Party Time! (Or Nah)

Kolby helped Jacob put a few more green orbs in the sky, Jacob enchanting them to float around constantly. Symon was straightening chairs and pillow and couches, trying to make it look less sinister. It was the Slytherin's turn to throw a party. They wanted it to look friendly. Kolby honestly didn't mind the common room. Sure, it was cold. Sure, it was spooky. Sure, there were skulls everywhere. But, it reminded him of home.

"Maybe we should change the color. Like, have a bunch of different colors, like blue and yellow and red."Kolby suggested. Jacob thought about it and changed the color of about a dozen of them. Now, the common room was much more colorful and more friendly. Devan came in with Osmond and they set up drinks on a table. They had a barrel of Butterbeer from Three Broomsticks. Kolby assumed they paid for it. Osmond set out candy from Honeyduke's.

"Secret passage?"Kolby asked. They nodded happily. Jacob was now setting up games, while Symon charmed instruments to play softly. Kolby changed the fire that was burning in the fireplace to green flames. Jacob charmed the lights to sync up with the music, making the room blue one minute and green the next.

"Are you guys nervous?"Kolby asked Symon and Jacob as they sat on the couch.

"I don't want any fights to happen this time. I just want a nice relaxing party."Jacob said. Symon nodded in agreement.

"Obviously, you don't know their group very well. Trouble follows them around all the time. It's like they're cursed or something."Kolby said. Jacob and Symon laughed but they knew it was true. The door to the common room opened and the Ravenclaws came in.

“This is a bad idea,” Asher said for the umpteenth time.

“Shut it, already,” she threatened.

Arya and Asher were making their way down to the dungeons, following Jacob’s map. Asher, being the Slytherin’s enemy, had argued heavily against the house throwing the next party. No one seemed to care about the Gryffindor’s make-believe feud, however, so here they were.

“Remember the password?” he asked her.

She nodded, gave the password, and the stone wall slid to the side and turned into a doorway. As much as they both disliked this house, both Arya and Asher were in awe of the common room. The lads had charmed multi-colored lanterns to float, and the place actually didn’t seem as sinister as would be expected.

“Is that the lake?” she demanded, running past everyone.

The Slytherin common room was below the surface of the Black Lake, so the windows didn’t show the sky - they showed the water. Arry actually clapped when the giant squid lazily swam by. Who knew Slytherins would have the best view?

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Gavin smiled, stepping up behind her. “Peyton and I got here a few minutes before you two. Still waiting for the rest of the gang.”

“I’m actually wishing I was in Slytherin,” she laughed, staring out the window. "Is that possible?"

Adele and Seamus rushed down to the dungeons, jabbering the whole time about the party. They figured it would be drama free this time, since Seamus and Symon were ‘acquaintances’ now; then they remembered Asher and Jacob. And Adele’s newest enemy - Davy.

“Jus’ steer clear of ‘im,” Seamus told her, sighing. “An’ if he tries anythin', jus’ put ‘im in ‘is place like last time!”

She laughed at the thought of Davy glued to a bookshelf. Really, there wasn’t much to worry about. Symon had assured her that Davy and his mates would be in Hogsmeade for the night, so he’d miss the party.

“Ye comin’ in, Adele?”

Blinking, Adele nodded and followed Seamus inside; she was so lost in thought that she’d just been staring at the open doorway. She gasped when she noticed the windows; clearly Arya had been just as enthralled as she was. It was an incredible view.

“Nice to see you,” Symon greeted, handing her a butterbeer.

“Do you ever see merpeople?” she wondered, absently taking the drink. “Or grindylows? Or other things?”

“Not merfolk, they never leave their village,” he laughed. “We see everything else, though. This view makes being in the dungeons worth it. Oh, here comes the rest of your crew..”

Kolby watched the game between Peyton and Jacob with mild interest. They were both really good players and were tied at the moment.

"So, what are we doing in Templar next month?"Kolby asked Jacob.

"We were talking about doing paralyzing spells."Jacob said, tapping two mermaids really quickly. Peyton countered and tapped two dryads.

"Are you ever going to teach us those curses?"Peyton asked.

"Never. Symon and I talked about it. We refuse to teach those."Jacob said. He seemed pretty adamant about this topic.

