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"Please tell me you're joking," Josephine glances up from her book to find Dorcas smiling at her.
"Nope, there's a party in our common room tonight," Dorcas announces cheerfully.
Merlin, she can't evade these incessant parties.
"I'm staying here," Josie declares.
Dorcas grins. "Sure, the music won't bother you at all," she retorts, moving towards her trunk filled with clothes.
"Will you be with Marlene, or should I come and get you at some point?" Josephine inquires, absently flipping a page in her book.
"I'll be with Marlene, but you should try and get Pandora if you can," Dorcas suggests.
"Okay," Josie mutters in agreement, but her attention has drifted from the book to thoughts about the horcrux; she needs to ensure it is secure.
Dorcas continues her preparations around the dorm until finally asking, "How do I look?"
Josephine lifts her gaze from the pages. "Gorgeous, as always."
Dorcas beams. "Thanks, Jo. See you later," she says as she exits the dorm.
Music begins to play, initially soft, then escalating in volume within seconds.
With a sigh, Josie attempts to immerse herself in reading once more.
~~~
How long can a party really last? Apparently, hours on end.
This sucks.
Sure, it's her choice not to attend, but the feeling of being left out lingers. The awareness that her friends are downstairs having a great time while she remains alone in her dorm doesn't sit well with her.
Josie scowls at her own actions, then rises from her bed and approaches the mirror. She still has on her makeup and the clothes she wore during the day. Perhaps she can venture down there for a brief moment.
But first, she needs to ensure the horcrux is secure.
Stepping out of her room and shutting the door behind her, Josie's lip curls in disgust as she encounters a couple making out right in front of her dorm. She silently proceeds to Helena's dorm, enters, and makes her way to the closet. After moving the table, a wave of relief washes over her upon confirming the diadem is intact.
She chides herself for being overly paranoid as she places the table back in its position and exits the dorm.
The music still blares loudly from the common room as she walks past the couple, who are still deeply engrossed in their kissing. She walks down the dormitory stairs.
Oh, Merlin.
So many people are there.
She makes a beeline for Regulus and Barty.
"Hello," she greets them from behind.
Both of them spin around swiftly.
"Merlin, you scared me," Barty exclaims, placing a hand over his chest.
She chuckles softly. Regulus offers her a small, almost concealed smile.
Once again, he is dressed entirely in dark attire, though hints of dark green peek through. Barty holds a drink, presumably alcohol, while Regulus has none.
"Where's Pandora, Dorcas, and Evan?" she inquires, taking a step closer, only to be jostled by someone passing by.
"Evan's grabbing a drink, Dorcas left with Marlene, and Pandora..." Regulus scans the area. "She's over there with Evan," he points towards a corner.
"Okay," Josie remarks, realizing it's getting pretty late. Perhaps she should check on Pandora to make sure she's okay.
"I'll be right back," she informs the boys before making her way in the direction Regulus had indicated. However, navigating through the shifting and dancing crowd proves to be a challenging task.
She eventually finds herself halted in the midst of a group of people, attempting to maneuver around them.
"Hey," a voice calls out from behind her.
She turns, uncertain if the voice is directed at her, and sees an older boy, likely a seventh-year. His stumbling movements hint at his inebriation. Amidst the dim lighting of the common room, it's hard to discern if he's drunk or simply unaware of who he's talking to.
"Hi?" she responds with a hint of uncertainty, her hand instinctively reaching for her pocket where her wand is kept.
"Are you here with anyone?" he slurs, taking a step closer.
"Yes, goodbye now," she replies firmly, turning away to navigate through the crowd again. However, the guy reaches out and grabs her arm.
Turning back to face him, Josie glares. "What?" she snaps, attempting to wrestle her arm free, but he tightens his grip.
"You know, I was gonna be nice and give you a chance because I'm a nice guy. I usually don't go for girls like you," the boy utters.
Josie feels a jolt of shock at his words. "Girls like me?" she repeats, taking a moment to process what he means.
"Yeah, bigger girl–"
His words are abruptly cut off as a fist swiftly connects with his face, causing him to stumble backward, releasing his grip on her arm.
Her eyes widen in surprise. When she turns to identify who threw the punch, it's James. What the fuck is he doing?
James strides over and lands another punch on the boy, causing him to collapse to the ground, eliciting gasps from the crowd.
"Don't touch my sister!" James declares, the word 'sister' ringing through the air.
It's evident that James is somewhat intoxicated.
In a daze, Josephine stumbles back and bumps into someone. As she tries to make sense of the scene, she hears a comforting voice. It's Regulus.
When she looks back, James has vanished, leaving the boy on the floor.
Feeling disoriented, Josie picks at her nails, attempting to ground herself in reality.
"I'm gonna go find Pandora," she announces before departing from Regulus.
Navigating through the thinning crowd as people slowly disperse, she catches a glimpse of blonde hair.
"Pandora!" she calls out.
Pandora turns with a drunken smile. "Josie!" she slurs, stumbling over. Josie takes hold of her arm.
"Let's go to sleep, okay?" Josephine suggests with a gentle smile.
Pandora nods in agreement, so Josie places a comforting hand on her arm and guides her towards the girls' dormitory stairs. As they ascend, someone interrupts.
"Are you okay?"
She turns to Regulus. "I'm fine. I'm getting Pandora to her room. Please make sure Evan and Barty are okay," she replies with a forced smile before assisting Pandora up the stairs.
Violence isn't entirely unfamiliar to Josie, but witnessing James defend her like that is surprising. And for him to refer to her as his sister?
Maybe he feels remorse for not standing up for her earlier. Perhaps this is his way of trying to make amends.
As she settles Pandora into her bed and leaves her dorm room, Josie ponders every conceivable reason why James would act this way, except for the possibility that he genuinely still cares for her.
