&you see, but you'll never know, Tag+Anyone

[dorcas k. meadowes]

mask (Silver instead of gold)
Back view
Front view
hair

It saw fit to be an interesting evening. That much, most everyone knew in advance. The furor of students attempting to figure out what their peers were attending as, who would be where-and with whom, had swamped Hogwarts for weeks. The month of October saw fit to offer spectacular things. Discarding the typical Halloween Feast, the school had orchestrated an event to occur on the saturday night before the day. A costume'd party, of course--which added to the intrigue, added to the fun. Those who were attending in disguise were aplenty-and among their numbers were the three girls in Gryffindor whom had their own set of plans.

"This is nothing short of madness," Cass asserted flatly, once again looking at the three grecian costumes spread out on a bed. It had been a characteristic complaint, ever since the planning (of which she, one might note, had instigated in the first place). Strips of white, accented here and there with green, blue and purple, depending on the outfit, seemed hardly more than that. Strips.

Having bathed and coerced her hair into elegant obedience, Dorcas Meadowes presented a rather different picture than normal. The blonde (or even brunette) locks had been altered into burnished auburn waves. Straighter at the top, made thus by the weight of her long hair, and wavier to the middle and tips, it wasn't an unfamiliar style, let loose to hang about her shoulders. Less common, though, was the way that the vast expanse of the girl's skin seemed to gleam. A dusting of shimmery silver something had been affixed with a sticking charm, to prevent superfluous shedding. It was only when the scent-an alluring cinnamon-had finally baffled the (normally) redheaded girl enough that Lily saw fit to lean forward and, while Cass was working on the intricacies of a disillusionment spell (one must only appear to be in heels when one was nearly six feet tall on a short day, after all-particularly if disguise was the goal) licked Cassie's shoulder.
"Edible body glitter? Did you know this was edible?"

For her part, affronted by the accusation, Cass's green-grey eyes rolled. She had remarked that she was hardly that foolish (why make one's self dessert, after all?) but only then did natural caution sink in. The label, of course, identified it as--well, exactly what Lily had suspected. And the sticking charm had rendered it good and steady against the tallest girl's skin. A passing problem, Cass thought, pushing her hair back, now satisfied with the appearance that she was in four inch heels (which would have put her normal height around a somewhat more average five-foot, eight). The last thing that she had to do was don the contraption of devilry.
What, optimistically, might have been "yards" of white cloth (and in practicality, hardly offered so much coverage) was finally affixed-again, with sticking charms. Giving the shoulderless nature of the outfit, one couldn't much blame her. It was, though, her wand that was the joy of her outfit. Strapped to the length of wood that had become a bow, the girl slung the longbow over her shoulder.
Unlike a number of other silly chits, it seemed that she wouldn't so easily forsake her best defense.

And then-after what felt like hours of preparation, the three girls were finished. Each routine had been different, and each result had been unique.
For her part, Cass's outfit was…well, passingly comfortable. Cloth fell tightly enough against her waist and upper thighs that she wasn't too concerned about inadvertently showing more than she wished. The division of the skirt into some feminine version of a loincloth, though, meant that the long length of her legs was freely exposed with every step she took. The bare lower back-and, had she mentioned, midriff!?-was a touch more uncomfortable, given that all that secured the cloth around her bust was an elegantly wrought halter clasp about her neck. It was the bow and quiver affixed to her shoulder that lent the first graces of unapproachableness to the girl's costume.
In what, before, had been a meeting of blonde, red, and brunette had turned into..
Well, blonde red and brunette. The order and height had changed between them, though, as it seemed the three girls were content to step out in the guise of goddesses of the Greek Pantheon.
For her part, Cass couldn't have been happier to settle with the goddess of the hunt, Artemis.

Glancing at the clock-nearly a full fifteen minutes past when the great hall was meant to have opened, she smiled easily. Better late than early. Most of the students would have vacated the common room and the halls by now, rendering the three gryffindor girls less identifiable. Even so, there was one accessory yet to acquire.
Descending as a group to the commonroom, it was Matt Finnegan that was waiting for them. How obliging. Of course he matched the scheme of the evening, although only the four of them might have been able to identify exactly who he was going as.

Lily, with a rather twisted sense of humor, had told him to say that he was Alpheus-the river god who had attempted to catch the goddess Artemis, realizing his love would always be unreciprocated. At least the boy hadn't shown the initiative to figure out exactly who that god had been, Cass privately concluded.

More green-than-grey eyes, the only feature that she hadn't seen fit to try to alter, peered out from the silver and blue makings of the mask that hid her features from forehead to cheekbone. Likewise concealed, the other girls were as difficult to identify even as it seemed Matt himself eschewed the disguise. It was vexing, but frankly-beneficial, in a sense. Who would have thought that Cass Meadowes, never you mind Lily and Alice alongside, would attend the Masquerade with Matt Finnegan? Entering as a group would cement the association, and even later in the evening, the similarities of outfits would serve them all, well.
At least, the girls. What Matt got out of this, Cass still hadn't concluded.

