dazzle me darling }{ open to all!!!!

[kyndrick carmilla laurent]

It was a Saturday night, the fourth of September in 1976 to be exact. Kyndrick Carmilla Laurent could only kick off a new school year with a bang. This was her last first you see. This was the great big, epic and fabulous moment. She needed to throw the first party that any of the students would go to. It would be fun and filthy and completely ridiculous. There would be cards and drinks and endless teenage rebellion. Those were her expectations. She sought to have this image turned to reality and would not rest until it happened. So, on the train to school, Kyndrick gave out her beautifully crafted invitations telling people to meet her in a new and highly unexpected party space inside the castle. Where was her grand party spot? Inside the pre-sorting chambers of Hogwarts.

By all the laws of common sense, no one in their right mind would have a party there. It was the most obvious place to spot and hear trouble. It was in far too close of proximity to the Great Hall. It was a Saturday night, meaning Professors would be out making sure no students were wandering after hours. So, Kyndrick took care of everything in advance. She took time out of her busy schedule the day she rode the Hogwarts Express to school to go talk to two very important girls around Hogwarts. The first one was the Head Girl, Amelia Bones. Amelia hated Kyndrick. At least, that was the feeling Kyndrick always got from her. Kyndrick begged Amelia though. She literally got down on her hands and knees and gazed up at Amelia longingly and begged her to do as she wished. Kyndrick asked her to take the hall patrols on the ground level that night with the one Professor who would be most oblivious to their little swaray.

Kyndrick got Amelia to ask Professor Binns to be on Ground Floor duty. And then, to up the precautions, Kyndrick went to her next leading lady. Kyndrick had to talk to one of the brightest witches around. She needed a special favor from Lily Evans. Of course, Lily wasn’t the biggest party girl around. Kyn managed to persuade her though. It involved Kyndrick promising not to talk about Lily and James in all of her little gossip sessions anymore though. Basically, Kyndrick needed Lily to put enchantments on the chamber so that it would be completely silenced from the outside. All the noise and ruckus would be entirely contained. She also did the research and got Lily to place a charm on the door that wouldn’t let anyone other than those with invitations into the room. Anyone else would be locked out. Of course, people like Dumbeldore or McGongall could get past that little detour in a heartbeat. But Professor Binns wouldn’t bother.

Conditions were perfect, ideal. All the people Kyndrick wanted to be there would make it there. She couldn’t wait to see old party favorite like Sirius Black and Holden Avery. She’d also invited some of the less pleasing sorts like Coraline Tawfeek and Severus Snape. Kyndrick wanted loads of people to attend. She’d asked Holden to make sure to get as much alcohol as he could. All Kyndrick really had to do was be the perfect hostess and wear the perfect dress. She would maintain her reputation and be a Hogwarts legend before the first week of school could really even be counted.

Kyndrie put on a classic, vintage black dress. That whole “little black dress” code really worked for her. She did her make-up in a messy, but beautiful frenzy. She stuck her wand through a tiny loop on the dainty little belt on her dress. She pulled back her hair in a messy up-do. Her black heels were shiny and ready for dancing. She left the Ravenclaw common room without a care in the world. The party wouldn’t start until it was dark, that was the plan. She made her way through the school using secret passages and empty corridors until she came to the chamber where Lily had worked her magic. Kyn grinned as she looked around at her pre-prepared beauty. There were little tables with cards that were being magically shuffled with a charm her dad had taught her when she was old enough to play. There was a record player sitting on a little desk and blaring classic wizarding music. She and Lily had worked together to summon three couches which were now in a little circle away from the music. Kyndrick thought she was being nice, offering the losers a quiet place to sit.

There was another long, thin table that had several miscellaneous treats on it and a house elf stood obediently at one end of it. Kyndrick had some great connections in the Hogwarts kitchens. There was even punch. Non-alcoholic punch that had yet to be spiked. Kyndrie was literally proud of herself for this. She couldn’t wait for people to show up. So, she decided to wait for arrivals by sitting down at one of the card tables and hand shuffling one of the decks of cards. This would be a night to remember. She was certain.

[rita colline skeeter]

Rita put on a simple black dress, and standing in front of her mirror she turned from right to left admiring herself. A humble childhood still didn't wash away her inner vanity. She pulled her blond hair up into a loose ponytail, a sort of mess that still looked good. The curls framed her face, and her earth toned make-up made the look. She was going for sexy, but simple enough to play dumb if the situation needed it. Rita, however, was far from the simple minded blond beauty. She was armed that night not only with her cunning charisma skill but also with a little old friend of hers: her quill. It few up to her side as she spoke at it, jotting down every single word she said verbatim on a small parchment. It wound itself tightly and quickly and Rita spoke low enough that no one would really hear. It was going to be a nifty little secret weapon, perfect for a party, and even better for her first article of the Hogwarts Press. She was bound and determined to start that anonymous gossip column rolling.

