Liquored Up and Talking Freely

Rose's POV

I gave James and Fred an apologetic look in return to their glares and surprise as they left the hospital wing. I watched Al walk out with Eve and wondered what she was doing with them. Was she finally starting to warm up?

"Rose, I wanted to thank you," Riley said. I turned to him. Oh, that's what this was about. "Seriously, that was good of you."

"Riles, I wasn't going to leave you there," I said with a smile.

"I know but still."

"Riley… who did this to you?" I asked, frowning and sitting on the edge of his bed. He did something surprising then, and took my hand in his, closing his eyes.

"I can't tell you, Rose. I want to, but it was my fault. And I don't blame him."

"You're probably wrong."

He chuckled, his eyes still closed. "Rose I like you."

"You've said."

"No," he opened his eyes and looked right at me, "I really like you."

Eve's POV

"Thanks for coming," James said to me, while we were sitting in the hall outside of the hospital wing.

"What?" I was surprised by his thanks. My intentions didn't involve showing support or concern for my new… acquaintance.

"You didn't have to come, and you did. It was nice."

"Um… yeah, well I have to go," I said suddenly standing up. He looked confused.

"Alright. It is Saturday though—no classes."

"Yeah, but—"

"Never mind I don't want to pry. But Eve, I'm throwing a party tonight, 6 o'clock? Meet me in the common room?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," I said hesitantly.

"It is a good idea. We'll go as friends, I promise."

"Alright," I said, feeling strange.

I spent that afternoon sitting on an armchair in the empty common room staring into the fire. Lou was purring in my lap, and as I stroked him, I thought about the strange feeling I had while talking to James. It felt good to trust people. It was better, I was less lonely, and thought about my mother less around these Weasleys. Maybe I had misjudged them. They seemed genuinely friendly. True, they were nosy, but it was a slight bit charming. They weren't nosy to be nosy. They were nosy because they wanted to care.

It was a novel feeling.

It was time for me to try and change. This was my chance. I didn't have anyone to take care of except myself, and maybe it was time to do just that. My grades weren't suffering, and I had spare time. I resolved to try. I resolved to try and be a better person, and to try and trust. Because these red heads were showing me that not everyone is selfish and only looking out for themselves.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked okay—normal, I suppose. I pulled one strand of hair loose from my ponytail, trying to curl it around my finger. I don't even know why I was putting in so much effort.

"I know a charm."

I turned and saw one of my roommates, wrapped in a towel, her hair soaking wet and her face rubbed in a green cream. "Uh, what?" I wasn't doing this whole makeover attitude correctly.

"I know a charm. To curl your hair, if you'd like." I nodded, a bit perplexed and unsure of what to do. But she smiled at me and picked up her wand off the dresser. "I'm Laney, by the way. Laney Sanders."

"Eve," I muttered. She lifted her wand to my hair and muttered something under her breath. A few strands instantly curled and shined in the light. She kept repeating herself till every strand was curled.

"You have beautiful hair, Eve. It's such a nice, raven black. Can I do something else?" Laney asked, stepping back to view her handy work.

"Um, alright." I was scared. I had never really done anything to my hair. She lifted her wand and did some intricate hand and wrist movements. After a moment, she pulled away.

"So what do you think?"

My hair was glinting with a slight yellow in the dim light of the dormitory, making it look like I had golden inlayed highlights. I moved my head in a few angles, watching my hair catch the light and make the slightest of patterns on the mirror. It was beautiful. I turned to Laney, unsure of how to express this.

"Thank you. It's so—"

"Simple, but it'll catch anyone's eye," she finished for me. I nodded. "Here, let me introduce you to the other girls."

"I really—" I started uncomfortably.

"Eve, this is Dona, Reed—well her name is Agatha, but we call her Reed—anyway, and this is Liz and this Renee." I nodded at everyone, not being able to totally forget that they had been the same girls to whisper about me my first week. But I swallowed it down and tried to keep an open mind.

Agatha, or Reed, drew her wand and pointed out to her own closet. It burst open and a few articles of clothing flew toward me. "You're my size," she said simply.

"Thanks, Agatha," I said.

"Look," she said, standing and walking over to me. She took her skirt from me and held it against my body. "I know you're new here, so I'll give you a pass." I looked at her, slightly confused. "People here call me Reed. Only my father calls me Agatha. It's a horrid name. I mean, do I look like an Agatha?" I took in her dirty blonde dreadlocks and her heavily lined eyes and decided no, she did not. She grinned at me and pressed the blouse into my hand. "You're going to look hot at this party. And you're going with us."

"What?" Renee asked. Everyone looked toward her. She was watching me however. She was beautiful. Her eyes were a deep green and her hair was a sandy color—she looked like sunshine Barbie. Her eyes were cold though, and held mine in contempt. "Well, she's been nothing but horrid and judgmental. Why should we extend friendship?"

