It was the early afternoon at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the castle was alive with activity as students wandered about the grounds, moving with grins as wide as the moon as they chatted and gossiped with their friends. The whole school was buzzing with excitement from that morning, when the second task of the Triwizard Tournament had taken place.

Laine Brooks stood beside a moss covered stone wall, the Hufflepuff girl leaning against it, her straight black hair tied back in a messy bun. The short girl had her usual blank, unreadable expression as she straightened her yellow and black striped tie unconsciously, her eyes darting around with every small noise.

Laine watched the other students mill about the courtyard under her piercing gaze, her dark brown eyes darting from student to student as she identified each of them individually with a single glance. Her arms were crossed across her chest, and her light pink lipstick was slightly smeared. Hey, she was in a rush this morning— her brother, that stupidly adorable idiot, had accidentally slept in and Laine had to sneak into the boys dormitory to wake him up. She botched her makeup when she bumped into a certain tall Hufflepuff boy on the way to the Ravenclaw Tower. However, Laine seemed blissfully unaware of this at the moment, as she made no point of fixing it as she studied each passing student with little interest.

Tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear, Laine straightened her back, standing on her tippy toes to try and look over the crowd of students in the courtyard to no avail. She was clearly looking for someone, but who?

She sighed, huffing a bit and rolling her eyes. Of course he was late. He was always late. Laine blames the stupid watch that he was always wearing. It was broken, so why in the world did he still wear it all the time?

Lost in her thoughts, Laine wasn't aware that someone had appeared beside her until a few seconds later, when said someone placed their large hand on Laine's shoulder, startling her so much that she snapped her head towards them, jerked back her arm, and punched them square in the face... or, what would've been their face, if they weren't taller than Laine by TWO FUCKING FEET AND EIGHT INCHES!!!

"Hey— gosh darn it, Lainey, calm down!" Paxton Jones said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Jeez! Seriously, that's a strong left hook you have there, huh?" He grinned widely at Laine before shoving his large hands into his pockets.

Today— just like every other day— Paxton was wearing his Hufflepuff jacket, the one Laine bought him for Christmas in their third year, when she was shopping in Diagon Alley with her grandmother. It looked kind of like the kind of jacket that Muggle high schoolers wear— you know, those jock boys— a varsity jacket, if you will. It was red and white and gold, and in small letters above the Hufflepuff crest, his name had been stitched into the jacket using fancy black stitching. Laine knew for a fact that Paxton wore this jacket everyday, or at least when the weather was cold; and (because Scotland) it usually was. The fact that Laine got the jacket for him and how often he wore it made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but she usually just blamed it on the coffee. She loves coffee, after all, though "loves" is a bit of an understatement. Besides the jacket, today Paxton wore a white dress shirt with his black and gold Hufflepuff tie hanging loosely around his neck. Laine got annoyed when she saw this because she was constantly trying to fix his tie. Paxton almost never tied it right. Sometimes she could swear that he was starting to do it on purpose. She wished that he wore his whole uniform, itchy sweaters, abnormally long dress robes and all. The school had a dress code, after all... not that the teachers bother to force it, anyway. Paxton didn't even fit into his robe half of the time, and that was partially why he wasn't wearing his robes today (granted, Laine wasn't either, so she couldn't really judge his outfit choice).

"Oh, it's just you." Laine sighed with relief, rubbing her fist, which was probably also bruised, now, too. She eyed the tall boy grumpily, wishing she had actually hit him in the face. But, given their height difference— and Laine's incredibly small hands— that would be quite impossible. After rubbing her hand, Laine smacked Paxton in the shoulder with all her strength, even though it hurt her more than him. "Don't scare me like that, idiot!" She yelled, eyes narrowed in fury. Laine seemed angry, but her flushed cheeks said otherwise...

Paxton just laughed at the smaller girl, winking playfully. "Okay, first of all— ouch," He teased. The punch barely even hurt him. Instead of a gut-busting punch, it was more like a small pinch. "Second of all— ouch! You really know how to make a man feel welcome, don't you, Laine?"

