Oh Mister Deres, I do believe you've gotten the idea of dowry backwards.

"Did I?" Deus fluttered his eyelashes innocently before sweeping his eyes proprietarily over Sophie. "Naw. I think ye're worth at least a sheep." As for whether or not that was her shoe, well, Deus never answered direct questions, so he just whistled cheerfully to himself and surveyed the crowd. For Sophie's sake, Deus resisted the urge to prod at Luc as the blonde Ravenclaw left with Erin. He could play nice for a night. Kissing Sophie, upsetting Gracie, and chasing his pretty Livi's skirt all at the same time—weren't Ravenclaws supposed to be the wise ones? It'd be a hell of a show, and one Deus would appreciate, if it didn't happen to involve three of his favorite females. So he kept his smile to himself and checked the cheeky wave he'd intended to send after the retreating figures.

The faintest of choked hisses escaped from Deus's throat when Sophie decided to use him as transport, and while he managed to keep the wince from being too noticeable, there was a distinct shudder that went through his damaged shoulder. Quick as he could manage, he rolled Sophie and spun to catch her not on his back but cradled comfortably in his non-injured arm, which looped around her waist and under her knees to support her. He spared a brief second to be grateful the Gryffindor was tiny enough that he could manage it—and wondered if telling her she weighed about the same as a crate of selkie tear whiskey was worth the response.

Probably. But his shoulder was banging a bit uncomfortably, so Deus dutifully transported the petite girl to the kitchen, plunked her on the countertop near Vaillancourt and Gracie, who got a blown kiss of hello, and announced to no one in particular "Th' lady needs a butterbeer."

And then rather than get it himself, which would have been the gentlemanly thing to do, a hamburger disappeared from the pile just as Deus himself did, slipping away back to the outside. On the way, he passed Alex and Raine, and because he was rather fond of Alex, he slowed in his pass to catch her by the waist and place a friendly peck on her cheek. "Hey beautiful, long time nae see." Raine got a wave, a nod, and a cheerful, "Almsay," before he  released the Ravenclaw after a quick squeeze of a hug, and continued all the way out to the roaring blaze to take a place near Mimi and the rest.

Because it was handy, he tossed the rag he used at the Lazy Kelpie to smear grime around in circles on the table into the fire, where it dissolved in a hiss of green and purple sparks near the tops of the flames.  Surprised, he put his hands on his hips and looked at the fire suspiciously. He knew they didn't keep the Kelpie, well, clean, but…"Huh."

Peyton stepped out of the fire grate rather unnoticed by the crowd that seemed to be more or less congregating to the back of the house. Which meant he was officially late for the party. However he was in no mood to be worried with such social foibles. He had started off his day a lot worse than he was feeling at the moment. He had made the decision to go to Sophie's party as soon as the invitation had arrived but his sulking had come when he had invited his newest object of affection along with him only to be reminded that the Salem kids (well all the TWT students) weren't allowed out of Hogsmeade. However he decided he wasn't going to let it ruin his night, afterall he'd be seeing Mace again soon enough.

Weaving through the crowd Peyton made his way into the kitchen just in time to hear Deus claim the miniature hostess needed refreshment. Picking up on the cue as the Slytherin slipped out the back Peyton grabbed a bottle out of a bucket of ice and other bottled refreshments and handed it to Sophie. With a stupid grin on his face Peyton added, "Thanks for the invite." He couldn't help the giddy the feeling that was racing through him and it was showing in the stupid grin that was still plastered on his face. Despite the fact that he hadn't been able to show off his newest crush Peyton couldn't help being giddy just thinking of him. No other guy had made him feel this way and oddly it was making him feel really . . . normal.

"How's the night going so far?"

Outfit

After squealing with Sophie in a way that only two sweet-cheeked teenagers on the verge of near-upper-upmost-classmen status could, Neely bade polite greetings to fellow partygoers, including the long-disappeared, much-gossiped-about, now-reemerged Olivia Foley. Neely had not been close to her while in school, but they had something in common in their good standings with Sophie, and even if the girl seemed to prefer trainers to heels, Neely was interested in her sudden appearance. And it looked as Sophie had been at work-- Ollie’s hair was a different color and she appeared to have tamed it. Neely grinned mischievously. Maybe she was turning a new leaf now that the model assassin turned auror trainee (what even?) had graduated and moved onto plaguing the Ministry with laser looks. “Hi, Ollie,” she greeted in return.

Neely had no sooner flitted away to set down a vase of flower she’d brought her hostess-- her mother had raised her to be chic and a proper party guest-- when one Supremely Awkward Hufflepuff arrived (no, not that one). Neely felt her cheeks go the color of a fever: totally not a part of her end-of-summer coral and blush (hold the blush) palette!

