Aurora sat in the reclined chair, clutching onto Ramona's hand for dear life. She grit her teeth as the needle penetrated her skin. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever picture herself in Hong Kong's Mong Kok district getting a tattoo. As each minute passed, the grasp that she had on Ramona's hand became tighter and tighter.

"Stop being such a baby!" Ramona scolded, wincing at the force that was crushing her hand.

"I have no idea how I even let you talk me into this!" Aurora gasped.

An hour later Aurora stood in front of a mirror examining her new and first tattoo. She decided to get something simple, a scorpion on her hip.

"It looks nice!" Ramona complimented; she turned to the tattoo artist and in fluent Cantonese asked him how much they owed.

Once outside the two friends wandered around the city for a bit until they decided that it was time to head back home.

"Do you have to use a Portkey?" Aurora complained as she followed Ramona down a bustling street. "Why can't we just Apparate?"

"Because I hate Apparating that's why."

Aurora sighed and decided not to argue any further because she knew it would be pointless. Ramona liked to win arguments almost as much as she did, if not more. She just remained silent and continued to follow her friend to the location of the Portkey.

"What are you going to do?" Aurora asked, taking a peek at Ramona, who had pulled out her wand.

"I'm going to speed up the healing process of your tattoo. Normally they are a lot of maintenance what with washing and all that."

With a flick of her wand a green orb appeared, hovering over Aurora's hip, and then with a quick swish the orb lowered itself and was absorbed into her skin.

Aurora gasped at the new sensation; it didn't hurt, but it was odd, and her skin quickly cooled and then rose back to its normal temperature.

"All done!" Ramona smiled with approval.

Aurora sat up and examined her hip. The tattoo was completely healed- the skin was no longer red and irritated.

"Thank you."

Aurora was unpacking her belongings in her new flat. It was a nice, decent size; there were two bedrooms, complete with a bathroom, living room, and kitchen. It also had a loft that she decided to turn into her bedroom.

"Where do you want these dishes?" Asked a voice from behind her.

"Put them in the cabinet in the kitchen." Aurora instructed as she walked up the stairs leading to the loft.

"Are you sure you don't want to use the bedroom down here?"

"I'm sure Elly, I've always wanted to a loft bedroom. It'll be fun! It's almost like when Uncle Gavin used to let us camp in the living room when Aunt Celeste was away visiting her mother. Are you sure you don't want to live here with me? I have plenty of room."

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Where will you go?"

"I'm not sure," Eleanor walked towards the window, and stood staring out at the street below. "I'll probably go to California, I've always wanted to see the West Coast."

"What's in California?"

"Not sure..." Eleanor turned to face Aurora with a big smile on her face. "But I'm going to find out."

Eleanor Acker, Aurora's first cousin, was married at the young at of 16. Her father decided to marry her off to Balthasar Acker, a man 7 years her senior. At first she found him to be quite charming- he was a handsome man that resided in East Germany. He was tall, had dirty blond hair, and the most mesmerizing blue eyes. She fell for him almost immediately after meeting him. In the first few years of their marriage, Balthasar was very kind to her. He would shower her with the most lavish gifts and gave her anything her heart desired. But that all changed in their fifth year of marriage. In that year, Balthasar's mother died and his steel company was declining. Unable to cope with the loss of his mother and the failure of his company, he turned to alcohol as a way to escape. The loving husband that Eleanor knew was gone; instead he became an angry man who could barely hold himself together.

"It's funny, you know." Eleanor turned to look out the window once more "I never thought I would end up here at age 24, it almost feels like 7 years of marriage went down the drain." Her voice was distant and sad.

"Do you regret ever marrying him?" Aurora asked.

"No…" Eleanor took a deep breath. "He was a good man, I only wish I could have saved him. He fell into a dark place and I tried to pull him out but to no avail." She drew a wary breath. "If I couldn't help him, and he won't help himself, there was no reason to continue trying and lord knows I've tried. I probably sound horrible saying this, I know, but I gave up on him because he gave up on himself."

