Author's Note: Perspective shifts! Back when I was first writing this, I was really into Skins (UK) and I was inspired by their use of episodic perspective shifts to explore each character's personality and struggles. I enjoyed utilizing this method in my story to explore characters' internal thought processes and personal biases.

Content Warning: Strong language, alcohol, sexual content.

Chapter 3

Out of Focus

(Riley)

I awoke on Saturday morning at the ripe hour of seven a.m. I've never been able to sleep late in this accursed school. Don't get me wrong, I love this place to death, it just fucks with my sleeping pattern for some unknown reason. It might be the fact that I share a dorm room with James Potter and Lucas Styles, one of them a well-known over-rambunctious sort, the other one suffering from chronic sleepwalking and talking. I can't count how many times I've been awakened in the night by Lucas shaking me and telling me he's "saving me" or something similar.

I got out of bed and gazed around the room. The hangings were predictably still shut on the other two beds. My roommates have never had a problem sleeping in past noon. I took a quick shower, then slipped into a comfortable outfit, and left them to snooze the day away.

When I entered the common room, I noticed only a single, solitary figure sprawled on their stomach in front of the now-cold fireplace. Puzzled at this, I walked over, to find June, or "Slippery Slag" as James likes to call her. As I drew nearer to her, I heard a muffled snoring sound escaping her half-smooshed mouth. I knelt down and tapped her shoulder. She twitched a bit but continued to snore. I shook her a little more forcefully, and at last she opened her eyes.

"Mmglm," she mumbled as she raised her head off the carpet. She peered at me through sleep-glazed eyes. Half of her face had red pillow-marks (or rather, rug-marks) from where she had slept all night. She was still wearing her rumpled school uniform. "What's up, Riley?" She yawned, rubbing her head.

"Uh, did you sleep here all night?" I asked her. She gave me a perplexed look, then she took in her surroundings.

"Oh...shit," she laughed. "I guess I did. Ow," she added, arching and rotating her back, which produced a few cracks. "I wonder why it is that the majority of my time in this school has been spent on the floor," she muttered as I helped her to her feet.

"I expect you to be an expert on the floors of Hogwarts by the end of this week," I ordered her in a gruff imitation of Professor MacNeill, the surly, Scottish Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She smiled, getting the reference.

"Ugh, I feel like a potato. What time is it?"

"Around seven-thirty?"

"What in the name of Godly Gottfried?" she gasped. "This is too early for me to be awake." She shook her head, then yawned widely again.

"Who's Godly Gottfried?" I asked.

She shrugged.

"No idea."

"Right, well, I'm going to go get some breakfast," I told her. "You going back to bed? Or...to bed for the first time?" She nodded, then waved to me, mumbling something through yet another yawn. She then proceeded to her dormitory.

I went down to the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. The first Saturday of the school year, people usually took advantage of it and slept in, so the Great Hall was nearly empty. I began to think about the book I was currently in the middle of. I hadn't had much time to read it the day before, because I'd been so busy, but hey, now was as good a time as any. I took out my wand and summoned it nonverbally. After a few seconds of waiting, the book came zooming around the corner and fell onto the table beside my plate. I propped it open with a charm and then filled my plate with breakfast.

I was deeply immersed in the book when someone approached me and unceremoniously ruffled my hair. I looked up in agitation to see Aura slipping onto the bench beside me. My expression immediately changed.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop ruffling my hair like that?" I asked her and she shrugged, smiling widely. Always a morning person.

"I just can't help it," she explained. "It's so curly and cute!" She took a bite of a large strawberry.

"You seem in a better mood than yesterday," I noted, and she nodded.

"That's because I definitely, most assuredly, made certain that that scungy little toe rag knows what's what."

"And what's what?"

"I wear the fucking pants!" she declared firmly. I chuckled at this, then I turned back to my book, quickly quelling the new tattoo of my heart. I was getting into the story again. It was a muggle Science Fiction novel. I was at the part where the crew of space explorers were meeting a sinister entity for the very first time. The book was suddenly snatched away from me. "What's this, Rye?" Aura asked, looking at the back cover.

