offer me that deathless death

╰  (  darren barnet. cis-male. he/him. ) welcome back to hogwarts ALASTOR MOODY ! you’re a SEVENTH year from GRYFFINDOR, right ? i’ve got your school file right here. it says you’re a TWENTY-THREE year old PUREBLOOD, is that correct ? this file even has a personality entry, saying you’re LOYAL & HUMBLE as well as BRASH & RECKLESS. is that why you’ve chosen to JOIN THE ORDER ? would you look at that ! it says here other students also describe you as : smoke trickling from the end of a blunt after a long day, scotch on the rocks, finding comfort in one’s own company, and fighting even when you don’t think you can. how interesting. oh well, see you in class !

Being entirely honest, it wasn’t a total surprise when Dumbledore had asked Alastor if he wanted to be Head Boy for the upcoming school year. The Gryffindor had been a prefect his previous years, had good grades, and was more times than not trying to help his peers. Though, it also wouldn’t have been a surprise if he hadn’t been asked because Alastor found himself in detention a decent amount of times through the years for getting into a fight or duel. He always insisted it was usually another way to help his peers, though McGonagall had gotten sick of hearing that one. Remus Lupin, a fellow Gryffindor, was a student Alastor had heard a fair amount of praises about from professors, so it was hardly a surprise he’d been named a prefect. “Lupin,” Alastor spoke, flipping the other’s prefect badge in hand. He hadn’t expected to find the other Gryffindor awake in the common room--- Alastor himself just finishing off rounds he’d pushed back late that night. “Nabbed this off from a couple third years just a few minutes ago. Figured you lost it, unless it’s Evans'.”

Alecto wondered who had organised this party. It couldn’t have been one of the Slytherins. There was no way that they would have been so willing to let the riff raff into their parties. Alecto knew if it had been her she would have been a lot more specific on who she had invited. Maybe of the people here would not make the cut. Probably just as welll really. She didn’t think most of them would be able to survive a Carrow party. They were quite wild. Alecto made a mental note to suggest to Amycus that they host one before they graudated. The Carrow twins did want to graduate with a bang after all. “Gosh…” She murmured, jumping bak as one of the aforementioned annoying people, nearly dropped their drink all over here. “Better? How about lucky.” Because she would not have been happy if he’d gotten his drink all over here. “You should work on how clumsy you are.”

When it came to Alecto Carrow the man didn’t expect anything similar to ‘polite’, at least not when it concerned him. The Moody family had once been prominent along with other pureblood families, but after generations of unrest they’d lost their respectability where that was concerned. Blood traitors; words used to describe most of the family, not that Alastor had much to speak of. He wanted to roll his eyes at her dramatics, though he refrained. Honestly, the real reason he took the spill was likely so the Gryffindor didn’t have to hear the Carrow twin complain about how he ruined her dress. Not that magic would solve the problem, or anything...another thing he had to find restraint for. “Charmed, as always, Alecto,” Alastor spoke, offering her a feigned smile. Though, seeing as it was him, the smile was nothing more than a twitch of the corner of his lips which hardly moved. “Probably why the Quidditch team said it was in their best interest I never joined. Hardly worth working on now, I’d say.”

the air outside feels chilly, even in september ━━ then again, the point of comparison is the crowded and stuffed room of requirement. however, as much as marlene is looking for a place to just cool down and breathe fresh air, they can’t lie and say they’re not scared to be alone with their thoughts. so when the spot they think is completely empty proves to be the opposite, there’s a weird sense of relief that washes over her. even if the person occupying the space is alastor. maybe the impending awkwardness is enough to keep her thoughts away from her own loss. marlene lets out a dry chuckle, shaking their head at alastor’s words. “escape? sort of. smoke? not so much,” they say with a smirk as they take a seat next to alastor, though there’s enough distance between them. “you sound like an old man, alastor.” their tone is playful as they hug their knees to their chest. “i didn’t even see you inside.”

“I was inside for a bit. Managed to spill my first drink and everything,” he admitted with a chuckle, settling back against the tree and looking out over the grounds rather than at Marlene. Even though they were someone Alastor would probably befriend anyway, ever since he could remember the pair were forced to endure the other before they even went to school together. Walter Moody was very close friends with both Ethan and Keira McKinnon, and with the two of them being around the same age they’d always been tossed together as the adults caught up with one another. Even sometimes now that Marlene and Alastor themselves were adults. “I’d like to point out you’re also escaping from a party, so you sound just as old.” 

Having managed to get away without anyone asking him to dance (yet, he supposed since the night was still young) and only spilling one drink on himself, Alastor counted that as enough of a win for a smoke break and an excuse to sneak away. The man would take any excuse to sneak away from a party at least eleven times throughout the night, and that was only mildly an exaggeration. Seeing a few other stragglers as he left the Castle’s Doors, Alastor didn’t take long to find an excluded corner underneath a tree to escape away from his peers. It also was a good place to smoke, so after he settled himself Alastor pulled out the blunt he had in his pocket and lit it. After taking his first hit he finally managed to relax a little--- probably the first time that night; that is until he heard the rustling of someone’s footsteps approaching. Lifting his wand to shine a light (he wanted to know if he needed to put out what he was smoking), he saw a familiar figure he’d managed to mostly avoid since arriving at Hogwarts. Other than a pleasant hello maybe, but that was it. “You looking to escape to smoke, too? Or do you have a headache from how bloody loud that music is?”