1 Chapter 10 – A Friendly Drink

It was Friday night, the night Karen used to go out boozing with her friends before she came to Hogwarts, but instead she was shut in her room, miserable as sin. Amber decided to pay Karen a visit to try and cheer her up.

Karen heard a knocking at the door. She got up off her office floor and went to open it.

'Hello!' Amber said standing at the door with a bottle of wine.

'Couldn't you have just magicked that up, instead of carrying it all the way up here?'

Karen walked away from the door leaving Amber to come in uninvited. She sat on the floor of her office throwing playing cards into a small box a few feet away.

'I could have,' Amber said stepping into Karen's way. 'But I thought I'd magic the glasses instead,' Karen stopped and looked up as Amber made two wine glasses appear out of sparkles in the air.

'You're in my way,' Karen said. Pretending to be unimpressed.

'You're not exactly doing very well, Karen,' Amber stated, which was true because Karen had got three cards in the box out of about forty she had thrown. Karen just looked down at the remaining cards in her hand. Amber sat down in front of her and handed her a glass. 'I hope you like this wine,' she said as she started to pour.

'What do you want?' Karen asked, she really didn't feel like company.

'I've come to cheer my friend up,' Amber poured a glass for herself, 'and you're going to tell me everything that's bothering you and I'm gonna make it all better,'

Karen gave up and decided that she might aswell enjoy herself, she hadn't done that in quite a long time.

'So, what's up?' Amber asked taking a sip.

Karen looked away and sighed. 'Everything and nothing,' she rubbed her eyes with her fingers and continued. 'Nothing is going right at the moment, I keep loosing things, forgetting things,'

Amber nodded, drinking a bit more. Karen took a gulp of the wine. 'Ooh, very nice. Anyway, all these little things are just building up on me and I'm starting to feel I can't do anything right,'

'Right,' Amber said, 'What I think you need to do is…'

'Yeah?' Karen said.

'Is to tell me what's really bothering you. 'Cause that was a load of rubbish!' Amber had a big grin on her face.

'I told you,' Karen said in protest.

'Uh-uh. I know there's something else. You're talking to an Auror remember?'

Karen downed the wine that was in her glass and pointed it at Amber. While Amber refilled Karen said,

'Ok, it's a man,'

'Ooh!' Amber said looking excited.

'Stop it!' Karen said smiling, which felt good. 'I can't stop thinking about him, it's driving me mad,' she took another swig of wine. 'I can't talk to him, I can't even look at him,' she finished her second glass and wanted another. Amber raised her eyebrow in uncertainty but poured her another anyway. 'What am I going to do Amber?'

'Sounds to me like you're in lurve,'

'Shut up! I'm being serious, I've never lost control of myself like this before,'

'Who is it? Do I know him?'

'Mmm, you know him,'

'Is he here? At Hogwarts?'

Karen nodded.

'Staff or student?'

'What?! Staff of course!' Karen frowned at Amber.

'Well! You never know! Staff?…' Amber thought for a second. 'Is it Robert?'

'No,'

'I know! It's Job isn't it?'

'No it's not him,'

'Hee-hee I think he's lush! Anyway, Filch?'

'Eugh! No!'

'Dumbledore?'

'What?!'

'Flitwick?'

'Amber! You're just being silly,'

'Well, I'm running out of ideas. Snape?'

Karen said nothing.

'Abe?'

'I didn't say no to Snape,'

Amber stopped. 'Don't tell me its Snape?' Amber said shaking her head gently.

'I didn't realise how much I liked him,' Karen said looking into her empty glass. She grabbed the bottle and poured herself another.

'Karen, Snape's trouble. I mean it. He's got a lot of Dark Magic in his history, he was a death-eater you know,'

'I didn't know that,' Karen said looking at the floor her voice was faded.

'It could be dangerous, especially for you, to get involved with him,'

'What am I supposed to do?' Karen looked up with saddened eyes. 'Do I hide my feelings and just carry on in complete misery? Live the rest of my life not knowing?'

'Does he know how you feel?'

Karen suddenly felt very woozy she had to blink a couple of times to get her eyes to focus. 'Karen? You ok?'

'Yeah. I think the alcohol is kicking in!' Karen smiled at Amber and then dropped her expression again. 'He kinda knows,'

'Go on,' Amber said.

Karen stared at the floor. 'We nearly kissed,' her voice started to slur.

'Uh-huh,' Amber rolled her eyes.

'I wen' to kiss 'im, but changed my mind. I h-h-hardly knew 'im then ssso I pulled away. We haven't spoken since,' Karen drunk the last of the wine. 'An' now we've got no more wine,'

'I can fix that,' Amber waved her wand and a full bottle appeared. She poured them both a fresh glass.

