The Gryffindor Soiree was a party thrown by Gryffindor students. For one night out of the year, they open up their Common room to 6th and 7th years of all houses for a chance to dance and mingle. Sebastian and I would be attending so we could interrogate Garreth Weasley on his relationship with Morgana. Ominis said he would rather pass.
Ominis was not keen on investigating Morgana's death like I was. Perhaps it was the Ravenclaw in me, but I was just not satisfied with half-complete answers. I still needed to know exactly what happened that night she was decapitated.
Ominis was surprisingly alright with letting Sebastian accompany me to the party. It seemed that teaming up against Duncan Hobhouse had given them a fragment of their relationship back. But they still had much repairing to do.
I met Sebastian by the Grand Staircase. He was wearing a svelte black tailcoat and white gloves. Usually his wild brown locks looked wind blown and messy, but he had actually combed his hair back tonight; and by the scent, he had put a musky pomade in it as well.
I saw his brown eyes gleam when I approached. He looked at me like I was treasure, noticing my earrings which captured the light and cast little rainbows across the pale skin of my neck and shoulders. His eyes lingered at my exposed skin before finally snapping back to reality.
"Shall we commence our date?" He asked jovially.
"It's not a date," I shook my head, fighting a smile.
Sebastian feigned a puzzled look. "But you are wearing a gown... and I am wearing a suit.... And we are going to a party-"
"To not dance and to not drink," I said. "We are to find Garreth and question him."
"Would it kill you if we had a little fun?" He winked. "I'll save a dance for you."
My stomach erupted in a burst of butterfly wings. It was exceedingly difficult to say no to Sebastian when he looked this handsome.
"One dance," I swallowed. "But that's it."
The Gryffindor Common Room was completely transformed. An expansion charm made it triple in size to form a ballroom attached to a lavish sitting area, where students were laughing and pouring shimmering bubbly drinks from a fountain shaped like a lion. Ghostly musicians played stringed instruments beside floor to ceiling windows. Golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling high above the dancers' heads.
Only 6th and 7th years were permitted entry to the ballroom, and an age restriction charm was put in place right at the threshold. But I saw a handful of Gryffindor 5th years sneaking around the sitting area, stealing drinks and hiding behind chairs. No one paid them much mind.
It was hard to not be enchanted by it all. "We must find Garreth first," I said to Sebastian, who was taking in the golden ballroom with awe struck eyes.
Sebastian pointed to a table at the far end of the room. "Found him."
Garreth Weasley was standing on top of a table with a bottle of champagne in his hand, and his wand in the other. He was showing off to a crowd of spectators by levitating the bottle into the air, and then tipping it to pour a stream of champagne into his mouth. He then blew out a glittering cloud of mist that took the form of a dancing woman. Up and up she danced before disappearing into the ceiling.
Spectators clapped. Dozens of girls were fawning over him, waiting for him to ask them to dance. However, Garreth had really not expressed interest in a particular girl yet this season. As far as I knew, he preferred to goof off and party instead.
When I looked upon his flushed, laughing face, he reminded me of someone: Dionysius, the Greek God of wine and parties.
"Garreth!" I called up to the boy. "Come down for a moment!"
Garreth did as I said. However, his dismount was a fumbling, bumbling mess. Sebastian ended up saving him from going ass over tea kettle. "Thank you my dark and twisty friend," Garreth said, patting a confused Sebastian on the shoulder.
"Why, if it isn't Prisma St. Cloud!" Garreth grinned widely. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Fancy a dance? Maybe a drink?"
Sebastian stood protectively beside me, not liking the stench of Garreth's booze breath. "She's spoken for."
Garreth looked at Sebastian, and then back at me. His eyes lit up. "You two! I always thought there was something going on. You were always sneaking around together last year- seriously, congratulations. You'll make very attractive, very terrifying kids-"
"I'm engaged to Ominis," I said, slightly mortified. I could feel Sebastian's embarrassment as well.
Garreth's mouth fell open, remembering that he had certainly known that already, but the information had fallen out of his head to make room for the booze. "The Storm Prince! Of course. And you are the Rainbow Princess- how could I forget?" He began to wander off, entranced by a floating tray carrying glasses of white wine.
"Did he just call me the Rainbow Princess?" I frowned.
