Chapter Two

The Leaky Cauldron was a little busy for a Thursday night. The thought occurred to Kayla after Lily had taken two shots of Firewhisky, and she was grateful for the crowd, because Lily had turned up the volume on her voice.

And it was not pretty.

"You know he said he didn't want to get married?" she exclaimed loudly. Across the table, Hugo and Al were sitting there, wincing a little from their shuddering eardrums and lack of alcohol. "I never mentioned marriage, no kids, no house, no nothing."

"Seems a little unfair," Kayla piped up, feeling the need to answer. She didn't.

"And then he sits there telling me how he likes me and this was all fun, but it was getting too serious." Lily hiccupped, shoving her chair back as she stood up. "Why'd he ask to be my boyfriend if he didn't want anything serious? Kayla, come with me."

Kayla shared a sympathetic glance with Hugo as she was dragged off to the bar. Lily and Kayla had done the first shot together. Then Lily snuck one in while Kayla was in the bathroom. Lily ordered two more, and when it came, Kayla stared at it hesitantly, biting her lip.

While she'd been drunk a few times in her life, Kayla much preferred feeling a little tipsy. When she was sixteen, she could bounce out of bed the next morning after four shots of Firewhiskey. Eight years later, she was lucky not to feel it if she had a bottle of wine.

"Oh, come on," Lily said, reading Kayla's mind and shaking her shot in front of Kayla's nose. "I know you don't have work tomorrow, live in the moment. Plus, we're both single and free now."

Kayla felt a quick flare of loneliness at those words. Then she looked at Lily, grinning expectedly up at her, and something shifted inside. "That's a good point. Bartender," she called the rather muscular man at the counter, feeling courageous and nostalgic, "two more, please."

"Bottom's up," said Lily, clinking their glasses together. They downed another, and Kayla shuddered as the bitterness went down. Then another. She felt the strong urge to gag, but only just resisted.

Lily only seemed more determined. "Another?" she asked, still grinning widely.

"Nope, three's good for me," Kayla said quickly as she saw Lily eyeing the bartender again. "Water please. And two beers for those guys over there."

"One more for me, and water," Lily told the bartender, stumbling on her words. They returned to the table, where Al and Hugo were arguing.

"Look, this song is a classic," Hugo said as Lily and Kayla sat down. "It played on the Wizarding Wireless Network Top Tunes for two years in a row."

Al shrugged. "I don't buy it. This song is boring and it's barely catchy."

"You have got to be the only bloke in the world who thinks that."

"What is it about him?" Lily burst out dramatically, interrupting their conversation. Al and Hugo avoided her gaze; instead, they reached for the beers she'd brought them.

"What is what, Lily?" Kayla supplied. She wasn't sure if that came out right; her brain was starting to feel awfully fuzzy.

Lily turned to Kayla, sloppily wagging a finger at her. "You know what I mean. What is it about the slightest bit of commitment that makes men want to run away?

"I can help with that one," Hugo replied, leaning forwards and folding his hands over his beer on the table. "Men who clearly have someone else waiting for them at home."

"Hugo!" Kayla hissed, shooting a look at Hugo. Lily turned pale, though Hugo was grinning. "Not helping."

"Or," Hugo said, "he's worried you'll suddenly turn up pregnant if he gave even the slightest indication he wants to be exclusive."

"I – I didn't – I didn't tell him I want kids!" Lily cried unhappily. She was having some difficulty getting the words out.

"Or maybe –" Hugo cut off when Al elbowed him in the gut, and Hugo collapsed into laughter.

"Shut up, Hugo," Albus said, though Kayla noticed he was trying very hard to keep the corners of his mouth turning upwards. He slid Lily's unfinished shot away from her. "Lily, you were telling me the other day that you weren't sure if he even listened to you when you talked."

"Now he won't listen even half the time," Lily said sadly, looking longingly at the shot glass Al was holding. "We're finished. Went from being together nearly every day – every day! – to absolutely no contact at all."

Kayla patted Lily's shoulder sympathetically, trying to make her tongue form words. "Listen, Lily. We're here for you."

"With maybe less alcohol next time," Al added, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him.

"Whatever, Al, I'm twenty-four now," she told him, reaching for her shot. Al moved it further out of reach.

"I'm still older," he told her, clearly enjoying playing Older Brother. "I can cut you off."