"What curses?"Kolby asked.

"Read about it."Peyton said, focusing on their game. Jacob became very quite but Kolby could tell that even talking about it set him on edge.

"Why won't you teach us them?"Kolby insisted. Jacob hit two kneazles and Peyton hit two sphinx.

"Kolby, those curses are pure evil. You don't need to learn them."Jacob said. Kolby knew the Jacob was very anti-dark arts. He grew up with it and didn't like it;he went to a dark arts school and didn't like it. He didn't want anyone to become a dark wizard.

"Do you know them?"Kolby asked. Jacob was quite again but Kolby had his answer.

"I got kicked out of Durmstrang because I refused to perform one."Jacob said. Peyton shook his head and tapped two sirens. Three cards exploded and the game continued.

"That's horrible."Peyton said. Jacob shrugged. Kolby sighed and it was quite as they played the game.

(OOC: Those curses refer to the Unforgivable Curses. They weren't called Unforgivable until 1717.)

“There is no way I’m kissing a frog,” Arya laughed, adamantly refusing.

“Just do it!” Gavin pleaded, grinning.

She, Gavin, Robb, Elsa, and Jon were sitting by the fire playing truth or dare - minus the truth. Robb had played around with the duck spell and managed to poof up a ghastly looking toad. Gavin was waving it in front of her face, and finally she pecked it on it’s little head. The entire group doubled over in laughter.

“Okay, okay,” she shouted, quieting them. “I pick now….Jon!”

“Fine,” he groaned, already embarrassed.

“Hmmm…do a jig on the table!”

“What? No,” he shook his head vigorously. “Everyone’s gonna think I’m mental!”

“Arry will help you,” Gavin suggested, smiling. “She’ll do the spell, and you’ll be a top notch dancer!”

Everyone started chanting Jon’s name, so he finally rolled his eyes and climbed up onto a stone table. Arya hit him with the Dancing Feet spell and he hopped and kicked and twirled like a maniac to the rhythm of their clapping and shouting.

Adele listened to Symon jabber on about the upcoming exams, while watching Marigold down a mug of firewhiskey out of the corner of her eye. After that, Asher yanked off his sock and shoved it in Robb’s mouth; the latter gagged and choked, and everyone laughed.

“Can we join them?” she asked suddenly. “Not that this discussion about Divination tests isn’t enjoyable.”

“Right, sorry,” Symon smiled. “Yeah, you can. I’ll go watch Jacob and Peyton play.”

“You don’t want to hang out with us?” she questioned.

“Group activities aren’t really my thing,” he chuckled, heading over to the Exploding Snap game.

Adelaine wandered over to the dare game and took an empty seat next to Marigold. It was Robb’s turn to pick, and he zoned in on Elsa. She had to hop on one foot while singing a slow love ballad and rubbing her head at the same time.

“Okay, okay,” Elsa said, out of breath. “Adele! Ummm…go toss a mug of water on Peyton!”

“That’s it?” Gavin complained. “That’s lame!”

“Fine!” she moaned. “Toss it on Symon!”

Everyone laughed and ooh’d and ahh’d, but Adele sat frozen in place. There was no way, absolutely no way she could do it. Not only was he her betrothed, but he was…Symon! He’d probably never speak to her again for humiliating him that way, and he was far too kind to deserve it.

“Come on, Adele!” Elsa goaded.

The group started chanting her name, and the peer pressure got to her. Slowly, she picked up the mug and walked across the room. She stopped and looked back, but everyone was still calling her name and gesturing for her to do it. In one quick motion, she dumped the water on Symon’s head and ran back to her seat. The whole room laughed and guffawed, but Symon just looked at her. Without saying a word, he walked to his dorm and slammed the door.

Kolby helped Jacob and Peyton dry off Peyton's Exploding Snap cards. Adele just came over and dumped a mug of water on Symon's head. After the three boys finished their laughing fit, they went to drying off Peyton's cards. 

"It's not that big a deal. I needed some new ones anyway."Peyton said, looking at the more ruined one. 

"Do you think he's alright?"Kolby asked, looking towards the dorm room. 

