"Alright, Seamus. Did you get the glasses?" Ron asked as he impatiently sat between Harry and Neville on the floor.
"Huh? Oh, Yes." Seamus hurriedly nodded his head and turned back to pull a small bag from under his bed before taking five intricate goblets out of it, "These were the only ones I could nick from Great Hall..."
"Haha, No matter," Rob replied jubilantly as he picked up the goblets and began placing them in a circle, "With these, we shall drink like uptight Purebloods today, my friends, Haha— Eh, No offence, Neville."
"N-None taken?" Neville replied with a confused look on his face.
"Aren't you a pure blood too?" Dean asked with a weird look on his face.
"Huh, I guess I am." Ron nodded with a look of realisation on his face before he decided to forget about it and shrugged, "Anyway, Let's drink!" he exclaimed gleefully while excitedly taking out a bottle of Fire whisky from the paper bag.
The boys looked on as Ron opened the intricate but simple crystal cap on the bottle with a pop and then without any further ado he began pouring Firewhisky into the goblets.
"Hehe, I am so happy," Seamus almost squeaked with eagerness in his eyes as he looked at the amber liquid filling up the goblet with an almost hypnotised gaze.
"Wait, Wait, Wait! Are we actually doing this?" Harry abruptly asked with a panicked look as if he had just broken out of his stupor and realised what they were about to do, "Are we really going to drink alcohol in our room?"
"What do you think?" Ron asked with a sly look on his face as he finished filling up the goblets equally and began placing one in front of each of his friends.
"B-But—it's not—aren't we going to—" Harry stammered as he kept trying to come up with a way for them to understand how insane this was, "What if the professors find out?"
"Who is going to tell them? Are you?" Ron asked cheekily.
"No, but still... look at Neville!" Harry said while looking around and grasping for a solution before abruptly he pointed towards the chubby boy who seemed a little out of it, "He hasn't blinked ever since you entered the room with alcohol... Aren't you worried he is going to have a heart attack?"
"Eh! You're just fretting too much. This is already our last day at Hogwarts and it is just a celebration... so nothing's going to go wrong." Ron said waving his hand nonchalantly, "And besides, I am sure Neville is also very excited to have his very first drink with us... his best friends," he said before turning towards Neville and patting his shoulder, "Isn't that right, Neville?"
"I-I Yes of course," The boy replied nodding with an unsure smile on his face, partly from peer pressure and partly from having found a hint of courage from somewhere deep inside of him. Then after taking a deep breath, the shy boy picked up the goblet in front of him with shaking hands—now whether they were shaking from fear or excitement, no one knew.
"That's the spirit! I knew you had it in you," Ron chortled, heartily patting the shy boy on his shoulder, "Now, pick up your drinks boys." he commanded the rest and they all complied except for Harry who still looked a little hesitant, "Come on, now, Harry. Take it already. Don't make poor Seamus wait any longer..." he said pointing towards the Irish lad who was barely holding himself back from upending his first glass of alcohol.
"You're really going to get us killed this time... or worse," Harry murmured to himself while shaking his head but in the end, he still picked up the goblet while trying to hide a small smile of excitement on his face.
"Perfect! Now then, come closer everyone," Rob called to his friends, "Gather your goblets around like this... Exactly," he nodded as all of them raised their goblets and touched them in the middle before a serious expression appeared on his face as he looked into his friend's eyes, "Boys! This is not just a small drink but... an awakening, a ritual of growth." he declared solemnly, "A ritual to signify that after we empty these goblets, we shed the skin of boys and we become MEN!"
"YEAH!" shouted Dean, Seamus and even Neville with a face flushed with excitement.
"Then... CHEERS! AND BOTTOMS UP!" he shouted and immediately followed his own order and guzzled the alcohol in his own goblet with others following soon after.
Almost instantly Ron felt the familiar but unfamiliar burning sensation as the Firewhisky seared his throat.