"I'm not even drunk yet!" Lily lunged over the table to grab the glass, but she stumbled and missed. Al was openly laughing now. She sat back down in her seat, blowing strands of red hair out of her face. "Merlin, do you have to take the mickey every time…"

Kayla, feeling especially bad for Lily, snatched back the glass back from Al and slid it in her hands. Lily gave Kayla a thankful smile.

"Lily, it's okay. You should find a man who isn't – not like that," Kayla said thickly. The alcohol hit her a little harder than it hit Lily. "It takes some time."

"I agree," Hugo said, taking a sip of his beer. "Find a man who wants to get married."

"But I don't want to get married," Lily wailed, dropping her head onto Kayla's shoulder. "Not for ages. I just want to have fun."

"Not too much fun…"

"Shut up Al." Lily narrowed her eyes at him before downing the last shot. She shuddered as she put the glass down. "Maybe… maybe I never want to get married."

"Really?" Kayla asked, surprised. "But you said…"

"Oh, think about it." Lily held up a finger. "We're all single right now. Who's to say that any of will meet the person in – in the next few years? What if it takes forever, and then he won't want to get married because, you know –" Lily looked to Kayla, " – the clock has stopped ticking?"

"Ew," Al and Hugo chorused, and Kayla rolled her eyes.

"And then," Lily continued loudly, ticking off another finger. "Rose and Scorpius. They've been together since Hogwarts. And they – they still fight."

"They're always going to fight," Al supplied, but Lily ignored him.

"And then –" Lily swallowed heavily before ticking off another finger. She could tell that the alcohol was really hitting her now. "I'm going to be constantly waiting around for him. And be disappointed and looking for something better in the meantime."

"Actually…" They all turned to Hugo. He shrugged at them. "She's got a point."

"Oh, I dunno…" Al was circling the rim of his bottle with a finger. "Being single sucks. Life is dim, but I would much rather to experience the dullness with someone than alone."

"Romantic," Kayla deadpanned, and Lily snickered.

"Half the girls I date dump me the second they realize I don't work some fancy-shmancy job at the Ministry," Hugo said. Kayla noticed him clenching his jaw at this.

"You really don't need them," Kayla reassured, and he sent her a smile.

"Anyway," Hugo said, draining the last sip of his beer and standing up, "I have to get going. I have an early shift at the shop."

As soon as Hugo was out the door, Lily turned to Kayla. "Am I drunk enough to hit on that guy over there?"

"Which guy?" Kayla followed her gesture to check behind them. There was a tall, brown-haired man at the bar, hands in his pockets and calling out to the bartender. "The one with the nice ass?"

"That one." Lily smoothed her hair and flipped it back, looking at Kayla expectantly. "How's this?"

Kayla had to blink several times to clear some of the haziness in her vision. "Good. Hot. Maybe a bit desperate."

"That's perfect."

"That's not perfect," Al groaned, dropping his head in his hands. "Lily, please do not rebound with some random guy who – who just ordered a drink with an umbrella."

"That's kind of hot," Lily said absent-mindedly, getting up. "See you later."

Kayla smiled to herself and turned in her seat to watch. She could never have the guts to hit on a guy that hot – even three shots in – but it was always entertaining to see watch her friends do it. And of course, she'd be saving Lily later.

"Oh Merlin," Al groaned behind her. Kayla turned back, and he was peeking through his fingers at his little sister. "She's flipping her hair – she just put her hand on his arm! Is she asking to get killed?"

"She's not going to be murdered, Albus," she told him, laughing. "I'm going to get her before he can pick her up. It's all right."

Al sighed in relief. "Okay. She's having water while he drinks that… whatever it is."

"She's just distracting herself."

"Lily's been wanting a wedding since she was four." Kayla raised her eyebrows at him, but he was still watching his sister. "I don't get why she's being like this. She's never been like that before."

"I reckon she liked Kevin a lot."

"I don't buy it."

"You don't have to." Kayla picked up her glass of water, figuring she might try to start lessening her hangover that was surely to come the next morning. "Maybe she's tired."

"Tired of what?"

"Dating."

"Hmm." Al paused at this, frowning to himself. "I hadn't considered that..."

"Dating is pretty tiring for most girls," she told him, glancing at Lily to make sure she hadn't left. "It's wading through the guys who are scared of commitment, or dating for the sake of saying they have a girlfriend, or the guys who just… suck, honestly."

"I suppose." Al drained the last of his beer. "You haven't had a boyfriend in a while." She shrugged. "Any reason for that?"

