"… the old man is evil, I tell you!" Lucy grumbled as we exited Potions with Rose, Albus, and Scorpius. "Why is he so evil?!"
"Why is who so evil?" I snapped my eyes to see Louis and James leaning against the wall outside the Potions class. Several girls in our class were sighing in admiration as they passed by.
"Hello ladies," Louis winked to a couple of Ravenclaw girls who giggled as he did.
Lucy rolled her eyes and continued walking, as if Louis and James weren't even a blip on her radar.
"Like I was saying, his bloody homework will take forever to complete," Lucy said, complaining about the essay Professor Jigger assigned regarding the Draught of Living Death. "I'm definitely going to need a pick me up this weekend if I'm going to survive all of the homework."
The thing is that while Lucy always complains about homework and exams, truth is that her intelligence can rival even Rose's and Rose is the type who is completely into doing well in school.
"We're having a Welcome Back to School Party tomorrow for fourth years and up," James said hastily as he and Louis jogged to keep up with us.
Scorpius raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Definitely what we need, a good party with lots of alcohol to go 'round," he said appreciatively. "Where and when?"
"The Room of Requirements. It starts at 8:30 so spread the word around. Anyone is invited," Louis said promptly, his voice loud and clear and carrying across to all eavesdroppers.
Rose pursed her lips. She said, "Are you sure a party is a good idea? A teacher can catch us, you know."
"Come on Rosie. Where is your sense of adventure? Besides, it'll be fine. That's why we're spreading it around now. It's the weekend tomorrow, anyways," James said dismissively. "We had the details taken care of for a week already."
"Okay…" Rose said hesitantly. Scorpius rolled his eyes and grabbed Rose's hand.
"Come on, Rose. It'll be fine. Don't worry about it," Scorpius chided her as we made our way to the Great Hall for dinner.
The smell of food had my stomach rumbling loudly. Next to me, Al let out a snort of laughter as he most likely heard my stomach. The boy loved to laugh at me.
"Lucy, can we talk to you?" James asked quietly, glancing all around him. Rose stopped in her tracks, making Scorpius look back at her in confusion.
Al was also glancing warily at Lucy who looked stonily at James and Louis. I bit my lip but gave Rose a significant look which she caught.
I pushed Al along and muttered quietly, "Come on. Let's leave them alone."
Simultaneously, Rose and I began pushing Scorpius and Albus respectively into the Great Hall though they were eyeing the trio behind us curiously.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Scorpius asked, after he conceded defeat. This time, he sat down with us at the Gryffindor table.
"Why not? They need to talk it out and now's a good time as ever," I shrugged, taking a seat in front of Rose and next to Albus.
Rose glanced towards the entrance of the Great Hall worriedly, however. "Bella, I agree they need to talk it out but I'm scared. You know how James and Louis are so tactless. What if they say something stupid?"
"Let's give them the benefit of the doubt, yeah?" I said as I piled mashed potatoes onto my plate. "At least they're apologizing, better than Charlie and Ethan who seem to think neither of them did anything wrong."
This distracted all of them from the situation outside. Al looked at me incredulously and asked, "You're not still upset about that, are you?"
"Why not? You don't know how embarrassing it is," I muttered darkly. "Anyways, are any of you going to bring a date?"
Rose frowned. "A date for what?"
"For tomorrow! The party?" I reminded her, raising my eyebrows. She may have inherited the brains of the smartest witch of her age but sometimes she was a bit slow, Rose.
"Well Scorp and I are going together right?" Rose shrugged. I nodded. Of course.
I turned to Al who seemed very contemplative. I looked at him expectantly and said, "Al, what about you?"
"I don't know. Maybe I will," he finally mumbled after several girls passed by us, swaying their hips and giggling ridiculously.
Rose and I snorted at their behaviors.
Al did indeed transformed into a ridiculously fit bloke over the summer, as I so surprisingly witnessed on the train but after I had gotten past that, Al was still just Al. The amount of attention he has been receiving nowadays is starting to rival even that of James, Louis, Ethan, and Sam.
