King of Today

The other night had been stressful, to say the least. Most of her fellow Death Eaters didn’t know who she was yet, thankfully, which made things easier when it came to standing there with her ridiculous cloak and mask listening to them discuss more horrid plans. She wouldn’t be able to skate by doing the minimal any longer - she knew she’d have to participate in the killing sooner or later. Which was why the pressure got worse with every day that passed to figure out who it had that killed Xenophilius. At the moment, she only had clues that she managed to gather by how the Death Eaters operated. There’d been at least 2 people there when he was killed, and about two or three of the Death Eaters she knew were ruled out.

Those thoughts swirled through her head as she entered the classroom and Pandora knew she wouldn’t be able to pay much attention that day. “What the hell?” She exclaimed, a had taking her wrist and holding it up. She narrowed her eyes at Bilius, surprised but not about to punch or yell at her friend once she realized who it was. “Bilius, what-”

‘Come with me,’ he said, and Pandora wasn’t sure what about his tone did it but she felt like she was in trouble. She followed. “What are you doing? What’s this about?” They entered the classroom and Pandora finally drew her arm away from him. But they were alone and in private now, which meant whatever it was he needed to tell her was serious. The annoyance and apprehension had turned to worry almost instantly. “You’re starting to freak me out.”

Bilius released her only once they were both inside the empty classroom. Ignoring her questions, Bilius pulled out his wand and charmed the door closed with a spell that can’t be undone by a simple Alohamora. He sped to the other side of the room and did the same thing to the other door. Still leaving poor Pandora ignored. Bilius circled the parameter of the room, casting an Anti-Eavesdropping Spell. 

When he was finally done, assured that no one will overhear whatever will happen in the room, Bilius finally looked at the Ravenclaw. A good couple of meters were between them. His face betrayed no emotion, only fatigue while he studied her. He thought she looked confused, maybe even scared. What he saw broke his heart a little more. Was it really possible that the girl in front of him was what Bilius feared her to be?

“Where were you... Last night...” Bilius didn’t even sound like he was asking a question. Why should he when he already knew the answer.

Bilius didn’t sleep at all after returning to the Gryffindor Common Room. He spent the rest of the night turning over his bed, trying to convince himself that what he saw that night wasn’t real. That there was a perfectly good reason why Pandora would be out of her bed that night, dressed discreetly and off to a clandestine meeting. But no matter how Bilius tried to picture it, he couldn’t shake off the dread he felt that Pandora has gotten herself into something dangerous. If it wasn’t her causing the danger in the first place.

Bilius went through his morning in a daze. He was only going through the motions as he prepared for his day and had breakfast. His eyes were either staring into space or fixed to the Ravenclaw table, hoping to find a familiar face. Classes came and went with Bilius barely remembering what happened. The only thing he was focused on was finding and cornering Pandora to ask her what the fuck was going on. It shouldn’t be hard since they have four classes together His chance came before their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Bilius stood by the door and waited for her to arrive. Before she got the chance to enter, Bilius interrupted her.

He grabbed her wrist and held it up to his face. The bracelet on her wrist confirmed it. It was her. With a rare serious look in his face, Bilius put down her wrist and started dragging her to the empty classroom nearby, away from the classroom. “Come with me,” he ordered, not really giving Pandora a chance to refuse or escape.

Valentine’s Day was growing closer and closer and Benjy found himself growing slightly anxious about it. Not that he felt like he needed to have a date or anything, because he felt firm in his belief that love will come when it comes – no need to force it. But the anxiety grew from his not knowing, this sudden curious urge when it came to different people and being attracted to them. Would his witnessing of certain people coupling off make him happy that they’re happy or jealous because he didn’t have it? Or jealous because he liked one or the other in the coupling.

Either way, he wasn’t looking forward to the date and the cards and everything mixed in. But not everyone seemed to be avoiding the date the way that he is. Running into his dormmate seemed normal, considering they share a dorm and couple of classes, but the look Bilius started sporting made his brow furrow. “Bilius? Where did you get those glasses?” He hoped the lad hadn’t nicked them from someone who still needed them. But his question was overruled by the other Gryffindor’s own question then the quick follow up question.

“Oh wow, uh, I don’t know?” He gripped the strap of his bag tighter, looking at Bilius with confusion in his features. “Why? Are you thinking about asking someone on a date?” Cool deflection, he tried to mask the nervousness that began to fill him, finding his usual Gryffindor bravery. 

