Jordyn was sneaking out.  She was actually sneaking out.  Her parents didn’t know that she wasn’t really going to stay at Fergie’s house.  She just took a bag and was ready to get out.  It hadn’t even been a full week home and she wanted to die.  So, in her regular outfit, she sneaked out, telling them she would be back in the morning – they weren’t threatened by Fergie at all – they obviously knew, even if no one had said it out loud in their house… but if they knew that she was going to be sneaking out into London with Ward and whoever else they dragged along – they would kill her.

Everyone knew the rules.  The rules were you had to be seventeen.  But, well... they could... flirt with the line, couldn't they?  She knew that other people got in!  It wasn't like it was that big of a secret or anything, she was friends with most of them.  But she didn't want to take them with her - that'd be too easy.  Jordyn always loved a challenge, and she'd try it the hard way first.  And that meant bringing someone she knew wasn't going to help her any: Ward.  Plus, he was a boy and he could be a block between her and gross people.  It was going to be absolutely wicked. 

Which was why she needed to maintain the utmost secrecy – and off to Fergie’s she went to change, put on make-up and generally fix herself to be foxy enough to sneak into Signature.  Granted, she knew of people who could probably get her in… but it wasn’t as fun as trying.  She spent the whole year following all these rules and never branching out.  When she had invited Fergie he said he couldn’t, but he was willing to help her – particularly with fixing the volume of her hair and consulting on shoes and whatnot. 

Jordyn felt about ready to go after Fergie appraised her final look as appropriate, and she sighed deeply, fluffing her hair once more before approaching the floo.  She promised she would floo back as quietly as possible that night and he promised to wait up for her.  She squeaked, kissed his cheek, and stepped through the fireplace, anticipating landing at the agreed meeting spot, precisely at 10:00 PM. 

Ward was, undoubtedly, going to be late, but she wasn’t the type.  Perhaps to her own detriment as she stood in Hogsmeade, feeling quite awkward and alone outside.  Thankfully the business of a Thursday night covered up the fact that she was standing there waiting, occasionally glancing into her compact to make sure her make-up wasn’t ruined.   

She was feeling good, granted, most of what she was wearing was borrowed or enchanted to look a thousand times better, but that was what she and Fergie were good at.  She was a little nervous, after all, she was alone and she anticipated Ward would be late, but this was supposed to be fun, and she was resolved to do it – they were sneaking in, Merlin! They were going to do it. 

Huck wrinkled his nose at his mother as she suggested he put on a sweater for the eightieth time. "Mam, for fuck's sake," he said in exasperation. "It's June. It's summer. Do you want me to look like a bleedin' billy no-mates wearing a wool sweater in the middle of the blinkin' summer?!" He brushed a few stray flecks of dust and lint away from the arm of his nice collared shirt, its sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"If ye're tryin' tae look older," his mum persisted, holding the sweater up. "It's dad's!"

He hadn't any reason to not tell his mother what he was up to. She'd never attempted to stop him getting in trouble before, preferring to let him work things out on his own. "Mam," he said again, rubbing between his eyes, "I'm tryin' to look a few years older, not like I should be on me way to fill a Cialis prescription. Christ almighty."

"Language!" she snapped at him, hitting the back of his head with the back of her hand. He let out a choked ow! and grabbed the back of his head gingerly. It seemed vaguely funny to him, even though he was in pain, that she had reprimanded him for using the Lord's name in vain and not for using the f-word. Only his family. Her temper had immediately subsided, however, leaving her smiling warmly on her oldest child. "Well, I s'pose ye do look rather nice."

"A glowing review, that," he replied with a little grin. "Don't wait up for me. I'm bound to have trouble shakin' all me female admirers."

"My arse," his mother returned with a not-so-gentle elbow to his ribs as she walked past, kissing his cheek and picking up the huge basket of laundry awaiting her in the hallway. "Just don't go off by yerself," she added. "But 'ave fun."

Huck gave his hair a last determined ruffle and one last look in the mirror let him know he was ready to go.

