Green Smoke

Halloween-

October thirty-first. All it is to the students of Hogwarts is an excuse to party. It's all you can do on the holiday meant for trick-or-treating. The teachers have tried to crack down on the parties but have failed each year. There's simply not enough of them to get to each hidden and in-your-face party. The only people who don't attend the parties are either too young, not interested in parties, or not invited. The only connection to the holiday is the outfits that most of the students wear. Anything from a slutty devil to a slutty version of our very own headmaster. The latter being my favorite out of them all.

I take my place in front of my girls at the Hufflepuff table, and Jo immediately goes to work on making me my coffee. I take notice of the girls' appearances. Both of them are in heavy makeup. Jo has traditional goth makeup inspired by the 80s while Elle is in more of a 00s smokey eye, making her blue eyes pop. Their lips are black, but Jo's has her lips sharpened with liner. Jo has her painted leather jacket on top of her school uniform. Elle, on the other hand, is in the regular uniform but with her tie wrapped around her neck like a choker. She would most likely wear an actual choker if it were allowed. The teachers have confiscated them from her before.

Elle narrows her eyes at me before looking behind me. Tilting her head, she points with her nose before speaking.

"You're the only one that was spared." Jo slides my mug across the table as Elle speaks. I look at the blonde before she points with her nose again. I cast my gaze across my shoulder and sweep my eyes over the other tables of students. I look back with furrowed brows. "You're hair. You're the only Slytherin with their normal hair color." She's right. I focus on my house's table. Each student, no matter the age, has an unnatural hair color. Which is far from normal since my house shuns anyone with colored hair.

I notice the group of boys who are most likely to be at fault laughing at the sight. I see Remus shake his head at his friends while Sirius points and laughs at the table next to theirs. Both boys look like they usually do in their uniforms, Sirius having his biker jacket over the hardly buttoned shirt with a loose tie and his hair tied up using his wand. Remus is wearing one of his oversized jumpers with ruffled hair. Neither boy looks to have had a good night's sleep. I can guess why. I observe the two boys for a second longer before my attention is forced back to the girls on the other side of the table as me.

"Keep the staring to a minimum. We don't want to be targeted next." Jo states that for both of them, she is taking a bite of the toast that Elle made for her. Rolling my eyes, I reach into my bag, which is on my right side. I bring out a handful of candy and place it on the table. I ensured I had two of each of the girls' favorite candies. Two sugar quills for Elle and some gummy bears for Jo. Each girl reaches towards them with a smile. The goth tears into hers while the punk girl puts hers away.

"I doubt they would notice me looking at them." I blink deadfaced at her as she pops a gummy into her mouth with a sarcastic smile. I notice Elle staring behind me again, but I don't question it.

"You sure about that?" Fuck.

—

I'm lying with my head upside down, hanging from the couch. I try to catch a piece of popcorn that Elle throws my way in my mouth. It misses. Landing below me on the rug. A Joy Division record is filling the air because it is Jo's day for music. The music fits the holiday, after all. The said girl is sitting on the couch next to me on her phone, from what I can tell. Elle throws another piece. We skipped dinner in the Great Hall and chose to spend it here in The Room where we could be at peace and not worry about the big prank from the "Marauders" as they had done since our first year. Conversation flows easily.

"Did either of you witness any other pranks today?" I raise my head to straighten my spine and let blood leave the top of my head. Jo looks up from her phone and looks at me before responding.

"Transfiguration Potter and Black tortured McGonagall more so than usual."

"Not surprised," I let my head fall again and made eye contact with Elle. Both girls have cleared their faces of makeup and are dressed in pajamas representing their personalities. Jo is in a large black She Wants Revenge shirt, tiny shorts hidden by her shirt, and fuzzy socks. Conversely, Elle is wearing a tight, cropped, white tank top paired with Halloween Hello Kitty pajamas tied to fit her. I compare their clothes to mine, a black wife-beater and black sweatpants, showing how I care more for comfort than looks. However, I don't doubt that both girls are comfortable in their chosen sleepwear.

I watch Elle get up from the floor and sit on the armchair to my left next to the stained glass. Even upside down, I see the moonlight shine from the stained glass windows beside her. The colored light highlights her natural features. I heave myself up and situate myself right-side up once again. I lift and place my bare feet on the coffee table. Reaching into my pants, I bring out my phone and lean back, copying Jo's posture. My phone is on Do Not Disturb, but I can still see the notifications icons on my social media apps. The most popular is on Instagram, where I am sure that people are already posting pictures of their costumes before leaving for their chosen parties. I reach forward and pluck a roll from the coffee table while Jo gets up to change the music as Elle starts to speak.

"I'm glad we all decided to stay in this year." Jo makes an affirmative noise from the side, and I nod. We made this decision because Elle got overstimulated at the Hufflepuff party we had gone to last year. That night ended with us leaving the party while she was sobbing, so we decided never to force her into a situation such as that if we could help it.

The music changes from goth to one of Elle's personal records. I think for a moment before the name comes to the front of my mind. It's Closer by Nine Inch Nails. While it's highly sexual, the three of us love to sing along with funny accents or tones of voice. Elle and I don't look up from our phones while we sing along. She chose to sing in a deep Southern American accent, and I chose an Irish one. Our tones are flat as we follow along. Jo doesn't join in, instead watching the two of us from the side with, I assume, a smile.

