|8:49 P.M.|
  ♪ music ♫ 
  party info » 



For the first time in a long, long time, the wards of St. John’s Lodge were down and the house– the normally grim, drafty, empty house –was alive.

Tonight’s theme was a rave. Lit up with lasers and the music some scratchy, ripping dubstep turned up so high you could feel the bass in your very bones, the house thudded with the bass, which built and crested until it dropped, breaking over the partygoers’ heads like a wave. And people were still arriving, further adding to the mass of writhing, seething bodies lighting up the black lit rooms in an array of bright, swaying colors; the paint station had grown from two tables to six. And because of the kegs set up in one corner of the room and the open bar downstairs, the drinks kept coming. The whole place reeked of beer.

It was basically every college stereotype Gracie had ever seen, and it was kind of stupidly awesome.

“Someone looks proud of herself,” said a voice by her ear, and she turned around with a grin; it was Tracy, amused, shirtless and painted with luminous flowers of pink, green and orange. “Where’re the girls?”

“Around,” Gracie airily replied, waving a hand casually. “I think I saw Raine head downstairs, and I’m pretty sure I saw Phillip come in, so…”

Tracy laughed. She looked on, pleased. Her friends had been introduced to the recent graduate just last year, when he and his fellow Americans came to Hogwarts for the Tetrawizard Tournament, but now that they were past the tournament, things were different, she felt; without it hanging over them, labels mattered less, or at least differently. She was glad they had taken to him – and he to them – all the same, if not better.

Especially since she had needed all of them to set up the house muggle style, and it would’ve been, you know. Awkward, if they hadn’t.

Technically speaking her fellow Nightshades had been the first to arrive; in anticipation of all the setting they'd be doing, Gracie had cheerfully invited them to sleep over. She had Plans, she’d told them. Special ones of a capital P, that needed several people to make sure they were properly put into place. Tracy had also been needed, but still had work before the weekend was out, so. He’d come that very day looking a little worse for wear, though he had only waved off the invitations to relax some.

Your house is big, mama, he’d said, almost chiding. (Gracie had ducked her head, grinning guiltily.) If we’re gonna pull this thing off without magic, you’re gonna need all th’ help you can get.

And, well. He was right. Some parts of it could and were done normally (which was to say, magically, of course), but those had to be done in the beginning, if they were within the house. Afterwards– after equipment had been put in impossible locations and certain rooms and buildings had been warded off –the rest of the house had been suffused in bluish black light, the music turned on, the paint stations set up and fog was rolling across the living room floor, practically pulsing with the skittering lasers and pounding beat. The giant flatscreen downstairs glared as brightly as any silver screen. Signs in large, fluorescent text had been slapped against specific entryways announcing NO MAGIC BEYOND THIS POINT. Now, now Gracie hung out at the stairs, leaning against the railing and surveying the foyer with a wholly satisfied air.

“What’re you doing up here anyway?” she asked, curiosity bright even in the unbroken gloom of the second floor. Chin lifted – head craned, as she glanced up at the tall, tall boy at her side – the octopus at her neck glowed a soft, cyan blue. “Don’t feel like dancing?” Someone had started a mosh pit ten minutes ago, drawing the heart of the party to its center, but the house was still so packed that you’d have to squeeze your way through to get anywhere. In a minute it would ebb, leaving room for a dance-off for anyone who was interested, but until then it rippled, the lucky few riding the wave. She’d bet good money it was one of his classmates who’d started it...

Broad shoulders shrugged. “Don’t feel like leaving the host all alone by herself,” Tracy drawled, nudging her gently with an elbow and a cheeky grin of his own. “She might bore herself.”

Her mouth dropped open, all mock-indignation. “Speak for yourself!” she shot back, elbowing him. “I’m being a good host.” Greeting her guests, painting them, directing them to the dancing, or booze—all were very important responsibilities. And she was nothing if not dutiful. “Seriously, get down there. You’re gonna make me feel bad.”

“Only if you come with,” came the reply, and he looked at her then, brows raised in challenge. “This is your party. You should be down there, too–”


And then the doorbell rang, barely cutting through the noise.


Gracie smirked at him in triumph. “Hold that thought,” she said, cocking a finger pistol at him, and sauntered down the stairs. “Eli!” She flagged down the first person to catch her eye, shooting him a brilliant smile. “Can you get that?”

