Damien and Pansy were greeted with knowing smiles from the two Royal couples already seated at the booth. Ginny smirked at the antics of her two friends before taking a bite out of her ginger newt. (Which wasn't a REAL newt mind you, but a confection made out of ginger and sugar.)
"Compte De Blaireau, why don't you sit down?" Draco's voice was friendly, but his face still held that unreadable expression. His eyes kept flicking from Damien's hand on Pansy's waist to Blaise curled around Alex in the corner. Ginny sensed her boyfriend's distress and stroked his thigh under the table reassuringly.
Damien sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Alright Serpent Seigneur, I'll bite."
"What does Master be wanting?" Winky sidled up to him shyly, her hands clasped in front of her endearingly.
"Umm…." Damien's hazel eyes looked helpless for a moment "I'd like to have a ….um….Alex?"
Alex lifted her head from her dessert and licked a spot of whipped crème from her spoon. "Yes dear?"
"What do I want to eat? I highly doubt they have any of the Crème Bruleè that we devoured at BueaxBatons." Damien sighed gustily as he thought of the nights the two had spent in the huge kitchens below the school, eating as much of the burned sugar confection as they could get their hands on.
Alex tilted her head, "Winky? Could you get me a torch and a bowl of sugar please?"
Winy nodded and popped away, she was back in a flash presenting Alex with the requested items. "Thank you darling."
Alex grinned a little maniacally. She turned on the torch and flamed the sugar in front of her until it was brown-ish gold. Then turning her torch off she swiped the back of her hand across her forehead. "Winky?"
She looked around to find her friends had retreated to the other side of the kitchen, wide eyed and staring. Alex paused and thought of how she must look.
She was standing with a hand on her hip, her other one holding a blowtorch. Strands of light gold-colored hair escaped from the ponytail she had thrown it into to hang around her shoulders, frizz made a sort of cloud around her head. The scar from her crowning duel was a raised red welt down the side of her face. The red t-shirt (with the words: She Who Must Be Obeyed) she was wearing was spotted with sugar spats and some glitter that had rubbed off Pansy's shirt (which was purple, with a cutout over her chest). Her black lounging pants were slung low over her hips, long enough that she tripped over them. Her trainers were white, she never matched her clothes.
"What?" She demanded, glaring at them.
"Alex, Amoureux À ailes, I want you to put the torch down and back away from it slowly." Blaise said calmly, inching close to her.
Alex sighed and set the torch down. Winky popped out and snatched the torch, disappearing with it. Blaise and Damien rushed her, taking her to the floor.
Alex struggled with the two larger males, laughing. "What are you two idiots doing?"
"We're saving the sugar!" Damien gasped, tickling his twin mercilessly.
Ginny looked at Pansy, Pansy looked at the three on the floor. With a cry they ran forward to help Alex, tickling and poking at the two boys. With three of them against the boys, the two males quickly surrendered, backing away slowly to leave the girls giggling on the floor.
"Ahhah! We win!" Ginny yelled, punching a fist in the air. Her overly large tee was riding up her flat stomach, revealing the spattering of freckles scattered across the pale expanse of her skin. The black sweats she wore were also too big and had to be rolled at the waist to allow her to walk without tripping. Draco smiled at her, dwarfed in her favorite brother's clothes. He glided over and hoisted her back to her feet, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
Alex nodded, getting to her feet and helping Pansy to hers. "Now boys, what did you learn?"
"Not to attack a girl…" Damien started.
"When there are more on the sidelines!" Blaise finished, moseying back to the table and grabbing Alex's spoon. He stole some of her dessert, smirking at her as she glared at him from across the room.
Pansy slid into the booth next to Damien as Alex sat down between her and Blaise. Draco waved over Dobby and asked for a round of butterbeers. Ginny rolled her eyes and leaned her head on his arm. When the drinks came they all wrapped their hands around their mugs.
Blaise stared into the liquid moodily for a few minutes before lifting it high, "A toast! To a long and happy rule, for all the…well for all the educated Houses of Hogwarts!"
