AN: Here it is! Let me know what you think!

Everything was going perfectly.

At exactly nine p.m., all of the guests had shown up. By ten, the party was in full swing. Dominique and Jamie Bell, incredibly giggly and possibly a little drunk, were flirting outrageously with Alexander Zabini. Leo Jordan and Will were laughing and talking. Albus, to my complete and utter astonishment, was engaged in deep conversation with Theresa Boot, a pretty, dark-haired Ravenclaw who was friends with Rose. (Not to be mean or anything, but Al did not talk to girls. Ever. I mean, he was seventeen years old and had never had a girlfriend. So it's not really my fault that I was a little surprised.)

And, of course, Rose and Scorpius were being completely infuriating. I mean, come on. They were stealing each other's food, for Merlin's sake! Unless they're in a relationship, who does that?

At that exact moment, Will came up and stole a cookie from my plate of food.

"Hey!" I protested.

He rolled his eyes and offered me the half-eaten cookie.

"Eww," I said. "That's disgusting."

"You're disgusting," he replied. "So, do you think it's going well?"

"Excellently," I said.

"Do you think we should play the game now?"

I looked around the room, trying to get a feel for the atmosphere. The music was on. Everyone was laughing, giggling, and acting hyper. Even Rose seemed to be having some kind of a sugar rush.

"Yeah," I said. "Let's do it." I took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Hey, guys!" I said brightly, like the idea had just occurred to me. "I just had an awesome idea! We should play Spin the Bottle!"

"Totally!" shrieked Dominique. "This is going to be great. Come on, guys!"

"I'm in," said Alexander, his eyes on Jamie Bell.

To my everlasting and unforgettable astonishment, Albus said "Why not?"

"Great!" I said brightly, and then added, noticing the oh-Merlin-how-do-I-get-out-of-this-one look in Rose's eyes, "Everyone has to play! Come on, circle up!" Before either of them could protest, I dragged Rose and Scorpius into the circle.

"Okay," I said, once we were all seated. "Who wants go first? Scorpius?"

Poor Scorpius. He looked absolutely terrified. "Okay, not Scorpius," I said. "Rose?"

"How about you go first, Lily?" she said.

"Okay, fine," I said. "However, I'm going to say this now, I really don't want to kiss Al or Hugo or anyone else who's related to me."

"How about this," said Will. "If the person is the same gender, or they're related to you, you can kiss them on the cheek, but if they're not, you have to kiss them on the lips."

"Excellent idea," I said. "Okay, here goes nothing." I grabbed the butterbeer bottle, took a deep breath, and spun it.

It went around and around, slowing, until finally, it landed on…

Dominique.

"Beloved!" she exclaimed, jokingly. We got up and, accompanied to that incredibly annoying Zabini's catcalls, I kissed her on the cheek.

"My turn!" she said, sitting back down. Her spin landed on Leo Jordan. They stood up. Leo looked kind of embarrassed. Dominique, on the other hand, stepped into the circle, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him like he was her long-lost vampire lover and the world was going to end in about thirty seconds.

When they broke apart, Leo looked dazed, like he had been clubbed by a troll or something. He spun the bottle and got Albus, kissed him very awkwardly on the cheek, sat back down, and started staring at Domi.

Al, meanwhile, spun the bottle and got Theresa Boot..

They were both the color of beets as they stood up and pecked, briefly, on the lips.

Theresa spun the bottle and got me.

After she had kissed me on the cheek, I sat down, spun the bottle, and got…

Oh, Merlin. Please save me from this fate.

…Will Frobisher.

"Ooh," said Dominique. "The two enemies become lovebirds."

I could tell I was blushing as I got to my feet, and I wished I could be as calm and cool as Will, whose expression was completely unreadable.

"Come on!" said Zabini. "Kiss him already."

Resigned to my fate, I stepped forward and stood on tiptoe, my hands on his shoulders for balance. Before I could lose my nerve, I leaned in and kissed him.

His lips were warm and soft, the pressure of them perfect against my own mouth. His hands were on my hips, steadying me, and I leaned in a little, tasting the cinnamon. For a single, oblivious, forgetful moment, it was the perfect kiss, the kind of kiss princesses have with their princes in crystal palaces, as elegantly clothed minstrels play dramatic harp music, while rose petals rain down from the ceiling and sparkly fairies fly around their heads.

Then I remembered that I was kissing Will Frobisher. Will Frobisher! Kissing! Will! The crystal palace crumbled as the elegantly clothed minstrels died a fiery death and the rose petals turned into six-inch poisonous thorns.

Quickly, I pulled away.

Zabini whistled. "Maybe we should get these two a room."

"Maybe we should get you a straightjacket," I retorted, taking my seat and praying I wasn't blushing.

Will spun the bottle and got Zabini, who spun it and got Dominique. After Zabini and Domi kissed for much longer (and with much more tongue) than was necessary, Domi spun the bottle and got Rose.

I held my breath. Get Scorpius, get Scorpius, get Scorpius, get Scorpius.

She got Jamie Bell.

And so it went for the rest of the game. The bottle went from person to person, but never once did Scorpius or Rose have to kiss. It was ridiculous.

Around three o'clock in the morning, when Domi actually fell asleep while eating a cookie and almost choked to death, I decided that the party was over.

"Shoo!" I said, as Zabini (that boy cannot hold his butterbeer) tried to hug me. "Get out of here!"

Finally, they all left, leaving me to clear up the mess of the party. I was stacking glasses when a voice said "Hey."

I turned around to see none other than Will Frobisher standing behind me. Apparently they had not all left. "Oh, hi," I said.

"It sucks that our plan didn't work," he said, although, weirdly, he didn't sound too upset.

"Yeah, it does," I said, although, to my surprise, I didn't sound or feel particularly disappointed, myself. "Well, we'll come up with something else."

He nodded, hesitated, and then added "Sorry about the…you know."

"Kiss?" I said.

He laughed. "Yeah, that."

"It's fine," I said lightly. "There was nothing we could do. Besides, shockingly, you're not that horrific of a kisser."

He laughed again. "Yeah, whatever." He reached out and, casually, tucked a stray piece of red hair behind my ear. "Good night, Lily."

"Good night, Will," I said, and watched as he slipped quietly out of the room.

That night, I dreamed of crystal palaces.