I looked up to grab the bowl of popcorn and noticed that I was right about Jo watching the two of us with a small smile. I smile back at her as she looks away and back to the records behind her. I moved my gaze from the Ravenclaw to the Hufflepuff, who was sitting with her legs crisscrossed and scrolling on her phone on whatever app she was on. Most likely Pinterest, from all I know about the girl.

The song climaxes, and all three of us sing louder. That is until the door of The Room swings wide open, stopping us while the music continues to play openly. Staring back at us are the four boys we have been trying to avoid all day, hoping to get out alive and unharmed.

Sirius reacts first, yelling out a "Yes!" before jumping in place and stepping through the hole in the wall. I see Potter lean back disappointedly while Remus apologetically smiles at me. I barely notice Pettigrew behind the two boys. The song comes to a close when Sirius falls back onto the couch beside me, throwing his arms onto the back of the couch and kicking his boot-covered feet onto the coffee table next to mine.

The girls and I watch Potter walk around the room inspecting everything while we stare like deer in headlights. Remus steps into the room after the three of us sigh, knowing there's no getting out of this. Jo puts on a different record while I make eye contact with Elle, silently asking if she's alright. After getting a nod from the blonde, I look right beside me at the smiling Sirius staring back at me.

"This is a nice space you three got 'ere." The Black boy leans his head back while looking back at me. Remus takes his seat beside Sirius, while Pettigrew chooses to sit on the only empty seat, which is the other armchair, leaving both Jo and Potter without seating. "When did you guys find it?" I speak for the three of us.

"Third year. I've known the castle inside and out for years. How else would I have been able to show Remus the passageway to the Slytherin common room?" My question is left open as I watch Jo awkwardly shift on her feet, and Potter goes to her side and starts to look at our shared collection of records. The room is silent as I maintain eye contact with Elle, trying to ensure she stays stable in this assault on our home turf. She goes back to scrolling on her phone while I stare at her.

"Why are you four even here?" Jo turns to face us and leans back on the table, holding the record and CD player. This time, Sirius speaks up.

"We've wondered for years where the three of you go when you three hang out. Prongs thought you three just went to each other's dorms while I waited until I saw the three of you leave." None of this makes any sense. Were they watching us?

"What he means to say is," Potter is cut off mid-sentence by Remus.

"We have a magic map of Hogwarts." Potter and Sirius look at him offended almost, exclaiming their protest. Now, what was Sirius talking about?

"Why do you four- Nope, never mind." Jo folds her arms after coming to her senses. The main reason I think they would have a "magic map" would be for pranks. It's low-hanging fruit, after all. Sirius barks out a laugh while his fingertips graze my shoulder. I hear Remus let out a breath.

"Those two made it a game to see where you three were going. It's clear that Sirius was right when he thought that you guys simply hid from us." I see Potter leaning back on the table beside Jo, who seems to ignore him. Potter looks like a sore loser.

"You four made a bet, didn't you." My words are more of a statement than a question, as I don't need a verbal response to say I was right in my thoughts. Seeing Potter look away while hearing Sirius laugh up a storm makes me roll my eyes. Remus lets out another silent sigh to my right.

I take this as time to really look at the boys. I look towards the quiet boy in the armchair, staring down at the floor, his hair covering the top of his eyes and his casual clothes wrinkled. Pettigrew is in dark-washed jeans and a hoodie. His shoes are an old pair of dirty and well-worn black Converse.

Potter is in a tee shirt and a flannel. His jeans are loose and ripped in the knees. His hair is all over the place, and his glasses are off-center on his nose. I can see that he is wearing a pair of red high-top Converse. It seems that three out of the four boys are in Converse.

Remus is wearing a brown and green "grandpa" jumper that looks warm. His jeans are black and loose, boot cut, with the beginnings of rips on the right knee. His legs are crossed, showing off his lightly dusted brown high-top Converse. I can barely see the start of multiple necklaces under his jumper.

And now to Sirius. He watches me observe him from the corner of his eye. Like always, he is in his leather jacket on top of a black band shirt. The Neighborhood. His jeans are black, tight, and ripped. He is wearing a studded belt. He's the only Marauder who isn't in Converse. Instead, wear a pair of black boots with no branding visible.

"So what were you three in here doing?" Potter is the one to break the silence.

"Before you rudely interrupted us, we were relaxing to some music," Jo speaks up for me with fighting words.

"Didn't sound like very relaxing music." He shoots back.

"Closer by Nine Inch Nails, right?" Sirius interjects the two's starting of an argument.

"Right," she turns away from Potter and crosses her arms, looking towards the couch and at Sirius's arms resting behind Remus and me. She narrows her eyes at me before walking over to the armchair that Elle is in. Elle moves to the side to let her sit snugly beside her, leaving Potter to be the only one standing.

This seems to bother him, so he moves before us and walks to the middle of the coffee table. He plops down on the floor and sits crisscrossed, leaning back on his palms.

I start to twist the silver ring on my left middle finger as I realize just what has happened. The room, our safe place, has been attacked and undermined. Not even the gitty feeling I got when his fingers brushed my shoulder could keep me from worrying about what this meant and what they could do with this knowledge. I twist the silver ring faster, aggressively.

His hand grips my shoulder. I stop twisting. His thumb rubs my bare shoulder. All is quiet for a moment. And then they start to talk amongst themselves like they have the right to be in this room. The song repeats. Jo and I made eye contact, and we both understood. We are no longer guarded.

-2,438 Words-