Chapter 12
tuesday, wednesday and thursday passed in a similar fashion, chock full of confusing classes, study sessions with lily in the library, evening magic practises with flinkwick and meals in the great hall, each more and more delicious then the last. although she had quickly fallen into a routine along with the rest of her dorm mates, and deciding that she indeed enjoyed being in hogwarts surrounded by her friends, magical woods, mythical creatures and spells that she would never be able to imagine in her wildest dreams, there was a certain stifling that being being kept in the castle brought her that she couldn’t quite scratch.
it was a big shift, from living at home where an open window or cracked door allowed her to slip out of the house whenever she desired that was impossible to experience here. back home, there was always a night bus or a path that would lead her to wherever she wished to be no matter what time of day it was or how far away her destination. she could come and go as she pleased, as long as she avoided margret and felix’s attention when slipping out of the enclosed house at night, but at home she was completely free to move around as she pleased, and to go wherever she wanted. here, there where strict curfews that prohibited the students from even strolling around the castle after hours unless one wanted a detention from a patrolling prefect, as well as wards surrounding the castle to prevent entry of unsanctioned visitors, as well as the castle being located in the middle of the scottish midlands, surrounded by nothing but rolling emerald hills and dark gnarled tress for as far as the eye could see.
there were no windows to slip through here, no cracked pavements that would lead her to cass or tony’s homes, no flickering pubs or chippers to huddle into at three in the morning, no iron garden parks to jump the fence and curl up on a wooden bench to watch the sunrise. a part if here felt stifled here, restricted inside the castles looming stone walls and towers, ensnared in its magical wards and black rooted forest. she felt trapped to some extent, and her decreased freedom hung heavy in her lungs.
even after all these years, being in an enclosed space for too long always made her nervous, and here was no exception. it had been that pull that caused her to slip out of her bedroom window so many nights, the repeated action taken usually not because she had anywhere particularly pressing to go, but sort of an unconscious urge to use her freedom to come and go as she pleased, just to prove to herself that she could. here, she didn’t have that, and it made her restless. tense.
the girls had began to notice it, off hand comments and casual questions falling out of their lips more and more as the days passed on- but she didn’t know how to explain it, didn’t know how to grab at the words to describe how she was feeling when she didn’t really know what she was feeling, so she resigned to shrugging it off, content to simply wait out her slight anxiety until she got used to living in a new environment with restricted freedom she hadst experienced in years.
save for slight tension she experienced at having so much of that freedom she was used to back home being traded for student safety precautions and overbearing rules, she enjoyed her stay in hogwarts castle immensely, finding herself bouncing out of bed each of the mornings so far eager to go down to breakfast and to participate in whatever lessons she had on for the day, much too marlene and marys immense disbelief.
the latter girl had actually lobbed a pillow in hazels direction when she had accidentally woken mary up at a unreasonably early on the wednesady morning due to her inability to sleep through the beginnings of that days sunrise. after hurling the pillow back hazel had forced herself to lie back down, enjoying the next hour of simply napping softly in her warm cocoon of blankets until the others began to slowly stir, bleary eyes and groggy yawns filling the previously silent room, to where she had gotten out of bed and prepared herself for the day. the same occurrence had happened on the thursday, only this time hazel made sure to stay nestled in her cozy bed when she awoke early to not disturb the others, but come friday she refused to spend another hour silently in bed simply waiting for her friends to finally wake, and decided to slip out of the room instead.
walking quietly over the hardwood floorboards as to not wake the others, she quickly showered and tugged on her uniform, prying the bedroom door open a crack and pushing through out, making her way down the stone spiralling staircase and too the common room, footsteps echoing slightly in the abandoned space. once there she made the split second decision to walk a lap around the grounds where it would undoubtably still be as silent as a grave, air chilly and grass frost tipped. satisfied with her decision, she made her way out of the room, slowly wandering down the corridor and towards the pitches outside.
the fresh air hit her exposed skin as she stepped outside of the castle and onto the rolling grounds beyond, chilled wind bitting at her cheeks and curled fingers, carrying the scent of sodden fallen leaves and frost with it as she inhaled deeply, letting it fill her lungs. she held that first crisp breath until her lungs where straining, them slowly exhaled, tilting her face up so her eyes where now trained on the dawn sky above, the colour bleeding between pale blue and faint orange from where the sun was climbing higher in its ascent, thin puffy clouds spotted sporadically across it. a gust of wind wrapped around her, sneaking through the cracks of her jumper and scarf until its frozen fingertips brushed her skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake as she shivered, drawing her layers tighter around her even as she savoured the bite of the cold, the freshness of it. she began to walk, steps aimless as she wandered over the field, stiff frost tipped grass crunching beneath her as she walked. she circled the lake, its silver surface motionless as it reflected the scattered clouds above as she strolled, around and then along the forest who’s gnarled darkened breaches seemed to reach splintering fingers towards her, as if to drag her into its clutch and swallow her completely.
