lil' did she know

Dorcas offered a small nod at Alice’s words. It was fair enough, not wanting to go blackout. A quick glance down at her own drink, as she attempted to remember exactly what was in her cup, but all she could come up with was vodka. “Vodka. Some kind of fruit juice.” Lifting the cup to her nose, she sniffed. “Not orange juice, that’s for sure. Maybe… mango? Pineapple? I dunno, but it tastes great.” As if to punctuate her point, she took another sip. 

An eyebrow lifted, and she had to wonder if ‘crazy’ was the reason that Evan was lurking around here somewhere looking angrier than usual, but she kept her mouth shut. “You’ll tell me later, though?” Was all she said, shot Alice a look sideways. Because she truly was curious. Worried even. “Interesting and fun? Well, I did hear from a dear and trusted friend back at the castle that my plants are doing well, which is great. Also, do you know that Octavius guy? Tall, talks funny? He has a duck here. It’s the cutest thing, I swear I’m going to steal it. Unfortunately, my break has been less eventful as of late. Just sleepover with Benj.” 

“Don’t even know what you’re drinking,“ Alice chuckled, shaking her head at her friend. “I suddenly feel like I am way too behind and need some catching up on the drinking.“ Though one more beer and she would probably get caught up. It wouldn’t take her too long for sure, even if she was only drinking beer.

“Yes, of course,“ Alice nodded. “We’ll get back to the castle in a couple of days, we’ll have a girls night with some booze because that is a story that will require alcohol, and I’ll tell you all about it. And you can tell me how the unfun part of your break went, too, how does that sound?“

Kingsley did not like the look on his best friend’s face. That could only spell trouble and meddling. Alice was way too good at meddling. He kept his expression puzzled as his sipped his vodka. As long as he kept his eyes on Al and didn’t let them wander to Benjy he could probably not give himself away completely.

“Who, Frank?” He asked, all innocence. “Frank is here, but us dancing seems like a safety hazard.”

“Frank’s here?“ Alice perked up, forgetting what they’ve been talking about for a short second, looking around in the kitchen as if her other best friend would suddenly appear. He was probably out there somewhere on the dance floor, having fun. “I haven’t seen him tonight, I will need to find him for sure.“

Frank stood there frozen in the stance like a deer inheadlights. He blinks once and she is hugging him, he places his hands aroundher waist drawing her in for the hug. At first he was stuck in this awkwardrigid hug, but when she mentioned she was alone he felt a slight bit moreconfidence  and security in his hug. Giving her a somewhat bear hug lifting her off theground before he sets her back down again. Perhaps, just maybe, his arm lingersaround her waist a little longer than it should have. Before he withdraws hishands to fumble the air around him. He blinks looking around for his drink.Shit did it walk away? No Frank. Objects don’t just walk away.

He chuckles nervously fidgeting, then something she sayscauses him to furrow his brows confused. “Who would be sulking? Glaring..oh andthere it is. Did your dad ever tell you if you make an angry face that you facecould get stuck like that? I mean I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t happen, but my mum’sthreatened it a few times. I mean your face would like fine if it got stuck ina scrunch. I mean not that I want your face to get stuck in a scrunch, it’slovely the way it is. I mean it’s pretty. I mean it’s great.” The boy babblesonward and feels his inner groan. Then she asks to dance and his brain liftsup.

“If..if you insist.” He slurs and twirls her, putting her ina slight dip. He laughs swaying his hips in an awkward manner.

Alice laughed at him suggesting her face could get stuck in the scrunching expression she just made and her giggle softened into a smile at his nervous words that came after it. He was really cute, the way he thought he said something wrong and tried to correct it even though there was nothing to correct from the beginning and still he did it in such a lively, lovable way that it just warmed her arms each time it happened and tonight was no different.

And then he’s there, wrapping his hands around her and twirled her around with a dip and she let out a small squeak that probably only Frank heard and nobody else because it got lost in the crowd and music. One hand of hers wrapped around his shoulders while her other hand rested on his arm and she let him lead her, her head dropping back as he dipped her while she laughed and laughed because this was exactly what she needed - some goofy, mindless fun with one of the most important people in her life. Nothing hard work or trying to find common ground or even fighting over huge lies and words that were either said or unsaid, just pure, easy fun.

