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

[Gideon Prewett]

Gideon had received an invitation to the party on the train and he was game instantly. Gideon was a boy that always looked for a good time and when he couldn't find it he made it. There was always start of the year parties all over the castle, but many of the times they were limited to certain houses or groups, and they certainly weren't this big. And talk about bold, being on the ground floor right by the great hall! He was definitely in, and the rest of the ride there he thought about how it was going to be, and if he got caught, some of the excuses he could use to talk his way out of it.

Once at the castle Gideon managed to entertain his time by messing about with his wand practicing things. It had been two months since he was last able to after all, but it didn't hold his attention for too long. Soon he found himself wandering about waiting for nightfall, like he knew other students were doing too. Finally it came time for him to get ready and Gideon jogged off to shower and change.

Apparently it had taken him longer then expected and as he jogged down the steps to the Gryffindor commonroom it was deserted. Cursing himself he quickly tugged his shirt over his head and let the hem hang over his dark muggle jeans before tugging a zip up jacket over it. Slipping into a dark passage Gideon jogged down the hall, hiding behind a suit of armor when a prefect turned the corner at the end of the hall.

Patting himself down he made sure he had the invitation in his pocket before coming out of the shadows to pry open the door. It was amazing how the charmed worked because it was deathly silent when he put his hand on the door knob but music blasted out into the hall when he opened it. Dashing in quickly he shut the door behind him before surveying the place. Plenty of people were piled into corners, at tables playing cards, and dancing in the empty spaces.

Walking straight in with utter confidence, Gideon went straight to the snack table to quiet his growling stomach. Stuffing a tart into his mouth he turned around to face the room raking his hand through his hair which was still a bit damp. "Nice party eh?" Gideon said to no one in particular.

[jamieanne]

Cassandra Penderghast was the first to be invited to Kyn's party. They had been friends for what felt like forever, and the whole party scene was like their own royal court. When Kyn told her that Lily Evans and those sort of peole were invited she scoffed inwardly.

Cass zipped up the back of her dark plaid dress that only came about mid thigh. It didn't matter, not like she was going to be wearing it for long. Parties were like an all you can eat buffet and she inrended to gorge herself. She put her hair up in a messy ponytail, so that when she took it down later and then put it back up no one would see the difference.

She slipped on her black heels and looked at her simple, yet defining makeup. Not too shabby. She smiled as she slipped through the common room and out into the dungeons, gaining only one complaint from the portrait that guarded the Slytherin hiding place. Cass ignored it and kept to the shadows, making her way to the pre-sorting room.

Her invitation being granted the doors opened and she saw the party was in full swing. Good, she didn't like arriving early or 'fashionably late'. Late was fine and dandy for her. Cass graoned inwardly. Avery Holden was the only fellow Slytherin she could see off the bat, at least, any Slytherin worth knowing besides herself. Rita Skeeter had that weird smile that meant she was soaking up the whole experience to write about.

Cass dug her fingernails into her palms. So many impure people were there. She took a deep breath and decided not to let that bother her. This was a party, after all, one she fully intended to enjoy.

She decided punch would be good and she prayed to the magical gods that it was spiked. To her delight, it was. Kyn was off to the side and Cass waved her over. She gave her friend a smile and a hug.

"So, who's the fresh meat in this place? Anyone worth my time?"

[frank alexander longbottom]

Frank was late. What a surprise! Frank was late and Frank was still dressed in his school uniform. He’d ditched his robes. He’d thought that was a bit much. It was the slacks, the white button-up, the sweater vest, and the Gryffindor tie that were so educational. He wore a pair of very worn out looking red Converse high tops. His blond hair was a mess and he looked tired. If Frank had told the truth about why he was late, he’d have to admit that he had been studying for a test that wasn‘t for at least a week. That wasn’t cool though. People didn’t prep for a test and then go to a party. People went to a party and forgot that they took classes or had lives or needed to get decent grades in order to get a decent career. Frank thought that way. He simply hid it from everyone around him because they’d make fun of him for it in a heartbeat.