she strolled alongside it until it pottered off, soot coloured oak trees filtering off into long grass and occasional frost encased wildflowers, pushing through them and circling until she finally made her way back to the castle, cheeks and nose flush stained from the cold, fingers cramped and spirit bright. it was breakfast now, and the earliest of risers would already be seated at the long oak tables, filling their plates with arrays of cereals and fried eggs, chipped mugs warmed by tea or coffee from the refilling silver jugs. suddenly craving her own cuppa she strode towards the hall, slipping through its blown open heavy doors and making her way to her own gryffindor table, which was remarkably empty save for a few seventh years spotting its expanse, open textbooks and rolls of parchment cluttered beside them. the other house tables where slightly more filled, although she didn’t pay them much notice until she heard a voice call her name.
turning her head she scanned the green tied sitting figures until her eyes landed on the one that had caught her attention, arm slightly raised and braids falling around her shoulders, smiling slightly at hazel from where she sat towards the end of the slytherin table, breakfast bowl already piled high with an assortment of fruits, a slice of half eaten toast beside it. dorcas waved towards her again and hazel found herself automatically returning the gesture before making her way to her friend, weaving between the other heavy tables and cluttered benches until she reacher her.
‘your up early.’ dorcas stated, dark eyes scanning over hazels flushed cheeks and nose, noting her thick coat and scarf she had huddled herself into.
‘i could say the same.’ she responded with a smile, quirking a brow at her friend. ‘what, just couldn’t wait for your first slice of toast?’
‘it was calling my name.’ she agreed sighting almost wistfully as she scooted slightly on the bench, tilting her head at hazel. ‘you going to sit?’
her brown shot up, and she cast a look up and down the rest if the table. ‘this isn’t my table.’
‘rubbish.’ dorcas responded, reaching an arm up to quickly twist off hazels scarf, dropping the thick fabric on the bench beside her as she then moved to loosen and removed her green striped tie in quick, efficient movements, grabbing it in both hands and throwing it over hazels neck.
‘there you go.’ she responded sweetly as hazel chuckled, pulling her hair out from under the tie and adjusting it loosely around her neck. ‘not a gryffindor in sight. why, do you see any?’
‘nope, i can’t say that i do.’ she flashed dorcas a smile before sliding in to sit beside her, already reaching out for the large tea jugs as dorcas grabbed her a mug, sliding the small milk canister over to he once she had poured herself a cup and brining it to her lips, savouring the first sip of the hot drink as it flowed down her throat and pooled in her stomach, warming her from the inside out.
‘toast?’ dorcas asked and she nodded eagerly as dorcas snatched two slices from the table and placed them on a plate that she then pushed to hazel. ‘you always up this early for breakfast?’
hazel shook her head slightly, now buttering both slices with an overly generous amount of the spread, watching the gold smear melt into the bread, sinking into it and smelling absolutely divine. ‘no, but im always awake this early. thought that today instead of bothering my dorm mates anymore i would actually leave the room and bring my energy someplace else. im just back from a walk around the castle grounds- its really beautiful around this time, with the frost and the rising sun and all.’
‘i bet it is.’ dorcas agreed with her, before scrunching her nose as she looked down at hazels soggy slices of toast. ‘salazar on a broom, how much butter did you even put on those?’
hazel shrugged, smiling sheepishly, taking a bite out on one of the slices, swallowing quickly as she defended herself. ‘it tastes good.’
dorcas winced slightly as hazel took another bite but she was smiling, rolling her eyes as hazel pretended to push one of the slices into her mouth as she batted her away, before she shifted slightly, voice almost too casual as she asked ‘so how are your dorm mates?’
‘hmm? oh they’re great- ive known lils and mary since we where fourteen, and me and marls are practically sisters at this point, so im really lucky to have ended up in their room. honestly, i couldn’t even imagine ending up anywhere else anymore, apart from with you, of course.’
‘please, im way better company then those three. so, they’re all good… mckinnon is- all good?’ she flushed before hurriedly adding ‘like, they’re good dorm mates, i mean?’
she frowned slightly, confused over her friends strange demeanour but only nodded, mouth still filled with buttery toast. ‘yeah, they’re great to be with. marls especially- ive been living with her for seven years now, so its like we’ve already been roommates for those years. living in a room with her is hardly different.’
dorcas nodded, biting her lip slightly before straightening, shooting her a wide smile. ‘yeah of course- dont mind me… say though, how have you found your first week. i know for me it was a massive change living here and so far away from my family, and i can’t imagine its been any easier for you. i mean, you have a whole life your leaving behind.’
‘its not.’ she answered honestly, fiddling with her mug as she stared at the heavy oak before her. ‘any easier i mean- like, i love it here, but i also loved it back home. it a big change i guess, and although i think its worth it being here, there’s still a lot i miss from back home. a lot of people i miss.’
dorcas nodded in understanding, brining one hand over to squeeze hazels in comfort. ‘i get that, i really do. are they muggle friends back home that your missing?’