“Yeah, saw she was here. Rather surprising, really, but not a bad kind. Hope she’s got a good alibi for tonight, hardly want her to get in trouble.” 

Kingsley pressed a dramatic and goofy kiss to the bottle of vodka before grabbing a mixer off the table and making himself up something to drink. He didn’t quite trust the punch. Mostly because Sirius was here and that boy had appalling taste in booze and little to no self-control. Bless him.

“Who?” Kingsley asked, willfully playing stupid. He should’ve known Alice would figure him out. “Lots of he’s here tonight.”

It wasn’t that hard to find a bottle of beer, Alice was sure that was one of the alcohols that the Cattermole family bought the most of, because everyone loved beer. Well, almost everyone, Alice thought as she looked up at Kings, who was happily mixing the vodka with something else for himself.

She struggled a bit to open the bottle of the beer with the edge of the table and when it finally popped open, she poured the liquor into her cup - she always hated drinking from the bottle. She looked up in the process and raised her eyebrows at him for a second in an ‘Are you kidding me?’ kind of way.

“Well, sure there’s lots of hes here tonight, but I am talking about one in particular,“ she said, walking around the table and pushing herself on it right next to her friend. She took a couple of sips from her cup before she grinned up at him. “I am pretty sure you know who I am talking about.“

Hearing that Alice was only a couple of beers in made Dorcas want to seriously hide how much she’d had to drink up to this point. After all, she definitely wasn’t a lightweight by any stretch of the imagination, but she was also drunk. Not that that was an uncommon thing. She offered a giggle of her own, eyes scanning the room for a moment before she finished off her own drink and slipped her arm through Alice’s, offering a small nod of her head. “Well, come on. Let’s get you another. And me another.”

Spinning them, she gave Alice a little tug. “So, has anything interesting happened since the last time we talked?” 

Alice let Doe link their arms together and spin them around, which made Alice a bit dizzy, but they were still holding onto one another so she couldn’t topple over. they started making their way towards the drinks table as she said. “Sounds like a good plan. I am not drinking anything stronger than a beer, though, I love the buzz, but I want to remember the rest of the night, and if I drank anything stronger, it would definitely be a blackout. What are you drinking, by the way?”

She thought over the last couple of days and kind of gave a little shrug. “Things have been a bit crazy, but no need to ruin the mood with talk of that. But I did get to see my dad and James’ parents really drunk over Christmas and actually get proof of it now, that was pretty fun? Anything interesting and fun happening to you?” She wanted to ask about the engagement or not-engagement, but that would have definitely been a topic to ruin the mood with, so it was probably better to leave it for another night.

Narcissa wished that it was possible for her parents to let loose. Even at their own party her mother was stressed to no end. Her father was able to entertain himself but it definitely was a more contained enjoyment if anything.

She was trying to keep her mind focused, even talking about the Christmas party was enough to bring her mind wandering back to being with James before it started. Merlin she really needed to stop thinking about him before she did something stupid like go looking for him. ❝The party was great. A little hiccups here and there but all in all I think that my mother’s hard work was worth it.❞ she told her with a smile.

She raised her eyebrow at the question posed to her, not exactly sure what it was that Alice would want to talk to her about, especially privately. Narcissa unintentionally mirrored Alice’s behaviour, glancing around the room to see who was around them though she wasn’t really keeping her eye out for anyone in particular and simply surveying their surroundings. ❝Sure, I guess so.❞ she replied, gesturing for Alice to follow as she looked for somewhere to go that was more secluded. Narcissa ended up finding an exit and walking with Alice out to the back patio and it seemed as though there were no party guests in sight. ❝Alright so…what do you want to talk about?❞

Alice followed Narcissa as they went out of the house onto the patio and found a place where there was seemingly nobody around. She wrapped her hands around herself as the cold hit her and she could feel it dampening the effects of the alcohol. It crossed her mind that this might have not been an idea as she looked around one last time to make sure nobody could hear them, but she kind of needed to do this.

