The Sloppy Snog with the Slytherin Seeker
"Malfoy, you're tall, get on the stool," Lies said absently as she scanned the large room, occasionally ticking things off on her clipboard.
"Yes, ma'am," Scorpius obliged, reaching up to dust away the cobwebs. Betty Thorpe, who was Seeker for Slytherin, came over to hold the stool steady.
Ever since Weasley's Wizard Wheezes opened up a branch at Hogsmeade in Dominique Weasley's fifth year, she and her friends would throw the occasional party in the joke shop's back room. A year later, Lies was now in charge of organising the event, something she did as a favour for her older friend, but which she actually enjoyed. Lies loved being in charge and seeing her plans to fruition. It was only icing on the cake that this would only make her more popular.
"Dom, you sure about your cousins?" Lies asked the strawberry blonde clearing up the crates of merchandise.
"Stop worrying about Fred and James. They always deliver, don't they?" Dom shrugged at Lies. "I mean, I haven't got a clue how they do it, but they always manage to bring drinks, so..."
"Alright," Lies sighed. "Jo, could you set up my sound system?"
"All set up. Party Mix 1?" Jo replied, crouching in front of Lies' iPod plugged into the speakers. This was the biggest reason Dom's parties were far more popular than those at the Room of Requirement.
"Albus, that's lopsided," said Emily, who was steadying the ladder Al sat on.
"It doesn't matter, I think," said Al. He was putting up lightly coloured cloth strips to dull the harsh fluorescent lighting.
"It doesn't have to be perfect, but it can't look that sloppy either," chastised Emily. Al obliged, frowning. All around the large room, Lies and Dom's little helpers were scattered to clear up space, and clean the dust that had settled since the last party, which was before Christmas break. There hadn't been a party last Hogsmeade weekend, because it was the Valentine's weekend.
"Potter!" Al jumped, nearly falling off the ladder. He was relieved to see that Lies' sharp cry was not for him, but for his brother, who armed himself with a smug grin.
"You asked, and Fred and I delivered," he announced, gesturing to the large stack of beverages in all shapes and sizes that Fred was carting in. "That's only the first batch. No one's going back to Hogwarts tonight," he gave Fred a first bump.
"What's this?" Lies asked, as she inspected their cargo. She'd noticed a suspicious unlabelled crate.
"That," James paused for effect, "is, what I believe, muggles call 'hooch'. It's vile...but effective, just like a certain little princess I know," said James, tapping a knuckle under Lies' chin. Lies only frowned.
"Good enough," she spun away and scribbled on her clipboard.
"You're a little bit upset, aren't you, that you haven't seen your little sister on her first Hogsmeade trip?" Scorpius asked Jo. Betty moved the stool nearer to Jo before Scorpius got up to dust some more. Jo was setting up a large table for the drinks.
"Well, I better not see her here, that's for sure," she looked up and pointed a bottle opener at Scorpius. "She is far too young," Scorpius only laughed. Jo started Party Mix 1, everything was cleared away, and in record time, the party was in full swing.
"Lily. Luna. Potter. You cannot be here," Albus pointed a stern finger at his little sister. She was in her 3rd year and in Gryffindor with Cameron Sharma. In fact, the two were right at that moment demanding entrance into the party. "Emily!" Albus called behind him. Immediately, Emily appeared at the entrance.
"Cam!" she gasped, "Your sisters will kill you. Charlie and Jo are in there, right now, and when they see you-," Emily paused ominously.
"Emily, please! You don't have to tell them!" Cam begged.
"Please, Albus. I won't drink. I promise!" Lily caught Cam's drift and began the shameless grovelling.
"Are you joking? I'm not spending tonight babysitting," Al scoffed.
"Emily, we'll help you dodge Bludgers!" cried Lily, and Cam nodded in agreement. Emily pretended to consider it.
"Em..." Al narrowed his eyes at her. The Ravenclaw had a way of ruining his plans, and his plan for the night was to get totally, utterly smashed.
"Yeah, no," she shook her head at the 3rd years. "Look, give it a couple of years. And anyway, as soon as we're out of Hogwarts, who d'you think Dom and Lies are going to pass the banner to?" The girls' eyes widened.
"Us?" Cameron asked, and Emily winked conspiratorially as Al slowly shut the door at the two gawking girls. With the door shut, Al lifted his hand for a self-satisfied high five. Emily obliged.
Scorpius stumbled around the room, excited at the prospect of telling Jo the good news. Summer internship! The Daily Prophet! If only he could find her before the mass of other drunken students suffocated him to death. He spotted Emily trying to convince a wildly dancing Albus to put the bottle down. She had to keep dodging his flailing arms.
"Emily!" Scorpius shouted, but the music drowned out his voice. He shoved his way to where the pair was. Scorpius thought he saw Emily mouth "thank, heavens" as soon as she saw him.
"Help! Al!" Emily shouted into his ear. Scorp shook his head, mouthing "sorry". Al would have to wait.
"Jo!" Scorp shouted into Emily's ear. Emily's eyes widened and she bit her lip. For all she teased Al, Emily wasn't a very good liar either. She pointed somewhere in the crowd, but of course, it was too dark to be helpful.
