Someone New

Hogwarts parties were sacred, everybody knew that. If a house threw a good party, they got a good name. If a person threw a good party with no time limits and way too much alcohol, whoever they were got worshipped. This was exactly why Dorcas was so pressed about creating the perfect party that would get her on everybody's good side.

"I think it's a great idea," Remus said. He'd been trailing Regulus for a total of one minute before passing him, which Regulus didn't seem to mind because he was acting all lovey dovey with James Potter. Couples, Evan thought.
"I'm guessing you have a list of people who are banned?" Evan asked. He knew Dorcas and Marlene weren't on good terms. The blonde girl still visited their dorm sometimes, but that was only when James or Peter were around and Dorcas was far, far away.

Dorcas grimaced before suddenly smiling. Evan turned around to see why. It was just a professor passing by. Dorcas really was trying to win over people.
"Actually," she started. "Everyone’s going to be welcome."
Regulus scoffed, but didn't say anything (that was likely because James was squishing his cheeks, but Evan didn’t pay much attention to that).
"What about Marlene?" Evan questioned. There was no way Dorcas would throw a party that wasn't Marlene-free.
Dorcas was grinning ear-to-ear at this point. "About that. I doubt she'll even come, anyway. Besides, if I make an official statement banning her, it'll only make things worse."

James rushed up to Dorcas. "So does that mean I can invite her?"
Dorcas pretended to ponder over the thought. Evan wanted to laugh. She'd definitely planned this out. "Don’t, but don't keep it a secret either. If she asks where everyone's going, tell her it's just a random little party."
James nodded and fell back to Regulus.

Eventually, Evan peeled himself away from the group to walk over to the campus café where he could study and, hopefully, redeem himself for those two lost points. It didn’t take long to get there, and when he did, he opened the door with a calm ease. Something about quiet little nooks was comforting to him.

That was when he saw Barty. Bartemius. God. Angel. Devil.

The boy was wearing a black shirt that showed off his collarbone and it made Evan want to die. Nothing new. What's worse was that he was reading a book, and Evan had to feel his heart skip a beat everytime Barty's fingers moved the pages. But that was Evan being overdramatic and way too weak for his own good.

Thankfully, Mary spotted him before Barty could, and Evan rushed right to her.

Mary smiled and looked him up and down. "Nice sweater."

Said sweater was a plain, cotton sweater that had roses stitched on near the shoulder, which Mary seemed to like. Knowing her, though, she would have cut off the bottom and worn it with those big, knee-high boots she had a bunch of. Mary turned the whole world into a runway, and Evan admired it.

"So, when's the next shoot?" Evan asked, struggling not to look back at Barty.

"Not sure yet. You know how it is-" Her eyes widened into saucers as she looked behind Evan. "Evans."

Evan furrowed his eyebrows. "Yes?"

"No. No, I mean Evans."

Finally, a pile of tangled red hair appeared next to his shoulder, and Evan understood. Lily Evans had walked into the café with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Sirius and Remus weren't exactly hostile with Mary, but they were both protective over Lily and high school drama had strong roots.

"Could I have a chocolate latte?" Lily asked, her sweet tone slightly tense.

"Sure. And the two of you?"

"One hot cocoa and one black coffee."

"Look at that, Remus Lupin remembered my order," Sirius cooed. Remus rolled his eyes but Evan could have sworn his ears were a little pink.

Lily turned towards Evan with a bright smile, her freckles scrunching up across her face. “Nice to meet you. I’m Lily Evans.”

Evan cleared his throat, being made slightly uncomfortable by the fact that, according to Regulus, the two girls he was currently in between did not get along at all. But hey, they were in college, and who was going to let stuff like that prevent an introduction. “Nice to meet you, too. I’m Evan Rosier.”

Her smile got wider. Somehow. “Oh, I’ve heard about you! The Slytherin dorms seem like so much fun!”

”You could always visit.”

Evan could feel Mary’s glare on the side of his neck, but he really couldn’t help it if he was a people pleaser. Besides, he knew Lily wouldn’t ever visit, anyway. The way things worked in their little group was complicated, but Evan understood it, despite being a bit of a newcomer. The most frequent hangout place was Evan and Emmeline’s dorm. Mary was the one who was most often in the dorm, because of Marlene. Frankly, Evan thought Mary would be at least civil to Lily during their hangouts, but Marlene held grudges with a death grip. A boy had tripped Peter in a playground when they were all children and Marlene didn’t give the boy any peace throughout all of middle school and high school. So, no. Lily stayed away from Evan and Emmeline’s dorm. 

Evan thought of leaving, even without his tea, which was likely taking long because Mary was a conversationalist, if not anything. He got deep in his thoughts and wondered if it was worth it. Why would he even leave, anyway? Because of Barty? Because of the tension between Mary and Lily? There was so much in this new world that he had missed out on, and he felt slightly out of place. It was always random and stupid, the way his emotions worked. It made no sense. One minute he could be laughing until he cried with Regulus and the next he wondered how long it would take for Regulus to leave him in the dust. Dumb dumb dumb.

