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Dora would never keep a house elf if it in any way interfered with her best mate coming over all the time. As it was, she missed him simply not being in the same house as she was and Fin’s house was so bloody large that half the time she was home, she couldn’t even be certain was there. It wasn’t so large that she got lost, once she knew her way around, but she could easily lose Fin in it if they were wandering around separately. Fin’s house, the one he purchased himself as a proper adult, was nearly twice as large as the manor Dora and her brother had grown up in, and it was a gazzilion times larger than the little Welsh flat she rented now. The idea of putting a house elf that she would never own, nor afford to obtain in the first place, in a kennel on her teeny tiny balcony was absolutely ridiculous. Dora loved being outside, and without properly leaving her flat her balcony was her only access to the outdoors that she had. At least once a day, rain or shine, Dora sat out on the little cushioned bench and looked out over the city. It was so freeing and calming being out there. It was nothing compared to the Astronomy tower of Hogwarts where Dora had spent her fair share of time while at school, standing on the ledge of the tower, letting the wind blow against her face as she closed her eyes and imagined herself flying or, if she was having an episode, plummeting to the ground. Dora, for her part, had never actually attempted suicide but standing on the ledge of the castle tower after having been attacked, knocked into a coma, and permanently disfigured by a nasty scar running the length of her upper thigh, had been the closest she had ever come to purposely letting the wind blow her over. It was lucky Fin was there to kind things to ease her troubled mind and force her to start looking after herself again. That was the beginning of a dark time for Dora, but she was coming out of it despite thinking she never would and she caught the look of pride on Fin’s face as she made mention of fixing the leaky sink on her own. That made her feel good.

“If there was somewhere I could afford that was completely muggle-free, you know I would I snatch it up in a heartbeat. Honestly, it gets so irksome having to watch myself every time I want to do a bit of magic. You’ve no idea how lucky you are to be in your own home, without muggles all around you. I swear I spotted a bloke across the way using a telescope to see through my window while I was dressing and I couldn’t even hex him properly without worrying about getting all sorts of fines. It’s utterly ridiculous.” Dora shook her head in annoyance and enchanted the tea set to add milk and sugar to her cup once Fin poured and handed it to her. “Right. You try explaining to the landlord why I’ve got a grand piano and a swimming pool in my studio flat when he comes for the monthly inspection.” Dora smirked and then took a sip of her tea.

“Enough about my fabulous life,” she cooed, leaning back in her chair and getting comfortable. “Tell me how much you miss me not being around all the time. Are you terribly lonesome? Have you renamed the fern 'Dora' after me, yet?”

Liv made a catty remark about Jovi’s new fella, the exact same remark Dora was thinking in her head as she watched the young idiot carry liquid over his head at the perfect height to get them knocked by a wayward dancer. “Are they supposed to?” she mused, a little smirk gracing her features. Dora noticed Liv begin to fuss with her dress and thought nothing of it. She was not as well endowed as Livia was, in that regard, but she too knew the annoyance of having a chest that refused to remain where they had been placed. More often it was Dora’s bum that tried slipping out from a short skirt more than her breasts, but the issue was fixed the same way regardless of which end of the dress was causing the problem; a charm. Dora knew all sorts of charms to help her present her best side at all times and she was happy to share the only sort of knowledge she really had, but the commotion on the dance floor below took center stage and Dora gave her full attention.


Nameless bloke threw his drink down on the ground after some tiff with Jovi, probably about her dancing with another guy because her boyfriend was obviously too insecure to be dating an attractive witch. Fin, ever the hero, stepped in and spelled the liquid back up into the bloke’s face before bringing Jovian into a rather close hug. “Fin and Jovi?” Dora laughed at the idea that her little cousin and her best mate had anything mutual between them. “You know how Fin likes to play the knight in shining armour. If the shoe fits…” Dora turned her head slightly and looked up at her blonde friend. “I think Jovi might fancy him a bit, but if anyone in the family has claim over my Finley, you know it’s me.” Dora gave an overly dramatic smile and wink at the idea that she wanted Fin in any way that was romantic. They flirted from time to time, Dora flirted with damn near everyone so really it was to be expected, and there had been a few snogging and groping sessions in their past, but Fin was more of a really, really attractive girlfriend that Dora sometimes had sex dreams about than a guy she actually wanted to date. Unless she was drunk, which she wasn’t this early in the evening, the idea of being with Fin made her giggle.