Grinning wide, the Hufflepuff boy cocked his head at the Hufflepuff girl. Much like him, Laine wasn't exactly wearing her entire uniform, either— over her dress shirt, Laine was wearing the grey and yellow sweater that goes with her robes, her tie hanging over it. The sleeves were much too long for her short arms and it seemed as if she had gotten the sweater two sizes two big, but Paxton knew that it was the same sweater she had worn in her first year, when it was just as big on her as it was now, no matter how much she had grown over the past six years. Laine wore the long, knee-high grey socks required for the sixth year uniform, and the skirt that practically drowned her legs, but the jacket and boots she wore were definitely not part of the dress code. As always, Laine wore big, brown, leather boots, and today she sported a light grey coat that was currently tied around her waist. Her hair was starting to come loose, but she didn't seem to mind it at all. Paxton noticed her smeared lipstick and tried pointing it out to her, but Laine didn't see it. He'd have to point it out to her later then, but then again, he didn't want her to get mad at him for not pointing it out before they met up with everyone else in the library for a study session...

Laine rolled her eyes at him, crossing her arms. "You're late, you do realize that, right? We're supposed to be at the library right now. We're going to be late. Again."

"How am I late?" Paxton asked. "It's only noon as of a few minutes ago," He checked his watch just to be sure. "See? I told you I'd meet you after the match, didn't I?"

Laine deadpanned, adjusting her tie again. "Paxton, you and I both know that your watch has been broken since last year, when André dared you to jump off the Astronomy Tower,"

"Oh, come on, Lainey, we both know that wasn't his fault—"

Laine raised an eyebrow at him, quickly shutting him up. Not wanting to get into the debate about whose fault it was, instead of arguing more, Laine simply changed the subject. "Don't call me Lainey, Paxton. I thought we talked about that—"

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't give you a nickname, Lainey?" He pouted. "But I guess I could call you something else. How about..." He trailed off, holding a hand up to his chin thoughtfully, his elbow resting on his other arm as he thought. Laine spared a glance his way, and Paxton met her eyes, and Laine immediately regretted what she said when she saw the all too familiar mischievous glint in Paxton's eyes. "...Lailai?"

Laine's shoulders stiffened and her entire face went strawberry red. Grabbing Paxton by the tie and pulling him down to her height (unconsciously adjusting said tie in the process), she snarled, "DON'T YOU EVEN DARE—" and proceeded to smack Paxton's arms and chest repeatedly as he cackled, holding his hands up in surrender again.

The two were enjoying poking fun at each other when a familiar voice said, "I thought I'd find you two lovebirds here,"

Caishen Niu stood in front of her two (dare she say it) closest friends, hands on her hips. Her eyebrow was raised mischievously and a sly grin had found its way onto her face. Teasingly, Caishen winked at Laine.

Today, Caishen wore an over-sized, dark blue jean jacket that was so long it fell just above her knees. Caishen was practically drowning in the fabric, but she didn't seem to mind. She wore her school pants and epic boots that matched Laine's. Cai had pulled her hair out of her eyes using a jeweler Barrett that she definitely hadn't stolen from Laine's top secret jewelry stash, as it probably cost more than Caishen's house. It was obviously something Laine's parents had given her. Why Laine kept it around, Caishen didn't know. But that didn't matter; what mattered was that Cai looked good. She had on the same shade of lipstick as Laine— if you couldn't tell already, they share just about everything— with an added amount of mascara and light blush. Under her jacket, Caishen had on a dress shirt and her Ravenclaw tie, which hung loosely around her neck as she spoke. (She's worse than Paxton. Laine swears that someday she's just going to have to give up on making them look nice and just let them be walking fashion disasters... that last bit applied more to Paxton than Cai. not gonna lie, but Caishen is literally a fashion genius— today's outfit only proves that more than ever)

Laine went beet red and quickly shoved Paxton away, Paxton merely grinning in response. At the sight of Caishen, he waved before shoving his hands back into his pockets because it was freezing outside today. How on earth did Laine manage to wear those skirts all the time?

At the sight of her best friend, Laine grinned and teased, "Oh, you're just jealous. After all, you did have a crush on me, didn't you?"

Caishen's cheeks turned a light pink. Laine was NEVER going to let that go, was she? But then she smirked, slowly crossing her arms and pointing a finger at Laine. "You didn't deny it."

Laine raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Deny what?"

"That you and Paxton are a thing,"

Both Laine and Paxton gaped at Caishen, who was cackling madly at the looks— and matching blushes— on their faces.

(Okay, Caishen should probably explain.