Still-the walk down to the great hall served to be both amusing (stragglers scrambling not to get caught, and the ever preemptive students using the nooks behind the armor statues to discover one another) and comforting. Growing more secure with the abnormal amount of skin revealed, Cassie Meadowes was, by the time they broached the territory of the Great Hall, a vast deal more relaxed with the nonsense that was undoubtably going to occur. Entering and veering off to the side, the girl turned her gaze to the group she had entered with, before laughing-excitement, gleaming in her eyes.
"And if this doesn't work to hide the truth, then I determine that only a blatant act of disinterest for blokes will," she asserted, humor thick in the voice that was softer than normal, less sharp than was typical.
Cass Meadowes had, indeed, pulled out all the stops. But what was surprising in that? It was the last October of her school career, and enjoying the opportunity was the priority of the evening.

..What constituted enjoyment, though, might serve to be hastily redefined in the near future.

Notes: Opening for interaction for Lily, Alice, Matt, Cass, and a few others who are involved in nefarious plots-- & any other who want to come join the fun! If you want to have your character tossed into the scene I created here, feel free--if you want to create your own thread for more individual interaction with another for your own plots, that's also perfectly alright.

THE HALLOWEEN EVENT HAS BEGUN.

[lily m. evans]

lily's.
cass'.
alice's.

Roughly half of any given conversation taking place in Hogwarts were spoken in whispers and wonder and secret as plans were made for the Halloween ball. It seemed impossible for any student to concentrate on anything other than their preparations, Lily mused, and she should know; she'd ended four different tutoring sessions with four different students early, because they had not been paying any attention.

Of course, she didn't particularly blame them -- who, really, could? -- but it still bothered her that such an event had overtaken every thought and action. Had it done the same to her?

She considered, and decided that it hadn't. Sure, she had chosen her costume based on the rantings of one Sirius Black (”Unfortunately I have no desire to show you my legs.” “...Flash them to Potter in exchange for soppy poetry?” “What do I want with soppy poetry?” “Loo roll.” “Good point. Touché.” “So you'll think about it.” “Unfortunately not.”), and had bad plans in mind for that night thanks to Cass Meadowes (” Or we could be drunk. Being drunk means I can't be held responsible for what I did.” “No worries, I'm willing to sacrifice you on the pagan alter of Potter to score my own disappearance...” “Well, Black has decided he's going to drug me to have sex with Potter. So I can just blame that, really.” “Excellent! Wait, what?!” “It's a bit of a long story. Basically, to get Potter to leave Black and the rest alone, he needs me to have sex with Potter... and the only way he can get me to do that is by drugging me.” “Get you drunk. Make out. Leave you behind for Potter. Make my grand escape.”), but in all reality, she wasn't the one who couldn't concentrate on her studies.

On the day of the ball itself, it was almost impossible to have a conversation that didn't center around the ball that night. It didn't help that her sane counterparts had disappeared early in the day, Cass directly after lunch, Alice right after Cass. She had taken to the library to read a book, because that was the only place she could escape the chatter, and wiled away an hour before she gave in.

The three costumes were spread out on a bed, the three girls gathered around the bed staring down at them. "This is nothing short of madness," Cass said, causing Lily to laugh. ”When, I ask you, have we ever done anything sane, when the alternative is much more fun?” However, one could do no less than agree with Cass when staring down at the costumes. And, perhaps most surprising, was her costume and it’s complete lack of anything resembling modesty. Yes, the most important bits of her were covered – but not much else. On a day to day basis, the most revealing thing she wore was her uniform. Not because she simply wouldn’t allow herself to be caught in something that wasn’t decent; no, it was more because of her hate of being even faintly chilled that caused her to cover herself. Even during classes, warming spells were something that she frequently used.

Leaving her friends to get ready in their own time, she retreated to the bathroom for a shower.

Having bathed and smelling of strawberries (she'd sniffed her wrist after coming out of the shower, having just bought the scrub) rather than her own usual scent of just plain old soap, she emerged from the bathroom clad in the underwear that would be worn under the costume. It was, of course, basically useless considering the costume barely covered her more than the underwear would; but the layers gave her a false sense of security that she would happily cling to. It was the costume that she slipped into first, a warming spell cast on the costume as soon as it was in place. Surveying herself in a mirror, it was with a sigh that she started performing the sticking charms. If it was a possibility, she would have used a permanent sticking charm – but unfortunately, she’d just have to rely on her sense of self to keep someone from taking the costume off her. However, she wasn’t entirely sure how her drunk self would react to someone trying to get it off, since despite the times she’d been drunk before, such a thing had never happened. She’d been snogged while sober, of course, but she tended to do her drinking amongst friends because her drunk self was sloppily sentimental, slightly flamboyant, and very happy.

Her drunk self was friends with everyone, cutting away the wall she held up between herself and everyone who she wasn’t close with.

With the costume in place, she turned her attention to her hair and eyes. The red and the green would have to go if she wanted to go unnoticed for any length of time. Drying her hair with a charm and then changing the color of both her hair and eyebrows to a light brown, she smiled. Light enough that it wouldn't do battle with her pale skin, but still brown enough that there was no red showing through. It was a dull color, but good enough for her. She'd end up attracting enough attention without the need for an eye-catching hair color. Her eyes changed to a golden brown that would do better with the hair than her original thought of chocolate brown, she stared at her reflection.