”Your tea’s about to get cold, Rosy,” a cheery voice drawled from behind him. Barty. Of course.  
Evan quickly grabbed the tea, but Mary was too quick to let go and he was to slow to grab onto the mug that came crashing down on his sweater. 
“Clumsy,” Lily muttered, the slightest heat in her eyes directed at Mary. 
Remus immediately grabbed some tissues from the counter to start wiping Evan down, but it was no use. 
“Fuck, it’s hot,” Evan said with a wince. 
“You have anywhere you need to go after this?” Barty asked, scanning him up and down. Evan’s face heated up. 
“Uh…class?” 
Lily gave a soft, pitying smile. “Sweetie, you’re not going like this. You’re lucky it’s a sweater, though. You can just take it off.” She turned to Remus. “You’ve dried it enough already. Those tissues have been through too much.” 

Remus stared at the slightly tea-soaked, crumpled up tissues in his hand and walked away towards the trash bin. 
“Go on,” Mary said. “Take it off or you’ll die from a heat stroke.” 
“That’s not how heat strokes work,” Lily stated. 
Mary frowned, but she didn’t say anything. 
“I’m not wearing anything underneath,” Evan finally said, because maybe some words could break through this tension. 
Mary and Sirius burst out laughing. Lily looked horrified. Remus had apparently already left them in favour of a nearby bookstore. And Barty…Barty looked amused. 
“Who wears a sweater with nothing underneath?” Lily exclaimed. 
“I definitely do,” Sirius said through a wheeze. 
“Same here,” Mary agreed. “It’s in fashion, actually.” 

“Well, maybe you can convince everyone this sweater is a recent release,” Mary continued. “A statement on the waste of drinks and capitalism.” 
“It’s abstract, really,” Sirius said, still red from laughing. 
“The only issue is that it’s white,” Lily sighed. “A darker colour and the tea would have blended in perfectly.” 
“It’s interesting how no one’s helping,” Evan joked, though he was actually horrified. The day could not have possibly had a worse start.

“You can take my shirt,” Barty offered. 
Sometimes, Evan wondered if Barty was an idiot. Was he going to walk around shirtless the whole day? Or, best case scenario, run back to his dorm shirtless? 
“I have a tank top on underneath,” Barty explained, seemingly reading Evan’s thoughts. “The weather’s way too cold for a regular shirt.” 
Cold? Evan was sweating already. The only reason he’d worn the sweater was because too many of his t-shirts had been ‘borrowed’ by Emmeline and Pandora. 

“Or you can take my hoodie,” Lily spoke up during the silence. “I actually have something on underneath. Y’know, like a normal person.” Bless you, Lily Evans. 
“Sure,” Evan said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic. “I’ll just change in the bathroom, I guess.” 
Barty’s eyebrows furrowed, but Evan didn’t dig too deep into it. He probably got offended if a baby didn’t smile at him. Besides, Evan was not going to overthink about the eyebrows of his rival. What was more embarrassing than the tea accident was that Barty likely didn’t even think of Evan as a rival. That’s what happens when you’re at the top. You never think to look down. Still, Evan couldn’t let his shame or guilt or feelings get in the way of his goal; graduating top of the class with a degree in psychology, on his way to make his parents proud. Because if he wasn’t making someone proud, what was the point?

Dorcas was buzzing. She genuinely felt like a bee. If she had a spirit animal, it would be a bee. It was an interesting place to be in, Dorcas’s mind. 
“What colour should I dye my hair next?” Pandora inquired as she lay down on her stomach, staring at Dorcas’s collection of crystals. 
“Why not do a bunch of colours at once? Pink, purple, and blue would look splendid. Isn’t it a bit soon, though? You only just dyed your front hair pink.” 
“Yeah, but Xeno’s been extra annoying lately, and I’m hoping I can piss him off even more with my hair. Maybe if he breaks in class, the professor will give me and Lily the assignment.” 
Dorcas mocked astonishment. “Pandora Rosier! Are you being a cheat?” 
Pandora tilted her head as she examined Dorcas’s amethyst. It was her absolute favourite crystal that she’d ever owned, and the first that she bought for herself. “Nope, just being practical.” 

Dorcas chuckled and got up from her bed to sit down next to Pandora on the floor. 
“How are you and blondie?” Pandora asked with a mischievous little smile. 
“Rita or Marlene?” 
Pandora sat up immediately. “You like both of them?!” 
Dorcas repelled at the thought. “God, no. I like neither of them. What even gave you that idea?” 
“Nothing, you just kept talking about Marlene for so long I thought you might like her. Besides, didn’t you say she was fit-“ Pandora’s mouth was instantly covered by Dorcas’s hand, despite there not being anyone else in their dorm. “Please, shut up.”

Pandora shrugged, seeming to be perfectly happy to move on to a different topic. “How’s the party planning going?” 
“Absolutely splendid, thank you very much.” It was true, and Dorcas was proud. She’d made a whole list of what to do and already, she’d cleared up most of the tasks. All she needed to do was make sure Rita came to her party, Marlene didn’t, and that everyone else was happy. According to some senior Dorcas ran into (‘ran into’ as in chased down and pestered for answers), Rita was friendlier with a tiny bit of alcohol in her. And, maybe with the help of some good vodka and music, Dorcas could convince the journalist to adjust what the newspaper had said about her, or, even better, write another article entirely. An article strictly about Dorcas’s talents. That was the best case scenario, at least.