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[Wristbands: Chapter Sixty-Five]

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Aspen sat miserably on the couch as a party went on around her. Strangers who she doesn't even think were wizards sat on the couch with her, drinking the unknown magical alcohol with glee. People were doing shots, dancing to music, and scaring each other while they were dressed in their scary Halloween costumes. Everyone was either drunk or about to be. All except Aspen, who sat on the couch, alone, wishing she had her daughter with her. Though, she was sleeping over Effie's house that Halloween night, probably happy and laughing while her mother was craving to punch a teen through a wall.

      Somehow, someway, James managed to get a large ping pong table for his Halloween party. At the moment, he was playing shirtless with Lily who happened to also be drunk. That surprised Aspen most, she was hoping Lily were sober and could keep the party minimal. Wendy and Remus were dancing to whatever muggle music was blasting, Wendy was dressed as a nineteen-fifties waitress and Remus was dressed as a werewolf. They were most likely drunk, too. At least Remus was seeing as he was actually dancing.

       Marlene was doing false palm readings, clearly drunk as everything she said was slurred. Though, people didn't notice because they were also drunk. Everyone was bloody drunk! Peter, who was actually there, was talking to some blonde-girl. One that Aspen felt like she recognized. Though, she didn't think on it too long as she took sight of her boyfriend who was singing horribly through his wand that was disguised as a microphone.

       They used a muffling spell and an enlargement spell to make their flat larger and quieter-sounding. No one around them expected anything, the only way anyone could know there was a party was going on was because of all the people entering and leaving. Plus, there were posters plastered all over the city. There could've been murderers in their flat and none of them would know. Aspen was surely going to scold James about that the next day. He didn't even plan much other than the basic party needs. He left all the glass things out, peoples private things, and even left all the rooms unlocked.

       Aspen came home to a couple making out in her and Sirius' bed. After kicking them out, she got rid of all the sheets, she was going to sleep in James and Lily's bed that night. If the party even allowed her to sleep. It was already two hours past midnight, not even Halloween anymore. Aspen would've been partying like everyone else but everything was just too much. James promised her a small get-together of some Hogwarts friends. But instead, it was Hogwarts friends and the whole bloody city of adolescent-London. She couldn't handle that many people, especially drunk. She could barely handle two people at a time.

       Breaking her out of her daze, Sirius walked over to her, tripping over every obstacle in front of him on the way. "Babe! Babe, w-why aren-t you-u having fun?" He slurred, tripling over his own words.

       "I am," Aspen said, her arms crossed and face blank.

      Sirius snorted, smiling as he pointed at her, "You li-ar! C'mon, let's go driiink!"

       "No, I don't want to. And you shouldn't keep drinking, if you do you're gonna have a wicked hangover tomorrow." Aspen said.

       Sirius scrunched up his nose, "I'll worry about that tomorrow." He said. "Are youuu sureee you don't want to drink? You don't look like you're having fun."

      "That's because I'm n—I'm tired." Aspen lied, fake yawning. "I'm just going to sit here and wait until the party is over because I want to sleep in an empty, safe flat. Go have fun, I'll be fine."

     "Ooookay then," He exaggerated, twirling around and almost falling into someone in the process. Aspen rolled her eyes and got more comfortable on the couch. In the process, she kicked someone off of it—they merely slumped onto the floor, already passed out from drinking. That caused her to roll her eyes again.

       In the span of twenty minutes, about fifty people dropped like flies. Not to their deaths, but to the world of sleep as they would wake up with a banging hangover. Aspen hated it, they're supposed to party and then leave. Not come and sleep, only to leave in the morning. But she couldn't do anything as she didn't feel like hauling everyone's arses out the door. Peter was gone, of course, and Marlene was passed out in a chair. In the corner of the room, Remus was passed out on the floor with Wendy in his lap eating off of a giant food platter. James was passed out, laying on the ping pong table and Lily was dancing with some muggle university students. Sirius was also dancing with them, though, he looked like he was going to drop any minute.

       Suddenly, a cold liquid was dropped onto her shorts. Her legs were soaked and freezing, Aspen freaked out and saw that someone dropped their cup of fire whiskey onto her legs. They were too drunk to realize what they did as they went to drink their drink and have nothing come out. Aspens eyes were wide in anger and she took in an angry breath, instead of screaming or hitting someone, she walked to the stairs and then up to the hallway of bedrooms. Aspen didn't care if anyone saw her wand as she kept it beside her during the entire moment. She held it in her hand as she unlocked her room and went in.

      She continued to change into a pair of Sirius' sweatpants, along with one of his sweatshirts. Basically, she was wearing all of his clothes. Even his boxers and socks, why wear underwear when she could be comfortable? The only thing she wore that wasn't his was a bra, and it was Wendy's seeing as all of hers were in the washing machine due to Cassie spitting up on them. From her room she could still hear the music, though it was faded enough that she could get comfortable. She contemplated sleeping instead of going back to monitor. She decided that she was actually going to do that. Though, first, she wanted to do one last sweep.

        In the kitchen were two strangers passed out on the floor, one of whom were on the table. The living room had many people passed out, either on the couch or floor. There was also a few people awake, still talking and laughing. Of course on the ping pong table was James, passed out. And the people who were dancing dispersed to just a shitefaced Lily and one university student. The other was asleep under the ping pong table, Sirius was now eating the food Wendy was eating. Wendy finally passed out in her boyfriends lap.

        Aspen whistled loudly, knowing that most people would wake up. Once everyone's attention was on her, she froze. She didn't really plan what she was going to do next. Though, after a few seconds, she flicked her wand behind her and shut off the music. "Everybody out! If you believe yourself too shitefaced to drive, then please make yourself comfortable on the floor. Furniture is off limits, and you, yeah, blue jacket—please flip that person off the couch—yep, thanks."

      After everything was done, Aspen took her eyes off of her filled living room and went back up the stairs. Once she was up she went towards her room, but stopped when she noticed Cassie's door was opened. Aspen took out her wand, held it readily as if she was going into battle. She slowly crept to the room and used her foot to push the door open wider. She found the room empty, though the lights were on and she found a blanket that was previously in her daughters crib, on the floor.

       "Bloody drunks," Aspen mumbled, going in and putting the blanket back in the crib. She then took one last sweep of the room before turning the lights off, leaving, and locking it once more. After that, she went to her room and locked the door. Then going into Wendy's and Remus' to sleep in that night.  Little did she know that Cassie's room actually wasn't empty. That when the person who was inside heard footsteps, she quickly hid in the closet and stood as still as she could as she watched her old friend come in and leave. Little did Aspen know that there were dangerous people in her house that night, and one of them made the beginning of her seventh year hell.

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AUTHORS NOTE:

Merry Christmas! 🎄

December 25, 2018
1,477 words