---

Come alone, or come in droves! Or act as if you’ve already arrived with whomever. :D

Jordyn didn’t know what she was doing. 

She’d thought about bailing at least fifteen times before she had even finished getting her shoes on in order to leave the house.  Gracie inviting her to a party had everything that screamed “bad idea” written all over it.  She’d even included instructions for Jordyn on how to come to the party, which was it’s own glaringly bright series of red sparks.  There was something written about paint being involved, and that made Jordyn want to cover as much as humanly possible while also taking heed of the warning that it would be quite warm.  She’d even managed to dig out a reference to some anti-stain charms so she could wear her own clothes, rather than spending the money she did not have on something new. 

Plus, she had a turtleneck she hadn’t worn in ages… She’d stretched the arms long enough with a lengthening charm (purely for fabric) and despite checking herself a million times, she was still nervous about leaving. 

And there was the niggling guilt.  It was weird, she wasn’t even actually training yet and she felt some sort of weird duty – like if they wanted to, they could summon her at every moment.  They wouldn’t – they really couldn’t (she didn’t do much but observe, take notes, and maybe assist Elixa in something on a good day).  As much as she wanted to think so, she wasn’t anything real yet.  A liberating, and scary thought. 

But she’d been trying to learn everything possible about what she wanted to do.  It was endlessly fascinating and she couldn’t get enough of it – which was reassuring, but it was stressful and she wanted to keep up with her work so she was revising over the summer.  Then there was Jai, who was lovely and fun and so good.  That was pressure too.  It was all pressure.   

So, she’d accepted the invitation and she’d followed the rules – with her own modifications – and then she tried to leave the house fifteen times, every time turning away and thinking this wasn’t the thing to do.  And then she thought of disappointing Graice (not that she’d probably even notice) and the idea that she’d already spent the time getting ready.. and everything else made her chest feel like it was going to burst and Jordyn appareted straight to Gracie’s house. 

She checked to make sure she hadn’t splinched herself – she never had done it before, but she was nervous.  For a second she thought maybe she’d lost some of her hip, but it just turned out to be a flap on the fabric which squeezed her heart in her chest further… not to mention the way that it felt when she finally registered that the throbbing wasn’t from the rush of blood from her body but from the house in front of her. 

Jordyn took a deep breath and approached the door.  This was something altogether new and she couldn’t tell if she was so incredibly nervous or excited as she pressed the doorbell.  It was definitely nervous. 

Between floo powder, apparation, and flying in on his Sephirot's Meteor VII (the latest in the Sephirot's Meteor series), Eli had been among the first to arrive. After placing his broomstick very gently in a cupbaord under the stairs, he went all out. A few shots of firewhiskey, some hits of gillyweed, and an obscene amount of pixie dust later, Eli had lost most of the articles of his clothing around the house, gotten splattered with different colors of glow in the dark paint, and up his arms were bracelets made out of glowsticks that hummed whenever he moved.

Eli was already an energetic teenager. At parties, he went all out and his energy increased tenfold. He would be up til the wee hours of the morning. In his hands was a martini glass full of Merlinos, a blanket with a picture of pygmy puffs tied around his neck like a cape. One partygoer had begged him to cover himself, and had even offered up his blanket for the time being.

That person would never see that blanket whole again.

"Eli! Can you get that?" Gracie called as she came down the stairs, not covered in nearly enough paint to satisfy the Slytherin.

He made an obscene gesture at his favorite brunette, manic grin on his face before pulling the door open.

"Lordy, Jordy!" He exclaimed, waving the martini glass in her face. Merlinos flew everywhere. "Didn't recognize you without Patil attached to your face." Eli ushered her in before looking at his empty glass in dismay.

"WHERE CAN I GET MORE MERLINOS?!" He  bellowed,  perhaps a bit too close to Jordyn's ear. He had consumed at least two and a half boxes so far. His hands had turned into pumpkins, he had grown badger teeth, and for a small period of time he had been floating around, bumping into walls and the ceiling until the effects wore off and he crashed to the ground. He didn't care at the moment, but in the morning (or afternoon, when he probably would wake up), he would have some mysterious bruises.