"He'll be fine in a minute. He's just has to get over the initial shock and get cleaned up. Hopefully he knows that it was just a dare."Jacob said. 

"Should we join them?"Peyton said. Kolby nodded and all three boys sat down at the truth or dare game. 

"More new victims! It's Asher's turn."Elsa said. She was apparently running the game. 

"Something really gross for this snake here, alright?"Devan said, ruffling Kolby's hair. Everyone laughed and Kolby punched him in the shoulder jokingly.

Arya looked at Adele with pity. If it had been anyone else, Symon probably would have hexed them. But she was clearly closer to the Slytherin than anyone else (that she knew of), and it was obvious he was hurt. Arry was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she nearly jumped out of her seat when Gavin nudged her.

"Asher just dared you to lick the bottom of my boot," he told her, holding his shoe out to her.

"Bloody hell, Ash," she grumbled.

Hesitantly, she took the shiny black boot and flipped it over; she touched it with the tip of her tongue, gagged, and immediately downed a mug of butterbeer while the group doubled over in laughter.

"What did you step on?" she choked, throwing the boot back at Gavin.

"Just a few bugs," he grinned maliciously. "Go on, pick someone!"

"Marigold!" she shouted. "Amplify your voice and say 'I'm a saucy wench' over and over!"

Adelaine was really beginning to think a nice quiet life in a holdfast somewhere would be rather good for a change. Trouble seemed to follow their group, no matter what. They could be sitting in a field of puppies, and a dragon would show up. Or, they could be enjoying themselves at a party, and a snake would show up. A snake named Davy Rivers.

“Serpensortia!” Symon shouted, a deadly cobra flying towards Davy.

“Incarcerous!” Jacob spat, magically tying up Peter Smith.

Hexes and curses were shooting back and forth, and Adele had never seen anything like it. There was so much magic going on at once, little puffs of smoke floated through the air. Everyone ran for cover, hiding behind couches and under tables. One of Davy’s mates had sealed the door and stood guard, so no one could get out. It was six against two, so more people joined in. Gavin, Seamus, Asher, Symon, and Jacob against Davy, Peter, and four other Slytherins Adele didn’t know.

“Marigold, this is madness!” she exclaimed, huddling with her and Elsa beside the fire. She shouldn’t have spoken.

“There she is!” Davy grinned maniacally. “The little winged-serpent herself!”

He was referring to her being sorted into the wrong house. Clearly, someone had told him more about her. There was no point in cowering, so Adele bravely stood up, trying not to shake. Symon pushed Davy, facing him toward himself again.

“Leave her out of this,” he demanded, glaring.

“Aye, it won’t do you any good to get whipped by a girl again,” Asher joked maliciously, the rest of the room laughing. Davy didn’t like that…

Kolby watched the duel intently. It was interesting to him, and all the opponents were really good. Everything was going smoothly until Asher made a joke.

“Crucio!” Davy shouted.

“Protego,” Asher countered.

The spell hit Asher’s shield until Davy gave up. Kolby furrowed his brow. What spell was that? he thought.

“Oi! We don’t use those Davy!” Seamus yelled at him. Davy just smiled.

“Now, where’s the fun in that?” he sneered.

Kolby drew his wand. The duel had obviously been stepped up a notch. Davy’s friends seemed to have caught on to what Davy was doing because they started using weird spells too.

“Don’t let them hit you,” Jacob warned Kolby.

He sent up a shield when one went haywire and almost hit him. Kolby nodded and went back to help Symon duel two of Davy’s chums. Kolby went over to where Elsa and Marigold were hidden.

“I can’t believe they’re using the torturing curse,” Elsa said. Kolby’s eyes widened.

“There’s spells like that?” he asked as they huddled under the table.

“Kolby, there’s spells for everything,” she explained quickly. “Three are far worse than the rest. They’re in a category all their own. One kills, one tortures, and one controls. I can’t believe they’re using them!”

Those were the curses Peyton was talking about, he thought with dread. This duel just got deadly.

Marigold was protecting herself and Edwin against a haywire Knockback jinx. Her shield wore out and both of them hit a bookshelf. Marigold groaned and rubbed her back. That’s gonna hurt in the morning, she thought.

