Daley Manor Party

[daleysabrina]

You can do this.Sabrina took a deep breath, looking herself over again in the free standing body length mirror inside her bedroom, flatting out the flowing top that Martha had helped her pick out for the party. Even though she had a walk-in closet filled to the brim with brand new, gorgeous clothes for literally every occasion, Bri still felt her

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[reidinggg]

All things considered as far as this evening was concerned, it was really a wonder Reid had managed to go through it without breaking out into a full-blown fit of laughter. He'd taken to flittering around the room, occupying himself with either idle chatter, friendly catchup, or at the very least a drink, because every time he paused for even a moment he felt himself bordering on the line of hysterics.

Daley Manor. In full party mode. Filled with a medley of people that somewhat made sense but also completely didn't, a weird mashup of his and Jemma's and Dean's friends. Skylar and Jemma were both drinking water, for fuck's sake, and last he'd caught sight of her Sabrina had been wrangled up by Ava, something he had strayed far away from for the sake of being able to deny having anything to do with whatever state the littlest Daley ended up in

[daleysabrina]

The entire night was officially a blur of new faces and pleasant conversation with people she had never expected to be so excited to meet her, not really sure how she had managed to get this far with out making a complete fool of herself.

Actually, it was entirely possible she had made a fool of herself and didn't even realize it.

Or remember it-

She was stumbling her way through the party now, her legs like jello and it was becoming a losing battle convincing herself not to kick off her shoes and start doing cartwheels down the long hallways. And she probably would have done just that if she didn't spot-

"Reid! Reiiid!" she called, laughing as she tugged at his arm. Finally, she was running into somebody that she actually knew.

"You're here! Well- of course, you're here. But here you are!"

[reidinggg]

"Wha- Sabrina! Hello, yes, here I am and oh Merlin you are not at all sober, are you-"

His sudden greeting rambled out into a very obvious observation, instinctively reaching out to grab at her elbow and straighten her out, a thoroughly instinctive motion he had developed in the years he had spent dealing with a variety of intoxicated ladies.

The initial 'oh damn Bash is gonna freak' panic was wiped away rather quickly as he noted the laughing width of her smile, his own less-than-sober cheer easily picking up on the upsides of the situation.

"Having a good time, are you?" he laughed, though he didn't quite let go on his steady hold on her.

[daleysabrina]

Sabrina was definitely grateful to have somebody to balance against, her own hands resting against his forearms as she leaned forward, somehow thinking that he wouldn't be able to hear her in this crowded room if she was standing straight up. Obviously she needed to get a little bit closer.

"Sober?" she asked, tilting her head off to one side (though as she leaned most of her body followed the motion).

Yet another thing she didn't quite understand but that didn't bother her so much at the moment, brushing it off as she laughed.

"Great! There's so many people here- Everyone wants to see me. Isn't that silly?"

[skylar_x]

It was definitely a very strange thing being at a party without a drink in her hand, Skylar holding firm to her promise of not drinking for a while, at least not until she got herself back in control. It had only been a week or two but the reality of it was like a slap in the face, not only to her but to Harry as well. The temptation to lose herself was just too great, drown herself in vodka sodas until everything went fuzzy and the memories weren't screaming out at her anymore. Until she was sleeping through the night Skylar was going to stick to water

[daleysebastian]

Not for the first time, Sebastian cursed the fact that this was his manor - his and Sabrina's - which meant apparently people wanted to talk to him. Did he need a sign to indicate he really wanted to be left alone? It probably wouldn't even matter with this crowd.

At least, this time, it was Skylar. He'd probably have liked Skylar anyway, without her connection to Reid, but after seeing her following her kidnapping, he'd felt a little more fond. That was closer to the type of thing he found himself dealing with before he'd come back.

"Mostly Reid. I pretty much just agreed to it and then gave up." He couldn't stop rolling his eyes a little. "It was a good idea, in theory." In practice, it seemed to be going well, he just wasn't a fan of his space being invaded, even when he allowed it.

[skylar_x]

"Most of Reid's ideas are only really good in theory," Skylar joked, though it did hold a certain amount of truth to it as she raised her eyebrows in a knowing way. It wasn't really a secret that he often got ahead of himself, charging headfirst into situations he was excited over before giving them a second thought. That, or he was on the couch for days watching documentaries and scalding down scalding hot ramen.

There was no in between.

"But it looks like it's doing your sister a bit of good? She's getting on with Orla fairly well-"

[daleysebastian]

"I think they knew each other, before, or something." Sebastian turned to shake his head at the perky redhead laughing at something and dragging Sabrina along. From what he could tell, Orla looked young enough to be Sabrina's age or close to it. Slytherins and Ravenclaws tended to get on fairly well. It made sense in a way.

"As long as she's having a good time," Sebastian nodded and glanced back at Skylar. "That's the point, anyway."

He'd lost track of how many times he'd said that or something similar since people started filtering in. "How have you been?" He tried not to let the question be too loaded. At least he had more than enough experience at a disinterested and blank tone.

[daleysabrina]

The night had definitely taken an odd turn as Sabrina felt her head getting fuzzier and the moments started to blur all together.

Hadn't she just been talking to a girl named Skylar? She didn't exactly remember started or leaving that conversation but somehow she had, bits of laughter and a funny story about Reid sticking out in her mind. But now here she was, making her way from the living room back into the dining room for another drink of, well, something, whatever it was that Orla had introduced her too.

