Chapter 7
Lily woke up at five A.M., excitedly rising from her bed with a smile on her face.
It was Halloween, Lily’s favourite holiday. She could dress up, eat as many sweets as her heart desired, scare the shit out of people… What was there not to like?
It was also Mary’s favourite holiday. When they’d found this out, during their first Halloween together, they started planning ways to scare their friends, and they planned their costumes months in advance for all the Halloweens to come, normally going for matching ones.
So, this year, Lily got out of bed, feeling fresh as a rose, and proceeded to wake Mary up, whispering a little “boo” in her ear.
It was almost comical, how fast Mary sprang up, looking confused for a few seconds before realisation dawned upon her, and her sleepiness was replaced by a knowing smile.
“It’s Halloween!” They scream-whispered to each other, grinning and hugging.
After the first commotion, having calmed down, Mary whispered: “Shall we go do it now?”
Lily nodded, taking Mary’s hand to get her out of bed. Mary was wearing a baby blue nightgown, and she had just woken up, so it was completely unfair that she still looked gorgeous. Lily dragged her to the bathroom quietly, to avoid waking Marlene up.
When they got there, Mary closed the door behind them before turning on the light. Lily took her wand out of her trouser pocket, mentally going over the hand movements and words she needed to pronounce.
They had decided a few days ago that Lily should be the one to do the spell, because she had more facility with charms than Mary did, but they had each done their part (even Madam Pince had helped Lily look for the right books when she was doing her research in the library).
Mary cast a quick silencing spell on the room as Lily swung the shower curtain.
“Aqua sanguis rubra” Lily muttered, flicking her wrist and pointing at the showerhead.
“Okay, now do the sink!” Mary said, smiling from ear to ear. Lily turned to it, closing her eyes to remember the incantation.
“Alright. Scarabaeus influunt.”
“Did it work?” Mary asked excitedly.
“Let’s check.” Lily smiled, turning the sink on. Immediately, beetles, cockroaches, spiders, and numerous other bugs and arachnids started flowing down, some falling through the drain, others trying to climb out. “Oh, shit. I knew I forgot something.” Lily said, and proceeded to place an insulating shield to prevent any bugs from creeping out of the sink.
“Cool.” Mary smiled, watching as the beetles tried to escape, only to be knocked back by some invisible force field. “What about the shower?”
Lily turned to turn the water on there, delighted as a red, kind of thick liquid came out of the showerhead. It looked exactly like blood, but it was just the water bending itself to Lily’s will, changing its consistency and colour, but it slid right off the body like water did, sticking nowhere. It was simply the shock factor they were going for.
They knew Marlene liked to shower in the morning, so they’d both showered before going to bed the day before to not be affected by their little stunt. It was basically tradition to try and scare Marlene, who was tougher than anticipated. Now, they were just doing it for fun, knowing that Marlene would likely laugh with them, rather than get angry or scared, which worked out quite nicely for them all.
Feeling giddy at their success, Lily and Mary got out of the bathroom as quietly as they could, sharing complicit smiles as they reached their beds.
Mary climbed back into the covers of her bed, yawning slightly. Lily turned back to go to her own, given that they still had a few hours before they had to wake up, but Mary grabbed her wrist before she could go.
“Wait.” She whispered, looking up at her, looking so soft it was almost unbearable. “Will you stay here? With me?” She asked. As if Lily would ever deny her anything. “It’s just a couple of hours, and it’s Halloween…” She argued, like Lily needed convincing. She really didn’t.
Her confusion be damned, Lily relished on the opportunity to be close to Mary, even if she knew it didn’t mean anything. Perhaps because of it.
So, without a word, Lily lifted the sheets up, getting under them as she got comfortable, turning sideways to look straight into Mary’s eyes. It unnerved her but, when she tried to look away, her eyes inevitably found Mary’s parted lips, full and inviting. Lily was breathing the same air as Mary, their noses almost touching, and it would be so easy to close the distance between them and…
No. Lily would not ruin this friendship. It wasn’t like she liked Mary like that, or anything, really. She was just confused. After Christmas, Lily would have it all figured out, and everything would be okay and normal between them again (just like it is now, Lily reassured herself).
“I still think we could’ve managed to get into the boys’ dorm to get them as well.” Mary muttered.