He felt as if he had consumed liquid fire... it felt hot and cold at the same time. But a second later he forgot all that as an unreal feeling of courage filled him as if he could do... anything. He felt as if he could go challenge Flitwick to a duel, steal precious potions from Snape's lab, pull on Dumbledore's Beard or even go see if—
Cough!* *Cough!*
His friends' coughing brought him back to the present from his momentary delusional state and he looked at his friends struggling from their very first drink before he exchanged glances with Seamus, the only other person who wasn't hacking his lungs out and both of them burst out laughing.
"HAHA!"
And just like that, began the most memorable night in the five boys' lives... memorable for more than one reason...
...
A short while later, the five boys were now half-drunk kneeling on the floor staring intently at a bottle spinning between them.
To give some context... a few minutes after they had begun and after all of them had a few to drink and some snacks to eat, things had become properly loosening up with the five Gryffindors enjoying themselves and spontaneously bursting into laughter at the simplest of things.
And in the middle of this stupidity, Ron had suggested playing some drinking games as traditions dictated them to... but sadly none of his ignorant friends like Harry, Seamus and Neville knew of any such games and could only suggest things like Cards, Chess and Gobstones.
But thankfully Dean came in the form of a saviour and suggested a muggle game called Truth or Dare that he had heard about from one of his older cousins... which had honestly saved Ron as he was also on the verge of suggesting the very same thing and that would have forced him to explain where he had learned about it from... and honestly he didn't want to get into that, especially in inebriated state.
Now the game had commenced in a very tame manner, with Harry being made to do fifty push-ups, Dean being made to sing, and then Neville being made to do a weird tribal dance on one leg without a shirt(he had a feeling Seamus was just making that up).
But then that one topic came up... a topic that was guaranteed to be brought up whenever a group of young boys got together to drink... no matter the universe—GIRLS!
About half an hour after they had started, one of them(Seamus) finally decided to be naughty and slyly asked Dean who his crush was and then didn't let up until the flustered boy was forced to confess that he liked the Ancient Runes Professor Bathsheda Babbling.
"I didn't know you were into older girls Dean," Ron said with an impressed look on his face, "You've been hiding from us, eh,"
"Older girls! That is not an older girl, that is an OLDER WOMAN!" Seamus exclaimed with an overly excited expression on his face—yes, the Irish boy was the kind that got progressively louder as he became drunk— "Haha! I always knew you were a sneaky little shit," he sniggered while giving his friend a noogie.
"Fine, Fine! Can we get on with it now," he cried out with an embarrassed look on his face while pushing away Seamus and then before they could get the chance to tease him further, he went for the bottle and spun it on the floor.
The bottle rapidly spun a few times before slowing down and landing on Ron with the other end pointing towards Dean who immediately squeaked gleefully at getting the chance to have some revenge so he didn't waste any time before repeating the same question he had been asked, "So tell us, Ron Weasley," he asked in a sing-song tone, "Who do you like the most at Hogwarts?"
"Hmm, let me think," Unlike his friends who became nervous virgins at the very topic of girls, Ron had a serious frown on his face as if he was considering the recipe of an OWL-level potion, "I think it would all depend on the criteria. Because if you go by the body, then I would surely pick Lavander or maybe Susan Bones, because... you know," he then made a lewd gesture that immediately had Harry blushing crimson red and slapping Ron on the back hard enough to make him flinch but he went on regardless, "But if you go by the facial features, personality and just overall attractiveness... then I would definitely go with Daphnee Greengrass," he nodded with a smile on his face satisfied with his choice before looking up to see all of them staring at him with stunned looks on their face.
"What?!" Ron asked with a confused tilt of his head.
"I...It's just... I didn't expect you to be so..."
"Frank." Semaus provided helpfully while having the same bewilderment on his face.
"T-That's it," Dean quickly nodded his head at that, "And going for a Slytherin..." his voice took on an impressed note at that, "You're giving us a lot of surprises today, Ron."
"Eh, The heart wants what it wants," Ron shrugged with a helpless expression on his face, "What can I do..."
"Hear, Hear," Seamus said nodding his head while raising his goblet with a sagely look on his face.
"Alright, you guys continue. I am going to get a refill" Ron said while feeling a bit awkward at the look of awe in Neville's eyes as he looked at him before he stood up while taking his empty goblet. He was wobbly for only a few seconds before he walked towards the paper bag that lay forgotten beside Seamus's bed.
