Party Hard

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

It had been surprisingly easy to convince Mum and Dad to take a weekend away. They worked year round, with so few breaks, and even though it was the busy season they really did need the time away. And Lizzie was a responsible young woman. The lodge was closed for the weekend, and she and Caro had even made sure to ask if they could have some friends around while it was otherwise empty. It was really Mum and Dad's fault for not asking exactly how many friends they meant. Lizzie and Caro had been entirely truthful, probably working the most cooperatively they ever had in their entire lives.

Although actually working in the lodge itself was Lizzie's least favourite part of her job she had quickly discovered that there were distinct social advantages to having grown up in hospitality. The spread of snacks and drinks she and Caro had prepared looked fantastic, the entire lodge was decorated for their guests in record time, and as people started arriving there was already music playing, the main lobby area carefully separated into a standing dancing area and a seated area closer to the food, so people could decide how they wanted to spend their time. Lizzie had taken pains to make sure all the ski equipment was securely locked away, so there hopefully wouldn't be any accidents, and with nothing left to do Lizzie took a moment to grab a drink and relax, looking around proudly at her handiwork. People were already starting to trickle in, and Lizzie made her way over to the door to greet them, already buzzing with excitement. Tonight was going to be amazing.

 

[Caro Taylor]

The mix of emotions Caro felt as she waited for people she knew to get to the party was difficult to pin down. She was excited, mainly, eager to have fun with her friends, to be the popular girl who threw the awesome party everyone talked about when they returned to school. The excitement was slightly tarnished however, by the cynical part of her brain that already knew how everyone would remember this event. This was Lizzie's party, even though they had done everything together. Sure, it had been Lizzie's idea, but Caro had helped convince their parents, helped prepare and decorate. They had put in the same amount of work, but Lizzie was the popular girl already, everyone liked her. It was hard to ignore the bitterness at how she already knew people would see the party.

But Caro was trying. She had dressed up nice, and even dyed her hair for the occasion. Caro had wanted to do something different with her hair for a long time, and throwing a party felt like a good reason to finally do it. The blonde was a little strange - Caro kept seeing her own hair out of the corner of her eye and being startled by it - but every time she caught sight of her reflection it was hard to suppress a grin. Caro had already decided she was definitely keeping this once the party was over. And hopefully Sophie would be here soon, and Caro could have a fun time at a party with her friends, forget all about Lizzie and be the cool girl who threw the party.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

As Geo was relaxing into the school holidays, she had yet to travel to Vil's house. Instead the pair would meet in a few days time and spend the holidays at her house in blank. For now, Geo was aware of a party through mutual friends, held by one of the elder students. The only time Geo had spoken to Lizzie was while she was dressed as the Sorting Hat for Halloween, but as she had kindly stopped the Hufflepuff from consuming second hand gum, Geo was quite sure Lizzie was responsible enough to throw a party. She'd gotten herself ready and wore a simple black dress for the occasion, hoping it wasn't too much, as she approached the house she'd been directed to. Despite coming alone, she was aware of a number of other students that would be attending, some she was looking forward to spending more time with than others. She hadn't been sure whether to bring anything with her, the guardians at St Mary's though had taught it was polite to bring something for your guests, and therefore under her arm she carried a few glass bottles of fruit flavoured sodas. The fourth year was excited for the party to begin, and knocking on the door to the house, Geo was looking forward to the night ahead.
​