Lily sighed, though she was smiling. “I told you, Remus is a really light sleeper, he’d hear us for sure. Plus, we wouldn’t even be able to see their reactions, it’s a waste of a good prank.” Lily argued. They’d been going back and forth on whether they should get the boys, too, but they finally decided against it. For the first prank, that is, because there was no way that they were getting through Halloween unscatched.
“Honestly, though, they’re lucky we only do this for Halloween, because I’m sure we’d give them a run for their money if we wanted to. They aren’t even half the prank masterminds they think they are.” Mary assured, smiling (and Lily’s eyes certainly didn’t linger on her mouth when she did).
“Oh, absolutely.” Lily agreed, her eyes crinkling as she looked at Mary, resisting the urge to cradle her cheek.
“Goodnight, Lily.” Mary whispered, so quiet Lily almost thought she’d imagined it.
And then she did something that left Lily utter and completely speechless. She kissed her cheek.
It wasn’t like they’d never done that before, but Lily always knew where they stood when it happened, and there wasn’t a whirlwind of emotions in her chest.
It was a soft kiss, so soft it could hardly be described as such. Mary’s lips simply brushed against her cheek for a brief second. Lily was lucky the room was dark, because she could feel her whole face heating up.
She turned, giving Mary her back, and Mary quickly wrapped her arms around Lily’s waist, spooning her.
Lily smiled despite herself, feeling her stomach fluttering.
***
“Hey, Lily.” Mary whispered, unbearably softly, putting a strand of Lily’s hair behind her ear.
Lily blinked the sleep out of her eyes. “Mph?”
“It’s time to wake up.” She said. Lily covered her face with a pillow, ignoring her. “C’mon, Lils, I’m sure you don’t wanna miss Marlene’s reaction to our masterplan.” She smiled, taking the pillow away from Lily’s reach, looking down at her with crinkled eyes.
“I’m sure we’ll hear her shriek just fine from here.” Lily assured her, rubbing her eyes as she stifled a yawn.
“What about classes, then? You’ve got a reputation to maintain now, Evans.” Mary teased, poking Lily’s side, making her giggle a bit against her will.
“It’s Halloween.” Lily said simply. She’d planned to follow it up with some sort of explanation, but she was still quite sleepy, and her mouth didn’t obey her.
“Well, you’ve got to eat, at least.”
Lily forced open one of her eyes, contemplating that as she looked up at Mary.
“C’mon!” Mary urged her, tickling her until Lily finally had to rise from the bed, laughing and screaming as she struggled to get away from Mary’s touch (that was a first, honestly).
“Okay, okay!” Lily gave up, holding her hands up in surrender as she chuckled slightly.
“What are you doing?” Came a voice from the third bed, Marlene poking her head out the curtains.
“Nothing.” Mary was quick to say.
“Happy Halloween!” Lily added, smiling brightly.
Marlene eyed them both suspiciously. “Right…” She said, squinting at them.
She was probably anticipating their annual prank, but Mary and Lily usually made it happen when they’d well entered the day, not first thing in the morning (a surprise element that had been cultivated for years with dedication, to throw Marlene off this year).
“Well, then, I’m going to have a shower.” She declared, getting out of bed, stumbling a bit, and making her way to the bathroom.
“Okay,” Lily said, “we’ll wait for you to go to breakfast, alright?”
Marlene put her thumb up affirmatively before shutting the door. It was the perfect excuse to be around the dorm when the action started, given that this was their daily routine by that point.
Mary and Lily stood close to the door, barely containing their giggles as they listened, waiting for it.
After a minute, they heard the showerhead turning on. They looked at each other. The plan had started.
“What the-” They heard Marlene say through the door. There was a bit of rustling, then the door opened, making both girls turn around to face her. “Is this all you’ve got this year? I have to admit, girls, I’m a bit disappointed, honestly.” Marlene shook her head disapprovingly, an amused smile on her face. “Ran out of ideas, then, did you?”
“Well, we can’t excel every year.” Mary shrugged. “It’s just so hard to keep outdoing ourselves, because everything we do is already perfect. What could there possibly be above “perfect”?” Mary grinned. You, Lily thought, and then immediately archived that thought, shivering. What was up with her?
“Right you are, MacDonald.” Marlene said. “Now, are you going to disenchant the shower, or shall I just get under the blood?”
“I mean, the water’s still water, it just has a different appearance, really, so it should be fine for you to use it.” Lily explained. “Plus, it adds a bit of a gory feel to your day and, isn’t that what Halloween is really all about?” She smiled.
