Chapter 10 – A Gryffindor Party
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"Oh Merlin!" Lyra gasped as I walked back into our dormitory. "Who are you dressing up for, Cedric, or one of the twins?"
I looked surprised away from putting on my heels, to Lyra who sat in front of her make-up mirror. I walked up and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I wore a yellow high-waist maxi skirt with a white lace top on it. It wasn't something to fancy, it was something new though. I bought it just before I went to Cedric this summer and haven't had a chance to wear it. I always felt more comfortable with something high waist, the thing that made her love the skirt even more, were the deep pockets sewn into it.
"It isn't too much, is it?"
"No, you look perfect." Lyra turned and looked in the mirror to me. "You are a very brave Hufflepuff for wearing that to a Gryffindor party."
"Well." I grinned. "I need to represent our house now, don't I?" Lyra chuckled at me as she fixed her make-up. I looked back in the mirror and changed my hair into a light brown colour with golden highlights that reached just above her bum in soft curly waves. She popped her lips as a nude colour filled them. "Are you ready?" I asked as I saw Lyra look at me in envy.
"I wish I could do that." She pouted. I placed my hands on her shoulders and leaned down.
"You look beautiful the way you are. Just ask Odin." I winked before stepping back, so she could stand up. Lyra wore a simple navy-blue cocktail dress with a lace bustier. I looked her up and down with a large smile. "Just perfect."
"Thanks." Lyra blushed before she hugged her tight. "Let's go, the boys are probably waiting already."
"Alright." I followed her out the dormitory and walked in the empty hallway. And like Lyra said, Odin and Cedric were waiting in the common room, both leaning against the large couch as they talked amongst themselves. Odin wore a faded weird sisters t-shirt, while Cedric wore a dark blue, almost black dress shirt, the upper buttons left open. When Lyra kissed Odin's cheek, it was only then the two of them were aware that we arrived. Cedric's eyes looked me up and down, a large smile on his lips. He pushed himself of the couch and held out his arm for me to take. I smiled back at him as I circled my arm around his and we followed the lovebirds out the common room.
"You look beautiful." Cedric whispered in my ear. I looked up at him with a smile.
"You look pretty dashing yourself." I gently pulled his collar. "Makes me wonder how you would look wearing your new dress robes."
A slight blush crept up on his cheeks. "I've been wondering the same with your dress ever since you opened the package. But since we still don't know why we need them, we'll just have to wait and see."
"Uhm, Gwen?" Lyra stopped at the end of the hall, looking over her shoulder. "Where is the Gryffindor common room?"
"Oh, I actually don't know. George forgot to mention it." I bit my lip softly, thinking about a solution. "Let's head to the grand staircase, I've seen them hurry down there more than once." I shrugged and pulled Cedric with me, so we walked in front.
"You're wearing the necklace." Cedric pointed out as the medallion rested on my chest.
"Of course, I am." I smiled, twirling it through my fingers. I looked up from my necklace when I heard the shuffling of feet nearby. "Harry?"
"Oh, Gwen, there you are." Harry smiled as he walked closer. He gave a wave at the other three when he stopped in front of me. "I thought you bailed." He chuckled.
"George said the party didn't start until 8. It's not even eight thirty." I laughed; my voice echoed through the staircases. "Wait! Have you been waiting here since eight?"
"Well, yeah. But Hermione was here with me, she just took some Ravenclaws up to the tower. George might have realised about an hour ago that he forgot to tell you were to go, so he sent us down here."
"Couldn't he come down himself?" Cedric huffed and I nudged his side with my elbow.
"He would have, but he and Fred were still setting everything up." Harry shrugged, not noticing Cedric's implication. "Come on." He started to climb the stairs and the four of us followed in silence.
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We stopped in front of a large painting of a woman in a pink satin dress, and a wreath on top of her head. Harry opened his mouth to say something before I let go of Cedric's arm and walked closer.
"Mathilda?" I asked the lady.
"Guinevere?" The smiled of the lady in the portrait grew. "My child, how long has it been? You've grown so much!"
"You know each other?" Harry and Cedric asked with raised eyebrows.
I turned away from the portrait to look at the two boys. "Yes, during my first year, I was completely lost, and it was nearing curfew when I bumped into her portrait. She walked me back to our common room, she followed me through every painting. Much to the dismay of the other occupants." I laughed, looking back at Mathilda, who chuckled slightly herself. "I can't believe you guard the Gryffindor tower. I tried to find you again, but I couldn't, the castle is so big."
"I know, dear." Mathilda smiled at me. "But I've inquired about you with the other portraits and found out you were doing well. You look very beautiful tonight, and so do you, my child." She glanced over to Lyra, who smiled wide. "Now, go on in. Have fun." And the portrait of Mathilda swung open. Harry looked surprised at the portrait before climbing in.
"It is the first time in the four years I've been here, she opened without the password." Harry grinned as he looked at me. Before I had chance to respond, I was being picked up and twirled around.
