𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛

𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤  —  threads,  intro

𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑛 𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑟  —  threads,  intro

𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜 𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑒  —  threads,  intro

the blonde watched as they acted their way through the floor. merlin, she really hated this whole thing. the arts were something she enjoyed, but more in the terms of paintings. as a bit of a secret she enjoyed muggle paintings much more than wizarding ones. there was an melancholy feel in them. It had to do with them not moving like the wizarding world. what happened to the characters within these paintings? what would their next move be? when she could, she would sneak around london, going to museums. it was something she kept for herself, never uttering a word of it to another soul.

recognition settled in her, she knew this voice. had spent small moments with this voice. amelia recollected herself, smoothing down her dress as she stood up straight. “ you’re right. thank you.” a small smile graced her lips.

               “ yeah,  yeah,  anytime, “   theo said, waving off the girl’s thanks.   he looked back over his shoulder,  away from the velvet - draped wall the two of them were standing near.   he squinted a little,  half sure now that the group of people he’d saved the two of them from ending up in the middle of really were just   …   other party attendees and not members of the drama club;  drunkenly staging an argument to get attention and maybe throw everyone else off the scent of what this year’s play actually was.   “ or,  I hope not anytime,  jesus.   the roaming performances really are the worst part of this party,  yeah? “   

    theo wrinkled his nose under his mask,  uncomfortably aware of the shifting glitter underneath it.  his roommates were going as sexy abominations,  and his only concession to that trend was the makeup he’d smudged around his eyes,  and the fact he didn’t have a shirt on under his suit jacket.   not really his usual style.   “ why can’t slughorn just throw a regular costume party? “ 

         staring  at  the  sun  was  a  strange  thing  .   everyone  knew  not  to  do  it   .   the  brightness  burned  your  eyes  and  could  ruin  your  sight  if  you  stared  for  too  long  .   but  every  now  and  then  you  would  feel  the  urge  to  look  up  and  just   …    keep  looking   .   rabastan  finally  understood  the  compulsion   .   looking  at  the  bright  green  of  her  costume  was  harrowing  for  a  man  who  spent  the  majority  of  his  time  in  a  dungeon   .   but  he  couldn’t  look  away   .   “   i  wasn’t   ,   ”   he  paused   ,   brow  arched  despite  his  mask  covering  the  movement   ,   “   until  now  .   ”    the  concept  of  sadness   .    she  was  funny   .   “   that  was  incredibly  rude   .   i’m  afraid  you’ve  hurt  my  feelings   .   would  you  have  approved  of  a  more  original  idea   ?    like  a  moth  or  a  butterfly   ?   …   i’ve  only  seen  several  of  those   .   ”   he  smirked   ,   not  at  all  offended   .    he  had  been  lazy   .  uncaring   .   truth  be  told   ,   rabastan  believed  his  lack  of  effort  would  help  his  anonymity  .   his  mother  would  never  allow  such  an  appearance   .

          glenda tilted her head at him,  making an exaggerated show of taking in the black mask   ( she wondered if,  like,  half the guys in the castle hadn’t just gotten together and collectively decided on black masks )   and the same rumpled suit that had first caught her eye.   “ I’m happy to have given you an actual name to give your costume,”   she said.   “ imagine someone else tried asking you what you came dressed as later,  and you just had to flounder?   the awkward pause might’ve killed the whole party’s energy. “   she righted her head,  figuring the overblown tilt and questioning lilt in her voice was enough to convey how unimpressed she was.  but,  you know,  jokingly unimpressed.   unimpressed in a nice way.   figuring out how to emote properly with a mask on was a fucking bitch;   she kind of understood this guy’s whole  ‘ couldn’t give less of a shit ‘  energy.   she rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see it,  and adopted a chipper tone.   “ anyway,  you totally could’ve come as moth.  one of the creepy ones,  with all the eyes on their wings?  I don’t even know who you are but I feel like it suits you.  then we could’ve matched. “ 

       rabastan  appeared  to  materialize  from  the  shadows   ,   a  halfway-filled  scotch  glass  somehow  already  in  his  grasp   .   the  professors  were  unbothered  by  this  act  of  defiance  because  the  alcohol  was  charmed  to  mirror  that  of  their  very  own  punch   .   he  was  sneaky   ;   not  a  snake   ,   but  a  man   ,   though  much  smarter  in  his  not  so  humble  opinion   .    his  slight  addiction  to  booze  aside  ,   rabastan  had  very  little  reason  to  be  sad  that  evening   .   he  considered  the  anonymity  a  drug   ,   and  he  was  high  off  of  it   .  as  a  result   ,   the  edges  of  his  lips  curled  upward  in  a  subtle  smile  as  he  glanced  around   ,   shoulder  nonchalantly  resting  against  a  wall   .

