PG:H First Under the Table (All!)

[charity]

The Hufflepuff common room was a cheery and homely place at the best of times, but add the pending excitement of a party and you better be prepared to fall in love with the room, because they very atmosphere of it will hug you so tight that you’ll never want to walk out of the doors again.

The common room has always been decorated with yellows and black and honey-colored wood, with plants of every shape and color placed around the room, and hanging from the ceiling. Cacti plants stand on shelves just above head height and wave at students who walk through, while ferns and ivies dangle from the low ceiling, brushing the hair and caressing the faces of their beloved Hufflepuffs. Even the badgers carved into the fireplace seem to dance and frolic happily while the fire burns steadily in the hearth. Copper lanterns cast a warm glow across the room and just generally make you feel happy.

And that’s on a normal day.

Tonight was the night that the Hufflepuffs were hosting a party in their common room and, as usual, they went out of their way to make the room look even more inviting and friendly than usual, if that was even possible. Someone had created sombrero hats to place on the tops of each of the cacti, some with mini mustaches stuck on, and some with thick-rimmed sunglasses, but all looking exceptionally happy as they danced and swayed along with the music.

And the ceiling plants? The ferns and ivies? All individually decorated with bows and ribbons of the most fantastic colors, making the ceiling a myriad of bright, cheery colors that swayed and swung to its own rhythm. As well as that, all the walls had been decorated with bright banners with streamers hanging from shelf to shelf. Someone had even found yellow feather boas and hung them around all the photo frames of the room, letting the portraits know that even they were invited to this particular party.

While all the furniture in the room remained in the same place as it was always found, all the surfaces had been cleared. Any books or sheets of parchment locked safely in the cupboards, the vases of flowers moved onto the mantel piece – though whoever was responsible for adding the tiny little fairy lights into the petals of the flowers so that they twinkled and glowed really needed a reward for their genius.

The other great thing about being in Hufflepuff when there was a party going on? The kitchens were right next door, so there was never a shortage of food. Tonight, like with many other parties, someone had found or conjured some boards of wood to make their usual food dresser. What was normally just an ordinary set of drawers was made into a beautiful display. The drawers themselves were already magically enhanced so that no matter how many other draws were open, the ones below would always pull out further to be seen. So, the conjured boards of wood were placed over these open drawers so that they looked like staggered shelves, and with a few small clothes and a trip or two to the kitchen, the set of drawers was transformed; savory on the top, sweets on the shelf below, plates, glasses, and cutlery on the next, then bottles and drinks on the bottom, all organized appealingly and with petals and vines surrounding to make it look spectacular.

For now, the music was a soft melody which played from an old, beaten looking radio near to the fireplace, but they all knew that it had been charmed long ago so that it worked like a juke box, adding your song to its list of pending tunes when you tapped it three times with your wand while you spoke the name of the song in your mind.

With the tables cleared, the room decorated, the food set… now they just needed to wait till the party really started. Which was the other good thing about Hufflepuffs – they’d all worked together to get the room looking amazing before they went to get ready, all agreeing to wait till 7pm promptly to leave their dorms and start to party. Because, you know, everyone suddenly piling in at once all giddy with excitement, was going to create a much better atmosphere that everyone milling through in dribs and drabbles. So… 7pm it was...

[charity]

Charity had spent so long helping out with preparing for the party that she really, really couldn't wait to get it started. She loved the setting up part, but really? The actual partying was always going to beat. Besides, she had plans for the night.

It was no secret that a few friends were being invited along from other houses to attend and Charity really couldn't wait. Out of all the house parties, theirs was going to be the best by far. There were no questions asked.

With over an hour to wait before the party began there had been plenty of time of shower and dress, and just generally look stunning, and, in typical girl fashion, she had to change her clothes at least twice before settling. The fact that her and Olivia had completely raided their closets and tried on everything they owned the day before didn't matter. This was just part of the 'pre-party' necessities. For any girl, it really wouldn't be a party if they didn't rethink their outfit at least once.

By the time 7pm rolled around Charity was so giddy with excitement that she couldn't even sit still, eyes darting to the clock every thirty seconds and she paced back and forth around the room. The only thing that seemed to make the waiting any better was the bottle of champagne they shared between them.

