Chapter 5
Lily’s head was throbbing when she woke up.
She ripped the blankets off of her body, feeling very hot, and her first coherent thought was a strong-worded hate message to her past self from the night before for drinking so much.
The thoughts that followed weren’t quite as simple.
Following her fight with Mary and her conversation with Marlene, Lily went back to her room to try to come to a conclusion.
But feelings were complicated. Lily was used to repressing them until they sorted themselves out or until they became impossible to solve, but she’d have to try a different approach with this particular situation.
So she’d sat on her bed, going through any and all drawers of her mind that could provide her with some clarity (to no avail, of course, because when had things ever worked out for Lily Evans?).
After a while, she’d decided she still had most of her life ahead of her, which gave her plenty of time to figure out things out, so she’d set herself a deadline to come to a conclusion (some might argue that wasn’t the best way to figure things out, but Lily had always thought she worked best under pressure).
She had until the Christmas holidays started.
With that goal set in mind, she’d closed her eyes and fallen right into Morpheus’ arms.
So Lily woke up, still in her party attire, and quickly made her way to the bathroom, trying her best to occupy her mind with trivial thoughts as she removed her makeup.
It would probably be much more efficient if she did it with her wand, but she couldn’t be bothered to go grab it and, in any case, her wand work wasn’t the best when she was hungover.
On top of that, she found the process quite relaxing, actually; removing the day-old paint on her face, exposing her naked skin. In normal circumstances, it wasn’t much of a hassle to clean her face, but her little cry the previous night had gifted Lily at least a few more minutes of scrubbing until she considered herself decent.
She jumped in the shower and tried not to think about how Mary would act towards her when they met or, even worse, how Lily herself would act.
She supposed she should be angry, and she still was, a bit, but certainly not even half as much as she had been yesterday.
Plus, most of it wasn’t even Mary’s fault, really, it was just Lily’s problems building up until something angered her enough to break the dam.
Her sister’s hostility towards her, her parents’ indifference to it, people’s (absolutely fallacious) perception of her…
Mary had just been doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, and it didn’t help that Lily had recently started seeing her in more-than-friendly ways, much against her will.
So, as Lily rinsed her hair, she decided she would simply wait to see what Mary would do, and then make yet another decision based on that.
***
When Lily managed to drag herself to the Great Hall, leaving her roommates sleeping comfortably in their beds, she found a few of her friends sitting at the Gryffindor table, most of them looking as good as Lily felt (which was to say, not good at all).
Peter was looking quite green, staring at his food as if it were his worst enemy. Sirius wasn’t much better, with his black hair tangled and messy, his lashes sticky and clumpy from the leftover mascara.
James, on the other hand, was looking fresh as a rose, his hair still wet from the shower, taking a muffin from a nearby tray as he greeted Lily.
“Hello, lads.” Lily said, maybe a bit louder than necessary, startling Sirius and Peter, but her headache seemed to improve with seeing others in misery, too. Funny, that.
“Not so bloody loud, Evans!” Sirius whispered, glaring at her as he laid his head on the table.
“I take it Remus’ still sleeping, then?” Lily asked, sitting next to Peter and grabbing herself a crumpet, spreading butter on it.
“Yes.” Sirius responded. “Lucky him.” He sighed, looking at James accusingly.
“Oh, come off it, Sirius!” James scoffed. He turned to Lily. “He’s mad because I accidentally woke him up.” He explained, rolling his eyes.
“Well, Lily clearly didn’t “accidentally” wake up any of the girls, James, did she?” Sirius retorted, elbowing his friend on the ribs.
“Oh, Sirius, you can’t expect everyone to even come close to my cat-like elegance and discretion.” Lily teased. “It’s just not fair to those who can’t compete with it.” She pouted, sticking her tongue out at James when he glared at her.
“You’re quite right, Lily.” Sirius grinned, seeming to have recovered a bit after eating. “It’s so sad that not everyone can live up to the standards people like us set, but it’s the world we live in.” He said dramatically, as if he was really quite affected by this problem.
