Before the Storm- Sebastian Sallow and Ominis Gaunt Love Triangle

Chapter 6: The Lion's Den

Poppy and I walked up the grand staircase to the third floor. Us both out of breath as we reach the one eyed witch statue. We take cover by the statue, doing a final check on our appearances. I wore a brown corset with a frilly white blouse underneath, dark blue twill pants and my favorite pair of boots. They were worn in and faded, but I love them. I purposely wore my hair down, remembering Sebastian making a comment during our fifth year that he liked it so much more when it bounced off of my shoulders than up in a bun. Poppy wore a mauve skirt and a charcoal sweater paired with boots as well. I loved the way the color of her skirt complimented her skin.

"How's my hair?" Poppy whispered, ruffling it up for more volume. She was shaking slightly from the anticipation.

"Perfect!" I give her wink followed by a friendly nudge to her arm. We both looked at each and exchanged an anxious expression. We made haste to the Gryffindor common room. Garretth had told us a prefect would be waiting by the fat lady portrait, keeping guard for stray students and professors. We would have to give him a passcode in order to enter. A tall looking boy stood guard by the portrait, he had long flowy blonde hair. He crossed his arms and approached us.

"What are you poking around about? You're a long way away from the HufflePuff common room" he said snarky. I've never seen this boy before, was it that obvious we were Hufflepuffs?

"We were actually checking to see if it was raining in the lion's den!" Poppy said confidently. The prefect had a confused look on his face, almost as if he wasn't expecting us.

"Oh, right then". He scratched his head, motioning us with his hand to follow him. He whispered the password for entry to the Gryffindor common room. The fat lady argued that there were already far too many people from other houses in there. He shushed her and led us inside. We were greeted by roaring music and laughter. The smell of apples, cinnamon and alcohol gazing at our noses. I made eye contact with Poppy, nodding my head in approval at what we were walking into. Suddenly we were squeezed eagerly.

"My friends! You two made it!" Garretth had squeezed us both in a bear hug, crushing us slightly. His face was flush and hot, I could smell what seemed to be spiked butterbeer. He released us from the bearhug and greeted us individually with hugs. He hugged me tight, giving my back a good pat. "Glad to see you, Violet." He smiled. He then moved onto Poppy, only I noticed his hug was tighter, closer. I saw his hand slide low onto her back, just right above her butt. Garretth realized where his hand had begun to linger and he pulled back instantly, flipping his hair. He eyed Poppy from head to toe, giving her the biggest smile. "Well, since you two are new. Let me give you the grandtour! But first, you'll need these". He summoned two wooden cups into our hands, filled with butterbeer. He held his wand to each of our cups, transmuting it into an alcoholic beverage. Garretth then positioned himself in the middle of us, wrapped his arms around our shoulders. "Come now, we have lots to see!" He began the tour.

"Violet, Poppy!" Natty called with a smile. She walked over eagerly. "Don't you two look dashing?" she complimented. Poppy blushed from her comment.

"Natty, I was just about to take them on the grandest of tours! Time is of the essence!" Garretth protested, slurring his words slightly. Natty rolled her eyes, laughing at his drunken foolery.

"Actually Garretth, I think I'll catch up with Natty a bit. Poppy requires far much more culture than I do." I nod at him.

"Oh, how boring. Well, looks like you will be missing out on one of the greatest tours of your life, perhaps even a potion demonstration. Good day!" Garretth swung Poppy around by the hips, guiding her through the crowd of people. Natty and I had ventured to a red sofa, exchanging our summer break adventures. Natty had visited Uganda with her mother, I sincerely loved hearing about her divination stories. A skill I admired greatly.