Friends and Enemies (Alice/Rafe/Open)

[Samantha Montgomery]

Sam couldn't sleep. After the dance and the victory party you'd think she wouldn't be able to stay awake but that was hardly the case, she was wired now. Everyone had already left and gone to bed, she instead decided to walk to halls and even though she wasn't hungry, couldn't eat, she found herself at the Kitchens asking one of the elves to make her a salad.

"Anything for the Champion of Slytherin" one replied.

She gave him a tight smile. She didn't feel much like a champion, in fact the dance and the party depressed her though she didn't know why. Drumming her fingers on the table she waited patiently then turned her head when she heard footsteps.

[Alice Prewett]

Alice was still in her ball gown. The night had not turned out the way she had hoped, after all. She had expected to have a nice, romantic evening, dancing with Frank and feeling like a princess. The last thing she had expected going into the evening had been to face the next challenge. So instead of getting to spend all her time with Frank, she'd had to dance with people whose names she didn't even know. Now her feet were tired and she wanted to just relax and spend a little time with Frank.

After the ball had ended and Sam was declared the winner, Frank led her upstairs to the room of requirement, where he set up a cozy, romantic area for them to just be alone. There was candlelight, soft music, and a cushy mattress draped in silk sheets. There was even a bottle of champagne. It might not have been considered "appropriate" but Alice didn't care. She knew she was going to marry Frank.

It all would have been perfect, except for one thing: Alice was starving. All that dancing had made her hungry, and she hadn't been able to stop to get anything to eat.

So that was how she came to be walking into the kitchen at such a late hour, still in her ball gown, holding her high heels in her hands.

"Hi, I was wondering if I could get a pizza or something...." she said, trailing off as she caught sight of Samantha Montgomery. "Oh," she said tightly. "Hi."

[Samantha Montgomery]

Sam mirrored the tight smile, and then let out a puff of air. She was too tired really to feign haughtiness so instead she sat down. She could have let the silence go on but then Alice said hello.

"Hello." she replied.

Again she would have let silence reign after that, but before she could help it she found herself speaking, "Wasn't expecting a challenge tonight at the dance. It would have been nice if they could have given us one fun carefree evening to celebrate instead of making it part of the tournament."

She wasn't sure why she said that, or why she was even attempting conversation.

[Alice Prewett]

It was pretty ironic. Of all the people in the school that she might have expected to run into in the kitchens in the wee hours of the morning after the Yule ball and challenge, Sam was probably the last. After all, they'd had a pretty crazy night, and they really should have crashed hours ago. Yet here they were, standing among the house elves looking as though they'd finished battling dragons.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Alice said tiredly, rubbing her eyes. "Who would have thought dancing all night would be more exhausting than taking on a troll, anyway?"

Sam might be her main competition, and she may not particularly like the girl, but Alice didn't have it in her to be rude to her, even if she wasn't so tired. They were, after all, in the same boat, and there didn't seem any point in being snobbish about it. Wasn't the tournament supposed to bring the houses together?

"Congratulations on winning, by the way. It looks like we're tied for first."

[Samantha Montgomery]

Perhaps that was all Sam was looking for, someone to commiserate with, someone who understood the pressure she was under, someone who would understand. But at the same time she would hate anyone's pity.

"Thank you." she nodded, "And no kidding." she said in reference to the troll comment.

"I'm exhausted."

[Alice Prewett]

"Ugh, me too," Alice sighed tiredly, sinking down into a chair across from Sam and bending down to rub her feet. "If I had known about the challenge I would have worn sneakers instead of heels."

Maybe one day she would laugh about all this, about the time she wore what had to be the most uncomfortable pair of shoes on the night she had to participate in a dance marathon, simply because she thought that Frank would like how she looked in them. But right now, it felt like the joke was on them.

"And I'm starving. I didn't dare stop to eat, if I wanted to have a chance of winning."

