but there were a couple mingling, and some in corners talking amongst themselves and snacking on cauldron cakes.
All in all, it seemed to be a good party. I turned to the window and salvaged the sight of a clear dark sky dotted with stars. It hadn't been raining ever since the last day I had really cried about Robin, not counting the time with Scorpius. That day's memories kept coming back to me. In the moment, it felt so right to be telling someone everything I had needed to say and I had been pleasantly surprised when Scorpius looked like he was actually listening. I guess that's why it hurt so much when he left with Hayden. Then again, I shouldn't have spilled my guts out to him like that. I barely knew the guy for Merlin's sakes!
As I was thinking, I heard giggling behind me. Some couple had snuck into the doorway of the boy's dormitories. There was a boy's familiar deep voice murmuring quietly and a girl's annoyingly high pitched giggles coming from the corner. I turned around slowly to see who it was, and my breath caught in my throat. Standing in the half closed door of the dormitories was Lucy Longbottom and Robin.
Lucy had left Fletcher just before the summer of our fifth year. That was the year that Robin had bought me a necklace in Hogsmeade with my name on it and kissed me in the storeroom in the Potions classroom. That was also apparently the year that Robin had cheated on me with her. My blood was boiling in my veins and I was heavily tempted to throw open the door and scream at Robin until my vocal chords couldn't take it anymore. However, I had had a drink that night, and I knew even a little alcohol could make things spiral out of control more than I wanted them too.
I fled from my seat and headed straight for the beer taps. What was one more little drink? I waited in line and walked away feeling slightly better with the burn of butterbeer in my throat. I speed walked to the other side of the room, closer to the portrait hole and was determined not to think about Robin or Lucy. I tried to find Dominique in the crowd, but since I had sneaked away from the party scene, the number of people there seemed to have multiplied. I spotted James and Hugo on the couches with their dates…snogging. Lovely. Where was Albus? He might have been drunk, but right now I really needed someone to talk to. I thought I saw the back of his head over by some armchairs, and started to push my way through to get there.
It was really packed, and I was getting pushed back towards the portrait hole when I bumped into someone and tumbled to the ground. It was a strange sense of déjà vu from my first year. It was even worse when I turned around and saw I had yet again knocked Scorpius Malfoy to the ground.
"We have to stop meeting this way." He muttered from the ground.
"Sorry." I mumbled, embarrassed. My Weasley blush was starting to creep across my face.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. I was a bit surprised. I was a Gryffindor wasn't I?
"I should be asking you the same." I replied.
"Thought I might check the scene out." He said, shrugging. He was wearing a black leather jacket and a green sweater underneath. "And as for you, I guess you just never struck me as the party type."
An awkward silence stretched across us.
"Is Hayden with you?" I asked.
"He was." Scorpius looked around, and then pointed to the beer taps where Hayden was stocking up on butterbeer and cauldron cakes.
Another pause.
"You look down. Everything okay?" He asked. I looked up and saw his light blue eyes analyzing me.
"Why do you want to know? Going to ditch me again?" I spat. That was a bit harsh, but I had been having a bad night.
He winced. "Yeah…sorry 'bout that. You know how it is…"
"No, Mr. Malfoy. I'm not sure I do. I'll see you around." I said coldly. I spun on my heel and left him standing at the portrait hole. I really needed to find Dominique now.
I grabbed Finley Thomas, who was passing by with drinks.
"Have you seen Dominique?" I asked.
"Dominique Weasley? Last I saw her, she and Colin were snogging by the girl's dormitories."
Colin? As in Colin Finnegan? Huh. I guess even the oddest couples can happen.