She whipped her compact from her clutch and flipped it open, hiding her face with the round little cosmetic confidant/lifesaver/weapon. One hand clutching a powder puff with the agility of an Unspeakable baring her wand, she ignored the act of actually powdering her face and studied the damage of spying the Hufflepuff. Turning her back with every bit of sass she could salvage (oh, but if Jordyn were here, Neely would be unmistakable in the sea of their comrades and acquaintances), she used the mirror the peer at Alfie as he spoke to Sophie. Neely was gauging and weighing her options.

That didn’t take very long.

She looked over her shoulder once, lips parted. Her eyes locked on Alfie’s, and mouth opened further, but she wasn’t quite sure wether to smile, frown, call out to him, or use some other teenage mimery that would nevertheless leave a sixteen-year-old boy tangled and hopeless. Instead, she looked away again, snapped her compact shut, and looked down at her outfit, wondering suddenly if she’d chosen the right one. She didn’t know why she was thinking it... of course she had chosen the right one, she was the best dressed girl in school.

Kelvin turned away from the fire at the sound of his name, "Hi Zoe." He said with a smile, before freezing at the question of how his summer had been.  To be honest, he wasn't ready to talk about it and for whatever misguided reason had not been expecting to be asked that question until summer was actually over.   There had been a few bright spots, but mostly it had been the worst summer He tried to think of a response other than a non-committal 'fine.'

"Uh...It's been different.  Got a lot of reading done." He said, the heat on his back easing some of the tension out of his shoulders.  'Relax' He told himself, 'Just enjoy tonight.'  The smile was back, "How was yours?"

"Strelnikov," Erin acknowledged, after the brief pause that meant he was sorting through half a dozen of her nicknames to pick the right one. He grinned at her, an easy expression, more friendly now than he usually was at school when surrounded by prats and homework and his brother. "Nah. You know me. I'll still have plenty to spare."

It was almost impossible to exist in Slytherin without alliances, and Strellie was very tight with Kitty. Erin wouldn't put it past Kitty to send one of her friends in to do... whatever girls intended to do with such moves, so although he was friendly he was wary, too.

He tipped a nod to Deus as the other boy wandered up, slung a rag into the fire and then stared at it with his hands on his hips. "Oi, Deus, is that supposed to do something?" Erin asked, eyes flicking to the popping, spitting rag. "You might warn a bloke to get out of range."

The announcement made by Sophie rang through to the kitchen, and Alfie leaned forward, listening but keen to disassociate himself from the party. As the congregation split into two groups (always male and female), Alfie would ultimately be forced with the likes of Norwood, Harper and Deres; three individuals he'd never spoken to in his life and who intimidated Alfie to no end. They were popular, and respected amongst their peers. Alfie was bullied, and a non-entity. Rather than attempt to a conversation in a bid to fit in, it was better to take a back-seat.

However, the recognisable face of Gracie Slant sloped into the kitchen, and Alfie kept quiet. Leaning forward, hands clasped together, eyes were down and unwilling to meet. Rummaging around for a sandwich, she didn't even notice the Hufflepuff at first. Best friends with Liviana, or so he presumed. Why was this party filled with so many terrifying people? Even Sophie, known for being a lovely girl, was intimidating in her own right. All of these people were the topic of rumour and conversation throughout all years - Alfie didn't belong there.

"Vaillancourt, right?"

He looked up, eyes glancing to each side momentarily. Alfie simply nodded. What else was there to do? He just wanted to stay invisible until it was time to finally leave.

Elijah sighed as he stood in front of the house, waiting to enter. He never really was good, or for that comfortable, in big groups but he had had the feeling it would be the polite thing to do to show up at the party. They had invited him, which was as special as it was. He had not interacted with the wizarding world for almost the whole summer, the exception being his closest friends, so a lot of people he would see here would be the first time in the whole summer. This also contributed to the fact that he decided to come to the party. He had said goodbye to his best, muggle, friend Tom two days ago, but oh, how much he would have done to have Tom by his side now. As he straightened his t-shirt and wiped his hands on his pants, they were kind of sweating, he looked around. He fixed his brown hair, which was not really helping as he moved closer to the door, taking one step at a time and with his hand rather shaky, he really did not like big groups, he knocked on the door.

After standing there for a couple of minutes, he started to wonder if he even came to the right house, he slowly pushed the door, which opened. 'Ah. You have to let yourself in.' Elijah thought as he gave himself a mental facepalm. Breathing in deep in attempt to stop the shaking he walked in further. Why could this have not just been a party with just his close friends? The few he had. That might have not been a party as booming as this one then. 'This is bullocks.' He thought as he looked at his shaky hands again. In stead of greeting anyone Elijah just moved to the bonfire, where the people were gathering around the warmth of the glowing heat. He smiled, as he always did, as he walked into the group of people. He slightly looked around, and mostly towards the ground, before he sat down.