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Standing near the door, Lizzie was able to hear knocking over the music playing. Shifting her drink to her other hand, she opened the door and greeted the young girl on the other side with a smile. "Hey, come on in!" She said happily, stepping aside to make way for who she presumed was probably one of Caro's friends. Or something like that. "Grab something to eat, make yourself at home." Lizzie said with a cheerful smile, propping the door open for the moment. The winter air outside was cold, but the lodge was enchanted to keep a comfortable temperature for their guests, and this way she wouldn't have to worry about letting new arrivals in.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo shrugged off her jacket once she was inside, smiling at the girl she recognised from Halloween before taking a glance around the room. Spotting another girl in the corner, she realised it was a student form her own classes, "Hi Caro," she gave the Slytherin a wave. She hadn't spoken to her before, not properly, but she had seen her around the school and she knew Sophie was fond of her. Apparently she was the first person here though, and setting down the beverages she'd brought, she turned back to her host in thanks. "This lodge is amazing," she commented, unable to stop her eyes from glancing around the room, taking in all the details of a large building that's main purpose wasn't to hold down a number a children. Preferring to wait until more company arrived to help herself to some food, Geo instead walked a little way further into the lodge, hoping that neither of the hosts would mind if she had a look around to get her bearings.
​

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber had heard about the party a girl in her year was throwing, and had decided to attend. It had required some thinking, as the girl in question wasn't someone she was friends with. In fact, Lizzie was probably the girl she liked the least. But the two weren't openly hostile with one another, and from what she had heard Lizzie hadn't put any limits on who could join the party. Another factor was that Sophie was friends with Lizzie's younger sister, so in order for her to be allowed to go, Amber had to go as well. She had asked Ainsley if she would come too, and looked around hopefully as she headed into the lodge. She remembered it well from the holidays before her fourth year, when she had gone skiing with her family. Skiing wasn't her thing, but she had really liked the place even then. Unfortunately, she saw quickly that her girlfriend wasn't here yet. Only Lizzie, her sister and Geo Volt were there yet. Amber had hoped to avoid Lizzie, but now that seemed impossible. She forced a smile on her face as she nodded at the Gryffindor. "The decorations look nice." She said, though her voice sounded stilted to her own ears. She quickly headed over to grab a drink, hoping that she could talk to someone she liked more soon. Sophie would probably join Lizzie's sister, and while Amber was glad Sophie had a friend here, she wasn't used to feeling lonely. Maybe Geo would want to talk to her. She glanced at the younger girl, giving her a smile and a wave.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Going to a party during the holidays hadn't really been something Sophie had expected to be doing, especially not going to a party together with her sister. But here she was, at Caro's home, ready to hopefully enjoy the evening. Unlike Amber, she hadn't really bothered to dress up. She had just thrown on a nice-ish black shirt and put in some stud earrings and called it a day. As she entered, she noticed they were a little early. Amber had some sort of beef with Caro's sister, so it wasn't a surprise that she quickly headed somewhere else. Sophie glanced her way, but she knew her older sister would be alright. Amber was the social butterfly of the two. If none of her friends showed up tonight, she would have three new ones by the end of the evening. She spotted Geo over with Caro and smiled at her, but first she decided to talk to Caro herself. Her eyes widened slightly when she took in her friend's appearance, and she reached over to touch her hair. "Blonde?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "Strangely, it suits you." She smiled at her friend, letting go of her hair. "Excited for the party?" She asked, though she was sure the answer to that would be yes. "You don't worry about your sister, we can hang out together." She added in a lower tone of voice. Caro and Lizzie had a similar relationship to her and Amber, though Sophie had to admit things were better with Amber lately. But she knew what it was like not to get along with a sister, and wanted to support Caro in any way she could. Maybe she could introduce her to some of her other friends. It seemed like she had already been talking to Geo a bit. Though Sophie had to admit she liked having Caro to herself as well.

 

[Kaia Rosemary Grimm]

When Kaia heard Lizzie was hosting a party, she had considered going. She had been feeling lonely the last couple of years at Hogwarts (mostly it was her fault), and when she had opened up to the girl at school she had felt lighter, better. She also considered her a friend, and hoped that by going to this party she could expand the friendships. She didn’t have many friends, after all. Once she had put on her dress and make-up, she grabbed her purse before she left her own house, and headed to her classmate’s place. Soon, she arrived at her destination and she was relieved to find out she wasn’t early. Lizzie was at the door, and when she spotted the Gryffindor Kaia smiled, and hugged her before heading inside. She spotted a girl alone in her year, and decided to head over to Amber, sending her a small smile. "Hi Amber. Cool party, right?" she said, not exactly sure what else to say. It had been a while since she last socialised with someone.

