Astoria spent the rest of the evening hyping herself up for the common room party. You don't need Draco, she told herself while eating dinner. You're being a good sister, she thought with a sigh as she took the ring and the chain off of her neck. You're doing the right thing, she repeated as she began to get ready for the Slytherin common room party.

It was no secret that Slytherin had the best common room parties in all of Hogwarts. The dark dungeons with flashing green lights, rich purebloods with the ability to buy more alcohol for one night than some other houses could buy for the whole year, and overall atmosphere of debauchery made for some excellent parties. Gryffindor parties could, on occasion, be fun, though they tended to be a little rambunctious and didn't draw large crowds for that reason. Hufflepuff parties were a chill vibe but how often did teenagers want to chill? And Ravenclaw parties... well, there was a reason Ravenclaw never hosted any. For a night of fun, Slytherin was the best place to go. You could let down your hair, take off your robes, and have a night you would always remember (unless you drank enough to completely forget). To get in, you had to be on the list. And, as Slytherins, Astoria and Aria would always be on the list.

Tonight, the list was at least a mile long. The first party of the year after a big Quidditch win surely made for a night to remember. A night of transformation, a night of vice and sin, a night to sit in the darkest corners of the room and make dreams come to fruition. Astoria was a lady, classy and elegant at her core... but there was something about a Slytherin party—the way the dark room filled with smoke, the lights flashed maniacally, the alcohol flowed through her veins, the way her hair could be let down and her deepest immoralities set free for just a moment—well, it called to her.

And tonight especially would be one for forgetting.

She subconsciously reached for her neck only to feel a pang of disappointment when she felt nothing. It's for the best. But without Draco's ring around her, all she felt was worse.

Astoria comforted Aria as the girl fiddled around the room nervously. Little did Aria know that Astoria felt just as nervous, if not more. While the girl often had an air of confidence around her, it was usually fake. She pretended to feel beautiful, to feel funny, to feel charming. But sometimes all she could do was be reminded how fake it was. She didn't feel beautiful, not as beautiful as Daphne. She didn't feel funny, not as funny as Daphne. And she didn't feel charming, not as charming as Daphne. Daph was all of those things and more; most of the time, Astoria just felt like the baby sister she really was. So even as Astoria dressed in a tight, white dress, her hair in long curls, her lips glossy, and her eyes sparkling with silver glitter eyeshadow, she didn't feel beautiful. She put on her silver hoops and couldn't help but be disappointed when she looked in the mirror. Because she didn't see Daphne and, just like when she was younger, she thought her big sister was the prettiest girl in the world. Sure, she knew she was those things too, at least partially. But there was a difference between being pretty and being Daphne. Daphne, who had loads of friends and the respect of all of the professors and boys kneeling to get even a taste of her. Daphne, the Golden Greengrass.

You have to act normal. You have to be fine. You have to keep it all in, she thought as she stared in the mirror. Sometimes it was exhausting keeping all of her emotions in. But Astoria had been a burden to people all of her life. She just wanted to be easy, wanted to be the fun friend. So she plastered on a smile even though it felt like her heart was splintering into a million pieces.

She smoothed the sexy, white dress. It hugged her body and made it look like she had a lot more curves than she normally did, pushing up her cleavage as it sucked in her waist. "Now that'll catch his eye," Aria, said biting her lip with a cheeky grin.

Astoria turned to look at her friend. Her heart was racing. "Whose eye?" But they both knew the answer to that. Sometimes, though, it was just better to pretend. Easier that way. And like she said before, she had spent enough of her life not being easy.

Aria rolled her eyes. "Draco's. It practically matches his hair."

Astoria felt her cheeks warm, though she tried to keep a smile from coming to her face. Did the thought that Draco would find her attractive in this dress cross her mind? She would be lying if she said she didn't. Draco seemed to be particularly drawn to her body, even though it wasn't anything special. She was pretty skinny, very short, and had hardly any curves. But it seemed that everyone had their preference and she was Draco's. Still, Astoria sighed. "Draco is engaged to my sister. I'm wearing this because I want to look hot for me, not for him."

It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the truth. She was definitely wearing it for both, to look hot for him and for her. Aria, already more in tune with Astoria than anyone had really ever been in her life, laughed. "Azzy, you couldn't even keep a straight face telling me that. What's going on with you two?"

Astoria sighed. She didn't want to have this conversation. But at the same time, she didn't not want to have this conversation. Maybe Aria was the only one she could tell. So, for some stupid reason, Astoria kind of blew up. "I don't know! I used to have a crush on him until my parents betrothed Daphne to him. I know she doesn't like him—at least, not like that—but he's still engaged to her. I can't change that. And now he's suddenly talking to me and he's so wonderful and I think he might like me but he's engaged to my bloody sister!"

She looked down at the ground, already embarrassed by her rant. You can't lose your emotions like that, not even in front of her. You're a lady. Be controlled. But to her surprise, Aria walked over to where she sat by the dressed and pushed a piece of hair out from her face. "Hey," she whispered. "You're incredible, Astoria. You're going to find happiness, whether it's with him or someone else or even on your own. Don't worry about Draco or the future. Just focus on having fun tonight."

