++Intergalactic - Beastie Boys, 1998

Well, now, don't you tell me to smile
You stick around I'll make it worth your while
My number's beyond what you can dial
Maybe it's because we're so versatile

Intergalactic, planetary, planetary, intergalactic
Another dimension, another dimension
Another dimension, another dimension...

There had been a shift in that status quo, a complicated addition to the state of the school, a new star pulsating in the sky. What was supposed to be Julian Kapur's party, supposed to be a quiet show of charity for a boy who just wanted to feel cool, had been more of a coming out party for a certain blonde who was now daily asserting her own value to the school. No one could deny that Margo Richards had made a contribution before, and she was the cause for many releases of tension in otherwise repressed young men. But in one night, she had unspooled secrets, turned an eye away from a case of drugging that perhaps should have been treated with more severity, and established herself as Queen of the Party.

Molly did not feel dethroned. She had never been keen on school parties. But there certainly was a feeling in the air, an expectation, that maybe she should feel as though there had been a coup.

Didn't you hear? Margo was Brutus. It's a rumor, so it's just gotta be true.

In truth, Molly had felt unsettled after the party, but it wasn't because Margo had firmly established a higher sense of worth in her peers. After all, Molly had only ever committed to the friendship to spite those who sought to rob the Richards girl of that value. Her earnest hope had always been for the girl to grow comfortable in who she was and blossom into her own person.

She just hadn't realized that it would take an cold war for that to happen.

She couldn't tell how aware Margo was of their silent war, though. She never could. Sometimes she thought Margo played stupid and sometimes Margo did prove to be dense as a rock, but there were also times in which strange and specific insights tumbled from those pouty lips and Molly, discerning as she was, just could not trust her third person judgement to make a call.

But something had changed. Certainly within her, certainly within her friend, certainly within their dynamic. Margo had snapped at her over nothing in Hogsmeade, had finally begun to return the favor of going off alone, and had blatantly ignored Molly's warnings at the party. Molly knew she wasn't a beacon of warmth, but she had always cared about Margo's feelings on matters of importance. Had she been foolish to assume that such a thing was supposed to be a mutual sensation? Or did Margo really think Molly didn't give a f*ck?

Because that night, Margo certainly hadn't..

Molly had avoided her friend for the rest of the Valentine's weekend, which was easy enough considering that Molly actually spent the time studying and there was no way in hell Margo would ride the waves of her success out in a library. If Margo was bothered by the distance, if she even noticed it, she said nothing. And neither did Molly. But that was, admittedly, a bit more characteristic of the brunette.

Their first class together was Astronomy, one of the few non-compulsory classes Margo had actually kept on after her OWLs. And Molly wasn't sure if it was a testament to their friendship, Margo's cluelessness, or the old cliche that old habits die hard, but the blonde dropped into the seat next to her, chatting pleasantly with Kapur's bum-buddy Peter, who had apparently walked in with her.

The task was set - star charts, no one's everyone's favorites - and the ruling that pairs would be allowed was given. Margo was already turning to tell Molly she could do the drawing if Molly told her what to draw when the amendment came. Partners of the professor's choosing.

And the prisoners were given their sentences, Ace Longbottom looking unusually less angry to be paired with Apollo Zabini. Typically she was irritated to be separated from her usual shadow, and was even more irked to end up with his twin, but, for once, the tempestuous face was devoid of emotion, and she quietly accepted the decision, picking up her books to sit next to the Slytherin. Molly did her best not to notice, not to think anything of it. Noticing had gotten her into more than enough trouble lately, not to mention thinking.

Margo was paired with Evander and the former let out an excited squeal as she bounded over towards him, having to double back to grab her things.

As any Reader who understands the concept of dramatic irony might expect, Molly Weasley was paired with Cronis Yaxley. She suspected this turn of events the moment Margo was assigned to Evander and yet she couldn't stir herself to feel surprised or vindicated by the turn of events. She took out her blank star sheet and her telescope before walking over to the Slytherin. "You want to draw or look?"