Traveling by floo was not on Huck's list of favorite things. He was not a fan of traveling on things which he was not controlling. He loved going by broom and he loved driving his car, but trains, floo, and portkeys had always freaked him out just a bit. Nonetheless, he stepped forward, stating his destination perfectly clearly (and trying his best to calm his thick northern accent for the occasion) and into the floo network he went.

Nailed it, he thought to himself proudly as he stepped forward into his destination. It felt well bizarre to be back at Hogsmeade, with school so nearby, in the summer. The air was slightly balmy and it made him worried that he would start to sweat. He was wearing deodorant but the fear was still present.

He saw Jordy before she saw him, and inched his way closer to her, trying to get the drop on her. When he was satisfied with his range, he threw up his hands in mock exasperation and walked towards her steadily. "Dimbleby!" he called. "I've been waiting for a bloody hour! Where have you been?"

He was one hundred percent sure she would not believe that he had arrived first, but he decided to be an idiot regardless.

“You cannot rush perfection,” Jordyn responded with a languid smile, fake primping and playing with her hair.  She was not stupid, and Ward could never fool her.  He was never on time, and she always was.  It was the way of the world, and if he thought that was going to throw her off –well, they hadn’t been at home for more than a week.  Jordny was still as sharp as ever, and since she had finally started sleeping again, with no tests or patrols to do, she was even more alert than usual.  And those dismal baggy eyes she had for so long were also gone – thank Merlin!

Laughing lightly to herself, she gingerly walked over to him – avoiding any and all ruts in the road, truly an impractical idea to wear the shoes there… but Fergie had insisted.  Apparently it was not acceptable to tuck your shoes into your bottomless bag without anyone noticing, or at least discreetly as you gain four inches in height. 

Now she felt almost as tall as Ward and smiled to herself as she went to give him a ginger hug.  She didn’t want to go full out or anything – she’d risk wrinkling!  No, definitely a bad idea, and she gave him two air kisses, per usual, grinning the whole way. 

When she pulled back, she kept her hands on his arms, mostly to steady herself, but also to look him over, appraising the job he did dressing himself.  “Did your mum help you dress again?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, trying not to laugh – though her smile said everything anyway.  He was hopeless.  “At least you definitely look old,” she commented teasingly. 

“Are you ready?” she practically bounced.  Jordyn did not break rules.  This was fantastic.

The side door to the club swung open and with it came the blare of music, cheer and a cacophony of voices that needed to be raised to be heard over the music. It filled the quiet night air with a sudden flare of excitement for all of twenty seconds before it was closed and the sleepy wizarding town was left as it had been found moments before - well not entirely. A lone figure stood outside the door hand cupped to their mouth, neck bent forward before pulling back, the red spark of a freshly lit cigarette lit the figure dimly but for those who had known him for years, like the two standing only ten or so feet away he was easily identifiable.

His dark hair was tousled and out more than usually and there was a fresh degree of stubble lining his cheek, something he inwardly prided himself on (though puberty had struck early he had never been able to achieve anything of notice in the department of facial hair) He wore a dark pair of jeans over a worn down pair of runners, a tight muscle top with a collared button up open over top. He had only recently turned sixteen but managed to successfully pull off the look of a nineteen year old.

Taking another long drag of his cigarette Xavier Tawse turned his ice cool blue eyes to his friend and Dimbleby, "What thee feck took ye so long?"

Huck had been grinning from ear to ear to see Jordyn, and not even the realization that she had been so easily able to guess his mom helped him pick out his clothes could spoil his happiness. "Well, y'know," he said with a shrug, "she's a woman of many talents, what can I say? You look bleedin' amazing, not that you need me to tell you," he added motioning in quick up-and-down hand gestures.

"I was born ready," he replied, trying to sound like a mega-cool action hero. "Actually, I'm a bit nervous. D'you think we'll pass?"

He had, in fact, lost nearly five pounds since leaving school due to a combination of a flu-like malady and long work hours. He was looking better the past few days, having overcome his ghostly pallor and his lost voice. As a result, he was looking a little on the lean side.