As Ron kneeled down and opened the bag to take out the second bottle of Fire whisky, he found an extra something that he had completely forgotten about— a small vial of crystal clear liquid.
It took a few seconds for him to remember that it was something called the Soul-Freeze, a liquid potion meant to enhance the taste of Firewhisky by ten times... or at least that's what Sirius had told him... but the shopkeeper had something else, hadn't he...
'Something about a warning... um..." Ron frowned as he tried hard to remember what the shopkeeper cautioned him about but it just wouldn't come to him, 'Eh, it's probably unimportant anyway,' Ron shrugged before taking out the vial from the bag, 'Maybe I should see what this actually does...'
Behind Ron the game continued and this time the bottle turned towards Neville whose face alternatively turned a deathly pale and a blushing red, as he rapidly began shaking his head knowing what was coming.
"Come now, Neville. You know what we wanna know..." Seamus asked with a pure evil smile on his face.
"N-No, I-I don't like anyone..." he said with his head down absolutely refusing to look up at his friends as his blood rushed to his face.
"Now, Now, don't be so shy," Dean teased in an innocent tone, "We are all friends here, aren't we? No one's going to make fun of you, I promise. So you can safely tell us..." he said while hiding his crossed fingers behind his back.
"Yes, tell us, Neville," Seamus nudged with a sly look on his face, "Besides I remember you having quite the fun laughing when it was Dean's turn so you can't sneak out of it now..."
"You have to do it, Neville," Harry said loudly with an enthusiastic look on his face. It had taken a while but he had gotten into the groove of things by now and even began chanting in his excitement.
"DO IT!" "DO IT!" "DO IT!"
The other two joined Harry in mounting the pressure as Ron came back to his seat with an open bottle and an empty goblet in his hands before noticing what was happening. None of the others had noticed this but Ron had made the startlingly that drunk Harry, the Boy-who-lived was actually a... sadist.
"DO IT—"
"Hannah!" Neville abruptly yelled with his eyes closed and a flushed look on his face, "I-I like H-Hannah," he let out while looking as if he wanted the earth to swallow him whole.
"Haha! I knew it!" Seamus laughed loudly while slamming his fist in his palm, "You were always sneaking your eyes at her every time we had classes with Hufflepuff, weren't you?"
"Um..."
"No need to be embarrassed Neville, she's quite the catch." Dean said elbowing his friend with a teasing look on his face, "You have good taste, my friend."
"So... when are you to ask her out," Seamus asked while wiggling his eyebrows.
"W-What?!" Neville stammered as he once again began rapidly shaking his head, "N-No! I-I can't... T-That is just..." his face which had barely begun to regain its colour turned red once again.
"Oh, come on, Neville, you have to do it at some time. So do it while you still have the chance," Dean advised before he shrugged, "Because a pretty bird like Hannah isn't going to stay single forever so you need to do it soon... After all, you don't want to see her get together with another guy, do you?"
"NO! Not...I mean...but..." Neville let out with a confused and miserable look on his face.
"Jeez! Leave him alone, guys," Ron interrupted with a glare at his somewhat apologetic friends, "Here drink this, Neville" he said filling Neville's almost empty goblet with the new bottle of Firewhisky he had gotten with that little shot of something extra in it, "You'll feel better after a drink—"
Ron didn't even get to finish his sentence as Neville clutched the goblet as if it was the elixir of life and immediately poured it into his mouth making him cough and hack but he finished it all nonetheless impressing Ron and Seamus.
"I think you need to do it today, Neville..." a quiet but determined voice suddenly interrupted them.
"What?" All three of them turned to look at Harry who had an unusually serious look on his face as he looked at Neville who had his face down and looked out of sorts after finishing that goblet of Firewhisky.
"You should confess to her, Neville," Harry said to Neville in a sober voice, "This is our last day before holidays... Maybe you won't get another chance so you should just do it today."
Now, all three of them were looking at Harry as if he was insane because suggesting that "Neville" go to Hufflepuff at this time of the night to confess to his crush in his drunken could only be lunacy and nothing else.