Frank set aside his love for test prep and scanned the party scene before him. There were a load of people there. Kyndrick had done well. Frank grinned as he spotted the lot of Hufflepuffs and Dax Amherst smoking some pot on the floor. He saw Ryan Willis talking to the new girl. Frank knew Ryan was obsessed with her and he secretly felt relieved that now Ryan might shut up about trying to get her to notice him. He saw Holden Avery and felt this strange need to hit something. Quickly, Frank distracted from this strange urge by spotting Gideon Prewett instead. He also spotted his favorite thing in the world, food.

Frank did this ridiculous little dance of jazzy moves as he shifted between people to get to the food table. Once he got there, he helped himself to a handful Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. He picked out one that he knew to be booger flavored and dropped it under the table. He then turned to Gideon and grinned. ”Nice party indeed. I miss anything spectacular? Any fights yet? Any outbursts of miraculous musical talent?” Frank asked brightly. He spoke quickly and with an undertone of sarcasm. He tried to do another scan of the room to see if Alice Logan had ventured out that night, but doubted she’d be there at this party.

[holden humphrey avery]

Holden couldn’t help but smirk at Rita Skeeter’s words. He gave her a good long stare. It was one of those very obvious ones, the kind of lingering stare that went from someone’s toes to the top of their head and sized them up and expressed a liking of what that person amounted to. So, Holden did something that he was glad Kyndrick would be too drunk to remember in the morning. ”You heard the woman Kyndrick. Apparently you’re not allowed to star in this show.” Holden spoke the words in a mock gentle kind of way. He knew Kyndrick too well. This would all be a blur when she woke up. He could say anything right now. Really, anything.

”That was kind of a bold suggestion. Why don’t you go knocking some other doors because I think that Skeeter and I might be a little too good for that.” Holden enlightened her. He then turned, blocking Kyndrick away. He was physically shutting her out of this conversation. He was ready to give Miss Skeeter all the attention she so desperately needed.

”Sorry about that. You know how she gets. Too many drinks and she makes a complete idiot of herself.” Holden laughed slightly. He sounded so incredibly demeaning. He wanted Rita to know she was his for the night and not even Kyndrick Laurent could steal his attention. ”So, can I get you a drink or anything?” Holden asked, pulling the charm on again and laying it on fairly thick. He could feel Kyndrick walking away behind him and he made a secret wish that she would disappear the rest of the night. He didn’t want Rita finding out what he had done to Kyndrick. That would only cause the kinds of problems he didn’t have the time to deal with.

[kyndrick carmilla laurent]

Kyndrick was really hating this turn of events. Given, she was just drunk enough to let it go without any kind of fuss. She’d suggested a casual little threesome with Rita Skeeter and Holden Avery and everyone seemed to find themselves with a stick shoved up their ass! What was the world coming to? Kyndrick made a mental note to steal Rita’s stupid little charmed quill that she used to write her gossip and accidentally flush it down a toilet next time she saw Skeeter using it in the common room. She let Holden completely block her out of the conversation and she started through the crowd. ”Can’t win ‘em all.” Kyn murmured to herself absently as she bumped into someone. She smiled at them in a sort of lopsided expression and then kept going. Her spirits slightly lessened until she spotted someone who would make the whole night a whole lot better.

”CASSANDRA PENDERGHAST!” Kyndrick was blatantly screaming her best friend’s name. She quickly acted as though she’d not made any type of disruption and hugged her best friend. She processed Cass’s question and then made a face that said she had much sympathy. ”Sorry love. Nobody good yet. I mean, you could try one of the Gryffindors but they’re not as fun. You could go for Dax Amherst, but that’s easy bait. Plus, he’s completely in love with your little sister so… Wait, you do know Dax and Molly are kind of like, in love without knowing it, right?” Kyndrick asked, suddenly aware that she had no idea who knew what gossip. She knew Cass’s mind. She knew what would happen. It would only take Cass twenty minutes to sleep with Dax and then tell Molly. Kyndrick let out an abrupt giggle at the mere idea. ”I’m pretty sure Molly has no idea how completely infatuated Dax is with her. He doesn’t realize it’s also written all over his face. You should see the two of them in the common room. Plus, Molly is engaged to Holden. So awkward!” Kyn was gushing. This was how she got sometimes. A little too drunk, too social, and keeper of the gossip.