Marlene sighed. “Fine.” She agreed, though a bit begrudgingly. “But, if I happen to have an allergic reaction or come out looking all red, I’m going to make you both pay very seriously, okay?” She threatened, pointing her finger at each of them.
Both Lily and Mary nodded, chuckling under their breath, as Marlene closed the door again.
Just like that, the first phase was done. They’d managed to convince Marlene that this was the whole prank, just a bit of red water. She would let her guard down, and be even more surprised when she saw what they did to the sink.
Really, they couldn’t keep doing this forever without changing things up a bit, or it would get boring.
“And now we wait.” Mary said with gleaming eyes.
“Now we wait.” Lily repeated, taking Mary by the arm and dragging her away from the door to avoid suspicion.
They both sat down on Mary’s bed. Lily fidgeted with her hands, biting the inside of her cheeks as she patiently waited.
Mary noticed her unsteady fingers, and took Lily’s left hand in hers, intertwining them. Lily felt giddy. She tried to calm her nerves, thinking about other things, but all that appeared in her mind were possible scenarios of how this day would go, already anticipating the party later that night. Unfortunately, all those thoughts included Mary, which meant they were doing a really shit job of stopping Lily from thinking about her, or how her thumb was stroking the back of her hand.
“Erm… We should probably get dressed.” Mary proposed, detangling her hand from Lily’s. It made her feel cold.
“Yeah,” Lily concured, standing up and making her way to her empty bed.
She closed the curtains and quickly put her uniform on, pausing to look at her red and gold tie. The Gryffindor colours; the colours of her house. She wondered, not for the first time, if she really belonged there.
Loyal? Sure. Brave? Honestly, she had her doubts. Was she really brave if she kept putting off the inevitable, delaying her time to make a decision that really shouldn’t be that difficult to her. Waiting until she was alone, in her house, away from Hogwarts and the people in it, to even dare seriously think about the possibility that she-
“Oh, I see you’ve finally gotten into the Halloween spirit, Marls.” Lily heard Mary joke. She came out into the open once again, seeing Marlene with a green face mask on her face.
“Shut up, Mary.” Marlene said, sticking up her middle finger, but the words were a bit hard to understand, because she insisted she had to talk without moving her mouth, or she’d crack the mask.
Lily started preparing her school bag, putting all the books, parchments, and quills she would need for the day.
Eventually, Marlene decided it was time to remove the cream from her face, not even bothering to close the door behind her as she went over to the sink.
Lily and Mary shared a complicit stare, turning to look at the turnout of their real prank.
Marlene put her head down, getting close to the source of water, and turned it on, her hands instinctively going under the faucet to cup the water.
As the first few bugs appeared, Marlene shrieked, retreating as much as she could until she hit the opposite wall.
“Holy fuck!” She screamed, holding a hand to her heaving chest. “Bloody hell. What in the actual-” She kept muttering half-finished curses, looking, horrified, at the still gushing sink.
Unable to hold it in anymore, Lily and Mary bursted out laughing. Marlene turned to look at them slowly.
“Are you fucking serious right now?” She asked, arching a brow.
“I think we’d better keep that to Remus, if we value our lives.” Mary winked, giggling. Lily snorted.
“Not the time, MacDonald.” Marlene shook her head, though Lily could see she was stifling a chuckle. “I have to admit; that,” she said, pointing at the bugs, “was brilliant.”
Mary turned to Lily. “Told ya.”
***
Their lessons passed in a blur of pranks, scares, and giddiness for the upcoming party. In all their classes together, Mary and Lily found a way to channel their Halloween spirit, hiding their wands on their sleeves and whispering numerous spells in the most discreet way possible.
In transfiguration with professor McGonagall, they charmed everyone’s books to become bats and pumpkins, laughing under their breaths as the professor immediately turned to look at Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter, who were usually the culprits of such things. It seemed that those four were just as surprised as McGonagall about the fact that they weren’t the ones behind a prank, for once.
In fact, it unnerved Sirius so that, while they were having lunch in the Great Hall, he kept talking about the “other pranksters”, as he called them, wondering who they were, and why they were only active during Halloween.
Lily and Mary shared amused looks. Every year, something similar happened, but they’d never found out that it was them who did it, and they planned to keep it that way.
“Maybe,” Sirius went on, talking to his roommates, “we could recruit them, you know, build an alliance. Our plans would be twice as good.” He proposed.
“How exactly do you plan to do that, if we don’t even know who they are?” Remus asked sceptically.