“All of you, shut up.” Peter groaned, still feeling nauseous, by the looks of it.
Obviously, nobody listened to him.
***
After breakfast, Lily did not return to her dorm, or even to the common room, too afraid of what she might do if she saw Mary. She also wasn’t really looking forward to see Marlene, because Lily had asked her a very personal question, and Marlene would probably want to know if Lily had figured anything out (which she hadn’t, but leave that to future Lily, who would, in the right time, curse current Lily for her procrastination issues).
So, with those places out of bounds, she went to the library, a place where any one of her friends who wished to find her would likely go, and those who would prefer not to actively seek her out would steer clear of.
She entered the room, taking in the smell of books, the silence and calm of it, the rows and rows of words and letters arranged in such a way to invoke emotions or pass on knowledge.
And, of course, the librarian, Madam Pince.
Most people ignored her, whispering about her rigidness behind her back, but the truth was that Lily had grown to appreciate and even enjoy the lady’s company.
Maybe she wasn’t the friendliest at first glance, but you just had to keep trying to get past that harsh exterior. Lily often found similarities between the woman and herself, something she’d pointed out once, earning one of Pince’s rare smiles.
“Good morning, Madam Pince.” Lily whispered, smiling as she approached her. The librarian always insisted on her calling her Irma, her first name, but Lily just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She had too much respect for her, even if she insisted there was no need to.
“Morning!?” She said incredulously, lifting her eyes from a book and looking at Lily over her glasses. “It’s almost noon, girl!” She exclaimed, shaking her head mildly.
“Is it?” Lily said, checking her watch as if to verify said information. “Well, I did have quite an eventful night, so…” She excused herself, taking a nearby chair and sitting next to Pince’s desk.
“Is that so?” Irma smiled kindly, placing a bookmark on her book before closing it to give Lily her undivided attention. “Well, do tell, darling!” She prompted.
Since the library was empty (surprise, not many people wanted to spend their Sunday mornings in a library, who would’ve thought?), Lily found no issue with chatting with Madam Pince, who had given her good advice on other occasions.
She was a great listener, which was just what Lily needed at the moment, but she also didn’t hesitate to give her own opinion, with Lily’s permission, when she had finished.
So Lily told her everything she could bear to talk about, letting the words flow through her like a stream, and Madam Pince nodded and listened avidly, encouraging her to go on when Lily paused, unsure whether to continue or not.
“Do you want my opinion today, girl?” She asked once Lily had finished. One of the things Lily liked the most about her was that she never pushed boundaries, which she appreciated.
“Not today, Madam.” Lily shook her head, hoping not to disappoint her.
“Irma, please.” She insisted, though both of them knew it was in vain. “So, is Remus not with you today?” She asked, changing the subject.
“No. I haven’t even seen him since yesterday.” Lily informed her. “In fact, just about an hour ago, when I went to have breakfast, his friends told me he was still sleeping.”
“Well, judging by the night you all had, I’d say he’s earned it.” Madam Pince assured.
Apart from Lily, Remus was about the only other student to give Irma Pince some attention, updating her on various issues and listening to whatever she wanted to say.
Lily and Remus often visited the library for the sole purpose of entertaining the librarian, who was always delighted to see them.
“Do you have any books to reshelf?” Lily asked. She always took the opportunity to help Pince with her tasks, not only because that woman was getting old, but because she rather enjoyed the monotony and familiarity of tidying things up, especially in a place full of books.
Madam Pince nodded. “One day, Lily, you’re going to steal my job.” She joked, though Lily thought that there were certainly worse things than working in a library, and she wouldn’t mind taking Pince’s job once she was ready to retire.
So Lily took one of Madam Pince’s carts and got to arranging books, putting each of them where they belonged. Honestly, it was quite therapeutic.
As she picked tomes up and shelved them, she felt someone breathing behind her, someone way too tall to be the librarian, and turned suddenly, holding a thick book as a weapon.
“Hiya, Lily.” Remus grinned.