"Hey, give it back!" I cried, making a grab for it.

"What? This how you disguise your porn?" she asked.

"It's called privacy, Aur," I replied, only a little sulkily. She rolled her eyes and gave it back to me.

"Thought we were best mates? Hm?" she said in a mostly light tone, though of course there was the characteristic Aura temper underneath. This girl could match fires with a Norwegian Ridgeback. And her dark eyes flashed in the most beautiful way when she got really angry. I shook my head and started reading again. Aura was busy eating her breakfast. Don't ask if I'm not being a little rude, reading while in the company of a lady, but hey, this is just our friendship. We've always been comfortable in each other's presence, no matter what's happening. And besides, I need something to distract me from thinking about how silky her skin is... fuck.

"So, it's over then?" I asked.

"Hm?"

"Between you and Freddie? For good?"

"Oh, abso-fucking-lutely!" she declared hotly. "How could you even ask me that?"

"Uh...due to the fact that you two have had at least four other legitimate 'break-ups'," I said, attempting (unsuccessfully) to keep the edge out of my voice.

"Well, this time it's for real. And this time I. Fucking. Win," she enunciated the last few words forcefully.

"Oi! Oral!" the voice of none other than Freddie Thompson called out. Aura looked up, but before she had a chance to snap a cold greeting his way, something midnight blue and lacy sailed through the air directly at her. "Thought you might want that back. I won't forget the times we had together," he made a few obscene body movements, and his chums behind him guffawed and threw out names. Aura was looking down at her lap, where there lay, unmistakably, her bra. I mean, not that I spend much time looking at her bras, or boobs, or whatever.

"Hey. Lads," I spoke, straightening up to my full six feet and one inch. "Are you going to be running along now or do I need to hex you so bad you'll see rainbows for the rest of your lives?"

"It's funny you should speak of rainbows, Finnigan..." Freddie chortled, but Scorpius Malfoy nudged him gently.

"Come on, let's go. Waste of time," he mumbled. Freddie "hmph-ed", but the group turned around. I nodded to Scorpius before he left, and he gave me an understanding look. I sat back down at the table.

"Jeez, can you believe that idiot?" I asked her but she didn't reply. She was still looking at the bra. "Hey, don't let him get to you. He's just a no-good prick." She nodded and stood up.

"I'm just going to put this away," she stated flatly. Her hand was clutched tightly around the lacy item and her jaw was set.

"Right, yeah, I'll just...err..." she was already stomping away, "...drown myself." I sighed. I began reading my book again, but I just couldn't focus. Oh hell. I wonder who she's going to get into a duel with this time.

"Hello brother!" my sister's voice interrupted my thoughts as she sat down beside me. She was with her partner in crime, Amelia, daughter of Professor Longbottom, the Herbology teacher. I noted recently that neither are taking the aforementioned class this year.

"What's up, T?" I asked, breathing out tiredly.

"Oh, nothing," Teagan replied slyly. "Just saying hello to my darling brother who I've missed dearly."

"What d'you want?"

"Could you get us some booze?" she asked with a dazzling smile. I thought about it.

"Are you going to the party tonight?" I asked and she nodded.

"We want different drinks than what you usually get, though."

"Oh, you mean girly-witch-drinks?" I asked and she grinned. I sighed in resignation and she and Amelia squealed excitedly. Holy. "But! I want you to be responsible..." they nodded their heads vigorously. "And no boys!" I warned and their faces fell.

"Oh alright," Teagan conceded. I knew she would go ahead and do it anyway, but I figured it was necessary for me, as a big brother, to go through the procedure.

"I'll go to Hogsmeade today. What do you want, and you'd better pay me." They relayed the various brands they wanted to me and then Teagan hugged me affectionately, calling me the greatest brother ever. Amelia also hugged me and called me the greatest friend-brother ever, or something along those lines. "And one last thing," I added before they left, "if I see or hear anything about any funny business with you and any boys I'll hunt them down, cut off their You-Know-Whos and force feed them U-No-Poo. You got me?" They nodded, then they rejoined their group of fellow fifth years.