The party, being held by Kyndrick Laurent, was something to look forward too, ambitions aside. The girl was a year older and much more wiser when it came to parties and things like that. She usually became the girl that any sensible Ravenclaw would look up to. Of course you had to keep your look out for any chances you had of pushing her down and taking her place. It was a girl eat girl world out there, at least the one that Rita was a part of. Just a year younger, but still so ready for a party like this. This would inevitably set the standard for the rest of the year, the standard for all that was the teenage angst of Hogwarts.

As she walked down to the pre-sorting chamber, thinking all the while of how odd of a place it was, she held her invitation firmly in her grip. Nothing would stop her from entering, not when there was fun to be had and work to be done. The corridors were growing darker all the while, and prefects, professors, and all would be out lurking and waiting for naughty little party-goers. Rita slipped past any open classrooms or offices and soon found herself just inches away from that door way. She loosened her grip on the invitation, never wanting to seem too eager for these kinds of things, though she was still a bit awkward at being invited in somewhere. She put on a nonchalant little smiled and wandered in as if she didn't really care. The party room, all decorated and ready, didn't look like Rita had expected it too. Had she come to early? That would be embarrassing...

[lily anne evans]

Lily Evans was not the party type. She was more like the "sit in the common room and finish a good book" type. The fact that she would even help Kyndrick Laurent with this little event was out of character for Lily. She simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to get Kyndrick's gossip ridden mouth shut about Lily's current relationship with James Potter. Lily was the type of girl who always thought that a relationship should be between two people, not two people and an entire school. Kyndrick seemed to think the exact opposite of this view. Lily's help with the party ensured her Kyndrick's silence, at least for a little while.

Her arrival in the not so upbeat party scene was both unexpected and awkward. Lily didn't know if she'd really go through with it, with the party. She knew James would be there so, that was good. She knew that the usual party suspects would also be there so, that was bad. She figured that Kyndrick and Luanna would be making spectacles of themselves, Holden Avery would be degarding and drunk and cruel, James would mess with people and press their nerves to new ends, and Rita Skeeter would dig up some drama to keep the school in her infamous journalistic endeavors. Lily didn't want to cross any paths that would end in her jinxing someone or leaving offended.

She had dressed in ordinary, muggle clothes. The entire ensemble sort of suited her desire to remain partially invisible. She wore ordinary flared jeans with a high waist. She wore a long sleeved, blue and white striped v-neck shirt. She wore her battered converse tennis shoes in their fading navy blue. Her hair was left down and fell around her shoulders in a lazy sort of way. She wore no makeup, no fancy implications. Even jewelery was scarce. Aside from an ordinary brown strapped wrist watch and a tiny heart pendant necklace from her mother, Lily looked typical.

She tugged the crumpled up invitation from her jeans pocket and used it to get into the rarely used pre-sorting chamber. She saw Kyndrick and Rita and no one else. Lily raised an eye-brow in confusion and then shrugged her shoulders. Maybe Kyndrick's little party hadn't quite started yet. She offered Kyndrick a polite sort of smile and then made her way to one of the couches she had helped Kyndrick summon over a mere hour earlier. Lily took a spot on the end of one and sat back. She didn't really know what to do with herself from there on in. So, she played with her wand, pointing it haphazardly at a disco ball Kyndrick must have summoned. Lily cast light at the ball and watched it reflect around the room. The party, so far, wasn't all that crazy or interesting.

[demitrius daxton amherst]

Dax was an idiot. He was a total and complete idiot. He knew this all too well. He had a massive supply of quick witted intelligence, but when it came to common sense and knowing people and how to deal with them, he was just an idiot. As if it would help in some way, Dax always managed to make that idiocy worse with the influence of alcohol and social smoking. He knew that he was in for his usual dose of stupid as soon as he’d gotten the invite to Kyndrick Laurent’s little party down in the chambers. He also knew it would be a good time and a great way to set aside the chaos of reality.

In preparation for a wild night, Dax dressed accordingly. He put on classic looking muggle attire. He wore dress pants, a white button-up shirt, a Ravenclaw tie, and a pin-striped dress-vest. His shoes, as if clashing his style, were dirty looking black converse. His hair was a bit messy and rugged looking. Dangling from a dainty looking pocket in his vest was the chain to rustic looking fob watch, one of the few gifts he had from his father. In one of the pockets of his dress pants was a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. In the other pocket was a small flask of rum. Dax had a soft spot for rum. He loved mixing it with things. In addition to this entire look, Dax carried an acoustic guitar. It was simple and old looking, nothing fancy or cool.

