(if you want a visual of Nephera's costume, it's this ^ minus the fishnets) (or with the fishnets whatever you want to imagine lmao)
October 31st – Room Of Requirement
Nephera was in Ellie's dorm, the both of them getting ready for the Halloween Party thrown by the marauders that evening. The brunette rarely got ready with other people, but today she didn't have the energy to deal with her dorm mate's sly comments and pathetic attempts at insulting her. Ellie's roommates, although slightly wary of Nephera, didn't say anything, simply avoiding the two girls and trusting Ellie's decision-making.
She couldn't help but notice the differences between the Hufflepuff common room and dorms and the Slytherin ones. The Hufflepuff common room was warm and had a safe feeling to it. Cozy couches, large armchairs, and fluffy blankets adorned the corners of the room, painting it in bright colors. The Slytherin common room, however, was dark, and cold, composed of expensive, leather couches and formal armchairs donated by Slytherin alumni. Nephera didn't mind, however, she liked the cold and borderline dangerous feeling of her common room, it felt strangely familiar to her.
"Neph, I need help with my hair," muttered Ellie
The Slytherin muttered a small noise of approval and exited the bathroom, only to smile slyly when she saw what her friend was dressed as "An angel? Really?"
"Why not?"
"Nothing, suits you, is all," Ellie smiled at the compliment, even if it did have a slight bite behind it
"A pirate?" asked Ellie, raising an eyebrow
"It was a last-minute idea, and I look good," replied the brunette, picking up her wand and casting charms over her friends' hair
"You always look good. Where did you even learn all these?" she asked, wondering about where the girl had learned so many spells concerning hair and makeup
"A combination of pureblood balls and my mother," mused the brunette
Finishing Ellie's hair, Nephera then moved on to herself. Looking at the mirror, she decided to charm her hair into soft waves, instead of her usual straight look. She felt slightly uncomfortable with it, her hair was quite short, only reaching her shoulders, so it was even shorter now than it was wavy.
Her waist was accentuated by the corset she wore, the white dress shirt flailing above it. Her legs were bare only covered by the ruffly red skirt she wore and her boots. Her lips were also painted red, and her eyes were lined with black and grey. Nephera never really wore red, the color being heavily scrutinized by purebloods because of its association with the house of lions, so she never really cared for it. Seeing it on her now, she couldn't deny that she looked good.
Leaving the dorm, they headed outside the common room to find Tony and Remus waiting for them, the latter having a hand over the former's shoulders.
"Looking good ladies," said Tony, wolf-whistling jokingly
"A wolf, Remus, really?" teased Ellie, as Nephera eyed his costume carefully
It was a grey, checkered pair of slacks with a white button-up, the first two buttons of which were popped open. On his head, there was a pair of grey fully ears, similar to that of a wolf.
"The lads had the genius idea to dress as our ani- patronuses. They're very hard people to say no to,"
"Well, I think you look great Rem," said Tony, standing on his toes to plant a kiss on his boyfriend's cheek, the werewolf grinning softly at the gesture
Tony was dressed in plain, black pants with a white dress shirt. His hair was charmed to appear green, and his face was painted so pale, it almost appeared white.
"And what are you supposed to be?" asked Nephera, deeply confused by Tony's costume
"The joker," smiled her Ravenclaw friend
"Yes, I know it looks like a joke," sighed the Slytherin, Remus barking out a loud laugh "I mean what are you dressed as?"
"Oh God, Neph, darling, the joker is a character. Remember those comics I gave you to read once?"
Nephera frowned before the face lit up and she exclaimed "Those with the mans?"
"The mans?" asked Remus confused
"That's what she calls superheroes, 'the mans', because, you know, it's superman, spideman, batman..." explained Ellie, whispering
Remus started laughing loudly. He found the way the girl was completely ignorant yet fascinated about muggle culture downright adorable.
They all walked towards the room of requirement, a lot of students following after them also dressed in costumes. Walking into the room, Nephera noted that the boys had done a great job. Pumpkins, skeletons, and bats decorated the walls, and the tables were lined with both muggle and wizarding alcohol. On one side of the room, people were huddled around one of the tables, clearly engaging in drug-taking. Nephera thought about joining them for a second but then decided to stick to drinking, the uneasy feeling that something would go wrong that night creeping up to her.
"There you are," said a voice behind them, and the four teens turned to find James, with a pair of antlers on his head
"You look like a bloody moose," teased Nephera
"I'm clearly a stag you evil pirate,"
"Why evil?!" exclaimed the Slytherin, but greeted the Gryffindor with a small side hug, doing the same to Peter
Sirius saw Remus's tall head peek out from the crowd, and he started walking towards him, knowing that Tony and Ellie would be there as well, and wanting to greet them. Unfortunately, that meant that he would have to see Nephera too, but he was hoping she had already gone off with whatever unfortunate soul she had targeted that night.