“Well, ok, so I kind of know,” she said, trying to say what she had to say without being too obvious about it in case somebody accidentally heard them talking and failing at the try miserably. “That didn’t clear anything up, sorry, what I meant was please don’t be mad at him, I kind of got it out of him and he really really likes you and I guess he needed somebody to talk to about you and he can’t exactly go to, well, you know, his best friend, cause that would definitely not go well, so I know.“

She took a deep breath and tried to get her mind together. She was really not doing well, but her mind was still fuzzy and she could only hope Narcissa understood what she was trying to tell her and wasn’t going to get mad at James for this. She definitely didn’t want to get him into trouble for this. “And, well, what I am trying to say is please don’t hurt him. He’s in real deep with you, he has really strong feelings and he... well, he’s kind of like a brother to me and I would hate to see him get hurt, so please don’t hurt him.”

         He recalled Sirius’s bewildered face from the night before and chuckled along with her. For years, they had watched in bemusement and embarrassment as their parents had drank and acted like fools. “He’ll get over it eventually, we did” he smirked. “I’m not sure, with their line of work they don’t get too many chances to let loose, though I heard that might not be the case for much longer” he smiled. He didn’t know whether Alice’s father had told her or not, but when he had arrived home on Christmas Eve from having visited Narcissa, his evening had gotten even better when his father had returned home from work not ten minutes later and he parents had shared their news. They were, finally, retiring. “Keep the blackmail material safe, who knows when we’ll need it”.

         He drummed his fingers against the side of his coffee cup and his eyes only snapped up when she spoke. He watched as she looked around before speaking Narcissa’s name and the guilt inside him churned unpleasantly. It was one of the reasons he had asked the question; his secret keeping was tearing him apart from the inside. “What? No, no Narcissa would never say such a thing” he said, shaking his head. No matter what some people might think, he knew her and he knew she would never say anything that would upset him. Not intentionally. “I’m keeping secrets Alice. I never keep secrets, especially not from Sirius and it doesn’t sit well. That and well, Narcissa’s friend caught us before Christmas break. She punched me in the face and suggested that I had put an imperius curse on her. For a brief moment, I actually wondered if I had” he sighed, “I’ve been thinking about everything else that she accused me of since…”

Alice looked at James with a cocked head, a curious expression on her face. “Might not be the case for much longer?” she echoed her words, wondering if it was what she thought it meant. “What do you mean by that? Are the... are they retiring?” she asked, wondering if it was true, why her father didn’t tell her about it sooner, and then it crossed her mind that it would be best if her dad would retire too. She knew it was not happening anytime soon, her dad was younger than James’ parents and he would be out there on the field working as an Auror for years still. She nodded with a grin on her face. “Oh yeah, I will definitely make sure to keep it safe, possibly not even tell dad about it until at least one copy of each picture is securely somewhere where he can’t find it.”

Alice let out a relieved sigh when James quickly cleared things up that Narcissa wasn’t the one who would say such things. Not that she really thought she would ever say anything like that, but she needed to know, needed to make sure she couldn’t have possibly been that. Alice knew the girl meant so much to James and she assumed the girl cared a lot about James too, but she couldn’t be sure, not completely, not until she at least talked to Narcissa once. But then he continued, and it felt like his worries had a basis. She knew how hard it was to keep things inside and how much it could take a toll on someone sometime, but the things he said afterward... everything was forgotten and she was actually gaping at James as she listened to him.

It was as though she had a mental checklist of things to happen tonight and she just marked ‘Make Awkward Small Talk’ right off. Narcissa liked Alice, surprisingly enough but somehow she always felt a little uneasy talking to her. It always felt like she shouldn’t be but it was something she couldn’t necessarily avoid.

❝That sounds like you’ve had a good time.❞ She commented as she tried the best she could to keep her expression neutral at the casual mention of James. There was a slight twitch of her lip as she tried to contain the smile that just hearing his name caused. She took another sip of her drink hoping that at least the cup would hide it for her as she attempted to keep things under control. ❝It’s been the same for me, lots of family time. We had our party taking place on Christmas Eve so it’s been a lot of being out on display as well.❞

“Yeah, I’ve had a good time, it was fun. It’s nice to see our parents let loose a bit and we usually just sit back and enjoy the show.“ The show that was exceptional this year, seriously. This was one they would keep bringing up for a while for sure. 

Narcissa mostly did a really good job at hiding her smile at the mention of James’ name, but there was a glint in her eyes that made Alice 99% sure that Narcissa was smiling fondly. Kind of how her childhood friend smiled whenever the Slytherin girl came up.