 

[Evelyn Manning]

Evelyn had heard of the party that her roommate Lizzie was throwing. And ofcourse she had to be there. Evelyn wouldn't want to miss it. It was a chance to just relax and let the past school year behind her. She was sure Aaron and perhaps Lucas would be there too. The blonde thought she would leave Lucas for a moment. He had to come to her if he wanted anything. She did what she wanted, and now he had to do what he wanted. The blonde liked Lucas still after he rejected her. She couldn't forget about him. But now it was his chance to work for her and fight. The blonde had searched for a lovely party outfit and she was eager to show it. Evelyn had been skiing once with her parents. It was nice to be in this area, she never had been here but loved skiing. She could have a cool winter outfit when skiing and the outfit was the most important the blonde thought. When she entered the lodge she looked around for familliar faces. The lodge was decorated and it seemed pretty nice. Evelyn thought about throwing a party perhaps when they would graduate in her estate in New Zealand. She would definitly like that. The blonde loved giving gifts or making others happy. '' Hi there!!'' the blonde said loud with a smile. She noticed Amber standing and walked over to her friend and gave her a hug. She was glad to see her friend. She was sure Ainsley would come too. The blonde never really had a normal talk with the girlfriend of Amber. It was weird, but she figured perhaps to night that would happen. '' Amber you have to introduce Ainsley to me. We have never actually talked before. And I don't bite.'' the blonde said with a grin. Evelyn also smiled at Lizzie, it was great of her to host this. She noticed Geo too and waved at the young girl she had met before. Looking at Lizzie she smiled. '' Thanks for having us Lizzie! I've brought something. '' Evelyn handed over some boxes with Luxuary Cupcakes with roses at it. That was the least she could do she figured.

 

[Jessica Cade]

With a difficult year behind her Jess was looking forward to the future and that began with a party of all things. The announcement of the whole thing had passed Jess by but both Leila and James had told her about and both had separately encouraged her to attend. Jess was happy to go to the party as she would have her best friend and her brother there for support if the whole thing proved too much too soon. James apparated her and Leila to Lizzie's lodge and the three of them made their way inside. James said hello to the host who he knew from the Quidditch team, Jess smiled at the older Gryffindor and began scanning the room, when her eyes landed on Geo.

Jess had been avoiding Geo, at least that was how it seemed but the truth was Jess hadn't singled out Geo as someone to avoid, she had just wanted to shut herself off from the rest of the world while she dealt with everything but she knew that Geo would assume the worst as the last time they had been on good terms they'd been dating. She had to admit it had crushed her to be dumped by the Hufflepuff but a little time away from the school and reflection made her realise that they never truly became more than friends, they just kissed now and then. Jess had been all set to make things right with Geo and make sure she knew there were no hard feelings when she got the news she did. After that Geo's feelings had felt irreverent. "I'll be right back," She whispered to Leila and crossed the room to where Geo was.