He decided he would give himself 5 minutes before he had  to get up and greet some people. He started to gather the mental strength that was needed for him to walk into the huge group of people, and with just smiled. Yet another challenge to overcome. And he, maybe there will be some people he actually liked!

Sophie all too soon (for her liking anyway) found herself deposited on the kitchen counter and Deus slinking out the back door. Though she was surrounded by people she felt her eyes lingering on his retreating form, a sort of empty feeling in her gut. She inherently understood she would have to get used to this feeling as long as they were doing...whatever it was they were doing, and she wasn't even totally sure they were doing anything. The kiss had in no way been publicly intimate but it had felt intimate in the sense that it was not the over exaggeration he usually greeted one with. With a sort of resigned sigh she just let it go, this was how it was going to be and she could not spend the whole of her night trying to steal a second of Deus Deres time - besides there were sixty-four million other people who were there.

Glancing back into the depth of the house she raised her fingers and gave another small wave to Dion, Fauna, and Ollie, who were now joined by Winnie and Ayla. Her brown eyes lingering on Dion for a moment before a familiar 'Claw voice broke through her thoughts, smile shifting as she accepted the butterbeer, "Hey Peyton". She couldn't help but notice the sort of starry eyed grin on the boy's face and wondered vaguely what had the oft shy boy looking so pleased. "What can I say? I enjoy having a house full of people to scarf down my food and," she paused, watching the fire outside spark green and purple, "and the potential for sixteen year old boys to burn down not only the entire pasture but Nan's herb garden," at least she sounded amused by the whole thing, belying the additional spark of panic in her stomach. Glancing between a sometimes-predatory Gracie and Vaillancourt, offering a cursory "All good, ALfie"?

Head tilted to the side and hip braced against the countertop, Gracie give him a long, measuring look. The Hufflepuff was one of the quiet ones, she remembered, the really, really quiet ones—always keeping to himself, mouth shut, as if trying to stay out of everyone else’s way.

Which was a shame, really. He was quite good-looking—she wouldn’t have minded if he’d gotten in her way once or twice.

At the sound of Deus and Sophie’s entrance, she greeted the pair with a grin, Peyton an amused-looking smile of acknowledgment as he stepped into the kitchen. “He seemed alright when I found him,” she drawled, turning back to Sophie. Taking a much smaller, almost delicate bite of her sandwich, Gracie flashed the boy a grin just wide enough to show a glint of teeth. “If a little quiet…”

She glanced beyond the kitchen, and then looked back at Sophie with a brow raised. Arms folded, she propped an elbow onto a wrist and took a sip of her drink. “Now, I have my reasons for being here, but shouldn’t you be outside, Flickwick? Leavin’ it up to the boys to look after the fire seems a little… unwise—unless you’ve come to keep the rest of us company, of course.”

   

Something about Kelvin's reaction to the question told Zoe she shouldn't have asked it. The answer couldn't have been that bad, could it? Zoe reached up and smoothed down a few hairs by her ear just for something to do. She wasn't sure if she'd be waiting in an awkward silence or not.

Luckily Kelvin was able to give an answer and asked Zoe about her summer. At least now it was comfortable talking. "Oh, where do I start? I went to Egypt with some students and professors and roomed with the Head of Gryffindor. She's very nice. When I came back I got my whole Yule Ball outfit. I learned five new spells as I do every summer and I also got an owl," Zoe ended, figuring she had covered most of the major events.

Now paying attention to the food Kelvin was holding and remebering there was food in the kitchen she found herself suddenly hungry. "Hey I'm going to go get myself some food, I'll be right back." Zoe gave a small wave and walked off to the kitchen.

Kitchen? Food? That was all you had to say to get Ollie's attention. She turned to look over at her best friend with an amused smile on her face. She watched as she used Deus as a mode of transportation laughing a little as she watched Sophie disappear towards the kitchen. She turned around and smiled at the people she had noticed and been introduced too. She had to admit she was a little overwhelmed seeing so many of the faces she once saw on a regular basis. It was like she was remerging into the wizarding world again and meeting everyone like she had done her first year at Hogwarts.

"Anyone want to go get some food with me?" Ollie laughed as she started slowly backing up. "I suggest you go with me before I eat it all." She joked but there was honestly a limited sense of seriousness in it. After all Ollie loved to eat and she could just go sit in the kitchen and munch away. Of course the likelihood that she could get away with that was slim to none. "So follow me if you want even a glimpse at the hamburgers I think I can smell." She smiled over at Fauna, she definitely missed the older girl. It would be weird to think she wouldn't be around when she went back to Hogwarts.