His ears pricked up as he heard a familiar brogue. Would wonders never cease? His head spun around. "Ey up!" he called gleefully, taking a few jogging strides over to Xav. "Oh, y'know," he replied, holding his hands up as if to say what can i do? "Me mam tryin' to force a sweater-shaped noose over me neck. How long you been here?"

Jordyn giggle to herself.  “I don’t need you to,” she agreed, “but I like it.”  She winked at him, playing into his charming ways – she was good at that, and she slipped her arm through the crook of his elbow, bumping her hip against his.  It was so much better to be tall in these things, rather than the short thing she usually was.  So they were quite the pair.  Though, as she leaned against his sides, Jordyn raised her eyebrows.

“You got thin,” Jordyn pointed out without remorse.  She just thought he should know.  “It’s not fitting for your attitude,” she added with a slight smile, elbowing him playfully before trying to adopt the most adult look she could muster. 

That meant she no longer smiled, she raised her eyebrows and walked like a lady – like she had been taught by her mum.  “I know we can,” she tossed her hair over her shoulder, feeling her heart thump against the inside of her chest.  She could have sworn the man at the door was going to stop her because he heard it, but he waved them through.  He spent a few seconds longer looking at her, and it made her uncomfortable, but she shifted her chin upward and pursed her lips just slightly.

They made it, she breathed as the atmosphere of the swanky place enveloped them, and Jordyn felt her stride become more confident.  Her now seemingly long legs walked through but she stopped dead at the sound of a voice over the noise.  She raised her eyebrows – Tawse?  She could have figured. 

Trying not to roll her eyes, Jordyn followed along and smirked a little.  “So glad she didn’t succeed,” Jordyn interjected about the sweater issue, and put her hands on her hips.  “Yes, good question.  How long have you been here?”   She looked at Ward, wondering what kind of joke this was.  Even if Tawse looked good, that didn't mean he should be there.

Xavier's smile only widened as the duo approached. He would have preferred to go the whole night without Dimbleby, just him and Ward wing manning for each other as they checked out the luxurious trim Signature had to offer but he supposed it wasn't all horrible. He could do what he did best these days, which seemed to be getting under Jordyn's skin. Kill the girl with kindness and maybe he could get a dance out of her even be so lucky as to cop a feel. The night had just begun after all.

Xavier made a show of blowing into his hand and sniffing his breath, checking to see how much alcohol content it contained, as if it could accurately gauge how long he had been waiting inside. The show of course was for Jordyn's benefit. He had only been at the club for about fifteen minutes before the other two had arrived and had yet to order himself anything. The smell of liquor on his breath was thanks to his Granfather's unsupervised cellar. The old man had given Xavier free reign of the mansion for the Summer, 'A taste of things to come my son,' he had said. It was enough to make Xavier renounce the Tawse name all together just to start swimming in his Wentworth riches.

"No' tae long axtually." He gave Jordyn a wink and made another elaborate show of appreciating Jordyn's attire, "Ye look much betta when ye dunnae have thee Slytherin Royalty tellin ye what tae where." He gave her a wink, "Ye 'ave me vote fer bein Maeve's successor."

He turn to Huck, "Shall we?" He motioned to the bar. The true test of the night, they had gotten past the bouncer but they wouldn't truly succeed until they ordered a drink or twelve.

Something Jordyn had said before had only just sunken in for Huck- "You think I have a fat personality?" he asked quickly, thrown off. "I mean..." he shook his head.

He looked her over as Xav appraised her and grinned. Jordyn could wear a burlap sack to school and manage to make it look fashionable- like she'd worn it on purpose- so all the dresses and makeup in the world seemed beside the point to him. He shrugged and couldn't think of anything to say besides what he ended up saying, which was, "That's a load of shite."

Huck's glance to the bar was an excited one. He hadn't been trashed in quite a while, and was actually looking forward to looking cool while holding adult-type drinks. He always started out trying to impress Xav, who he had always thought of as the 'cool, tough, handsome one'  to Huck's 'goofy oaf.' Though he was sure he'd end out the night shotgunning beer like the sixteen-year-old he was, as usual. If there was a keg-stand to be performed, he'd be there, all facades of poise dropped like cell phone calls in a tunnel.