The two cousins were silent for a moment before continuing to unpack. Aurora knew that Eleanor was feeling guilty for leaving her husband, but what was the girl to do? Her husband was an alcoholic and she couldn't take it anymore.

"Are you sure you don't want to spend the night?" Aurora asked as she shifted on her feet.

"Rory, how many times are you going to keep asking me? Yes I'm sure, I want to get a move on before I lose my nerve and decide to stay." Eleanor chuckled. She picked up her bag and gave her cousin a hug before she made her departure.

Aurora sighed and shook her head. She walked into the kitchen to get something to eat when she heard a knock on the door. She glanced up at the door with a look of confusion, wondering who it was, when suddenly the door burst open and a very hyper Wyatt jumped in followed by a very annoyed looking Draco.

"AURORA!"

"Wyatt, you can't just burst into people's homes: that's illegal." Draco stated plainly as he crossed his arms.

"Hey, I knocked!"

"But you didn't wait for her to answer the door."

"Draco, how many times do I have to tell you to keep Wyatt on a leash? You know he can't control himself." Aurora stated calmly as she waved her wand in order to shut the door.

"I apologize Aurora. Next time I'll be sure to keep the puppy on his leash."

"Hello, I'm right here." Wyatt huffed in annoyance.

"Oh, Wyatt, are you going to act like an adult now?"

"Never!"

"What are you two doing here anyway?"

"We're here for your house warming party!"

"What house warming party?"

"The one you're having now!"

Aurora looked up at Draco to see what Wyatt was talking about.

"He just wants an excuse to get drunk."

"Ah, well sorry Wyatt, but I don't have any alcohol."

"Yes you do! Check the fridge!"

Aurora gave Wyatt a puzzled look and did as he instructed. And what did she find? Two bottles of tequila just sitting in her fridge.

"Wyatt, what is this?"

"Tequila, it's very popular in the Muggle world, especially in the country of Mexico. I think that's where it originated from."

"I know what it is, Wyatt. What I'm asking is what, exactly, is it doing here in my flat?"

"We can't have a good time without tequila!"

"You mean you can't have a good time without tequila."

"You know my dear girl you need to lighten up. Now where do you keep your shot glasses?"

"I don't have shot glasses."

Wyatt reached into his coat and pulled out three shot glasses.

"You do now! A gift from me to you!"

"Thanks." She muttered as she took the glasses from him. "You don't really plan on staying here to drink, do you?"

"Of course I do!"

Aurora looked to Draco for some help.

"Sorry, love, it's been a while since I've had a good time. I kind of have to go with Wyatt on this one."

"But why here? Why can't you two just go to a bar or something?"

"Simple, I like to get drunk in closed quarters."

"Well if that's the case then why not your flat, or Wyatt's? Why do you two feel the need to drink here?"

"Change of scenery!" Wyatt interjected as he prepared the drinks.

"You both know that classes start tomorrow, correct?"

"Of course we do!" Wyatt said as he handed Aurora and Draco their drinks. "But we don't have any classes tomorrow, do you?"

"…Not until noon." Aurora said slowly.

"To the start of the semester!" Draco held up his glass and drank, followed by Wyatt.

Aurora looked between the two men, and with a frustrated sigh, she drank as well. The liquid was hot and burned her throat, causing her to cough.

"How can you drink this?!"

"Easy!" Wyatt poured himself another drink. "Like this!" and he proceeded to knock it back.

"You two are idiots." Aurora whispered as she poured herself another glass.

It was around 2am and Aurora was prancing about the flat with great enthusiasm as Draco sat on the couch and watched her with great amusement. Wyatt on the other hand had drunkenly stumbled out of Aurora's flat and onto the street in an attempt to make it home, but failed miserably. He ended up falling asleep in a heap of trash next to the building.