‘yeah, so there’s no chance of me flooing out to meet them or anything like that. i told them id send letters, but its bloody hard explaining away the owl thing.’ dorcas snorted lightly at that and hazel found herself smiling slightly, despite herself. ‘the best option is to send them home to margret, and to get her to hand deliver them to cass and tony, and vice versa, but still- its not the same as seeing them face to face. i guess i miss them a bit. a lot, actually.’
‘that normal hazel, and nothing you should feel guilty over. of course you miss your friends. they must be really important people.’
hazel smiled sadly, swallowing the lump in her throat as she nodded. ‘they are.’
dorcas gave her hand another squeeze then gave her shoulder a friendly bump with her own, grinning at her. ‘well, we can’t have you sad your first week being here! you’ve written to them yet?’
‘not yet, its been so busy this week that i haven’t had any time to yet. i was planning on writing to them during todays study break though, and sending the letters the same evening.’
dorcas nodded. ‘sounds like a good plan. i can keep you some company while your writing them later, if you want.’
hazel smiled, feeling brighter already. ‘that would be brilliant, thank you.’
‘dont mention it. and them for after-‘ her eyes where gleaming as she grinned cheekily at hazel. ‘after, come over to the boys room. me and dora usually go over to theirs every friday if we have time, but ill make sure to tell them about it today and make sure they have time to come over. we have to celebrate your first full week at hogwarts somehow, and barty always has the best grass. i think he’s shagging some ravenclaw for it, but i never really wanted to know the details about it.’
she snorted, even as she answered ‘i dont think evan would let me be even in a five mile radius of his dorm.’
dorcas tilted her head, considering. ‘well get him to smoke first then. he’s always extremely relaxed when he’s high, so he should be grand.’
‘relaxed enough to not hex me for entering his dorm?’
‘well give him a lot to smoke beforehand.’
hazel smiled and dorcas turned her big eyes on hers, large and almost puppy like. ‘please, come on it’ll be loads of fun, i promise. i want you there, and so does dora, and barty. evan will be fine too, and if he’s grouchy well just kick him.’
she fully laughed then, and after looking into dorcas’s large brown pleading eyes for a moment longer finally conceded, shrugging her shoulders in defeat. ‘fine, ill come. your right, it would be nice.’
‘brilliant!’ dorcas broke out into a large smile, beaming at her. ‘we’ve got a record player and a few tracks- we all have a communal collection we leave in the boys room, but if you have any of your own records you want to play, go ahead and bring those along.’
she immediately thought of two new albums her and marlene had saved up to buy together, one of them (her favourite one so far) being floyd’s the dark side of the moon, whilst marlene’s favourite being bowies newest release, aladdin sade. she would definitely bring those. the next thing she decided to bring was said girl, and asked dorcas as much.
‘hey, can i bring marls too? im sure she would enjoy it.’
dorcas choked slightly on the sip of tea she had just drunk, spluttering quietly as she managed to choke it down. ‘yeah’ she choked out, voice strained, although it must have just been from the tea. she cleared her throat and tried again. ‘i mean yes, of course. mckinnon can come too.’
‘great.’ hazel beamed and dorcas smiled back at her, reaching down to pluck one of hazels slices of toast off her plate and taking a bite. her own bowl, now that she was close enough to see properly was filled with thick yoghurt and fresh sliced kiwi, topped with a drizzle of what looked to be honey and a scattering some small strange shaped seeds. dorcas munched down on the toast, swallowing as she paused for a second, looking suspiciously down at the bread.
‘that, surprisingly, is actually quite nice.’
________________________
hazel found that looking forward to the prospect of a night time smoke made her day go by surprisingly fast, something she defiantly couldn’t complain about. she had left the slytherin table before too many people joined and began to question the unfamiliar figure sitting amongst them, and sent back to her room where she lounged around and waited for her friends to get ready before they all went down to the breakfast hall (for the second time that day) and began arranging their breakfasts. they sat with the boys who where already there, and hazel spent the majority of their time engaged in a flicking war with peter, which consider of each of them attempting to flick tiny bits of food into each others plates- ten points if you made it onto the ceramic, twenty of you managed to get it onto some food, and thirty if you got it directly into each of their half cracked runny soldiers eggs. hazel won.
classes where the same as they had been for the past few days, with hazel still scrabbling to take notes of the entire lecture, unwilling to miss a single thing as she was already behind from the rest of her peers. lily helped her during lunch and their first study break where she had been in secretly recopying a set of her notes from the previous year in transfiguration, hazels so far least favourite class, and handed hazel the stack of carefully penned pages, promising she would have the next set finished by the following friday. hazel had been immensely grateful and the two of them spent the next two hours studying in peaceful silence before they made their way to their remaining classes. as promised, when their second study period rolled around dorcas found her, already clutching two cups of tea, and chattered to her whilst hazel wrote two letters, one for cass and the other for tony. once finished, they made their way to the owlery, dorcas having to show her the way because regardless of already spending a full week at the castle she was still barely familiar with its layout, and posted both letters. they had both been a bit late to their following classes but hazel couldn’t find it in herself to particularly care, not as she managed to slip into her seat beside mary without being spotted by professor binns.
after lessons had ended she spent the remaining few hours before dinner in the common room with all of the group, bar mary, marlene ,james and sirius, who where currently at quidditch practise. she had invited both mary and lily to the slytherin boy’s room later that evening but both had declined, not particularly fond of the boy in question.
