folie à deux

Nineteen.

It was still nonstop partying for Selina as her fourth year at Hogwarts continued. It seemed Kelly and Blaise were more determined to fry their brains with adrenaline and extravagance than usual. All of Slytherin's elite were prone to indulgent, addictive behavior, but they weren't addicted to anything that was treatable. Everyone Selina knew was just addicted to excitement.

Kelly Cross and Blaise Zabini both reveled in the luxurious lifestyles they lived as part of Slytherin's court. Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson commanded the attention of their entire school with their antics, humiliation he damned, knowing they'd rather have their dirty laundry out on display than be passed over.

Selina and Jasper knew that they both had different places in all of it. Jasper was so enamored with Selina, he hardly recognized anyone else, including himself, while Selina went insane any time she processed anything from the outside world.

The two of them worked very interestingly together, because while they both had strong beliefs in individuality, they both utilized their individuality very differently.
  "I don't see what the big deal is," Selina remarked passively as she walked down the steps of the stands where they were going to be watching the first of three tasks in the Triwizard Tournament.
  "You don't see what the big deal is?" Jasper questioned in disbelief. "You're drunk."
  "Not drunk, tipsy, at best," she provided with disappointment in her tone. "I barely drank, and I can hold my liquor."
  "You're at a school event," he argued.
  "Exactly!" she pointed out. "I'm not the only one, and I'm definitely not the worst one."
  "You sound like Fred," Jasper groaned.
  "Everyone loves Fred," Selina pointed out.
  "Fred also blows up toilets," Jasper reasoned with a dry smile.

Selina sat beside Amana and Pansy as they waited for the First Task to begin, eager to see bloodshed.
  "Want any Firewhisky?" Pansy called to her.
  "Had some cognac with Fred and George," she responded. "Mum says no, so I suppose I'm all set for today."
  "How moderate of you," Amana said with a smile.

It seemed almost everyone at least nearly of age at Hogwarts was drinking today, heavily. It was the start of the event of the century. As students from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang alike all watched as the four champions each took on a dragon in their objective to capture a single golden egg, the yelling and cheering was like nothing Selina had ever heard before.

This wasn't like any Quidditch game she'd ever been to, or played in. She watched as Cedric Diggory, the captain of the Hufflepuff team, took on a Swedish Short-Snout, just about everyone in their school cheering for him.

Selina inquisitively watched Cedric evade the creature with curiosity, wondering if their fantastical perception of him was similar to the way they perceived her, as Slytherin's 'star Chaser' and Amana Tesfaye's best friend. She eventually came to the disturbing conclusion that she and Cedric Diggory certainly had one that in common; they had both done everything, and nothing, to earn everyone's praise.

She then observed that, although she and Draco Malfoy definitely did not have the same sort of character, that didn't seem to matter to anyone on the outside. Draco and Selina, although being vastly different people, were still cut from the same lush, exorbitant cloth. As she watched Draco tripping a third-year Gryffindor boy as Crabbe and Goyle laughed brutishly, she became increasingly aware of the other side of how people saw her.

Sometimes, it didn't matter who she really was. Sometimes, all that mattered was what people saw, whether it was something she presented on her own, or something that was only a part of their perception.
  "Hey. Something wrong?"
"Hmm?"

A bit startled, Selina looked up at Jasper, who was sitting in the seat beside her.
"No," she said quickly, "Why?"
"No reason," Jasper assured her in his soft Irish accent.
"What is it?" she wondered, not understanding the reason behind his gaze.
He just smiled, already forgetting his worries as he neatly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Nothing. Just... admiring, is all."