"Right!" Pansy shouted giddily (as it was a well-known fact that she couldn't hold liquor of any kind…).
They clinked their glasses and chugged them. Instantly they were refilled and the teens discovered that this happened no matter how many times they drained them.
"Ohhhh…I gots it…we's gonna play a game!" Pansy slurred, draining the rest of her fifth cup. She nodded sluggishly, "Yesh we's gonna play….erm….umm….The drinking game! Yeah!"
Damien cocked a brow, "And how do we play that?"
He was going much slower than the rest of them, only on his second mug. Ginny was one behind Pansy, with Draco and Blaise in second with seven each. Alex was leading, with nine mugs to her name. She was starting to go glassy eyed, and her words were coming slower. She tossed her hair and tilted dangerously to the side. This caused Pansy to giggle and sway, bumping into Damien, whose arm went around her automatically. This caused the other two girls to laugh, poking each other across the table.
"We gotta tell Millicent! She'd laugh sooooo hard!" Ginny wheezed.
"So are we gonna play or not?" Pansy demanded slowly.
"Yes!" The rest shouted.
"M'kay, I gets to ask the first question. If you're a virgin take a drink!"
Pansy and Ginny took sips. Draco and Blaise grinned at Alex, who shrugged and left her drink on the table.
The two girls clinked glasses, "V-Club Members 'til our wedding nights!" They collapsed into giggles.
"I believe it's my turn?" Damien smiled, "If you have wanted to throttle a house member take a drink!"
All of them gulped. Ginny took two, the others looked at her oddly, "What? I belong to TWO houses now!"
"In that case…" Blaise took another one, smirking at Alex.
She rolled her eyes, "If you ever wanted to strangle your siblings take a drink for each one!"
Alex and Damien both took a drink; Ginny took six in quick succession, and then added two more.
"Whoa Gin! How many siblings do you have?" Alex whispered, leaning across the table like it was some big secret.
"I have six actual 'brothers' then there's Harry and Hermione. Who I count as siblings. Otherwise I'd have the right to kill them!" Ginny whispered back, half her petite body hanging over the table to meet her.
"Ah!" Alex nodded her head sagely and slumped back into her seat.
Blaise fidgeted slightly in his seat, "My turn! If you want to shag a person at this table take a drink. Take two if that person's sitting next to you."
They all took two shots, then grinned at each other stupidly. (You see the table was boy-girl, like so: Blaise, Alex, Damien, Pansy, Draco, and Ginny. From left to right).
Ginny put a finger to her chin thoughtfully, "If…um….you've secretly fantasized about shagging a Professor, take a drink. Take two if it was Snape, chug it if it was anyone else!"
Alex took two, Ginny took two, and Pansy chugged it. The boys looked disgusted.
"Who was it then Pansy?" Draco demanded, his expression of disbelief plastered on his face.
"Gilderoy Lockheart! Oh…and I entertained a few about Lupin as well!" Pansy giggled behind her hand.
Ginny nodded, "Well, Lupin is hot…"
Alex furrowed her brow, "Remus Lupin? The guy in the staff picture from your Third year? DADA?"
"Yeah." Blaise answered.
Alex's eyes lit up and she chugged her mug. "Damn right he's hot! What happened to him anyway?"
"He's a werewolf and it got around, like we care anyway!" Pansy muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, it's too bad that Tonks would kick our asses for even thinking about it…" Ginny complained, watching as her mug filled up again.
"MOVING ON!" Draco snapped, his girl mooning over Lupin just rubbed him the wrong way. "If you've ever skinny dipped take a drink, take two if it was on school grounds, chug it if you weren't alone."
Draco, Blaise and Damien took two, Pansy and Ginny took one, and Alex chugged it.
Blaise lifted one eye brow slowly. "And just when was this Ms. Alexandria?"
Alex blushed, "At BueaxBatons, my fourth year. We, my flock and I, all decided to go for a swim in the river. Problem was that the house elves had our bathing suits, 'cause we weren't allowed to 'parade' ourselves. So we all went starkers."