"Happy birthday." George voice trickled in my ear as he put me down. "You look gorgeous." He breathed as he looked me up and down. "Even it is in a Hufflepuff colour." He grinned down at me.
I took a moment to take him in; He wore a clean white dress shirt making his red tousled hair stand out even more, it was paired with a dark jean. I rolled my eyes at his comment but couldn't hide a smile. I saw Fred coming up from behind him, carrying drinks on a platter.
"Happy birthday, love." He kissed my cheek before he handed me a champagne glass. I frowned at the liquid in the glass, before looking between the twins.
"Is it safe?"
"How dare you ask that?" Fred said with mock hurt as he passed the glasses to the other Hufflepuffs.
"Because George told me what you guys have done in the past and what you make. So, I believe it is completely fair of me to ask."
"She got us there, Freddie." George grinned at his twin.
"Maybe, but these are safe, promise. It's just some muggle champagne Lee brought with him."
I looked at Fred for a moment before I dared to take a sip, when nothing changed, the others followed suit. The twins gestured us further in the common room as I looked around the room taking it all in. My eyes scanned the crowd, and I noticed the youngest were already sent up to their dormitories. She recognized a fair few Gryffindors, a couple of Ravenclaw that included Cho who was already eyeing Cedric. Beside them there were Drake, Gino, Alexis and Helena from Hufflepuff laughing loudly in the corner. An arm wrapped around my waist as we stopped in front of an improvised bar. I looked up to see Cedric planted firmly next to me as he looked over the bottles of liquor the Gryffindors had provided. The twins were tossing and turning the bottles in the air as they made a couple of cocktails. Lee appeared on the other side of me when Odin and Lyra found a quiet corner together.
"Happy birthday Jenny." Lee kissed both my cheeks before planting one on the tip of my nose.
"Hi, Lee. Thanks" I smiled at my boy next door. Lee grabbed something from his pocket and handed over a small present with a way too large red bow on top. "You didn't have to get me anything."
Cedric and the twins eyed the present curiously. Lee huffed and gestured her to open it, waving his hand over the present. I gave him a crooked grin before I unravelled the bow. Inside the box were two small pins. One a silver badger and the other a silver lion.
"It's beautiful." My eyes wide as I looked at Lee. "I'm guessing the lion represents you?"
"Duh." Lee grinned. "And you're the little badger."
"Thank you." I wrapped my arms around Lee, pulling him close and he rubbed my back softly. It felt, smelled like home.
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An hour later I was dancing in front of the fireplace with Lyra on some muggle band when unfamiliar hands came on my waist. I turned faster than lightning and saw a boy from Gryffindor, I somewhat recognize smile at me.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Dancing." He smiled slyly. I felt uneasy and tried to pull his hands off my hips.
"Well, dance with yourself then."
"But I wanna dance with you." His grip went tighter. I gave up on trying to get him off, and my hand went in the deep pockets of my skirt and tried to pull out my wand.
"I believe she said no, Cormac." A familiar voice grumbled angerly behind her. The boy named Cormac glared at the Weasley twin behind her before storming off.
"Thanks Fred." I said as I turned to the older Weasley twin.
"I know you could've handled it yourself, but I don't want him to go crying over to Minnie and get the party shut down."
"Smart thinking, I would've cast his balls off." Fred laughed as he took my hands in his and started dancing with me dramatically.
"I have no doubt." He said as he dipped me. "But I needed to come quick, not just for you hexing his jewels off but for those two. I think they would've pounded on him if I was a second later."
I looked confused at the direction he nodded his head in. George was glaring at Cormac that stood on the other side of the room while Cedric a few steps next to George was watching me and Fred dance in front of the fireplace.
"Oh." I whispered and looked back at Fred, then something occurred to me. "Hey, Fred?
"Hm?" He looked away from his twin, back to me.
"I don't want to sound conceited but, you've been flirting with me since the World Cup and then suddenly it stopped. Why?"
"Oh, you miss my flirting, queen Guinevere?" Fred teased, wiggling his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes and slapped his chest playfully. "No? Alright... You knew George and I liked you, right? Well, we never have let a girl or anyone for that matter come between us. So, when we noticed we both really liked you and it wasn't just some harmless flirting, we sat down and talked about it. It's the first time something like this happened, so we were in unknown territory. So, we talked about it, about you and let it all sink in. It was when I saw George getting all worked up when you had Alchemy together, I decided to back off." He ended as our dancing went for extravagant to slow.
"I didn't have any say in this?"
"You didn't have real interest in either of us at that point, so it doesn't make a real difference, does it? Besides, we know the relationship between you and Diggory is complicated. Georgie wouldn't do anything until you guys' figure things out."
I looked from Fred to George over his shoulder. George was laughing at something their little brother said before his eyes found me. He smiled and shot me a wink before turning back to Ron.
