Rabastan clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. When the ragtag group of Gryffindors and Slytherins (and one lone Ravenclaw) turned to look at him, Rabastan grinned and announced, "Let's play a game!"
"Yes! Let's play Twister!" Sirius exclaimed, throwing his arms around Remus and James. "I want to impress Remus with my moves."
"He's already impressed with your moves—you two were loud enough last night," James teased, and Remus groaned and buried his face in his hands as the boys hooted and hollered at him.
"As fun as that sounds, I don't want a repeat of last time," Regulus deadpanned and shook his head. "It's already terrifying enough that Sirius managed to get me to come over with my friends. I don't want his ugly face anywhere near me more than necessary."
"Aww, I love you too, Reggie," Sirius cooed, blowing Regulus a kiss, which the latter refused to acknowledge.
Rabastan shook his head. "I was thinking we could play a 'get to know you' game instead of dry-humping someone on the mat."
Barty, who was sitting beside Rabastan, loudly whispered, "Thank Merlin," and the boys started laughing.
"What game are we playing then?" Peter asked. He had been sitting quietly beside James ever since Rabastan and the others had arrived at James and Sirius's flat.
"You can talk?" Rabastan squawked, gaping at Peter, whose face reddened. Rabastan raised his hands and said, "No, I didn't mean that you're mute—I just didn't know you could speak."
Regulus rolled his eyes and said, "That's what being mute means."
Rabastan scrunched up his nose and stared at Peter, who was playing with his sleeves and looked ready to bolt at being scrutinised like a rat. Barty smacked Rabastan's head and whispered, "Don't stare. It's not polite."
"Sorry," Rabastan apologised and then rummaged through his bag to search for the board game he had found in a Muggle shop. "I found this game and thought it would be fun to play."
Barty and Peter leaned in to see what it was, while Regulus and Remus kept their distance. James and Sirius yanked the board out of Regulus's hands and stared at it with wide eyes.
"Uhh, Rabastan? This is a back-to-school activity," James said, frowning at the colourful board. He raised it and pointed at the words printed in bold letters. "See?"
"Yes, I know, but it still sounded fun," Rabastan defended himself.
"We'll play it, of course," Sirius said, elbowing James and shooting him a pointed look. "Won't we, James?"
James grunted and rubbed his ribs. "Of course, of course."
Rabastan clapped and said, "I'll start!"
"What is the game anyway?" Regulus demanded, scowling at Rabastan. "Explain it to us first."
"I'll roll the dice, land on one of the squares, and then you all will answer the question that's written on it. Whoever gets the right answer will win a point," Rabastan explained and pointed at one of the small boxes. "For example… What's my favourite number?"
"69," Regulus stated, his face stoic as usual. When Sirius, James, and Rabastan began giggling at his answer, Regulus stared them down and said, "Don't even pretend it's not your favourite, you sick preteens."
"It is my favourite! I'm not even going to argue about that," Rabastan said, still snickering at the number.
Before Regulus could retort, Barty interrupted smoothly. "Let's start the game, shall we?"
The boys cheered and crowded around the board, grabbing their preferred tokens before anyone else could choose. Regulus and Sirius scuffled over the star until James stole it right from under their noses. Peter traded his book with Barty, while Rabastan clutched onto his horse with both hands, unwilling to let anyone take it.
After a few scuffles (in which Regulus sprained his wrist, James lost a button, and Sirius almost made out with the rug), they were ready to play.
Rabastan rolled the dice and landed on the second square. "What is something I would like to learn? Go!"
"How to be funny." Rabastan pouted at Regulus's insult.
"How to dance ballet!"
"Manipulation tactics…"
Sirius blurted out, "How to walk like a ninja."
"That's you," Remus said, with a shake of his head. "I'd say Rabastan wants to learn how to whistle with his fingers."
Rabastan's eyes widened. "How… How do you know that?"
"I saw you trying to whistle at some birds back at Hogwarts," Remus said, his shoulders trembling with suppressed laughter.
"Did the girls laugh at him?" Barty asked hopefully; Rabastan shot him a glare.
"He was whistling at actual birds," Remus corrected himself, smirking at Rabastan, who groaned and scowled at him.
The boys all started laughing and mocking Rabastan, but he took it in stride. "Alright, people, Remus wins this round. Barty, it's your turn."
After rolling the dice, Barty asked, "What's my favourite sport?"
Everyone chimed in, "Quidditch," but Remus said, "Gobstones," and won the round again.
"How can you not like Quidditch?" James wailed, flailing his arms.
"I didn't say I don't like Quidditch. I just like Gobstones more."
"Traitor," Rabastan and Sirius hissed in unison, squinting at Barty.
"Your turn, Peter," Barty said, nudging the dice over.
Peter quietly rolled the dice and watched James count the boxes and place his wagon on one of the squares. "What's something that makes me happy?"
"I don't know enough about you to answer this," Regulus stated and leaned back to listen to the others.
"Food," Sirius, James, and Rabastan chorused, and Rabastan leaned over the board to high-five them, delighted that they had thought the same thing.
Remus shook his head and had a completely different answer. "Wizard chess. You're good at that."
"I've seen you collecting Chocolate Frog cards though," Barty murmured, rubbing his chin in thought.
"Barty's right," Peter murmured, ducking his head when Sirius and James started whining about their answer.
"My turn," James said, grabbing the dice and shaking them furiously. He hummed as he moved his star over to the square and asked, "Favourite day of the week?"
"Any day you get to see Evans," Sirius exclaimed, and James started howling and clapping to congratulate him for a job well done.
"That was too easy though," Regulus muttered, scowling probably because he hadn't won a single round yet and he was a sore loser. Of course, Rabastan wasn't going to say that out loud; he valued his life too much to risk it.