“I suppose we’d have to catch them red-handed. The question is how?” Sirius said.
“Hey, Lily,” James said, “how come you don’t really seem to care about them, but you’re always telling us we ought to stop doing so many pranks?”
“‘Cause I also don’t know who they are. Plus, I love Halloween.” She shrugged. “Besides, they only do it once a year, which I find much more bearable than the way you lot do it.” She said, glaring at them. As always, they didn’t suspect anything at all.
Not even when Lily conveniently pretended to whisper something in Mary’s ear when she was really making all the spooky decorations start screeching, causing everyone to cover their ears, groaning and wincing.
“Looks like they’re at it again.” Mary smiled.
***
“Are you done, Lily?” Mary asked from her bed.
“Almost.” Lily responded, adding the finishing touches to her costume before emerging from her bed curtains.
“Oh, yeah.” Mary nodded appreciatively. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Lily looked at Mary’s costume. She was dressed as Velma, from Scooby-Doo, everything identical down to the most minute detail. She’d even bothered to transfigure some glasses that looked exactly like the ones her character wore.
Obviously, Lily was dressed as Daphne to go with her. She’d insisted that Velma was much more similar to her than Daphne when it came to their personality, but Mary insisted that she needed to go as the latter one, because she already had the hair (she’d also said that half of Daphne’s personality was being pretty, which suited Lily just fine but, for her own wellbeing, Lily pretended that never happened).
So, Lily had put on her purple dress, green neckpiece, and spent an embarrassing amount of time getting her hair just right, topping it all off with a headband.
She felt a bit uncomfortable in her much too short skirt, but Mary insisted that it looked perfect on her.
The other girl wore one about the same length, except that hers was red instead of purple, and she definitely knew how good she looked. Her fuzzy orange turtleneck jumper hugged her curves quite nicely, and it accentuated her cheekbones.
The two girls had spent many years dressing up as the scariest things they could think of, but they had finally opted for a simple costume. It actually took a bit of convincing from Lily, because Mary insisted that, to dress up as something that wasn’t spooky, they always had “Carnaval”, but not many people in Hogwarts celebrated it, something which Mary felt quite betrayed by. She assured Lily that it was a wonderful celebration and that, when they finished Hogwarts, she’d take her to partake in it in her town sometime.
Lily was brought back to reality by Mary pounding at the bathroom door, where Marlene was getting ready.
“C’mon, Marls, we wanna have a look in the mirror.” Mary shouted, trying to get through the hard wood of the door.
“Just a minute!” Marlene answered back, and Mary sighed.
“Such a hoarder.” She rolled her eyes fondly, taking Lily’s hand and twirling her around.
Lily stumbled a bit in her high heels, but she managed not to fall. She grinned at Mary, who smiled back at her. Lily got a bit closer. Mary did, too. Green eyes sought brown ones, and Lily felt butterflies in her stomach once again. How cliché of her. Mary’s eyes fell to Lily’s lips for a fraction of a second, and…
And then Mary reached up to reposition Lily’s headband, smiling tightly before backing away from her.
Lily tried not to be too disappointed, but she was failing miserably.
The door swung open. “Okay, what do you guys think?” Marlene asked, excited, as she spread her arms to let them look at her costume.
She was, undoubtedly, Stevie Nicks, the newest addition to Fleetwood Mac. She was wearing some bell bottoms with flowers embroidered in them, a much too big belt holding them up. Her flowy hippie shirt was flooded with oranges and browns, and her hair was styled in the same way as the singer’s, which wasn’t really much of a change from her usual hairstyle. Lily noted that she’d fully committed to the look, actually cutting off strands of blond hair to achieve the full look.
“Woah, you look so good.” Lily said truthfully, appreciating all the work that Marlene had put in her outfit.
“Yeah, I bet Dorcas is gonna fucking drool when they see you.” Mary teased, winking at Marlene. “What do you think about our costumes?” She asked, taking Lily’s arm so she could stand in front of Marlene with her.
“Definitely on point.” Marlene nodded, as if she was a legitimate critic. “You two look so cute together.” She added, looking at Lily significatively. What did she know?Lily wondered helplessly. She insisted on the fact that there was nothing to know, really, but she wasn’t convinced.
“I know.” Mary grinned happily. “Do you have the bottles, Marlene?” She asked inquisitively.
