Noah was already five drinks deep. Why was Grace feeling the effects when she had hardly finished a glass? She swayed back and forth to the music, her eyelids feeling heavy as she looked up at Noah, watching him take another sip of his drink.

Grace felt like she was underwater. Her mind was foggy and the music sounded muffled as it entered her ears. She swore if someone bumped into her she would collapse to the floor.

"Noah, I don't feel very well," she finally confessed. The words must have left her mouth quieter than she had thought, because the boy didn't seem to notice she had spoken. She tugged on his arm, pulling down on his sleeve. That got his attention. "Noah, I don't feel very well," she repeated.

"Merlin, Grace, I didn't realize you were such a lightweight," he responded with a laugh. He took her hand and led her to the couches. "I'll grab you some water, okay? Stay here. I don't want you falling over."

Grace nodded, staring down into her drink. Is that what this was? She just couldn't hold her liquor? Grace hardly ever drank. Ryan usually didn't allow her to have any alcohol, so she used to sneak away for a moment if she wanted some at parties in the past.

Something was off, though. She had barely finished half of her drink. She glanced over at Noah far across the room, who was searching for water amongst the bottles of booze.

"You look terrible."

Grace turned to face the body that had sat down next to her.

"I'm just a little lightheaded. I'll be okay, Rachel."

"Let's hope so," replied the blonde girl. "You look like shit." Rachel stood from her seat, walking over to Ryan across the room. Grace's stomach dropped as she watched the girl kiss the tall Slytherin.

Well, that's a new one, Grace thought. Rachel needs to be careful.

She felt a hand move her hair to the side from behind the couch, warm breath hitting her neck as someone leaned in close.

"You don't look too hot, Grace," Jake whispered. "Maybe we should go back to my dormitory to fix that."

"Get the fuck away from me." Grace turned her head quickly to distance herself from him, standing up from the couch. Colors danced in front of her eyes, and she fell back onto the couch again.

Jake merely laughed at the sight before him. He walked around the couch, settling down next to her. His eyes devoured her body, staying put on her exposed waistline. He took advantage of her weak state to move close, his fingers touching her with great lust.

"If you don't want every guy at this school to think you're easy, maybe you shouldn't dress like such a slut," he spat, pulling away from her ear to see her reaction.

Grace scoffed, "A slut, huh? And you're sure you're not just angry that I wouldn't let you get in my pants the other night?"

Jake rolled his eyes. "I don't know why you didn't let me. You always let Ryan touch you. You play hard to get because you're an attention whore."

Grace wished she could've slapped the Gryffindor boy across the face, but she felt herself sink deeper into the couch. She was practically laying down on it now, her limbs feeling like they had a pile of textbooks weighing them down as the boy continued.

"I bet your little boyfriend thinks you're easy, too. Did you seriously think anyone would want to be with you for any reason other than just to fuck you?" Jake finished, leaving Grace to join Ryan's side across the room.

Grace managed to dart her eyes over to Noah. She watched as he walked toward her with a cup of water in his hand. Did he really think she was easy? He said she wasn't just another girl for him, but was that really true?

Grace sat up slowly, staring down at her half-empty cup. She narrowed her eyes at it before looking up at Noah.

"Here you go," he said, handing her the water with a smile, his cheeks flushed. She could tell the alcohol was starting to affect him. "Do you feel any better?"

Grace took the cup gently, bringing it to her lips and sipping it carefully as her hand shook slightly. She closed her eyes, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She stayed silent.

"Grace? What's the matter?" Noah pushed, brushing her hair away from her face as he sat down next to her.

Grace turned to look at him, her face as pale as The Bloody Baron. "Did you slip me something?"

Noah pinched his eyebrows together. "What are you talking about?"

"You put something in my drink, didn't you?" Grace accused, her heart racing. Jake had gotten in her head. Her mind was a fragile place.

"How could you even say that?" Noah asked painfully, standing up in frustration. "Why the fuck would I do something like that?"

Grace leaned forward again, pulling at the roots of her hair in anger and disappointment. "Is it some Hogwarts boy pact to make me feel like shit? Is that what's going on? You all just plan to use me and throw me away when you're done?"

Noah bit his tongue. He wanted to scream at her for the things she was accusing him of, but it wasn't the time or place. She's drunk, Noah. She doesn't mean it, he told himself.

"Drink your water," he insisted quietly, giving the cup a slight push.

Grace raised an eyebrow. "Why? Did you put something in this one, too?"

They were both too heated in their conversation to even realize that Ryan, Rachel, and Jake were watching with amused expressions from afar.

"Payback is a bitch," Ryan said to his friends with a smirk, an arm around Rachel.

"There'll be more where that came from," Jake added with a nod.

Back on the other side of the room, Noah grabbed Grace's arm, pulling her up from the couch. "Let's go. We're leaving."

Grace pulled away from his grasp, fighting to keep her eyes open. "I'm not leaving with you."

"I'm not fighting with you in front of all these people."

"Then leave, Noah!" she shouted, her eyes stinging with tears. She laid back down on the couch, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead.

"Listen to me, Grace. Maybe someone slipped you a potion when you weren't looking, but it sure as hell wasn't me. I'm not leaving you here so some bastard can take advantage of you," Noah explained, snatching her arm again and pulling her up from the couch. He tried not to be too rough with her, but he needed to get her out of there. It wouldn't be safe for her to stay in a place where someone was trying to hurt her. "Let's go."

"Is there a problem?" Ryan asked, jumping into the conversation as he neared the couple. He glanced down at Noah's grip on Grace's arm, a smirk threatening to creep on his lips at the sight. "Ah, Dolohov. Taking notes from your father, are you? You probably shouldn't grab a girl's arm like that."

"You're one to talk, Carrow," jeered Noah. "I'm going to let this slide because I need to get her out of here, but watch your fucking back." He practically dragged Grace out of the Room of Requirement. Noah knew it probably looked highly suspicious for him to be pulling a stumbling girl away from the party, but it was a risk he had to take. He took a deep breath as they exited into the corridor, trying to settle his drunk anger. He released her once they were far enough away from the party.

Grace's legs gave out once Noah let go of her, slipping out of consciousness. He quickly caught her and scooped her up in his arms.

Did she really believe he was capable of something like that? She actually thought he would try to take advantage of her?

Noah gazed down at Grace, who was passed out in his arms. Sadness tugged at his heart. He carried her all the way to the Slytherin common room, gently putting her down on the couch when they arrived.

He sat on a chair across from Grace, watching her breathe. At least she's breathing.

Noah vowed to stay there the whole night. He wouldn't dare close his eyes and risk someone touching the girl.

Noah sighed. Grace truly thought he was going to hurt her.

He clenched his jaw, tearing his gaze away from her to look down at his arm. He roughly pulled up his sleeve, staring down at the Dark Mark on his forearm.

Maybe he didn't even know himself. What was he really capable of?