Indi leaned back in her little swing and giggled as it swung from side to size, a direct result of Zia’s hipcheck.  “Now,” she said with a mouth half full of brownie, “you relax and wait,” Indi laughed again and looked to Eli with somewhat heavy eyes.  She was still feeling the hits from earlier and she knew when the brownie came… oh, man.

Swallowing, she sighed.  “Just wait thirty minutes and,” she raised her hands to her temples, pinching her fingers together and then exploding them outward, while making a sort of exploding sound.  “Mind blown.”  She paused.  Was that offensive? 

She almost apologized for it, but it would only get weird if she let it, right?  And she didn’t want Zia to go into a high with bad feelings.  She knew what to do! Stretching her legs out, Indi wiggled her toes (when had she kicked off her shoes?) before she pushed herself out and landed with a thud on the soft ground.  Shoving the last of her brownie in her mouth, she chewed quickly before grabbing both Zia and Eli’s hands. 

“Let’s dance!” she declared and moved to the center of the clearing.  She lazily took out her wand and pointed it at the wireless, sending the volume soaring.  She tucked it away and tossed her head in time with the music, swinging her arms in the middle of her two friends.  Letting them go she turned round and continued to hold her hands above her head, showing off a dance move that someone without as fantastic a bum as she had could not do and had learned from some of the Americans who had visited the previous year.  “Your turn Eli,” she laughed and pushed him to the middle.  Hopefully others would join. 

Zia was swallowing a brownie and then she was dancing, all in less than a minute. She was excited about the brownies. They didn’t hurt her lungs and throat and she didn’t have to mask the smell of gillyweed afterwards. Plus, chocolate.  She wondered how hard they were to make. Nico would almost definitely know.


Laughing, she was able to grab the neck of a wine bottle with a surprising amount of grace. There were no cups, at least as far as she could tell. That was fine, cups were just the middleman. She was doing a bouncy-swirly kind of dance, giggling at the dance moves of some of the drunk/less coordinated.


Zia was starting to feel cozy and loose from the alcohol. She didn’t realize how tense she had been until the wine calmed her down a bit. She imbibed chug-style for a decent chunk of time, her lips smacking as she detached them from the bottle.

“Whoooo!” Zia cheered, because she was the type of girl who did that. She didn't know what she was 'whooo!'-ing at specifically, but it just felt right.

Xavier swallowed hard and chuckled lightly. At least she was being smart. She wasn't about to tattle on the group around her because it would clearly implicate herself. He doubted any of the others there would either. For now, until an outside source found them, they'd be safe and free to do whatever it was that they wanted to do. Xavier drained the rest of his flask trying to figure out just what it was that he wanted to do.

He glanced down at her hand on his arm. His inebriated mind was trying to make sense of the fact that she had voluntarily touched him in such a casual - intimate? - manner. That was the least like her she had acted all night and there was no way the few sips of wine and champagne had affected her that quickly. So why had she done it? Xavier found he wasn't entire sure he wanted to know the answer. He had flirted with her for years, mostly just to bug her but at the thought of him no longer getting under her skin, at her possibly even liking it? He just didn't know what to do with that.

Instead of being a complete idiot and seizing his chance to act on her one small, (miniscule really) act of affection he latched onto the mumbled words he was pretty sure she hadn't meant to say out loud. A devilish grin took over his lips and his eyes sparkled in the firelight. He twisted to the side to yell over to the Brownie Dancers, "Oi Eli!"

Once he was sure he had grabbed his room mates attention he added, "Dimbleby 'ere is worried she's gonnae grad'ate wit'out havin' eva jump'd in thee lake!" He winked at his topless partner in crime, "Thin' we cin 'elp this poor girls dreams come true?!"

Eli only had two dance moves: flailing his arms and shaking his rump.

He was prepared to do the latter, singing "Booty booty booty booty, rocking everywhere!" As soon as the first "booty" came out of his mouth, Xavier caught his eye. He couldn't quite understand everything that his dormmate was saying, but with the help of lipreading he caught the words, "Dimbleby, the lake, dream come true." Ah. So to make Xavier's dream come true, he had to get Jordyn into the lake.

That was going to be a piece of cake. What was the Head Girl going to do? Snitch? If she snitched on him, she'd be snitching on them all-- and risking her own title while she was at it.

He gave Zia and Indi an apologetic shrug (after all, he was ditching them to do this) and charged towards the head girl. With the momentum, he managed to clumsily throw her over his shoulder. He ran towards the lake as fast as he could... Which wasn't very fast once he was actually carrying Jordyn. He could feel her fists smacking his back as her legs kicked. Eli could hear her complaining, but couldn't quite understand the words.

When he was knee deep in the water, he finally lost his balance, tripped.... And fell.