Technically, the Halloween party was for everyone, which meant there wasn’t any alcohol allowed because of the youngest students, but the older ones didn’t bother to obey that rule much, and they prepared their own drinks, hiding them in their costumes and taking sips when they thought it safe, or they prepared tiny bottles with strong alcohol to add to the beverages available at the party.
Since their costumes didn’t really have much space to hide entire litres of drinks, the girls opted for the second option, taking several vials of muggle vodka and other magical drinks and hiding them in their sleeves, pants, or bras.
Once they had properly equipped themselves to ensure a night of drunk fun (nowhere near the last time, though, because that hangover had lasted for days), the three of them went down the stairs to find the rest of their friends.
“Marlene!” Sirius exclaimed the second he saw her. “I knew you were one of us.” He said, gesturing at himself, Remus, and her.
All of them were dressed as musicians: Marlene was, as stated, Stevie Nicks. Sirius was, apparently, Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones, wearing a velvety red jumpsuit with an open chest. His hair was styled in a similar manner as the singer’s, and he’d done his makeup accordingly. Remus, on the other hand, was dressed, to no one’s surprise, as David Bowie. His clothes were based off of some of Bowie’s most low-key outfits, pairing some fair trousers with a shiny blue shirt, tied together with some suspenders.
“Who did your makeup, Lupin?” Mary asked, admiring the art on Remus’ face. He’d recreated (quite accurately, in fact), the singer’s iconic look on the cover of his album Aladdin Sane, and Lily was sure he had spent quite a lot of time putting spells on his hair to make it look like Bowie’s. It had certainly worked.
It goes without saying that he and Sirius were glancing at each other more often than not, probably thinking they were so slick when, really, everyone could see it except them.
“Oh, I did it myself. D’you like it?” He asked shyly, raising a hand to scratch the back of his neck.
“Fuck, yeah!” Mary said enthusiastically. “Did you see mine and Lily’s costumes?” She added, pulling Lily even closer to her than she already was.
“From Scooby-Doo, right?” He said. “I love it.” He smiled.
“Oh, man, if you’d told me, I would’ve happily been your dog.” Sirius complained jokingly. Lily didn’t quite get it but, apparently, it was hilarious to the rest of the boys.
Lily looked away from the music themed costumes and focused on the rest of her friends.
“Oh my god, Peter? Is that you?” Lily laughed, looking at the boy, who was wearing a Grindylow disguise. His entire body, including his face, was covered by scale-like makeup and clothes, which made it a bit hard for Lily to recognise him. He waved at her, smiling widely, displaying a glove with fingers much too long to be his own.
“Yes! Seems like I’m the only one who takes this seriously, because everyone else is just using the costumes as an excuse to look hot.” He said disapprovingly, shaking his head and crossing his arms, which looked quite funny when he was in costume. He shot a look at James, who was standing by his side, and Lily could see what he meant.
James was simply wearing a white bed sheet tied to his body like a short toga, leaving most of his torso bare, which was definitely intentional.
“And, who are you supposed to be?” Lily squinted at him. “Apart from an attention-seeking whore, of course.” She smiled teasingly.
“Hey! I’m Hercules, for your information.” He said, flexing his muscles as if to reinforce his point.
“Sure you are.” Lily said, amused. “I presume this is your fool proof plan to make Regulus notice you, then?” She asked, dropping her voice so they wouldn’t be overheard by Sirius (who was much too occupied by watching Remus’ mouth).
“Yes, and it’s going to work this time.” He assured her.
“What makes you say that?” Lily questioned.
“See, I was trying the emotional approach first, trying to talk to him and everything, and then it hit me: I’m absolutely gorgeous.” He grinned, gesturing at his toned body. “So, I decided I should let him see what he’s missing, and what he could have, before getting to know him and stuff.”
“So… You’re desperate.” Lily summed up.
“Pretty much, yeah. But I really feel like it could work. I mean, he’s a Black, after all and, judging by Sirius’ reaction every time Remus wears anything even slightly revealing, I think this is my best chance.”
Lily shrugged. It wasn’t like she was one to talk, really, because her love life had been inexistent for so long and, as soon as she started suspecting that she could even begin to fancy someone, she’d decided to repress it, so, to each their own.
***
“Who are you meant to be, again?” Regulus asked, looking at Dorcas’ costume with a confused look on his face.
“Seriously, Reggie?” They said, unimpressed. “I’m Lindsey Buckingham!” She stated, offended.
None of them seemed to know who that was.
