Discovery

57.

The twins looked accomplished as we left the kitchen, leaving Sirius to have a thorough conversation with the tea kettle.

We trudged into the twins' room, locking the door behind us. Fred opened the bottle and took a swig.

"Ugh," he made a face. "That's horrible,"

"Don't be dramatic," George scoffed, taking a huge gulp of his own, but he started coughing madly moments later.

"Losers..." I laughed. "Let me show you how it's done." I took the bottle from Fred and downed a huge sip, remembering Miranda's step-by-step instructions on how to take a drink. I swallowed the whiskey without making a face, and the twins were in shock.

"How did you— have you— what the hell?" Fred stuttered.

"I have my secrets." I winked.

We drank into the night. Not even an hour later, we were totally slammed. George was singing loudly (to the extent of which Fred and I had to cast a Silencing Charm around the room), and Fred wouldn't stop kissing me.

"You guys are funny," I laughed so hard I thought my stomach would burst. Everything was blurry and spinning, but I felt great.

I can barely remember what happened as the night went on. Around two in the morning, Fred and I went down to get more drinks. We were doing a miserable job at staying quiet, bumping into just about everything.

"Shhh!" Fred put his finger to my lips.

"No, you!" I laughed, hitting the wall with my elbow.

We entered the kitchen, and as I opened the cabinet, Fred pushed me against the counter. His face was just inches from mine, and I didn't hesitate before connecting my lips with his. It was only mere seconds before his tongue was practically down my throat, and he lifted me onto the counter.

His hands ran down my chest, cupping my..well..you know...

After what seemed like hours, we figured it was best to head back upstairs, before anyone should happen to walk in on such a sight.

We took six more bottles and found George asleep on the bed when we returned.

"Oh well," Fred slurred. "More for us!"

Fred was next to doze off. I finished off the last three bottles by myself, yearning for this funny feeling to last forever. Everything was getting so grim nowadays, I just wanted to lighten my mood for the night.

But soon, the dizziness was replaced with sleepiness, and I curled up in Fred's bed, having no desire to head back to my own room.

The last thing I remember was falling asleep on Fred's chest.

***

I could barely open my eyes. Searing pain was coursing through my veins, clustering in my head.

"Oww..." I muttered, trying to soothe my pounding headache.

"Morning, El," said a sleepy voice, none other than Fred.

My eyes shot open, and I remembered the events of last night.

"Oh, sh—"

Fred put a finger to my lips and turned his head to face George, who was still sound asleep.

"Let's get you back to your room before anyone notices, eh?"

I nodded and went to sit up, but the pain brought me back down.

"Hey, hey, be careful there." Fred took my head in his hands and stroked my forehead. "You sure drank a lot last night. Just take it easy."

After the headache subsided, Fred helped me up to my room. Miranda was still asleep, luckily, and she didn't even flinch when Fred tucked me into bed. After a quick kiss on the forehead, crack! He was gone.