The freckles would have to be the next to go. She covered them with magic, since she wasn't about to plaster makeup on her face and arms, and considered herself. Most of her face would be covered by the mask, and with her lips painted a rose color that she never would have used otherwise, it was as disguised as she could make it without altering something important. Growing her hair down to her hips, she shook her head to accustom herself to the much added weight. Styling her hair was a simple thing, letting it wave and curl wildly down over her shoulders and back. Unfortunately, she noted, it didn’t cover her stomach despite its length. But it would definitely go a long way toward keeping her warm, and her back definitely was covered. It was while she was walking around the room to accustom herself to being practically naked that the scent of cinnamon caught her attention.

Deciding that the center of the scent was Cass, she walked up behind her friend and licked her shoulder. After a moment, she snickered. "Edible body glitter? Did you know this was edible?" Though Cass rolled her eyes, it only took a glance at the bottle to ascertain that it was. That, she decided, was something that would possibly get the girl in trouble later in the night. Slipping into the flat sandals, with straps matching the ones on her costume, she sat on her bed and let out a sigh.

She was done.

It wasn’t long before all three were finished, fifteen minutes late to the ball, but happy in the knowledge that they would make an entrance. Besides, who wanted to be early to such a gathering? With Matt Finnegan in tow – and hadn’t that been a stroke of genius? – they descended to the Great Hall together.

They were, she mused, a definite sight to see. They were actually all around the same height, with she and Cass in flats and Alice in heels. Their hair was still brown and red and blonde, though they had swapped, and the costumes they were each wearing just became slightly more revealing as you went down the line.

Her, with only the more important bits covered. Cass, with the bra-like piece slightly longer, a strip of fabric covering her stomach, the loincloth not cut all the way to the strap of the underwear, but instead stopping mid-thigh. And Alice, with no flashes of leg and her stomach almost completely hidden from view.

The virgin goddesses. Such a thing was laughable.

Artemis, Hestia – and herself, playing the part of Athena.

The goddess of warfare and inspiration, courage and skill, weaving and strategy. A goddess who disliked fighting without purpose, preferring to use words to settle problems, encouraging fighting when it was the last choice available. She was rarely cruel, and only with reason.

Taking on another’s child as her own.

It was a goddess she was quite happy to be, for the night.

Reaching the Great Hall, the four of them moved to the side of the doors, Cass already laughing. "And if this doesn't work to hide the truth, then I determine that only a blatant act of disinterest for blokes will," she said, and Lily grinned at her. ”We’ll find each other eventually, head up to the party in the common room?” Despite it being a question, it was more of a statement than anything. It had been decided. Giving Matt a kiss on the cheek for being a good sport and bringing them down – not to mention the costume he had donned for them – she turned her attention instead to the crowds of people. Some were easy to identify, some harder, while some were completely covered from head to foot in fabric.

It was going to be a glorious night.

[remus j. lupin]

Mask
Costume | Coat

Looking at himself questionably in the mirror, Remus turned around a few times as he examined the costume he had chosen for the ball. He was desperately trying to come up with a logical answer why he had decided to go to this ball. There was the promise of anonimnity which was it's main attraction. There was another reason though, one that tingled in the back of his mind, but he didn't want to acknowledge. Acknowledging it would mean that Padfoot and Prongs were successful in their influences and Remus was a little wary what would come of admitting that to them. There was indeed a part of Remus dreading going down there and dancing--Merlin's beard, do I even know how to dance?--but there was also a part of Remus that was excited at the prospect of no one knowing who he was. He could do or act in anyway he wanted. No one would know it was him. That prospect of trying to just 'relax and be yourself, they'll all love you' that the Marauders were always trying to convince him of was now burning in his mind as a very real thing. He could just be himself, and no one will know the better. Hell, they might even like him.

Remus fitted the mask across his eyes, a little surprised at how vibrantly bright blue they looked peering out from the golden mask. Surely no one would believe he was the bookworm Gryffindor prefect that most students saw him as. Pleased with his costume and mask, though he was convinced the pants were more something Sirius would pick as they were a little too fitted for Remus' liking, Remus quickly went over to Sirius' bedside table and extracted a flask. Taking a quick nip of the burning firewhiskey 'for courage' as the others would tell him, Remus quickly exited the dormortory and common room before he could be noticed. He was desperate to keep the illusion of no one knowing it was him. After all, it was the only thing keeping him moving forward at this point.

Checking his vest and coat, and making sure the tall black boots that covered most of his shins looked fine, Remus entered the Great Hall. It seemed the students had been looking for an excuse to let loose because he had never expected so many people here and dressed up. Not having told the other Marauders he would be here, he silently wondered if any of them would show up. He would think James of all of them would be the most interested, a chance at Lily without her knowing who he was. Then again, he could just be waiting until the after party in the common room. Remus walked farther into the Great Hall, once again wondering why he was even here. Could he really go through with this? Have no boundaries and just be himself? It seemed like such a daunting task to him. He would just have to throw himself into the fray. Surely once he was already dancing or talking with one of the mask girls he would loosen up and be able to just go with it.