It might have been the alcohol, Alice wasn’t sure, but when she saw that smile, she made a decision that she’s been thinking about for a while now. She knew that James probably wouldn’t want her to do this, but she had to make sure Narcissa didn’t end up hurting him, so she quickly replied to Narcissa with a, “I heard about the party, I hope everything went well and you had a good time,” and then she looked around to make sure nobody really heard them (not that it mattered, she didn’t just want to outright bring up James, but still), and asked Cissa, “Can we-- can we talk, actually? Somewhere a little bit more private?”

@alcfrtsc

What beer was he on? Shit. He had this. Just act normal. It’sjust Alice. No big deal. Frank’s form teeters slightly as he holds onto thedrink in his hand. Silently cursing himself because he’s pretty sure he spilledsome on the carpet. Narrowing his gaze at the spot, he turns his attention backto Ali. A grin puncturing the dimples in his cheek. “Hey Alice. Enjoying theparty? Pretty far out right? I mean it’s happening not that we’re far out. Imean of course you know it’s happening. I mean it’s a cool pad right? I wore mylucky blue socks. What socks are you wearing? Wait. I didn’t mean to ask aboutsocks. Did you bring a date? I mean Sata-Mulciber is he your date? Are you dateless?”

Merlin sake. How was he going to survive the night.

“Frank, hi!“ Alice exclaimed in joy when she saw her best friend. A huge grin appeared on her face and she went in for a hug while he was randomly babbling about the party and socks. What was this huge obsession with socks, she did not understand, but it was a lot better than having an obsession with other things like knives or alcohol or something along those lines, and it was endearing as well She did kind of want to ask him where it all came from, though, but as she stepped back to ask him, he brought up Mulciber and the question slipped from her mind. “I am enjoying myself, Reggie really outdid himself this year. And I am here all alone, didn’t come here with anyone and definitely don’t plan on becoming anyone’s date no matter how much someone might sulk or glare.“ She might have seen him around the house a couple of times and it felt like his glares could cut through the walls even.

She took a sip from the cup she was holding all this time, drinking out the last bit of beer she’s been holding onto and put the cup down onto the first surface she could find before turning back to her friend and holding out her hand towards him. “Come, dance with me.“

Dorcas was more than a little relieved that it was Alice that she’d run into, though she was also a little surprised that the girl seemed to be in such high spirits, though the cup in her hand definitely explained that one rather quickly. She offered a laugh, returning the hug that was thrown on her and lightly rubbing Alice’s back as she did. 

“The floor will be fine. Your drink is the least of it’s worries tonight.” She shot back, pulling out of the hug after a moment. Looking the girl over, she offered a grin. “You look great. I’m glad to see you, too.” In truth, she had briefly considered skipping out, but this was definitely a fun party, not the kind that was going to be a drag. “Having fun so far? Something tells me Miss Alice has been drinking a bit.”

“Not as much as others would think, but yes, I might have drunk a couple of beers,“ Alice agreed with a giggle. On one hand, the fact that she was a lightweight was a curse, because there were times when she got strongly tipsy just from one bottle of beer so she had to pay attention to how much she drank, but on the other hand it was also a blessing because when she did wanna have fun and enjoy the buzz of the alcohol, it was so easy to get there.

“Don’t tell anyone,“ she changed to a whisper, “but I only drank two beers so far, and I am pretty sure I shouldn’t have another one but I want to.“

“I just got here.” Kingsley protested, shooting another quick glance towards Benjy in the crowd. There was something about seeing his friend in a crowd, actually looking happy and as carefree as he’d seen him. Made Kingsley’s chest feel a bit lighter, made the crush of people feel easier to handle. He wouldn’t mind just spending the entire party on the fringes, chatting with other wallflowers and watching his friend enjoy himself.

“Beer is gross, we’re definitely getting me something else.” King said as he tore his attention away from Benjy. “No way I’m having fun if I’m stuck drinking beer.”

Alice followed Kings’ look and noticed Benjy standing in the crows and a small, soft smile appeared on her lips. They didn’t really talk about him yet, but Alice didn’t miss the looks her best friend sometimes sent towards Benjy. She recognized the look easily.

“You don’t have to drink beer,“ she said as she pulled him along with her. “I assumed you wouldn’t be drinking beer. I also don’t think we will find too much wine, but I am pretty sure we will find vodka in some form for you,“ she grinned as they got to the kitchen where all the drinks were. “Alright, what do we have here... Not really sure what is in that punch sort of thing but that could be to your liking, Narcissa Black said it was good. But I think we’ve got some bottles of vodka too.”