     glenda knew her costume was a little much;   she’d be tempted to call it too much if she hadn’t seen people wandering around with fully enchanted costumes,  with perpetually blooming flowers sprouting off their masks  &  little fish seeming to actually swim on their robes.   glenda’s outfit was noticeable,  dressed as she was in bright green,  with billowy,  feather trimmed sleeves and a pair of moth wings she made herself,  but she was hardly the most outlandish costume here.   she only felt slightly unsure  &  overdressed amongst people like   ━   this guy.   she didn’t think he’d even bothered to steam his suit last minute in the showers.   she raised a brow,  even knowing her mask hid the expression,  and said,  “ did you forget it was a costume party or are you just dressed as,  like,  the concept of sadness? “ 

slughorn was known to be quite charismatic, even more so, he was well respected among the pureblood familes. what did this have to do with anything? amelia needed to have his approval. it would benifit her in the long run with her parents. hence her attendance to this masquerade. the blonde would have never done this out of her own volition. as a child she’d had enough of these type of gatherings. 

the witch had one mission tonight. to stay low.it should be easy enough. she had been standing in a corner by herself since her arrival. people watching, amelia never minded being alone. even though she was by herself, there was this ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach. paranoia? was she being watched? walking around would ease the tension, she thought. taking a step foward, she felt an arm pull her to the side. “what-” 

         theo liked to think of himself as a polite enough guy,  most of the time.  in spite of   –   or maybe because of   –   all the rumors about him,  he liked to be,  like,  a baseline kind of respectful to most people.   he still wasn’t the  ‘turning the other cheek’  type,  but as long as someone wasn’t being an open dick to his face,  theo wasn’t going to go out of his way to be a dick to theirs.   he’d spent most of the night so far staying on the sidelines;   avoiding the dramatics people were putting on,  drama club members or not.                     slughorn seemed to know everyone wanted the chance to cut loose,  but christ,  theo didn’t think he’d needed to give them a chance to be sloppy.   

on the sidelines,  you kind of noticed everyone else on the sidelines.   when he saw a roving hoard of people putting on some kind of display   –   he couldn’t be fucked to figure out if it was a scene from a familiar play  or  someone’s cheating scandal mid-reveal   –   headed their way,  he reached out and grabbed for the wallflower dressed in black.   “ sorry,”   he said,  fully aware he didn’t sound too apologetic.   “ figured you wouldn’t want to get in the middle of all that.” 

 “  sometimes, you just want something       so hard you have to lie about it.  ”

( lola tung, twenty, cis woman, she/her ) hey, is that GLENDA CHITTOCK wandering the halls without a companion? the SIXTH YEAR is getting bold. and here I thought the HUFFLEPUFF was always more beguiling, determined, & convivial. but then they are also known to be irascible, unremitting, & selfish, so maybe that makes sense. these hard times are enough to change anybody, I suppose. and did you here people are saying they’re in NO ORGANIZATION? rumors fly when people are cooped up. here, I’ll show you — GLENDA always reminded me of a burning-hot cup of hibiscus tea tossed hastily down your throat; tap-tap-tapping fingers that itch to make noise; enough layered rings and necklaces and earrings and bracelets that you hear her before you see her; messy cherry red lip-gloss (can’t stop biting your tongue,  can you?); voice sweeter than honey with words sharp as thorns; the warmth of a match just lit. and I’ve heard SHE THINKS SHE’S THE NEXT STEVIE NICKS OR SOMETHING. let’s hope the HALF-BLOOD doesn’t get attacked by the beast. or let’s at least hope that rumor doesn’t get back to them before they do. ( zoe, 24, cst, she/her )

CONTENT WARNINGS:      implied child abuse? nothing concrete, but we’ve got a scummy relationship w a parent.  ADDITIONAL MATERIALS:     glenda’s playlist,  stats page,  &  pinterest board