“Lost and found,” Bilius answered curtly. He pushed the thick-framed glasses up the bridge of his nose for effect. “They were just gathering dust, along with this.” He rapped on the clipboard with the knuckles of his free hand. Unfortunately, the glasses he wore were prescription glasses, altering his vision. Although the details were definitely hazy, Bilius was still able to recognize his dormmate.

“I may be. Maybe not. ‘Depends on what I learn, but I’m not the one being interviewed, am I?” Bilius leaned a tiny bit forward, trying to discern whether Benjy was trying to hide something from him. Deciding that it was nothing, Bilius tapped his quill hard against the clipboard twice, probably rendering it unusable soon.  “Now focus! Perfect date with the perfect woman. Or man. Or person.” Bilius made sure to cover his bases. Even if people have assured him that they only like one sex or the other, Bilius wanted to make sure that he’s not making any assumptions.

Bilius wouldn’t say that he was already expecting a miserable Valentine’s Day. Sure, his survey turned out to be a bust, with students ignoring him left and right. Sure, he hasn’t found a mind-blowing significant other to have an equally mind-blowing date with, sparking the beginning of an epic love saga that would have defined the rest of his stay in Hogwarts which he would lovingly look back on long after his hair turned the color of volcanic ash. That would have been great, yeah, but he still had time, right? He had about twenty-six hours to find a Valentine’s right? And if not, there was solace in knowing he had another year left. There were other things in life after all. For example, there is alcohol. And good suppers. And friends… There are also long nights spending time with house elves in the kitchen as he sobered up.

Lily could see the gears turning in his head and she was already grinning and shaking her head, knowing that the look on his face meant nothing good. Yet, infuriatingly (and affectionately) so, there was nothing she could do about it. Bilius Weasley was the joys and excitements of life all wrapped up in a person. And he was good, oh, so good and genuine. She couldn’t ever stay angry at the younger Weasley because of it. She cared very much for the fellow red-head, she saw him as practically family after all this time.

His shirt coming off, Lily’s head turned to the ceiling as if to plead assistance from a higher power. Looking down again, she rolled her eyes at with a huge grin while the crowd hooted and hollered. “Alright, you massive tosser,” she said with the utmost affection and a gentle push at his shoulder. “I’m adding first diaper duty to that little punishment of yours next time we’re babysitting your nephews.” She laughed, people already coming up to Bilius and pulling him away from her. Everyone wanted the party king. “J-just don’t leave the common room, you hear?!” Lily called out once more, sighing at the thought of having to find a drunk Bilius outside on the stairs again. She let out another laugh while they took him away. 

His forced frown eased into a smile as the hoots got louder. Always the entertainer, Bilius spread his arms wide and turned around to give everyone in the crowd the full view. He chuckled as the Head Girl pushed his shoulder. “Easy,” Bilius replied. He’s had a lot of practice since he was a young teen after his older brother kept  “Deal.” The younger Gryffindor managed to grab Lily’s hands for a quick handshake before being dragged by their fellow partygoers. “No promises!” Bilius shouted back, His mind was already half somewhere, thinking about all the different kinds of body shots he could do tonight.

The Hogsmeade weekend before Valentine’s is coming closer and closer by the day and still, Bilius had no date. That didn’t sit well with the Gryffindor. It was his second to the last Valentine’s in Hogwarts and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to make the most out of it. 

Bilius’ love life since the beginning of his sixth year has been uneventful so far. Sure he had a couple of hook-ups here and there but those hardly counted. He might not seem like it given his impulsive and devil-may-care attitude. But he definitely missed going out of his way to make a significant other happy and being taken care of just the same. Bilius was afraid that perhaps his usual lines and moves were getting a bit rusty so he hit the Hogwarts Hallways to find out.

Equipped with a clipboard and eyeglass frames with the lenses removed that he snatched from the lost and found, he went out of the Gryffindor Common Room and started looking for free students that he could interview. “Hi!” he approached one. “Do you have the time to take a quick Valentine’s survey?” It was less of a question and more of an assumption. “Great,” he immediately added without waiting for a reply. “Describe to me your ideal date.”

If there was ever someone who could’ve taken over the mantle of a party success after Ludo left this year, it was bloody Bilius Weasley. A hand clapped to the boy’s shoulder, and he couldn’tve been prouder when the lad was pouring shots into passing bodies. Grinning as he leaned back to take the liquor, standing for a moment as he wiped whatever spilled with the back of his hand. “Don’t tell me you’ve had more to drink than me, I’ll make you chug that bottle!” He called over the music.