I made my way back to the common room as soon as the Great Hall started getting really busy. I was just about to give the password to the fat lady when Aminta Urquhart emerged, impatiently dragging a still-half-asleep June with her. Rose followed behind them with an absentminded expression.

"Uughh, why can't you people just let me sleep?" June was moaning.

"We did let you sleep, last night, when you completely plonked out in the common area. Did we wake you up so that you could go to your bed? No. Did we draw on your face with magic markers? Regrettably, no," Minty replied, then she almost ran into me. "Oh! Fancy seeing you here."

"We're on our way to...uh, what's it called again?" June mumbled.

"Hogsmeade," Rose answered.

"Yeah, that. We're getting 'supplies' for the party tonight."

"I'm going there too," I said.

"No way! Let's go together," June suggested and I shrugged.

"Why not."

It turned out that Rose had an uncanny knowledge of Hogwarts, especially the secret hallways and hidden passageways. Just like James. Hell, just like basically every member of the Potter/Weasley clan I've met. So anyway, she led us to the usual passageway to Hogsmeade via the statue of the one-eyed witch. Being June's first time, we gave her the grand tour of the excruciatingly long, and very dull, corridor that opened up onto the basement of Honeydukes. We cast disillusionment charms on ourselves just before we came up through the floor. We only needed to slip out through from behind the counter and hurry out the door, then we were free to explore Hogsmeade.

"Candy!" June exclaimed like a child as soon as we'd stepped outside of the store and reversed the disillusionment charms. "Oh please, oh please, oh pleease! Can we go back in there?"

"On our way back, we can look around. Maybe," Aminta said authoritatively.

"Okay cool! But, uh, you'll need to help me and like, try to stop me from A) going mad with delight, B) buying out the entire store and C) uuhh, well I guess C could be anything from drooling to fainting." She paused and made a face. "You know what, just make sure I don't buy a shitload of candy." She paused again. "Actually...make sure I don't buy anything..." We agreed to help her as best we could, and then we started in the direction of the Hog's Head. You could usually score quite a lot of alcoholic beverages there, if you're the right person. And Rose Weasley is definitely the right person. From what I've heard, the owner of the Hog's Head has a weakness for Potters and Weasleys. But then again, who doesn't? Anyway, my dad's told me a million times over about the events which took place during his years at Hogwarts, particularly his seventh year, and how the grumpy old man at the Hog's Head helped out all the students during the Battle of Hogwarts. Ancient history though, really. I wonder how this man is still alive, to be honest. Apparently Dumbledores have extra-long lifespans.

"Alright there, Rose?" the stooped, grizzled old man greeted as we stepped inside the sparsely populated, dingy little pub. I guess you could call Rose the most normal "regular" this place has. And calling Rose normal is something.

"Hello, Aberforth!" the small girl replied, bouncing over to the counter.

"Will it be the usual, then?" the man chuckled, eying the rest of us over with a weathered gaze.

"How much money you got, Riley?" Rose asked, turning to me.

"Oh." I reached into my pocket. "I've got about...nine galleons, twenty-five sickles and... forty-two knuts." I counted as I sifted through the coins.

"Okay then," Rose said, turning back to the man. "I guess we'll get...hmm, three bottles of firewhisky, two bottles of vodka, two bottles of tequila, one bottle of rum, thirty-six bottles of dark beer and twenty-four bottles of butterbeer," she listed off in an even tone, seemingly all off the top of her head. Aberforth jotted it down on a small piece of parchment, then he said he'd be right back, and he disappeared into a back room.

"Teagan wanted girly witch drinks," I said, and Rose shrugged.

"Teagan can suck it up," she said sweetly with a soft smile. I shrugged. June was looking around the pub at the questionable surroundings. It smelled of smoke, piss, booze and goats.

"This place is really shifty, guys," she muttered, and we all nodded in agreement. "That guy over there just pulled a tooth out and the people at that table are all pointing wands at each other."