Sebastian grinned at me. "Quite a good nickname."
"It makes me sound like a girl of twelve."
"I think it suits you."
"Speak for yourself, Prince of Bleeding Hearts."
Sebastian guffawed. "Is that what they call me?"
With sarcasm, I replied, "It suits you." I exhaled. "Garreth is piss drunk. This may make the interrogation difficult." I complained.
"I'll keep people away while you question him. I can be quite intimidating when I want to be." He winked.
I scoffed and adjusted my glasses. "Trust me, I know."
I found Garreth again, seated at a table beside the roaring fire. I sat beside him. "I need to ask you something important-" I began to say, but he quickly silenced me with his finger.
"I will answer whatever your question may be," Garreth said, a mischievous look in his eye, "if you two try my latest concoction."
Garreth produced two vials from his inner coat pocket.
"If it's anything you've had tonight, I don't want it," Sebastian grimaced.
"It's never been tried before. Not even by me. And I won't tell you what's in them until after you've tried it. That's part of the thrill." He shook them teasingly.
I knew it was incredibly stupid to drink an unidentified potion- especially one made by Garreth Weasley. I could end up with elephant ears. Or I could be speaking in song for a week.
I decided that whatever the risk was, I was willing to take it, if it meant Garreth would tell us what he knew.
So I grabbed the vial and downed it.
Sebastian gawked. He managed to look shocked and impressed at the same time. "Holy hell, you actually did it."
Garreth made a loud whooping sound. "Your turn, Mister Sallow."
Sebastian knocked back the vial into his mouth, looking incredibly sexy as he did so. I wasn't sure if the funny feeling in my stomach was from him or the potion.
"Alright, we've tried your experiment," I said. "I know you talked to Morgana the day she died. I want to know if she said anything strange."
Garreth's face fell. "Morgana? You're asking me about Morgana?"
Sebastian kept people away while I questioned Garreth. The booze seemed to serve my purposes nicely: as Garreth was an open book for me.
"I fell hard for Morgana last year," Garreth admitted. "She was unlike anyone else. She had this way of making me feel like I was the only person in the world."
I had supplied Garreth with a fresh glass of champagne and urged him to drink. I could tell this was hard for him to talk about.
"Garreth, I appreciate your honesty," I said. Gently, I asked, "Did you two sleep together?"
Garreth nodded. "We did. And then- right before summer, she said she could not see me anymore. Then when we returned for 6th year, I found out she was with Ominis. I was heartbroken. I was going to ask her to marry me." Garreth's eyes filled with disappointment. "That's what we were talking about the day that she died. I wanted to marry her, and she said no."
I was floored. This was a huge piece of the puzzle that I had been missing. First, Morgana had been with Andrew and Leander. After Leander she had a secret romance with Garreth. Then she got together with Ominis over the summer. Both Garreth and Ominis had wanted to marry her, but she'd said no.
And then she died.
"I was with Leander later that night right here, in the Common Room," Garreth said. "I'm telling the truth," Garreth cocked an eyebrow. "Just like how you two are about to be."
Sebastian and I gave him puzzled looks.
"Those drinks I gave you," Garreth's face began to grin. "Those were my home-brewed veritaserum. Long-lasting, mind-opening- with a special hallucinogenic kick."
"Hallucinogenic?" I croaked. My voice suddenly sounded far away. I looked up at the chandeliers, which pulsed like stars. In my eyes, they were stars.
I looked at the dance floor. The people morphed into animal-human hybrids before my very eyes; a woman in a striped dress was a zebra, men with feathers in their caps were birds. They all looked ridiculous to me. So ridiculous, I began to laugh.
Sebastian was looking past me. He was also feeling the effects of the potion. "Do you see that tall red puppet over there?"
I laughed, and it sounded like wind chimes. "You mean Leander Prewett?"
Before I knew it, Garreth had Sebastian and I swept up into a big group dance. I could not stop laughing. Everyone looked like cats standing on their hind legs, spinning hand-in-hand in a giant circle, moving in and out. Sebastian and I must have looked like fools, always a step behind everyone else because we were too busy in our own little fantasy world.
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I loved writing about the Gryffindor party! I imagine it would be a lot of fun and just a night for the students to let loose and dance. I don't think the professors know about the booze... but the students keep the secret well, don't worry.... -kittyhawk