❛  oi, oi, kid —  ❜   james reached for the cowering fifth year, grabbing his arm and turning him back towards him.   ❛  i know i’m meant to be all, like… strict and stuff about you even being here, but by all technicality i’m not meant to either so — you didn’t see me, i didn’t see you ?  ❜   the boy simply nodded, allowing james to break a wide grin and give him a light shake.   ❛  there’s the spirit. now, go have fun — but not too much fun. stay safe, a’ight ?  ❜   finally smiling, the fifth year disappeared back into the crowd, leaving james to turn to the person who had watched the whole ordeal.   ❛  kids, amiright ?  now, uh, you wouldn’t happen to know where the drinks are, would you ?  ❜

      “they actually told me before you got here that the drinks were for everyone except james potter. —crazy— mentioned you specifically by name. i think there was even a flyer with your face on it that said ‘must be sober’ .. so, looks like i am going to have to drink instead.”

      “you wish,” the ravenclaw simply shook her head. he certainly was something else, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. she could understand how so many girls were attracted to him. he was charming, and handsome, not to mention there was a kindness about him. “well, it looks like i have quite a bit of catching up to do in order to get to your level.” seeing as this was her first real experience with drinking to this extent, she had a long ways to go. she peered over the edge of the roof, where the elder man was in search of his hat. she almost felt bad for the guy, but she started feeling gravity getting to the best of her, realizing just how far up they were. quickly, she grabbed a hold on his arm for balance, not thinking too much about it, and took a step back. “i think i may have had a bit too much…”

    “—woh there.” sirius grabbed onto her the girl as she fell. maybe the idea of them being so close to the edge of a rooftop after having some drinks was not the best idea. “i think you may have just had one past your limit.” he steadied her after the fall only for her to take a step back from him. “looks like i have you fallin’ for me jones.” he said as his hand still held on gently to her arm. “we can wait here until you sober up a little, then i can help you back down the ladder. can’t have you getting hurt on me.”

      she turned to face him, not fully knowing what to say in response to his compliment. truthfully, she wasn’t sure what to make of him to begin with, but she appreciated his sentiment nonetheless. “well, thanks. not too shabby yourself.” she turned her gaze to the man whose hat seemed to escape from him, and couldn’t help but let out a small giggle while listening to him go on, “right, i’m sure you would never do such a cruel thing,” she said as she turned her attentions back to the gryffindor boy. “i mean, everyone knows how much of a goody-goody you are,” her tone clearly in a teasing manner. she snatched the bottle back, stealing another sip from it. “merlin━━ this is some strong stuff, here.”

     “isn’t that why you’re attracted to me? because of my good behavior?” sirius teased, adding a wink for good measure. they both knew the the gryffindor was known for two things around the castle— sex and trouble. two things in which he was more than happy to account for. “what i like the strong stuff? my tolerance has built up after all these years of drinking away my problems.” a laugh came following his self deprecating joke. everyone had their fair share of issues in their life, but the eldest black chose to view his negatives as positives. how healthy that was? well, only time would tell. “this fella is still trying to find out what happened to his hat.” he said as he looked over the edge to the ground below. luckily he wasn’t afraid of heights.

      “like i said, not nearly drunk enough for that sort of depressing talk. so i guess if you really want to know, i’ll just have to drink more of this,” she nodded towards to bottle before taking a long sip of it. it wasn’t as if she didn’t trust him or anything of that nature, it was just difficult for her to without getting choked up and emotional. she needed time before she could fully process all that she had gone through and actually open up about it. “well, you’re right about the not wanting to spit part, but still amusing nonetheless,” she said with the smallest hint of a smile, something that she hadn’t shown in the past few days. 

      she waited until she reached the top of the ladder and pulled herself onto the edge before answering that. truthfully, she never knew why she had always felt that way, but she always just… did. her insecurities stayed with her, like a constant companion reminding her that she was never good enough. “i dunno, but i’m fairly sure i’m not nearly drunk enough to be having that sort of emotional talk. so you better get up here quick with that bottle of yours.” truthfully, she wasn’t sure if she could handle that sort of talk tonight, afraid of completely falling apart. she didn’t want him to see that side of her, at least not tonight.

    “oh i’m sorry, i wasn’t aware that there was a ‘pass’ option in this q-and-a? that would have been nice to know before i answered.” he replied with a chuckle before handing over the bottle. regardless if pass had been an option for him he would have still answered any of her questions. honesty was a rarity in his household, so when it came to the outside world he tried to be as frank as possible. “so here is our rebellious activity..” sirius pulled out his hand and staggered near the edge of the building. casting a quick charm down to the person below. their hat coming straight off their head and dancing around them. “usually the boys and i spit or throw water-balloons, but i have no balloons and i figured you wouldn’t want to spit.” 

sirius: wow i think i love you

                    remus  said  nothing,  simply  wearing  a  deadpan  expression  as  he  watched  his  friend.  he  hated  his  sarcasm  being  missed;  he  would  definitely  mention  it  the  following  day     (     if  he  remembered     )     .      listening  to  his  words,  he  brought  the  cup  to  his  lips      &     tried  his  best  to  finish  it  all        an  act  made  in  vain  as  he  was  stopped  by  a  poorly-timed  brain  freeze.      ❛     oooooh  god     !    peter  is         shit  that  hurts         peter  is  somewhere  around  here.   i  just  saw  him     !     .  .  .   WAIT     !    there  he  is     !    PETER     !     ❜