Grabbing a glass of the punch and quickly finishing it, he looked around the large expanse of the room for someone that might be a good candidate to talk to. Looking towards the doors as they opened to allow more student in, he saw a group of three girls dressed in white, none of whom he could really make out their identities. Well, they didn't look like they had come with a date which was promising. He weaved his way through the crowd until he reached them. Honestly, he had no idea which one to talk to. Could he just talk to all three? Was that legal? Why not, right? He wasn't supposed to be the shy reserved Remus tonight, might as well. Bowing to them with a smile slightly reminiscent of James or Sirius he straightened up and looked at the three of them now that he was closer. Their costumes honestly left nothing to the imagination, especially the brunette's. Repressing a bit of a blush at the amount skin showing and ultimately where his thoughts had meandered off to, Remus continued in his mad adventure.

"Good evening ladies. How are you all tonight?" He said smoothly, surprised by the confidence in his voice. Perhaps he really did spend to much time with the Marauders. Oh well, at least he knew he could do this, and that knowledge assured him this would be a good night.

[alice o. meadowes]

hair. (minus the stupid strand in the middle of her forehead.)
mask.
shoe.

Despite how the brunette appeared to dread the Halloween Ball, she, too had found herself slipping wordlessly from the masses. She had departed even before Lily, who she was sure had her own agenda for the night. It would seem, Alice mused, heading up the steps to the dorm, that this could be more interesting than we know. It had only just occurred to her that the girls would split into different directions as soon as they got there, Alice with no real direction, Lily to execute whatever she had planned, and Cass with her own set of plans. She had no responsibilities tonight, in fact, she had no identity and she planned to keep it that way by adopting persona of her choice.

However, she had not gotten so far as to choose that persona. Cass had gone through all the trouble of picking out three Grecian Goddesses to model themselves after, and while Alice appreciated the sentiment and how kind Cass and Lily were to match her goddess so flawlessly to her personality, she had chosen to immediately disregard the description she was given. The goddess Hestia, although once highly regarded, required some research if you were to know even a little about her. Goddess of Hearth and Home, had no real story, but had a reputation for being the home-body, swore an oath not to marry (she figured this was the selling point for Cassie’s selection), was a protector of sorts, and was extremely hospitable. Alice was honored and humbled by the fact that her dear friends believed that she shared these qualities with the modest Goddess, but to adhere to Hestia’s reputation would not be conducive to a good time. Hestia was also known for being the forgotten goddess, so, if looked at the right way, Alice wasn’t so wrong in her interpretation at all.

Reaching the Common Room at this time was ideal, but it was the leaving that would be a little more challenging. If the three girls emerged from the Girls’ dorm to converge in the Common Room at the same time as everyone else, there was already done before it had even begun. Taking one breath for strength, Alice walked across the common room and up the steps, smiling briefly to herself as she realized how very usual this entire situation was, even in spite of the fact that Halloween Balls only happened once a year, and they weren’t always Masquerades. The usualness existed in the execution of it all: Cass laid down the idea, and a team that worked all too well together crafted the vision into a reality. Of course, in this particular case and Alice had yet to work out the finer details of her own night, let alone costume. In fact, Alice hadn’t still had not seen her costume, but she imagined Cassie would keep her as covered as possible, which was no problem, in her opinion.

Pushing the door open, Alice found only Cass who was eyeballing the three dresses. Even if it were not for the fact that all of the girls were so different in shape and size, Alice would still know without asking which dress had been chosen for her. When it came to distinguishing Cass’ dress from Lily’s, anyone’s guess was just as good as hers. Standing side by side with her sister, she angled her head in examination of the fabrics. “You’re not covering much either way,” she said thoughtfully with a shrug, as Cass were still debating between the two skimpier bits of fabric. Lily joined them briefly before Alice scooped up her own dress and turned to pull out the remaining costume items from her trunk. Heels seemed the only option, as Alice’s coordination relied on being, well, elevated and it was a necessary factor to her disguise. Cass had given her a color scheme, and Alice had followed through, with a pair of five inch gold heels and a predominantly white mask with golden trim and embellishments. The mask was very much her, she thought, the image of quiet elegance and mystery that was simply a given with a mask.

When Lily finally emerged from the bathroom, they switched places and Alice hurried in to scrub herself into a scent of French Vanilla, opting for a sweeter scent than Cassie and a less... fruity scent than Lily. She emerged, her hair dripping and heavy, she would not do as Lily had done with any hair lengthening charms. Drying her hair magically, first, because there was no more time to waste, Alice stared at herself in the mirror. Initially, Alice probably—no, definitely—had the least interest of three girls in going to this masquerade, and yet she would go probably the furthest lengths not to be recognized. She wished not to be tied down by everyone’s general conception of her. She wished not be sought out by Frank or recognized by any of her housemates, excluding the obvious three who were in on the plan.