By the time Dax had arrived at the party, the whole room was filling up. Dax had, many times before, made the mistake of showing up early. Kyndrick always made a fuss and had that uptight sort of bossiness to her that Dax really couldn’t handle. So, this year, he’d made a vow to only show up fashionably late. It suited him much better that way. Upon wandering into the room, Dax noticed a few familiar faces and then a lot of unfamiliar faces. He gave Rita Skeeter a lop-sided smirk as he strode across the room. He waved to Lily Evans and bumped into Kyndrick, giving her a quick hug. He was already pretty drunk and smelled of cigarette smoke. Dax looked uninterested until he spotted a group of Hufflepuff 5th years smoking some pot on the floor. He spotted Terria Newton and mumbled, ”Hey, keep an eye on this for me? Thanks.” before joining Puffs. This was how Dax got by at parties. He didn’t have much of an appearance to make since the girl he liked didn’t exactly go to parties and he didn’t care what anyone else thought of him.

[terria kya newton]

Terria Kya Newton had no idea what she was doing. She’d somehow made a huge mistake. She’d somehow ended up at some kind of raging hormones, staggering drunken, display of teenage reality kind of event on accident. She had no idea how to deal with something like this. She had no idea how to deal with people in general, no less people who were doing drugs or drinking or making out right in front of her. So, she had no idea how she was going to pull this entire thing off.

It all started when Kyndrick Laurent, a girl a year older than Terria, had given Terria an invitation to a party. Terria, being slightly naïve to the ways of the teenage world, assumed it was just a little get together with other people her age. She had spent an entire hour imagining it the night before. She’d day dreamed of her sitting with other Ravenclaws laughing and having supplicated conversations about things. This was so far from her little fantasy that Terria could have stepped into an alternate reality.

When Terria had walked in, at first, things didn’t seem so bad. There were a few people, most of whom were sitting down playing cards or talking or getting drinks of punch. Terria wore the kind of curious smile that said she was just an observer, not someone who actually wanted to strike up conversation. She’d made her way over to a couch across from a fiery red headed girl and she’d taken to her silence. After about fifteen minutes of sitting there, the entire room seemed to fill up before her eyes. She had started watching two Gryffindors play exploding snap and when she looked up, people seemed to have multiplied.

She was quickly coughing from cigarette smoke and the stench of alcohol was something she wouldn’t quickly forget. She just sat there, looking distant and alone. She wore ordinary looking flared jeans and white shirt with a black vest over it. She wore her a pair of flat looking shoes in a bold shade of red. Terria didn’t dare move or try to cross the room. She knew she’d get pushed or shoved or worse, spoken to. She needed to stay put until things calmed down. And then, as if to add to her dilemma, a guy from her year and house came up to her and asked her to watch his guitar. Terria had nodded sheepishly and now had to look after this battered looking instrument. Terria was convinced he had only brought it along to look cool, he couldn’t actually play it.

One of Terria’s greatest loves in life was music. She hadn’t meant to start strumming mindlessly at the strings. She didn’t notice her quiet whispering song. She didn’t realize how at home she could feel if she had some kind of music along with her. Playing that guitar helped her slip into a comfort zone that she would have thought impossible in this kind of place. Before she knew it, she was playing the chords to this one song her mom had taught her as a child. She sang the words quietly. Only the stoners around her and herself could hear. That was the way she liked it, when people would quickly forget her. She wanted to be invisible and she was very good at it.

[ryan daniel willis]

I've got everything to lose,
Since I met you

Ryan shook his head as he headed up from the dungeons. He walked forward, thinking about the mess that had occurred not that long ago. There was nothing better to do at this point other than go to the party. The Gryffindor had ruined the first batch of Love Potion and after that second batch they didn't see the point anymore. It was something that relieved Ryan, but he did not look forward to the party itself.

Once he headed inside he let out a sigh, hearing the gentle strumming of the guitar that he was so fond of. Ryan slowly headed up to the strumming. His heart was beating more rapidly than the cords that he was hearing come from the guitar. He did his best to get a grip on himself and looked at Terria's beautiful eyes. This was the moment that he wanted, but what was he going to say? "Hi." Was that he offered in greeting. It was good that he was never a drinker since the one time he tried alcohol he disliked the taste. The guy had a container of water with a twist cap that he had filled before going there.