All those thoughts left his mind, however, when he saw her. Long legs bare except for her short skirt and her knee-high, pirate-style boots, he waist looking slimmer than normal by her corset, and the top part of her chest slightly exposed because of the shirt she was wearing. But what had truly made his breath hitch was the color. Red, she was wearing red, something that she never did, but Sirius couldn't understand why because she looked very good in it.
"Ellie, very fitting costume," he said instead, after clearing his throat and shaking his head to snap out of his daze
Ellie smiled and rolled her eyes, before greeting her friend with a small hug. While she was doing that, Nephera allowed her eyes to trail over Sirius's form. He was dressed as a black dog, following the marauder's group costume theme, and Nephera would be lying to herself if she said he didn't look good. Black pants, paired with his signature leather jacket with no shirt underneath, eyeliner lining his eyes as well, and a pair of black dog ears on his head.
"Black, dressed like the bitch that you are," lie
"And the red really brings out your anger issues, I can see why you don't wear it more often," lie
"Merlin you two this is a party," sighed Tony "Go drink and stay away from each other,"
The two teens scowled at the Ravenclaw before a voice interrupted the conversation between the group, "Winchester!"
"Walk away McLaggen," snapped Nephera, not even bothering to look in his direction
"Oh, come on, you're wearing Gryffindor colors, Neph. It's only fitting you dance with one,"
The six other teens felt their eyes widen, not sure how the Slytherin would respond to the situation. For as long as they had known her, the girl had been very private about people using her first name, for reasons unknown to them. And this guy not only had called her by her first name but by her nickname as well. On top of that, he had refused to leave when she clearly told him she wanted nothing to do with him.
James's overprotective nature came out, as he grabbed Nephera by the arm and glared at McLaggen "She is dancing with one," he said, as he pulled her towards the center of the room and they started dancing along to ABBA
Nephera was having fun dancing along with James, feeling carefree as they screamed the lyrics to "Voulez-Vous" together, soon being joined by Remus, Tony, and Ellie.
Sirius found himself unclenching a fist he didn't know he had formed when he saw McLaggen leave after James had swept Nephera away. Still, he took out a cigarette and started smoking in frustration when he saw her jump around with his best mate, James dipping her and picking her back up jokingly.
"Pads?" he asked, stifling a laugh at his friend's painfully obvious glaring "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, why wouldn't it be?"
"Well, for one, you looked ready to punch McLaggen, and now you look about three seconds away from tearing Prongs' head off,"
"If you're implying something, spit it out wormtail,"
"I think you're jealous." He states simply
Sirius barks out a loud laugh "Please, next thing you're going to say is that I fancy Winchester,"
"Why do you still call her Winchester?" asked Peter instead of retorting to what his friend had said
"She hasn't given me permission," grumbled Sirius, unexpectedly annoyed at the fact that everyone else got to call her by her first name but him "How weird is that? Who does she think she is, giving us permission to call her N- by her first name."
"She's not here right now, just say it." Insisted the mousy boy, noticing his friends' slip up
Sirius felt his cheeks grow red, now knowing why he couldn't let her name slip past his lips "Fuck this, I'm going for a drink," he grumbled, ignoring Peter's laughs as he stalked away
Nephera was still dancing with the group, being twisted and turned by James as she screamed the lyrics on the top of her lungs, just enjoying her time with her best friends and the Gryffindors who had started to slowly but surely inching their way towards her heart. Eventually, however, she grew rather tired "I'm going to grab a drink!" she yelled over the music, and left when she saw them nod.
Walking towards the drinks table, she noticed Sirius talking to his newest victim, a pretty blonde who was practically drooling over him. Rolling her eyes, she extended her arm to grab a bottle of muggle vodka, only for another hand to come up and grab it. Annoyed, she turned around to find Lucas Hannings, a seventh-year Hufflepuff.
"Can I help you?" she asked, leaning against the table
Lucas smiled, pearly white teeth a direct contrast against his dark skin "Just wanted to formally meet the infamous Nephera Winchester." He said, pouring a drink and handing it to her
She accepted the drink and smiled coyly at him "Have I met your expectations?"
"Oh definitely," he said, matching her grin "Although to be honest, I expected some ice queen who would hex me the second I took the bottle out of her arms, not the beautiful girl with a sweet smile in front of me,"
"Keep talking like that and you won't have to see the ice queen," she mused
Sirius was talking to a random girl in front of the drinks table, pretending to listen as she was babbling on about some random topic that he didn't care enough to pay attention to. No, instead, his attention was fully focused on the brunette who had been making his life hell for the past six years, and the way she was flirting with the boy in front of her.