It actually didn't matter what it was because it was delicious and it settled her nerves, which weren't twisting up her stomach anymore.

[marloww]

Marlow's head was suddenly spinning with the concept of Harry moving back into Grimmauld Place, the only headquarters to the Order that she had ever known. And it gave her goosebumps, really, to think about it. But he seemed happy, when he told her, and she couldn't help but wish him and Skylar congratulations. Even if the concept of Harry Potter moving in with someone other than Ginny Weasley something she had to wrap her head around.

But it was so easy to forget that everyone moved on around you, especially if you weren't paying very close attention.

Which is what she was doing now, as she left Harry to his own devices, needing a refill on the glass of wine she had gotten herself.

And that was when she spotted the only girl who must be Sabrina, looking a bit dazed herself. But for much different reasons.

"Sabrina?" she called, offering her a smile.

[daleysabrina]

Sabrina heard her name being called for the fifth time that night, turning around to see yet another face that she didn't recolonize and she quickly pulled on her best smile. That was easier now though, feeling lighter than she had at the beginning of the night after her round of shots with Orla. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before- but that shouldn't have surprised her considering that was happening a lot lately.

"Oh yes. Hi?" she grinned, standing up a little bit straight now. Good posture was like second nature to her even now, her mother's voice echoing back to her as a reminder of making a good impression and minding her manners.

"Are you- um, one of Reid's friends?"

[marloww]

"What? Oh- no, no-"

She hardly knew Reid, nothing more than a few groaned comments from Harry once upon a time in the earlier stages of his relationship with Skylar. But the boy sure liked to complain.

She offered Sabrina a bright smile, hardly bothered that she wasn't actually being introduced by Dean. She certainly never needed someone to do the introducing for her before.

"I'm Marlow," she said. "A friend of Dean's actually, I'm sure he hasn't said anything- but I was looking forward to meeting you-"

[finnagoon]

He had managed to pull off a few rounds at the party with out getting too drunk, though it probably helped that he'd spent the last half hour with Harry who wasn't exactly the party animal anymore. It wasn't as fun pounding back shots by yourself so he'd opted to sip his whiskey instead, riding out a slow and steady buzz. It was probably better anyway, considering he did promise to be on his best behavior that night

[oohlalaorla]

Orla had mostly been making the rounds all night. After she'd waylaid Sabrina and dropped the bombshell about Reid and Bash, she'd bounced around between various others. She'd annoyed Ava for a while, which was good times, and made a moment to be perky at the older Daley because that was hilarious and his glare wasn't actually as intimidating when you got up close and knew he could tolerate someone like Reid and also went through great lengths to throw a party for his sister even when it was obvious he'd rather be having his teeth pulled

[finnagoon]

It had actually taken a lot of self control not to find Orla earlier in the night, the two of them throwing each other little looks every now and again that were impossible to miss. If he had been any drunker than he was, which actually was only slightly buzzed, he may not have held out this long.

He really couldn't explain what it was that kept bringing him back to her, the two of them had been a disaster of a couple the majority of the time that they had been exclusive. Then again they had had their highs as well, which were actually pretty fuckin' fantastic, and scattered moments of intense vulnerability that not even Marlow had ever seen from him before.

There was a part of him that had just refused to give that part up, especially now that they had fallen into something that clearly worked for the both of them.

"What other options?" he asked him coolly, meeting her gaze. "As if I could concentrate on anything else when you wear that dress-"

[oohlalaorla]

"You know I wore it just for you," she teased. She wrapped an arm around herself, settling her hand on his chest for a moment before walking her fingers down his sternum

[marloww]

It had been an interesting evening

[finnagoon]

Even after all of these years Seamus still felt drawn to Orla, though he couldn't exactly say why since they were actually so completely different. But it was never something that he really talked about, not really knowing who he would talk about it with if he even wanted to. Dean hadn't been around the year that he started seeing Orla and it might have been a sensitive subject with Marlow. It could have been argued that Seamus stole her from Jonah, the two of them falling into something almost as soon as she had fallen out of it with the youngest Linney

[marloww]

When Marlow was younger, the castle had always been her favorite place. There was always a corner to sneak off to, an old hallway to explore and she was never alone- not when she didn't want to be. Whether it was Lavender, Seamus or Dean, she never really felt lonely. But lately, that had changed.

The castle became a bit colder, a bit bigger and lot more intimidating.

Although if she were to admit it to herself, she'd find that Marlow was alienating herself from all the old things she loved. Mostly because thinking about what put her back in the castle permanently hurt too much to really stand. She'd rather live in a bit of denial before even relating the cause to-

Nevermind.

She offered Seamus a cheeky sort of smile.

"Is that an invitation?" she asked, glancing up at him.

[finnagoon]

Seamus had never really understood how Marlow could consider that castle home, all the mystery and excitement fading away for him once the war had hit and they were sneaking around for DA meetings, doing all that they could just to make it out alive. It was a shame really, considering that most of his best memories were made sneaking around the halls for very different reasons in their younger years, always finding himself disappointed on his way back to Ireland.

The idea of Marlow leaving this party and heading back there now gave him an all too familiar uncomfortable feeling. There had definitely been something off about her, something he didn't completely pick up on earlier in the party, but it was more apparent now that they were alone.

"Yeah, the night is young," he assured her, throwing his arm over her shoulder and tugging her closer. "We can put on a movie or something back at my flat-"