So, the deep brown flag of hair, the only facet of her appearance she took any exaggerated measures to care for, was the first to go. With a flick of her wand, her brown was replaced by the blonde hue Cassie had inherited naturally. She grimaced at her first mistake, not only because it did not suit her at all but because she was no longer the antithesis of Christine Meadowes image, but something the woman would be proud to call her daughter, and that was not the persona she was looking for. Quickly trading the blonde for a subtler, golden brown, not unlike that of honey, she smiled at herself, nearly unrecognizable as it was. It was the eyes she would conceal next, not because they stood out like Cass’ pair of changing blue-grays or Lily’s emerald green, but because there was someone who just might recognize her particular brand of brown. The brown irises immediately replaced by a deep blue. She pulled the dress on over her head,
( awkwardly untangling herself from the strips that were to cover her gracious amount of bust) before doing her hair, clipping and curling appropriately before moving onto her make-up, curling her lashes, taking a medium-gray shadow paired a bit eyeliner to the lids, and finishing with a clear gloss to her already pink lips. With a clever sticking charm, she placed the mask on her face, put on her shoes, and finally emerged from the bathroom, finished, pleased, and on time for the girls to make their late, but grand, entrance with Matthew Finnegan in tow, who had earned an affectionately touch on the arm, a show of gratitude for him putting up with and aiding their antics.

It did not take long for the three to steal the attention, even if only for a moment and because the flash of white was more skin than fabric. They were approached before the taller girls had even began to make a scene or really flaunt themselves, but Alice would take advantage of the opportunity. She figured she was doing both girls a favor by getting out of their way before things really picked up. When asked how she was, she did not speak, but looked with air of disinterest to her companions on either side of her, waiting for their answers. Boldly stepping forward, Alice placed a delicate hand on the bloke’s chest before using her head to gesture somewhere vaguely behind him. “I’d be better if you would assure me I was beauty enough for you,” she murmured for only his ears, careful to elevate the pitch of her voice enough to add a measure of innocence to her appearance which held very little of it. It was still quite the effort because five additional inches really didn’t do too much when you started at from Alice’s meager stature of five feet and two inches. There were no rules tonight, no identities to judge by, and nothing she could be held accountable for.

[dorcas k. meadowes]

There was something to be said about how easily it had been done to lose Matt in the melee. Glancing over her shoulder for the younger bloke that should have been right there, Cass was half surprised to find that he had gone and gotten himself misplaced. It either spoke of a perilously short attention span on his quarter, or that a synchronized effort from the three girls was near unbeatable. Sending a laughing look to Alice at the boy's disappearance, she shrugged at Lily. "Lose each other when we choose to, find each other when we want to. No bets on if I'm sticking 'round for the common room thing-that's a little too much, even for me--and you too, if Finnegan's turned into a lovelorn fool from one kiss of yours. We've already lost him. Perhaps you've simply stunned him into submission? Well played."

It was perhaps an expression of the level of comfort that Cass had attained, that even despite feeling ridiculously exposed, she had managed to relax. The muscles, under fair skin that was still somewhat more tanned than normal, weren't a rippling show of tension. Instead, the current-redhead's hip cocked out slightly to bump into the current-brunette's, leaning over to rest her cheek on Lily's (bare) shoulder. Reaching up to kiss her friend's cheek in a rather uncharacteristic display of affection, the younger girl just laughed. A long arm wrapped around Lily's waist, even as her greenish eyes turned to the hearth goddess at her side.
"Somehow, I feel as if we've taken some extreme liberties with our interpretations. Pray it doesn't get drafty in here, lest we're forced to find some gallant soul willing to lend us a layer or two. I tremble at the price for such things."

Clearly this required liquor. Lots of liquor. Putting stock in her contemporaries, Cass surmised that the punch would likely, already be tainted with the stuff. No amount of supervision from the professors could hope to beat out a host of unruly and determined students-particularly with mischief on the mind. That meant, then, that the punch bowl was going to be her intended destination, Lily in tow. After all, there was a challenge that had to be met. And a drunken Evans to drag out, but no one needed to know that such a thing was a specific goal. Let them believe it was merely a byproduct of some other plan for fun. It was so much easier-and much less sinister-to deal with.
Attempting to find the damn thing though, was certainly easier said than done. Considering a bulk of the mature student population had already made their appearance (arriving late did have some detractions, after all) trying to spot the damn bowls littered throughout the Great Hall was a challenge in and of itself. Tables were strewn about for student use, but that wasn't it either--it was only upon spotting the punch bowl, though, that the bloke with the dark blue coat became evident--and even more so, as his longer steps carried him effortlessly towards the trio. Interesting, Cass thought as she tilted her head to the side in quiet speculation.

A slow smile crept over her previously contemplative features, even as she settled more firmly against Lily's side. They had themselves a brave one, it seemed. A slender brow arched over the silver edged mask, observing his almost impossible confidence. If he had been taller, the Meadowes girl would have cut and run-it was all too reminiscent of two other rather vexing blokes that she was hoping not to encounter. Not just yet.
Slicing a sharp glance to her other side as Alice edged forward, her dainty figure cutting an elegant picture against the deep color of the chap's coat, Cass couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. And hearing. Even in the land of giants, her sister had found her feet without any problem. It didn't come as a surprise, frankly, but such boldness wasn't really characteristic…but, then, wasn't that the point? It was a masquerade, Dorcas thought, embracing the notion. She could be whomever she wished.