"Did you get caught?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, by the school's Head Boy. Luckily we had his girlfriend with us and got out of the punishment." Alex snickered, "He had a nosebleed for days!"
Blaise and Damien exchanged mutual looks of anger. "Alex!"
"Wha?" She responded, gazing at them dazedly.
"You could have been hurt!" Damien yelled.
"Or raped!" Blaise shrieked.
"Or both!" They chanted in unison, waving their hands about angrily.
She rolled her eyes. "Really boys, like that would happen with twenty other girls there. Pfft."
"Back to the game!" Pansy snarled, losing her temper at the chauvinistic masculinity. "It's my turn! If you've ever…cheated on an exam, take a drink. Take Two if it was McGonagall's, Three if it was Snape's. Chug it if you got away with it."
Pansy, Draco and Ginny took three, then chugged it. Blaise, Alex and Damien didn't even lift their mugs.
"Awe, come on! Never!" Pansy whined, rolling her eyes. "Buncha goody two shoes…."
Damien smirked, "We just don't have to cheat Pansy, dear! Now, If you've ever asked a woman when she was "due" and she wasn't even pregnant, take a drink. If she slapped you for it, chug."
Draco, Blaise and Ginny took a drink, Damien and Pansy chugged it. Alex smirked. "Tell 'em who decked you brother!"
Damien blushed, "You did."
Alex nodded sharply, "I did indeed!"
Draco crowed with laughter. "You accused your own sister? Moron!"
Damien scowled. Alex grinned widely, "If you've ever gotten drunk off your nut and played a stuuupid game with a bunch of your good friends?"
They all chugged their glasses, well except for Pansy, who'd fallen asleep with her head on Damien's shoulder. Alex sighed and lazily stood up from the table, staggered and hit the floor. The rest peered down at her, and she started to giggle.
"I think I'm plastered now!" Alex declared, hoisting herself up from the floor.
Everybody else got to their feet drunkenly, and supported themselves as far as the door. Damien hoisted Pansy into his arms and started towards the portrait carrying her.
Ginny, Blaise, and Draco said their goodbyes and staggered off toward Slytherin. Damien eyed his sister warily, making sure she was solid on her feet before following.
"Can you get back to the Tower?" He demanded.
"Yes, yes of course." She waved a hand airily at him and tottered off.
Damien shrugged and started off after the Slytherin trio. Pansy sighed and turned her head into the soft wool of his black sweater, inhaling his scent of sandalwood and magic. One of her hands curled into the fabric with a soft grip and clung to him. Damien looked down at her, chuckling softly. She was a sweet girl and the weekly music practice had really paid off for her voice. Her company made the stress of being Hufflepuff's Prince lighten on his shoulders. She wasn't hard on the eyes either, slanted dark eyes and long dark hair falling to her waist. She wore it up in elaborate braids most of the time, keeping it out of her way and not providing a grip incase she got attacked. Practical was something he could appreciate in a girl.
"Damien?" Ginny was gazing at him blearily from the entrance to the Slytherin common.
"Coming Ginny. Where should I put her?"
"Her bedroom is through that hallway, follow me."
Damien trudged through the hall behind the petite redhead, his arms not tired at all from carrying his burden. Reaching the door way he met amused blue eyes from the other occupant in the room, 'Millicent?' he thought her name was, she pulled down the covers on one of the queen beds and gestured for him to lay Pansy down.
"She never can hold her liquor. Thank you for bringing her home Damien. I'm sure she'll be properly thankful in the morning." Millicent smiled down at her friend and waved her hand to change her into pajamas.
Damien nodded and turned to go back to his own common room. Making his way through the castle he heard an odd keening coming from the forest, but decided that he was in no shape to go investigate and continued on to his warm bed.
Several of his guard met him at the door and demanded where he'd been but with a wave of his hand he dismissed their concerns and paced off to his solo chamber.
'Wonder is Alex made it to her commons? Silly bint probably fell asleep in the corridor…'