"Yup, this is the Hog's Head," Aminta said. Aberforth returned a moment later, hovering three cardboard boxes in front of him. He set them down on the counter.

"How much do I owe you?" Rose asked and he thought for a minute.

"Let's make it an even 28 galleons," he answered. Rose grinned and reached into her purse, pulling out the right amount of gold coins and sliding them over the counter to the old man.

"Thanks so much, Aberforth," Rose said cheerfully, motioning for Minty, June and I to levitate the boxes. We did so, and said goodbye to the old man, walking back out of the pub and into the warm streets. We each coughed up the proper amount of money we owed Rose, then we looked around the relatively empty streets. The sun was just coming out of a large bank of dark clouds.

"Well, now where?" Aminta asked, following my gaze.

"Is there anywhere around here where I could possibly buy a travel mug or something? Y'know, for coffee?" June asked. We set our course for "Dervish and Banges" to see what we could find. You could find a whole lot of random magical stuff in that place. As soon as we entered the small shop, June immediately got distracted. Then she got distracted by something else, and something else, and so on and so forth, until she had explored the entire store, letting out lots of "ooh"s and "aah"s. We let her do as she pleased and then we fanned out to look around the store at a slower pace.

I blew out my cheeks and trailed my fingers along a wooden shelf. I glanced into a small gilt table mirror and let out a soft sound of surprise when I saw the reflection change from me to Aura. I looked around, then turned the mirror on its face. The last thing I need right now is to think about her, for Merlin's sake. A small swirly object began whizzing and whirring as I walked past it, a rag doll giggled, a clock began ticking extremely fast. I wonder how on earth the employees of this store can stand it in here.

"Hmm. Well, I wouldn't want one that keeps the coffee too hot. I'd have an eternally burnt mouth...as well as face and chest and arms...I spill coffee a lot. It's a curse." I heard June speaking to a saleswizard. The wizard offered her a different type of magic travel mug, one that presumably flavored the coffee, depending on what mood you were in. June claimed that she had never really liked flavored coffee. Next, the wizard presented a mug that held twice as much liquid as it looked to be capable of. "That seems...absolutely perfect!" June decided, after considering it for a moment. "How much?" It came to two galleons and eight knuts. She paid, and then we went back outside. She stood for a moment on the stoop of the building, breathing slow, shallow breaths and staring into nothing. Then sucked in a large breath and with shaking fingers unlatched her purse. "Hope you don't mind if I smoke," she mumbled as she pulled out a package of cigarettes.

"Oh, fucking wonderful idea," Aminta declared, following suit and pulling out her own pack. Even Rose did. Merlin. "Riley?" Aminta offered the pack to me, but I shook my head. We sat down on a nearby bench, Rose sitting cross-legged, June with her knees pulled up to her chest and Aminta with one leg crossed over the other. I rested my head on the back of the bench, looking up as the clouds roamed around in sheets.

The girls all smoked together and asked June if she'd met any guys she fancied. Aminta then claimed that there weren't many fit guys at the school anyway; most of them were blockheads or ugly. So that's what they think of us. Immediately after she'd made this statement, she'd reached over Rose and patted me on the knee, saying that, of course, she hadn't been referring to me at all. She added, with a wink, that she'd go out with me in a heartbeat if she wasn't in a relationship. I assured her that I was comforted by this.

We made our way back to the castle, as soon as we'd purchased only a small supply of candy. June in the candy store was an interesting scenario. There was the same excitement about most objects, like in Dervish and Banges, however she was clearly exercising her will power and ended up buying only a small bag of saltwater taffy. She claimed that the two things in her life that she was most addicted to (and probably had no chance of shaking within her lifetime) were coffee and saltwater taffy.

When we got into the castle, our only task was to get the boxes up to Gryffindor tower without any teachers inquiring as to what the contents were. We were doing just fine up until we ran into Professor Cavanaugh. He stood level to me and the two of us towered over June and Rose, while Aminta was only a few inches shorter than us.