At exactly 6:59 Charity was on her feet and grabbing Olivia by the hand and out of the door. 59 was close enough to 00 in her books, and besides, she really wanted to be there and watching the faces of everyone as they poured into the room together. Well... that and she wanted to snag the best seats near the fire for herself.

[Emily Prescott]

Emily wasn't crashing, she'd been invited by her friends, how else would she have been able to gain access to the Hufflepuff common room. It wasn't like she was updated everytime the password was changed...

Anyways after three or four outfit changes, and a little down time with her room mates, Emily had left the Gryffindor Common room and headed down to the Hufflepuff party. To say she was looking forward to the nights events would have been an understatment, it'd be the perfect way to end a horrid week. All that extra credit work was really beginning to get on top of her, plus she still harbored a deep setted guilt over Professor Dawlish's disappearence. Despite knowing Chase was right, it was still there but at least she was coping with it in a much better way, and sleeping and eating.

Add to the fact she hadn't seen her friends or even Chase properly all week, Emily was really excited for the party. After stopping for a few moments outside the common room to brush down her dress that touched mid-thigh, Emily spoke the password out loud after making sure she was alone and stepped inside. The nusic was loud and Emily immediatley felt at home and at ease, it was strange, she didn't even get that feeling in her own Common room, there was something homely about the Hufflepufff room.

After taking a few moments to admire the decorations, and the amount of effort put into everything, Emily moved her way further into the common room. Heading towards the drinks table she kept her eyes open for Lachie or Chase, not seeing them she shrugged and stopped in front of tha table. Getting herself a drink she smiled and turned towards the party. The room was already bustling, but Emily doubted this was everyone she was sure there were more students still to show up. Smiling to herself she bopped along to the music and took a sip of her drink, wondering where her boys where...

[Chase Connors]

In typical Chase fashion, he had no intention of playing by the rules and arriving exactly as the clock his 7:00, but by the same scene, he wasn’t going to turn up earlier either. No, he was going to stand in the bathroom in his dorm and fix his hair a few more times and grin as he listened to Lachie’s constant moaning that they were going to be late.

How they could honestly be late to a party that was happening about 5ft outside their dorm room door he had no idea. Anyway, it was fun watching Lachie squirm and whine. And arriving once the swing of things had started? Much more fun in his eyes.

Sure he’d helped out with the preparations – lugging food back from the kitchens and sneaking out for alcohol… You definitely couldn’t say that Chase hadn’t done his ‘bit’.

Eventually though, Chase concluded that at the few minutes past seven that it was, it was finally time to head out. Making his way out of the bathroom he could see Lachie grumbling and pacing impatiently and Chase grinned, sending a wink in his friend’s direction as he passed, heading straight for the door. ”So what are you waiting for?”

He flung the door open and dived out, laughing as he did so. Boy was he in the mood to party tonight! And he’d even invited Emily along so there was no way he could possibly have a bad night out of this. And hadn’t Lachie let something slip about inviting some ‘friend’ who he’d been spending his time with? Yes… tonight could turn out very interesting after all…

Heading into the common room Chase was met by pretty much his entire house all crammed into the one small space, but none of them seemed to mind a bit. In fact, everywhere he looked people were laughing and smiling and dancing like they didn’t have a care in the world. And that in itself was enough to bring a smile to Chase’s face.

Was Emily here already? He had no idea, and from his crowd, there was no way to find out easily. Well… might as well head in the direction of the alcohol and keep his eyes peeled along the way. For all he knew she might not even be here yet…

[christopherbonheur]

So far, Chris had had a pretty boring week. He'd been to most of his classes (skipped one or two to spend time with his sister), but now that the weekend had finally rolled around, Chris was ready for a party.

Donning a brown-checkered shirt and a rich brown tie, he straightened up in front of the mirror and winked at himself, pointing his fingers like guns. "Lookin' good, Bonheur," he said to himself as encouragement. The others in the seventh year boys dorm were already down at the party and Chris wasn't far behind.

He strode down the stairwell in search of his friends (or his sister - either would suffice). Briefly, he stopped by the drinks table and picked up a butterbeer before heading over to the seats by the fire. Some had already been claimed by Charity Burbage and her friend - Olivia? Chris wasn't too good with names - but that didn't put Chris off in the slightest.