This was so completely ridiculous. Somehow the answers of their truth at Kapur's party had gotten back to Hit (the culprit being Freyja, who just couldn't help herself), and now she thought that Cronis wasn't interested in her. She was constantly joking with Evander about his response to it, too.

She didn't seemed bothered by his answer, but that was impossible, she was just being Hitame. She didn't want to show that she was hurt by it, yeah, that was it.

(Oh poor, delusional Cronis.)

At the very least he didn't have to deal with their messing around right now, because Hit had decided to not take Astronomy. He'd been dreading the pairings since it was announced that they would have to work with partners because he figured he and Evander would team up,  but he began to dread not being stuck with his brother once he learned the professor was going to make the pairs-

And once he learned his partner was Molly.

He rarely felt embarrassed. How could a "cool kid" feel embarrassed? But as his eyes crossed the room to Molly, he could feel his stomach drop. Evander had gotten off easy, already trying to make conversation with Margo (though he was bad at it), he hadn't made the mistake of saying the name of a girl he'd barely even spoken to, just to hide his feelings. Well, he probably had but Hit had taken the whole thing lightly.

He wasn't sure how Molly had taken his response to the entire thing. She hadn't seemed phased by it then, nor did she seem phased by it now. Cronis, on the other hand, was internally freaking. But he tried his best to not show it, to avoid any further problems. If there even were any.

"I'll draw?" He suggested, a slight crack in his voice.

The least of the Weasley girl's problems was Cronis Yaxley and his supposed lust for her, though something about the Slytherin struck her as too wholesome to grasp the full meaning of Margo's posed truth question. Honestly, Molly wondered which of the boys had actually caught the full scope of the blonde's implications, besides Sauvage perhaps, and she wondered still how anyone could be certain of their truthfulness. After all, there had been more than one surprising claim that round.

Even if he had meant it, and all the insinuations attached, she could hardly see how it was her problem. Or why she should be bothered. What he thought of in his own time was his business.

And the Yaxley twins were attractive. Hogwarts had a surplus of hot twins.

Something in his voice caused a quirk in Molly's brow, but she said nothing, agreeing to the division of labor with a nod. She led the way to the ledge where they would conduct their observations and sat down, criss-crossing her legs as she began adjusting the telescope.

Margo was a much more talkative teammate, but this would soon prove to be one of the only things she brought to the table. She grabbed Evander by the hand while juggling her bag and quill, dragging him to a spot not far from the other twin. She rounded on him and with wide eyes made her confession. "I haven't done a single star chart this year. So I might need some help."

'Might.'

Besides the thoughts Cronis sometimes found himself having about Molly (yes, his answer to the truth question had had some truth to it), there wasn't much to the Weasley girl that he could say interested him. She wasn't boring, per say, he just didn't know her well enough to make any other conclusions about her.

He certainly couldn't use her friends for that, either.

The Slytherin's eyes darted over to Evander and Margo, his eyes focused on the latter. The two girls were very different, and Cronis wondered what they had in common that made them friends. To him, two people who had nothing in common couldn't be friends. They'd constantly be at each other's throats.

Cronis followed Molly, feeling awkward at their lack on conversation. Not that it made him start one. "Ready?" He asked and looked over to where Margo had dragged his brother. Figured they'd end up in the same area.

He raised an eyebrow at his twin once their eyes met, only to receive a cold glare. Guess Evander was still angry about at him for what he said at the party. Well, then he was just as angry at him. Saying he hoped Hit crushed on Kapur instead of him. Of course she wouldn't!

His eyes fell back to Molly, determined to not look over at Evander again. Let him sink or swim with Margo as his partner.

Evander sighed as he looked back at Margo when Cronis looked away. Of course you haven't. He scratched the back of his head, running his fingers through his hair as his hand slid down from it. "It's alright. We'll be fine, I'll help you."

Did the Yaxley's ever look anything other than exasperated?

Merlin, every time she looked at them, one or the other was usually heaving a sigh, and if it wasn't at the other, it was for the other's benefit. She watched Evander looking over at Cronis, quirking her lip a bit as though she were less than impressed, but by the time he looked back at her, she had pulled on a bright, almost peppy expression, hunched forward a little in anticipation for his answer.