“Well, that depends on you... I’ve been drinking since this party began.” Bilius brought the bottle to his lips for emphasis and swallowed a swig or two while maintaining eye contact with the older boy. Ludo was the party king. There was no argument there. While Ludo had the means to create a bountiful feast that promised over-flowing alcohol, Bilius was more like the court jester who supplied the tricks and laughs while encouraging others to drink as much as he did. And there was not a fucking thing wrong with that. “Only chugging this if you get one yourself, Bagman.”

“I told you, I plan on staying as sober as I can,” Lily said with another cough and a pointed glare. She let out a small scoff of a laugh when Bilius lifted the drink to finish it up himself. “You’re lucky that stuff’s just cheap beer or I would have flung your precious drink out the window instead, Bilius.” She grinned. Not even looking at the crowd that had gathered, she was happy to see them start to go on and do their own thing again when it was clear Lily was not about to continue entertaining them.

“You know what… I don’t know yet, I’ll have to think about it.” Lily grinned at him. “Unless you think up a punishment for yourself now and save me the effort…” She trailed off pointedly, amusing herself with the idea of the most ‘creative’ Weasley picking out his own fate. It was all playful fun after all, Lily wouldn’t get more than tipsy with that much cheap beer and her throat wasn’t burning that bad. 

Bilius looked at her as if she said the most absurd thing in the world. “Now that’s a load of shite. It’s your birthday innit?” He was under the impression that a person’s birthday celebration is that one special day in the year wherein they are allowed to get completely and utterly pissed, free of judgment. “If that’s the case,” Bilius started to look at his surroundings, hoping to see a stronger bottle of alcohol nearby.

Bilius’ smile grinned wide as Lily basically gave him an invite to do whatever he wanted. Of course, she phrased it as a punishment, but within the context of a party, the male Gryffindor saw no difference. Bilius coughed in an attempt to wipe the smile off his face and replacing it with an over-exaggerated ‘serious’ face. “A punishment, of course,” he nodded. His shoulders rose and fell in a dramatic sigh. His hands reached for the hem as his shirt before he slowly pulled it off his head. Several hoots were heard from the crowd. “I guess I have to spend the rest of the night doing body shots for people.” Fake disappointment colored his voice.

He raised his voice and Lily knew what that meant. There was no hiding now. She tried to placate Bilius with hands gesturing for him to quiet down, nervously grinning as she did so simply because of how infuriatingly amusing he always was, even when he was about to make things difficult. And it was all to no avail. ‘I’ll bloody start a chant if I have to’, he said. “Oh, don’t you dare,” Lily warned.

But he did. Lily looked around at the chant and knew she was in way too good and playful a mood to resist. Releasing a heavy sigh, she smirked and shook her head at Bilius. “You’re so dead for this, Bili,” Lily joked and lifted her glance to the bottle, ready to take in at least a glass or two worth of the drink before definitely stopping. And she did. She let about half a glass full pour down her throat, thankful to God it was just some cheap beer and not something that could have her choking and sputtering immediately. Then she took the bottle from his hand and poured about another glass and a half until she stopped. Coughing, Lily pushed the bottle into Bilius’ chest and grinned victoriously at him through a couple leftover coughs. There was some beer on her shirt but enough she would easily just magic it off in a moment. 

“Don’t you grin at me like that, Weasley, you’re definitely paying for this.” she teased with a smirk (though definitely also half serious on that promise.)

Bilius kept the chant going until Lily Evans took things on her own hands. Quite literally. He gasped in shock before laughing in delight, impressed when she pried the bottle off his hands and poured the beer down her throat. By that time, enough people have been cheering on the Head Girl that Bilius didn’t need to join to keep the chant going. Instead, he joined those who were clapping and howling as they watched the Head Girl almost down the bottle.

Despite being impressed with Lily, not expecting her to drink as much as she did, Bilius still groaned when she slowed down to a halt before finishing the bottle. “Awwwwwww.” Loudly. He was hoping to get the crowd on his side again before being interrupted when Lily pushed the glass against his chest. He staggered backward while he clutched the almost empty glass. “You’re such a tease, Lily. You should have at least drained the entire thing already. Bilius lifted the glass and shook it for emphasis. Not one to waste any alcohol, Bilius felt that it was responsibility to drink the rest of the thing. So he did.

What Lily said only made him grin wider. Bilius placed the glass away from any limbs that might accidentally bump it. “And how will I pay for that, if I may ask?” Bilius teased.