“Don’t let your sister hear you saying that. She’ll get all offended and then we’ll have a repeat showing of all that,” Dora nodded her head in the direction of the dance floor below, “up close and personal right here, and I don’t think I’m tall enough to play Fin’s part as well as him.” Lyra, Livia’s sister, was an actress and a bit dramatic at times. Dora hadn’t spent much one on one time with Lyra since they were in school together but she doubted that overhearing Liv say the display downstairs was better than going to the theatre would have gone over well with the middle Burke girl. “Are your sisters planning on coming tonight? What about that brother of yours?” Dora raised her eyebrows suggestively as she mentioned Lucian Burke, the oldest of the Burke siblings and the only one Dora wanted to have a tumble with.


As they spoke, Dora began walking toward the spiral staircase, giving a gentle tug on Livia’s wrist to ensure the girl followed her. Seeing all the bodies moving on the dance floor made Dora want to move as well, and spying the handsome face of her shy Auror friend coming into the club with his brother made her want to move in one particular direction.

Dora giggled when Fin reminded her of the time she had broken one of the headboards at his house. “That’s why my new bed doesn’t have a headboard,” she replied with a naughty grin. It was completely an accident, of course, and she’d mended it properly after the fact but apart from pausing from the shock, it hadn’t been a big enough disturbance to interrupt the fun she and Jude had been having. Dora tried to be respectful of the fact that she was staying in someone else’s home, but Fin was closer to family than a landlord and she did sometimes get a little out of hand, being so comfortable there. Jude had come over several times, as did Oliver and Marcus – on separate occasions of course. Then there were the random blokes whom she had met out and about, usually at the Starlight while tending bar, and after a handful of compliments being thrown around Dora really couldn’t say no to a little tumble in the sheets. She was always in a better mood after a good shag, so really it was only beneficial for Fin as he had to deal with her on the not-so-good days more than anyone else. Being roomies had perks as well as downsides, and Dora was well aware that she was on the better end of that scale. Fin had given her a place to call home for over a year without charging her rent. He comforted her when her melancholy overtook her, and he cuddled with her at night when she had one of her more anxiety-producing nightmares. In return for all of that, Fin got the pleasure of getting to be around Dora, which is a treat all on its own but not really comparative to everything Dora had gotten out of the relationship. She knew she would probably never be able to repay Fin, but she also knew that he didn’t expect or want her to.

“Noted,” Dora replied after Fin warned her not to be near when the clock struck midnight. She had no plans to be, she was going to find her own bloke to snog when the time came. Fin would be on his own, unless Greengrass showed up and then Dora would be sure they were in the same area come midnight. A familiar girlish voice squealed “ooh, champagne,” and Dora laughed as Livia appeared seemingly out of nowhere and stole Fin’s glass. Dora gave a confident, appreciative look as her appearance was once again complimented. She never tired of hearing how good she looked and Dora knew she looked amazing tonight. Liv teased them about getting cozy in the nightclub and Dora teased her right back. “He wishes,” she cooed, giving Fin a little smirk. “You look smashing!” Dora clinked her glass with the blonde’s as Fin got himself another drink. Livia always had such wonderful style, it was one of the things that first drew Dora to the witch. Tonight was clearly no exceptions.

Jovi, Dora’ cousin on her mum’s side, was brought up and Dora turned to look over the balcony again, following Livia’s lead and finding Jovi easily. Hands above her head, hips swaying freely, hair like a bloody strawberry. That was Jovi alright. “Her ID says she’s legal,” Dora answered with a smirk. According to the little piece of plastic in Jovi’s handbag, she’d been legal for a few years now. Dora enjoyed her younger cousin, even though Jovian had been closer to Theon than Dora, and she’d acquired a fake ID card for her so they could get into nightclubs and wherever else Dora wanted to go. It wasn’t like she was corrupting her younger cousin, Jovi was a spitfire all unto herself. Dora simply encouraged what was already there. “Boyfriend’s probably fetching drinks. I don’t remember this one’s name but I think… yeah, that’s him there.” Sure enough, Dora spotted another familiar face in the crowd and pointing at him, this one carrying two drinks through the crowd of dancers, holding the glasses above his head so not to have them knocked out of his hands. It was a risky move and part of Dora wanted him to spill them both straight on his head, if nothing but for the entertainment of it all.