Dimbleby crashed into the water with him.[1]

1.	With Jess' permission

If Jordyn hadn’t just finished drinking a rather hearty sip, she would have spit out the entire thing.  While the rest of the world seemed to keep moving, Jordyn was frozen in place.  It took one name – two syllables – to strike fear into her very core.  ”Oi Eli!”  The other Slytherin turned his head quickly and while Indi and Zia were busy being as wild as ever – Jordyn never understood the impulse to yell “whoo” – but Eli stopped.  He stopped and oh… oh no. 

Her eyes quicky darted back to Xavier who was grinning.  This… oh Godric.  “No!” she quickly protested, “No… no, Xavier!”  Her attempts at remaining hushed were gone in the instant her voice cracked and she took a tentative step backward.  Could she flee?  Would she actually be able to get away? 

Not likely.  Her free hand now drew back toward her wand, the other clutched at her now half-empty (as that was what the world was coming to) cup.  Eli was fast and though Jordyn did have a clue that it was happening, she still wasn’t entirely prepared as he scooped her up by the middle and threw her over his shoulder (well, not threw, it was hardly that graceful).  Nonetheless, she was up on his shoulder and they were moving – her cup had been dropped, the whine and fruit landing with a sad gushing sort of sound. 

“No!” Jordyn protested weakly, really trying not to draw attention to herself (impossible over the shoulder of a man with glowing nipples), “Eli! Please!” she hit at his exposed back and tried to get him off balance by kicking out her legs (no such luck and she yelped at her foot smacked against a low branch).  She was powerless and Eli acted like he didn’t even hear what she was saying.  It only struck her, after she thought it, which was most likely the case.  She was equally parts mortified at her own ignorance and furious at the fact that this was still happening. 

When she finally heard the sloshing of water against a shore – oh no.  There was definitely a chill in the air.  Her whole body tensed and she gripped onto Eli now, more like a cat who knew what was about to happen than someone who was still fighting.  She’d tried.  She lost.  Jordyn was not going down alone, especially if she could not levy any official consequences against them without getting her badge taken away for being there in the first place!  With a wicked shriek, Jordyn crashed into the cold water. 

It sent shocks through her system and though the water could not have been more than knee high, she was submersed for what felt like forever, fighting to disentangle herself from Eli and break the surface.  When she did, hair plastered down over her face and heavy with her wool hat.  “Shit!” she cursed, sitting on her knees with her fingers clawing into the sandy under shore.   

Her eyes snapped up and narrowed.  Never mind Eli.  This hadn’t been his idea.  “Tawse,” she growled, poising herself to get up, “I am…” she didn’t even have the words for what she was going to do.  She didn’t need them.  Jordyn did her best to scramble out of the water and run toward him, hands outstretched as she stumbled.  She didn’t know what she was actually going to do, but it felt like the right thing to do – so, she barreled forward. 

Asher's head was swimming a little.  He watched as Gracie walked towards the table with all the snacks on it and began to follow her.  After all, he had heard from people that eating lessened the effects of alcohol. 

He walked up to the snack table and like the idiot he was sometimes, downed the last bit in the cup.  He felt his head go foggy for a moment and then he looked at Gracie.  "I liked that one. But maybe I should eat something now.[1]

1.	It's short, I know, but I'm lost as to what to do with him.

Nicholas just laughed at Gracie's reply before Peyton drew his attention back to him with the promise of flaming sex and a kiss.  "Careful what you promise.  Might take you up that offer right here," he said before chastely returning the kiss. He figured it was best to keep himself under control because even if he didn't mind giving their classsmates a show, even in his less-than-sober state, he didn't think Peyton would appreciate it.

Then again, he could just ask Eli to chunk him into the cold lake too.  But only as a last resort.

He pulled his gillyweed supplies out of his pocket and started rolling a joint on Peyton's thigh.  Because you really could never have enough.  He finished making it and quickly lit it and took a long drag.  He exhaled and pointed his wand at the smoke, the cloud formed into a blessing of tiny unicorns that proceeded to gallop around the bonfire and then circle Indi and Zia as they danced.

Xavier was a mixture of cheers, whoops and laughter as Eli picked Jordyn up and threw her over his shoulder. He hadn't exactly anticipated the amount of exuberance his friend brought to the task at hand. He had certainly expected Jordyn to end up in the Lake but this was far better than he could have dreamed. Eli going down with her was just icing on the cake. They'd be telling one hell of a story when this was all over. It certainly helped wash away any of the awkward alcohol infused emotions that had been stirring from his exchange with Jordyn earlier.

He couldn't even stop himself if he tried, he was all laughter as Jordyn emerged from the lake sopping wet and charged at him like a insulted Hippogriff. Before he could do much else she had run full tilt at him knocking the both of them to the soft forest floor. For a brief moment his teenaged brain was alight with the fact that this girl, this very soon to be full blown woman, was on top of him. She was soaking wet and it was only a matter of moments before he was near drenched himself. Without meaning to, or really putting any thought into it his hands had grabbed her waist to steady her as she was practically straddling him. The only thing keeping this from turning into late night wireless was the fact that she was pounding her fists into his chest. Despite himself he was still laughing.