[Gideon Prewett]

Gideon turned around when someone answered his question to see Frank Longbottom hanging around on the other side of the food table. Grinning he snatched up a handful of the beans as well popping a few of them in his mouth. "So far I haven't seen any fights, but I just showed up a few minutes ago," Gideon said with a shrug as he looked about the room. He had known Frank since they started at Hogwarts five years ago, and he considered him a pretty good friend, even though in the beginning he thought he was annoying. Him and Fabian certainly were not clones, sure they looked alike, sounded alike, and yes maybe acted alike too, but they weren't the same person! Gideon often referred to himself as the better looking brother, though that often incited a punch from Fabian.

"As for singing, well I have no decided to grace this room with my skills yet," Gideon teased before tossing a jelly bean at Franks forehead. This was how Gideon was with everyone, he was the jokester of the group, immature much of the times, and all around obnoxious. He wasn't overly annoying though, Gideon knew when to hold his tongue and when he needed to be serious and straight forward. He didn't get his good grades on just looks alone, though he would often tease his friends that was why they weren't making O's in their classes.

Grabbing some crisps he stuffed them in his mouth since he hadn't eaten since the welcome back feast. Sure that was only about four hours ago, but Gideon was still growing and he was hungry all the time. "Who are you looking for so earnestly?" he asked Frank as he scoped out the room as well to see who else was there. He hadn't really seen any other Gryffindors there, not that he didn't have friends outside of his house, but he felt more comfortable around Gryffindors at parties. They had your back no matter what, they weren't worried about saving face if it came to backing up a friend.

"Don't tell me you are looking for Logan," Gideon teased. He knew about their long standing rivalry, but he also noticed how Frank looked at her now as well. He was dumb when it came to girls and himself, but other boys and girls he could read them like a book. Frank may not have noticed but Gideon sure as hell did, reading people was a gift of his. "I haven't seen her yet anyhow."

[jamieanne]

"Dax? No freaking way he likes her. She's a brain. I'm the body." Cass gave a little flirtatious butt shake, knowing that would make Kyn laugh.

Dax Amherst? Really? He liked Molly? This was news to her, although it's not like she and her sister were all that close at school, or even at home. Cass sort of pretended Molly didn't exist. Not a Slytherin, not important. Besides Kyn, but she was a special case. She should have been a Slytherin.

Cassandra scanned the crowd and her eyes landed on Dax. He was cute, sure, in that nerdy way of his. But there was something about him that made her insides tremble. Although, she didn't know if it was lust or disgust she was feeling. There was this unspoken rule of Cass's: someone was interested in her sister, she made them interested in her instead. That was her MO, and she was going to keep on keepin' on that way.

No one knew this about Cass, but she was actually picky about the people she slept with. Sort of. They had to be a certain type, and while she let lesser blood fawn over her, she wouldn't touch them.

Kyn kept babbling, but Cass had blocked her out. Dax. That was who she was going to have tonight. He was with his friends, she didn't bother to remember their names. She just calmly made her way over to the young man, drink in hand and smiled.

" Hey there, Dax. Fancy seeing you here. You wanna skip this joint?" Cass waitied patiently for his response.

[marlene edith mckinnon]

Guilty. Marlene had indeed forgotten all about Bilius. She shrugged sheepishly and grinned, aiming for what she hoped was charming, at her favourite teammate. She didn't shrug off his arm, merely leaned casually into the friendly embrace and tipped some alcohol from her flask into his glass. "I was late, and I couldn't remember where we were supposed to meet... Sorry Bilius, really!"

Marlene kept up the chatter, after all, she had a lot to talk about with Bilius. All of it quidditch related, like their thick skulled plan to get first years to be targets at their practice. They were interrupted briefly when Kyndrick made her rounds, and stopped by for a sloppy hug. Oh, Kyndrick. They were friends, but Marlene definitely thought the other girl should have been a Gryffindor. She was wild, and it was terribly hard to keep up most of the time [all of the time].