Huck ordered a white russian and swirled it gingerly, holding the tiny black straw in between his index finger and thumb. It was his father's favorite drink, and for better or worse, the man had always allowed Huck to try out any drink or cigarette he had so desired. As a result, Huck now occasionally smoked when upset and was perhaps a bit too friendly with the bottle. To Huck's credit, it took quite a bit to actually get him drunk, and he hadn't intended on spending enough to get to that point.

He took a dragging sip of the drink and looked up at Jordyn with big, apologetic eyes. "Don't stop loving me when I turn into a moron," he implored. "But I'm warnin' ya, like. It's gonna happen."

There was the distinct probability that Jordyn or Xav would have to pry him off some poor girl in a closet somewhere at the end of the night, and though he was decidedly single he always felt a slight pang of guilt for getting off with girls while around his female friends. He couldn't help himself. It wasn't his fault.

Another sip was heavy on vodka and sorely lacking in the other two ingredients, causing him to cough and splutter before regaining his cool exterior. "Dear Jesus," he breathed, his throat on fire. "Gettin' me money's worth, man."

He took several more heavy swigs before the drink was drained, setting the glass down with a thunk on the counter. "D'you think they'd make me a buttery nipple?" he asked with a totally straight face.

Jordyn wasn’t the type to say when she was totally out of her element, and though she looked the part and pretended to be totally calm, inside her heart was racing.  She had never done something daring like this – and with all the people around them, smoke clouding the air around them, liquor being poured behind the counter, all the dancing – it was like a sin incarnate.  Even Xavier sniffing his breath was almost lost on the usually perceptive girl, until she saw the glass anyway.

He was drinking. Everything in her system said no – but there was a small pang of her that was jealous, and then – oddly enough – intrigued as to how easy it must have been.  Xavier fancied himself looking like he was twenty years old – well, he wasn’t female and he certainly wasn’t as cute as she was.  Maybe she should try it….

Her thoughts were cut off by his comments and she inwardly thanked Merlin that the lighting was dark or he might have actually seen color rise to her cheeks.  She had to smile though, considering Fergie helped her pick this entire outfit.  She’d have to tell him later – he’d die laughing. 

“Unfortunately,” Jordyn finally was able to make a response, “It’s not a democracy.” She grinned, almost nervously, and looked around again, self-doubt permeating through her every thought.  They got in – they had been standing there – they could just… oh! Now Ward had a drink?!  They couldn’t sneak out like they had never been there.  Gulping softly, Jordyn was immediately disturbed by what he was saying. 

She looked at him with a dropped jaw and blinked.  She wanted to exclaim what the hell was he talking about, but she tried to play it cool.  “I… would prefer something… less… vulgar sounding,” Jordyn finally said, looking between the boys, “who wants to buy me m-the first drink?”  she had almost slipped on my – she had champagne once or twice, but only one glass, and she had sneaked a bottle of wine to Fergie’s but they were too afraid to open it and not be able to throw it away. 

“A lady should never buy for herself,” she pointed out with a pseudo-sweet smile and winked at Ward, “besides, if you’re going to be a moron, I might as well join you.”  Ah, the perils of peer pressure and the fear of looking stupid and lame.

Xavier could have sworn he saw colour come to Jordyn's cheeks at his compliment but the lighting around them made it too hard to tell. He supposed he would just have to try harder next time, he was determined to turn her a shade of scarlet that not even the lights in Signature could hide. This was going to be a fun night, perhaps having Dimbleby around wasn't so bad afterall.

Xavier let a wide smile curl his lips and his cool grey blue eyes began to sparkle. It didn't take long for Huck to dive into his first drink and Xavier knew from personal experience that it was only the first of many. In the many years he had known his fellow Slytherin he had seen his smashed plenty of times, and vice versa. Xavier however was a wild card when the booze took him. He could go either way really, overtly sweet, clingy and emotional or just plain violent. One never knew which way he was going to go. With his grandfather's firewhiskey already pumping through his veins he didn't need anything all that strong and simply ordered himself a pint. It was rather domestic for such a high class establishment but he didn't really care.