"You sound really good." The compliment that he had always wanted to give he finally had. He had done his best to try to clean himself up before he got there. Ryan let out a nervous but charming smile. "I love music too. In fact I am trying to revolutionize music for the magical community." Terria did not belong here, but he had to try to keep the want to drag her out of there aside for a moment so he wouldn't seem creepy to her. It would be best to try to interact with her a bit first. He knew that he was drunk, but he knew that she wasn't used to parties like this, and she would soon learn to avoid them. It was unfortunate, but true.

He offered his hand to her, unsure how she would react to it. Ryan had no idea how used to people she was, but it didn't matter, he was going to treat her right. Ryan shot a glare at Dax. "You moron! Come here!" There was not a bit of hestitence in what he did next. The Gryffindor got right up into Dax's face. "I told you to look after her and now she's drunk! What are you thinking Dax?! You knew that this would happen if you didn't watch her!" All the anger invaded his face and he also looked rather frustrated at Dax. "Smoking this stuff is also a horrible habit of yours." Ryan let out a cough and headed back over to Terria. What he hoped was that what he just did, didn't chase her away.

[marlene edith mckinnon]

A party in the pre-sorting chamber. That didn’t seem to be all that high on the brilliant scale, but Marlene trusted Kyndrick. After all, the girl knew how to throw a party, and since she was a Ravenclaw, presumably all the nitty gritty details had been taken care of. Marlene didn’t bother to trouble herself on contemplating the location for too long, as she sure she was already late. Unsurprising, considering Marlene was always so late she might as well be in a different time zone from the rest of the school.

Even with her tardiness, Marlene couldn’t help but take one last turn in front of the mirror. Her hair was styled as usual, long, and straight. A few weeks earlier Marlene had spotted some muggles wearing headbands across their foreheads. Tonight seemed like the perfect time to experiment with the look herself, so she had played with her fringe a bit, sweeping it out of the way so the headband wouldn’t flatten hair into her eyes. Her dress was a sleeveless, empire waist mini, made out of the sort of patterned material that everyone would come to regret wearing in a few years. Marlene paired the outfit with a pair of knee high, brown boots. They were heeled, which meant the already tall Marlene appeared quite Amazonian. Just the way she liked it. Marlene grinned at the mirror, clearly happy with the reflection, and made her way to the pre-sorting chamber.

Perhaps she was a bit earlier than she had thought. There were a few people here and there, but it certainly wasn’t crowded. By far the biggest group were the Hufflepuffs smoking pot on the floor. Did they grow it in their common room? Marlene was baffled on how they always managed to bring some to the parties. It wasn’t like the firewhiskey, which Marlene had heard was reasonably accessible if you knew the right way into Hogsmeade. Sadly, Marlene did not. But no matter, because Marlene had something better. A sister of legal age willing to keep her in firewhiskey. There were a couple of surprises, Lily Evans mainly, and a couple of people Marlene had been expecting to see, like Rita Skeeter, and of course, Kyndrick. Conspicuously missing was Bilius. Marlene had invited him the other day, not as a date thing, but because Bilius was her friend and was great fun at a party. Marlene paused in the entranceway, frowning as she tried to remember if they were supposed to meet somewhere beforehand. Well, Bilius was smart, so if they had, he would definitely figure out that plans had changed and make his way down.

Smile returning to her face, Marlene stopped blocking the doorway and entered the chamber. “Hey everyone!” Marlene called out to the room cheerfully. Now, where to go... Lily was sitting on the loser’s couch, where no one wanted to be unless they were snogging. That was out. She could join Dax and the Hufflepuffs, or maybe strike up a conversation with the quiet looking girl? Possibly. There was always cards with Kyndrick, but Marlene needed a drink or three before she could force herself to sit through a boring card game. Avoiding Rita was necessary; Marlene didn’t need a rumour plaguing her this early in the term. Deciding against all the options that crossed her mind, Marlene made her way to the punch table and poured herself a glass. Ugh. Apparently, no one had spiked it yet. Well, no matter. Out of her wand pocket, Marlene pulled out a flask filled with firewhiskey, liberally adding it to her glass. There. Much better.

hey it’s, finished!
cause you’re awesome, the party
they’re all, 603
i love them, template @ + stockholm syndrome / lyrics @ the script *live like we’re dying
just letting you know, “(:”

[bilius charles weasley]

UP UNTIL NOW I HAD SWORN MYSELF THAT I'M CONTENT
( ( W I T H L O N L I N E S S ) )

b e c a u s e n o n e o f i t w a s e v e r w o r t h t h e r i s k
- - - & & BUT DARLING YOU ARE THE

[/i]
T H E O N L Y E X C E P T I O N

Life of the party, right here. Bilius loved parties more than Quidditch. He would almost go so far as to say that he loved parties as much as women, but he mostly loved parties because he met women there. Parties also had free alcohol. Free alcohol and women just made for an awesome time, so whenever there was a party, he was usually there, whether he was invited or not. This time he was sort of invited, well, Marlene told him he could come. Marlene and Bilius were pretty much just a dynamic duo when it came to parties. Where one went, the other one followed because they were just too much fun together. At least, Bilius thought so, and he was pretty sure Marlene agreed. The other people at the party might, or they might not. To Bilius, it was more important that he enjoyed himself. Let the other people worry about enjoying themselves. People should not concern themselves with how other acted unless it directly affected them.