"Haven't been interested in anyone yet," Kayla lied. It wasn't that – of course she'd met men here and there, at bookshops and cafes and the odd flirt from a customer. But she was far too shy to ever flip her hair or bat her eyelashes at these strangers. She'd managed dating her last boyfriend simply because they'd both been in the same Hogwarts House since they were eleven.

"I know what you mean," Al told her gloomily. "I went out with this bird last week. We went for coffee and she asked to be exclusive thirty minutes later."

"Ouch."

"Maybe Lily has a point," he said, but Kayla could tell he was bluffing. She smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Al," she told him, turning back to check on her friend. Lily had a frozen smile stuck to her face and was endlessly nodding to what the bloke was saying. "You'll find someone soon enough. And in the meantime, we can go rescue Lily."

Lily had begun to look a little green.

Three flights of stairs later, a piggyback from Al that had been demanded by Lily and a prolonged trip to the loo, Kayla was shoving up the window in the living room to fan out some of the smell of vomit. She could hear the rain starting up again and hitting the cobblestones of Diagon Alley. An array of colourful umbrellas were popping up, along with some folded Daily Prophet newspapers.

Kayla watched the sparse strangers in the streets in the lowlight, wondering if they were heading home from work. Or heading to work at the late hour. She wondered if they felt some sort of compulsion to do something bigger than themselves. Or if she was just being silly as usual, and to let things go with the flow. That love was for the ones who took chances, and not the ones in the shadows. That dreams were just dreams, and they were meant to be let go.

"Hey," came a voice from behind her, and Kayla straightened up to turn and look at Al. He was wiping his hands on his pants, looking very tired. "She's sleeping now. Couldn't get her to brush her teeth, though."

Kayla made a face. "Another thing to deal with in the morning." Al laughed.

"Yeah, well…" he glanced in the direction of Lily's room. "Let me know if she needs anything. It seems like she took the breakup really hard."

"I was planning a movie marathon tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, that muggle thing you guys do…" Al trailed off and looked back at her. Suddenly she felt very self-conscious. "Thanks, Kayla. You're always looking out for her."

"Of course," Kayla said, folding her arms across her chest. "Anytime. You have to let her make her own mistakes. She's her own person, you know."

"Do you really think she's going to stop dating?" He asked, brows furrowed. As a single child, Kayla felt warmed that he cared so much. Not that he ever showed it in front of Lily. "I mean, she doesn't do that well with being alone."

Kayla sat down on the couch next to the open window, starting to feel a little sleepy. "I mean, you said it yourself. She's always wanted to get married. And I know witches and wizards marry young, but –"

"Are you reading this?" Al interrupted suddenly, leaning down to pick up the book on the coffee table in front of her. Kayla had to blink a couple of times before remembering the book she'd bought a few days earlier.

"Oh yeah," she said. "Magical Mediterranean Water Plants. Hadrian Whittle is brilliant."

"There are some amazing ingredients in there," Al said excitedly, flipping through a few pages. "There's this one plant leaf that you can add to a simple Ageing potion that –"

"I haven't actually finished it," Kayla confessed guiltily. "I've read her book on the Highland Lochs plants. I'm growing a – well," she cut off, reddening. She blamed the alcohol entirely; only Lily knew about her Herbology experiments. "I'm just on the first section of the book."

"Oh…" Al closed the book and held it out to her. "Well, let me know when you've read it, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah." Kayla stood to take the book from him, feeling as though she'd somehow disappointed him. She and Al weren't the closest in their friend group, but they'd never had any awkward moments in between them. They barely had anything in common.

Kayla instead gestured anxiously to the kitchen. "By the way, would you like some tea, or…?

"Nah, it's late. I'd better get going." There was a beat of silence; long enough for the room to start feel a tad suffocating.

Al stuffed his hands in his pockets. "See you later. Owl me if you need help with my sister, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." As soon as Al was gone, Kayla went to collapse in her bed, where her pillows felt familiar and the blankets were warm.

It was strange how twenty-four hours could shift the world into greys.

The pounding headache Kayla woke up with the next morning was better than she'd expected. Thankful she had a day off, she sat up in bed slowly, holding her head in between her hands as to not startle her. Then she groaned.

Why had she drunk so much last night?

After a grumpy teeth brushing, Kayla emerged to the kitchen to find Hugo. He was putting together a sandwich from the contents of her fridge when she smelled the heavenly scent of coffee.

"You're stealing our food," she said dully, walking past him to the coffee maker.

"I deserve some lunch for making coffee for you two," Hugo said indignantly, putting a slice of bread on top. She glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall; 12:15PM. "Is Lily up yet?"