Straightening away from Lily's shoulder, hand falling back to her side after trailing a delicate touch against her friend's back, Cass's green eyes seemed to laugh even as her lips curved in subtle greeting. "Much better now that it seems we aren't going to be let to wither, neglected." She didn't take a step forward, didn't land herself along Alice's side, but the tallest of the three girls didn't need to-she stood eye to eye with the bloke easily enough as it was. "Your kindness is appreciated and shan't go unrewarded."
Now wasn't that the devil of a thing to say--what price it would cost any of them, Cass only wondered fleetingly. It was all in fun, after all.
No one would ever know.

[lily m. evans]

"Lose each other when we choose to, find each other when we want to. No bets on if I'm sticking 'round for the common room thing-that's a little too much, even for me--and you too, if Finnegan's turned into a lovelorn fool from one kiss of yours. We've already lost him. Perhaps you've simply stunned him into submission? Well played." Lily laughed at Cass’ response, unsurprised at the fact that her friends had relaxed so much. Perhaps, she thought fleetingly, they had relaxed rather rapidly, but the fact that they were able to relax at all was, really, something to rejoice. As the year went on, the amount of time they had to relax as totally would decrease – and by the time the school year came to an end, and they graduated, she could only wonder how often she’d have Casssie’s hip bumping against her own, her cheek on her shoulder, kissing her cheek. Laughing, as the three of them shared a moment, together. No matter how they looked or the crowds around them, they would be identifiable to each other simply by the movements. They knew each other too well to be mistaken. ”If you’re not at the common room, who can I trust to keep me safe? Sticking charms can, after all, only go so far.” She grinned. "Besides, if you're not there, I can't be expected to get drunk. It's only fair if you're along for the ride. More fun that way, too."

Cass wrapped her arm around her waist, and Lily returned the gesture by slinging her arm over taller girl’s shoulder. "Somehow, I feel as if we've taken some extreme liberties with our interpretations. Pray it doesn't get drafty in here, lest we're forced to find some gallant soul willing to lend us a layer or two. I tremble at the price for such things." The comment was directed at Alice, though she couldn’t help but laugh. ”To be fair,” she murmured, ”Alice’s offers the most coverage.” Which was very much true. Alice's back was exposed, Cass' midriff covered in a bit of sheer cloth, and her -- well, her outfit was nothing more than a bra and glorified underwear.

And then Cass was leading her away, toward what she surmised, after a moment, was the punch. They had just managed to get one in their sights when Cass stopped, her head tilting. It was then Lily realized just what had stopped her.

So help her, if the man bowing to them was a Gryffindor boy, bad things would happen. And when he bowed, smiling, the gesture reminded her of the two banes of her existence – but reminding her of it, wasn’t enough. Caution was thrown to the wind, because really, anyone could be charming with a mask on. She wouldn’t stop relaxing, even if it turned out to be Potter or Black. She’d already planned to cause a scene by her attire. "Good evening ladies. How are you all tonight?" The voice, she decided, lacked the texture that Potter’s had. She was, admittedly, finely tuned to the voice of her tormenter after years of avoiding him. Falling back on instincts, it wasn’t Potter… and if it was Black, well, that wasn’t her concern. He was Cass’ problem.

Though, she mused, if it was Potter or Black, they were certainly going to have more than they could handle. Alice stepped forward first, hand brushing the man’s chest, “I’d be better if you would assure me I was beauty enough for you.” Holding back the snicker at such a statement coming from the mouth of Alice – the one everyone considered to be the innocent, of the three – she was only mildly surprised when Cass then straightened from her shoulder, stepping forward as her twin had done. Hand resting against Alice’s back, she too spoke. "Much better now that it seems we aren't going to be let to wither, neglected." She paused, and Lily took the opportunity to step forward, standing on the other side of Alice, sufficiently flanking her. [i]”Your kindness is appreciated and shan't go unrewarded." And, with that, they were all damned. Though there were the few people who wouldn’t demand a reward, upon figuring out just who three were, but if it were one of the boys – one of the ones who knew them – the price would be large.

And, with a low laugh, the corner of her lips quirked up and her voice pitched low. ”We can’t have you wandering off and telling people we left you unsatisfied,” another low laugh, ”because then, why, you might wander off and have others thinking poorly of us.” Smiling now, she brushed her fingers down Alice’s arm, before going on. ”And we can’t have that, can we?”

Bless whoever this poor bloke was.

And, she imagined, this flirtation would end soon enough, and she’d be able to acquire some of the punch. It was sure to have been spiked, and, well, liquor was only part of the plan.

[remus j. lupin]

“I’d be better if you would assure me I was beauty enough for you,”

Remus repressed the blush that crept into his usually pale complexion as the first of the three and most modest of the bunch approached him, placing a hand on his chest and speaking softly to him. Perhaps this had been a bad idea. He wasn't nearly as good at keeping his head as Sirius and James were, could he even pull this off? He had never really been that good of an actor, so even the thought of slipping into character and being someone else was a little daunting. But he had been successful in actually talking to the three girls, he had to keep going with the charade for now. At least the mask offered him some comfort, the wouldn't know who he was and, unless there was a need, they wouldn't find out who he was. Blissful ignorance did indeed seem to be his blessing at this point, protecting both his own identity and allowing him to be oblivious to the identities of the three figures in front of him. Well, two in front of him, one...on him.