“Parkinson, right?” So she had been right to think that she knew this bloke, though exactly how she knew him was yet to be seen. The light seemed to absorb into his messy brown hair and she could see her reflection in the lenses of his glasses. The redhead said his name and Merlin’s beard that rang some bells, too. She must have gone to school with them, though clearly, they were not in her house or she’d have remembered them by now. Poor sense of fashion. Quick to jump in without knowing what was happening. Obviously more than a little daft, as the cow only had to move a step to the left or to the right to open up the aisle so Dora could leave, which was all she wanted to do in the beginning. These two screamed Gryffindors.

While at school, just as she did now, Dora didn’t take much stock in house rivalries. She wasn’t interested in quidditch, which she believed fueled a lot of the silly rivalries around the school, and she wasn’t snobbish enough to refuse to make friends with people from other houses if they appealed to her in some way or another. There were plenty of people she had liked in Hufflepuff, not that she stayed in touch with many of them these days what with being an adult with responsibilities and whatnot. Ravenclaw blokes were always incredibly smart and more than willing to “study” with her in the library which she ignorantly confused for legitimate affection. She even had a few friends in Gryffindor, too, though there were certainly a fair few that were as annoyingly self-righteous as the pair standing in front of her. There really wasn’t a reason to dislike anyone simply because of the house the sorting hat had placed them in when they were eleven, but more often than not it was easy to tell by someone’s personality which house they had been in. Several years out of school and she still found herself thinking in terms of Hogwarts houses. Indoctrination at its finest.

James, clearly too dim to think up his own insult in defense of his girlfriend, regurgitated Dora’s previous remark back at her. The smug look on his face told Dora that he thought he had been clever. Dora gave a false laugh, finally recognizing the big-headed wannabe hero and the smart-mouthed redhead. “Oh, I know you. You’re the one Severus used to complain about,” she said to Lily. “The frigid bitch, how could I forget? And that makes you…” Dora turned her attention back to James, “that James bloke I screwed in the Charms classroom after curfew.” She smirked at them both and not really caring what lame-arsed comebacks they were trying to come up with. “Lovely catching up," she said, her words dripping with sarcasm. "Now, if you’ll excuse me I really would love to be on my way and the only thing stopping my is your fat arse blocking the aisle.” She made a shooing gesture with her hand towards Lily, attempting yet again to get the redhead to step aside.

The view from the balcony was always entertaining. Bodies below pulsating to the music. You could always spot someone who was trying to hard to be cool and aloof, some girl trying to get away from a handsy bloke, and someone who had a bit too much to drink. It was too early in the evening for the last one, but Dora suspected that it wouldn’t be long. Holidays always gave a reason to drink a little more, she found. People were together with their families and if they were half as messed up as Dora’s was, then that was reason enough to want to drink yourself into a stupor. In addition to the people watching, the balcony provided a sight that was simply too gorgeous to behold. Fin’s party planners had done a fabulous job. Everything seemed to sparkle, as was the point on new years eve.

“I’m the best dressed every night, darling. You know that.” She grinned, looking smugly at him from the corner of her eye, pleased that he liked her outfit and thought she looked attractive. Fin was her best mate, had been since they were children. They’d snogged a few times and Dora liked to get handsy when she was drunk but there hadn’t ever really been anything sexual between the pair. Fin was a guy and attracted to women, so when he complimented her looks it didn’t have to mean that they were going to shag in one of the private rooms in the back of the club, but she felt as attractive as if he was expecting just that.

Dora’s eyes scanned the crowd below as Fin commented on her being without a drink. He turned and began filling a flute with champagne as Dora spun in her heels to face him, leaning gently against the railing. “And hopefully some fantastic fucking in the new year,” she added with a laugh as they clinked their glasses together. She watched him over the rim of her glass as she sipped. Handsome. Wealthy. Successful. Fin was going to make some witch very happy in the future. “Love this suit on you.” Dora ran her fingers down the edge of his collar. “We almost look like a couple. I guess I had better go find a bloke to dance with before people get the wrong idea.” She smirked but turned back to look over the balcony, not yet ready to go into the crowd searching for more of her friends. She could spot them better from up here and even though she saw plenty of Fin, she really was missing him now that they weren’t living together.