A little while later Bilius had moved on to other conversations, and Marlene had found herself sitting with Dax and the Hufflepuffs. She was more than a little drunk at this point, and high too thanks to the Hufflepuffs and their never ending supply of weed. But not too inebriated, not yet anyway. She was right in the middle of a conversation with the Hufflepuffs around her, when she spotted Gideon come in.

"Ya know," Marlene changed the subject abruptly and started to wax philosophically [whine] to the Hufflepuffs, "I really don't think it's fair to me!" Alcohol and weed were making her lips loose. The Hufflepuffs giggled and merely shrugged, for the Gryffindor hadn't said what wasn't fair to her, and they didn't really care enough to try to read into the statement. But, what was on Marlene's mind was Gideon. And, her sister. Sure, they had broken up! But it was a school relationship! They never lasted! And she hadn't really heard from Gideon for ages, maybe not even since the break up. They were supposed to be friends, and friends talked to each other!

"I'm going to go over there!" Mar announced to the Hufflepuffs as she watched Frank Longbottom approach Gideon. They looked like they were chatting, but hey, what was one more? Marlene got to her feet, a little bit unsteady. Oh dear, she had clearly forgotten that one always feels more sober sitting down than standing up. Undeterred, Marlene found her drunk legs and made her way over to her fellow Gryffindors.

"Hey boys!" See, this wasn't at all awkward! Nope, nothing awkward here at all. "Nice outfit, Frank," Marlene teased her quidditch teammate as she popped some crisps in her mouth. Eating was probably the first sensible thing the Gryffindor had done since she left Bilius by the punch bowl. "Are you drinking? Did Holden spike the punch yet? Nasty Slytherin asshole, but he does bring the alcohol!" Marlene, obviously, was drinking, and she had some to share. She pulled her flask of firewhiskey out of her dress pocket and offered it to the pair. It was probably near empty by now, since both her and Bilius had been drinking from it, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

hey it’s, finished!
cause you’re awesome, the party
they’re all, 529
i love them, template @ + stockholm syndrome / lyrics @ the script *live like we’re dying
just letting you know, “(:”

[demitrius daxton amherst]

Dax Amherst found himself staring Cassandra Penderghast up and down in shock. She’d just asked him the big question. Cassandra Penderghast had just asked him, Demitrius Daxton Amherst, to go off with her. Dax had no idea how to react so, he spent an entire minute just staring at her with his mouth slightly open and his eyes slightly bulging. Part of him thought to himself, ”Damn, she’s so beautiful. I don’t think I’d ever get a chance to sleep with someone as beautiful as that.” The other part of Dax was screaming at himself. His head was yelling, ”No, you idiot! How could you even humor her! Say no! Molly would hate you if you did this!” And then, as if the devil were sitting on his shoulder, Dax heard himself think, ”But Molly isn’t here. And she and Cassandra aren’t exactly friends. Why would Molly ever have to find out? It’s just one night. You’re already drunk and high and have a sea of excuses…”

Dax voiced none of these things. Instead, he felt himself starting to blush. Yeah, blush! This was a guy who had lost his virginity to a very drunk Kyndrick Laurent. Why was he blushing now? Maybe it was because now the timing was all wrong. It was pretty much as wrong as it could ever get. Dax knew his own heart and he knew that right now, his heart was in the process of falling completely in love with his best friend, Molly Penderghast. Sure, Cassandra was hot, beautiful even. But was Cassandra Molly? No. Would Cassandra look at Dax like things actually mattered? No. Would Cassandra sleeping with him even remotely compare to anything Molly has ever done? No. Dax wasn’t attracted to this fiercely gorgeous young woman. He was attracted to Molly, his Molly. He felt more electric and alive simply holding Molly’s hand. He couldn’t just sleep with Cassandra, even if he was drunk.

”I’m actually good here, thanks. You could always hit Avery up. I hear you two go together well.” Dax made sure his words were quiet enough that he wasn’t telling the whole room, but loud enough for those directly near to him to hear. He wanted the slight burn of his words to sink in.