"Much better now that it seems we aren't going to be let to wither, neglected. Your kindness is appreciated and shan't go unrewarded."

Steeling himself, he looked into the green eyes of the taller of the three. Her looks were faintly reminiscent of Lily's but...not quite. He had heard James talk for hours an hours about the different aspects of Lily Evans from her hair to her eyes to her face to, well, you can leave the rest to your imagination. Remus was fairly confident that though this one looked similar, it wasn't Lily. Which was a little disappointing to him as at least with Lily he'd feel a little less silly and a lot more comfortable about all of this. "Who could let three beautiful ladies like yourselves go neglected? Surely not I." Feeling a wave of bravery strike him, Remus took the hand of the green eyed girl and kissed the top of her it affectionately before straightening up again. Now once again close to the first girl, he placed his hand gently in the small of the girl's back who was currently touching his chest. "Your company and affections are all the reward I need." he gave all three of them a bright smile, more to settle his own nerves than anything else. He wasn't sure if these girls had any anxieties, they seemed so confident and in control and that perhaps made him all the more nervous.

"We can’t have you wandering off and telling people we left you unsatisfied, because then, why, you might wander off and have others thinking poorly of us. And we can’t have that, can we?"

Now with two of the three girls closer to him than he had intended, Remus was seriously starting to question his intelligence in approaching the three women. Surely he should have just approached a single, solitary girl in need of a dance partner. Not three very attractive ones that seemed determined to turn him into a puddle of babbling goo. Obviously James and Sirius' pep talks throughout the years were not helping him any now. Too determined to turn back from the situation, Remus smiled at them again, willing himself not to show any of the anxieties floating through his system. "By what names can I call you three?" He asked curiously, hoping to be able to identify them by something other than adjectives.

Perhaps he could get comfortable with this situation after all. Surely he just needed to rid himself of the shock of it all and it would be smooth sailing from then on. Feeling a bit more confident, Remus offered his arms to the three. "May I escort you somewhere?" He asked, thinking he needed more of that punch if he were to last in the company of these three.

[alice o. meadowes]

Nodding her agreement, Alice found, as she was counting on to be true, that she would be left to herself at some point in this evening. As simple as it was to disguise her height in a pair of heels, Frank's stature was less easily concealed and a particularly blatant display of his identity in this night of anonymity. Her sister's words were assurance that the two would have their time, disguised, maybe, but for everyone else to see. Turning to grin at Lily. "Ah, don't you trust me? The radiation of my innocence is seemingly impenetrable," Alice responded, figuring that depending on the night's outcome, she, too, would excuse herself from the extension of the night's activities.

Shaking her head at Cass, she considered herself grateful for her considerations in keeping her so covered, but knew that her other two companions wouldn't have their costumes (or lack of) any other way. Lily and Cass were the masters of the art of tease, were they not? There were certainly two boys in their year who would vouch for that particular statement. "Is that supposed to make me the sacrificial lamb?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow. "I was certain your choice in dress for me was solely rooted in love." And she had been, before this bit of the conversation had started.

Alice had, without hesitation and fair calculation, responded to their approacher. She hadn't even given it much consideration, and maybe that was due to the fact that the dark was a little disorienting, the air seemed to buzzing, and her mask was allowing her to become a little too cocky. It was no secret to any of the three that Alice often dabbled in theatrics in day-to-day interaction, but this was an act of a different kind. Why would her sister and friend ever have seen such a thing? It was with this realization, as she stood there, already positioned as she was in relation to the man that the thought occurred that the distance she had leapt from her usual character might have been the undoing of both Cass and Lily.
However, his words were, very nearly, the undoing of her own ruse and possibly her first lapse from her selected character. She resisted the urge to back out of the situation and search for a head that stuck a bit too far out of the crowd. She shouldn't have had to, if Frank was here, she would have seen him--anyone would have, so he couldn't have been here, despite their plans.

Mentally shaking herself, Alice should have been less surprised that Cassie had picked up right where she had left off, standing her ground but greeting the bloke with a cool, smoothness only she could quite pull off. As Alice felt Lily's fingers trail lightly down her arm, her presently-blue eyes cast a demure glance to where she had just been touched before coming back up to meet masked-man's eyes, her subtle addition to Cass's promise. Who could even define what, exactly, that promise entailed was not present among any of them. The possibilities were beyond even Alice's imagination, she thought, as his hand fell gently placed on her one area of... expansive exposure.

Lily spoke on the three's behalf. Alice shook her head once, slowly, in either direction as a tiny smile formed her features. "We would never. The rest," she said, innocence still the subtle undertone to her slightly elevated pitch, "is up to you." She took a careful step away from him to land herself in a position where Lily was closest to him, but Cass was still the furthest. As he asked for names, Alice paused. "Hestia, if you must," she said, finding that it was suddenly rather amusing that her name actually belonged to a Ravenclaw in their year. He could take this however he wanted, but she couldn't really say that she looked anything like Hestia, then again, she couldn't say she looked anything like Alice Meadowes, either. "May I ask the same of you?" Alice asked. She didn't suspect he would so quickly out himself, but his choice in name could very well be some of an indication of who they were dealing with.