“Merlin, Lupin, you scared me!” Lily shouted in a whisper, hitting the boy with the book as a reprimand. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing, Evans.” He smiled, taking a book from the cart and flipping through the pages, as if he’d find out what it was about that way.
“I’m hiding from Mary.” Lily confessed, a bit ashamed. “And Marlene.” She added.
“Okay…” Remus responded, sensing that Lily didn’t want to talk about it. “I’m hiding from James, because he’s gotten it inside his head that he has to “wow” Regulus, and he won’t stop pestering me about it ‘cause, out of the four of us, I’m the only one who has enough brains to actually see how fucking gone he is for that bloke.” Remus explained, leaving the book in its place before picking another one up and going through the same process.
“He’s helpless, honestly.” Lily shook her head, mildly amused.
“Yes, and especially after seeing Regulus kiss Barty last night.” Remus commented nonchalantly.
“What?!”
“Oh, right, you weren’t there.” Remus realised. “Yeah, it was wild. James told me that Mary told him that Pandora told her that it was just some elaborate plan to make Sirius shit his pants and, I have to hand it to him, mission accomplished.”
“I bet it was also to make James jealous.” Lily said, trying not to dwell on what else Mary had talked about with Pandora and Dorcas.
“That’s what I figured, too, but I didn’t want to make James sad or, even worse, boost his ego more.” Remus said, and Lily laughed.
“Well, I hate to be the one to point it out, but we’re doing a really shit job of hiding, ‘cause I reckon this is the first place anyone will come looking for us.” Lily commented.
“Haven’t you ever heard of the term “hiding in plain sight”?” Remus said. “Because I fear I am going to have to personally escort you out of this establishment if you haven’t, you peasant.”
“Please, who do you take me for? Peter?” Lily teased back, earning a chuckle from Remus. “Hey, speaking of hiding, did you know that elephants can hide really well in a field of wheat?” Lily stated.
“That’s not true at all, Lils.” Remus sighed, shaking his head.
“Well,” Lily started, barely able to hold her laughter in, “have you ever seen one?”
Remus tried to hide his amusement. “That is quite possibly the dumbest thing you’ve ever said, Lily, and I’ve heard you say a lot of stupid shit.”
“It is quite possible, because I stole that joke from Sirius.” Lily grinned, feeling much lighter than she did when she woke up.
Hanging out with Remus seemed to have that effect on her.
“Ugh, I honestly should’ve seen that one coming.” Remus groaned.
***
Lily spent as much time in the library as possible, with Remus, until Madam Pince practically threw them out, telling them they had to eat, and Remus’ stomach growling certainly agreed with her.
So, dragging her feet as slowly as she could, Lily followed Remus to the Great Hall, already dreading it.
“Hey,” Remus said, taking Lily’s wrist when they got to the entrance, “it’s going to be alright, okay?”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
“Lily, c’mon. Mary’s your friend, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He assured her. “Plus, you’ll have me by your side at all times, and I’ll punch anyone who even dares to look at you the wrong way.”
“Do you even know how to throw a punch?” Lily questioned, because Remus certainly didn’t look like the type of person to resort to violence, and he probably had never had the need to.
“I suppose we’ll find out.” He smiled, taking Lily’s hand and guiding her to an empty space next to Sirius (while Lily pretended she didn’t see how happy Remus and Sirius were to be sitting side by side).
At all the tables, the oldest students were uncharacteristically quiet, barely managing to stay awake, while those on the lower years were blissfully unaware of it, chattering excitedly without caring about the groans and heckling they earned from those who were still hungover from the party.
Lily immediately noticed Mary, who was, thankfully, sitting the furthest away from her, next to Marlene and in front of James. Her eyebags were a bit dark and pronounced, but Lily thought (and regretted it ipso facto) she looked beautiful as ever.
Her hair was tied back, with a bunch of stray baby hairs sticking out of the low ponytail. She was wearing a sweater that was a bit big on her, which made her look adorable, but Lily averted her gaze as soon as she’d had time to admire her.
“What were you two doing all this time?” Peter asked Remus and Lily suggestively.