"What's this?" he asked, inclining his head at the boxes.

"Nothing," Aminta replied. "Uh, June's stuff just arrived. We're helping her take it up to her dorm." Cavanaugh narrowed his eyes, looking over all of us.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked, and we all looked at each other, replying with a collective "yes." "Then you won't mind if I take a look?" he said.

"Actually, you know, when someone's got a box of their personal possessions, it is a little rude to just look in there," I muttered and Professor Cavanaugh slid me a look, then he flicked his wand and one of the boxes sprang open to reveal our carefully stacked bottles of hard liquor. He raised his eyebrows, but his expression remained mild, as if he had found exactly what he'd suspected. "Hmm, would that be Bergfalk & Fingleton's Finest Firewhisky?" he asked serenely, picking up a bottle. We all nodded sheepishly. "I've really been fancying a bottle of this lately. Mind if I have one? Then you four can continue taking, uh, June's possessions upstairs," he asked casually, and we exchanged confused looks.

"That sounds brilliant. Cheers, Cav," Rose answered.

"Alright, you kids be good now," he said, closing the box up again. "Thanks for the chat." We started walking in separate directions. "By the way, you reek of cigarettes," he called over his shoulder breezily. The girls immediately began sniffing themselves. Then of course, Rose brought out a bottle of "Britta's Ever-Clingy Fragrance" and sprayed a cloud of mist into the air. It immediately sought out the four bodies in its presence and seeped into our clothes. I hacked a bit as I tasted it on the air. Great, now I smell like roses, posies and pansies.

"Professor Cavanaugh's really nice, isn't he?" June asked as we began the climb to Gryffindor tower.

"Oh yeah," Rose replied. "He makes out all strict and professional, but then he turns out to be just a softy."

"He also happens to be head of Gryffindor, so that's cool," Aminta grinned.

The party started at nine. The seventh- and sixth-years kicked it off with shots of firewhisky. It quickly proceeded as fifth- and fourth-years joined in. Aura, as Head Girl, officially forbade first- and second-years to drink, as well as discouraging it for third-years, and for those who just plain didn't want to (so that they wouldn't be peer pressured, hopefully). So, the youngest were three fourth-years, including Lacey's brother, Donald. Most of the fifth-years joined in as well. Of course, Teagan, Amelia and another of their friends came up to me asking for the drinks they had requested. I handed them a bottle of vodka and a box of eight beers. Teagan made a face at me, calling me a waxy-eared prat, but the girls accepted the beverages and took them back to...yes, two fifth-year boys. Boy, I bet she regrets being sorted into the same house as me, now that I think about my overprotective moments. But, hell, I know how careless she is sometimes.

"OI! RY-LAAY!" I heard James, my best mate the lightweight, shouting across the room. I turned to see him brandishing a full beer bottle high in the air. I laughed softly, then made my way over to him, Lucas and Henry. Each of them was holding a full bottle of beer. "We're about to have a chugging contest," James explained, handing me a bottle. "Let's get some girls over here and then go, go, gooo!" He let out a loud belch, then raised both arms in the air. "Hey! Oral! Ginger-knickers! Slippery Slag! A-minger!" He beckoned wildly for the girls to come, but none of them really seemed keen on it. Especially Rose and June. Still, he kept it up, getting so loud and obnoxious that they eventually gave up, if only to get him to shut up. For a couple seconds, maybe.

"Bloody hell, Potter, what is it?" Rose asked.

"Contest! Girls must join," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively at the four of them. I rolled my eyes at him as he passed beers to each of the girls. "By the way, I guess I should let you all know that I am the champion of chugging!"

"Right," Lucas muttered wryly, "just before you throw up and pass out." We all laughed, but James quelled it with a vigorous wave of his arm.

