chapter eight,
parties and pirates
- - - ⊱✿⊰ - - -
IN THE END, STEVIE MANAGED TO rope Daphne into doing a matching costume with her. ( After plenty incessant nagging, of course! )
They have a long history of pairing up for Halloween that dates all the way back to the days when childhood was ripe and the world was seen from behind rose tinted glasses. There are photo albums filled to the brim with their sparkling grins and over the top clothes back home, a baffling amount of polaroids glued into those garish scrapbook pages. Where Margaux frowned upon all things remotely fun, Louise Charpentier always had a passion for both making people laugh and making clothes ( she was one of the most successful seamstresses in magical France, after all ) and therefore insisted on sewing together outfits for her daughters every October. She used to say that all the time it took was worth it just as long as she got to see them smile.
Although, Halloween began to leave a bitter aftertaste in Daphne's mouth. Something about her outfit feels incomplete without her mother fussing over every little detail — without the finishing touches that she could never seem to wrap her head around. It leaves a hole in her heart that Louise Charpentier's needle and thread would never sew back up.
Anyway, she digresses.
Her costume is very last minute, if she's being honest, but she likes how it turned out. She's being swallowed whole by one of Cian's billowy shirts, her too-long brown skirt held in place by a chunky belt — it's never quite been able to fit just right, but when has that ever been able to stop her? She has on chunky pair of black go-go boots that tend to hurt her feet and her plaits are held in place by a black hairband, beads strung through the thick bracken that is her hair. Smudged eyeliner that she spent a humiliating amount of time trying to perfect ( and then washing it all away with frustrated tears ) melts into her foundation. That night, she draws a fine line between a hot mess and drop dead gorgeous: but she wouldn't have it any other way!
From where he's standing next to her, Roger announces the password to the Fat Lady, grinning wide when he gets it right. He's going as Aladdin Sane, the face paint coating his face glittering in the citrine candlelight.
"C'est reparti pour en tour," Daphne murmurs to Stevie. In all honesty, she's a bit nervous. The last party she went to at Beauxbatons didn't exactly end too well.
Her little sister tugs on her arm when the common room comes into view, her bright grin hurting her rosy cheeks. "Ce n'est que le début."
Stevie has her caramel hair crimped all over, turquoise beads laced in her curls and around her neck, an intricate headpiece with a cockle shell in the centre crowning her head. A mother of pearl corset hugs her gently, twin satin seashells covering the top. Her skirt is made of glittering blue, the tail sewn onto the end having been clipped onto the gemstone bracelet on her wrist to poise it in a curved position. ( She looks more put together than Daphne — as per usual )
"Je ne sais pas," Daphne replies. "J'ai un mauvais pressentiment."
"What are yous two talking about?" Cian asks, slightly tipsy from pre's. He's dressed as the main guy from Salem's Lot because it meant that he didn't have to put in any effort and could just wear his own clothes.
"Nothing," Stevie smiles, tugging on Daphne's hand and leading her inside the gaping portrait hole.
Walk This Way by Aerosmith blasts from an enchanted radio somewhere in the room, the room bursting at the seams with dancing people. Everything is overwhelmingly scarlet, the flares of gold looking remarkably intriguing and tacky at the same time. A glittery disco ball has been strung onto an ornate chandelier, comically out of place. There's a conflicted air about the place — it seems that half of the people are generally having a good time whilst the other half look like they're about to kick each others teeth in. The smell of firewhisky is pungent, staining the air and possibly the carpet. A fire crackles cozily in the hearth, contrasting the raucous atmosphere that asphyxiates anything remotely peaceful. Essentially, Daphne is already preparing to leave.
Roger drifts off apologetically to mingle with some of his mates from the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, Cian makes a dive for the table holding all the drinks and Stevie squeals when she spots Sunny on the other side of the room, sprinting off and leaving her sister all alone. Hypocrites!
Well, she isn't exactly by herself for long. Lihua Xiao pops up next to her, fairy wings lazily tacked onto the back of her floaty pink dress, a beguiling smile spread across her face. Her eyeshadow is unusually glittery and she smells like a bouquet of meadowsweet.
"Alright, Daph?" Lihua prompts.
"Hi," Daphne says awkwardly. Lihua's intimidatingly pretty and it makes her fumble about and go all nervous.
She nudges her playfully. "I love your costume."
Daphne forgets how to breathe. "Cheers," she says, praying to any available gods that her voice won't crack. "You don't look too bad yourself."
Lihua laughs, her earrings jingling. Daphne thinks it's out of sympathy.
Thankfully, the Bee Gees stifle the vaguely awkward silence hanging in the air. The disco ball reflects a kaleidoscope on her angular face, her eyes lighting up as the opening lyrics stream into the hollows of the room.
"This is my favourite song!" Lihua squeals. "We should dance."
"Oh, I'm not the best at—"
It's too late. She's being dragged out of her comfort zone and into the heart of the room, bumping into people on all sides and flushing an embarrassing shade of pink. Lihua spins around delightedly, taking Daphne by the hand to swing her around in harmony with the music. It feels like everyone's stares are searing holes into her skin, her palms growing clammy under all the scrutiny ( or the lack thereof ). A dizzy haze begins to settle over her head after several overly enthusiastic twirls — now she'd really rather be anywhere else.
"I'm gonna go and get a drink," she calls to Lihua, who seems too immersed in the music to pay her any attention.
She makes a beeline for Cian in the hopes that being near someone just as miserable as her would make her feel more at home. He instantly hands her a paper cup as if he has a sixth sense for why she's come over.
"Remind me why I came to this party?" Daphne murmurs to him, downing the contents of her cup. She fruitlessly tries to find Stevie in the crowd.
He sighs, pouring himself another. "I ask myself the same thing every year."
Eventually, Roger finds his way back to them and the three of them stand about, spectral looks upon their faces as the party wears on. The fire roars next to them comfortingly, drowning out all the commotion that flares up around them at any given moment. Daphne taps her foot along to the radio as her friends waffle on about things that go in one of her ears and out the other, her thoughts going all muddled and syrupy from the drink in her hand.
It's like they're in their personal little bubble of peace — one that happens to burst when none other than James Potter leaps up onto a table. ( Of course! )
His clothes are in disarray and a half empty bottle of firewhisky sloshes about in his iron grip. His mates are trying to drag him back down but he resists, shouting for everyone's attention.
"Evenin' ever-yone!" he calls, his syllables slurring into one big mess. "I have a veryyy imp... important announcement to make!"
"That's enough, James," Remus calls up at him, frowning.
"Yeah," Peter says worriedly. "Give it a rest."
"I, Jaymes Potter, have an announcement to make!" he repeats, snickering at himself. "Right. I fancy Lily Evans... a lot. She can turn me down allll she wants, but that won't... that won't stop me. I can tell she fancies me back." He cheers. "I'll win her over one day, lads!"
Sirius and Remus manage to wrangle him off of the table, but the damage has already been done. Poorly stifled laughs echo around the room.
Everyone's eyes snap onto Lily. Her mouth gapes open like a goldfish, mortified tears welling thickly on her waterline, and she promptly sprints out of the common room.
author's note
i'm baaaack
idrk where i was going w this chapter ending
soz i was gone for like a month but this chapter was so impossible to write 😭😭 this probs isn't my best work but i felt like i had to get this chapter out lol
tbh i imagined stevie's costume as something similar to that one costume cher wears in mermaids (1990) because it's camp and i love that movie !!!