"Excuse me, I need something stronger."
A couple of snakes move their head to look at their badger friend before she stands up from her chair and walk to the bar with faces full of the mission. Eyebrows rise at everyone's faces but not the boy with brown curly hair, he smiles against his glass before taking a sip, eyes still watching her move while his other hand drapes lazily on the vacant seat next to him.
"Since when did she drink something stronger?" Pansy says what all of them are thinking. Her hand is playing with her glass, which contains a butterbeer that she already spikes with a good amount of firewhiskey that she can't even taste the sweetness of butterbeer again.
Draco nodded his head to the empty glass beside Theo, the one with the vacant seat. "It was her second glass."
All Slytherin knows you always drink two butterbeers with their monthly hangout despite how you're the only one who doesn't drink alcohol in the group, but today you surprise them when you walk away to the bar alone. Even your boyfriend –who always argues to buy your drink whenever he can– doesn't react to your departure.
"What did you do, Nott?"
"Why do you think I did something?"
"Well, we know she is boring because she never tasted alcohol in her bloody life, so you might do something to change it, Theodore."
Theo chooses to not answer his friend's accusation and tilts his head to look back at you. You catch Theo's green eyes and dimple smiles plaster at his face from far away before he looks back at his waiting friends. Some look curious and glare a dagger at him while their mouth turns into scowls (Draco), some look angry that he is scared that the table would flip first before he can speak (Pansy), and some look calm yet he can see the hand flex on the wand that he knows will sting hexes at him if his answer wrongly (Blaise).
The four snakes just look at each other without uttering any words. Sometimes, they do this to appear like they can read each other mind or just be civil before all the hell break loose if any of them open their mouth first. Theo chooses to sip his drink slowly and pretend not to be bothered by the three pairs of eyes looking directly at him.
"What happened here?"
If Theo tense back turn relax when he hears his girlfriend's voice, he doesn't show it. He keeps his eyes looking at the other three heads that now turn their eyes to your presence. Another drink on your hand, but it doesn't look like your third butterbeer.
"Nothing, love."
Theo moves your chair a little so you can sit again, then puts his arm around your shoulder and brings you closer to him, using your body as a shield from the other snakes that wait to make a move.
"What drink is that? I had never seen it before." Blaise's voice is calmer than his tense hand that still points his wand on the table to Theo. All snakes silently look at the badger who sips the drink with a smiling face.
The glass looks like an ordinary glass that Madam Rosmerta uses for her butterbeer but contains different colours. The drink has deep yellow at the bottom and ocean blue at the top. There's no ice to be seen, but the sweating glass means the drink is cold. Little bubbles gathered below soft foam around the rim.
You sip it gingerly after you realize all eyes are on you, but you can't hide your smile when you taste the drink that Madam Rosmerta makes especially for you. Your hand moves to wipe your lips, knowing there will be soft foam at the corner of your mouth, but Theo's thumb moves faster to clean it, and then he licks his finger. There is recognition in his green eyes when he tastes it, and he just smirks at your pink cheeks.
"Since when did they have a cocktail in Three Broomsticks?" Pansy voice makes your eyes aware that three heads still looking at you, and it makes you blush harder.
"No, there is no alcohol in this drink." Pansy's eyes brow rose to her bang, and the boys –save from Theo– looked at you sceptically. Your eyes focus on the drink on your hands, feeling shy from the attention, but Theo's arm around you makes you stop squirming in your seat.
"I had a little talk with Madam Rosmerta a couple of months ago about her drink, and after learning my preferences, she uses it as an excuse to experiment. She said I can ask for it if I need 'something stronger' and that the code for the drink."
A beat of silence greeted the end of your story, but it still didn't answer their question, and Pansy being herself, took your glass and took a sip of it. Not seeing Theo glaring at her action or your late warning for the drink.
"Bloody hell, is this pure sugar?"
"I try to warn you. It was my stronger drink."
You take your glass back after Pansy wipes her lips and finishes her alcohol in one go to wash the sweetness in her mouth like the taste is mocking her.
"What you mean by stronger is because the drinks are sweeter?" Eyeing the colourful glass carefully, Draco's grey eyes gleam with the answer they need. The nod of your head confirms it.
"Not sweeter, it's the sweetest." Rising your drink in the air, then sip it like the winner.
"You are something else." The dark skin wizard shook his head while his lips turned into soft smiling and the tense air from before loosened by the laugher at their table.
The conversation moved easily after that like they hadn't questioned your now half-finished drink before or Pansy's glare at the insanely sweet drink. Putting down your glass, you move closer to Theo and rest your head on the crook of his neck. You try to focus on the Quidditch debate between Blaise and Draco before you feel two fingers lift your chin and soft lips greet yours. There's a little pause from Theo's lips before you feel his tongue lick your bottom lips and smile.
"You taste sweet." Feeling lost for words, you keep looking at his green eyes that still looking at you intensely.
"Keep kissing her and your blood sugar will skyrocketing, mate."
The laugh erupted, and you tried to shy away from them, embarrassed by it, but your boyfriend won't care about his friends and kiss you again. Tasting the sweetness from your drink on your lips.
-fin-