Because it was the first party of the year, Bilius brought out his favourite party outfit. Sadly, he did not pregame the party, so his tartan kilt did not show off his overly hairy legs. Instead, he wore his bright blue trews. These pants were all for the ladies. A large plaid blue pattern adorned the pants that went straight up his waist to just under his stomach. They were also very tight, so they showed off his leg muscles. These pants were all of the rage. He wore a plain white t-shirt so that nothing took away from his amazing pants. Plus, he had too many shirts stained because someone could not hold their alcohol and either spewed on him (worst night ever!) or spilled a drink on him (awful, but not even in the same league as someone throwing up on him). His red hair he managed to brush long enough so that he did not seem like he just rolled out of bed. That was the most Bilius ever dressed up for parties. Dressing up should be left to the girls, especially because they did it so well.

At first when Marlene invited him, she told him they could meet at the common room, which was fine by him. He never for a moment thought it was a date because, well, that would be weird. You don’t date teammates because when the relationship goes sour (as it must), it will just throw the entire team off. No, he knew her intentions. Luckily for him, however, Marlene also told him that the party was in the pre-Sorting chamber, the room he had not visited since he was a lowly first year. When Marlene failed to show, he waited for a bit, knowing girls obsessed over their looks, but at a certain point, Bilius gave up. If he walked in too late, the alcohol might already be gone, or at least, the good stuff would be. Giving up, he decided to go to the party unaccompanied.

Thankfully Bilius remembered that the room was near the Great Hall, so he had no problem finding the party. For a moment, he worried because he heard no sound coming from outside of the room. What if the party was somewhere else? What if it was over? Or, worst of all, what if it was boring? Risking all of those situations, Bilius opened the door to find himself in an already happening party. Hufflepuffs could be partly seen through a cloud of smoke. Oh, those Hufflepuffs. He looked around and saw several people he knew, but he walked over to Marlene, who was suspiciously near the punch bowl. He draped an arm around her neck, looked at her, and shook his head, “So you forgot about me again, did you?” He smiled ot show that he was not upset. After these many years, Bilius knew what to expect from his teammate. Plus, she shared her alcohol with him occasionally. How could he hold a grudge?

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-- tagged:[/b][/i] Everyone!
-- words:[/i] 671
-- notes:[/b][/i] Jade said it was okay I popped in. If it’s not, blame her!
-- lyrics:[/i] The Only Exception - Paramore
-- credits:[/b][/i] LikeAStariNight @ Caution 2.0[/size]

[amelia susan bones]

Amelia hated parties. She always had. They were ridiculous and were only a reason for teenagers to act like idiots and rebel. Despite her obvious opinion on the party scene, Amelia had somehow let Kyndrick Laurent talk her into helping with the first big extravaganza of the year. Amelia still wasn’t sure what had gotten her dragged into this mess. Maybe Kyndrick had a sort of charm about her that made people always give her what she wanted. Honestly, Amelia wasn’t fond of the girl in the slightest. The Ravenclaw was a source of drama, chaos, and messy gossip. Amelia was quiet and Kyndrick was loud. Amelia was shy and Kyndrick was sociable. Amelia was lost and Kyndrick always seemed to find her way. Amelia had no friends and Kyndrick owned the attention of everyone in the school. At Amelia’s funeral, a few family members would show up. At Kyndrick’s funeral, the world would stop so everyone could attend and fawn over her corpse. Amelia couldn’t help but actually snort in laughter at the thought of that! It was so true it was sickening!

That night, Amelia made her way down to the ground floor where she’d be doing her Prefect rounds. She had requested duties there that night because Kyndrick had asked her to. Amelia was the Head Girl and she was giving the spoiled little Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain favors now. It was sort of pathetic, but Amelia figured it was easier to let it go and just do what everyone wanted her to. So, she wandered aimlessly, knowing she wouldn’t be giving out detentions that night. Rather, she’d end up being the designated corridor taxi girl. She’d probably have to help students find their way back to their common rooms since they’d be considerably intoxicated because of Ms. Laurent’s little party. Until she got her first customer, Amelia took to laying on the floor in a deserted corner near the pre-sorting chamber. She’d lay there and stare at the ceiling like it was keeping some kind of secret from her and if she looked at it long enough, it might just spill its guts out to her. It never did.