“He just joined Fleetwood Mac.” Their four friends blinked up at her, still not getting it. “The guitarist?” She added. Nothing. They sighed. “Stevie Nicks’ boyfriend?” Not a single thought behind any of their eyes. “Ugh, sometimes I forget you guys don’t know shit about muggles. You’re too pureblood for this.” They groaned, shaking her head. “He’s a muggle musician.”
That finally seemed to get to them, because they started muttering “aah”s and “oh”s.
“Uncultured swines.” Dorcas said under their breath, fidgeting with the strap of her white guitar. They had some loose jeans on, paired with a shimmery white shirt, half-buttoned. She’d even taken out their braids and styled her natural hair to look a bit like Buckingham’s, though theirs was much more curly and thick.
“Why’d you choose him, then?” Pandora asked kindly, adjusting her iridescent fairy wings to her back.
“‘Cause he’s criminally underrated, and I kinda feel bad for anyone who isn’t the majority’s top choice.” Dorcas explained. It was starting to become a problem, honestly. “Also, ‘cause Stevie Nicks is hot as fuck, and he’s dating her.” She grinned.
“Is that the woman you showed me last week?” Regulus asked.
“Yes!” Dorcas nodded, happy that someone seemed to at least vaguely know who they were talking about. Her and Regulus had been hanging out when Dorcas decided it would be a good idea to show him some muggle music, so they’d taken one of their records, which conveniently had Nicks on the cover, and Dorcas talked about how pretty she was.
“You know,” Regulus started, a smirk starting to form in his lips, “I think she sorta looks a bit like Marl-”
“No.” Dorcas stopped him, disgusted. “Not a chance, Black. You are not going to ruin Stevie Nicks for me. The only thing they have in common is that they’re both blonde. Nothing else.” They said, crossing their arms. “Anyways, at least I put a bit of effort and thought into my costume. Look at you, Reg. A vampire? How original.”
“Shut up.” Regulus retorted. “Besides, you guys are always telling me that I look like one, so I figured I might as well do it on purpose.” He shrugged. In all fairness, they did say that quite a lot, but it wasn’t like Regulus had put much effort into his costume either way. Black trousers, a barely buttoned up shirt, a black cloak, and some fangs which, somehow, managed to make him look even more attractive, rather than the opposite.
“Are you also a vampire, then, Evan? Where are your fangs?” Pandora asked, looking at him. He was dressed much the same as Regulus, except with a more pompous shirt and an old-fashioned blazer instead of a cloak.
“No!” Evan said, offended Pandora would ever insinuate such a thing. “I’m Mr. Darcy.”
No one other than Dorcas seemed to know who that was.
“You’ve read Pride and Prejudice, Evan?” They asked, surprised.
“Of course I have, Dorcas, don’t be so shocked.” He said, waving a hand dismissively. “I read classics, you know? Plus, Jane Austen is hardly a muggle, I refuse to believe it.” He proclaimed.
Barty snorted, and Dorcas turned to glare at him.
“What are you supposed to be?” They asked, eyeing Barty, who was still in his uniform.
Barty always said he was “too cool” to get dressed up, that it was beneath him, so he refused to put on a costume, something Dorcas found quite annoying (but, seeing as it was Barty, nothing out of the ordinary for her).
“I’m very obviously a Veela.” He smirked, gesturing at his body as if that said anything.
“What are you on about? He’s clearly a troll, can’t you see?” Evan snickered.
“You know,” Regulus smiled, “I actually see the resemblance, Rosier.”
“Stop bullying me.” Barty complained, crossing his arms.
“Well, you can’t not wear a costume, Barty, it’s Halloween.” Dorcas stated.
Barty sighed, defeated, and looked down at his school tie. He pointed his wand at it, changing the colours to blue and bronze.
“There,” he smiled fakely, “now I’m Pandora.”
“Oh, yeah, now I can definitely see what you mean about Veela, Barty.” Pandora teased, smoothing over her flowy white dress (her fairy costume was honestly a stroke of genius on her part, and it actually made sense, for once, to wear an ivy crown).
Barty stuck his middle finger up at all of them. “Are we going, or what?”
***
They followed the disguised people to get to Gryffindor Tower (honestly, why did they always have to be the ones throwing the party?), stumbling a bit. Truth be told, they’d “pre-gamed” a bit in the boys’ dorm before going there, not wanting to risk getting through a party sober.