'He wanted me to kiss him,' Karen went on. 'It felt so right an' at the same time so wrong,' She finished her glass and lay down on her back. 'I jus' wanna hold him,' Karen covered her face with her hands.

'I know what you're gonna do,' Amber said.

'Wha'?' Came Karen's muffled voice.

Amber grabbed Karen's hands and had a struggle to remove them from her face. Karen opened her eyes, which were closed, and saw Amber's face above her own. 'You are going to tell Snape how you feel,'

'And why would I do that?' Karen said sarcastically back up at Amber.

'Because otherwise you will never know if anything between you can happen,'

'Oh yeah!' Karen sat bolt upright. 'I need a drink,'

Amber handed her another glass. She downed it and stood up.

'What are you doing?' Amber asked looking up at her intoxicated friend.

'I need, er, my coat,' Karen looked around her office.

'Why?'

'Because I'm going to see Sevusus,'

'No you're not and its Severus,'

'Yes I am! My coat is in my room!' Karen declared triumphantly and made a bolt for the door to her bedroom. She ran two paces and fell flat on her face.

'Karen!' Amber rushed over.

Karen lifted her arm and managed a thumbs-up. Amber helped Karen to her feet and they went over to where they were sitting.

'We need to sober you up a bit,' Amber said.

'I know what sobers me up!' Karen said getting excited. 'Hair o' the dog!'

Amber looked puzzled at Karen what sort of spell used dog hair? Then she remembered Karen was a muggle and didn't know any magic.

'Hair o' the dog is jus' to drink the same again!' Amber looked confused. 'Haven't you heard the phrase "drink yourself sober"?' Amber shook her head. 'Trus' me! Gimme another bottle of wine and I'll be fine!'

Amber wasn't to up on her muggle remedies. When she was at school muggle studies wasn't her favourite lesson. But she had no choice but to do what Karen said. She watched Karen finish the bottle they were already on and the extra bottle she conjured up.

'Right, I'm off to see Sev-er-us,' Karen stood up, she paid particular attention to the way she moved and spoke as she had far from sobered. She wanted to give Amber the impression she was no longer drunk.

'Ok,' Amber said and stood up herself. 'Go, go on,'

'Wish me luck!' Karen said.

'Good luck, Karen. I'll see you tomorrow,'

'Thanks,' Karen smiled, she had an overwhelming urge to go and hug her friend but thought against it, in case it made her look drunk. 'Ok, here I go,' Karen rubbed her hands together and carefully made her way out of the door and down the corridor. Amber stood in the doorway and shook her head as she watched her friend disappear out sight.

'Dungeons, dungeons,' Karen repeated to herself so she would remember where she was going. 'God, I shouldn't have drunk so much,'

She reached Snape's dungeons and saw the door marked "Private" this was Snape's office. She marched straight up to the door and pushed it open.

Snape was sitting at his desk with a quill in his hand, he was obviously marking papers. He looked up and stared at Karen with his emotionless gaze.

She sharply stretched out her arm and pointed her finger at him. He jumped back a little in surprise.

'I don't like you, and you don't like me! But I really like you. A lot,' Karen told him. She gave herself a confused look as it took her a minute to hear her own words. 'Ok, that didn't make sense,' she said to herself.

'Have you been drinking?' Were Snape's first words.

'No!' Karen shot back.

Snape smoothly raised his left eyebrow.

'Ok, three bottles of wine,' she admitted. 'But I know what I'm talking about! I have to tell you,'

'Tell me what?' Snape asked. He put down his quill and waited for Karen's answer.

Karen lowered her arm.

'I've got to tell you… that,'

The room suddenly became very hazy and things started swimming around her. '…That…' She looked around for something that was in focus but it was all blurry.

'Karen?' Snape said noticing that Karen was getting distracted.

'Yeah!' she looked back up at him, but he was more like a black ink smudge on wet paper than a person. She blinked hard and momentarily things came into focus.

'What is it?' He asked.

'I…' Karen took a step forward but her foot wobbled as she put her weight on it, her knees gave way and darkness engulfed her. She hit the floor with a softened thud.

As if someone had the volume on silent and was slowly turning it up Karen begun to hear her name.

'Karen… Karen… Can you hear me? Karen?'

'…I love you,' she said. Karen finally managed to tell Snape. There, you said it, he knows now.

'Thank you Miss Tolson, I'm flattered but I think you're just too young for me,'

That's not Snape's voice? Karen sharply opened her eyes to see Professor Dumbledore standing over her. She sat bolt upright and looked around. She was in the hospital wing and did her head hurt?! She grabbed her head, moaned and slumped back onto the pillows.