Suddenly, Amelia came to the realization of just how useless she really was to these people. Here she was, supposedly helping them, and she couldn’t even bring herself to go inside the party. She had watched a dozen or more people go into that room and she hadn’t thought to join any of them. No, she was supposedly too good for that, too reserved! Lily Evans, top student, had gone in there! Why couldn’t Amelia Bones? Amelia, still lying on the floor like a child, couldn’t help but think what a coward she was. Her eye-brows knitted together in frustration. She tugged at the hem of her skirt, an ordinary piece of her school uniform. She was becoming restless by the discomforting thoughts of her own cowardice. Minutes later, she couldn’t help but sit up and stare at the entrance to the party. She gave it a good long glare. She dared it to tell her she couldn’t enter. ”Just one peek.” Amelia murmured, jumping to her feet and peeking through the door to the party. She watched as the people inside mingled, drank, smoked, and talked. It didn’t seem so bad. The smell was what really turned her down though. Amelia couldn’t stand the scent of marijuana. Sadly, her house was most known for growing it. Two students had already gotten busted this week and they’d only just returned to school.

Amelia went back to her spot in the corner and sat Indian style on the floor. She tugged at a strand of her messy, dirty blond hair and she waited for some kind of pivotal moment that would release her from this state of boredom.

[holden humphrey avery]

Drinking was, quite possibly, one of Holden Avery’s greatest talents. He could consume alcohol like no other. He could become the best alcoholic on the planet at the rate he was excelling in terms of habits. So, the fact that he was headed for Kyndrick Laurent’s party wasn’t shocking. He had left the Slytherin common room that night with messy hair and a reckless expression. He wore his school trainers, an ordinary white dress shirt which he’d left un-tucked. He wore plain black tennis shoes with no relevant or known label. He smelled of cigarette smoke and booze. He carried a flask filled with fire whisky and a lighter which he clicked on and off periodically for no real reason.

Holden made his way toward the party’s destination and realized he was part of a flood of new arrivals. He got caught in a swarm of people entering the room. He nearly tripped over Amelia Bones who seemed to be going the opposite direction, leaving the party. Holden snorted slightly and moved inside the room where Kyndrick sat playing cards. He let his gaze cover the room. There were a lot of familiar faces there. Dax Amherst, Holden’s latest punching bag, was smoking pot with some Hufflepuffs. Lily Evans was sitting in the corner like an idiot. Holden had to wonder what James Potter would do if he hit on Lily. There was the creepy new Ravenclaw girl, that obnoxious Ryan kid who seemed entirely full of himself. The beautiful and stuck up Marlene McKinnon was there and seemed to be flirting with Bilius Weasley. None of these people seemed worth Holden’s time. None but perhaps Rita Skeeter.

Holden had always imagined that Rita Skeeter had a little too much fire for his tastes, but she was worth a drunken hit, right? Holden wandered over and stood beside her, wondering how this girl hadn’t ended up in Slytherin. She had all the necessary traits. She belonged in Slytherin house! Holden lifted his flask to his lips, playing it cool. He took a slow sip from the contents and then nodded at the room which now seemed to be filling up fast. ”Not too bad for a party, eh?” Holden asked, making small talk. ”I have to say though, no ones' looks dominate the room like yours. That dress really grabs attention.” Holden threw in a wink with his words, like a mix of sleazy and snazzy. He wondered if Rita could go for that kind of thing. Did it really matter if she did though? If Holden didn’t end up with Rita by the end of the night, he’d just find the eldest Penderghast daughter or hit up Kyndrick who always seemed to be ready for any kind of game Holden wanted to play. This was the life of the upperclass Slytherin guys. Holden didn’t have many complaints.

[rita colline skeeter]

The room filled up slowly at first and then faster as the night went on. There was much to look at, a lot of people to see. Rita was whispering to herself, down a her quill, and it was running rampant trying to keep up with her notes. She hadn't quite perfected the charm, but it would do for now. Parchment was filling up fast with names and facts, and scandals were beginning to unfold. Rita was most interested in the newest addition to awkward that Hogwarts had seen yet. It was a Ravenclaw girl that even Rita had rarely seen, she was so quiet and put off. As she sat there mindlessly singing to Dax's instrument, Rita watched. And soon enough, her eyes had quite the story to tell. Ryan Willis, a loud and overly courageous Gryffindor waltzed in and up to that girl in an instant. Teika was it? Terry? Something quite odd. He made a show in front of her, no doubt spilling the beans for the rest of the party that dear little Ryan was in love. It might not make the front page but this was definitely a story unfolding. She just needed to know why that girl was so different than everyone else. Surely there was a reason..whether she had to make one up or not.