”Bloody hell,” Edwin moaned. Marigold nodded and stood up. A big mistake.

”Crucio!” she heard.

She never saw it coming. Marigold had never felt such pain before in her life. She screamed and fell to her knees. The pain racked her body. It was worse than being stabbed with a sword.

”Protego!” Edwin yelled, cutting off the spell.

”Flipendo,” she squeaked out. Her attacker, the Slytherin guarding the door, went flying.

”Are you okay?” Edwin asked, helping her up.

Marigold nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. The pain was dulling, but everything hurt.

”Let’s try to open the door,” Edwin suggested. Davy’s friend was unconscious and it was unguarded. They went over and tried to open it.

”It’s magically sealed,” marigold groaned, pulling on the doorknob.

”Won’t finite counter it?” Jon wondered, coming over to help them.

Marigold saw one of Davy’s friends notice them by the door. He sent a spell at Jon and Marigold pushed him out of the way, taking the spell head-on. She suddenly felt this…release. This wonderful, beautiful release.

”Incarcerous,” Gavin incanted, binding the guy. He ran over to Marigold; she felt herself fading.

”You got hit with the Imperius Curse!” he yelled. But Marigold was gone - she was a puppet now.

Arya was crouched behind the armchairs, praying no one would take notice of her. She acted tough, but she was nowhere near skilled enough to take part in a duel like this. She was afraid she might freeze up.

“Marigold, what’re you doing?” she heard someone yell.

Peering across the room, she saw Marigold acting rather…odd. She was in the corner doing flips. But something was wrong (aside from the fact that she was flipping during a duel)..her face was expressionless. Why is it so bloody hot? Arry thought with a groan. The fabric felt like it was burning.

“Arry, move!” Gavin shouted, pushing her out of the way right before the chair exploded into flames. “Get your wand out, you’re going to have to defend yourself!”

She did as he said and stood ready. Right when he ran back across the room, Arya was hit by the Knockback jinx and slammed into the stone wall. Her attacker muttered something else, and she was suddenly in midair, screaming and writhing in pain. It felt like she was burning from the inside.

“Petrificus totalus!” Asher incanted, and the Slytherin was frozen on the floor. Ash ran over to her and helped her up. “Cruciatus curse; bloody snakes. You alright?”

“I’m fine, but..” she managed to choke out. Her body ached all over, but she noticed something strange by the fireplace. One of Davy’s chums was crouching behind a couch, and staring intently at Marigold. What was that about? “Stupefy!”

The Slytherin was knocked out, and Arry was rather proud of herself. She looked over to Marigold and saw that the girl was no longer flipping, but seemed a bit dazed and confused.

“Asher, go help her!” she insisted, running over to assist Gavin.

Adelaine was dueling against a second year Slytherin named Will. Somehow, there were more opponents than before. It’s like people decided they would join Davy’s side just so they could be a part of the great duel. The common room was in complete chaos, and there was no chance of this thing ending anytime soon.

“Bombarda!” she heard Davy shout.

The bookshelf she stood next to fell on top of her and she hit the floor. Will ran off to fight with someone else. Flat on her stomach, completely covered by the bookshelf, Adele almost cried from the pain she was in. The shelves in the Slytherin common room were decorated with old iron war weapons. This particular shelf had a menacing looking morning star mace (a club with spikes on the end), and Adele was positive it had gotten her in her side.

No one seemed to notice her. Her wand was just in reach, so she grabbed it and peeked out at the war zone. She shot a few hexes at passing Slytherins (only the bad ones) and hoped Symon or someone would wonder where they’d come from. The pain was getting worse, and the noise in the room began to fade in her head. Adele passed out.

Everything was chaotic. Kolby didn't know what to do. The whole room was dueling and dodging spells. Kolby looked around the room, trying to make himself useful. Edwin and Jon pulled him under a table as a ball of fire came at him.

"This is madness."Kolby said. The boys nodded and ran in the opposite direction when a spell came at them. Kolby ran the other way and bumped into Asher and Marigold. Asher was snapping his fingers and Marigold swatted his hand away.

"Okay. You're fine now. Thank god."Asher said. Marigold nodded and ran her hands through her hair. She looked really disheveled.