The Greengrasses had members in every house at Hogwarts over the years, and Ollie was exceptionally happy they were one of the ones not sorted into Slytherin. While they certainly had friends in the…more serious and darker crowd, they also had friends in every other house. Nobody really held it against the Ravenclaw because Ollie just wanted to surround themselves with anyone who wanted to have a good time, and if anyone did hold it against them….well, Ollie couldn’t say they noticed or particularly cared. It was why the Ravenclaw was in the Gryffindor common room and made sure they had a chance to personally say happy birthday to the birthday girl and give her a hug. Ollie could also just be seen anywhere there was a celebration, but Lily Evans was a good enough reason to party. Having just picked up another drink, Ollie wasn’t deterred with a whole bottle being rushed their way by Bilius Weasley. The Ravenclaw held up a finger, quickly downing the entire contents of the glass in one go. “Alright, alright,” Ollie said, tilting their head back with a grin on their lips. “Go, go, go!”

Bilius watched them drink all the contents of their glass first in glee. Now that was someone he would love to party with. Of course, the Oliver Greengrass wouldn’t turn down a drink. “That’s what I’m talking about!” he shouted over the crowd as he drew the closer towards the other person to lessen the spillage.

Without even confirming if they were ready, Bilius tilted the bottle and poured its contents over their mouth. “Drink! Drink! Drink!” Bilius started chanting hoping to get the crowd with him and soon enough, he had the people in their immediate surroundings follow suit. Drink! Drink! Drink! The crowd chanted in unison as Bilius showed no sign of stopping, waiting to see what will happen first: Oliver choking on the alcohol or tapping out.

Lily was very subtly ‘babysitting’ drunk James after he’d given her a moment to say hello to the rest of her friends and friendly guests. She had her eyes glancing over to him and Peter every once in a while to make sure they avoided trouble. While Lily knew Marlene to be more-or-less adept at avoiding most stupid things while drunk, Lily wasn’t so sure if James Potter was the same way just yet. And, if she was being honest with her, it amused her to watch him laugh along with his friends in such a state. 

In the meantime, she was greeting a 6th year Ravenclaw girl she’d known for her occasional sleep walking habits. There’d been a couple times that Lily had woken Pandora Fancourt up during Prefect and Head Girl night rounds so the two were relatively acquainted and talking when she heard the familiar voice of Bilius Weasley come up at her side. Lily immediately took a step back upon noticing the bottle.

“BILIUS,” Lily exclaimed, unable to help the smirk that appeared on her face at the sight of him and the resurfacing of Weasley’s famous party antics. “Absolutely not!” Although Lily had certainly embarrassed herself in front of him before and succumbed to his party antics in other situations, Lily was determined to be more sober than drunk at her own party. But she was laughing as she swiped to bring the bottle back down from his grip.

“Oh come on, Lily!” Bilius whined pretty loudly, hoping to draw the attention of the people around him. “You’re the very reason why we’re all gathered here tonight. And it’s your bloody birthday, for crying out loud! We can’t have all the fun.” The Head Girl tried to swat his hand away but Bilius was persistent. “Come on! Just this once,” he pressed on, pouting his lips exaggeratedly and threw in his puppy dog eyes for good measure. “I’ll bloody start a chant if I have to.” Bilius turned to the people around them and raised both of his hands. “EVERYBODY NOW! LILY! LILY! LILY!” Once he got a sizable people chanting with him, he turned back towards the older Gryffindor and raised the bottle once more to let people know exactly what they were cheering for. “LILY! LILY! LILY!”

It wasn’t even midnight but Bilius’ sweater already came off. His tie was undone and it was slung on his neck. His shirt was a couple of buttons undone. The night was going extremly well for a party celebrating Lily. Surely, this was all Marlene’s doing. Possibly even Theo. Bilius also saw Ludo around so he thought that the other might have a hand in this as well. In the end, everything was swell and Bilius sought to enjoy it as much as he can. Lily was practically family anyway.

Bilius was holding one of the bottles from the icy cauldrons that held the drinks and opened it with a loud cheer. He took a few swigs directly from the bottle and smiled triumpantly as he finished before wiping his mouth with his sleeve. His eyes searched the crowd and locked at eyes with his target. “Hey!” Bilius approached them, almost shouting over the roar of the party. He raised his bottle of firewhiskey to indicate what he was about to do. “Open up!” The Gryffindor shouted as he brought the bottle over the other person’s head.