"Scorp!" Al cried, finally noticing him. "Have you seen Jo?!" he asked, eyes bugging out.
"Shut up!" Emily shouted into Al's ear.
"What?!" Al asked, honestly confused. The rest of the conversation wasn't loud enough for Scorpius to hear, but he did catch the word "hot". His brow creased with frustration as he scanned the area Emily'd pointed at. Where was Jo? She would be so happy for him when she heard. And then, he found her.
Jo Sharma was dancing with Betty Thorpe, and that wouldn't have been so shocking if they hadn't been dancing so...provocatively. And then the snogging began. Scorpius couldn't help but stare in shock. Suddenly, the room was too hot, and it seemed he'd forgotten how to breathe. He felt a hand on his arm, and jumped. He looked down and saw Emily's concerned eyes. Beside her, Al was ogling the two girls, as were a few other people. Mostly boys, Scorpius noted with irritation. Emily backhanded Al's chest and the boy frowned at her then continued his arrhythmic flailing.
"Scorp!" Emily called to him.
"It's okay!" Scorpius shouted in her ear. He just needed some fresh air, that was all. Scorpius barrelled through the crowd to the joke shop's back door, which was the only way in or out of the party. As soon as the door was shut behind him, Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief into the frigid air.
"Malfoy," Scorpius jumped at the amused greeting. The only other person outside was a tipsy James Potter who was leaning lazily against the wall.
"Potter," Scorpius gave a nod. The charms the girls had placed around the shop worked perfectly. Everything outside was still and quiet.
"Alright, no. You're my brother's best mate, for Merlin's sake. Call me James. Can I call you Scorpius?" James stuck a hand out, which Scorpius shook in agreement. "Alright, Scorpius, what are you doing out here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," said Scorpius watching his upperclassman carefully. James raised his hands in resignation and Scorpius moved beside him to lean against the wall.
"Lies kicked me out. I was bothering her a little more than usual," James admitted.
"She can do that?"
"Normally, no, but things are a bit...odd at the moment. You?"
"My..." Scorpius cleared his throat. "Jo-Y'know Jo Sharma?"
"Of course I do. Lies never shuts up about Jo, and that girl who drags Al around...Emily," James nodded. "So...your Jo Sharma...?" the older boy prodded.
"No, she's not-," Scorpius sighed ruefully as James laughed at him. "You know Betty Thorpe, of course."
"Snogged her?"
"How'd you know?" Scorpius asked in surprise.
"Because Betty's gay, and you're having Jo Problems," James shrugged. "I may or may not fancy a high-strung, ambitious dragon lady who I also sometimes hate, and you definitely fancy your gay best friend. I think you have it worse."
"I don't...fancy her. I just wish she'd told me. I mean, all of last year, and even earlier this year, she made me believe she'd been after Casper Larkin-"
"Who's dating her sister," James interrupted, wide-eyed.
"How did you know?"
"I like to keep up with current events"
"Alright, well..." Scorpius hesitated.
"Go on. I haven't got anything better to do out here, anyway," James grinned. Scorpius frowned at how lightly he seemed to be taking his personal problems. James rolled his eyes. "Merlin. Alright, I'm interested, and I'm not just listening for my entertainment. Now, go on."
"I mean, she cried about him, when she found out he was interested in Charlie," Scorpius saw the confusion on James' face, "Her older sister. Anyway, she cried, and then got over him, but that's not that unusual for her. She's an easy-going person, I thought."
"She could be bi," James shrugged. He smirked at Scorpius' hopeful face. He would've pointed it out, when the door suddenly opened.
"James, I'm sorry, you can come back in now," said Lies apologetically. Scorpius noticed the smirk leave James' face.
"About time. I'm freezing," he moved to enter.
"I'm sorry," Lies said again, surprising both James and Scorpius.
"Yeah, me too," said James, pausing in front of Lies at the entrance. They were so close, neither dared to breath or they might accidentally brush against each other.
"I know. You've said," Lies finally moved aside as James disappeared into the party. Her gaze fell on Scorpius. "Did he say anything?"
"You kicked him out. What happened?"
"He kept embarrassing me in front of Matty. Spilled some...something on me, but I've cleared that up now," Lies shrugged, though she looked sorrier than Scorp had ever seen her. "Why are you here?"
"Jo," Scorpius said, "I was telling James."
"And he was just...listening? He didn't...say anything mean or...?" Lies asked. She felt a mix of protectiveness over Jo and a strange anxious need for Scorpius to confirm whether or not James Potter was the prick she believed him to be.
"Yeah, just listened," Scorp rushed, "So, you know about Jo, then?"
"You better talk to her yourself," Lies said. She was about to return to the party, then turned back, "But you better be careful what you say, or-"
"I know, I know. You'll sic your attack dogs on me, and Emily will set my scalp on fire during lunch," Scorpius rolled his eyes.
"No, Scorp, if you're not careful, you'll lose the first friend you've ever had," and with that, Lies shut the door, leaving Scorpius in the cold March air.
I gave in and decided to publish another chapter anyway :( PLEASE REVIEW OMG