The Hufflepuffs were smoking, and the smell drifted over to Rita. She had to admit, her own dirty little secret was buying from them at least four times a month. They were usually too dim and plastered to ever tell anyone, and so Rita kept herself entertained and living on the edge. Just as her eyes had finished their first scan of the room, and her parchment was rolled up into a thick amount of notes, a new set of students danced in. Rita was beside herself with this sort of buffet of gossip, embarrassment, and sex. It was the way parties were supposed to work, and now as a sixth year, Rita made a silent note to herself to attend every single one of them. And if Holden Avery was going to be showing up, like he did just then, she wouldn't have to make it feel too much like work.

The Slytherin sixth year was probably the one boy that could pull Rita out of whatever story she was working on and dazzle her for at least a few hours. He was handsome and rebellious, and full of new things to say, but at the same time, perhaps, she couldn't exactly say anything horrid about him for fear of what just might happen. You can't exactly go on to be world famous writer if you were killed mysteriously at Hogwarts. As it so happened, Holden made his way over to Rita just as his name finished scrolling across her parchment. Silly, she'd forgotten to stop verbalizing her thoughts. She stowed away her quill and put on a charming, innocent smile for Mr. Avery. "I figure I'm the one grabbing attention, the dress just grabs your eyes." she edged him on, knowing full well that when she was in charge of gossip, she could do whatever she pleased.

[kyndrick carmilla laurent]

Kyndrick’s mind was in a casual frenzy. She was entranced and captivated by her own party. Or, perhaps, that was just what being exceptionally high made you feel like. A few minutes into her little extravaganza, Kyndrick had left her post at the card table and wandered over to the group of Hufflpuffs in their smoking circle. It was some time after Dax Amherst had joined in so, Kyn felt right at home. A few drinks and a few hits off a pipe later, she felt great! She felt on top of the world! Everything was light and silly and she couldn’t stop laughing at things. Kyn listened to an endless supply of jokes and falsified philosophies from people she knew and did not know alike. She watched her party grow in size and amused herself with all the different people. Her eyes flitted about from one social interaction to another. Kyndrick secretly praised herself for bringing all these lost souls together! And there, even the new girl had someone to talk to! Kyn was a social goddess and she knew it!

She couldn’t just sit there in the crowd though. No, Kyn mingled! She wandered and grinned and laughed at all the right moments and shook hands and kissed cheeks and hugged strangers. She found herself with a few Slytherins doing shots and found herself even more drunk off tequila. It burned in her system and Kyndrick felt strangely like she might be on fire. It was a comforting sort of blaze to her body though. She liked this dizzying reality she had sorted herself into.

After the shots were done and Kyn had managed to out-drink a scrawny looking Slytherin boy, she began to feel a slight edge of boredom coming on. Kyndrick couldn’t have that! Boredom was one of the only sins in Kyndrick’s life that she actually cared to avoid! That and studying while sober. She quickly scanned the room in an attempt to find any potentially dramatic situation she could get herself caught up in. Her brown eyes came to a standstill on Holden Avery chatting up Rita Skeeter. Oh, that was charm at its finest! Kyn danced her way about the room until she staggered into a stumble directly into Holden. ”Oh dear, there goes all my grace and charm.” Kyn murmured jokingly. ”You two are beautiful! I mean it! I don’t think I see two other people as lovely as the pair of you in this room right now!” Kyndrick rambled with a giddy sort of tone. ”And I, myself, am quite an expert in loveliness. So, I have a proposition for you two beauties. Why don’t the three of us make a little escape and have ourselves a private after party?” Kyndrick said the last bit with a sloppy wink. She was suggesting something only a girl like Kyndrick would jump to suggest. That was just the way things were in her world. Life was a party and she’d be a terrible host should she let the party become dull.

[holden humphrey avery]

Holden grinned as Rita Skeeter dove into this playful conversation with him. ”See Skeeter, that’s what I love about girls like you. You don’t just grab the attention, but you manage to hold it there. You keep people interested. That’s what I love to see.” Holden spoke softly and with a sort of charming banter about him. He reserved that for hitting on classy Ravenclaws. See, he had his habits. He knew how to go about different women. With Slytherins, it was all about trickery and trapping them into wanting your affection. With Hufflepuffs, it was about keeping things mellow and pulling out the sensitivity that Holden both lacked and was exceptionally good at impersonating. He could lie a Hufflepuff into bed without them even having to be high. That was how good he was at lying! With Ravenclaws, it was about quick, smart flirting. Holden could play all his favorite games with a smart Ravenclaw girl. It was the Gryffindors that Holden hated pursuing. Even if he got them into bed, they’d feel bad about it after. They’d either want to be in some sort of relationship or want him to pretend it never happened. Holden was terrible at both! He only bothered with a Gryffindor girl if she was exceptionally beautiful.