"Draco!" Aurora exclaimed as she fluttered about; she was never a big drinker, so after the first 3 shots, she was gone. Draco, on the other hand, had a much higher tolerance for alcohol so he wasn't as intoxicated as she was. He still was able to think clearly.

"Yes?"

"Draco!"

"What?"

"Did you know that if we had babies they would be beautiful?" Aurora giggled and clumsily plopped on the couch, and rested her head in the crook of his neck. He immediately stiffened; he couldn't believe the words she just uttered or how close she was to him. Maybe tequila was a bad idea after all. He turned his head to look at her; Draco knew it was just the alcohol talking but he couldn't help but feel somewhat hopeful that at some point in the near future they may become more than just friends.

"Um…no, I didn't know that."

"They would be so beautiful! They would have my hair and your eyes." Aurora continued to giggle uncontrollably.

"I'm never letting you drink again." Draco muttered more to himself rather than to Aurora.

"Wha?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

They sat in since for a few moments and then Aurora began to fidget again.

"OH MY LORD IT IS SO HOT!" She shouted as she began to unbutton her blouse. Draco stood immediately and tried to button her blouse for her.

"Please keep your clothes, on dear."

"But DRAAAAACO! I'm hot! It's so hot in here!" She pushed his hands away and she successfully unbuttoned her blouse and removed, it leaving her in just a pair of pants and a pink laced bra.

"This can't be happening." Draco said as he began to furiously rub his eyes. He looked up at her again and then quickly averted his eyes. God she's beautiful!

"Aurora please put your shirt back on, this isn't dignified! And get down from the table!"

The intoxicated young woman was now standing on the coffee table looking down at him.

"You can't tell me what to do! You're not my father! Or my brothers…or my uncle…or Aunt Cel-AH!" She shrieked as Draco picked her up and flung her onto his shoulder. "Hey! Put me down!"

Draco ignored her and continued to walk up to the loft where Aurora's bedroom was. Once the bed came into view he carefully placed her down and had every intention of leaving, but her small hands gripped at his shirt and pulled him down to her. Their lips were centimeters apart. Draco attempted to free himself from her grip, but to no avail, because she quickly wrapped her legs around his waist to keep him in place. Shit! What the hell is she doing?!

"Draco…" Her voice was barely audible. "Draco take off your clothes." She began to unbutton his shirt. Draco pulled away quickly.

"Aurora, no!"

"But whhhhhhhy?" She whined. "Draco, make me feel good!" She sat up on her knees and began to work on his shirt once more. Draco halted her by grabbing her wrists.

"Aurora, no." He said sternly. Aurora's hands dropped and suddenly her face paled. Draco recognized the look on her face; it was the look of someone who was about to vomit.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Aurora groaned as she allowed herself to fall back and let her head hit the pillow. Her breaths became ragged. Draco saw this and immediately tried to look for the waste basket but was too late. He looked up at Aurora, whose head was leaning off the side of the bed as she regurgitated the contents of her stomach, and with a frustrated sigh he walked over to her and carefully held her hair back as she continued to vomit.

Once Aurora had emptied her stomach, she yawned and fell back into Draco's arms, and fell asleep.

"As I said earlier, I'm never letting you drink again." Draco waved his wand and immediately a mop and a bucket appeared and began to clean up the mess that she had made.

"Oh you silly girl, look at you. Passed out and covered in vomit. I never thought I would ever have to babysit you." He gently moved a few strands of her hair from her face. Draco picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. He knew it was improper for him to undress and clean her up, but he couldn't leave her in the state she was currently in.

Aurora was clean and finally tucked into bed with Draco sitting next to her, watching her as she slept. He knew he should probably get headed home but he didn't want to leave her, he wanted to make sure that she would be okay.

"Let's hope for both our sakes you won't remember a thing." Draco made his way down to the living room and decided to sleep on the couch.