"Ladies," he nodded to the girls sitting opposite him. Was Professor Sprout coming to party with them tonight? Chris had no idea.

[/justify]

[ it'll do. sorry. ]

[Olivia Knightly]

A party...finally...Olivia had made sure she was completely involved in the organizing, after all she was highly experiencced in throwing fantastic parties. After a whole month of being stuck in doors for fear of getting caught again by Dumbledore, a party was exactly what Olivia needed to unwind and let loose and she planned on having a really good time tonight, with all of her friends and her housemates. Loud music, drinking, dancing...exactly what the Doctor ordered...so to speak.

Finally finishing off her hair, Olivia smiled brightly and stepped back away from the mirror. Smoothing her hands down her dress, she turned to check the back before dancing her way over to her bed and grabbing her heels. "Tonight is going to be great guys!" she sang, to her remaining roomates who simply smiled back at her brightly. Slipping on her heels Olivia stood from her bed and twirled on he foot, satisfied she did a little dance before walking to the door. Bidding a brief goodbye to her friends she opened the door and was immediatley encompassed by pulsing music drifting up from the common room, in no time at all Charity hurried up to her and grabbed her hand.

Not wasting another minute she closed the door behind her and allowed her friend to lead her downstairs. Already the place was crammed full of students, already partying. Charity and Olivia grabbed their drinks and found the best seats beside the fireplace. Olivia found herself a spot that gave her the perfect shot of the whole room, as she finished her drink. After a few minutes of dancing with an empty cup she'd made her way back over to the drinks table, stopping for a few moments to chat to Emily who was currently dancing with one of the better looking seventh years clearly enjoying the party as much as Olivia was.

"Talk later sweetie..." Olivia called after her as Emily made her way onto the dance floor with a bigger group. Downing her second drink quickly, Olivia grabbed her third and began making her way back over to Charity, bumping into Chase Connors along the way. "Hey cutie...." she called over the music, sharing a quick hug with him, "Your girls over there...I'd watch her with that lot..." she teased, referring to the group Emily was with. After all they partied with Olivia all the time. Patting him on the bag she reached Charity and smiled, "Miss me?" she asked.

Standing up on the chair, Olivia began to sway in time to the music only sitting back down to grab her drink. As she did a seventh year called, Christopher reached them and quickly greeted them. Smiling brightly, Olivia nodded to him and finished her drink, Hi there...lookin hot..." she said shooting him a playful wink before standing back up on the chair and dancing.

[Chase Connors]

Chase wandered the crowd drink in hand, keeping his eyes open for any sign of Emily, and he found himself standing quite pointlessly looking in circles for a while.

A familiar voice directed him towards where Emily apparently was, and Chase couldn't help but frown at the comment, even as he leaned in to return the hug that Olivia gave him. "Watch her with what lot?"

He didn't expect a reply - Olivia at least seemed to have a destination in mind, and he let her go, turned to let his eyes search the deepening crowd in the direction that his dark haired friend had just appeared from, and keeping his eyes pealed for any sign of blond.

But if one thing was for sure, Chase wasn't making the same mistake that he had done at Halloween. That whole thing with Elena Haworth had ended a little disastrously, so the last thing he needed was Emily to see him with his hands all over another blonde girl again...

His eyes caught on a crowd of dancing 7th years and he couldn't mistake the smiling face that he saw in the middle of the crowd. What was Em doing with them? Chase frowned again, quickly finishing off his drink and placing the empty glass on the nearest surface before heading in Emily's direction, paying little attention to the other students around him. All he could focus on was the fact that that 7th year bloke was getting a little too close for comfort where Emily was concerned...

Wiggling his way into the crowd he stepped up behind her, wrapping an arm securely around her waist and pulling her back against him and away from the older boy. "I'll steal her back now." He tried to keep his tone light but he couldn't quite manage a genuine smile to go with it, so the result looked forced. Jealous? Just a little.

He stepped backwards with his arm still wrapped firmly around Emily and tugged her away from the crowd who she'd been dancing with. Only when he'd put some distance between them did he wrap his other arm around her waist too and begin to sway softly in time to the rhythm of the music with her. "You look beautiful, babe." He kissed her neck.