"Ah don' know if I should be fightin' ye or kissin' ye," He said a little louder than needed but he wanted to make sure his voice could be made out over top her yelling and growling at him. He gave her another roguish grin trying desperately to ignore every sensation she was awakening in him. He was moments away from throwing her off and jumping into the lake himself.

From the moment Jordyn’s shoulder made impact with him to the landing, Jordyn partially registered that this accomplished nothing.  She was still freezing and utterly dripping in lake water.  But, that didn’t matter.  She was so angry.  It had been a joke!  She hadn’t really wanted to get into the freezing lake and never mind that she didn’t even bother to look over her shoulder for Eli to see if he was okay. 

She was worried about her and how stupid Xavier Tawse was- which only made her even more stupid because she was mistaken.   As he laughed at her and indicated he didn’t know what to do, Jordyn’s fist paused and she stared down at him, wheezing for breath.  She realized she was shaking and just how cold it was as a gust of wind chilled her to the bone.  “Neither!” she shoved his hands off of her waist and scrambled off of him, leaving a wet blotch all over his front in her wake. 

It wasn’t possible to be any more embarrassed, at least.  Flush with both anger and mortification, Jordyn just took off.  She wasn’t an athlete by any stretch of the imagination, but Jordyn’s feet carried her quickly over the hilly landscape and back toward the castle.  She didn’t bother to pull her wand out and dry herself – it only motivated her to move faster as her teeth chattered and skin puckered into goose flesh. 

Really, she couldn’t get to the castle fast enough.

Xavier rolled over onto his elbows and looked after her. His eyes still a light with laughter as he watched her rush off in a huff. She didn't even bother trying to dry herself off she was so angry. Had he not had an entire flask of whiskey in him he likely would have been a little upset about it. For now though, it was still the funniest thing to have happened all night.

"O,  yer missin out on some premo cuddlin' by thee firah!" He called after her but she continued her huff until she was out of sight.

He pulled himself up to his feet, dusting the leaves and dirt that had collected on his now wet shirt. He turned back to the lake and offered a hand to Eli. He wasn't sure if the teen was more likely to accept his help or pull him into the lake with him. He wouldn't have minded the latter,  to be honest. Having Jordyn  on top of him had caused quite the reaction.

"Typical wom'n.  Yet make their dreams come true an' they try ta take yer 'ead off." He glanced back at the opening to the clearing they were partying in, "Yeah thin' I should go afta 'er? "

Eli gave Xavier a sympathetic look-- clearly, he was not going to get any cuddling done by the fire. Unless Eli was the one who decided to cuddle with him. Which he wasn't opposed to at all. He clasped Xavier's hand, ready to pull himself out of the water when he got a better idea.

"You can go after her in a moment." He said, "You're not ready yet."

He pulled with all the strength he could in an effort to get his dormmate into the water with an evil, malevolent, triumphant laugh. If all went well, Jordyn would look on a drenched Xavier more favorably than one who wasn't suffering even a little bit.

Even though she had been taking classes with them for seven years, Zia had never realized her peers’ partying capabilities. Zia felt warm and buzzed, watching as the party unfolded. She’d grown up having wine with every family dinner but somehow no one ever really got drunk. This was… so many more drunk people than she had ever seen. It was so amusing. Well, Bevans snogging with boys was a bit confusing. She snuggled up next to Indi to make some kind of statement about it, looping her arm through Indi’s.


She couldn’t help but perk up at the smoky unicorns that swirled around them. “How’d you do that?” she breathed, watching the unicorns until they dissipated. She smiled back at Nicholas so her dimples showed. “That was so cool.”


Out of the corner of her eye she saw a girl storming off. It looked like Jordyn Dimbleby, which should have come as no surprise. But to Zia the bigger surprise was not that Jordyn was leaving the party in a huff but that she was even there at all. Zia forgot about it and began to wonder how she would know if the brownie had started working. She watched her classmates to see if any of them started acting funny somehow. It was really hard to filter, with people like Eli around, doing things like cackling maniacally.

Sometimes you could see something happening long before it actually happened. It wasn't legilimency or a seer's sight, just plain old intuition and a touch of common sense. Despite how sure Xavier was that his dorm mate was going to pull him into the chilly lake with him, it was still a shock to the system when he was suddenly submerged. He burst from the water not with a scream or a shout but with a laugh that rivaled Eli's.

"Ye brill'an bastard." He pulled the other Slytherin to his feet in a large bear hug before gripping the sides of his face and giving him a big wet smack of a kiss, "Ah luv Ye."

Xavier trudged back to shore and grabbed another bottle of whiskey off the drink table. He weaved around the bonfire dancers and smokey unicorns while unscrewing the cap. As he got to the entrance of the clearing the seventh years were gathered in, he spun around. Xavier took a long chug of the whiskey and held the bottle up in cheers,

"Ima bout ta git thee shite hexed outta me. Cheers luvs!" Bottle in hand and clothes plastered to his chilled skin Xavier made his way back up to the castle.

~*~ Xavier Exit ~*~