"Please don't take some plastic bint with you and make us all have to put up with her constant annoying presence after that," I pleaded with him.
Al looked affronted and said irritably, "Excuse me, I'm not going to take some plastic bint. Whoever I take will be very pleasant, indeed."
"Pleasant?" Rose raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Who were you thinking of?"
Al shrugged but the looks he and Scorpius exchanged told Rose and I that he certainly did have someone in mind.
"Spill it," Rose ordered.
Both boys cowered slightly under her gaze so Al relented. "I'm thinking of Ruby Smith."
Immediately, Rose and I made faces.
Ruby Smith was the Hufflepuff girl that Grace hung out with. Ruby was also one of the girls who I called Megan Stretton's croonies despite their different houses.
It surprised me that Grace hangs out with them yet she is not an evil bitch.
"Are you sure?" I wrinkled my nose distastefully. "I don't like her.
"You don't like anyone," Scorpius muttered under his breath, though I heard him and scowled.
Rose sighed and said, "If you want to ask her, then go ahead but when-"
She was cut off as Lucy had appeared by our sides, without James and Louis.
"How did it go?" I immediately asked, gesturing for her to sit. "And where's James and Louis?"
Lucy took a seat next to me and smiled. "It was okay. The two of them apologized and I escaped when Megan Stretton started going up to them."
"Ew…" I couldn't help but say.
Lucy nodded in agreement and said, "That's why I ran away. Stretton started flirting with the two of them, determined to have one of them take her as their date for tomorrow. And then that was my cue to leave."
"Albus seems to think it's a good idea to take Ruby Smith to the party tomorrow," Rose said nonchalantly, sneaking a side glance at Albus who was deep in conversation with Scorpius.
"WHAT?!" Lucy shrieked, catching the attention of half of the Great Hall.
In a furious whisper, Lucy said, "Albus Potter! What on Earth are you thinking?!"
In the end, Al did end up asking Ruby Smith, much to the discontent of all three of us, though we laid off him when Scorpius told us that it's his choice.
"I don't have anything to wear…" I sighed as I stared at my closet as I stood only in my bra and knickers.
Lucy, who was already dressed in a very flattering tight black corset mini dress, strode over to me, her hair already magically curled and her makeup all done.
Rose was ready as well, finishing the final touches of straightening her curly red hair. She was donning a short, loose light grey dress that hung off one shoulder with bellowing sleeves
"There's no way you can't possibly not have anything to wear," Rose said as Lucy dutifully ransacked my closet, going through all articles of my clothing.
"Here, why don't you wear this?" Lucy pulled out a haltered white dress whose top was shaped like a bra, the back low cut, and the bottom short. "It looks good on you so I don’t know why you don't want to wear it."
"Are you kidding me? This leaves nothing to the imagination!" I exclaimed, glancing at the clock worriedly. I had my hair and makeup done but now, we were twenty minutes late.
Rose seemed to agree with Lucy, however, as she squealed, "Oh that would look gorgeous on you! You are not leaving this room unless you're wearing that."
I snatched the dress from Lucy and grumbled. There was no time to argue so I quickly slipped it on before Lucy interrupted me once again.
"Bella, you don't wear that dress with a bra on!" Lucy said exasperatedly before ordering me to take it off. "The dress itself has support enough."
Once again, I conceded to her orders because we were late and she was right. Wearing a bra did look funny.
By the time Rose and Lucy deemed me ready to leave the dorm, I felt like a complete slag.
By 9:00, the party was in full swing. There was loud music, alcohol everywhere, people snogging, hands flying to places that shouldn't be allowed.
Rose was completely occupied with Scorpius, the two of them very busy with each other. I thanked my lucky stars that they had started to move past the point of being sickeningly sweet with each other after a year of dating.
Albus had disappeared with Ruby Smith as well, after the initial greeting and the promise to beat up whichever blokes take advantage of us. Ruby had gave me the evil eye which I promptly gave back. Al pulled her away before any further damage can ensue.