You see, Laine has had a crush on Paxton for the past... when was it, again? Oh yeah, last summer, when Caishen was over at Laine's house and caught her best friend grinning like a lovesick idiot at a letter that she had gotten from a certain Hufflepuff. Caishen had always known that Laine had a thing for him— it was so obvious!— but Laine, being, well, Laine, had never admitted it to herself, what with everything that she's been through in the past. But Paxton and Laine have been friends for years— in fact, other than Caishen herself, Paxton may be the only person in Laine's small friend group that knows the truth about her and Lysander's parents, and their past. Not to mention their real last name... Anyway, Laine has been in denial for what feels (aka has been) years, and now she finally— FINALLY— admits that she might have some romantic feelings for him. Laine says she realized it after the Dare, but the when doesn't matter here— what matters is that she likes him— and Paxton likes her back! In fact, Caishen is pretty sure that he's liked Laine since their third year— that dude, bless his heart, has been waiting three years for Laine to realize, or even just admit, how she truly feels about him. That, my friend, is some commitment right there! Caishen, as much as she loves Laine and wants to protect her, has to admire Paxton for that. I mean, three years in the friendzone?! If he were any other guy, surely he would've given up on her by now. But this is Paxton freaking Jones that we're talking about, and Caishen knows for a fact how stubborn Pax can be. Caishen only found out about his feelings for Laine shortly after Laine told her about his feelings for him, when the trio of friends (plus Laine's twin brother, Lysander, of course) met up in Diagon Alley before they left for Hogwarts last September. Paxton asked— no, begged Caishen to keep it a secret. Naturally, being the amazing friend she is, Caishen agreed to keep his secret... well, secret! She was already keeping Laine's feelings a secret from Paxton (the best friend code, my friend— it explains it all), so what was one more? Besides, it was fun playing matchmaker, no matter how oblivious these two idiots are. (Plus, Cai loves to cause chaos— she's Hogwarts' resident bad girl for a reason, you know!) But what Caishen can't understand, however, is HOW THE FUCK HAVE THESE TWO HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR. LIKE, SERIOUSLY. THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY MADE FOR EACH OTHER, SO WHY DON'T THEY JUST FUCKING KISS ALREADY—

Ahem. Anyway, on with the story...)

Face red, Laine smacked Caishen in the arm, the girl still snorting with delightful humor. Meanwhile, Paxton turned to walk away.

"Aight, I'm out—" He said, but Laine silently grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back towards her. Paxton sighed but did as Laine asked.

Catching Caishen's eye, Paxton glared at her and signed Ha ha, good one, Cai. What dark secret of mine are you going to spill next?

Caishen, after composing herself a bit, merely signed back, Just the obvious ones, though she signed "obvious" wrong, so instead she had signed, Just the otter ones.

Grinning, Paxton poked some fun at her and signed, I do love otters, but that isn't exactly a dark secret of mine. If anything, it isn't much of a secret at all, unlike my other secret.

At that, Caishen raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Paxton tells jokes eighty percent of the time, but it isn't that hard to notice that sometimes Paxton jokes around to hide his feelings, especially when both Caishen and Laine have known him for this long. Caishen was about to sign something back when Laine groaned loudly, making the two turn their heads towards her in confusion.

"What the hell are you two going on about?" She asked, an eyebrow raised suspiciously. Caishen smirked a little, wondering if Laine was jealous that she had secret conversations with Laine's crush in sign language. Paxton grinned mischievously.

"Oh, Caishen was just threatening to expose my deep, obsessive love for..." Paxton paused dramatically and looked Laine right in the eyes, blue and dark brown clashing in a mix of colors. Laine hung onto his every word, "....otters." He explained with a wide grin. "You know, the usual stuff."

Caishen sighed, rubbing her forehead. So. Fucking. OBLIVIOUS.

"Uh huh," Laine sassed, glancing at Caishen suspiciously. Caishen merely shrugged in response. She was just as confused as Laine was, not gonna lie. "Well, anyway, are we gonna go, or what? Every second standing here is another second wasted!"

Paxton chuckled at Laine but listened nonetheless, the tall boy leading the way to the library. Laine somehow managed to keep up with him, despite their height and their size difference. Caishen, however, somewhat struggled to keep up.

"Slow— down— you— two!" She snapped, catching up with them. Between Paxton's long legs from being so freaking tall and Laine being small and fast because of how much that girl worked out, Caishen didn't stand a chance. They slowed down a little so Caishen could catch up with them, trying to hide their laughter and failing miserably.

Caishen rolled her eyes at them. "Yeah, yeah, go ahead and laugh, you two. Seriously, I swear, you guys are, like, Olympic medalists when it comes to walking or something..."