"Okay, okay! First round begins..." he yelled in his best commentator's voice. A crowd was gathering around us. Each of our bottles was poised at our lips. "NOW!" We drank. James slammed his bottle down on the coffee table, just for the effect it would have, and he threw his arms into the air, crying out in triumphant glee. "WINNER! Yeeeahh! James Sirius Potter IS the CHAMP!" Yes, he is very modest. I wiped my mouth, then drained the last of my beer. "Alright, alright, good show, chaps! Round two, coming up!" He passed out more beers. "Come now, chin up, sweetheart! It's only to be expected when you compete with me! 'Champion' is my middle name!" He reached out and stroked June's chin, all the while swaying on the spot. "And anyway, I guess it's just a given that a real man will win a chugging contest!" She swatted his hand away.

"Just you wait and see, Twatter!" she returned, and his mouth opened wide.

"What the fuck, woman? Who told you my nickname?" he gasped overdramatically, his hand hanging in the air for no apparent reason. He had appeared to have forgotten that it was there.

"What?" June laughed mirthfully. "Twatter was your nickname when you got here?" Lucas shot me a look, and we both burst out laughing. James had been embarrassed as hell by his nickname and had spent his whole seven years at Hogwarts covering it up. We, however, being his best mates, wouldn't let him forget it. And anyway, he's the one who insists on calling everyone by their names.

We went again though, and this time June won. She slammed her bottle down and mimicked James's victory speech. It seemed the sexist remark had spurred her on to victory. After the third round (James won again), James let out an impressive belch and smiled around warmly at everyone, declaring that he was glad about the turn-out. We dove into the fourth round and there was a large cheer from the crowd when tiny Rose came out the winner. At that point it seemed that everyone suddenly realized how desperately they needed to use the toilet.

Lucas and I waited outside the bathroom in our dorm room as James utilized the facilities. He was whistling loudly throughout his term in there, as if to make sure we were still paying attention to him. He also decided to take his precious goddamn time and make us wait in agony. He grinned innocently as he strode out of the bathroom, as if he wasn't aware of our plight. Why am I friends with him, again?

What followed was chaos, shifting in and out of focus.

James making out with a girl, James on a table, James on the floor, James making out with a different girl on the floor, James doing shots, James running unsteadily around, James falling.

I stumbled around in a room like a whirlwind. Bursts of bright sparks shot out of someone's wand, and I blinked madly to rid the glare from my eyes.

June making out with a bloke, June in stitches with Rose, June hugging Aminta, June on the floor, June on the couch. James leaning in to kiss June, both parties bursting out laughing before task is completed. June dancing in a group.

Lucas leaned into me and chattered drunkenly in my ear about something I couldn't make out or couldn't remember. Lucas hurried away. I bumped into Donald Macmillan as his eyes were fixated on a cup of something in his hand. He blinked hard and looked up at me. He spoke. I didn't understand what he said, I bade him repeat, and he did, but I couldn't hear over the clamor of the room. Or I had become temporarily deaf.

Rose spinning, Rose falling, Rose running, Rose dancing, Rose kissing, Rose laughing, Rose singing.

James pulled me up onto a table where he ran his hands over the body of Aminta as they danced to the music that spouted from the gramophone in the corner. Aminta's eyes were alive with drink. She swayed like liquid, a playful smile always lingering about her lips. James was laughing and shouting at me about the way he'd tripped over a first-year and hit his knee on a table. He told me about the bruise he expected tomorrow. He told me about a fourth-year who had made advances on him. He kissed Aminta's neck, but she put her hand on his shoulder to tell him "no".

Aura drinking, Aura laughing, Aura shouting, Aura's long, dark hair flowing over her shoulders. Aura talking to Henry, Aura stumbling and being caught by a fifth-year. Aura spotting me. Aura's eyes smiling at me, Aura's lips calling to me.

Aura grabbed me by the hands and pulled me to a spot in the middle of the room where she encouraged me to dance.

Aura's slender frame moving gracefully. Aura messing up her hair. Aura laughing and telling me how stupid I look right now. Teagan.

Teagan pulled me away, seemingly with something very important to tell me. She was holding a cup of an orange-colored substance. Probably vodka and pumpkin juice.