At that moment Geo was talking to a blonde girl but Jess didn't know who it was off the top of her head she didn't care that she was interrupting their conversation. Her mind flashed to the note she received on Valentines day, the advice she had got from the agony aunt, all the times she had wished she could have talked to Geo but felt like she had pushed too far, the awful encounter they had when Jess had ignored her and walked away with Leila. Jess couldn't even begin to explain how sorry she was for how she treated her friend. Geo was more than a friend, she was like a sister. She didn't care if anyone thought that was strange, they had their moment but Jess still needed her in her life. It was all too much to put into words so Jess didn't even try, she found herself in front of the Hufflepuff and in lieu of any great speech she just threw her arms around the girls neck and hugged her for dear life.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo's attention turned from the picture on the mantlepiece when she heard the front door opening again. She didn't know the host all too well as to make much conversation but it wasn't as though she'd had to wait for long. She smiled as Amber and Sophie entered the room, and with a wave to the sisters, she watched as the Ravenclaw approached Caro, before wandering in the older Hufflepuff's direction. Geo hadn't spoken to Amber since the beginning of her third year, and while they too had had their own difficulties, she was pleased to be able to say that they'd made their amends. With a wave to Evelyn over the Hufflepuff's shoulder, Geo had begun to ask her best friends sister more about how her OWLs had been treating her, when she spotted her favourite batch of Gryffindors coming through the door. "Excuse me," she smiled, hoping Amber wouldn't mind too much that she was going to say hello to James. It was going to be strange when he left, and she'd miss seeing his defeated face in Quidditch.

"Hey," she called out, although only now seeing who he had in tow with him. The smile remained on Geo's face, but the blood was completely draining as she spotted Jess and Leila, neither of whom had wanted to speak to her in over a year. She had been unsure how her Valentines note had been received to the blonde, although unlike her second year it was sent in a bid of communication more than anything else. Last time she spotted Jess, she'd been pushed away in the corridor, but as Geo watched in shock as her ex-girlfriend moved across the room, the Hufflepuff was motionless to what was happening as she waited to see what she'd do. Thinking perhaps she would want to talk, or to tell her that Geo shouldn't have been here, it came to a great surprise when she felt her arms around her shoulders. It took her a moment to register what was happening, but quickly she wrapped her own arms round her best friends waist, squeezing her eyes closed in an effort to keep her emotions together as the wave of the last 12 months came flooding into the present. For a few moments, Geo remained silent, content to hold her friend and be grateful that she was even here. Words went unspoken as though she didn't want to risk making things worse, to say the wrong thing. She wanted to tell the Gryffindor how much she'd missed her and that she was there, although judging by her actions she didn't need to. "I'm so sorry," was the whisper that eventually escaped her lips, although her body language showed no signs of adjusting as she continued to remain locked around her friend.
​

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber watched as Sophie headed over to Caro and took a sip of her drink. She was glad that she hadn't to stand by herself for long, as other people started arriving quickly. Kaia Rosemary, a girl in her year, headed over to her and started small talk. Amber smiled at her, nodding. "It really is. I'm curious who will turn up tonight." She said. Kaia wasn't someone Amber talked to often, but the girl seemed very nice. Before she could talk more, Evelyn made her way over to her as well and gave her a hug. Amber grinned at her friend, hugging her back. "Hi Evelyn!" She said, looking at the dress the girl was wearing. It was very nice, though not something Amber would ever wear herself. She felt herself blush slightly as Evelyn mentioned Ainsley, but she nodded. "Once she's here, I'll introduce you." She said hesitantly. Obviously, she knew Evelyn wouldn't bite, but she still found it hard to picture the two mixing. They were so very different. Evelyn was distracted with giving Lizzie cupcakes a moment later, and Geo drifted over to Amber. They only talked briefly before Geo excused herself to go talk to some other people that just arrived. The party was really filling up now, and Amber stood on her tiptoes to look around. She was hoping to spot Ainsley, though she knew she would see her when she came in immediately. Her girlfriend was one of the tallest students at Hogwarts, there was no way she wouldn't stand out in a crowd.

 

[Lily Grace]

Lily wasn't sure what exactly had pulled her into coming to this party, but now she was here she may as well have made the most of it. She was one of the shyest people in her year, although hearing that one of the people she'd befriended a few years ago gave her the determination she needed to reach out. Kaia may not have even remembered her, but it was worth a shot. Dressing in a simple shirt and jeans, she had arrived to the party when it was seemingly in full swing, and almost immediately regretted her decision. Why did she think this was a good idea? She didn't know who most of these people were and they'd probably just stare at her for imposing anyway. Edging around the room, she tried not to seem too nervous, and act instead as though she was meant to be there despite every cell in her body trying to leave the lodge. "Hi Kaia," she said quietly once she was close enough and sure she wasn't about to interrupt their conversation. No doubt she had more friends now, and she wouldn't want to see a younger student like herself, but recently she'd found a new batch of confidence she wanted to make the most of.