Remus rolled her eyes, clearly used to that kind of thing, and Lily thought about how easy it would be if her and Remus were actually a thing. If she fancied him.
Remus was, theoretically, the perfect boyfriend for Lily. He had the same interests as her, but he also liked different stuff, so they weren’t basically the same person. He was smart, he got good grades, and he was funny. You could have a conversation with him, however deep or shallow you wanted it to be. He was, Lily supposed, attractive (more than that, if you asked Sirius) so, really, it should be him that Lily fancied.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she was more confused than ever, more often than not stealing glances at one of her very best friends while pretending nothing had changed.
“We were just in the library with Madam Pince.” Remus clarified, and Lily nodded as if to verify his alibi.
“I still don’t get how you guys hang out with that woman. She’s so rude.” Sirius said, shaking his head.
“Hey!” Remus complained. “It’s not her fault you don’t even try to know her to see that that’s not true.” He defended her, because of course he would. She and Remus had some sort of unbreakable bond that no one else would be able to understand (a direct quote from Remus, actually).
“Whatever.” Sirius said, not in the mood (for once in his life) to bicker with Remus, it seemed. Alcohol really did change people.
“Whatever.” Remus agreed, annoyed, while filling his plate up with various foods.
Lily barely touched her food throughout lunch, sitting in silence and wishing she’d never lashed out at Mary.
Mary was her best friend, for fuck’s sake, unresolved and repressed feelings aside. Lily didn’t want to keep on ignoring her when it was impossible for her to do so. In fact, she wanted nothing more than to curl up into her arms and just… be with her, really. Anything she could give, Lily would take.
As if reading her thoughts, as soon as Mary finished her meal (no, Lily was certainly not checking every five seconds, what are you on about?), she went around the table to get behind Lily, bending down to whisper in her ear.
“Lily,” she said, “can we talk outside for a moment, please?”
And, of course, weak as she was, Lily didn’t need to be told twice.
So Lily followed her along the castle, obviously not thinking about the way her breath had touched Lily’s neck, or how Mary’s lips were merely centimetres away from her skin, or what Mary would’ve done if Lily had just turned and…
No, Lily certainly wasn’t thinking about any of that, thank you very much. Leave it to post-Christmas Lily.
When Mary thought they wouldn’t be overheard, she stopped, standing face to face with Lily.
Lily was already working out ways to apologise to Mary when the girl spoke first.
“Listen, Lily, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry, okay?” She started. “I get that I was kind of being a shitty friend, and you’ve certainly got other stuff on your plate as well, and I was just being a bit… difficult. Can we please just go back to how we were before?” She pleaded.
“You’re sorry?” Lily said, a bit surprised, quite frankly. “Mary, I’m the one who should be sorry, really. I had no right to scream at you like I did, I just had a lot on my mind, and that’s not an excuse, I know, but it’s an explanation. So, if it’s what you want, I would absolutely love to get back to normal.” She said, though she wasn’t sure what “normal” meant between them anymore.
Without hesitation, Mary hugged her tightly, with one hand around Lily’s neck and the other on her upper waist. Lily hugged her back the best she could while trying not to combust from Mary’s touch.
“Well, thank Merlin for that, because I cannot handle those five idiots without you.” Mary smiled, and wasn’t that just worth a million sunsets?
“Tell me about it.” Lily smiled back, taking Mary’s hand (in a completely platonic way) and following her back to the Great Hall.
Obviously, they made Remus switch places with Mary (much to his and Sirius’ dismay), and that told everyone all they needed to know about what had happened.
Just like that, Mary and Lily were back to the way they were, to the casual observer, laughing and whispering together without a care in the world. To the casual observer.
What people couldn’t see, though, was Lily’s mind going over every little touch, and every single stare, to find something unknown even to Lily herself.
And, if her stomach fluttered whenever Mary held her hand, or brushed her cheek, or simply looked at Lily… Well, nobody needed to know.
***
Dorcas woke up in a bed that wasn’t theirs.