Just as Holden was pondering his best and most scheming way to win over Rita, Kyndrick Laurent came stumbling into him. Holden listened to her proposition and tried very hard to conceal his amusement and interest. There would be no right thing to say when a girl like Kyndrick staggered in and said something like that. Holden bit his tongue and waited for Rita’s reaction. He tried to look sort of embarrassed but knew he couldn’t pull that off. Holden had a sort of shameless quality about him that said he’d do just about anything and not seem to regret it. All he could do was wait. This could be a green light for a night spent with both girls or an opportunity to push them both away and leave him seeking out a new target. Holden remained speechless.

[terria kya newton]

Terria couldn’t help but stare at this boy awkwardly. Where did he come from exactly? She gave a glance down to a glass of punch that Dax Amherst had left in front of her. Terria wanted to snort out laughter but refrained from doing so. She didn’t want to say that she wasn’t in fact drunk. She hadn’t touched anything food or drink-wise since she came into the room. Terria had no idea what was in half the stuff they had sitting about this party. She was probably allergic to most things anyway, what with her strange condition and all. But, maybe it was better if he thought she was drunk. It sort of gave her an excuse for being so… Well, for being herself. Terria wasn’t exactly a social butterfly and she knew that people thought she was weird. It wasn’t helping her situation if anyone had heard her singing to herself either. Obviously this boy had heard her. And he’d liked her voice. That had definitely sparked Terria’s attention. This boy was nice. This boy had a sort of contagious glow about him that Terria liked. She wanted to know him. She didn’t want to know many people around this school, but she wanted to know him.

”It’s fine, really. It’s not his fault.” Terria murmured in reference to a very stoned looking Dax. She offered a small smile to prove that it wasn’t anything Dax had done. She wanted to change the subject and quickly. She motioned for the guy to sit down if he wanted. Terria was so quiet, she was used to simply motioning. She thought to his denied handshake. Terria wasn’t fond of physical contact with others. It was awkward for her. Aside from family, she avoided touching people. It was mostly out of habit. After everything that had happened, Terria felt sort of contaminated. It wasn’t anything that made sense particularly, but it was some underlying feeling she was constantly left battling. She set Dax’s guitar down on the other side of her and placed her hands in her lap, clenched together in a dainty sort of restricted expression.

”So, you… You like music?” Terria asked, showing interest in her quiet way. She tried to look inviting, like she wanted to be part of this conversation as much as she actually did. She was just so used to hiding things and to trying to be invisible that a real conversation with a real stranger at a real social gathering felt tremendously foreign to her. She hoped he would carry most of the conversing because she felt out of practice and socially stupid.

[rita colline skeeter]

There it was, Holden Avery with his attention firmly attached to Rita's well prepped figure. She had never had a night with the notorious Avery boy, but she heard plenty of stories, both good and bad. She was strong, ready to fight him, but also secretly wanting his undying need for her. She flashed him a warm smile, and placed her hand distinctly on his arm, her slender fingers wrapping around what was a nice chunk of chiseled muscle. Headline: Holden Avery, body obsessed! Of course, not tonight. No tonight, Rita was having her own fun, and it was staying out of the papers. She had enough time to giggle, and open her mouth to pump out another witty comment when Kyndrick Laurent marched on over.

She sloshed her way towards Holden and Rita like the drunk queen that she was. Her words slurred, her body dangled before him like easy prey. Holden's eyes seemed go glow when Kyndrick suggested the private party for the three of them. Rita's eyes glared at her, and only just a moment ago she had hoped to gain the seventh years attention. She was the Ravenclaw to know, and befriend. Rita stood there awkwardly in front of Holden, and her arm lifted from his insanely attractive arm and crossed promptly across her chest. The boy played it smart, cleverly waiting for Rita's response before delving into the situation. Rita looked in dead in the eyes and put up her own brains. "Well Avery, you could have my attention all night, but I don't share the glory." Rita gave a humph and looked disapprovingly at Kyndrick. She sincerely hoped that a girl filled with too many chemicals wouldn't win over her, the fresh meat. It might have been a gruesome way to offer herself up, but popularity rested in Avery's bed. There were worse things in life.