 

[Gabriel Rosenberg]

Gabriel was glad he could come to Lizzie and her sisters party. He didn't know Lizzie her sister, but Lizzie was amazing. Playing together with her was awesome and she hoped Lizzie would become their captain next year now when James was gone. Gabriel really wanted to have a spot at the team and play every game. He wished to play something else as a beater, to accommodate Sofia a bit. She hated the fact he played at all, but beater was the worst to her. So he would try out for another spot. But he knew there was competition and if he would be placed as a beater he had tried it to do something else. But he wanted to play badly! When Gabriel entered he heard a lot of voices already. The blonde boy didn't came with Sofia, because she didn't wished to be here. There would be a lot of people and Sofia wasn't in the mood for that. But he figured Marcos could be here, he had no idea if his best buddy would come. When he walked further he noticed Sophie. He observed her for a moment and than smirked. She wasn't dressed up at all for a party. Gabriel had did his best on his outfit and looked pretty handsome he thought. Gabriel was full of confidence lately after the games he played. He waved at Lizzie as he saw the girl and put his fist into the air. '' GRYFFINDORRRRRR in the housee'' he shouted and smiled on his own joke a bit too hard. Than he walked over to some gryffindors and searched for something to eat.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley was excited for this. She couldn't wait to see Lizzie again. She knew her friends were coming, and she couldn't wait to introduce them to Lizzie, as her girlfriend. That thought was still very new and exhilarating. Hayley glanced around the room as she came in; there were already quite a few people here. She couldn't see her friends yet, but Amber was here. Most of her attention, though, was reserved for Lizzie, right by the door. Hayley hugged her without hesitation. "Hey! You look great!" She really did, shining with enthusiasm. Hayley could tell immediately how much work she'd put into this, and how animated she was about it. Lizzie's boundless energy was one of the things Hayley liked most about her.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette honestly wasn't sure what she was doing here. She didn't know Lizzie, or really anyone in the upcoming sixth year besides her ex-boyfriend. But Harley had told her about it and eventually she had been convinced to go. It was something to do, and maybe it would be fun. She could always leave if it wasn't. And it wasn't like her mother really cared where she was. She slipped inside, glad to see it was busy already so she didn't stand out too much. Her hair was back to its original color, as she had grown tired of the dark locks. It did make her feel less invisible, but maybe that wasn't a bad thing. She headed to the snack table, picking some random things before leaning against it and watching silently as people milled around. She noticed Hayley, and wondered if Harley was nearby too. She would like to see the girl, even if she wasn't sure if she was comfortable being open about... whatever they had.

 

[Austin Branning]

Austin felt like a different person in the last few weeks since leaving school for the holidays but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. One thing for sure was he'd never have willingly gone to a party being thrown by someone he wasn't friends with in the past but he was rather looking forward to party that the Gryffindor beater was throwing. He and Autumn arrived at the lodge and smiled at the hosts as they walked in. Austin wasn't sure how well Autumn knew Lizzie but he was feeling confident enough to talk to her like she was already a friend. "Lizzie the place looks amazing," He smiled at her. Austin scanned the room to see if he knew anyone else, not that it would take long as his list of people to look out for was pretty short. For a moment he thought he saw a familiar face and he felt his stomach flip in excitement but before he could make a decision to go over to her his sister snapped him out of his daze.