The portrait opened for them, and they all went inside, dodging strangers to claim their usual spot where they could recline against the wall and observe from the outside until they found the guts to get into the thick of it.
Dorcas scanned the room for a familiar blonde, just so she could make fun of her costume, they told herself. They saw Mary and her friend dressed in matching costumes (honestly, when would they finally do something about their very obvious attraction towards each other?), but it looked like Marlene wasn’t with them.
“Looking for someone?” Regulus asked, and Dorcas could just hear his smirk without turning over to confirm it.
“Shut up.”
Dorcas did another quick sweep of the common room, and they finally found who she was looking for.
Oh.
Oh, no. No. This could not be Dorcas’ life.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” She said. Just her luck.
“What’s up?” Regulus asked. They were alone now, the other three having gone to get as much food as they could hold in their hands.
Dorcas considered her options.
“You cannot laugh, or make fun of me if I tell you, okay?” She said seriously. Regulus nodded. “Promise me, Regulus.” They pushed.
“Alright, I promise.” Regulus said, holding out his pinkie and urging Dorcas to do the same.
Childish, but effective.
“Marlene is dressed as Stevie Nicks.” Dorcas blurted out quickly.
Regulus looked confused for a second, before realisation dawned on his face.
“The- The girlfriend?” He asked. To his credit, he was trying very hard not to laugh.
“Yes.” Dorcas said, mortified. Honestly, what were the chances?
“Dorcas,” Regulus said.
“Yeah?”
“I have to laugh, I’m so sorry.” He pressed his lips together to hold his laughter a bit longer. “I mean, you dress up as this bloke no one’s even ever heard of, talking about how much you like-”
“I know, Regulus, you don’t need to remind me.” Dorcas gritted. “And, if you laugh, I will crush each and every one of your fingers, understood?”
“Okay.” He said breathily, closing his lips tightly to not betray Dorcas’ trust.
At that moment, Barty, Evan, and Pandora came back, carrying about half the snacks at the party.
“Why does Reg look fucking constipated?” Barty asked, amused.
Regulus took a breath and opened his mouth, about to speak, but Dorcas stopped him.
“Not a single word.” She threatened, looking at him significantly.
Regulus glared at them. “You’re so lucky none of them have any idea what that lady looks like.” He whispered, taking a pumpkin pastry from Pandora’s arms.
“I don’t appreciate you guys keeping secrets from us.” Barty said, feigning offence.
“Poor baby.” Dorcas pouted, making fun of him light-heartedly.
Barty kicked them. “Anyways, we found something we think you might like, Reg.”
“Or, rather, someone.” Evan smiled.
“What are you talking about?” Regulus asked calmly, not really expecting much from them.
“Look.” Barty said, pointing with his head at someone.
Dorcas followed that direction with their eyes, finding James Potter dressed as some kind of Greek or Roman hero.
“Woah.” Regulus breathed, and immediately started blushing as four pairs of eyes turned to look at him. “Shut up. I can appreciate that he’s fit, alright? That’s all.”
“Sure…” Dorcas smirked.
“Don’t act like you’re any better with Marlene, Dorcas.” Evan retorted, making them scoff.
“Zip it, Rosier, this is about Regulus.”
“So…” Barty started, grinning. “Do you think it’s time to revisit the first plan?”
“What first plan?” Regulus asked, confused.
“Oh, I think he means when they told you that you should get with James to piss off your brother.” Pandora clarified. “You know, back in September.”
“Well, what do you say? I’m sure he’d be more than happy to comply.” Barty commented.
Regulus seemed to think about it for a while. “I shall consider it.” He determined, finally.
Dorcas shook their head. They knew exactly how this would end, because James was entirely Regulus’ type, but she was curious to see how exactly it would happen.
***
Throughout the night, Dorcas tried her best to avoid Marlene, because she could perfectly picture how a conversation with her might go, and they weren’t really looking forward to it.
Unfortunately, when they’d let her guard down for a moment, pouring a bit of alcohol in a soda, they heard that unmistakable voice next to her.
“Are you Lindsey Buckingham?” Marlene asked, checking them out incredulously.
Leave it to her sworn rival to be the only person in the whole party who knew who they were dressed up as.
“Yes.” Dorcas said simply, downing her cup in one go. A drop slid down their neck, and Dorcas smirked as she saw Marlene’s eyes following it. Pathetic.
“That’s quite convenient, for you.” Marlene smirked, gesturing at her own costume as Dorcas tried their best not to let her eyes linger.