She reaches up and places a hand on the boy's arm, and Sirius feels his grip on his glass tighten.
The boy tucks a strand of her behind her ear, and Sirius's grip tightens further.
She laughs at one of his jokes, and the boy puts an arm around her waist, leading her to the dance floor, and Sirius's glass shatters in his hand.
"Oh Merlin!" said the blonde, "Are you okay Siri?"
He cringed at the use of the nickname, never being a fan of it, but covered it up nevertheless "Yes, everything's fine," he grumbled "You know what, let's dance."
"But, your hands-"
"Don't worry darling, I like the pain," he winked, and the girl giggled and allowed him to pull her into the center of the room
Lucas was certainly attractive, and he definitely knew how to flirt, but there was one major problem with him: he was unbelievably boring. Normally, Nephera wouldn't care, it's not like she was looking for a relationship anyway, but this boy was so ridiculously bland, she couldn't bear another second with him. Even in the way he danced, he had no personality whatsoever. Her eyes fell to where Sirius was dancing with the same blonde from before, moving with a grace that could only be justified from his many years of ballroom dance training he had as a child.
Shaking her head, she got rid of the thoughts that were starting to invade it, all of which were centered around the raven-haired boy, she closed the distance between her and the boy in front of her, needing a distraction.
Sirius subconsciously shifted his gaze over the people around him, in search of a certain brunette. When he found her, he also found his blood boiling as he saw her kissing the boy she had been previously talking to. He followed in her footsteps- he was doing that a lot recently- he realized, and bend down as well to kiss the girl.
Nephera left the center of the room with Lucas attached to her neck, walking away from the commotion to find a more private space to continue her ministrations with the boy.
Sirius led the blonde away from the dancing, to one of the corners in the room in order to distract himself the same way he always did.
All of these had not gone unnoticed by Ellie and Peter, who were sitting on one of the couches, observing the scene.
"He was staring at her before," said Peter "when she was dancing with James,"
"she was staring at him too, right before she started snogging that guy," replied Ellie
"You do see what is going on here, right?"
"Of course I do, I'm just wondering how long it will take for them to realize it themselves."
The two of them sighed, looking at each other and shaking their heads with a small laugh, before going back to the conversation they were having with the rest of the people in the circle.
The rest of the night went by without much trouble, both Sirius and Nephera had ditched their partners after they had gotten what they wanted, and were now drinking their frustrations away. It was now early in the morning, and there were few people left at the party, but Sirius and Nephera were both on the verge of being black-out drunk, yet their anger and annoyance hadn't dissipated, as Nephera angrily chatted with Ellie, and Sirius angrily chatted with James.
They avoided each other at all costs until a certain group of Slytherins decided to crash yet another party they hadn't been invited to.
"Winchester," said Lestrange, walking up to the two girls and shouting over the music "Get rid of your mudblood pet, we need to have a little chat."
Not many people were stupid enough to insult Nephera Winchester's best friend in front of her, but if there was one thing Lestrange liked, thought Nephera, was distinguishing himself from the crowd. She nodded at Ellie, knowing that while the girl never cowered in front of the Slytherins, she grew very uncomfortable when matters of blood were mentioned.
Ellie did just that, although she still felt uneasy about leaving a very drunk Nephera with an equally drunk group of Slytherins, and so she let her eyes wander around the room, looking for people to help. Tony and Remus were dancing, but they looked so happy, the Hufflepuff didn't want to disturb that. Peter was nowhere to be found, so her eyes continued to scan the area until they fell on James and Sirius talking on one of the couches, and she briskly walked towards them.
"You must have a death wish." Deadpanned Nephera, turning to Lestrange and the rest
"Hardly," he replied, "But I should tell you that your father responded to another one of my letters, and he has given me his blessing to do whatever I can to make you change your blood-traitor ways, as your future fiancée, of course."
"And I'm giving you my blessing to try, but I can assure you, it will be painful for you, and you will not succeed."
"You should really learn how to respect your superiors." Said Nott
"When my superiors get here, I will respect them. But for now, all I see are you mongrels sitting here, wasting my time."
Nephera was growing worried, she was very drunk, which meant that her reflexes were slowed and her inhibitions were lowered, leading her to say things that would definitely anger the group of boys, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to defend herself if they did something.
"My Salazar, you're so drunk, it's unbecoming." Muttered Avery
"He's right, I think it's best you return to the common room," uttered Lestrange, grabbing her roughly by the arm
James and Sirius had been discussing amongst themselves about the former's most recent failure at charming Lily Evans when a disheveled and panicked Ellie approached them.
