Bedknobs and Broomsticks [HP fanfic; BNB Book 1]

The Party

After the last of the food from the Halloween feast had been cleared away that night, the dishwashers traipsed down to the kitchens and set about their work. Filch seemed as unhappy to be stuck there as the rest of them, muttering something under his breath about hooligans and their Halloween shenanigans. During one of his strings of muttering to his cat, James and Sirius managed to finagle the House Elves into speeding things along -- it wasn't going against Dumbledore's orders, they said, as it wouldn't necessarily be special treatment, just helping things to move a little faster. The House Elves were, as always, eager to please, and began helping with the dishes whenever Filch turned his back.

By a quarter to nine, the dishes were cleaned, dried, and put away, much to Filch's mystification. Try as he might, he couldn't find a reason to detain the students any longer, and they were free to go, hurrying back to their dormitories to change into dress robes and head to the fifth floor.

The party was already well underway when Emilie and Geoff reached the banquet hall and handed their invitations to the goblin at the door. Students who hadn't quite met the criteria for Slug Club membership and had failed to secure a date were walking around in smart uniforms, bearing trays of hors d'oeuvres and drinks. A band dressed in robes orange enough to disgrace the Chudley Cannons was set up in the corner, playing something that sounded suspiciously like "Whiter Shade of Pale," and several couples -- made up mostly of Hufflepuffs -- were shuffling their way back and forth across the parquet dance floor.

Emilie began to reach for a glass of something bubbly on a passing server's tray, but Geoff was already tugging her toward the dance floor to join the Hufflepuffs, and the drink was out of reach a moment later.

"Never would have guessed you were a dancer," she said as he put a hand on her waist.

"I'm full of surprises," he answered, grinning.

* * *

Sneaking through a crowded party under the invisibility cloak turned out to be a lot more easily said than done. Sirius pressed himself against the wall, holding in his breath as Slughorn passed by mere inches away from him, chortling at something Barnabus Cuffe had just said. He sighed in relief, but remained by the wall, scouting the room.

Lily and James swaying to the band's up-tempo samba -- no surprise there. Snivellus moping in a corner -- even less of a surprise. He made a mental note to knock a waiter into the gloomy boy before the evening was done. Regulus trying to chat up Marlene McKinnon -- that little shit. Geoff pulling his date onto the dance floor -- Sirius paused, staring for a moment. Peter had mentioned that Geoff was coming to the party with Emilie Delacroix, but he had never believed it. A frown creased the Black boy's handsome face as he narrowed his eyes at them, trying to figure out what the Slytherin girl's angle could possibly be. After a moment, he shrugged it off, turning his attention elsewhere, and a smirk replaced his frown as he saw an opportunity.

Evan Rosier and Marcia Snook were hidden behind some airy curtains, their silhouettes pressed close together beneath the twinkling fairy lights Slughorn had hung above the windows. Sirius spotted a Jack-O-Lantern on the wall that was spouting iridescent smoke bats at regular intervals. He quickly stole over and snatched the pumpkin from the wall, stuffing it under the cloak and creeping back along the wall to Rosier and Snook's alcove. He dodged a few Ravenclaws and crouched down by the curtains, waiting for the pumpkin to spew once before sliding it under right between Snook the Snogger's legs.

"Evan, that's my foot," mumbled Marcia as Sirius accidentally guided the pumpkin past her heel. Rosier didn't respond, his mouth busy working at Marcia's neck as his fingers fumbled with the front of her robes. Sirius stepped out of the way and looked back just in time to see a flood of bats burst from the Jack-O-Lantern, heading right up the girl's skirt. She screamed in Rosier's face and he jumped, grabbing the curtains as his feet tangled in the girl's and ripping them down. Sirius had both hands clamped over his mouth to keep quiet as the band's latest song screeched to a halt and everyone in the room turned to look at the disturbance.