He nodded when Jordyn went on her little spiel about a woman not having to buy her own drink. Xavier wholeheartedly agreed and would have offerred to buy her drinks for the whole night anyways but he made it seem like he was doing it simply to appease her. He called over the bartender ordering her a Cosmo, something nice and sweet and easy going down. Xavier got the feeling this was the kid's first rodeo, so to speak. Dropping more sickles than was needed he grabbed the glass of vibrant pink liquid and handed it to Jordyn, "Bottums up."

Huck had received his coveted buttery nipple and had done it at the bar, sucking his thumb to retrieve the small amount he'd spilt on his hand. For his next drink, he'd ordered a seven-and-seven with a few maraschino cherries, and took the drink with him to stand with his friends.

He glanced over to Xav and was pleased to find his friend with a pint instead of a harder drink- Huck had seen the boy's temper when fueled by alcohol, and it wasn't exactly pretty. He himself was a party boy by nature, who would merely lose his inhibitions and be more apt to, say, go out and steal road signs or go skinny dipping. Goofy stuff.

"I've got next," he claimed, pointing at Jordyn excitedly. "It's the most delicious drink ever, like. Real nectar of the Gods stuff."

He strayed a hand to his pocket surreptitiously, checking on the fatness of his wallet. It was still fat enough. "I divven' knaa if you've ever had a mudslide... but it's a canny drink."

He found himself slipping further into his nearly incomprehensible natural dialogue. Oh God.

"Wha' do people usually do at things like this?" he asked earnestly, looking around. He wasn't going to pretend like he went to ritzy clubs all the time. He was far more used to the local bar he went to, where they didn't card him because they knew who he was and, more importantly, would call his mother if he got out of hand.

To most of the world, Demitria Strelnikov was not the type to get her brother to apparate her to Hogsmeade in the middle of the night. Neither was she the type to play up her baby doll features to make her look 3 years older and thus, legal to enter the bar in Hogsmede with a practiced grin and a slight wiggle of her fingers. The school would never beleieve that the tiny Russian's debutante mother would have had a heart attack to know how much her daughter had been out. 

But that part of the school did not know the Strellie that Huxley Ward and Xavier Tawse knew.

The blonde finished casting a few stasis charms on her look before entering the establishment and looking around for the two young men that she knew she'd find there. Strellie was late, as always. Fashionably late if anyone asked her. Her dress, made entirely of sequins, shimmered in the half-light. Then her eyes fell upon the two that she was looking for. The only difference was a third presence. Jordyn Dimbleby had joined them and from across the room, Strellie could already tell that she was nervous beyond beleif.

The Russian couldn't help but smile. Quite the prefect move, choosing to lurk around the shadier establishments with Huck and Xavier. Huck had been bad enough, but once she had become close to Xavier as well... She could justly say that they had certainly corrupted her.

She wasn't adverse to it, but if the general Hogwartian public knew... There would be some interesting consequences. So having Jordyn around made her slightly nervous, to say the least. 

Sauntering up to the table, her gold dress catching the light, she said, " If you're such a gentleman, Tawse, which I find hard to beleive, you would've already had a lady's drink set for her."

There was a mischievous twinkle in Mimi's ghostly green eyes as she reached up to hug her friends. Oh, the marvelous wonder of being 5 foot even. 

No matter what the occasion, getting something bought for her was nice, particularly because she didn’t really have the money to be able to buy her own, at least not more than one or two. There were some sickles and knuts in her clutch, but nothing to scream at.  And she’d rather have Xavier buying for her, at least then she didn’t feel like she was taking advantage of anyway – from what she heard, both sides of his family were swimming in galleons.  She and Ward did not have that luxury.

Probably one of the main reasons she wanted to do something like this. She wasn’t going to have many opportunities.  Looking at the pink drink in the conical glass, Jordyn felt like her eyes were as big as dinner plates, but she had to keep it cool.  She took the drink from Xavier’s hands, brushing fingertips and discreetly sniffed the fruity looking drink, finding the smell lacking in offense, Jordyn took her first sip.  It was surprising, her eyes bulged slightly, but then she found it was not quite so bad.  In fact, maybe it was even good! 