She sat up, disoriented, taking in their surroundings in the dim light. The bed curtains were closed, but they quickly swung them open to reveal, much to her relief, Regulus, Barty, and Evan’s dormitory.
“What the fuck am I doing here?” They asked no one in particular, no figures visible in the darkness.
“Well, you were so out of it by the time we got back to the common room, you could barely walk.” Regulus explained, somewhere close to her. “We tried to get you to your room but, given that Pandora had already left and we’re all boys, that was quite difficult, so we ended up just letting you crash here.”
“So, whose bed am I sleeping in, then?” She wondered, because no one was in it with them, and they didn’t have any spare ones, at least to her knowledge.
“Barty’s, I think. He somehow managed to convince Evan to let him sleep with him.”
“What time is it? It’s so dark in here.” Dorcas mused, looking around.
“No idea. We enchanted the drapes to actually work and cover all the light outside, so it could very well be noon already.”
With that, Regulus got up and opened the curtains, letting the blinding light of the sun bathe the room. Dorcas closed their eyes, wincing.
Soon enough, groans could be heard from the third bed, the sudden brightness waking the last sleepers.
“I fucking hate mornings.” Barty complained as he yawned, getting out of the bed.
“Actually,” Regulus said, checking his watch, “it’s one already, so it’s technically not morning.” He stated, matter-of-factly.
“Well, then I hate life in general, I suppose.” Barty shrugged.
“I’ve never heard truer words.” Dorcas declared, smiling past their headache.
“Shuddup.” Evan ordered sleepily, rubbing his eyes as he, too, made his way out of bed.
“Everyone get dressed, we’ll go down to eat in ten.” Regulus declared. Nobody moved. “C’mon, people!” He urged them.
“Ugh, why did I agree to be your friend?” Dorcas complained jokingly.
“‘Cause I’m filthy rich.” Regulus grinned. “You can borrow some of Evan’s clothes, I’m sure they’ll fit.”
“And I have yet to see such fortune, Reggie.” They pouted. “I’m gonna shower now.”
“You know, I don’t know how I feel about you coming in here and taking advantage of our kindness, Meadowes.” Barty said.
“Feel however you want about it, I’ll just carry on.” She smiled, closing the door behind them.
Their makeup was patchy, her dress rumpled. At least their braids hadn’t suffered enough to go through the trouble of getting them out just yet, but she’d probably change them soon, even if it was just a product of her boredness.
***
“Did you see my brother’s face when it happened?” Regulus said as they were all sitting down at the Slytherin table, ready to eat. “Priceless.” He breathed.
The topic of conversation had quickly shifted to Barty and Regulus’ kiss, which both of them were quite proud of.
“That Potter kid looked ready to rip my head off, honestly.” Barty laughed, shaking his head.
“And that wink you threw in the mix? A ten out of ten performance, really.” Dorcas added, addressing Regulus.
Evan was unnaturally quiet, something which Barty quickly realised.
“What’s your problem, Rosier?” He demanded.
“I just don’t see why we have to spend the whole day talking about this.” He said, a sour look on his face.
“Wasn’t it your idea, Evan?” Regulus questioned. “You should feel proud, your plan worked like a charm. And we say that as actual wizards.”
Evan scoffed. “I said you should snog someone, not Barty.” He clarified.
“How’s that any different?” Regulus asked.
“It could mess up the group dynamic!” Evan argued. “All of a sudden, you guys start dating, then you break up, and we all have to choose sides. Or maybe one of you now develops a crush on the other, and it is so painfully obvious that we just can’t hang out together because one feels uncomfortable. Or-”
“Or maybe it was just a kiss that didn’t mean anything.” Barty interrupted. “I mean, I have standards, for fuck’s sake.”
“Oi!” Regulus complained. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’ll have you know I’m quite the catch, Barty, and you should consider yourself lucky I even let you be near me.” Regulus smiled.
“I’ll consider myself lucky if I’m ever free of you, Black.” Barty assured him. “See, Evan, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Everything is quite normal between us, I assure you. Plus, I have a feeling Reg’s quest for revenge and chaos hasn’t ended quite yet.”