 

[Xena Dragonslayer]

Xena didn't know Lizzie. In fact, she didn't really know anyone that was planning on being at the party. So she had begged her, embarrassingly, only friend that she had to go with her. Xena liked Corrine, and enjoyed spending time with the girl, even if she wasn't exactly the type of person Xena thought she'd have as a friend when she first started at Hogwarts. But she was never one to miss a party. It was easy enough to get permission to go, she was just staying at her friend's house for the night - and as far as her parents knew, Xena had plenty of those to go around. She wouldn't really want to tell anyone in her family that she only had one friend.
Xena didn't want to try too hard for the party, but she figured a brown playsuit, long boots and a leather jacket would hopefully be enough to grab someone's attention. Arm linked with Corrine's as they arrived at the party, Xena stepped in through the door, her eyes doing a quick sweep of the room. She figured a drink would be a good place as any for them to start, so she directed the two of them towards the table, oozing confidence as she walked, but somewhat disappointed that there were no real drinks there. Xena unlinked from Corrine, and turned away from the table, letting her eyes survey the room again. "Not a bad place." Xena stated to her friend.

 

[Kaia Rosemary Grimm]

Kaia smiled, feeling a little more at ease as the minutes ticked by. She hadn’t exactly ever spoken to Amber but she thought she was a nice person, which brought her to the reason as to why she had approached the Hufflepuff in the first place. One of Amber’s friends came over, another girl in their year, but she seemed too busy to greet Amber and then yet another, younger girl this time greeted her classmate. Kaia wondered how many people Amber knew, and whether everyone here knew each other or if it was just simply a coincidence. She was somewhat relieved when someone Kaia hadn’t spoken to in a long time approached her. The Ravenclaw hadn’t forgotten about her and in fact wanted to take this opportunity to rekindle a possible friendship. "Hey Lily," she said, smiling a little. "It’s been a while. How have you been?" she asked the younger girl, genuinely curious. ​

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

The big rush of people arriving warmed Lizzie's heart, and she was thrilled to see that word had travelled about the party. Of all people Lizzie hadn't really expected Amber to come, but she supposed she should have taken Caro's friend into account. "Thanks." She said a little stiffly to the other girl's compliment, relieved that Amber didn't say anything else to her. There was no way that conversation wouldn't wind up awkward. She hugged Kaia back happily, pleased to see the other girl, and greeted Evelyn with a cheerful smile. "Oh, these look awesome! Thanks so much!" She said happily, accepting the box of cupcakes. Once she had a free moment Lizzie would have to take them to the snack table.

People were arriving too quickly to catch a free moment though, and Lizzie laughed and whooped in response to Gabriel's greeting. She had grown fond of him, playing side by side as beaters, and was glad he had made it to the party. That gratitude was quickly pushed aside though, as the person Lizzie had been most excited to see today arrived. "Hey!" She said in delight, hugging Hayley back tight and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "You do too!" Seeing Hayley still felt surreal in the best way. Her girlfriend. Lizzie was distracted from her grinning daze by more arrivals, returning Austin's greeting with a cheerful wave. "Hey, thanks Austin." She said happily, pleased to see so many people she recognised from Quidditch had come.

 

[Caro Taylor]

"Hey Geo." Caro gave the other girl a small, awkward wave. Although she didn't really know Geo as anything other than one of Sophie's friends, it was still nice that the first person to arrive was someone from Caro's year, not one of Lizzie's million friends. "Thanks, our family run it." Caro didn't talk to people at school much, but at home making small talk just felt more natural, the way she would with guests. It was easier to talk to people she never would have before. It was a relief though, when Sophie arrived, and Caro gave her friend a warm, genuine smile. "Hey!" She said happily, laughing a little at Sophie's comments about her hair. "Yeah, I thought I'd give it a try. I think I like it. It makes me feel different." That was true. Being blonde felt more exciting somehow, filled her with confidence. She nodded, grinning happily at Sophie. "Super excited." Caro was surprised when Sophie spoke in an undertone, but she nodded, relieved that Sophie would stay by her side. She at least understood what it was like to feel forgotten in the shadow of a popular sister.