“  i  am  not  taking  shit  back  ,  carrow  !  you  know  i’m  right  !    the  only  thing  that  the  ravenclaw  team  has  going  for  them  is  that  you’re  a  kick  ass  chaser  ,  ”  benjy  said  ,  grabbing  himself  and  alecto  another  drink  from  the  table  behind  them  .  handing  the  witch  a  bottle  of  some  random  beer  that  one  of  the  slytherins  brought  .  "  what  would  make  my  team  even  better  is  if  you  defected  from  ravenclaw  and  joined  us  instead  of  being  on  whatever-his-name-is  team  !  "

alecto rolled her eyes,  tossing hair over her shoulder as an extra measure;  going that extra mile to show benjy how little she cared for his insistence on being right.   “ flattery will get you many,  many places, “   alecto said,  a soft smirk as she accepted the offered beer.  not what she might’ve chosen,  but she wouldn’t turn her nose up at it.  “ but there’s no world where I defect from ravenclaw,  not even to spend even more time in your delightful presence.  I’m going to drag the team into contention. “ 

dorcas  could  not  stop  the  laugh  from  exploding  from  her  throat  at  the  implications  them  '  getting  it  on  '  in  this  small  of  a  space  .  "  no  offense  ,  evan….  you’re  very  handsome  but  the  thought  of  fenwick  putting  us  together  for  us  to  ’  get  it  on  ’  is  very  comical  to  me  !    “    taking  another  swig  from  the  bottle  ,  dorcas  gave  evan  her  own  once  over  .    humming  to  herself  ,  dorcas  would  be  lying  to  herself  if  she  didn’t  admit  to  herself  that  maybe  rosier  wasn’t  so  ugly  .  however  ,  a  small  lightbulb  did  go  off  in  her  head  .    ”  hear  me  out  before  you  say  no….  if  half  of  the  idea  is  supposed  to  give  everyone  else  something  to  talk  about…..  we  could  give  them  something  to  really  talk  about  !  just  for  the  shits  and  giggles  !  “    the  witch  spoke  ,  before  banging  her  hand  against  the  door  with  a  smile  .  

evan pretended to preen at dorcas calling him  ‘ very handsome.’   or,  he took the excuse to exaggerate how pleased he actually was at the compliment;  the laughter was easy to overlook,  and hard to care that much about.   “ none taken,  meadowes, “   he said,  sounding about as pleased as he looked.   “ you’re very beautiful,  and I didn’t even have to laugh at you to share that. “   he cocked his head,  intrigued with any proposition that began with  ‘ hear me out before you say no. ‘   didn’t dorcas know evan was the fucking king of saying yes to every dumb idea that crossed his path?   his smile took an edge the longer she spoke,  charmed by the idea even though he’d already decided to say yes to whatever it ended up being.   “ I’m game to give them something to talk about, “   he said.  “ just tell me where you want me.  you can captain this particular ship. “ 

“   benjy   is   hosting   his   own   victory   party,   of   course   this   is    his   idea   of   heaven.   ”   vivian   replied,   a   knowing   smile   placed   upon   her   face.   the   slytherin   sunk   back   into   the   obnoxiously   red   couch.   turning   her   full   attention   to   her   preferred   carrow.   “   i   swear   this   place   is   giving   me   a   fucking   rash.   ”

“ normally,  I don’t find benjy so insufferable, “   alecto admitted,  sinking back against the couch with a wry smile.   there wasn’t enough alcohol in her system to loosen her lips for her,  but vivian could be trusted with the admission.   “ he’s not so bad,  you know?  but this is a lot even for me.  I’m grateful,  I suppose, for the excuse to party.   but merlin,  I wish someone else had chosen the decor. “ 