“It just highlights the fact that you’re in love with me, McKinnon.” Dorcas retorted, not letting herself get humiliated by the girl.
“Please,” she scoffed, “no one even knows who Buckingham is. Stevie Nicks is much more famous.”
“That’s exactly why I’m him, dummy. Only real fans would recognise who he is.”
“Well, I certainly knew who you were, so I’m not really sure what point you’re trying to make here.”
“No, I wouldn’t expect a brain such as yours to understand anything I do or say.” Dorcas rolled their eyes.
Marlene shook her head. “So, you play the guitar?” She asked. “Or are you just wearing it for mysterious reasons my brain could never grasp?” She said sarcastically.
“Obviously I know how to play the guitar.” To further their point, Dorcas played the most difficult riff she could think of. Since the guitar was electric and wasn’t plugged in, it was barely audible, but it was enough to showcase their abilities.
Even after they stopped, Marlene’s eyes were locked to where Dorcas’ fingers lay, mouth agape.
“As I’ve said multiple times, Marlene, it’s you who’s obsessed with me.” Dorcas said, bringing Marlene out of her trance. Before the girl could say anything, Dorcas winked at her and left.
***
As the night progressed, Regulus and Dorcas ended up, once again, alone at their usual spot. Pandora was hanging out with Peter, and Barty and Evan were probably dancing or trying to steal something off some Gryffindors.
“Do you think we ought to be a bit more extroverted?” Dorcas asked after a few minutes of silence, sipping on an orange soda.
“No chance. People are exhausting.” Regulus shook his head, looking at them as if he couldn’t believe they’d ever think that.
“True.” Dorcas agreed. Hanging out with large groups of people could seem cool from the outside but, once you were in it, the illusion shattered, leaving you drained for days.
Dorcas looked back at the mass of people in front of them, seeing a figure approach.
“Here comes your prince charming, Reggie.” Dorcas teased, elbowing him to get his attention.
Regulus looked up, finding James staring intently at him.
“What?” He asked dryly.
“Er… Hey, Reggie, I-” James started, a bit unsure.
“My name’s Regulus, Potter.”
“Well, that’s a bit forward, Regulus, we’re not even married yet.” James grinned, apparently having gained back his confidence.
“You’re insufferable.” Regulus crossed his arms, but Dorcas noted that he was still engaging with James, no matter how much he complained about it.
“No, I’m not… Reggie.” He smirked, making Regulus glare at him.
“Seriously, shut up already. How would you feel if I called you Jamie?”
James paused. “Ew. Nobody calls me that.”
“It’s a nickname for James, idiot. It’s literally the same thing.” Regulus rolled his eyes.
“But I’m not a Jamie. I’m a James.” He blinked, cocking his head.
“It doesn’t matter. It was merely an example, dummy.”
“Well, it was shit. Nobody calls me Jamie.” James retorted. “Everyone calls you Reggie, or Reg.”
“No, Potter, my friends call me that. Not you.”
“Well, I won’t stop calling you that, so I suppose you’ll just have to make me your friend.” James shrugged happily. Honestly, did this man ever give up? “Or something like that…” He smirked suggestively, and Dorcas almost snorted. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that they were a lesbian.
“You’re already friends with my brother.” Regulus observed.
“Well, I can certainly have more than one friend, though, can’t I?” James smiled.
“I don’t think you can, in this case.” Regulus stated.
He took Dorcas’ hand, taking her away from James. Before they got too far, he turned back.
“But maybe the “something like that”...” He winked effusively, practically running away with Dorcas by his side.
“Oh, this is gonna be a fucking disaster, Reggie.” Dorcas chuckled.
Regulus just sighed. “I know. For now, though, I’m not really gonna do anything. It’s much too soon.” He argued.
“Barty’s gonna have a fit when he finds out what you just did.” Dorcas said. It was true. Barty practically lived for drama and chaos. He’d only be sad he wasn’t there when it happened.
“Oh, I don’t doubt it.” Regulus said. “And don’t think I didn’t see you showing off your “mad guitar skills” to Marlene.” He added, smirking.
“I was proving a point.”
“Of course you were.” He rolled his eyes. “Honestly, I give you a year, two if we’re being generous, before you fall irrevocably in love with her.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Wanna bet?” Regulus proposed.
“Fine, ‘cause I know you’re gonna lose. Twenty galleons.” Dorcas demanded.
“Perfect.” He agreed. “Better start saving up.”