‘christ, ive heard the things they say about both of them.’ mary muttered as hazel had cornered her. ‘everyone in slytherin loves them, which is immediately a bad sign. plus, that evan bloke straight up terrifies me. i heard he hexed three students at once with a single curse, and it was over one of them accidentally stepping on his robes on their way to class.’
‘i heard it was four students at once.’ lily mused, before giving herself a little shake. ‘sorry zel, but i can’t say im really a fan of going tonight either. unless you need backup, then were defiantly there.’
‘i can bring my beater bat.’ mary offered, immediately perking up at the idea. hazel just rolled her eyes fondly, shaking her head. ‘cheers, but there won’t be any need for any of that. marls, your coming though right?’
the girl scrunched her face, considering. ‘i dont know zel, i dont really want to spend my evening with both barty and evan locked in their creepy little room, even if you are going to be there.’
‘its not just them.’ hazel amended, ‘dorcas and pandora are coming too, and i think they might be brining another friend too. a lower year slytherin?’
‘dorcas and pandora?’ marlene perked up, and hazel had to hide her smirk. she bloody knew marlene fancied one of the girls. pandora, eh? she would find a way to get them both alone tonight, and this was the first step. instead of letting any of her devious (if not particularly thought out plan) show on her face she simply nodded, shrugging her shoulders casually. ‘yep, they’re both going to be there. barty’s brining weed too.’
marlene bit her bottom lip, hesitant for a moment before giving in, a faint blush on her cheekbones. ‘well, i guess it won’t be so bad with the girls there. and ive been craving a good smoke recently.’
‘perfect!’ hazel exclaimed, eyes bright as she smiled at marlene. ‘you bring bowie, and ill bring floyd.’
it was just gone past ten at night when hazel and marlene made their way to the slytherins room, meeting dorcas outside the common room as they had planned on, with large black robes thrown over their normal- muggle clothes, ties charmed to copy the green and silver pattern of the slytherin ones. they were to blend in as well as they possible could with the rest of the straggling slytherins as they would make their way up to the dorm room, keen to avoid any unnecessary attention. that part worked surprisingly well, and not a single raised head or searching glance was thrown their way as they hurried up past dorcas up the spiralling stone staircase, turning once they made it to the intersection that separated the girls and boys rooms, turning to stride down the passage that lead to the boys dorms, passing heavy wooden doors as they walked, a thick green carpet under their feet.
they stopped at one of the doors to the end, completely unremarkable from the rest, with dorcas not even bothering to knock as she threw it open, striding inside, marlene and hazel less confident in their entry as they followed on her heel. the moment she stepped into the room, the smell of burning hash hit her full force, making marlene cough slightly beside her, wrinkling her nose at the offending stench. the air was already hazy with the substance, thick as it lazily swirled through the space, and looking around the room she was given a few seconds to admire the small space. the layout was the same as her own dorm, with four single poster beds taking up the middle of the room, small wooden side tables beside each one, a bathroom branching off the left side of the room. the only main difference between this room and her own was the lack of windows, hence the overpowering smell.
smaller differences where made up of the rooms decorations, far more bare then her own, but not completely empty. the furthest bed had unmade messy sheets and clothes strewn upon it, as well as sheets of paper, presumably homework tucked between the fabrics, while empty quills and ink pots littered the side table. the bed across from it was the complete opposite, with neatly made and tucked in sheets, the bedside desk completely bare and the bed the same, save for the boy lounging across it.
hazel didn’t think she had ever seen evan so relaxed, his legs bent as he sat on the covers, back pressed against the wall and blond hair glowing in the torch lights, half smoked split clasped loosely in one hand. he turned his head to look at the newcomers just as the bathroom door burst open and pandora and barty spilled out, the bright light from the bathroom spilling int the room and illuminating the space, laughter on both of their lips. they halted as they came face to face with dorcas, marlene and hazel, both blinking momentarily until they seemed to simultaneously register the presence of the newcomers. pandora broke into a pretty smile, exclaiming to both marlene and hazel ‘you both made it!’ as she rushed forwards, wrapping both of them into a tight hug, while barty just gave them half smirk.
‘mckinnon. goldie.’ barty shot her a wink as he passed both of them, moving to throw himself onto of evans bed despite the other boys exasperated huff, scooting around until he was sitting beside the other boy, legs crossed and posture relaxed.
‘hello to you too crouch.’ hazel responded, rolling her eyes at the boy as she followed dorcas to one of the other beds, flopping down on its covers as marlene and pandora settled themselves on the third bed, the latter girl reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small tin box, decorated by a pretty assembly of small lilac and dark blue pressed flowers that she had somehow stuck on and popped open its lid, revealing half a dozen neatly rolled spliffs within.