Laine laughed at that. "Okay, little miss party girl. So what if we work out a little? It paid off, didn't it?" She flexed her muscles and winked playfully.

"I don't work out," Paxton shrugged. "I'm just tall."

"Well, I know that, dingus." Laine bumped her shoulder into Paxton's arm, making him laugh again. "You've clearly made that known, Tall Guy."

Paxton scoffed as the trip turned the corner, heading towards the library. "Okay, shortie." He teased her.

Laine looked furious, but if she was, she didn't say anything. Caishen knew how much Laine hated her height, but she also knew that sometimes— and that's a big sometimes— she doesnt mind when Paxton teases her about it.

The group of friend walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Caishen suddenly blurted, "I have an idea,"

Laine raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh? Do you, now?" She shoved her shoulder against Caisen's teasingly, and this time it was something she could actually do, given that her and Caishen only had about a couple inches difference in height. "No offense, Cai, but we both know that your ideas are never the greatest."

Caishen gasped in mock surprise. "How dare you!"

Paxton and Laine cackled with Caishen for a good minute before Caishen said, "But hey, at least my ideas don't end up with certain people being in the Hospital Wing for three months," she pointed out, referring to the Dare. She glanced over at her friends, trying to clear the air.

Of course, as Laine said earlier, not all of Caishen's ideas were the greatest...

(But hey, she had a good reason this time, right?)

"Yeah... that's true," Laine said, glancing at Paxton pointedly. It was hard to tell what was underneath that intense gaze of hers. Paxton rubbed the back of his neck, looking the other way. He refused to meet Laine's eyes. Laine looked away after a minute before looking back over at Caishen. "Seriously, though. I do not trust anything that you come up with. No offense,"

"None taken," Caishen shrugged, glad to divert the subject away from her failed attempt at patching things up between Laine and Paxton. (more on the Dare and the Hospital Wing thing later, pinky promise) "But trust me, this idea..." she whistled. "You're gonna like it, I promise you."

"No offense, Caishen, but I agree with Lainey." Paxton admitted.

"Don't call me Lainey, Paxton, how many times do I have to tell you—"

"Again, none taken." Caishen smiled slightly. "Now, do you guys want to hear my idea, or not?"

Laine and Paxton glanced at each other for a brief moment before Paxton shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Sure, why not?" Laine smiled. "What's the worse that could happen, anyway?"

At those words, Paxton gave Laine a look, but she chose to ignore it.

Sighing in defeat, Paxton looked back at Caishen. "Shoot. What's your brilliant idea, Cai?" He asked, grinning.

"Before I tell you, you have to swear to me that you won't back out." Caishen said. "You have to be in. You have to be all in," She said, looking dead serious. "So... are you in, or are you out?"

Laine and Paxton glanced at each other, smirking. "We're in," they said in unison.

They didn't even have to think about it. They trust Caishen.

Big mistake.

The three of them were about to enter the library where Laine's brother and their other two friends were probably waiting for their study session, but they stopped right outside of the entrance.

Hands on her hips, Caishen smirked mischievously, her eyes glinting with the urge to stir up trouble. This made Laine freeze. She knew that look.

Putting the pieces together, Laine realized what Cai was going to say even before she said it, and she instantly knew that she and Paxton were in for a lot of trouble...

"Tonight. Ravenclaw common room. Drinks. Food. And most of all," Caishen paused for dramatic affect, and Paxton squirmed under her gaze. "Fun!"

What Laine Brooks doesn't know, however, is just how much trouble Caishen Niu can cause... and Paxton Jones?

He has no idea what he just got himself into.

"We're throwing a party, bitches!"

And so, the craziest night of their lives, and the most wild party to ever be thrown at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, begins...

[END OF PROLOGUE]

TIGGS SPEAKS!
you guys have no idea how excited i am about this :0
sorry that this took forever, i've been procrastinating. but seriously, i love them so much already. the rest of the characters will makes their grand entrances in chapter one and two :D i just thought that I would start things off with this somehow iconic trio. let me know if i need to change anything please! also, can you guess what that stuff with "the Dare" was all about? 👀👀 hint hint: Laine said something about it...
i am SO READY for the chaos to begin, what about you guys?
quick question: if your OCs got drunk, how would they act? unless they don't drink, then I don't really need to know— but how would they handle being the sober friend/having to take care of a bunch of drunk and/or hungover people?

well, till next time, my magical friends!