"Puff, everything alright?" asked Sirius, kicking off the wall and approaching the girl
"It's Nephera, Lestrange and the rest are here,"
James felt his jaw tighten as he glanced over at Sirius, noticing that his friend was in a similar state "Where are they?"
Ellie led them over to where the group of Slytherins was, and Sirius swore he saw red when his eyes fell on the way Lestrange was gripping Nephera's wrist and the way Nephera was clearly trying to get him to let go. That anger simmered slightly, however, when he saw the brunette rip his grip off of her and land a harsh slap on his cheek.
"And what's going on here?" said Sirius, stepping in between the two Slytherins
"Nothing that concerns any of you," replied Lestrange
Once again, the Slytherin proved his love for ignoring logic, for everyone at Hogwarts knew that it was not a good idea to snap at an angry Sirius Black.
"I believe it does concern us when you're over here hurting one of our friends," said James, coming up to stand next to his best friend
"I was simply trying to escort my future fiancée back to the common room, so if you'll excuse us," he replied, trying to push past the two boys only to be pushed back in return
While this was going on, Nephera was leaning on her taller Hufflepuff friend, trying to keep her eyes open and the bile from rising in her throat. Her drunk state, combined with the dark lights of the party, made Lestrange look too much like her father, and the way he was growing angry and trying to push past the two Gryffindors to get to her awoke certain memories in her mind that she preferred to keep locked up. She tried to keep her face and breathing as composed as possible, but if there was one person who knew Nephera, it was her best friend, who noticed the Slytherins' increase in her heartbeat.
"Guys," she said, gesturing to the brunette leaning on her
James had enough experience dealing with Sirius to know what a panic attack looked like, and Sirius had enough experience from growing up pureblood to know what was causing it. So, despite how much both of them wanted to permanently imprint Lestrange's face on the ground, they restricted themselves.
"Lestrange, you're drunk. Walk away." Stated Sirius, his tone a deadly calm
"I'll leave, once you hand over my fiancée."
"She's not your anything, asshole. Leave." Continued James
"I don't know who you think you are, you low-rank blood traitor, but you do not talk to us that way." Snapped back Mulciber
Remus, Tony, and Peter had walked up to them as well, finally catching wind of the confrontation that was happening.
"Why are they still here?" asked Tony, raising an eyebrow
The Slytherins visibly pulled back when they saw that they were outnumbered, memories of the last time they crossed the marauders fresh in their minds. They sneered at the group, and they started walking away, but not before Lestrange turned to Sirius.
"Je penserai à toi quand je la baise et qu'elle me supplie d'arrêter," I'll think of you when I'm fucking her and she's begging me to stop
Sirius chuckled darkly before grabbing the other boy, tugging the Slytherin close to him "Pose un doigt sur elle, et je m'assurerai qu'ils ne pourront même pas te reconnaître lorsqu'ils t'amèneront à l'hôpital" Lay a finger on her, and I'll make sure they won't even be able to recognize you when they drag you into the hospital.
The Slytherins left after that, Lestrange a few shades paler than he was before, and the six teens all turned towards the brunette.
"Neph, you okay?" asked Tony gently
"I'm fine, I'll definitely have a hangover tomorrow, but I'm fine." She said
Tony and Ellie exchanged a heavy look, and the Hufflepuff nodded. They both knew that Nephera hated receiving help, even when she hadn't asked for it, and the situation was definitely making her uncomfortable.
"Alright, come on," said Ellie, tugging on the Slytherins' arm "You need to sleep."
"Wha- You're not taking her back to the Slytherin common room, are you?"
"Of course not, Rem, don't be stupid. She'll sleep with me tonight."
The rest of them nodded, bidding the girl goodbye as they watched the two leave, Tony following after them.
"What did Lestrange say to you?" asked Peter
"Trust me, wormtail, it's better if you don't know." Answered Sirius
The Gryffindor now understood what Nephera had meant that night at the forbidden forest when she said that only they were allowed to insult each other. And even in that case, Sirius would never cross a line like Lestrange had done, just moments before, and he wasn't sure he would be able to stop himself the next time he laid eyes on the boy.
He wasn't alone in feeling that way, however. The other three Gryffindors were standing there, staring at the door where the Slytherins had exited, thoughts of different pranks and different ways to inflict pain running through all of their minds.
James' mind still replayed the image of a drunk Nephera, leaning against Ellie practically shaking. The girl was always composed, and never let anything slip past the mask she wore, but the alcohol searing through her system had left her unable to control her face the way she usually did, letting a glimpse of the terrified teenager show.
A/N
3.8k words
keep in mind that french isn't my first language, so if anyone here has any corrections to the phrases used, please comment them and i'll edit them correctly
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