[Mardi Gras] Laissez les bons temps rouler!

[broken_brushes]

The island had done it again. Whether it was pure chance or benevolence none of them would ever know, but somehow, someway, the place had seen fit to give them all booze again

Comments

[honestlyrubbish]

What most people didn't know about Hermione was the fact that she liked a bit of revelry now and again. The majority of students at Hogwarts had gotten to see a bit of that at the Yule Ball three years ago, but most discounted it as a fluke when Hermione emerged the following day, hair still a wavy, bushy mess, no hint of rogue on her cheeks, like it was all perhaps some kind of experimentation that would never happen again. In truth, the idea of dressing up for a party pleased Hermione as much as most other girls, carefully going through selections of dresses and trying to find one for the occasion that was just right. Tonight, she'd settled on a relatively simple dress, a dim gold in color that suited the theme, but nothing too ostentatious. Pretty, without standing out. That always seemed to be the best choice.

After a couple slow circles around the crowd, however, Hermione quickly realized that she had arrived a bit early, no one dancing just yet, and most instead downing drink after drink to prepare for something more wild, she suspected, then anything she'd quite seen before. Not sure that she wanted so much a part of that all, Hermione quickly stole inside the Compound to grab a book, before returning out to the fresh air and settling on a bench by a large tree, a thick crust of bread and a glass of chilled butterbeer (the best find yet) by her side.

[polly_okeefe]

"Not going in to the party?" I asked, giving Hermione a smile. On normal circumstances, I might have taken her approach -- even sat down on the bench first.

[honestlyrubbish]

I had probably been seated there, reading from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn for half an hour or so before someone greeted me and pulled me out of my reverie. The sun, by that time, had begun to set a little, just at that point where it cast all of my surroundings in gold, a beautiful sight to behold. For the chance to see that much, I was more than glad for the interruption, smiling as I looked up, and only happier to see a familiar face.

"Oh hello, Polly," I greeted, slipping a bookmark to save my place, before sliding over on the bench. "I... was planning on going in once more people had arrived, I suppose. Or maybe I'm a bit worried to see what state I might find either of my best friends in, if I step inside. Something tells me it's that kind of party."

[polly_okeefe]

"You can come in with me if you want some company," I said. "I've been to a few parties, and you get a range of company. I often stood with a few friends and drank mango juice. I'm here with Zell today, though. They have hotdogs and pancakes."

[honestlyrubbish]

My nose wrinkled a bit at the mention of hot dogs and pancakes, to be honest. I know, it was probably bad form, but it was a reflex more than anything else, my brain immediately trying to put two and two together, and that combination just sounded rather disastrous. I've never been a huge fan of hot dogs on the whole, finding them to be nothing more than tubes of processed meat, no finesse and all salt. Just to make sure that she didn't get the impression that I was wrinkling my nose at her, however, I smiled, shaking my head.

"It probably is about time for me to head in, so why not?" I decided, before cringing just slightly. "Although I don't want to interrupt your time spent with Zell or anything. I'm not lonely out here, I'm just very prone to losing myself in a good book."

After a pause, I tacked on, just to be sure: "When you say hot dogs and pancakes, you don't mean to eat them together, do you? Unless you also mean to refer to sausages."

[polly_okeefe]

I blinked a moment. Then my own nose wrinkled at the thought. The way I'd said it, it did sound like we were having the two together. Oops.

"No. No. Definitely no," I said, quickly. "Ew. It's just that's what Zell likes. The thing about this party, like New Year's Eve, the Island magic brings back favourite foods from peoples' old homes. Zell has a thing about hot dogs." I gave her a rueful smile. "Don't ask me why, he just does. Me, it was a family tradition to eat pancakes on this day."

[honestlyrubbish]

"Sorry," I immediately apologized, laughing a bit and shaking my head, intensely glad for the fact that the two foods weren't being combined. Of course, my tolerance for things like that had increased over time (it's an effect of knowing a boy like Ron Weasley, who seems capable of eating just about anything that's placed in front of him), but I still had my limits. "Sorry, it just sounded like you were mixing the two, but that makes a lot more sense. I did see that there were countless types of food in there, and I wish I had more of an appetite for it."

With a softening grin, I reached down to pick up my bottle of butterbeer. "I am indulging a bit, though. A drink we call butterbeer where I'm from, though it's not really alcoholic. Would you like to try?"

