The party, from the moment it started, was destined to be loud. Seventh years were sprawled all over the place, some lying on sofas dotted around the room, some on the dance floor, but most at the makeshift bar, which primarily consisted of two coffee tables that were piled with bottles ranging from a clear colour to a fluorescent pink one. One of the people at the bar was Albus Potter. He was seated behind it, having taken it upon himself to supervise the alcohol consumption of his peers – not that there was ever much point in trying – and leant forwards onto his elbows as he surveyed the crowd.

Although the seventh years had finished their NEWTs over a week ago, they had not had an opportunity to really let loose until now. The days following their last examinations had instead been filled with making plans for the upcoming summer holidays, packing their bags and saying their final goodbyes to the school at which they had spent almost a decade. Now, the night before they were all set to leave Hogwarts, the entire year group was enjoying a final night of freedom as students before their journeys into the adult world began.

Albus, however, was not in such a position to be enjoying himself, due to the fact that he was, in actuality, terrible at holding his liquor. He had vomited exactly seven minutes ago in the toilet that had fortunately appeared just when he needed it, and was now scowling at his classmates, a throbbing beginning to develop in his head.

One of the only still sober people was Alice Longbottom. Having grown up behind the bar in her mother's pub, she was used to the antics of the drunken and had no real desire to join them. Instead, she preferred to laugh at their stupidity and save the blackmail for later – she was often told, because of this, that she should have been a Slytherin rather than a Hufflepuff.

In her sobriety, she noticed the sullen looking black haired boy over at the bar, and strolled over to seat herself beside him, a Butterbeer in her hand.

"Hey, Al," She said amiably, "How's that tequila treating you?"

"It's currently running down the drain," He mumbled in reply, and Alice let out a sympathetic sound of realisation. "Probably should have stayed sober like you, eh?"

"Probably," She agreed, and took a sip of her drink, "Any plans for the summer?"

Albus shrugged. "Not really. I've got an internship that starts in September, though. You?"

"Nah. Just helping out with the pub, I suppose."

Albus nodded. The pair of them sat in silence for a moment or so – or, at silent as they could, given the fact that the room was positively vibrating with the somewhat painful sounds of popular Wizarding rock music.

"Why don't you go travelling?" Alice suggested, turning her head to glance at him, "Used to be Wizarding custom, you know. To go travelling about when you leave school."

Albus frowned. "Maybe. Not a bad idea, actually, but I've always wanted to do something more…Muggle."

At this, Alice smirked to herself. It was common knowledge that Albus was infatuated with all things Muggle; an obsession she had never truly understood. Why would you want to drive in a car for hours when you could Apparate in less than a second?

She shrugged. "Suit yourself." She shot him a quick smile and then rose to her feet. "Have some fun, yeah Al?"

He rolled his eyes at her as she walked away. Within seconds, he was struck by an idea.

He stood up quickly, stumbling a little, and moved around the side of the bar towards the centre of the room. Scanning the area, he searched for a bright head of red hair, looking left and right and back again until – there.

He ambled over hastily, hopping over stray bottles as he went towards a sofa on which was seated his favourite cousin.

"Oi, Rose," He said loudly. She glanced up.

"Hiya, Al," She said, "What's up?"

"I've had an epiphany," He exclaimed, dropping down next to her.

Rose sat up. "An epiphany, you say? What is it? Wait; let me guess. Is it…a cure for cancer?"

"No."

"What about…a spell that will transform you into a…dragon?"

"There is a spell for that, Rosie."

"What? Oh, yeah. Okay, you want to become a model."

He looked at her incredulously, and she burst out laughing at his expression.

"Okay, okay," She said between giggles, "You want to become a writer."

"Noooooo," He sighed, drawing out the word.

"You want to have Fiona's babies."

Albus' brows furrowed. Just how inebriated was his cousin, anyway? "Who's Fiona?"

"This fifth year. I had to tutor her, it was awful."

"Okay."

"You want to shag your best mate."

"Ew, Rose, you are my best mate."

"Aw, Albie!" She exclaimed, and she lunged over to hug him. Albus wrinkled his nose – she stunk of vodka.

She pulled away a second after, beaming at him, "I meant your other best mate, but it's good to know you love me more."

Albus rolled his eyes, "I do not want to shag Scorpius."

"Denial, Al. I see the way you look at him," She said, eyes narrowing. She poked a finger playfully into his chest.

"Can we get back to my idea now?"

"Sure. What is it, then?"

