"What happened to you?" James asked, relaxing as his eyes moved from the bottle in his friend's hand to his bloodshot eyes and mussed hair and clothing.
"I found a pub...and I drank it," Remus replied with the deliriousness of someone who hasn't slept in days.
"You look worse than after the full moon," Sirius informed him. "Don't let Lily see you like that, you know how she gets. She was worried about you, you know."
"And the rest of you?"
James shrugged. "There was no dead body so we figured you were alright."
The door swung open and they all looked around guiltily as the red head appeared, taking in the scene, eyes honing in on Remus.
"Where the hell have you been?" Lily snapped in her haughty, motherly way as James helped lower his friend onto the sofa, trying to repress a grin as Sirius shot him looks from behind his girlfriend's back.
"On a bender."
The look on her face was priceless as she processed his words.
"Did you just…did he say…on a bender?"
"Oh yes" Sirius replied with glee, "I think he's still pretty smashed."
Fuming, Lily swept from the room, leaving Alice to catch the door for herself on the way in. She looked around at the four boys with a slow smile.
"Glad to see you made it back in one piece Lupin. Rough night?"
Remus shook his head. "Fun night. Rough morning."
They all looked at him. Remus shrugged indifferently and took a swig from the bottle that he still clutched in his hand, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Ahh, there's nothing like the numbing false sense that everything is okay."
"Ya," Sirius said with a grimace, "Too bad it only comes in a bottle."