Though neither Lucy nor I had a date, Lucy was occupied by Lysander Scamander, much to the disgruntle of Ethan who distracted himself by going off crazily with Jessica Fawcett from Hufflepuff.
To my great surprise, I saw two people that I really did not expect to see.
Grace Dunbar and Ellie Summers.
They were standing together, actually by the drinks area, looking around them warily but lookingpretty.
Ellie was wearing a pretty navy blue spaghetti strap dress. The neckline was low but modest enough to leave something to the imagination. Her hair was down and left in wavy curls.
Grace was wearing a tight sleeveless green dress that had a V neckline. Once again, it was low and flattering yet modest. Her hair was tied in a curly and stylishly messy pony tail.
Deciding to help ease them to the party, I walked over to them, feeling very bold after the four cups of Firewhiskey that I had downed with Lucy before she ran off with Lysander.
"Hey Grace, Ellie," I greeted them brightly, bouncing up and down on my toes. Vaguely in the back of my mind, I realized that I was very tipsy and near drunk. "I'm surprised to see you here. Enjoying yourselves?"
"I'm sorry, but have we met?" Ellie asked genuinely confused though it seemed like she recognized me.
I grinned at her and said, "Bella Hart. I heard about you from Louis. I hang out with Lucy and Rose, his cousins, and he hangs out with my pathetic excuse of a cousin, Ethan Hart."
Ellie smiled. "Nice to meet you. I hear Louis talk about you sometimes when we're doing Head duties," Ellie said kindly, holding her hand out for me to shake.
I took her hand, shaking it and said boldly, "Nice to meet you too. I hope you go out with Louis. Merlin knows the boy needs someone who can keep him grounded. Did he invite you?"
Ellie blushed and went really red at my words but mumbled, "Yeah he did actually. But I'm here with Grace since Ruby had left her."
I turned to Grace and grinned widely at her. "Hey Grace! I didn't know you were coming tonight!"
Grace smiled back kindly and said, "I wasn't going to but Ruby sort of forced me to go, even though she's got a date. Luckily, I found Ellie here so I'm not completely alone."
"What do you mean, 'completely alone'?" I frowned.
"Oh nothing. It's just that I don't usually come to these parties so-" Grace said quickly but I had cut her off as I spotted two people walking by.
"Sean! Liam!" I called out to Sean Finnigan and Liam Thomas, two seventh year Gryffindors.
Both of them turned at the sound of their names and sauntered back towards us, a self-confident smirk on their face.
"Why hello there, Bella," Sean winked at me as his eyes roved up and down my body. I grinned at him, feeling a boost of confidence as Sean and Liam were pretty good looking themselves.
"And how may we assist you tonight?" Liam asked in a fake gentleman tone as he threw his arm around my shoulders.
I giggled and nodded towards Ellie and Grace who were watching us closely. Not knowing what that may have looked like to them, I went on quickly. "Take Ellie and Grace dancing. They need to have some fun."
Both girls immediately started protesting but I quelled them with a look. Sean offered his hand to Ellie while Liam removed his arm from my shoulders and offered his hand to Grace. I just winked at the two couples.
"Have fun!" I called out as Sean and Liam steered the two girls onto the dance floor.
I turned to Lorcan Scamander, Lysander's brother at the drinks bar and said, "Hey Lorcan! Give me some shots, will you?"
"Coming right up, Bella," Lorcan said before swiftly placing three shots in front of me.
I downed the first and second one and was reaching for the third one when suddenly, it became snatched away from me.
I looked up and saw Benjamin Davies, Olivia's little brother in my year, drinking the shot and giving me a smile. He had gorgeous brown hair, the same shade as Olivia, and was quite tall and very good looking.
"Wanna dance with me?" He asked smoothly, holding out his hand.
I grinned and nodded, taking his hand and letting him lead me to the dance floor where I momentarily spotted Ellie and Grace.