“Indeed it hasn’t, Barty.” Regulus smiled. “I just have to figure out what my next move will be. Any other brilliant ideas, Rosier?”
Evan rolled his eyes. “At the risk of them being so thoroughly misunderstood, I hereby resign from ever giving you ideas again, Regulus.”
“Such a shame. You really were the mastermind behind our plans, Evan. You will be missed.” Regulus said, feigning sadness.
“I suppose you wouldn’t like to just let it go before anything bad happens, no?” Dorcas asked, though they could expect the response they’d get.
“I’m afraid not, Cas.” Regulus shrugged.
At that moment, a jet-black owl came in through one of the many windows of the Great Hall, dropping an emerald envelope right in front of Regulus.
He swallowed sharply, staring at the letter as if it was the Devil incarnate. “Damn it.” He said, looking around the room before opening it.
His eyes scanned the page, reading the neat handwriting, but Dorcas couldn’t see what it said from their position.
“What is it?” She asked worriedly when they thought Regulus had finished reading.
“It’s from mother and father. I suppose word of yesterday’s events got to them.” He said flatly, not letting any emotion invade his face.
“Shit, Reg, I’m sorry.” Barty said. “If I had known that-”
“But you didn’t know, Barty.” Regulus cut him. “What’s done is done. I just shouldn’t have let my guard down in front of so many people. You never know who’s watching.”
Without another word, he muttered an incantation to make the letter disappear, envelope and all.
They all ate in silence until someone approached from behind Dorcas. At first, she thought it was probably Pandora but, judging by Regulus’ face, they were clearly mistaken.
As they turned, Dorcas saw Sirius standing there, fidgeting with his hands.
“Reg, that letter…” He started, unsure.
“...is none of your business, Sirius.” Regulus finished, looking at him harshly.
“What did they say?” He asked, not giving up.
“Again, it’s none of your business. It doesn’t concern you. We’re not your family, remember?”
“That’s not t-”
“Of course it’s true, Sirius!” Regulus shouted, making heads turn. “It was true from the moment you stepped foot outside the house that night. You left us.”
“I had no choice, and you know it, Reg.”
“You left me.” Regulus said, like the words were scraping at his very throat when he pushed them out.
“I-” Sirius began, but he didn’t know what to say.
“Just leave, Sirius. You certainly know how to do that.” Regulus said lowly, turning his gaze to his food.
And then Sirius left, crestfallen.
***
The next couple of weeks passed by quickly for Dorcas. The routine was always the same: wake up, have breakfast, go to classes, have lunch, finish classes, do homework, and sleep.
After the chaos of summer, waking up whenever your body felt like it but being tired all day, not being able to visit most of your friends…, being back was appreciated.
Because Dorcas could be with her favourite people in the world. Sure, they got on their nerves more often than not, but they were still her friends, and they made her feel welcome, at home.
So, to Dorcas, going back to tight-knit schedules and being away from their family was more of a reward than anything else, and the days just went by without many anecdotes, until it was suddenly the night of the first reunion of the Slug Club.
Horace Slughorn’s invitation had said that it was a “black tie” event, though Dorcas wasn’t entirely sure what that meant. They’d assumed it would probably mean to dress a bit formal, so they picked out a simple black suit (they didn’t know if she was supposed to wear black specifically or not, so she decided to play it safe, just in case), pairing it with a half-buttoned grey shirt and an undone bowtie.
They had even taken the time to do some goddess braids, which were a favourite of Dorcas’, mostly because her microbraids had finally reached their end, and she wanted to look their best.
Pandora had decided to get ready in Dorcas’ room, because their roommates were always out doing Merlin knows what, so they’d have the dorm to themselves.
Dorcas had picked out the perfect dress for her: a grey, long, flowy dress with a strapless neckline, and she thought Pandora looked absolutely gorgeous. Dorcas had even picked the colour so that they’d be matching a bit.