[Abigail 'Tay' Frazier]

Tay had never been inside of any other house common room that wasn't her own before, and, though she hadn't thought much of it at the time, it made her inside do back flips the closer it got to the time of the Hufflepuff party, and the more it actually dawned on her that she was going to be inside a common room that she didn't belong in. Both her and Millie had been invited and, while neither of them were overly huge party'ers, they weren't about to pass up this chance. Anyway, it would give them something to compare their own house party too the next night.

Of course, Tay would be lying is she said that she didn't want to see Lachlan again. Ever since the day Trent had first introduced them in the library she hadn't been able to get him off her mind. She still could hardly believe that he actually knew she existed, never mind wanted to spend time with her. And now here she was, being invited to a party in his house common room. She was almost scared by it all. Only almost though.

Entering the common room Tay clutched tightly at Millie's hand, no knowing what to expect from the Hufflepuffs, or what sort of reception they'd get seeing as they weren't from that house. She shouldn't have worried. As soon as they entered they were pulled quickly into the fray and it wasn't hard to spot faces that belonged inside of other houses. That blond girl was a Gryffindor, right?

Still clutching Millie's hand tightly Tay let herself be dragged into the room, smiling back at all the students who sent welcoming smiles their way. It was overwhelming...

Tay battled the crowd for several minutes, tripping and stumbling over feet but ultimately managing to stay on her feet. At somepoint Millie's hand slipped from hers and in the press of bodies dancing in the small space it was almost impossible for her see past anyone. And Tay wasn't exactly what anyone would call tall. Where was Millie?

The crowd somehow managed to keep making her move backwards further into the room and Tay couldn't find the space to turn around. Where was Millie? ...Where was Lachie? Where was Trent? Where was anyone that she knew?

Being clumsy on her feet anyway it was only a matter of time. With a small squeal Tay closed her eyes tight closed as her feet got caught under her and she began to fall backwards. She waited for the collision with the ground that she knew was sure to follow...

[christopherbonheur]

All of a sudden, it all clicked in Chris' head. Perhaps it was because he didn't recognise her in the crowd of people in the common room, but he'd seen Olivia the night before on the roof of Hogwarts.

"Why thankyou," he said, lifting the corners of his mouth in a 'look-at-me-i'm-really-cute' sort of way. "You're looking pretty good yourself." He lifted up the drink to his lips and watched as Olivia stood on the chair and danced, taking Charity with her. Chris wasn't a particularly observant person, but there was something about the way Olivia could command the air around her. She was a force to be reckoned with - and, not to mention, smoking hot.

He set his drink down on the tabletop next to him and shoved his hands deep into his pockets, his eyes watching Olivia as she danced as if nobody was watching. More often than not, he found himself smiling.

The song ended and another one started, and for whatever reason it was (perhaps Chris thought it was time to get out of the chair he'd been sitting in - at least, that was going to be his alibi), he stood up and made his way over to Olivia. "Wanna dance?" he asked, looking up at her as she stood above him on the chair. He held his hand out for her to take, should she choose to step down from the chair she'd been in.

[/justify]

[Olivia Knightly]

Olivia smiled down at Chris, winking in his direction as she continued to sway her hips in time to the music, his cheeky grin setting a nervous flutter off in her stomach. As a song she loved came on she smiled brightly, running her hands through her hair as she continued to dance, feeling Christopher's eyes on her. He was probably amused, most people where at her ability to dance just about anywhere, un-caring what anyone thought of her, just like Charity...in a way it's what made them such good friends, they enjoyed having a good time, regardless of what they looked like doing it.

Finishing off her drink she held it out, smiling brightly when a passer by took it from her hands and placed it on a near by table just as another song began. As she began swaying in time to the new song a hand was held out in front of her, and she paused momentarily, her smile widening somewhat when she realized it was Christopher, and he was asking her if she wanted to dance. "Of course..." she replied brightly. She'd enjoyed the small bit of time they'd spent together the previous night, and was glad they were getting to do the same now.

Slipping her hand into his, she lay her other on his shoulder and stepped down off the chair, smiling up at him, "...if you're sure you can keep up." she teased, shooting him another wink before leading him out onto the dance floor. Stopping she finally turned to face him,smiling still as she began swaying close to him in time to the music. The night was turning out to be a pretty good one after all.