‘i see someone’s already started.’ dorcas announced, one brow raised at evan who just rolled his eyes at her, lifting the hand that was currently holding his own spliff and lazily waving it in a dismissive gesture, making dorcas snort. hazel turned to pandora who was now removing one of the spliffs from her tin, snapping it closed.
‘you didn’t start yourself?’
she shook her head. ‘i wanted to wait for you three.’
hazel smiled as pandora reached over, offering the spliff to her with a kind smile. ‘thought you should start this one up, given your the reason were celebrating today.’
evan snorted slightly from where he was sitting on his bed but she ignored him, smiling back at the girl as she took the spliff from her fingers, brining both hands to her lap. ‘thanks pandora.’
‘please, call me dora. or panda. all my friends do.’
she could practically feel the icy blond rolling his eyes even as her smile grew. ‘okay, then thanks dora.’
she brought the spliff to her lips before she hesitated, drawing her fingers back a fraction as she cast her gaze around the room and its occupants, scanning. ‘anybody got a light?’
‘oh wait, barty can do this thing-’ dorcas started, motioning for hazel to bring the spliff back to her lips as she did, before dorcas turned to face the boy who just grinned at both of them, lazily raising one hand and snapping two fingers together. instantly, a small fire appeared at the end of the spliff and hazel stifled her gasp of surprise, accidentally inhaling far to sharply in her shock and only just managing to withhold her cough that was threatening to burst free from her scalded lungs.
she forced it in- she had taken many large accidental hits in the past with cass and tony, usually when one of them made her laugh or startled her just as she was inhaling, a sort of unspoken game they had concocted with each other when they had been sixteen, and due to that practise refused to let herself cough in front of these wizards. instead, she inhaled it deeper, exhaling a large puff of smoke through her nose that curled in the air, as if imitating steam from dragon. barty gave her an impressed look and she got the sneaking suspicion he was banking on surprising her enough with the trick to cause her a hacking fit.
stifling the sudden urge to give him a whack, she took another hit, even larger then the last and held it in her lungs as she passed the spliff onto dorcas, who gave her an appeasing look herself as she brought the spliff to her own lips. she tried to take the same hit as hazel had done but ended up couching half way through, eyes watering as pandora reached over and gently thumped her on the back as she wheezed, spluttering. hazel couldn’t help herself and laughed as the rest of the room did the same, dorcas shooting her a mock affronted glare which only made hazel laugh harder as she too reached over and gently pat her on the back, making soothing rubbing motions against dorcas’s thick jumper.
‘jesus fuck.’ dorcas managed as she finally stopped coughing, eyeing the spliff suspiciously as she brought it to her lips again, taking three considerably smaller puffs before passing it onto pandora who did the same. by the time it had circled around the group (bar evan who had his own and was showing absolutely zero inclination of sharing), and they had passed around for the second time, hazel could already feel the effects. the fact that there was absolutely no place for the smoke to escape too, causing it to linger in the ever thickening air certainly wasn’t helping that fact, and she frowned at the large curl of smoke that left marlene’s lips as she exhaled, drifting up past her head, softly illuminated by the candlelight.
marlene seemed to have a similar concern as she eyed up the bleak windowless walls, skeptically questioning ‘do you always smoke in this room?’ must get a bit stuffy if there’s no where for the smoke to go.’
‘why, you got a problem with it?’ evan drawled and marlene scowled, shaking her head, blond hair tumbling around her shoulders.
‘no, its not that, i just dont know how yous dont get caught, that’s all. it must proper stink, if there are no windows to let the fresh air in and the smell out.’
‘we use erasure charms to get rid of the smell’ barty shrugged, taking the spliff from dorcas’s outstretched hand and taking a large hit. ‘and we dont ever got caught, and its going to stay that way unless you get any bright ideas of ratting us out.’
‘wouldn’t dream of it.’ marlene scoffed as she reached over hazel to pluck the joint off barty, rolling her eyes at the boy as she took her own deep inhale. dorcas watched her for a moment, before turning to hazel, eyes looking a little fuzzy as she took her in.
‘didn’t expect the dorms to be that different from your own ones. is there a big difference between the ones down her in the dungeon and the ones up in the gryffindor tower?’
‘not really, no.’ hazel admitted, accepting the splif as it was offered to her and pausing to inhale, slowly releasing the smoke through her lips before she spoke again. ‘the layout is practically identical, the only real difference is the decorations.’
‘you’ve already decorated your own space then?’ dorcas asked, as hazel nodded in conformation, taking one last hit before passing it onto pandora who smiled in thanks.
‘well ive decorated it a bit. hung up a few posters, and a bunch of polaroids i took.’
‘merlin, you should see that state of her wall’ marlene chimed in, still slightly rigid in her posture but now notably more relaxed from when she had entered, thanks to the weed that was now tinting her eyes a faint red and loosening her smile. ‘she’s stuck up so many bloody pictures you can hardly see the paint anymore.’
‘the paints boring anyway.’ hazel shrugged, as dorcas turned to her, eyes intrigued.