Of course, Pandora had had to add her own signature touch which, in this case, meant an ivy crown (they had become, according to her, her new thing, whatever that meant). As always, Pandora made it look good.
“We are going to be the hottest people in there.” Pandora said, looking at her and Dorcas in the mirror.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Dorcas smiled, putting a bit of lip gloss on her lips.
“So true, Dorcas.” Pandora smiled, putting ungodly amounts of blush on her cheeks. “Now, let’s go get Regulus.”
The boy in question was dressed almost exactly like Dorcas, except that his shirt was white and buttoned up to his neck, with the bowtie tied.
None of them said anything, but they all knew that Regulus had started being more cautious and reserved in public ever since his parents’ letter.
As they walked down the halls, they saw other people who were clearly too dressed up to go anywhere but the club, but they all kept to themselves. After the first week’s party, Dorcas had done enough socialising to last a few months, at the very least.
The party was to be held at Slughorn’s office, but it became abundantly clear when they got there that the professor had put some sort of spell on it to make it bigger and more… extravagant.
The walls were draped with velvet (yes, real, good quality velvet, Dorcas and Pandora checked), a large table placed in the middle of the room, where porcelain cutlery lay in perfect formation, and a buffet so elaborate that not even the Great Hall’s grandest Christmas meals could top it.
What really caught Dorcas’ eyes, though, was an ice sculpture of a dragon, positioned right next to a six-tier chocolate fountain, down which flowed white, brown, and dark chocolate alternatively.
She immediately dragged Regulus and Pandora there, momentarily forgetting all about her plan to wow professor Slughorn more than Marlene could.
They prepared a bruschetta with plenty of different fruits and dipped it long enough to get all three kinds of chocolate, looking around for her rival.
“Guys,” she said, “you’ve got to try this. It’s like having a violin playing in your mouth.” They said. Probably not the best way to describe something, but it was the best Dorcas could come up with on the spot.
It was practically heavenly, and Dorcas was an atheist.
“Oh, yes, what I would give to have horsehair, wood, and string inside my mouth.” Regulus replied flatly, though Dorcas could see the corner of his mouth rise slightly.
“Shut up, wanker, you know what I mean.” Dorcas retorted, shoving him softly.
“Ew,” Pandora said, looking at something to her left, “what’s that git doing here?”
Dorcas turned to see Severus Snape, greasy hair and all, standing next to Slughorn, apparently entranced by their conversation.
Dorcas had always hated him, not just because of his bigoted, outdated, and completely hypocritical views on non-pureblood wizards, which was reason enough to despise him, but also because he was just, simply put, annoying.
He carried himself like he knew he was better than everyone else, looking down on his fellow classmates. Not to mention the fact that he always managed to surpass both Dorcas and Marlene in potions (but they didn’t take him into account when it came to their rivalry, because both of them prefered to pretend he didn’t exist. It was probably the only thing they had in common).
“I bet he’s the one who snitched on Reg.” Pandora whispered. Dorcas feared Regulus might lash out, or worse, shut down, but he did neither.
Instead, he scoffed and said, “bold of you to assume he’d ever get invited to a party, much less if it’s organised by Gryffindors.”
“Ugh, speaking of…” Dorcas said, watching as Marlene and Sirius appeared at the entrance.
Marlene was wearing a red dress with short sleeves that fell down her shoulders, leaving them uncovered. The skirt went all the way down to her feet, and the neck was much too low for Dorcas’ taste (which meant she had to restrain herself from looking too long at the girl).
Regulus shifted in place, looking nervous. His brother and him hadn’t talked at all since that day in the Great Hall, but Dorcas knew Regulus had spent many hours thinking about it. How could he not, really?
“I hate him.” He said, before promptly turning away from the door.
“I know, Reggie.” Dorcas said, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. They wanted to do anything to make Regulus go back to his “normal” self again. Sure, he had never really been chatty or tremendously outgoing, but at least he looked… happier than this.