Tracy rolled his eyes as Gracie made her escape, but it was exaggerated at best; a telltale smirk tugged at his lips, plainly amused. She swanned down the stairs and got someone to do her bidding, like a queen.

Which, yeah; he guessed she was.

That smirk fading with affection, the young healer in training slowly shook his head and dragged himself away from the bannister, hooking a hand around the railing post before making his way downstairs as well. By the time he joined the witch in the foyer, the door had been opened by one of her more boisterous friends, revealing… one of Tracy’s colleagues from St. Mungo’s, standing tensely on the doorstep.

The guy – Eli – bellowed in her ear. Tracy’s wince was equal parts sympathetic as it hid a grin. Luckily for her, however, Gracie appeared at Eli’s shoulder a second later, only to push his face away with a friendly but firm hand. “Dimbleby!” she beamed, and grabbed one of the other girl’s gloved hands, dragging her inside. “Knew you weren’t here yet. You didn’t fly, did you? Tracy! Jordyn’s here–!”

“I’m right here,” he cut in, laughing. He didn’t sidestep through the crowd (which was nothing like the one in the living room, thinning out as it did further down the hall, but that was more a testament to the sheer size of the house than it was about the crowd itself) so much as part them with an apologetic slant of broad shoulders. Coming over to stand by the other side of the door – putting Gracie and Jordyn between Eli and himself (though not without a friendly clap on the other guy’s shoulder as he passed) – Tracy let his eyes roam Jordyn’s form before flashing the girl a slow, appreciative grin. “Hey, mama. Lookin’ good.”

Gracie had introduced them before, in her eagerness to share with him the friends she’d made at Hogwarts and told him so much about, but if Jordyn didn’t remember him from then, then hopefully she remembered him now; Tracy remembered seeing her around the hospital, given as he was to remember faces almost as much as he was to like the personalities behind them. He didn’t know her well– things at St. Mungo’s were almost always busy, and the rare times they weren’t Tracy spent reading up on herbs and diseases, and she seemed to be of the same mind –but Tracy was inclined to like her. Gracie had had nothing but good to say about her.

“Tracy,” the aforementioned girl elbowed him. But the exasperated look she shot him was definitely tinged with a familiar fondness, something the boy returned with an incorrigible grin. “I’m really glad you could make it, Jordy,” said Gracie, turning back to the other girl with a more earnest smile. “Refreshments are in the dining room–” She pointed down the hall on Jordyn’s left. “Music’s over there–” The hand shifted into a thumb jabbed over her shoulder, at the giant pair of doors left ajar; people trickled in and out, letting a stream of fog whoosh out every time, but more people seemed to disappear inside than leave. “Annnnd drinks are best gotten from downstairs.” Briefly she twisted around, to point out the door behind her leading to the basement. Like a rubber band she snapped around again, facing Jordyn with a perky grin. “We have a bartender. You can get beer from the living room, but we have better stuff downstairs if that’s what you want—Eli!” Gracie snapped her fingers in front of his face. A faint grin, though, tugged away at those dark lips, taking out most if not all of the impatience in the gesture. “Downstairs, remember?”

Tracy caught Jordyn’s eye and winked.

When Eli opened the door, Jordyn was surprised, first and foremost.  It wasn’t a common occurrence that she saw Eli Amherst decked out in a pygmy puff cape covered in paint – and well… not much else.  It made her tentative to even enter and then he had to mention Jai which made her stomach roll incredibly uncomfortably.  She tried not to wince and replaced it with a small, forced smile (the kind that you got from a professor who didn’t want to tell you that you’d performed dismally).  “Imagine that,” she replied tentatively and if it weren’t for Gracie, she might have retreated entirely.

Instead, her free spirited friend (who was wearing much less clothing than she was), pulled her inside and stopped her from the retreat into an apparation safe zone that had quickly formed in her mind.  “No, I didn’t,” she replied, though it seemed like Gracie didn’t even listen because she had turned and called to Tracy?  A name Jordyn didn’t necessarily recognize until the person in question appeared and it was like an instantaneous click in her mind. 

Tracy Jones, from the tournament and then he stayed in England and started working at St. Mungo’s.  Gracie had taken a liking to him at school (of course she would) and made him meet all of her friends.  Then, Jordyn saw him in the halls of the hospital sometimes, if she was shadowing someone in the same area or running an errand.  She kept to herself a lot – her pride in her internship outside of the hospital was huge, but inside, she was a nobody: a doxie on the wall, she tried not to bring a lot of attention to herself unless someone asked something of her. 