"Asher! Marigold! Come over here!"Kolby heard Peyton yell from a down bookcase. Adele was trapped underneath, passed out. Kolby grimaced and ducked under a table when a fireball came at him. Asher and Marigold ran over to the bookcase.

"You okay?"Jacob said, kneeling down by Kolby.

"I'm fine. What happened to you?"Kolby asked, looking at his arm. It had burn marks all over it. Jacob sent a quick Impediment Jinx towards one of Davy's friends. The friend froze in place like a statue.

"Haywire Incendio spell. This has got to stop. Too many people are getting hurt."Jacob said. Kolby looked over at Asher, Marigold and Peyton. They had lifted the book shelf to see Adele in a puddle of blood. Kolby nodded. Then, he saw the Baron enter through the wall.

"Baron, you got to get the headmistress."Kolby told him. The Baron looked around and nodded, going to get Ellington.

Ellington immediately Disapparated to the Slytherin common room and forced the door open. She simply couldn’t believe what she saw, even though the baron had done a pretty good job of describing it all to her. The place was a mess, and the dueling stopped at once.

“Headmistress,” Davy sputtered. She should have known it had something to do with him.

“Don’t say a word,” she snapped, practically seething. “First thing’s first, is anyone injured?”

Everyone spoke at once. She heard Symon and Seamus the loudest, so she rushed over. They were hovering above Adelaine Beaumont, who was laying in a puddle of blood.

“Is she alive?!” Ellington gasped.

“Yes,” Symon sputtered anxiously. “But we’ve got to get her to Alys straight away -”

“She’s been hit with a mace,” Seamus finished.

The headmistress quickly conjured up a stretcher and the lads lifted her carefully onto it. Symon hit it with his wand and it floated in front of him. Ellington nodded, and the two boys ran out of the common room and to the Hospital Wing.

“If any of you need to, follow them to the hospital,” she said sternly, turning to the rest of the students. “But know this: you are all in very serious trouble. One of you was nearly killed! I will have to think long and hard about what to do. I want you to immediately go back to your own dorms.”

Kolby watched as students filed past him. He was already in his dorm so he didn't have to go anywhere. He sat by Devan and Osmond.

"So much for a relaxing party."Devan sighed. Kolby nodded. Jacob came and sat by the first years.

"You need to go get your arm cleaned up."Kolby told him. Jacob looked at his arm and sighed, getting back up. Kolby shrugged and watched as he left the commons room. It was a mess. Most of the furniture was burned up and everything was destoryed.

"Should we clean up?"Osmond asked. They looked at each and sighed and worked on getting the common room back to normal. Other Slytherins followed the first years lead and began to clean up too. All except Davy and his friends. They quarantined themselves in a corner of the boys dorm.

"Base court dolts."Devan muttered when some of them came out to get candy and stuff.

"Orguillus miscreants."Osmond said. Kolby smiled and rolled his eyes, as he picked up a chair.

"Lumpish Lichieres Pautonniers."Kolby joined in. Osmond and Devan laughed but quickly shut up when Davy's friends glared at them.

"We better sleep with one eye open tonight boys."Devan said. That's right. We got to sleep with this people. Kolby realized.

"Maybe we can crash in the Chorus Club cell."Osmond suggested. Kolby shrugged. It was an idea.

Arya was more thankful to the headmistress for stopping the duels than she was for the invention of bacon. Just like the food fight at the beginning of the year had gone down as the Great Bacon Duel, this would be called something just as ridiculous. Or not.

“We should think of something epic to call this,” she muttered to Gavin, half-deliriously.

“What are you talking about?” he replied, helping her up off the floor.

She couldn’t answer. Arry felt perfectly fine, but something was amiss. Perhaps she’d knocked her head too hard against the wall. Gavin was checking her for injuries, so she calmly watched everyone else. There was a new sort of chaos going on - people rushed around, crying and moaning. Pretty much everyone had something wrong with them, though some weren’t as serious as others. Gavin gasped, and Arya turned her head so quickly she might’ve gotten whiplash.

“We’ve got to get you to Alys,” he said seriously, pointing.

“But I’m fine,” she grumbled, but then spotted what he was talking about. “Bloody hell, let’s go!”