[frank alexander longbottom]

”The night is young! I hope it’s Amherst. He could use a could smack in the face the way he talks.” Frank joked. He had no secret hatred for Dax Amherst, he simply thought it would be hilarious if the guy got beat up. ”Oh, well, we could always do a duet Gideon. We’d have this place in an uproar of applause. This would be referred to as the party of the year because of our outstanding talents combined.” He was rather full of himself right then. Frank tossed another bean in his mouth and then found a few jam filled biscuits on a tray. He took one and admired the effort Kyndrick Laurent had put into the event.

”Logan? Nah. I’m not looking for her.” Frank said, much too quickly. He could feel his cheeks growing slightly warm. Had it really been that obvious? And why was he so embarrassed? ”I mean, if you do see her though, let me know cause I challenged her to shots of fire-whiskey and I’ll bet she’s going to chicken out.” Frank laughed, covering his blush by grabbing a cup of punch and gulping it down too fast.

”Anyway, where’s your other half? It feels like we’re missing a very important element here.” Frank observed. He was so used to the Prewett twins coming in a pair that it seemed off to have only one in the room.

Frank had to grin at the sudden appearance of Marlene Mckinnon in their little group of food table hogs. He'd always been fond of Marlie. She was a great quidditch player. "Thanks, I was trying so hard to be a style icon and impress you." Frank offered sarcastically. "I'm sure Avery's managed to spike it. This is a Kyndrick Laurent party and it wouldn't be right if he didn't. We've only both just got here. We miss all the fun? Looks like Bilius is a bit rosy in the cheeks." Frank laughed, a reference to possible drinking games.

[mycah olliver jane]

Mycah Jane came strolling into the first party of the year wearing a pair of worn out looking gray chorded pants, a white button-up shirt, and a very bright blue suede jacket. It was all a sort of joke to him. He’d never been big on fashion, but his dad had gotten him the jacket as a gift, thinking it would be very cool and make him fit in with all the popular kids. That was a laugh. Mycah didn’t even bother trying to fit in. He just went with the flow. Good old Mycah Jane, always doing what he was supposed to. He nodded, smiled, kept up on coursework, played quidditch, and hung out with other mellow students around his age. Mycah was nothing out of the ordinary. He was silly and somewhat immature, but that was about the gist of his personality.

Upon entering the crowded room, he made his way over to a large group of Hufflepuffs and grinned when someone handed him joint. He sat down, Indian style, and tried to figure out what he’d managed to miss. It looked like Cassandra Penderghast was causing some sort of drama. Rita Skeeter was chatting up Holden Avery, which sort of baffled Mycah because he’d always thought Rita’s standards were higher than the trash that Avery was. Lily Evans had made an appearance, though she seemed incredibly quiet and alone. The new girl was there, chatting with Ryan Willis. Mycah offered a wave to Ryan, they’d been casual friends for a while. There was a gang of Gryffindors in his year around the food table and Mycah wondered if he should join them since he’d soon grow hungry. He didn’t want to get up just yet. Better to let anyone interested in socializing come to him. He’d only just arrived, after all.

[alice josephine logan]

Alice was not a giant partier. Sure, she wasn't completely anti-social, she was really a social butterfly, in the best sense of the word. But what she would prefer was something a little more exclusive. The sixth years of Gryffindor were a pretty tight knit bunch, and she was happy to have them. Something about them all, the lot of them, just clicked, and it was really special. Just thinking about the rest of this year made Alice smile, anticipating all the wonderful things and fun times to come. She couldn't wait to see what the future brought! Initially she had second thoughts about attending, but surely enough she had been convinced. She had been convinced by her best friend in the whole world, Lily Evans, her sister, Emma, and strangely enough, Frank Longbottom. The latter however, was just once again to prove that she was superior to him in every way. Alice drank often, but rarely got sloppy drunk. She too however, had her moments. She was beginning to feel, as she was applying her lip gloss that tonight would most definitely be one of those nights. Hopefully she didn't do anything too stupid. Even in all of the moments when she had gotten utterly wasted, Alice Logan hadn't done anything to publicly humiliate herself too far, or get her disowned, and she wasn't really planning on changing it.