"Lily doesn't even get up on this time sober," she told him, pouring coffee into her favourite mug ("Accio Coffee!") and adding some milk. Kayla stood beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder as he chomped down his sandwich. "Did you bring Pepper-Up?"

"Hell no," he said, mouth full. "Been up since five making pumpkin pasties for a eight AM order." Hugo worked at the sweets shop in Diagon Alley, as well as his uncle's shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"Nooooo," Kayla whined, muffling it against his shoulder. "I don't want to go. The sun is too bright."

"But it's still wet and smells like the rain from last night." He poked her. "You love that."

Kayla let out a sound that sounded vaguely between a groan and a hmph. "You suck."

"That's just the hangover talking."

"I hate you."

"Hi Kayla's Hangover, nice to meet you too."

"Shut up." She grumbled and took her coffee to the living room. The sun was shining through the still-open window and she could hear the usual hustle-bustle on the streets. She sat onto the edge of the couch and huddled there, sipping her hot coffee and feeling herself relax.

And it did smell like rain. Damn Hugo.

She spent a few minutes there before he came out of the kitchen, throwing his messenger bag over his head and heading towards her. "I'll see you tomorrow – tonight I've got a shift at the at the Wheezes."

"What's tomorrow?" Kayla asked sleepily.

"Quidditch," he reminded her. "Remember? Second Saturday of the month."

Every month, Hugo and several of his family members and friends played Quidditch together. They rented a pitch out in the country and made an afternoon of playing. Kayla always attended and loved to cheer them on, but was quite terrible at flying. Otherwise, she could have made a decent beater; she had a strong arm.

"I'll be there," she promised. Then paused. "Thanks for the coffee."

"See, you love me," he said, laughing and heading to the door.

She enjoyed the quiet for a while, finishing her coffee and trying to ignore that her head was still pounding. Eventually, she dragged a hoodie over her pyjamas, smoothed out her hair and stepped out of her flat to buy the potion she and Lily both needed. She began towards Slug & Jiggers before hesitating and making a sharp turn around and headed towards North Side Apothecary.

Seeing Kevin at the moment was not ideal.

Al seemed surprised to see Kayla walk in, purple unicorn pyjamas and all, but she could care less. She came up to the counter where he was standing and leaned against it. "Pepper-Up Potions. Please."

"You're more hungover than I thought you'd be," Al said, clearly trying not to smile.

"You're talking more than I thought you would."

"Okay, okay, sheesh…" He held his hands up jokingly and disappeared into the back room. Kayla looked around the shop; it was designed differently than Slug & Jiggers, as her workplace appealed much more to Hogwarts students. There were no signs of House merchandise or the same warmth to the place. Instead, the place was a bit dingy, scattered with many more potions instruments and four constantly bubbling cauldrons set up in the corner.

Al emerged from the back, holding two small jars filled with a mouthful each of grey liquid. It was steaming and fogged up the glass. He set them both in front of Kayla.

"Here you are," he said, glancing at her unicorn pyjamas again. "Why didn't you just go to Slug & Jiggers?"

"Kevin is there," she mumbled, rooting in her pockets for change. "Didn't want to go there."

"Why not?" he asked curiously as she dumped a few sickles onto to counter. "Lily's probably still asleep."

"I didn't want to see him." Kayla corked open the bottle and downed it before she realized Al was looking for a more specific answer. She cleared her throat. "It's kind of awkward. Because we used to date."

Steam from the potion was starting to come out of her ears. How appropriate.

"You used to date?" Al asked, looking at her strangely. "I didn't know that."

"It was only for a couple of weeks," she said, a little loudly because of the whistling in her ears. "Then he met Lily, so…"

He frowned. "That's not great of Lily."

"Oh, well…" Kayla shrugged. "I didn't like him that much."

"Are you sure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. She raised hers back.

"Yes," she said defiantly. "Besides, Lily was really taken with him. You saw how devastated she was last night."

"Yeah," he said slowly, calculating his words, "and as I recall, she's not the only one hung over today."

Kayla grabbed the second Pepper-Up potion off the counter and stuffed it in her pocket, turning to leave. Her cheeks were reddening. "I'll see you at Quidditch, Al."

"Tonight!" She turned around, and he was grinning at her. "Your muggle thing."

"Movie marathon," she corrected, feeling her ears starting to burn.

"Yes, that," he said. He leaned his elbows against the counter. "I'll be there."

"Great."

"I like your pyjamas!" he called just before she slammed the door.