[Samantha Montgomery]

Sam laughed, "I must have had Archer bring me at least a dozen snacks." though no one would have seen it as she kept up deportment and appearances. "They have spells to make those a bit more comfortable. Looks a little late for that though. Here hold on." Samantha opened her small purse and dug around her arm disappearing far deeper than the purse outer depths appearance. She pulled out a small jar with some salve inside that smelled of honey and chamomile. "This'll take out the sting and soothe over any raw skin."

[Alice Prewett]

Alice gave a wry smile as she accepted the jar from Sam. "Thanks," she said.

At first, she had been annoyed by the fact that Sam had won. The challenge had seemed to play out as more of a popularity contest in her eyes... guys had practically been lining up to dance with Sam. But now, Alice could see that there had been more to it than that. Besides just being beautiful and popular, Sam was also a lot smarter than a lot of people gave her credit for. She'd thought of things that Alice hadn't even considered, and for that, Alice felt a grudging sort of respect for the Slytherin.

"I didn't even think of those things," she admitted. "You deserved to win."

She uncapped the jar and began to rub the salve on her aching feet. "You know, there was a minute there, I thought you were going to quit. When you were dancing with that other Slytherin boy... it looked like he was getting fresh with you. What happened there?"

[Samantha Montgomery]

She shrugged, "I was the only one prepared for that type of competition, I don't think it was a fair challenge." There was nothing smug in Sam's tone, she was merely stating a fact. She honestly thought it was ridiculous to challenge them on something Sam had been doing since she could barely stand. It wasn't fair for the other contestants and Sam knew that. Contrary to popular Slytherin values, Sam didn't like winning if she felt it wasn't deserved. She wanted to be the best because she was the best, not because she was merely the best prepared.

Sam swallowed, there were a few times that she wanted to quit but all it took was a glance in either Archer or Rabastan's direction and they came to her rescue more often or not. Sam assumed Alice was talking about Rafe and since that was a story she wasn't about to go into she merely shrugged, " Sometimes I don't think they're monitoring the alcohol consumption ...which can be nice...and then sometimes not so nice." she left it at that with a small smile on her face. Then she raised a brow, "I did happen to notice a boy who wasn't too keen on sharing you tonight." she said to change the subject.

[Alice Prewett]

Well, Alice's family might not be quite as rich as the Montgomery family, but they were prestigious enough, and she had been trained in dancing just like Sam had. But she doubted that the same could be said for Maxi or poor Regina. Both girls were terribly outmatched in the challenge, and it had been obvious to everyone. So in that respect, Alice had to agree with Sam. But she still thought that Sam had shown far more ingenuity in thinking of strategies that hadn't even occurred to Alice. Yes, it was a test of endurance and not ingenuity, but you had to use the weapons you had at your disposal, and Sam had obviously done just that.

Alice began to blush when Sam made a comment about Frank. Pretty much everything else flew from her mind, and a shy smile spread across her face.

"Tonight was supposed to be our night," she said. "We were just going to dance the night away together and forget about the rest of the world. Instead, we wound up separated most of the night. Why couldn't we just relax and enjoy the ball, you know?"

[Samantha Montgomery]

Sam sighed, "It would have been nice to sit down for a moment." she agreed. Though she sincerely doubted that she would have enjoyed the ball at all tonight considering Rafe, and the drama surrounding her.

Sam was built tough, she could flirt and be coy and just as sharp as the next Slytherin female, but in truth she was a very private and quiet person she didn't like everyone in her business at all so naturally no one but a select few would know that she'd have rather been anywhere else that night.

"I can't wait for what's next..." she said with a slight chuckle.

[Alice Prewett]

"All I know is, if I turn up for the NEWTs to find a challenge instead, I'm going to seriously lose it," Alice said with a wry grin.

She doubted that they'd do something like that, but then, she hadn't expected them to turn the ball into a challenge, either. Really, she hoped that the last challenge would be over with before NEWTs... she really needed to study if she was going to pass the requirements to enter the Auror training program.

"So we're tied now," she added needlessly. "What happens if one of the other two wins the next challenge?" It could happen, right? The hat had surely chosen them for a reason, just as it had chosen her and Sam.