So, when he looked over her, Jordyn felt immediate warmth on her cheeks.  Not to mention the fact that when she’d seen Jones before, he was in trainee robes and here he was decidedly not in such garments.  That was a lot of muscle for one young man.  Swallowing hard, Jordyn managed a mumbled thank you while pulling on her fingers and refocusing on Graice who was explaining the party to her.

Again, she was going to speak, but Eli started to scream into her ear about Merlinos (she hated that cereal now – though had loved it as a child)… and winced at the shrillness of his voice.  Jordyn reached up and rubbed her ear with her leather clad finger  and wrinkled her nose.  “He’s a little out of sorts, isn’t he?” Jordyn had to raise her voice to address Gracie and Tracy – the blush that had just sort of gone away bloomed over her face again when she caught the wink Jones directed at her. 

“I think a proper drink sounds in order,” she perked up a little bit, “if I expect to get through this.”  She awkwardly gestured to everything and imagined what it was going to be like as she got farther into the big house.  “Downstairs, you said, right?” she looked at all of them, hoping she wouldn’t have to go alone. 

With a loud crack! Xavier came into existence outside St. John's Lodge with a stunning Brunette on his arm. The girl had a cascade of wavy brown locks running down her back. She wore a tight cropped tank that looked little more than a series of ribbon wrapped around her chest and a flowing black skirt that was slit up one side almost to the point of being indecent. A pair of knee high wrapped sandals, snake bangles wrapped around her biceps and a golden choker around her neck completed the ensemble.  Xavier himself was simply dressed in a silken button up shirt and a pair of cargo shorts topped off with one of his favourite fedoras. More than like the shirt would be unbuttoned if not completely lost by the time the night was through.

He looked to the girl, meeting ice grey blue eyes with her own arctic blues. She had gotten a tan adding colour to her usual porcelain skin. Matched with the enchanted brown locks she looked much more like his sister than his cousin though he supposed that was the point. He understood his cousin's need to unwind and enjoy herself without it getting back to her fiance or without the weight of everyone's expectations but he had still been surprised when she showed up at Wentworth Manor with the request. Xavier had been planning on going to Gracie's party regardless but he had never expected to bring Cadance with him, it was just not her scene. As he performed the enchantments himself (Cadance's was still a month out from being able to perform magic on her own) he had glimpsed a side of the porcelain doll he had never seen before.

Cadance gave him a wink and they came up to the house together, opening the door as the sound of intense bass and loud voices would likely drown out any attempt at knocking or ringing the bell. Collected in the foyer was the Hostess herself, one of the American Blokes that had stuck around after the Tournament was done, a very prude looking Dimbleby (as if he expected anything else) and Eli looking like he had already been partying for hours, enough to make Xav think he had been super late to the party.

He had walked in right as Jordyn was thinking of getting herself a proper drink. A wicked smile crossed his lips as he let go of Cade and slipped his arm around the back of Jordyn's waist, "Ahm sure we culd ressle ye up a Cosmo, seem ta r'membah ye takin' a likin' ta those." Xavier had to practically talk directly in her ear to make sure she'd be able to hear him. Judging by her tense posture and even tenser dress, he'd have a better chance at her warming up to him once she was already a few drinks in. Right now he'd likely only succeed in pissing her off, though getting under Jordyn Dimbleby's skin was one of his favourite past times.

He looked over to where Cade was, she appeared to be admiring the rather clothes-less Amherst, "I want what he's havin'"

Jordyn wasn’t sure if she was relieved or perturbed that Xavier Tawse arrived almost directly behind her with a girl Jordyn only vaguely recognized.   The lighting wasn’t exactly perfect and though her face was familiar something was off.  Jordyn could only assume it was a younger year he’d invited along or something of the sort.  It hardly mattered -  Jordyn didn’t think it would impact her at all except maybe getting pushed out of the way.

Unfortunately, she was wrong.  Tawse found a way to have his arm around her waist almost immediately.   In general, Jordyn was not a fan of physical contact – particularly on sections of her body that were exposed.  The small band of abdomen that was showing between the waist of her skirt and the hem of her shirt was prime real estate, and now occupied by Xavier’s arm and he was talking into her ear, making her involuntarily squirm as hot breath hit her. 