"Just-" Fred started, and I looked back up at him. "Be careful with him. Don't you ever tell that I told you, but he never felt this way about anyone before. Don't break his heart, Northon." Fred let one of my hands go and bowed dramatically, kissing my still clasped hand softly before he walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
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I was sitting on the couch near the fire with Hermione and Harry when Ron came stumbling over. Hermione rolled her eyes at her drunk friend while Harry and I snickered.
"Alright, mate?" I asked as he slumped down in the seat next to me.
"You are a metu-mata-morga- never mind, you can change your looks, right?" He stumbled over his words.
"I think we covered that." I grinned.
"Can you change into another person?"
"Sort of." I shrugged.
"Really?" It was now Harry and Hermione that sounded surprised.
"Yeah, I did it a lot when I was younger to get away with things, I changed into my brother."
"Can you do Hermione?" Ron got excited.
"She is not a circus act!" Hermione nearly shouted, making others look at them. But I was already turning my appearance into Hermione as I took in her features. The others gasped and I saw Cedric smirking at me from the other side of the room.
"Why are there two Hermione's?" George asked, looking between the two of them. "Fred, what did you put in my drink?" He called over his shoulder to his twin.
"It's me George." I grinned up at him. His brows gathered as he looked at me closely, it was when he saw what I was wearing, a switch flipped in his head.
"Oh, that's just creepy." He shook his head and sat on the armrest of Harry's chair looking at me. I started changing back, starting with my hair, that Ron started pointed at me again.
"Hermione you should wear your hair like that!"
I turned to saw Hermione glare at Ron, her eyes filled with tears. George leaned over and clapped him on his head.
"Oh, why didn't I think of that!" She cried out and ran up the stairs to her room. I watched the younger girl ran upstairs before I looked back to Ron.
"You are an idiot." I sighed and stood up fully, myself again, Ron looked at me confused. "George, Harry, explain it to him. I'm going up to see her, is that okay?" I asked Harry. He gave me a nod and I headed up the stairs. When I started to climb the stairs the music and noise from the common room died down as the muffliato charm started to work and I could hear the muffled crying of Hermione coming through one of the doors. I knocked softly on the door before I pushed it open.
"Hermione?" I asked in the dark room.
"I'm fine." She sniffed. I rolled my eyes before I flicked my wand to ignite the light. I saw her belly down on the bed, her head buried in her pillow. I walked over closer to her and sat down on the edge of her bed.
"Ron's an idiot." I stated. Hermione looked up with a chuckle. She turned and placed her back against the headboard.
"I always hated my hair. And I know there is sleek-eazy but it takes me over an hour to get my hair flat. I don't want to do it every day."
"You know..." I started slowly. "When I was about 9 years old, I was staying at Lee's for a couple of nights. And I wanted hair just like his mum. She had natural coily black hair, it was really beautiful. So, I tried it out and it went wrong, so wrong." I shook my head thinking back. "It didn't want to go back to my own hair. So, Bea preformed a spell to make it into loose beautiful curls until I could change it back. I still know how to preform it if you want to try it out. I promise it won't take that long. Five minutes tops." I smiled.
"Is there really a spell that could control this beast?" She asked excitingly as she patted her bushy hair. I stood up and gestured her over to one of the make-up tables from her fellow students. Hermione jumped out of bed and sat on the chair in front of the mirror and looked up to me.
"You start by putting your hair in three sections." I said and parted her hair before I pulled out my wand. "Capillum Dissuendum" I whispered as I took in a few strands of hair in my hand. A white light erupted from my wand and the locks turned into soft curls. I snickered at Hermione's gasp as she watched it turn to something manageable in the mirror. I did two parts of her hair until I suggested her to take over and try it out. And like I said not even five minutes later since we started, her hair much less frizzy, beautiful curls bounced of her back. Hermione jumped up from her chair and turned around quickly and engulfed her in a tight hug.
"Thank you, thank you!" Tears spilled wetted her top.
"You're welcome." I grinned. "If you wear it in two breads at night it can stay like that for three days before you have to redo the spell."
"I can't believe no one ever taught me that." Hermione pulled back as her fingers went easily through her hair.
"Hm." I hummed, thinking about at least one person in the Gryffindor tower who knew about it. "Let's head back to the party." I locked my arm with hers and we laughed as we descended the stairs again.
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George and Harry's faces went from worried to relieved when they saw us laughing. Ron was already passed out on the couch they left him in.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked as he came closer to us, looking at Hermione.
"I'm fine. Gwen showed me a spell that can tame my hair." She chuckled as she twirled a curl around in her hand. Harry looked closely at her hair.
"It looks great, but you've always looked great, Mione."
"Nice work." George appeared next to me. I looked up at him beaming.
"I used my own personal trauma to help her out."
George quirked an eyebrow at me, but I just grabbed his hand and led us to the couch near the fire when Fred called us over.