"Aren't you going to guess?"

"Nah, I'm lazy." She slumped back into the sofa and huffed. A curl of vibrant red hair flew up and landed back on her forehead.

"I want to go on a road trip."

"A what?" She looked over at him.

"A road trip. It's this thing that Muggles do, and they go and travel around in a car –"

"I know what a road trip is, Al," She said, "But why do you want to go on one?"

"It'll be fun."

"Right." She frowned at him.

"Are you in or not?" He said irritatedly.

She considered it, furrowing her brows for a second. Then, "Only if Alice comes."

He shrugged, "Fine." If he was honest, it probably wasn't a bad idea to have Alice with them – she was much more responsible than the pair of them.

"Cool."

"Awesome. Bye, Rosie!" He ran off quickly, before she could think about what she'd gotten herself into.

On the other side of the room was Scorpius, who was indefinitely more drunk than Rose, if that was even possible. Albus spotted him standing right next to the speakers, singing loudly and completely off key. Albus grabbed him, and thankfully, Scorpius ceased his singing. Instead, he pulled Albus into a rather lopsided hug.

"Albie!" He pulled away slightly, looking at him in a way that Albus guessed was meant to be serious. "You know… you know you're the best-est friend ever."

"Really?" Albus smirked, steering him away from the music and towards a corner.

"Yeah, you're like so kind and smart and funny and –" He began to stage-whisper. "I think I might be a little drunk."

"You don't say," Albus was trying his hardest not to laugh. "But anyway, Scorp, I was thinking about our plans for the summer."

"Summer!" Scorpius was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"How would you like to go on a road trip? We'd do it just like the Muggles do and –"

"That is the greatest idea! Ever. EVER!"

Scorpius dragged Albus back onto the dance floor, a zone which Albus would have generally avoided like the plague, but it was the end of NEWTs and he had successfully managed to rope two of his friends into coming on a road trip with him, so a little celebration was probably in order, not that Scorpius hadn't already done enough of that. He hated to think of the state that his mates would be in when they woke up.

The next morning, Rose awoke definitely worse for wear. She had a pounding headache that was so painful she wouldn't have been surprised if it was product of a jinx rather than alcohol.

"Fuuuck," She moaned, opening her eyes and forcing herself out of bed.

How had she allowed herself to get so drunk? Dread hit her. Merlin, what if she had done something really stupid? She had a funny feeling that she had. After a brief shower, she stumbled downstairs, all too painfully remembering the last time she got properly hammered and had snogged Trevor Dawlish, before promptly throwing up all over his shoes. She was never going to live that down.

The Great Hall was packed full of students as usual, but the seventh years all sat together, regardless of house, in a kind of hung-over and nostalgic clump. This was the last meal they were going to have at school before boarding the Hogwarts' Express one last time, a thought which slightly terrified Rose. She spotted Albus picking at breakfast, with a very smug looking Alice sitting next to him. She collapsed down beside them.

"Where's Scorpius?" The two boys were rarely seen apart, so it was a little unusual to see Albus sitting by himself.

"He's refusing to leave the bed, and has told me numerous times that the Cruciatus curse would be less painful than the hangover he's experiencing." Albus said, grinning a little at his friend's predicament.

"Bloody drama queen," Alice remarked, as Rose began gingerly picking at a piece of toast.

The three of them sat in silence for a minute, which Rose was grateful for. Her headache was lessening and it was plain she was in a much better condition than Scorpius, but she wasn't going to be appreciative of any loud noises anytime soon. Eventually, she felt compelled to ask the question that was weighing on her mind.

"Guys, did I do anything stupid last night? Something tells me I did."

"Nothing more than the usual vaguely embarrassing stuff people do when they're drunk." Alice replied, "Why? Which bits don't you remember?"

"Well, I was talking to you, then I took another shot of… something, sat on one of those sofas and –"

"That's when I found you," Albus interrupted. "I told you about the road trip, you said you would go if you could bring Alice –"

"Wait, what?" Rose lost her appetite completely. She had been right, by the sounds of things she'd done something very stupid indeed.

"We're going on a road trip together during the summer, just like the Muggles do." He noticed her shocked expression. "Surprise!"

Rose dropped her head onto the table. The words 'Road Trip' conjured images of staying in grotty hotels, sitting in a car for days on end in the rain and, worst of all, being forced to do things "the Muggle way" (Albus' favourite phrase). Oh Merlin, what had she gotten herself into?