She didn’t answer when Ward pointed out that he would buy next, hopefully he would be on the arm of some crazy lady by then – mostly for laughs, and because the fun it was bound to arise from any situation Ward found himself in.  Jordyn hoped, maybe, by the end of the night, she might have a story or two to write Neely about!  If not, this would forever remain a secret…

At least, Jordyn thought so – until she heard a familiar, accented voice and her heart dropped in her chest.  Demitria.  Now, Jordyn didn’t dislike her, she was part of the group, but she was definitely far more willing to do things like this and she was perceptive.  She could probably see Jordyn shaking from ten miles away – and she was definitely the loud sort of beauty in a glimmering, sequin dress.  Jordyn muted herself, playing on dark features, so she supposed, in the same vein, Demitria was doing the same. 

“You must forgive him, Demitria,” Jordyn said with a sly sort of smile, “He’s practicing.”  The pink liquid sloshed in the glass and Jordyn took another sip, acclimated to the taste, she didn’t feel so silly.  It sure did give a weird rush right to the front of her forehead.  She blinked twice, just to see if it was nothing, and shrugged slightly.  Oh well.

She didn’t answer Ward’s question, as she hardly knew, and sipped again, just for good measure, until someone who did – probably Demitria or Tawse – answered. 

Every thing in his dark chisled features lit up like the lights above his head when the petite slip of a Russian came to the table. Xavier's smile stretched from ear to ear as he appreciatively eyed the dress his best friend was currently wearing. Where he had looked at Jordyn to try and get under her skin the way his eyes followed the curves of Demetira's body was all natural and instinctual. There was no mistaking he found her gorgeous but Strellie was way beyond off limits. He wouldn't go as far as to say that she was just like a sister to him but she meant so much more to him than he could even begin to express.

As she reached for a hug Xavier took up one of her hands and twirled her about making a rather loud cat call, "Bloody 'ell Mimi, ye plannin on havin all thee guys fallin all ovae ye tonih?" He hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek before releasing her to give Huck a greeting.

Xavier took another few swigs of his pint smirking at Jordyn's remark about him practicing to be a gentlemen. He made a note to get Jordyn into more situations that made her nervous. Catching her off guard made her a lot more entertaining to be around. With a coy smile and a wink in Jordyn's direction her answered Huck's question, "Well if ye arnae gunna drink yerself stupid, ye dance!" He took Strellie's hand and dragged her onto the dance floor before the miniature Russian had a chance to grab a drink of her own.

Huck practically leapt on Strellie when the chance was afforded him, giving her a tight bear hug. He somehow managed to do it while not spilling his drink even a drop. "Oy, pet!" he called over the music, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. He had only barely stepped away when Xav pulled her onto the dance floor, however. Not phased, Huck excitedly waved goodbye and slipped back next to Jordyn.

Her innocence in all of it made him smile a little. He didn't want to turn her into a delinquent like him and Xavier (well, okay, he himself wasn't really all that bad), but seeing her loosen up and take a walk on the wild side, however small, made him a little giddy.

Another glance around the club made him warier, however, especially as his eyes met the gaze of several unsavory looking fellows. And as he stole another glance at his dear friend, and more specifically at her outfit- which, while classy, was very sexy- he began to get nervous.

She was one of the smartest and most on-top-of-things students at Hogwarts, he knew. But somehow it was a certain streetwise edge he wasn't sure she possessed. "Jordy," he said softly, his face stony serious. "I need you to make me a promise, okay? Number one, don't slip off anywhere with any of the greasy fucks you meet here. Number two, if you wanna go dance, or... if you wanna go anywhere, just don't leave your drink out. Don't let it out of your sight unless it's with one of us. Okay? Promise?"

As it left his mouth he found it slightly belittling, although he didn't mean it like that at all. But he viewed her as his responsibility, and he'd rather receive a dementor's kiss than let somebody slip something in Jordyn's drink.

"D...D'you wanna dance, like?" he motioned over to the dance floor. He wasn't really much for it, but he wouldn't mind being dorky and awkward if she'd have a good time.