[polly_okeefe]

I wasn't going to turn down that offer. A chance to experience something that did not exist in my world? Especially after all the strange and wonderful things I'd sampled when Jack had taken me on a tour of the TARDIS. "Sure," I said.

[honestlyrubbish]

Of course I knew that Polly didn't really know anything about my world, and there was no reason for her to be anything but interested in what I had to offer her, but an open interest of the sort that she showed right then was one of the things which made me wonder if the magical and non-magical communities could be made to get along. Tabula Rasa wasn't the perfect place to test that theory out; magic was all but eliminated, and the impossible circumstances rather forced people to deal one way or another, but it was also proof that people from disparate backgrounds could still get along, and well.

So it was readily that I led Polly to the table where I'd found the butterbeer, which stood to the edge of the party, where the stragglers were. I twisted the top off one of the chilled bottles, making sure to wipe off extra condensation with a cloth napkin, then held it out.

"It's a little rich," I warned.

[polly_okeefe]

I took a sip, then swallowed quickly. The taste surprised me. "It's like, sort of, liquid caramel. And fizzy." A sort of thick soda. I took another sip. Now that I was better prepared for the taste, I found myself enjoying it more. "It's... good!"

[everyone_takes]

"I like your dress," Kate said to the very pretty girl with the book. It seemed kind of weird to bring a book to a party -- actually, it seemed a lot like something Marshall would do and so Kate didn't even comment on it, just offered a smile. She'd had a drink or two already, not enough to make her feel more than just a little buzzed.

"It looks amazing on you," she added, then wondered if it sounded like she was trying to pick the other girl up.

[honestlyrubbish]

Hermione had, without realizing it, begun to bite down on the edge of her nail as she flew through the pages of her book, to the point where she jumped, just a little, when a person's voice broke through the white noise of the music in the background. Fortunately, she recovered soon enough, cheeks turning a faint pink and a shy smile flashing across her face at the compliment; quickly, she marked her place in the book and pushed it aside.

"Oh, thank you," she grinned, a hand tucking errant strands of hair behind her ear. "The clothes box decided to be kind to all of us tonight, I see. Your dress and shoes are brilliant. So bright and vibrant, much more fitting of the theme."

[everyone_takes]

It was how Kate dressed normally, as if she'd never heard of the words 'colour coordination', but she grinned anyway. "Thanks," she said brightly. "I think the entire island decided to be kind tonight. I've never seen so much food or alcohol."

Except for New Year's Eve, but that was already months in the past.

"I'm Kate," she added with a smile.

[honestlyrubbish]

A part of her wanted to agree wholeheartedly and just dip into the food and drink as everyone else was, but at the end of the day, Hermione was still practical. Reticent. Not nearly as likely to lose herself in a party like that one. Parties like the Slug Club gatherings and the Yule Ball were more her type of event, both with rules and pleasantries. Chaos, Hermione didn't know the first thing about, but she smiled nonetheless, determined not to make too big a fuss about it.

"I'm a bit worried about the latter, to be honest. I've two boys in there I may have to look very carefully after tonight, if they don't know their limits," she smiled in return, before ducking her head in amusement. "But it's a pleasure to meet you, Kate. I'm Hermione." Thinking that it was probably a bit cold to continue sitting on the bench then, Hermione carefully placed the book down next to the side of the bench, assuming it would still be there the next day, then stood to follow Kate back into the morass of people.

[everyone_takes]

"Two boys," Kate said, sounding impressed. "Unless that's totally not what you mean and I'm just making an idiot out of myself." Which was likely the case, now that she thought about it. Hermione was certainly pretty enough, but even on the island, most people seemed to stick to the whole monogamy thing.

"Are they around? Or did they see the alcohol and disappear? I find that happens with most boys." As much as she liked partying, she could at least restrain herself when necessary.

[honestlyrubbish]

"Oh Merlin, no, not like that," Hermione replied, shaking her head with a look of abject terror on her face, before she eventually dissolved into a weak bit of a laugh, waving her hand as though to brush the thought away. "Not that I have anything against people who would, you know, be involved with more than one person at a time, but I just meant in the context that they're my best friends. And, well, I am dating one of them, but certainly not the other, who is more of a brother to me than anything else."

Feeling her cheeks only warming more at the taste of nonsensical babble on her tongue, Hermione laughed again, brushing down a wrinkle on her skirt.

"Actually, you might have met at least one of them," Hermione remarked then, looking up. "Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. I know both of them are around, though I don't know what either is up to, yet. They might both be more comfortable with me not knowing, actually."