“Well, hello, fellow Slytherins!” Slughorn greeted, having found them amongst all his students. “Oh, and a Ravenclaw! Silly me, I almost thought you were one of mine, Pandora.” He laughed. None of them laughed back. “Must be all this time you spend with them, right? Slytherin by association, I say.” He chuckled, straightening his tie. “I mean, I can’t really blame you, now, can I? You certainly seek out the best company there is.”
Pandora smiled awkwardly, nodding a bit.
“Regulus Black.” He said, turning to him. “I have to admit, I didn’t really expect much from you, having met your prankster brother, but you have surprised me thoroughly, my boy!” Regulus fought back a grimace. “Such excellence, such grace…”
“Thank you, professor.”
“And how could we forget Dorcas Meadowes!” Horace continued, apparently making it a point to give each of his guests a personalised ted talk of some sort. “One of the most promising students in your year, you are. Though, I fear Severus will have to get the number one spot, my dear.” Dorcas tried not to puke, honestly. “You and that Marlene McKinnon are great potion-makers, though, I have to admit it. So much raw talent.”
Why did everyone feel the need to mention Marlene whenever they were speaking about or to her? Dorcas was getting quite fed up.
“Oh, well, I try, sir.” They smiled politely, wishing Slughorn would just go and they could all make fun of him in peace.
“I’ve no doubt about that, young one.” He assured them. “Now, if you’d be so kind as to sit down on your assigned places.” Horace said, pointing to the table. “I’ve got to go greet some more people, but make yourselves comfortable!”
With that, he left, and the three of them burst out laughing once they were sure he wouldn’t hear them.
“I have never met someone who loved to hear themselves talk more than this guy.” Regulus said, a spark in his eyes.
“Well, I’d say maybe Barty could come close, but still, it’s mad impressive, that.” Dorcas joked, smiling.
Following Slughorn’s orders, they went around the table, looking at each and every one of those little paper labels with their names on them, indicating where they were supposed to sit.
Pandora was the first to find hers, immediately sitting down, claiming her feet hurt. Dorcas found their name on the seat to her right. They looked at the chair next to their name, expecting to find Regulus’ name on it, but in its place were the most horrendous words known to existence, for Dorcas: Marlene McKinnon.
They groaned loudly, dreading the rest of the event. “Do you see your name anywhere close, Reggie?” She asked.
“Yeah, right there in front of you.” He pointed, going around the table to sit down. “Oh.” He said. “And next to Sirius Black, of course. We can all thank Slughorn for his remarkable seating abilities.” He proclaimed dryly.
“Too right.” Dorcas agreed, glaring at the piece of paper to her right.
It didn’t take long at all, much to their dismay, for Marlene and Sirius to find their names on the table.
“Oi, where’s your name, Sirius?” Marlene asked, grabbing every card and reading it to herself before letting it back down. Honestly, what a way to waste time, Dorcas thought, when the names were clearly legible from their original place.
“Hang on, I’m trying to find it, Marls.” Sirius answered, looking at the name cards in the same way his friend was. Seriously (no pun intended), what was the deal with the pair of them?
“Oh.” Marlene said, stopping on her tracks. “I found them.” She said unenthusiastically, noticing Dorcas, Regulus, and Pandora for the first time.
“Coming!” Sirius said, still blissfully unaware of what awaited him.
Marlene waved her hand so he’d have no trouble finding her, though her flashy dress already took care of that, Dorcas thought.
Sirius freezed as soon as he got to his assigned seat.
It would be funny if Regulus wasn’t also affected by this turn of events.
“Reg.” Sirius breathed, but he wasn’t sure what to say. It was like that Sunday all over again, and Dorcas had had enough of depressed Regulus, so they didn’t want a repeat of that at all.
She didn’t want anything that would make their friend anything other than ecstatic, quite frankly.
So they got ready to intervene, straightening up in her seat (and trying to ignore it when Marlene sat down by her side, obviously), prepared to jump at the slightest hint of a confrontation.
Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary because, right at that moment, Horace Slughorn, who was sitting just two seats from Regulus, stood up, clinking his glass with a silver spoon to get everyone’s attention.