I pressed my back into his front and the two of us swayed to the music, bodies moving in sync. My arms were snacked around his neck and one of his arms was wrapped tightly around my waist and the other one was running up and down my sides, feeling my body.
The alcohol that I was drinking was starting to make me feel… hornier and probably Ben as well. He whispered into my ear, "Wanna find a more private spot?"
I nodded and let him lead me to a corner in the room where he sat down on a couple of chairs and pulled me onto his lap.
Before either of us knew it, I was kissing him enthusiastically and him back. I felt his hands run up my thighs slowly and tantalizingly while I tangled mine in his hair.
However, suddenly I felt myself being pulled off of Ben in one swift movement. I turned around and found myself facing an annoyed Ethan and James.
I growled at them as Ben quickly scampered off after a threatening look from the two of them.
"What the hell?!" I yelled loudly, though no one around me besides Ethan and James heard over the loud music.
"I should be asking you that!" Ethan said furiously. I had never seen him quite this angry before. "What the hell are you doing and what the hell are you wearing?!"
"This is called a dress, not something you should be unfamiliar with," I snapped at him. "And I was snogging him, definitely not something you're unfamiliar with."
"He was taking advantage of you! How can you-"
I interrupted Ethan once again by glaring at him soundly.
"I was snogging him back and you didn't see me screaming and kicking right? Why don't you concentrate on your own life and stop butting into mine?! If you'd quit being such an annoying arse then maybe Lucy would actually consider going out with you!" I yelled at him.
Immediately when I said that, I regretted it. I felt guilty, although Ethan was the one who had stopped me from snogging a very fit bloke.
Ethan seemed to physically deflate and his eyes flattened.
I gulped nervously. "Shit. I didn't mean to say that. Ethan I'm-"
Ethan cut me off this time by holding his hands up. He shook his head and mumbled, "Don't worry about it. I'm leaving."
Before either James or I could react, he stalked off and disappeared from my line of vision.
Damn it. Now I feel really bad.
"I shouldn't have said that," I bit my lip and sighed.
"No you shouldn't have," James said bluntly, looking at me in the eye.
Somehow, I felt something inside me stir. I had the unbelievably weird urge to run my hands through his hair and snog him.
I shook the thought away and sighed. "But it's true. I should go find the others."
"Louis was with Ellie Summers the last time I checked, Sam and Olivia are together, Al had disappeared somewhere with his date, Rose and Scorpius are busy with each other, and your room mate is looking after a completely wasted Lucy," James listed, giving me a look.
"Fine then. Want to keep me company, James?" I said with an amazing eye roll.
James smirked and took my hand, taking me by surprise. A weird shot of electricity went through me as James led me away from the corner and towards the drinks bar.
Hours later after everyone had gone and sneaked back to their Common Room, James and I were in the Room of Requirement all alone and completely wasted.
"And then Ethan screamed like a girl," I giggled and slurred my words as I told James some embarrassing childhood stories of Ethan.
If James remembered all of these in the morning, Ethan would most certainly not appreciate it. I actually wouldn't put it past him to hex me.
James roared with laughter at my story of how some of our other cousins had scared Ethan senselessly when we were little by pretending to be ghosts.
"That explains why he was scared of the ghosts here when he first came here," James slurred, grinning goofily at me.
I widened my eyes in surprise. "Was he really? I never knew that."
James nodded drunkenly before saying, "We should get out of here. It's late and we should go."
I nodded as James stood up very unsteadily. He offered his hands to me and I took it to help myself up.
However, James's complete lack of balance while drunk just led us to tumble to the floor, me laying on top of him.
Our faces were only inches away from each other and the urge from earlier came flooding back to me. James had a strange look in his eyes as well as we stared at each other for a moment before desire overtook the both of us and we crashed our lips to each other.
The alcohol had over taken my system and I didn't even notice that a bed had appeared until it did and I was lying on it while James was on top of me.
My pathetic excuse of a dress came off as did James's clothes. We became a tangled mess of limbs, hair, and unbridled desire and lust as our hands flew everywhere on each other's bodies.
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