It wasn’t even that she wanted to, but natural reflex to hypersensitivity.  Plus, him mentioning that particular incident that had happened over a year ago… it was embarrassing!  She’d been sixteen and silly.  Funny, that even after that, she still found herself in similar situations.  Maybe it was true: sense was not her strongest gift.   

Regardless, she cleared her throat loudly and swiveled her head a little to look at him out of the corner of her narrowed, brown eyes.  “Well – it seems a number of us – including your guest,” she cuttingly remarked about the girl who was sizing up Amherst like he was a prime filet. “are headed downstairs… so I suppose we can.”  She looked around the small group to see that others were going to be coming along, and even took a step forward – a little distance never hurt anyone.  “shall we?” she raised her voice, indicating others were completely welcome on this venture and took another step towards the stairs. 

"Out of sorts? Psssh, you're out of sorts, Dimbleby!" Eli declared, attempting to whack her with his cape-- and missing. But then Xavier arrived! Dear Xavier! One of Eli's favorite people, and his favorite roommate. However, he had a brunette on his arm.

"EVERYBODY. FREEZE. HOLD YOUR POSITIONS!" He exclaimed, "I have an important... Quest." He rushed downstairs, there was a loud crashing noise, something that sounded like a walrus crying, then some maniacal laughter before Eli returned, box of merlinos in one hand, bottle of red currant rum in the other.

Eli pouted in mock-jealousy.

"Xavvy, dear. You know how I feel when you show your affections to others!" He whined, batting his long, glorious eyelashes as seductively as possible. Coming from a shirtless fella clad in boxer-briefs and a necklace made of merlinos, it looked rather ridiculous. "Why do you have to play with my delicate heart like that?" He sighed, "At least Theo loves me. We're running away to Rome together. A Greek-Gods themed wedding. I'm Dionysus, he's Ariadne."

Xavier only smirked at the practical shiver of revulsion that ran through Jordan as his attentions were focused on her. She seemed eager to be free of him and he obliged letting her break free of his arm in favour of inching towards to lower levels of the lodge where (presumably) the alcohol was being kept. He wasn't going to latch on too tightly right now, that was best saved after a few more drinks. He didn't know what his end game was there but part of it involved getting the former Prefect to lighten up.

His attention was easily stolen by Eli and his smirk became a genuine smile as he looked upon his close friend. When he returned with more cereal and a bottle of rum making wild accusations Xavier threw up his arms, "Oh Eli, you know I'd never love anyone but you." He spoke in a high pitched girly voice with a dramatic American accent.

He crossed the room and threw his arms around his room mate, lifting him off the ground and kissing him fully on the lips before putting him back down. His arm was now around Eli's shoulders and he stole the bottle of rum, "how ye bin, ye sexy beast?"

Cadance had been spending her summer at Charlie's summer home, avoiding her mother and her incessant wedding plans. It wasn't until she had put on a wedding gown to appease her that she truly felt trapped by her situation. She had less than a year now before she became Mrs Charles Whitman, whether she wanted to be or not. She never felt so helpless or so desperate to escape. This final year of Hogwarts was her last taste of freedom and there was something inside her scrambling to break free. Which was why she had stole away to Wentworth Manor and begged her cousin to help her with her ruse.

She looked around at all the familiar faces within the lobby of St. John's lodge and was satisfied that no one seemed to recognize her. Even Dimbleby, a girl she had shared a room with for six years dismissed her as one of Xavier's conquests. All the better. She truly didn't look herself, from her pale skin going tan, to her golden locks growing dark. The most drastic change was her attire, something very loose, revealing and leagues beyond her corsets and haute couture.

She allowed herself to chuckle at Eli's intoxicated display and laughed even louder as Xavier played along. It was nice to see her cousin enjoy himself like this and she knew by the end of the night he'd be completely sloshed. She was hoping she could find herself in a similar state of intoxication.

Cade sauntered forward and stole the bottle of rum Xavier had stolen from Eli. She un twisted the lid and took a long swig straight from the bottle, "oh tha's good." Cade dropped her upper class accent for something similar to Xavier's Scottish Brogue.