long  slender  fingers  danced  along  the  edge  of  the  table  as  a  not  yet  intoxicated  mind  processed  his  words   .   “  i  do  hate  to  share  ,   ”   she  said  matter-of-factly  .   it  was  the  biggest  difference  between  her  and  one  of  her  first  real  boyfriends   .   she  believed  in  exclusivity  and  he  believed  in  fucking  everything  that  moved   .   that  was  a  complete  trainwreck   .   it  left  her  buried  beneath  a  similar  crushing  weight  that  theo  was  currently  trying  to  dig  his  way  out  of   ….   if  only  for  a  little  air   .   “   we’re  nothing  if  not  traditionalists   .   ”  she  looked  at  the  cup  he  just  poured  her   ,   a  look  of  amusement  slowly  creeping  forward   .   immy  liked  to  think  of  herself  a  woman  who  could  handle  her  booze   ,   but  she  was  pretty  sure  she  would  DIE  if  she  drank  that  much  vodka   .   “   thank  you  ,   ”   she  mentioned  with  a  nod  as  she  took  a  sip   .   “   and  give  it  a  few  hours  .   we  may  be  a  nosy  lot   ,   but  boooooyyyy  do  we  love  a  good  distraction   .   who’s  to  say  benjy  isn’t  doing  you  a  favor  ?   if  i  end  up  dying  in  that  closet   ,   they  may  forget  you  even  exist   .   ”

" do you? “   theo asked.   his voice was plain   —   no judgement or anything,  just the mild curiosity of someone learning something new about someone else.   most people,  he guessed,  didn’t like sharing.   theo was one of five had been one of five.   the vanes had money;  the sort of money that had him saying we’re comfortable his whole life.   him and his siblings hadn’t had to share shit,  but not sharing was pointless.   sharing was second nature.   he shrugged,  to himself,  and decided to go ahead and pour what he could from the rest of the bottle into his own cup.   it wasn’t quite hiding it,  but also,  no one else would really be getting shit from it.   a middle ground between sharing,  and not sharing.   he tilted the lip of it towards immy,  an acknowledgment of her thanks,  before taking a bracing gulp himself.  jesus.  “ eh, “   he said, wrinkling his nose.  “ everyone’s talking shit about lupin nowadays and still people are trying to play whodunnit over romy.   it is what it is   —   maybe you die and that solves my problems,  but probably lupin just gets caught with someone else and people find ways to care about two things at once. “ 

he  was  thoughtful  in  his  silence   ,   lifting  his  drink  to  his  lips  as  he  pondered  over  her  words  .   remus  couldn’t  exactly  tell  her  the  truth  because  alecto  was  right  .   there  were  worse  things  that  could  be  said   ,   specifically  about  him   .    remus  was  no  shining  beacon  of  light   .  “  i’m  not  entirely  sure  that’s  true  ,   ”   he  smiled   .  you  don’t  deserve  it  .   not  that  remus  particularly  cared  about  what  people  thought  (  so  long  as  his  secret  remained  just  that   :   a  secret   )   ,   but  people  he  thought  highly  of  ?   that  was  another  story   .   and  while  he  wouldn’t  consider  alecto  to  be  a  close  friend   ,   he  certainly  cared  enough  to  voice  his  apologies   .  he  wasn’t  interested  in  her  lineage   .   it  didn’t  matter  .   at  the  end  of  the  day   ,   remus  could  confidently  say  he  thought  she  was  a  good  person   .   and  what  mattered  more  ?   raising  his  drink  again   ,   he  tilted  his  head  .   “   to  being  the  source  of  jealously  for  others   .   i  don’t  know  about  you   ,   but  i’m  flattered  people  are  so  obsessed  with  us  .   ”   he  took  another  drink   ,   the  liquor  burning  his  throat  on  the  way  down   .   “  they  must  lead  such  boring  lives  .   ”

      in the silence that followed her apology,  alecto rolled her shoulders back and tried not to be too obvious about the fact that she wanted to shake the honesty off like an ugly shawl.   vulnerability made her skin crawl,  even if she had felt like she owed it to remus in their little corner of the party.   she scowled,  at remus and then into her cup as she made herself take an easy drink.   “ I wouldn’t lie, “   she said hotly,  arguing more for show than anything else.   she would lie,  in most other situations,  and something told her remus understood.   she sighed   ( also mostly for show )   and dropped the scowl as quickly as she’d donned it,  raising her cup to remus’ and finishing her drink in one fell,  unladylike swoop.   “ jealousy’s as good a theory as any.  we do both have nice hair. “  she asked,  cocking her head at him like she was examining his curls.   “ but I’m equally convinced it must be part fantasy.   maybe rita and all the rest of them just want to catch us in some sort of depravity,  and can’t shut up about it. “