‘you have pictures taken on a muggle camera? i dont think ive ever used one of those.’ she admitted, small considering frown on her full lips.
‘yeah, cass- one of my best friends from home- she gave me one as a birthday present for my fourteenth birthday. its a polaroid camera, so how it works is you snap the picture and it prints it automatically. takes a few minutes for it to develop- like get the picture on it- but its proper class. almost broke it the same year when tony got smashed and decided to go for a swim in the lake, but it survived the dip and i still got it. i left it in my dorm though.’
‘shame.’ pandora mused, using her free hand she wasn’t propping her head up with to twirl a platinum braid around one ring clad finger. ‘i would have liked to use one of those funny cameras. i find muggle inventions really intriguing. would be nice to see how they work.’
‘they’re not that intriguing.’ hazel admitted, ‘and the pictures are normal unlike all that wizarding stuff- they dont move or anything.’
‘they dont move at all?’ barty demanded, rounding large eyes at her. ‘salazar,’ he mused, ‘those muggles are weirder then i thought.’
‘not as weird as pictures that jumps around by themselves and dance all around the place. they’re almost like tiny movies.’
‘like what?’ barty asked, brows drawn together. hazel blinked at him, then slowly looked at the others in the room one by one, each with expressions of similar confusion, even marlene who hazel knew she had forced to watch several films with her over the years, including taxi driver, one of her current favourite watches, and the godfather (both ones unfortunately, shown to her slightly against her will by marcus while they where still dating, on accords of how much she disliked them- or more accurately on the account on how he liked them a little too much). honestly, these bloody purebloods.
‘like a film. a movie? a flix? honestly marls-‘ she rounded on the girl, causing her to throw up t hands in surrender, eyes widened even as she fought back the few giggles that slipped through her lips. ‘ive shown you plenty before- we’ve literally watched them together. those moving pictures on the tv- remember we watched the one about the killer shark last christmas, and danny almost shat his pants during the first jump scare. got popcorn in all of the couch cracks to the point we where still picking pieces out for months after.’
‘oh!’ she gave a great start, as if suddenly enlightened. ‘no your right, i do remember those. ah that was a great one- thought dad was going to faint at one point. what was it called again- teeth? mouths?’
‘yeah, me too.’ hazel giggled, feeling floaty and light all over, her chest open as it a helium ballon had been set off within in. she really had to find out where barty was getting his stash from. ‘and its called jaws.’
‘jaws! yeah, your right. i remember that one! good movie, that. we should watch it again.’
hazel lifted a single brow, though she couldn’t stop her traitorous lips from staying curved in a half smile. ‘on one of the many tv’s in hogwarts?’
‘oh.’ marlene deflated. ‘you have a point there.’
‘wait, you have a television at home?’ dorcas asked, tilting her head to one side. ‘i thought you bunch-‘ she flicked her gaze briefly to marlene before quickly snapping her eyes back to hazels ‘where pureblood. how do you know about muggle inventions?’
‘well, i did live as a muggle for seventeen years. i did pick up a few things over that period.’
‘right sorry.’ dorcas winced, eyes wide as she looked back at her and again distinctly puppy dog like, filled with regret. ‘im sorry hazel, i didn’t mean to-
‘no, its okay, dont worry yourself about it.’ she shot dorcas a warm smile who returned it, although slightly more wobbly on her part. ‘living as a muggle, i got used to their inventions and way of living. brought a good bit of it back home, like showing marls and the rest movies and muggle books and whatnot. they’re really good too. muggle movies. i think you guys should give them a go, your really missing out. jaws especially, that ones a proper riot.’
‘jaws?’ barty drawled, flopping his head so it was tilting horizontally on one of his forearms as he teased. ‘what is it about? the horror of dental care?’
‘actually, its about a killer shark that stalks people and eats them.’
barty perked up at that, raising a brow in interest. ‘there’s a killer shark?’
‘yep, and there’s this really cool music that plays before he attacks, so you always know when he’s going to get someone. its proper class.’
‘you’ve sold me.’ he grinned, turning to the rest of his friends. ‘were watching hazels murder shark filmy.’
‘film.’ she corrected automatically, as both dorcas and pandora agreed ‘absolutely.’ as evan simultaneously stated ‘absolutely not.’
‘why not evs?’ barty teased, looking at the boy beside him with a smirk, waggling his brows at him. ‘not scared of some little fish, are you?’
evan just levelled an icy stare at him, something he managed to pull off remarkably well considering his blood shot eyes and normally pristine hair that was now ruffled and unruly. ‘there will be no warming music when i come for you crouch. better watch it.’
barty just barked out a laugh, far to unbothered for the death threat he had just had issues again him, simply reaching out and plucking the almost burnt out joint from evans fingers and brining it to his own lips, sucking in deeply. evans eyes flitted to the joint for the briefest moment, before he tore his eyes away, fixing them stubbornly on the wall beside him as he muttered ‘bloody thief.’