[lachlanparker]

[ ooc - NAT bby I made a thread for Olivia/Chris <3 ]

Okay, so it wasn't much of a secret anymore. Whether it was because people had seen Lachlan and Tay make goo-goo eyes at each other while eating lunch together, or because Trent had gone around and personally told every student at Hogwarts, Lachlan would never know. He had a thing for Tay, and even that was an understatement.

But, from what Lachlan understood (and he wasn't the brightest of the bunch), Tay had a bit of a thing for him, as well. He waited by the entrance of the Hufflepuff Common Room for her to come in , but after a short distraction from hugging Emily and seeing her and Chase wander off, Lachlan had missed his opportunity.

He followed Tay and her friend Millie onto the dance floor, keeping as close as he could through the swarm of bodies. The two friends were suddenly separated and Lachlan could see Tay falling backwards to the ground. He lunged forward and managed to catch Tay in his arms.

"Geez, you're a bit clumsy, aren't you," he said, unable to wipe the smile off his face. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he also noted that this was the first actual physical contact he'd had with her. She was incredibly warm - and light.

He adjusted himself and brought her back up to her feet, the two of them being somewhat crushed in the crowd of people surrounding them. Lachlan looked around for a second to see where he was and absent-mindedly thought that that Christopher Bonheur should not be allowed to dance. Ever.

"Wanna get a drink?" he called to Tay. He held his hand out for her to take so that they could try and make their way out of the dancing only area and over to the drinks table without being separated. They would probably never find each other again if they did get separated....

[/justify]

[charity]

The party was turning out to be even better than any one could ever have expected. So many students had invited their friends along from other houses that Charity was sure that at least half of the school population was probably crowded into their small common room.

Everywhere she looked people were laughing and dancing and having fun, and there wasn't a single unhappy face in sight. The perfect night no doubt. And there was no doubt that there was a lot of romance in the air too. Char hadn't missed the way her room mate had been getting increasingly close to a certain 7th year tonight, or how a few of her other friends had been more than a little absorbed in certain... 'others'.

Charity had just spent the night smiling and dancing with anyone who she could get near, drifting from person to person, not really talking to anyone but having a ton of fun just the same.

But, there's only so long a girl can dance in 5 inch heels before she really needs to get off her feet, so, to the drink table she went, with every intention of downing 3 glasses in one go. Her eyes caught on a bottle which said something about shots, and an idea came to mind. What was a party without party games!?

Making her way back into the crowd, Charity bee-lined for the sofa near the fire, her eyes scanning those who were sitting there and trying to work out who would be the most likely to join in any party games she started. Her eyes caught on Chase and Emily who seemed to be heading for the seats too and she reached out to grab their arms. "Party game time. Round up some player's, my pretties." Charity blew a kiss in their direction then kept going, wondering who else she could find along the way. Well if one thing was for sure, Olivia wasn't escaping from her games that easily - she was going to join these games even if Charity had to drag her away from her new...friend.

Pushing aside some empty drink cups she hopped up onto the table and looked at the crowd around her. "It's game time my lovelies!" She held up the bottle in her hands. "Never have I ever kissed a teacher!" Charity laughed, knowing how absurd she sounded. She didn't really intend for that to be the first real question of the game, but at the very least it should encourage some people to start playing.

Hopping down from the table she stacked up some of the empty cups, then decided against it and just stuffed them under the table, making a mental note to clear them up in the morning. She placed the bottle in the center of the table and grinned up at whatever thoughtful person had remembered to bring shot glasses over, since she'd completely forgotten about it.

A few familiar and friendly faces were making their way over and some had joined her in kneeling on the floor around the table. Charity winked at them. This should be interesting...

Her gaze caught on a cute girl who was standing not too far away, and Charity was pretty sure that it was the same girl she'd bumping into on the dance floor earlier before she'd been swallowed by the crowd again. She was extremely beautiful, but Charity had no idea who she actually was. She was probably from another house but before she'd had a chance to speak to her the crowd had got between them. Now, Charity smiled at her and beckoned her to join her in the game. "Come play, gorgeous! I'm Charity."