"Renee, she's new," Liz said quietly.

"Doesn't make her entitled to be a bitch."

"I understand," I said, before anyone else could say anything. "No I do. You can have your clothes back, Reed—"

"Don't you dare," Reed said, cutting me off. "Renee, I'm sorry, but I don't agree. She's trying to make a change."

"Fine, then you and whoever else can be her chum." She stood up and walked out without another glance. No one else moved. But then Dona stood and everyone stared at her.

"Sorry. It's not personal," she said to me, before leaving behind Renee.

"Eve, don't worry about Renee. They're just a bit sore and hold grudges longer than us," Laney said, smiling at me. "Now go and change and we're going to go."

"I'm supposed to meet James in the common room," I said. The frowns on their faces were prominent.

"You're going with James then? Romantically?"

"No, no, just as friends," I remedied quickly. They looked relieved.

"Ah, well in that case, we'll all meet Potter in the common room with you. I haven't gotten a chance to kill him yet." Liz said.

"What's he done?" I asked, curious.

"He dated Renee once upon a time," Laney said.

"Try all last year," Reed interjected.

"Oh?" I asked, intrigued. "What happened?"

"He dumped her out of the blue. Just one day, after a year, decided that she wasn't for him and left her on the curb, and started chasing some other girl—Henrietta from Ravenclaw? Anyway, then Renee left the Quidditch team, and Gryffindor started losing, because she's the best keeper we ever had," Laney said, pulling a loose string from my hem.

"Renee was horribly heartbroken. I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but she's really not a horrible person. Maybe it's because you're new…" Liz said.

"It's obvious," Reed said, pulling a dress over her body.

"What is?" I asked.

"Why she doesn't like Eve. James like… loves Eve, doesn't he?" Reed grinned at the blush creeping up my cheeks.

"But I don't like him like that," I tried to explain.

"Yeah, well tell she's not completely over him. So it's just the fact that he likes you."

I frowned. But then I realized that I didn't care if she liked me or not. It's not like I did anything wrong. I was guiltless. It was only slightly regretful, because I kind of liked the feeling of making friends. We walked down together and if James was surprised to see me amidst other people, he didn't show it.

"Hello," he said, flashing a charming smile around the group. "You all look beautiful!" They all mumbled a strained hello and he led the way. The group was tense and silent and it was a relief to see James slow down in front of a very blank stretch of wall. He turned to us. "Alright, everyone stay silent." He turned back and closed his eyes. His lips moved but I couldn't hear anything. We waited and after a moment, a huge ornate door appeared on the wall.

"What?" I gasped. Everyone around me giggled, probably having seen this before. James turned and gave me a kind smile.

"It's called the Room of Requirement. It turns into anything you ask it to. I came earlier and made a room for a party, and told everyone I want here, the password. If you come here and think it three times, then it will open to the right door.

"Wow," I said, thoroughly impressed with the castle. "How did you find it?"

"I didn't, my dad did," James said. He reached over and took the handle of the door and swung it open.

"Potter, you've outdone yourself," Laney said, stepping inside, followed by the rest of the girls. He definitely had outdone himself. There were already a huge amount of people here. One quick glance and I could confirm that they were Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff students. There was no one under third year. Music was booming from an unseen place and seemed to permeate through the room. People were dancing, firewhiskeys in hand. Bubbles that never seemed to pop floated around the room and there was a great smell, despite the number of people.

"How'd you get the alcohol?" I asked James, who was hanging behind with me.

"I have my ways, Martin." He held onto my elbow gently and pulled me inside. "Want a drink?"

"I'd love a drink," I said, smiling genuinely. Firewhiskey was one of my favorites. I had my vices, and alcohol was one of them. I was always careful never to drink around my mother, because she needed me to be active. She was a full time job. But on the rare weekends that my mother went out and didn't come home, I took a drink from her cabinet, played some music, and forgot about everything for a while. James had a drink in my hand within the second and brought me out to the dance floor.

"No, I don't dance!" I said, pulling away from him, mortified at his sudden movements against my body. He laughed and led me to a seating area, where a few other people were milling around, including Renee.

"Potter," she said coldly to James, not even bothering to acknowledge me.

"Renee."

"You've met Eve, right? She lives in your—"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Renee, what is your problem?" James asked, angrily.

"Look, I don't care if she likes me or not—" I began, but they didn't seem to hear me.

"You're my problem, Potter, get out of my face," Renee said coolly.

"Alright, I've had enough. Or have you actually started believing your own lies? The ones that I have allowed you to get away with because I'm slightly decent," James hissed. He seemed very, very angry. I had no idea what he was talking about. I took a swig of my drink, trying to make myself look busy.

I saw Renee's eyes dart nervously to me. "You wouldn't," she said quietly, staring at James as if she had never seen him before. He was quiet, and returned her gaze.