barty winked at him, still smirking as he took a final hit before passing it to dorcas, who had somehow migrated to the floor between the beds, now sprawled out so her back was on the floor, legs vertical as they leaned against evans bed, head in hazels lap who was lounging beside her, own legs thrown over marlene’s. somehow, without even taking note of it the three of them had somehow moved from the bed above to now the floor, limbs entangled on the plush green rug below them.
barty and evan had relaxed in the same manner, and while they where still on the same bed they had been on in the beginning they had flopped down so they where both lying down, evan on his back as he gazed up to the ceiling above, seeming entranced as he traced patterns on the stone with his half lidded eyes while barty was on his front, arms crossed as he rested his head on top of them. pandora herself was still on her own bed of choice, but was draped so that she was upside down with her lower half hanging completely off it, braids coiling on the carpet below her. just looking at her made hazel dizzy.
the first joint was finally finished by barty who produced a second one from his pocket, lighting it the same way he had with the first one and passing it around the group again. by this time they were all pleasantly buzzed, and they had managed to get the record player working, to which hazel was now bobbing her head along to ‘us and them’, mouthing the words to marlene whenever she caught the other girls eye, both of them grinning widely as they enjoyed the music that flowed around the room.
they spent the next hour or two mindlessly chatting and laughing, the laughter becoming more frequent the more they smoked, until even evan was smiling more than he was freezing his lips in his usual unbothered manner. marlene and barty had at some point gotten into a rather intense and aggressive thumb war, although at this point no one could discern which was winning, although the pair didn’t seem to mind all that much, getting more worked up after each round, laughing loudly and occasionally yelling insults at the other to distract them. each time one of them won they would take off one of their rings and be forced to give it to the winner (barty had significantly less rings to trade, seeing as he was only wearing three), but at the rate they were playing, they were trading back and forth at such a speed soon each of their fingers where covered in a collection of both of their rings, although neither seemed to notice or mind that much. both pandora and dorcas had taken to braiding hazels hair, each taking one half of her head as they dutch braided in tandem, fingers gentle against her scalp, pandora humming a strangle little melody under her breath as she worked.
‘zel. zel, zel’ dorcas rolled the words on her tongue, stretching them out. ‘zelll.’ she blinked, then smiled dopily at hazel. ‘sounds funny.’
she started laughing then, and before she realised it hazel had joined in.
‘i have a nickname too!’ marlene blurted out of nowhere, followed by a deep blush that overtook her features as they all started at her.
‘yeah?’ dorcas asked, eyes fixed on the blushing girl before her.
marlene nodded vigorously, swallowing as she rambled. ‘marls… its marls, my friends always call me that- not just my friends though- i mean, some people who arnt my friends also call me marls- i mean practically everyone does, not just those im close to… marls…yeah.’
‘oh, okay.’ dorcas fidgeted, looking down at her hands which she was wringing in her lap. she swallowed, once, twice before looking up at marlene, shuffling awkwardly as she responded, ‘i have my own too- its cass, barty and regulus came up with it sometime in third year.’
‘hold up, does everyone have a bloody nickname here but me?’ barty demanded as if he had only just realised the fact, levelling a betrayed look at pandora, dorcas and marlene, before turning wide eyes to hazel. she just shrugged, smiling slightly as she answered ‘sorry mate, ive got zel as mine.’
‘traitor.’ he quipped, eyes narrowing playfully as she chuckled, tossing a pillow at him that he wasn’t fast enough to swerve out of the way from.
‘oi!’ he spluttered as he flung it back, before tilting his head to look at her, pondering something.
‘no your right, you do have a nickname too. you’ve got zel, and goldie.’
‘no i dont. goldie is not one of them.’
‘is too.’
‘literally nobody calls me that.’
‘well maybe ill start.’
‘no you won’t.’ she threatened. he just grinned back, seemingly delighted. ‘watch me.’
‘i dont have a nickname either.’ evan pointedly interjected, drawing barty’s gaze to his own. barty just smirked at him, batting his lashes as he joked ‘sure you do. its babe.’
‘oh come off it.’ evan mumbled, rolling his eyes even as his cheeks pinkened slightly, shoving barty as he began cackling. ‘what about sweetheart? my love? darling?’ he seemed to relish the blush that was creeping over evans face, grinning triumphantly at him even as the other boy regained his composure to shove him again, harder this time, muttering ‘wanker’ under his breath.
‘your no fun evs.’ he teased, before his eyes widened and he jolted upwards. ‘wait, he has evs! it really is just me who’s nickname less!’ what the actual fuck.’
‘what about crouchie?’ marlene offered sweetly, making dorcas cough on the inhale she had just taken, hacking aggressively as the rest of them (save evan) laughed, although the boy did crack a reluctant smile. barty narrowed his eyes at the grinning girl, voice threatening as he ordered ‘dont you dare.’
‘or what, crouchie? going to loose to me in another thumb war?’