Eli returned Xavier's kiss a bit too enthusiastically, though not enthusiastically enough to release his death grip on the cereal. Alas, precious Xavvy had stolen the rum. The rum that Eli had rightfully taken from the bar! He could probably get another one (and test the waters, see if Theo wouldgive him another sensuous hug), but for now he was willing to share. Besides, he did want his fellow Slytherin to throw the entire concept of sobriety out the window.

In fact, he wanted everybody in this room to throw the concept of sobriety out the window. Everyone was entirely too level-headed for his liking. They needed to let go, to have fun--to be fun!

 "All those years of practicing on each other have paid off~" he teased, then he stood up straight and stared at Xavier sternly,. "You've been forgiven, for now. But don't think I'll forget this betrayal."

Then the little homewrecker STOLE the rum. Eli pouted and gave Xavier a pointed look, silently telling him to get it back. like a petulant child.  Steam literally came out of his ears (one of many side effects that the merlinos had).

Chloe had no idea what she was even doing here.

This place was CRAWLING with Slytherins. What the hell was she doing. No, she knew what she was doing. She was having fun. For one night in her life, Chloe was having fun. She was being sixteen, going to a party, and actually enjoying herself. She just had to get herself acclimated first. And that meant taking the drink someone handed her, and loosening up.

She wasn't hammered in anyway, but she was looser, calmer, buzzed enough where she could handle a social setting without Shade standing next to her. She could do this. She could do this. Just put one foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other. Putting one foot in front of the other, however, was slightly harder when your heels did not match your sobriety.

She crashed into a group of slytherins, and by some stroke of luck, managed not to spill her drink all over. "I'm so sorry," She said to the person[1] she had crashed into. "These heels, they're killer," She tried to joke. Let's be real, though. She was pretty much dying of embarrassment, as her cheeks flashed red as her hair.

1.

anyone!

A figure– no, two figures made their way to the group, one of them familiar. Gracie brightened; she and Xavier had never been particularly close – he’d always been more Huck’s friend than hers, and they ran in different social circles regardless – but they got along pretty well anyway. If not with mutual respect for the other’s quidditch skills, then at recognition that the other knew how to have fun.

She let out a laugh as he swooped in—for Jordyn, predictably; he never could keep away, it seemed—and moved to separate them, because she was Jordyn’s friend first. But before she could take more than a step forward, Eli spoke up, striking a pose and capturing attention with his usual flair. He disappeared downstairs like a man possessed, only to quickly reappear with–

Merlinos and wine. Of course.  With one hand on her hip and the other barely hiding a smile, Gracie shook her head, smirking. And burst into laughter as Xavier pulled him into a kiss, clapping and cheering with every second that passed.

Xavier’s date plucked the bottle from Eli’s hand, taking a hearty drink with a practiced swig—earning herself an approving smirk from the party’s hostess herself. “Oh tha’s good.”

“Of course it is,” Gracie scoffed playfully, flashing the girl a grin. There was something familiar about her– possibly in the slope of her nose, or the arch of her brows –but whatever it was fled, crushed by subtle differences and poor lighting. “Like I said: the good stuff is downstairs.” Slants didn’t screw around with piss.

Someone, though, may have had a little too much to drink, because the next thing she knew, she was catching someone’s arm, helping them get a little more upright before they could trip over their– her– own feet. “Hey, no, s’ cool,” Gracie hastily reassured her, other hand still ready to catch that drink. Over Chloe’s head she shot Jordyn a look, a quiet yikes in the slight lift of her brows.

But although Chloe Harris wasn’t someone they knew well (or even liked much beyond friendly indifference), Gracie wasn’t about to foist her off onto someone else. Here and now Chloe was a guest, and unless she was about to wreck the party Gracie’s hospitality didn’t discriminate. “There’re plenty of seats in the basement,” she said, releasing the other girl’s arm, “if you wanna sit down…?”

She glanced at Tracy, who was currently looking on with amusement, and jerked her chin meaningfully towards the basement door. He grinned, inclining his head; message received.

“We can get you another downstairs,” he clapped a hand on Eli’s shoulder, giving it a slight shake before gently but firmly steering him towards the basement, and as he did he turned to Jordyn, offering his elbow with a broad, guileless smile.

---