[Millie Croft]

The Hufflepuff party was in full swing and Millie felt somewhat out of place. She'd long since lost Tay in the crowd, which in turn left her a fourth year Ravenclaw stood alone at a party she wasn't really too keen on being at. Really she'd only came as moral support for Tay who, although wouldn't admit it, was extremely eager to meet a certain fifth year Hufflepuff.

She'd passed the time at the outer edge of the party, nursing a drink in her hand and sharing a pleasant word or two with the friendly students in Hufflepuff. Their party really was something else, it even rivaled Ravenclaws...actually, if she had Tay by her side instead of lost in the crowd, chances where it'd be a better party than there's probably will be.

Her eyes ended up following the beautiful blonde who had just announced there was to be a game. Millie had noticed her around the school once or twice but this had to be the first time she'd really noticed her. Shaking her head, she tucked her hair behind her ear and was about to go get another drink when the beautiful blonde turned to look at her, a smile on her face. Millie felt her breath catch as she returned it, "I'm Millie..." she said in response, heading over to where Charity had beckoned her.

Settling into a spot on the floor at the table, she smiled again at Charity, before catching sight of Tay, with Lachlan no less. Chuckling to herself she glanced at Charity, figuring there was no harm in being friendly "So how does this game work? I don't think I've heard of it before..." she admitted.

[Chase Connors]

Chase and Emily made their way back down and into the main party in the common room, slightly reluctantly, but once there, Chase was feeling more than ready to party again.

It for too long before someone grabbed his arm and a familiar face appeared in front of them.

"Party game time. Round up some player's, my pretties." With a quick air-kiss to them both, Charity was gone.

Chase looked to Emily and shrugged. "I told you there'd be games. Let's go find some people." It must have just been good timing because Chase sighted Lachie dancing with that girl he'd been goo-eyeing for the past few weeks. He prodded him in the shoulder before shouting over the loud music so he could be heard. "Charity says game time - c'mon."

Chase moved towards where Charity was, tugging Emily with him towards the table his hufflepuff friend was now standing on, bottle in hand. A bottle he recognized from when he'd brought the drinks in earlier. They were all in for... fun... with that stuff she held. 'Cos boysh was that stuff strong!

Charity held the bottle in the air. "Never have I ever kissed a teacher!" She hopped of the table and began to clear away empty cups, before someone handed her some shot glasses to fill. As she did, he could see her shout someone over and his gaze landed on Millie as he got nearer to the table. It was typical Charity to call over someone who looked alone and ask them to join in. Then again, the way the two of them exchanged glances, who knew?

Not many people seemed to have picked up on the game as only a few had drifted to kneel around the table. He knew exactly how to get things moving along a bit.

With a grin sent Emily's way, Chase let go of her to grab one of the glasses from the table and swig it back, grinning at the shocked looks on a number of the faces around. He shrugged. "What? She asked the question."

He knew that was bound to get a few questioning looks out of people.

[Emily Prescott]

Emily was debating about whether or not to join in the game, in fact she was half tempted to return back to the dance floor. Josh winked at her as they stopped at the table and she shot him a smile and a friendly wave seeing no harm in that fact. As she knelt down, she arched her eyebrow at Charity's starter question, a look of amusement crossing her face as she looked over to Chase, who slipped his arm away from her waist to grab one of the drinks.

When he swigged back the drink, a look of complete surprise crossed over her face. Torn between curiosity, disbelief, shock and amusement. Surely he was joking right, there was no way he'd kissed a teacher, then again how much of his romantic history did she know about. There was every chance he had in fact kissed a teacher and now she was wondering who. "Care to give us the name of this teacher then love..." she asked, fighting a smile.

Rolling her eyes she looked around the group to see no one else was in fact drinking their shots. So with a shrug of her shoulders she reached out for a drink, glancing at Chase briefly, "Never have I gone skinny dipping in the Black Lake..." she said, swigging back the shot, placing the glass back on the table and pushing it to the center. Shooting a look at Chase, she smiled brightly, knowing he'd more than likely be wondering when and with who she went skinny dipping with, before turning to look at everyone else, chuckling when Josh threw his shot back. Biting down on her lip she looked back at Chase and smiled, her hand on his knee. "Drinking up sweetie?" she asked.