‘speak for yourself mckinnon, but im the one that just scored a shit tone of new rings.’ he smirked, waggling his now silver clad fingers infant of marlene, several of her rings now adorning his hands. she blinked, then glanced down to her own noticeably more bare fingers, as if wondering when her rings had even left her possession in the first place. ‘seems like the only looser i see here is you.’ he finished.
she scowled lightly back at him. ‘eat shit, crouchie.’
he huffed as dorcas chocked on chuckle, shooting barty an apologetic glance as he rounded his narrowed eyes on her, although a few giggles still snuck past her clamped lips. he huffed, levelling his glare on marlene, although it was devoid of any heat. ‘i preferred it when you where scared of me.’
‘please.’ she rolled her eyes, ‘i was never scared of you. i just head what a massive knob you are, with all your hexing and cursing any student in a five mile radius of you. its not fear, its called self preservation.’
‘and how’s that working out for you?’ he responded sweetly, ‘seeing as you, noticeable, are in a five mile radius of me.’
‘not very well, apparently.’ she sighed, seeming genuinely downcast, as if evaluating every decision she had made so far to lead her to smoking up a room full of slytherins she had been shit talking just days previously. knowing marlene, she probably was doing just that.
it was dorcas who spoke up next, voice interrupting the finishing notes of ‘us and them’ as the chords petered off, musing ‘i wish we could take one of your muggle polaroids of this now. i would love to be able to use one of those muggle devices.’
hazel pushed herself up with her elbows, blinking slowly as she furrowed her brow, thoughts crawling abnormally slowly through her mind until she finally latched onto one.
‘you can. use it now, i mean.’ she clarified when dorcas levelled her red tinted gaze at her.
‘its in my room. if one of yous is able to summon it, you can take a photo with it.’
dorcas perked up, eyes alight as she made a happy, excitable noise and beamed at hazel. ‘okay, i will!’ with that she raised her wand, squinting her eyes closed before she opened them, expression determined as she twirled her wand, ordering ‘acio hazel’s muggle camera!’
hazel waited, unsure if the spell would actually prove successful but sure enough, moments later a muffled clamour sounded from outside, along with several shouts of surprise. every occupant in the room’s eyes widened with alarm and barty had just enough time to leap of the bed and fling the bedroom door open before the polaroid camera came hurtling in, aiming straight at dorcas. dorcas raised her arms instinctively even as she turned her face from the assaulting object as it landed directly in her outstretched hands. she blinked at it for a moment as hazel and seemingly everyone else let out a collective breath of relief, barty chuckling lightly as he shook his head.
‘the point is to take pictures with it, not to decapitate yourself before you manage to use it.’ he mocked as she shot him a glare, before turning her attention back to the camera in her grasp. hazel reached over, setting it up with fluid, practised motions before gesturing at dorcas to take her picture, indicating to the shutter button in encouragement.
dorcas rose to her knees as she leaned back as far as possible in an attempt to capture all of them in the frame. hazel was marginally impressed she knew to do that. there was a click, then a pause and a rapid flash that left white spots dancing in her eyes. she blinked aggressively, momentarily blinded as she heard evan swear violently as he brought an elbow up to scrub at his eyes. dorcas just grinned.
‘oops.’
she kept the camera firmly in her grasp as she rushed over to the bed where evan and barty where still situated, pandora following closely behind.
hazel opened her mouth. ‘that’s not…’
but the three slytherins, plus pandora had already crowed onto the narrow bed frame, huddled together with their faces pressed in close enough to the polaroid grasped in barytes fingers who was positioned in the middle that pandoras nose was almost brushing the photo paper. they where starting down at it, seemingly holding their breath, as if waiting for the polaroid to develop in a second.
she sighed. ‘…how it works.’
marlene leaned over to her, eyes pink as she smiled dopily. ‘who’s going to tell them that hovering over it doesn’t make it print any faster.’
she shrugged, not bothering to correct marlene. ‘lets let them figure it out.’
‘hey, i think i see something!’ barty called out, then blinked down at the polaroid, scanning it intently. ‘wait, no- i think that’s just evan’s shadow reflecting onto it. evs, move your bloody thumb!’
‘you move your bloody thumb.’
‘no, you-‘
pandora leaned in even closer to the blank photo paper, blinking at it before turning back to hazel. ‘why isn’t there any image on it?’
‘it takes a while to develop.’ hazel answered, to which pandora nodded sagely.
‘well, is there a way to make it develop faster?’ barty questioned, still starting intently at the small square as if convinced the moment his eyes looked away the image would magically appear.
‘keep it insulated.’ hazel offered, smiling innocently at the four heads that whipped in her direction. ‘making sure its warm helps it get comfortable enough to develop the photo. watering it also helps!’
‘and walks!’ marlene added helpfully. ‘take it out twice a day, it’ll print in no time. two half an hour walks per day should do the trick.’
barty nodded gravely, placing the half developed polaroid carefully onto the desk, away from where sunlight could touch it, and covering it delicately with the sleeve of one of the jumpers he snatched from the ground, mumbling ‘makes sense.’
with the polaroid carefully tucked away, hazel reached out to the camera and pulled it onto her lap, grinning at the others. ‘one more, for good luck?’