She eyed the cup carefully as Alice poured, her answer to the question wasn’t exactly comforting. Though she felt as though she could probably trust the older girls judgement. Alice was very clearly not the type to steer someone in the wrong direction, especially when it came to drinking. ❝I guess I’ll give it a try.❞ she replied as she took the cup from her and hesitantly took a sip.

❝Alright, I was definitely expecting that to be worse.❞ she joked though relieved that it wasn’t actually some horrible drink that would only taste good if you were already wasted. ❝Happy New Year by the way, your break been treating you well so far?❞

Alice watched as Narcissa eyed the cup of drink hesitantly, probably wondering how much she will hate it if she took a sip from it, and Alice thought the girl would find a way out of it but to her surprise, Narcissa actually tried it and it wasn’t even that bad. (Something she couldn’t actually say for sure before the girl tried it, because she herself hasn’t tried it before.)

“Happy New Year to you too,“ she smiled as she picked up her own cup and tipped it towards Narcissa before she sipped her beer. “So-so. It’s been good mostly, though. Spent a lot of time with my family and since my dad is good friends with James’ parents, we spent some time of the holidays over at the Potters too.” Alice’s voice was casual like she didn’t intentionally mention James’ name to see how the other girl reacted. “What about you? How has your break been?”

Alice, 

It’s truly nice to hear from you. I would love to see you on Friday. There’s no place in particular. Perhaps we could go see a movie, and then have lunch? Would that be nice? Also, I was wondering, are you going to be at Reginald’s New Years party?

Mary,

That does sound nice, yes. I would be up for that very much. And yes, I planned on going there. I need to let loose at least a little bit, if I am being honest with myself. Will I see Are you planning on going?

“Hey,” Sirius drawled, pointing a tipsy finger at the person walking towards (or more likely past) him. “Blurry is a good look on you.”

Alice tilted her head to one side and then the other. She felt the alcohol in her head too, but at least she didn’t see things “You’re way too drunk, you have no idea what you’re talking about. But it’s ok, I forgive you.“

“Cheers.” Dorcas knew how to enjoy a party. She’d gotten to Cattermole’s late, when the party was already pretty much in full swing, and had already started drinking. Of course she had. Fingers curled around the bottle in her hand as she clinked it against the one held by the person next to her, and then she took a long sip from it, eyes scanning, exploring the room. Cattermole definitely knew how to throw a party, that was for damn sure, and this was much more fun than the stuffy affairs she’d attended already this holiday season. 

Her eyes scanned the room for a moment, and she slipped away from the corner she’d been occupying, fully intending on making her way to the kitchen where she knew there were snacks, when her feet betrayed her and she stumbled into someone. “Shoot, sorry. Y’alright?” Her speech, slightly slurred, held a hint of amusement. She really shouldn’t be laughing at running into someone, but hell, it was a party. It was fun. 

Alice was heading towards outside to get some air because it was really getting crowded inside when she felt somebody stumble into her from behind and she ended up jumping in her step and the cup in her head slipped out of her hand and splashed all over the floor. She made a face and giggled a little as she turned around, seeing Dorcas standing behind her.

Narcissa wasn’t even one hundred percent sure why she chose to attend this party. Just because the offer was extended to her didn’t mean she had to be there but had shown up nonetheless, wondering if she made the right choice or not.

She slowly walked around the crowded house in search of something to eat or drink, trying not to look as awkward as she felt. As she pushed through groups of people she finally found a large bowl with something inside that didn’t look like ordinary punch.

❝What even is this? Have people seriously been drinking this stuff all night?❞

Alice was getting some snacks so she wouldn’t get completely drunk way too fast (she was way too big of a lightweight and couldn’t hold her liquor to save her life) when she saw Narcissa awkwardly look over the drinks at the other table and she had to smile a bit about how much she didn’t really fit in here.

“I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to know what’s in there, just drink it,” Alice replied even though the question probably wasn’t intended for her. She put down her own cup, grabbed a clean one and poured from the punch Narcissa was inspecting. “Here, try it. You’ll like it, I promise,“ she handed it to her with a smile.