All Harper had been able to think about all day was how this was her last time. The last time boarding the Hogwarts Express. The last time seeing that view of Hogwarts. The last time sitting through the Hat's song and all the speeches. (Actually, that one she was okay with. They only seemed to get longer as the years went on.) But as strange as it all felt, she would have been lying if she said that she wasn't really excited about all that was to come. She mightn't have known exactly what it was, but that didn't lessen the thrill at all. She'd figure it out eventually. But first, tonight. Tonight, which was probably going to be the biggest and the best Welcome Back Party ever. With a wave of her wand, her trusty bottles of Firewhiskey and Bungbarrel were small enough to slip into her pocket. Another wave and her shirt was grey, not black. A charm she'd perfected over the years, even if it still wasn't quite permanent. It would fade with time. But it would work for now.
Shrouded in a Disillusionment charm, she moved across the grounds like a ghost, even in her favourite platform boots. Some people had a tendency to sneak, even as they wore the charm. It was subconscious, a lot of the time. But not Harper. She had enough faith to know that as long as she wasn't stupid about it, she'd go undetected. Just like the Shack itself.
The noise when she opened the door never failed to daze her a little. The sounds, the sights. And evidently, she was a little more than fashionably late. The party was in full swing, and she'd just had time to return her drinks to their regular size when she spotted a bedraggled fifth year, clutching onto her friend, looking very overwhelmed and frightened.
"First time?" Harper called as she reached them. The more sober of the two nodded as her friend swayed where she stood. "Yeah. Happened to all of us. Come on, let's get you two some fresh air."
It seemed like that was how she inevitably spent her evening. Helping scared kids out to get some fresh air. Reassuring that couple that, no, nobody had ever died from taking Teddy's drugs. They'd had hangovers that might have made them wish otherwise, but they'd all emerged alive. Dragging people away from fights. By the time she saw Juniper, she'd only managed to have a few mouthfuls out of her Firewhiskey. She cut through the crowd to her favourite Ravenclaw, looping an arm around her waist. "Hey, babes!" She called. "What'd I miss? You want some Firewiskey? I've got Bungbarrel here too!" She added. She was still an inch or two shorter than Juniper, even in her boots.