     “ —PETER ! ” sirius called as he pounded his empty glass on the wooden table to get the boy’s attention. “— PETER ! “ he called once more before getting distracted by the empty glass. he wanted another one. “remus i need another drink. get me another drink. —PETER ! GET ME ANOTHER DRINK ! “ this time he was yelling across the bar to his friend. 

         she did as she was told, stepping into his clasped hands and reached for the ladder. she was short, but thankfully the gryffindor was tall enough, and made up her lack of height. she reached up and managed to pull herself up to the ladder, and grabbed onto it. she started to climb up, watching the boy below her to see if he might need any help, not that she would’ve bee  much help in her state of mind. “fine, fine. i’ll stop bugging you about them, but only if you answer me this ━━ why do you say that i’m different ? like i’m special ?”  she had never thought of herself worth the label, and was curious why he seemed so interested in her. 

    sirius waited until she had made it half way up before taking a large leap upward to grab onto the ladder. he pulled himself up with ease before climbing the rest of the length to the rooftop. “i don’t know. to the technical everyone is different. so you can never be just like another person.” he responded as he opened up the bottle they had brought from the bar. his answer hadn’t been a way to avoid confessing his feelings. he genuinely had no idea why he viewed her different than the other girls. maybe it was the fact that she didn’t consider herself to be anything worthwhile that made her special? he wasn’t sure. none of the girls he found himself around ever seemed to lack in confidence. “— let me ask you: why do you think you’re not?” 

      she followed him, unsure of what she was going to be expecting from him. curious as she was, she made the decision not to ask, wanting it to be a surprise. mostly because she was sure he wouldn’t tell her anyways. he simply didn’t seem the type. she never did anything like this, however, she could understand the allure of being rebellious and reckless, and she couldn’t exactly say she was complaining, although it wasn’t helping with the deeper problems at hand. still, she was glad to have a distraction. “so, how often do you do this with girls ? sweeping them away for some mischievous shenanigans ?” it wasn’t out of jealousy she asked this, but mere curiosity about him.

“yeah, you were.  you were goin’ on about …  i dunno, something.”  he took a big drink from his glass, trying his best to not grimace at the burning sensation.  regulus still wanted to impress sirius, even after all these years.  “of course i am.  isn’t everyone? — aren’t you?”

    “you’re right i was.” sirius had no idea what he was talking about, but if it made his brother feel better he would play along. “yes i am having a ton of fun. although i have been drinking a little less frequently than you have i’ve afraid. just try not to do anything too drastic reg.”

      “do i look like i’m someone who cares what you do in your personal time ? because i can guarantee you, i do not.” she had heard the rumors, she knew the kind of guy he was. a part of her wished she could be like that, doing those things, not caring about the judgement. the old hestia would never have dreamed of it. however, that hestia was gone, a part of her dead, gone forever. she was so tired of being the good, innocent girl everyone made her out to be. she didn’t want to care anymore about her mother’s opinions of her, holding her down to be the perfect daughter. she was just… done. “you wouldn’t happen to have an idea of how to have some good old fashioned reckless fun around here, would you ?”

     “alright— fuck me then.” sirius replied with a laugh as his fingers ran through his hair. there was something different about the ravenclaw. he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but she was something drastic from the girl he had passed notes with in potions. maybe it was the liquor. or maybe she was just sick of his company. regardless, he was going to try his best to make a better impression. “you came to the right place. i love reckless fun.” the gryffindor turned to his glass and with one quick motion downed the entire glass. savoring had never been his specialty. “bartender— may i have a bottle of your hardest liquor.” he pulled a few galleons from his pocket to exchange them for a bottle. “hope you can keep up gorgeous.” he winked mischievously has he headed for the door of the bar.

                              ❛    well  that’s  a  stumper.  might  need  another  hint.      ❜      he  gave  him  a  look,  annoyed  in  presence,  but  amused  in  nature.    ❛    looks  like  i  gotta  catch  up.  now  where’s  that  refill     ?     ❜     the  last  sentence  was  mumbled  under  his  breath  as  he  looked  around,  eyes  searching  the  tables  for  his  favorite  type  of  alcohol.

     “it’s me! i know we were guessing, but i can’t keep giving hints.” sirius laughed boastfully as he took a large swig from his goblet. “—yes catch up to me moony. we haven’t gotten rip-roarin’ drunk together in such a long time. well—i guess if you count this time then it hasn’t been that long.” his eyes wondered around the bar as he spoke. “we just gotta find the rest of the bunch. where’s pete and jamie?”

      “ah, right. wouldn’t want any girls forgetting who they spent the night with,” she simply shook her head. what else could be expected from such a boy ? at least he was being honest with her though, it was more than she could say about some of the students at hogwarts, for sure. hestia’s gaze shifted quickly, as she saw their drinks being brought to them, and brought the goblet to her lips as she took a long sip. “creative ? yeah, i’m sure you are.”

“i’m tellin’ you, siri — ” he drawled slightly, reviving a nickname for his elder brother that hadn’t been heard in well over a year.  regulus startled himself with a hiccup and lost his train of thought.  “what were you goin’ on about?” // @eldestblck

    “i wasn’t goin’ on about anything— you on the other hand..” sirius hovered near his brother with his glass almost empty. he and regulus shared a lot of traits. one thing they did not have in common was their tolerance. “looks like someone’s been having a good time today.”