Alfie was become rather exasperated. Clutching his bag by the handle, he went to stand-up as Sophie entered, but quickly returned to the seat a moment later. Gracie Slant was an extraordinary creature, another belonging to the 'popular crowd', whatever that meant. Glancing at the window to avert his attention, Alfie realised the main focus of this small exchange was upon him. Since when had that ever happened?

Gracie answered Sophie's question for him, he was feeling fine, if not a little nervous. And quiet. She was correct with that. Alfie couldn't start a conversation with these people if he tried; they were all such good friends, with so much to talk about. As for the shyguy Hufflepuff, he liked taking photos, reading books and keeping out of troubles' way. It wasn't a thrilling way of life, but Alfie sometimes feared the limelight these people bathed in. Hogwarts already knew enough of his troubled past - but personal secrets remained intact. There were always altercations between boys and girls in lust, of other pretty girls jealous of prettier girls, and of angry boys picking fights with even angrier boys. School was a warzone, and Alfie was keen to stay out of No Man's Land if he could help it.

"Yeah, I'm f-fine," he quietly mumbled, giving Sophie a polite nod. "Honest." A small, momentary curve of the lips met Gracie's comfortable, flirtatious smile. He didn't even understand the concept of being ogled, and any grasp of good looks were quickly sidelined by bold insults and Slytherin fists.

Getting to his feet, he threw his rucksack over his shoulders and made way for the bonfire outside. "I'm just going to, y'know, see what's going on..." It was an awkward exit, but an exit nonetheless. Alfie just wanted to take a few photographs and pass the time and be on his way; girls like Sophie and Gracie were inexplicably intimidating.

After sitting by the fire for seven minutes, after the five minutes he had originally given himself Elijah had given himself another two, Elijah got up, looking around with an awkward smile on his face. He put his hand through his hair with a slightly desperate look in his eyes, because even though he was always flashing a smile his eyes truly reflected his feelings. Which were uncertain and a little lost. While he was wondering what to do now he gently wiped the dirt of his shorts. Elijah looked at the house, where inside probably was the hostess of the party: Sophie Flickwick. The polite thing to do is at least talk to her at first, thanking her for the party.

So Elijah walked towards the house, one step after the other. Slowly walking by some people he recognized from Hogwarts he just smiled as if he said hello. Not that it would ever cross his mind to say hello to all those people. Inside the house he finally saw the Flickwick girl as he slowly stumbled towards the girl. Passing Alfie, a sixth year Hufflepuff just like him, Elijah actually raised his hand in a greeting. Even though Elijah was socially awkward many times, towards his yearmates from his house he usually managed to seem normal and genuinely okay.

Clearing his throat when he stood behind Sophie, it was a kind of sound that sometimes frightened people if he got them unaware, he tapped her shoulder. What else to do? “Hi Sophie.” He said with a soft, timid voice. Oh how he hated his shy behavior on these kind of events.

There was so much going on! So many people were at the party, and almost all of them were sixth or seventh years, even some who had graduated (like Dax, Fauna, and Dion). Winifred felt very special to have been invited to the gathering, especially since she was just a fourth year. (Even though she was, after all, very nearly fifteen years old.)

She saw a group of people as they started their way to the kitchen, and talk of a fire out back. Winifred followed the crowd, giggling when she heard Ollie threatening to eat all of the food. "I like food!" she called out, rushing in that direction. And she did, too. Winifred especially liked sweets, though. But hamburgers smelled great and she was so excited to be at the party that she would eat anything to not be left out of the crowd.

But she seemed to speed through the kitchen, grabbing a quick snack and heading outside to the bonfire. "Oooh!" she exclaimed, peering at the flames. "Nice fire, guys!" she said to the boys who were already outside, poking around in the wood and flame.

Church arrived late to the party as per his usual design. Being early was never something he enjoyed when heading for a social scene. If he was it meant he would have to force conversation with people whom, in this case, he hardly knew. No, showing up after the entire event was in full swing was much better. Although truth be told he probably wouldn't have shown up at all if he hadn't heard Elijah was going to be here. After all, no one else he knew that well was. At least he didn't think so.

Shortly after letting himself in he did a quick survey of the other guests. Mostly sixth years by the look of it. A few he recognized by face if not by name. But for the most part it wasn't really anyone he felt like speaking with at the moment. Besides, he had to find Elijah first... and of course the girl who was hosting such a bash. Calmly Church made his way through to the bonfire and once again looked around, still not seeing his friend.

"Oh whatever," Church muttered, rolling his eyes slightly. He was sure he'd bump into the boy eventually. But for now, he stepped over  to the bonfire where a girl he didn't recognized had just let out an exclamation of joy. Church smiled slightly as he came up next to her. "Pyromaniac are we?" he asked playfully.