She brushed out her soft golden hair, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She had often been compared to an angel, though she didn't really see it. Alice didn't really care much much either way about her appearance. To her, she was just okay looking, not beautiful, nor ugly, just okay, Just Alice. Though when someone had their mind set that you look beautiful and angelic,there was nothing you could say to convince them otherwise. So when one such as Alice would attempt to explain this mindset to them, they would only gush about how sweet and modest she was. In these instances, Alice would just sit there and politely say "Thank you." While all those thoughts still floated through her head. She sighed. It was hard having people think of you as "perfect" all the time. It was hard, especially when you tried to show people you were anything but perfect, and you couldn't. Sometimes Alice's flaws made her appear all the more wonderful. It annoyed her to end. She didn't want to be perfect, she just wanted to be normal. Because when you're normal, and not perfect, your mistakes aren't the end of the world, they aren't devastating, they're just another part of life.

Her first stop was to find Lily or Emma, either of them would do for her. Alice spotted Lily and immediately went over to her. It was probably better this way, it was more practical in case she got into trouble. Hey Lily. That idiot Longbottom and I are going to see who can hold more liquor tonight...and I anticipate being very very drunk. So..If you wouldn't mind helping me out for tonight? Alice offered Lily a weak smile. She didn't go crazy often, and she knew she could be a handful, but if she was going to be piss drunk she was going to be responsible about it. She didn't want to do anything too stupid, and it wasn't like she was asking her to babysit. She could have a fun night with James, and just glance over to make sure she wasn't hopping into bed with anyone. Alice had morals, and was a good girl, too, but she was a flirtatious drunk, and her sense of judgment became quite impaired. That's why she didn't do it too often, though she wasn't going to completely avoid the expired of the fire whiskey dancing on her tongue and burning at her throat.She wasn't that much of a goody-goody. And she felt that one could prove it, without dropping all of one's morals. She was no Kyndrick Laurent, though to be honest, she was unsure if she had ever seen the Ravenclaw display any sense of morals. Not that she was judging, It just wasn't her. So, what do you say?

OUTFIT

[lily anne evans]

Lily couldn’t help but grin when Alice Logan came up to her. She felt a secret little sigh of relief escape her. She’d felt sort of bored and lonely so far and this party was only getting more insane. It seemed like the drama was increasing rapidly. She watched as Rita Skeeter, Kyndrick Laurent, and Cassandra Penderghast all made spectacles of themselves in different ways. At the heard of it all, Holden Avery had that sick look he often times wore on his face. Lily felt a tiny nudging thought in the back of her head saying, ”Sev couldn’t possibly be friends with that monstrous excuse for a person.” For some reason, Lily often went back to thoughts of Sev, even if he was the last thing she wanted on her mind those days.

Lily had turned over a sort of new leaf this year. She was dating James Potter. She was closer with her group of friends now than ever before. She felt like they were her family. She had somehow also managed to push her old best friend, Severus Snape, and her actual sister, Petunia Evans, as far away as possible. Every week, Lily wrote diary entries that started out with letter that she would love to write to Petunia but that she knew Petunia would only burn if she sent them. It was sort of sad and sort of sick. All of a sudden, Lily wished James would show up so she could hang out with him and feel involved and not seem as sulky.

When Alice requested Lily’s help, Lils let a grin appear on her face. Lily had the kind of face that was made for smiling. She looked natural and warm and welcoming. ”Yeah, sure, of course. I’d not let you make an idiot of yourself.” Lily reassured her best friend. Ali wasn’t asking her to baby-sit, but Lily would have gladly done so even if she had asked because Lils cared about her. There was a strong sense of loyalty Lily held to in life and that loyalty had fallen into Alice Logan’s graces long ago when they’d met in their early years. Upon Alice’s mention of Frank Longbottom, Lily’s eyes darted back toward the food table where a load of other Gryffindor 6th years had made up a little group.