"I just wantchoo to know..." she slurred at me, her drink sloshing about as she gesticulated animatedly. I put my hand out to steady her cup but missed. "I wantchoo to know how much I reshpect you. And how...uuh, how mush of a good friend you are, as well as a good brother." She nodded at me. "And I wantchoo to know how mush I would...accept it...if you were to ssss-snog a girl right now. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is...let's let bygones be bygones and move on with my- our- lives." She squinted at me. "Present!" she said then, thrusting her cup into my hand. She patted me on the shoulder and staggered away to fall into the lap of a fifth-year boy. They laughed and then she adjusted herself so that she was sitting beside him. Lucas appeared in front of me then.

"Awright, guess what just happened to me! You're gonna love this, mate..." Lucas was saying as he slung his arm over my shoulder. I took a large gulp out of the cup in my hand. "...S-so then I said, 'don't you want this back?' And she said..." I took another sip, wincing at the large alcohol content. I looked into the cup. The substance had begun to sparkle profusely. Aah, Grigoros's dazzling vodka. It's been so long since I drank...I forgot how intense this stuff was...I wonder how drunk Teagan is...I glanced around to see if I could spot her, but then I froze. "...because he'd lost his shoes, so he insisted that everyone stay put while he- Riley?" A lump had formed in my throat, and I think I stopped breathing.

James and Aura standing on a table. James's fingers entangled in Aura's silken hair. Aura's hands clutching the back of his head. Their lips pressed together. Their tongues dancing. Their bodies moving with drunken, animalistic ferocity. James's hands suddenly withdrawing, moving to her shoulders...

My chest felt tight. I could vaguely hear Lucas talking to me, in a different tone. He was grabbing onto my arm as I stumbled slightly, but I pulled away from him, thinking only about how I had to get out...go somewhere...anywhere. I somehow managed to push my way through the crowd of Gryffindors and out through the portrait hole. It was a warm night, but I had suddenly gone very cold.

I hurried down the corridor, disregarding the fat lady's grumpy complaints. It had become extremely difficult to walk. I slouched against the wall of a spiral staircase and rested my arms on my knees. If I weren't so drunk, this would be the time that my logical thoughts kicked in: You're being ridiculous, Riley. It's not like Aura's not allowed to kiss boys. You were never going out. I began to clench and unclench my jaw. It was only snogging anyway. Everyone in the world knows James has never had the capability to resist a good snog. Aura's just upset about the breakup...she was drunk too...they both were...

"Bloody hell," I breathed, putting my hands over my eyes and trying to focus on the blackness, rather than repeating that scene over and over again. When I opened my eyes again, the room was spinning.

"Riley?" someone muttered, and I looked around, trying to steady my breathing again. June stepped forward. The moonlight fell upon her cheeks, flushed with a drunken rosiness. She made her way over to me, veering off course at some points, walking into the wall, but she soon sat down beside me.

"You okay?" she asked, and I nodded. "I told him off, y'know? Real harsh and everything." I looked at her questioningly. "James. I almost slapped him," she laughed. I looked back down. "How does it feel?" she asked in a small voice.

"What?"

"How you like Aura: how does it feel?"

I paused; my lips parted as I thought.

"It feels..." I sighed. "It feels like shit. Like my heart is going into supernova when I see her. I feel like I could die if I don't see her again." Tears had begun to sting my eyes and I fought hard to hold them back. My voice was beginning to sound hoarse. "I feel broken and empty and fragile...and like she's the one to put me together again..." I rested my chin on my hand, focusing on breathing normally. June was silent beside me.

"Potter is such a wanker," she said and now I laughed.

"It just doesn't sound right when you say it, June," I told her, and she hung her head.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," she agreed with a smile. "Come back to the party," she said, nudging me. "Just shake it off. James said he'd try to stay away from her. Let's just have fun." She stood up, stumbled, fell down, and then stood up again. She held her hand out to me, pushing her hair away from her face with the other. I took a deep breath in, let it out, and allowed her to help me to my feet. It was an odd moment, the both of us still being quite drunk and having absolutely no balance, but we achieved it at length, and walked back to the portrait hole.