"My turn now," Sirius yelled and tossed the dice. He moved his token over to the space after James's token and said, "Something I know about elephants. Oh, this is going to be good."
"You know nothing about elephants," James said, cackling at Sirius's affronted look.
"He only knows that they're big," Peter added.
"They've got big dicks," Rabastan said as solemnly as he possibly could before bursting into peals of laughter; Sirius joined in before giving him a hearty high-five.
"Actually, Sirius knows that elephants mate for two minutes," Regulus stated, "which is longer than his record."
"No, it's not!" Sirius cried and turned to grab Remus's arm. "Tell him, Moony! I can last longer than two minutes, can't I? Tell him!"
"He can last more than two minutes," Remus said dutifully and then smirked. "That means two minutes and one second."
The boys all started laughing while Sirius shook Remus like a ragdoll and complained loudly about the injustice of it all. "I'll show you how long I can last, you'll see!"
"No one needs to know that. Please keep it behind closed doors." Sirius stuck his tongue out at Regulus, who grimaced and flipped him off.
Before another fight could break out between the brothers, Rabastan asked loudly, "So, who won this round, Sirius?"
"Unfortunately… Regulus," Sirius muttered, and Regulus's chest puffed up at finally having won a round. Sirius scrunched up his nose but changed the topic. "Remus, my beloved, it's your turn."
Remus's cheeks tinged pink at the term of endearment, which Rabastan couldn't help but find amusing. Remus mumbled something indecipherable but rolled the dice. "Something I do to stay healthy."
"Fuck me," Sirius breathed out, gazing at Remus with pure adoration.
"Close, but that's not right," Remus said, his face red.
Rabastan screamed, "Yoga!"
"Squats—just look at that arse!" James yelled, and Sirius hollered and clapped in encouragement, which just made Remus's face redder.
"He actually goes on runs every morning," Regulus said suddenly, and everyone stopped yelling out their guesses and stared at him. Regulus scowled and crossed his arms. "What? I pay attention to people."
"You're right," Remus said, his brow furrowed. "I'm just surprised you know that about me."
"My motto is 'keep your friends close and enemies closer', so you should feel honoured."
"Of course…" Remus handed Regulus the dice. "Your turn."
"What's something I would like to learn?" Regulus questioned.
"How to commit the perfect murder," James said without hesitation, and Regulus's head snapped up. Smirking, James leaned back and cocked his head. "I know you, Regulus."
"Is James right? Do you really want to learn how to commit the perfect murder?" Sirius asked.
"Yes. He's right."
"Yes, score!" James whooped and pumped his fist in the air. He did a little jig while sitting, and it was so awkwardly done that Rabastan had to look away in secondhand embarrassment.
"Rab, your turn," Barty said, nudging his knee.
Rabastan picked up the dice and rolled it. "Something I'm good at."
"Fucking shit up."
"Making things worse."
"Petting a Hippogriff."
"Screaming like a girl."
"Falling off a cliff into ice-cold water and still coming out with perfect hair."
"I'm giving Regulus a point just because he said I have perfect hair," Rabastan announced, and the others all groaned.
"Bu-but then he's in the lead!" Sirius yelled, gaping at Regulus through splayed fingers. "He can't win!"
"Suck it up, Sirius," Regulus taunted and tucked his curls behind his ear. Sirius bared his teeth at Regulus, but James placed his hand on Sirius's chest and stopped him.
There was a fifty-fifty chance of Regulus and Sirius breaking each other's jaw by the end of the game; Rabastan was willing to risk it. He motioned to Barty to roll the dice and continue playing. Barty did as instructed, like the good little boy he was, and moved his token to the next square. "Something that scares me."
"Exams," Regulus and Remus said at once, but Barty shook his head.
"Spiders?" James asked, but Barty responded in the negative again.
"Actually, Barty's scared of Santa Claus," Rabastan stated.
"You're scared of Santa?" Sirius and James asked in unison.
"What? No, I'm not! Who's scared of Santa Claus?" Barty asked, bewildered.
Rabastan pointed out, "You are! It's alright, we won't judge."
"No? Why would I be scared of Santa Claus?"
"In second year, you told Professor Flitwick that you were scared of Santa," Rabastan argued.
"I… no… Oh…" Barty facepalmed and groaned before saying, "I said I was claustrophobic."
"That means he's scared of confined spaces—not Santa Claus," Remus said, chuckling at Rabastan.
Barty's eyes widened, and he asked, "Is that why you never talk about Santa Claus in front of me? I just thought you hated the man and didn't want to talk about it." When Rabastan didn't answer, Barty grinned and threw his arm around his shoulders, pulling him in for a tight embrace. "Aww, you're such a softie! I can't believe you did that for me!"
"Oh, shut up, you," Rabastan muttered, his face warming at the realisation that he was wrong. He hadn't even won a single point either.
Barty laughed and patted Rabastan's head. "There, there, you can have a point. In your own twisted way, you were right."
And as the boys (almost men) continued to play the childish game, Rabastan looked around at them. If anyone had told him he would be willingly playing with a bunch of Gryffindors, he would have hexed them silly. But now, as James offered the dice to Sirius and encouraged him on, Rabastan smiled. This wasn't so bad. Sure, he was losing, but at least, they were all having fun.
"Sirius, I'm going to punch you if you say your favourite vegetable is Remus's d—"
"But it is! And it's healthy and good for—"
"I don't want to hear this!" Regulus screamed and lunged at Sirius, knocking him down to the ground.
"Fight, fight, fight!" James cheered, making Rabastan change his mind.
This was even more entertaining than the game.