 

[Autumn Branning]

Autumn followed her brother up to the lodge where her housemates party was being held. Austin was acting very out of character lately and she liked it, it was good to see him more sure of himself and he suspected it had something to do with a certain Hufflepuff girl. Autumn followed him inside and smiled at Lizzie as Austin greeted the girl. For once the Gryffindor was content to stand back while her brother took charge of the situation, it was refreshing change of pace though soon Autumn had to break Austin of some kind of trance he had fallen into. "Hey Austin, shall we get some drinks?" She asked him.

 

[Jessica Cade]

Jess didn't know how Geo would react but she breathed a sigh of relief when she felt her friends arms around her. She was glad that despite everything she was still there, she had reached out along the way but Jess just hadn't been ready to let her in but she was glad she was, Jess needed Geo more than she let on. "No I'm sorry, I shut you out when I was going through something and I shouldn't have done that, I just didn't want to bring everyone down with me," Jess explained. it was true and if she had her way she would have done the same thing to Leila but it was hard to pull away from someone who she shared a dorm with and literally knew how her mind worked. "Do you forgive me?"

 

[Isaac Kain]

Isaac didn't really care either way that one of the students was throwing a party. He knew very little people at the school, and the only person he would have spoken to, he planned to speak to during the holidays anyway. Nevertheless, the Ravenclaw seemed to have found his way to the home of Lizzie Taylor, and entering just as the party was already in full motion, it gave the fourth year time to look around at all the faces he didn't know. There were a few he recognised, but no one that struck out to him as people worth trying to get to know. As he mingled, he crossed his arms over his chest as he walked in an effort to not be noticed, suddenly not really sure what he was going to say to Sophie when he saw her again. They'd been dating since Christmas but in truth it was much easier to think of an excuse when it came to why he was uncomfortable giving any sort of emotion towards her above occasional gratitude, than it was to face it. Regardless, she was still his friend and he did enjoy her company, and heading through the numerous students he pushed on, trying to locate his girlfriend.
​

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo pulled back a little so that she could speak to her friend properly, "You did what you had to, there's no right or wrong way to deal with something like that," she said, speaking as someone who'd seen a number of children without parents come through the orphanage. Geo's eyes drifted over the face of her friend, the one she hadn't been so close to in long enough that she could tell her features had changed a little since she'd last seen them. "I missed you, but I'm so glad you're here," she said, pulling her into another hug, wondering how difficult it must have been to come out to a large crowd. As Geo gazed across the room, she hadn't been focused on the other people in the room, concentrating solely on being reunited with Jess.

It was as though a balloon burst in her chest. The smile that was previously on her face washed away as her eyes met another student that had entered the venue, and not wanting to deal with everything right here and now, Geo began to panic. She pulled away from the hug, swearing a little under her breath and trying not to look up and get the attention of anyone as she spoke. "Hide. Hide me." the urgency in her voice apparent, more so than she realised she would be. Why had she thought this wouldn't be a possible situation to come into at a party for students! Before she could move, and while half using Jess as a visual shield blocking the eye line from the student, her mind flashed with thoughts. Of course she didn't need to hide if she could just hide that it was her. In just a few seconds, her body began to morph into the only person that was currently stuck in her mind during the panicked state, although before the transition was complete, Geo realised her mistake and forced her concentration onto Elly Chatwin instead. Unsure if she was even coming to the party, Geo had yet to see her that evening and it would at least give her a few seconds to move. Tugging Jess by the arm, hoping that if she kept her head low no one would know she was a poor copy of a Ravenclaw. At least Elly was someone she knew well, and it wasn't too difficult to replicate her features. Once they'd rounded a corner, Geo knew she wasn't in the clear but at least didn't have the impending awkward situation to deal with as she tried to spend time with a friend she'd not seen for so long.
​