Astoria smiled. But it didn't feel real. Nothing felt real anymore except for Draco.

. . .

Alcohol flowed through Astoria's veins like blood. The tight dress slithered up and down Astoria's body. She shook out her hair and let the rhythm move through her limbs. She was a dancer, classically trained, but as each glass of punch moved through her, she felt her body become even looser under the music.

The dungeons were dark with green and white lights flashing everywhere. Astoria could hardly see through it all, though that was probably for the best. Sin thrived in the dark and there was nothing more sinful than a Slytherin party. Couples making out in dark corridors, firewhisky flowing freely, goody two-shoes dancing on tables. In the light, these things perished. But in the dark, everything was alive.

Everything, including Astoria. Because as she knocked down punch after punch, shot after shot—much more than she would ever drink normally but like she said earlier, tonight was a night for forgetting—she felt herself become more alive. Her best friend was holding her hand as Astoria felt her worries burn away with each drink. Her smile became more real, her giggles a little louder, her body a little calmer. Tonight, she could forget about Daphne. She could forget about Draco. She could forget about everything except for feeling alive.

Aria grabbed her hand and began to twirl her around. "I'm so glad I met you," she said with a loose grin. It seemed that Aria needed tonight just as much as Astoria did. I'm glad. She deserves to be free and be herself for a bit, she thought, not knowing that Aria was thinking the same thing about her. "I'm having so much fun!"

Astoria smiled at her friend. And, for the first time tonight, it didn't feel fake. She didn't feel like she was forcing anything. She felt, for a small moment, happy. Perhaps for the first time since the engagement was announced. "Me too, Aria. I have a good feeling that we're going to be friends for a long time."

Aria laughed. It was fun seeing her like this, the normally very quiet and reserved girl letting go. "Until we're old and grey and having one-hundred and ninety-five cats."

"At least," Astoria responded with a giggle. She was feeling good. Actually, that was an understatement. She felt pretty and cool and charming and everything she didn't normally feel. Astoria ran her hands along her hips and through her hair.

"You're so hot! I can't believe you've never had a boyfriend." Astoria couldn't believe it either but there she was. She just shrugged and continued to move in the darkness of the room.

They continued to talk and giggle for a little while before they were interrupted by a very familiar voice. "Tori!" Astoria frowned and turned to her sister. Daphne, with her straight hair, baggy, low-cut jeans, and tight green crop top looked very different than her. But, like always, Daph looked gorgeous.

Daphne turned to her friend and introduced herself, complimenting Aria in a way that made the girl appear less tense. Daphne had always had the ability to make people feel comfortable. Astoria had it too but in a different way. Daphne had the ability to take you by the arm, drag you to the center of the dance floor, and make you feel like a star. You just felt cool being in her presence. Astoria always felt cool whenever she was with her big sister.

Soon, Daphne was dragging the three of them to take firewhisky shots. Well, six firewhisky shots, which about made Astoria's eyes pop out of her head. Six shots... well, that was ridiculous. But perhaps tonight was a night for being ridiculous. So when Daphne grabbed the shots from the fourth year, Astoria eagerly drank them down. The alcohol burned her throat immensley—it was called firewhisky for a reason, after all—but she soon felt a lightness that even the green punch couldn't rival. She giggled as she took the second one.

Somewhere in the back of the room, Astoria heard Daphne whisper to Aria, "Keep an eye on this one, yeah Baby Berkshire? Otherwise, we may find her in the arms of whatever man my sister has decided to crush on very soon." Draco. She's talking about Draco. And despite how absolutely ridiculous it was, the idea of seeing Draco had already begun to appeal to her. She knew she shouldn't seek him out—she was dedicating her night to forgetting the man—but there was something about the firewhisky that made her want to run her hands through his light-blond locks as he kissed her like he had never kissed her before. But she still had some sense within her and as long as that little bit existed, Astoria was determined to forget about Draco.

Daphne, noticing that her baby sister had already taken her shots without even blinking, rolled her eyes and ordered two more from the bartender. "You deserve to lighten up more often, sissy. So have some fun. I'll keep an eye on you."

But Astoria couldn't help but think that if Draco knew how much fun she was about to be having, he would be livid. No, he would be more than livid. He didn't care that she would be drinking—no, that would be hypocritical and Draco knew better than to try to tell her what to do. Draco cared about whatever asinine actions were about to follow these firewhisky shots. Because there would be asinine actions. She was sure of it. Firewhisky never led to anything good. Still, when the other two girls held up their shots, Astoria giggled and held hers up to.

"To fun!" the three of them said. If only she knew just how fun her night would become.

Ahhhh, love the common room party chapters! The next one will have a little bit of a twist and the third one will be juicy. But remember, these chapters directly compliment the three common room party chapters in Smoke & Stars. If you are curious about missing actions or pieces of dialogue or want to get another view of these scenes, check out those chapters in Smoke & Stars!

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