”Don’t let him drive you mad, okay love. And beat him. His ego is already much too inflated.” Lily said with a nod to the table to show Alice where Frank was. Lily was laughing inside. Everybody in Gryffindor, even the younger students, knew that Frank Longbottom and Alice Logan would most likely end up together someday. The chemistry was just too strong. Sometimes, when Frank and Alice stood beside each other, Lily could swear she saw them matching up like puzzle pieces. Once, she’d even seen them hug and that was just insanity! Lily wondered when the two of them would realize that they belonged together.

[jamieanne]

Cass had watched as Dax gaped at her. She found herself smiling at that. But he ended up saying no. Either he was becoming dumber with age, or he was really whipped. What was it about Molly that made people so...WHIPPED? Honestly, Cass was just as charming, prettier and older, more experienced in a lot of ways. Sure, she was slightly slutty, but who wasn't? When he said she should try Avery she let out a low laugh.

Cass bit her index finger playfully. "Fine, Daxy, but that was a one time offer, so when I walk away from this party don't think you can change your mind. Oh, and by the way, you might wanna watch out because if you keep dressing like that people might think you're a Mudblood. Just a fashion tip from me to you."

Cass turned on her heel and made her way back to the punch bowl. She wanted some action tonight. Maybe she'd hit up a chick, shake things up a bit. She scanned the crowd and choked on her punch. She could not hook up with any of the girls here. Well, Kyn didn't count in that assessment. But Kyn didn't count for a lot of things. Cass wanted a challenge, one way or another. Maybe she could seduce a nerd and get a whole years' worth of homework out of it.

Just then Cass spotted Alice Logan. Sweet, charming, definitely not an idiot, and from what Cass could tell, about to get totally blitzed. She turned on the charm as she walked up to Alice and Frank Longbottom and the other Gryffindors.

"Hey there Alice. You're looking fierce tonight."

[grace elizabeth davies]

Gracie was terribly late, but alas, it couldn’t be helped. Professor Flitwick had the poor dear in a sort of remedial detention – one where she showed up to his office hours, and he tutored her a bit. Mostly so she could perform basic magic without blowing up the castle... That Flitwick, so kind, so wise, so partial to the current appearance of his classroom.

Unfortunately, Grace’s tutoring with Flitwick had cut significantly into her party time, and it also meant that she was forced to attend the party in full uniform. Gracie had almost shown up to tutoring in a flashy party outfit, but luckily for the rest of the Hogwarts ton, a fellow Hufflepuff had talked some sense into everyone’s favourite idiot, and forced Grace to change.

Not willing to let her lack of party clothes get her down, Gracie bounced happily into the pre-sorting chamber. She had already taken off her robes, sweater vest, and house tie, dropping them on the nearest sofa. She’d just reclaim them at the end of the night! Hoping to appear a bit more, well, less like a student, Gracie undid a couple of buttons on her shirt and rolled up her skirt a bit as she surveyed the room.

There was her best friend, Rita, but she looked like she was talking to Holden. Gracie most certainly did not want to talk to Holden. The Hufflepuff was certainly dim, and would talk to absolutely anyone, but even she had the sense to admit that certain Slytherins were a little scary. Holden was one of those Slytherins. His voice was just so cold! Like winter! Or a popsicle. But not a grape popsicle, Gracie liked grape. He was like the disgusting orange popsicle.

So, Gracie went in the other direction, over to the Gryffindors by the food. She wanted some punch or something. “Nice outfit, Frank. Did you have detention with Professor Flitwick, too?” she asked innocently as she reached around Marlene, Frank, and Gideon. Even though she had just asked a question, Gracie floated off as soon as she got her munchies and punch.

To the stoners!

There was still an empty spot in the circle, where Marlene McKinnon had been minutes earlier, so Gracie settled in. A nice Hufflepuff immediately handed her a joint, and asked her how detention had been.

“I can do the cheering charm now! Want to see?” Everyone, wisely, shook their heads no. “Oh, okay then,” Gracie, a little deflated, took a hit from her joint.

“Oh, hi Micah! Has the party been nice? I can’t believe I had to miss so much!”

---

Word count: 436
Tagged: Everyone!
Notes: (: