Chasing the tesseract

Chapter 44

Chatter and music hang in the air as students fill the great hall back in Hogwarts, which is not decorated by lights and flowers. Large round tables are scattered around the room, each one filled by buzzed students who are lost in the magic of the night.

A small bar sits on the far side of the hall, a bar that is strictly only for staff members. At the bar sits Tony, a drink in his hand as he stares out at the dancing students around him. "I can't believe Abi convinced us to come here." he grunts as he rolls his eyes before turning his stool so it faces the bartender.

"It's not too bad Mr Stark." Peter adds as he takes a seat next to Tony, a small glass of what looks like some tropical juice in his hand. Tony glances briefly at him, checking his drink isn't alcoholic before he takes a large gulp of his own.

"The drinks are good I'll give you that." Tony admits as he nods at the bartender who slides down another glass before taking Tony's now empty one.

"Agreed." Loki confesses as he slams his half full glass on the bar and takes a seat beside Thor who holds a large pint of beer in his hand.

"Where even is Abi?" Thor asks as he glances around the room at all the unfamiliar faces of students and teachers, not just from Hogwarts but from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons.

"She better be coming because if she's dragged us here and isn't going to turn up then..." Tony trails off as the large doors to the hall slide open and I step through them. My blue ball gown glistens in the lights as it sways with each step I take. Heels click against the floor and my brown hair is pulled back into a loose bun at the base of my neck, a few loose strands that aren't long enough to go back framing my face. "Is that Abi?" asks Tony as I make my way closer into the hall and towards the bar where they stand.

"She's absolutely gorgeous." Pietro comments as he joins the rest of the team at the bar, a dark black waistcoat hanging around his body. Grabbing a drink from the bar, Pietro almost falls off his chair as his eyes remain fixed on me.

"You should ask her to dance Stephen." Tony suggests, his eyes still fixed on me as I make my way closer to them, accidentally bumping into some students on the way. Stephen, slightly confused, turns to face Tony with a puzzled expression as he raises his eyebrows.

"I hardly think Abi would want to dance with me." he argues as he glances briefly back at where I've stopped to say hello to Severus and Remus before he turns back to the group who are all staring at him blankly. "We don't even know each other." he adds before he takes a large mouthful of his drink before asking the bartender for another.

"You're souls do though." Loki whispers in a barely audible voice as Stephen has his back to him. Hearing Loki's comment, Stephens head whips around as he pauses for a moment, trying to figure out whether he was imagining Loki's comment or not.

"What did you say?" Stephen asks as Loki's eyes widen in realisation of what he's just done. To Loki's left, Thor rolls his eyes as he turns his back on his brother and grabs a fresh drink.

"Erm nothing." Tony covers up as he claps Loki hard on the back causing Loki to grimace. As a warning not to let anything else slip, Tony tightens his grip on Loki's shoulder until his fingers are making red marks on Loki's skin.

"I think the drinks are going to my head." Loki jokes as he shrugs Tony's hand off his shoulder before glaring at him. Clearly done with the conversation, Stephen turns back to the bar as he gets lost in conversation with Thor.

As I finish my conversation with Remus, I excuse myself and continue to walk over to the rest of the team, my ballgown swaying at my feet as I go. Pausing for a moment, I take a deep breath, put on a big smile and stand up straighter before I step up to the bar. "Hello gentlemen."