"I wouldn't, you're right. I couldn't. So you're safe," James said quietly. He then pulled me aside. "Eve, there's another sitting area across the room if you'd like to sit there instead. I think I'm going to get another drink."

"I'm fine here," I said. "It really doesn't bother me. I don't give a shit who likes me or not." James grinned.

"I like your honesty." He disappeared into the crowd, and I collapsed into a sofa cushion tucked into a corner away from all the people. I don't know how many firewhiskeys I drank. Everytime I finished, the bottle would refill itself. My mind was becoming very muddled and everything seemed funny.

Especially when James staggered over, grinning broadly, his cheeks flushed. "I cannot believe you haven't stepped out onto the dance floor yet, Eve!"

"Yes well, it would be dangerous for everyone around me if I did that," I said, with a slight giggle. James's eyes went wide.

"Oh my, was that a laugh I heard?" I nodded, finding this accusation hysterical. "Well in that case," James continued, "dancing is inevitable." He took my hand and dragged me to the floor. He felt so good dancing against me, and I knew I looked ridiculous, but I kept dancing. Or at least, I kept doing what felt good to me.

"Hey, look, it's Rose," I said, probably slurring a bit. She looked beautiful and flushed, dancing with a handsome blonde guy. Not too close, but obviously dancing with him.

Rose's POV

I had too much to drink. After Riley told me what he told me, I did such a cowardly thing. I bolted. I found Scorpius and hid away with him for a while. Scorpius didn't know about anything that happened. I only told him that Riley was alright. And then I remembered James's party and told Scorpius the password. I made him promise to meet me.

When I got there, I drank plenty of alcohol. I wasn't one to usually drink, but Riley's words were bothering me. I felt so guilty for sprinting away. If something like that had happened to me—I shuddered. And what James and Fred think. There were too many complicated reasons not to.

But yet, there were definitely reasons to.

And for every reason to, I drank some more. Until I spotted Scorpius, I made a beeline for him, and just started dancing. It felt good to not worry about anything, and just lose myself in the music that seemed to permeate through the air. Or at least it did, before I felt myself being thrown aside. Dizzy, I pushed myself back up and saw James, Fred, Al, and Hugo crowded around Scorpius, and every single person in the room had gone silent. Even the music had stopped.

"Who invited you, scum?" James hissed. Shit, shit, shit, I couldn't let this happen. "This is my party, and I gave out passwords. You can't trick the Room of Requirement either." Everyone was quiet. Scorpius's lip was bleeding, but his demeanor was surprisingly calm.

"Well?" Fred spat.

"He probably used dark magic to force it out of someone," James said.

"That's a bit far-fetched," Al said reasonably. "I mean, why waste it on that?"

"I don't really give a shit how he got here, what I want to know is what the hell he was doing touching my sister." Hugo said this very forcefully, and I took a moment to gape in both awe and horror over his protective side. Timid Hugo was actually tough. I shook out of it and tried to stand. This damn alcohol. I felt someone pull me to my feet and gave a scared looking Lily a smile. It must've come out a grimace, because she gave me an even more scared look.

"Stop it, all of you!" someone yelled. Everyone turned to look at me. Oh, apparently I was the one who yelled.

"Look at her, she's flat out drunk. Malfoy, were you taking advantage of my precious cousin? Because if you were, there will be hell to pay," James growled, his wand dangerously close to Scorpius's heart.

"I invited him," someone said. Once again, I realized it was me. The silence, this time, you could hear it. It rang of disbelief and shock, betrayal and humor, and anger. I caught Scorpius's eye, and he looked sorry. I wasn't sorry. I was glad it was out that we were friends. It was stupid to have kept a secret like that for so long.

"Party's over folks!" Al yelled, probably after viewing the insanity that was about to occur. "Sorry, nothing to see here. Back to your dormitories, I'm a prefect!"

"No you're not!" A cheeky third-year yelled from the crowd.

"I am!" The booming voice of the seventh year Ravenclaw prefect, John McCarthy, rang out. "Everyone out!" People began grudgingly filing out, some stealing alcohol. I remained standing against the wall, not taking my eyes off of James's angry ones. Scorpius was still on the floor, nursing his lip, but remaining collected.

"Eve, stay," I heard Al stay. I wondered what that was about. Why would she even care? But I decided that it was probably less pressing right now.

"Did you drug her, you little fucker?" Fred asked, pulling Scorpius up by his collar.

"No, put him down! He's been my best friend for years now!" I shouted. Scorpius fell to the ground very suddenly. And then everything went black.

A/N: I apologize for my cliffhangers, but how else will I keep you coming?; also my lovely beta deserves an extra shout-out for dealing with my crazy-ness with a tummy ache! Love you :) + the reviews I got were fantastic! I love you all3