Alice looked to Cass before delicate placing a hand on one of his extended arms. She couldn't even begin to imagine the image and the questions this would arise. The three girls had shown up on the arms of one man, seemingly exchanged, and were now about to be quietly paraded on the arms of another. "We haven't made our way to the refreshments, yet," Alice said, trusting that adding "punch" to this little party would make it even more interesting than it already had the potential to be.

[sirius o. black]

The Costume (Center outfit) || The Mask (and his proverbial crown or laurels)

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It seemed to be something of a tradition over the past six and change years—for Sirius was hardly done with his seventh and had yet to be held back despite Regulus’ suggestions—that when there was a major event going on at the school Sirius was to be late. Not ‘five minutes past’ late, but sizably. So when he’d been informed that he was to work off more hours of indentured servitude with Filch, some of which were spent doing the final preparations for the party, there was little gripping from the others over going ahead. It was Sirius’ loss after all, no need to deprive all the Marauders of scantily clad girls. Though he’d argue that the loss was in not ensuring Remus was snogged silly within the first half hour. (There was little hope for that to be Peter’s case, but Sirius was fairly confident something would happen for the small boy that evening.)

After a race to the dorms after a quick bath to wash whatever rank cleaning supplies Filch gave him exclusive rights to, Sirius applied his costume and left. In all honesty he was rather proud of the result that had come via an embarrassing outburst in Muggle Studies during a lecture on Tudor era England. (Which was a sizeable amount of information for Sirius to remember truth be told. Often the class was mere a nap-time. Not that he didn’t like Alice, she just wasn’t Cass.)

The embarrassment in class however was utterly worth the way a few people actually parted before him once he made it to the party. As in stepped aside, evacuated his path—and all those other creative ways to say ‘moved’. Clearly Henry the Eighth was as popular now as he once was, no matter who wore him.

Mind you Sirius had had practice of sorts when it came to walking and acting as though he owned Hogwarts itself along with everything in it. It was practically embedded in his genetic code, and one only had to look at the way Reggie bumbled about to see that. Sirius on the other had did not bumble. He did not have an arrogance about him, but rather a confidence. Secure in the fact that, seemingly, everything was his already not something he could merely have.

If Reg was a prince then he was a bloody King and for once in his life since meeting James, Remus and Peter he got to act like it.

With a posture that drew up to his full and proper height with set shoulders, though still comfortable, Sirius watched the room with an amused smile tugging cleverly at the corners of his lips. He’d danced with a few girls already, naturally not wasting time—though he was sure none of them were Cass considering they were all shorter than her and lacked those luscious legs—and was currently guessing who was who.

The boys were hopeless, he was fairly sure he could, at most, limit who James, Remus and Peter were to say—five people each, but all in all there was not clear cut identities. The girls however were a different story and served to only make the seventh year realize just how much time he spent looking at girls, and he wasn’t talking about their faces. Recognizing a hip line here, a pair of legs there, a laugh elsewhere—it was like playing where’s Waldo only he was looking for a particular Gryffindor.

Granted it wasn’t as though he knew everyone and often he only felt he’s positively identified a small handful of girls all of whom he’d seen in less than what they were currently wearing. It was around the time his mind began making not of body parts he didn’t recognize, but clearly needed to become acquainted with, when he spotted a familiar figure.

Then again most people looked familiar—it really was amazing how much a covering of the face limited one’s ability to tell the proverbial John Doe from John Smith.

“And people say that the Beast was unloved, I’d wager three goddess beg to differ do they not?” He asked with a voice that he really shouldn’t be allowed to use outside the bedroom. Though it was naturally occurring, he’d used a charm to ensure it stayed that way in all its hushed velvety goodness. Oddly he always felt that if it were a flavour it’d be a dark chocolate…

Bowing to all three, shamelessly, beautiful girls—for that was the fact of the matter—Sirius, or rather ‘Henry’ as he was going by for the evening, smiled confidently back at all of them. The usual childish airs were gone and truth be told Sirius himself probably wouldn’t have recognized himself if faced with this evening’s version.

“I do hope you don’t mind me intruding sir,” he said eying the boy carefully. There were only a handful of boys in school with that familiar lanky frame. Though the fact he could tell that despite the layered clothing perhaps proved Sirius was a bit too good at remembering body types…

“But I have trouble accepting such obvious monopolies regarding beautiful women such as these,” He offered with a charming grin that spread from the tweaked corners of his mouth across his lips. Taking her hand and kissing the back of it politely, upholding to every bit of old fashioned wooing that his Mother had once instilled upon him. For once the backward thinking of purists had a use, and hell if he wasn’t going to take advantage of it and see how well it worked.

---

You're pick on who's hand he kissed! The girls are too radically different from usual for him to have a clue as to who they are and Remus is just...Remus. He and Sirius have this awesome sixth-sense-bromance thing going on, but since it's a party Sirius will share him for now. Hope this okay!