"Oh, thank you. You're an absolute love. I'll keep you entertained, at the least. Not like..." she leaned forward conspiratorially, jutting her chin towards his brother and her friend, referring to Molly's completely unwillingness to do anything to ease the quiet, silently unpacking her telescope for the work.

Margo got out a star chart and began rifling around for a quill. "So." She finally found the quill. "Julian caught me up on what I missed after I left the party." And despite the anything-but-casual implications, it was in an unaffected, offhand voice that she said, "I was disappointed by your answer to Driscoll's question."

"Right."

Evander couldn't help the roll of his eyes at Margo's words. Usually, he would have tried to at least hide the eye roll, but this time he just couldn't be bothered to. He felt like it was strange but he decided to shrug it off.

Evander's eyes almost followed Margo to where she was pointing but he stopped himself at Molly. His gaze dropped just before reaching Cronis and he scoffed before looking at Margo again. "You want to draw?" he asked her, looking at the star chart and quill she'd pulled out.

At least she was going to look like she wanted to do the work.

He started setting up the telescope, but stopped short at Margo's words. His hands dropped from the equipment and he turned his head to her. "Was I supposed to impress you?" he asked, an eyebrow raised. If he was, he hadn't gotten the memo.

Molly had immediately set to work, dark eyes peering into the telescope and patient lips moving curtly to pass along the alignments of the stars and planets, finding the work easy and almost relaxing. She liked night classes - it inspired this renewed sense of mind for her peers, throwing them into a new light beneath the stars. She wasn't sure how much they recognized the difference, but she felt it.

"And Mercury's at it's highest point." Her eyes flicked over to him and she watched him as he bent over the work. And maybe it was because she wasn't sure how to reach out to another older Slytherin twin, but she found herself wanting to do the unthinkable for the second time in a matter of days.  Check in. Touch base. Make up for her involvement in turning Margo into the sort of people who made sport of other people's pain.

But as he finished mapping out Mercury and his eyes reached hers, she was still looking at him with nothing to say. She dropped her gaze to look at the end of her telescope, adjusting it as she began to search for Orion's belt.

Margo was much more intentional with her was of 'helping' the other Yaxley. His question was completely ignored as she focused on the more pressing matter at hand. Her lips twisted into a wry grin, the perfect foil to his dry frown. "I mean, I wouldn't mind," she teased, pulling her leg towards her so she could drop her elbow onto her knee, cradling her cheek in her hand. "Follow up - nothing could change your mind? At all? As a Ravenclaw, aren't you curious?"

Evander was and wasn't sure what Margo was playing at. He didn't want to say anything, hoping she'd eventually just drop the subject but it looked like she wasn't going to unless she got some kind of response from him.

The only problem was that if he gave a response, he was sure she'd take it as him wanting to talk about it. Because that was what she did.

He sighed.

"Do you ever not think about those things?" He asked. He thought about her question, though. "Probably not." He finally answered. "I'd never thought about doing something like that with Cronis," his eyes glanced over to the older Yaxley. He managed to catch the end of seemingly awkward eye contact as Cronis lowered his head quickly while Molly adjusted her telescope.

Not so calm and collected now, huh?

"If my brother's involved, I don't think I'd change my mind." He finished.

"Anyways, we should get started." He tried to change the subject, adjusting the telescope he'd set up.

Margo could not be shaken. This was a girl who had spent most of her life being criticized for a personality welllll out of her control. Evander was exactly the sort to find her antics irritating. He could call her too much, but she could turn around and call him too little. To live a life where one was always attempting to convince those around that you just didn't care. She'd be caught dead before she did that.

Molly was different. Margo really did believe now that her friend truly did not care.

Evander did though. She knew he did. There was this small tinge of insecurity around him that told her he did care very much indeed. So she wasn't having any of this.

"That's a pretty bold assumption," she said. "I always think about whatever's most interesting to me. And between a Yaxley threesome and the position of Venus, what do you think is going to win?"

But he did answer, and he turned back to his work. She nodded and wrote their names at the top of her piece of parchment.

"So, wait, you'd consider it if your brother wasn't involved, though?"