"Hehe, nice joke, Harry," Dean chuckled nervously while exchanging worried glances with Ron.
"You know what," Seamus suddenly interrupted in a subdued voice before nodding to himself, "That's a great idea," he agreed loudly before turning to Neville with an excited look on his face, "I agree with Harry, Neville. You really should go to Hufflepuff dorm and ask Hannah out... tonight."
"A-Are you both out of your mind," Dean finally cried in a panicked manner as he saw Seamus adding wood to the fire, "It is almost midnight and there's a curfew out there! Prefects, Teachers and who knows what else could be roaming the hallways out there... and you want him to go to the Hufflepuff common room right now."
Harry didn't know why he said it... maybe it was just FIrewhisky making him unusually reckless... but when he saw Neville talk about his crush with that innocent expression on his face, he suddenly realised that he could never have that... that he could never genuinely like someone without being afraid of putting them in danger... of them being used against him.
And then he remembered the conversation that night with Dumbledore in his office... knowing that Neville could have easily been in his place in another universe and he in Neville's, because of the damn prophecy... so he wanted him, no, he needed him to have what he himself couldn't due to the threat of Voldemort...
"If not now then when," Harry muttered while ignoring Dean and staring straight at Neville with a determined expression on his face, "Neville, if you really like her and want to ask her out, then I will come with you all the way to the Hufflepuff dorms, no questions asked,"
Nevile hadn't looked up ever since he had that drink, his eyes were half-closed and he felt as if an explosion had happened in his head clearing away all the debris of useless thoughts and feelings that filled his mind, leaving him with an unusually serene clarity for the first time in his life.
He felt as if he could do anything at that moment, he felt that even if Voldemort appeared in front of him at that moment... he wouldn't be scared and that he could fight him without hesitation... which was weird considering he wouldn't even be able to say his name a few seconds ago.
He felt oddly light as if he was sitting on clouds as if his entire being was filled to the brim with... courage! courage to do anything...
"Harry, I think you've just had a bit too much to drink—"
"I will do it," came a tranquil voice as Neville looked up with an eerily calm smile on his face. He nodded towards Harry and then without waiting for anything immediately got up and walked towards the door with his back straight and his walk without a single wobble.
All of them were left stunned in their places as they saw the shy boy leave the room without hesitation. Only when the door to their dorm closed before did they manage to break out of their stupors.
"No! Wait, Neville!" Dean cried as he scrambled to go after the boy to stop him but someone else was faster than him.
"I am going with him," shouted Harry as he immediately ran after the boy with an oddly determined look on his face.
"Huh? Is he actually doing this? Are they actually doing this?" Seamus asked in a stunned voice as he looked at the door with amazement on his face.
"Ah! You idiot! We need to stop them! Or we'll all be expelled!"
"Who the fuck cares," Seamus shouted in an exhilarating tone, showing that he was well and truly drunk, "Let's all go to Hufflepuff!" He laughed loudly as he then followed after the two.
"I-I... Ron! What are we going to do?" Dean asked in a panicked tone to the only other person left in the room.
Ron had an odd look on his face as his gaze alternated between the door and the bottle in his hands with suspicion in his eyes, 'Was all that because of the drink...' he thought as he oddly felt compelled to drink the Firewhisky which had been mixed with Soulfreeze to check its effects...
"RON! What are we going to do!"
"Huh? Um..." Ron quickly shook his head after he was broken out of his daze by Dean and placed the bottle on the table without giving in to the temptation of drinking a possibly mind-altering thing, before answering Dean, "There's nothing really left for us to do here, mate. Other than just support our friend." he then patted Dean's shoulder with a smile and left after the others.
Dean stood in his place with a dumbfounded look on his face for a few moments before he cursed, "Arght! Fuck it!" He immediately ran around the room and began collecting all the evidence of their party before he vanished them with a wave of his wand. And only after making sure that there was nothing incriminating left in the room in case it all went to shit he left the room to follow the suicidal Gryffindors he called friends to join them in this suicidal venture.
/