Thicker than Water (Marauders Era)

24 June, 1978 - Drunk

Lavinia didn't leave. At least, she didn't leave the room. Instead she simply pushed her way deeper into the throng, thinking that if she could at least look like she was having fun then maybe Remus would stop worrying so much and realize he could still enjoy the night. She felt a bit guilty about it, knowing she was trying to manipulate him, but she felt worse about ruining what should have been a happy and worry free night for him. And yet, everything felt a bit dull and empty at the moment and she couldn't bring herself to particularly care.

Perhaps the strangest thing to her was that as she made her way through the groups of clustered Gryffindors, not a single one of them seemed to recognize who she was or ask why someone wearing a Slytherin uniform was in the middle of their common room. Indeed, she'd made it perhaps halfway across the room without actually having any end goal in mind when someone tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a bottle of firewhiskey.

"Take a sip and pass it on," the girl who'd given it to her said, tripping a little bit as someone knocked into her from behind. "We've only got a few though, so don't have too much." And just like that, she breezed off, apparently either not knowing or not caring that Lavinia wasn't usually welcome in a place like this.

The Slytherin looked down at the bottle of amber liquid in her hand then glanced at the steps where she'd left Remus. She didn't see him there, but that was hardly the point. He'd asked her not to have more. But she reasoned, fully aware that she was just searching for an excuse not to break a promise to a friend, he could have just meant no more butterbeer. And maybe if she was a little more tipsy, or even fully drunk, she'd have a little more fun. And she wanted to have fun, no matter what she'd told Remus. She didn't want to wait. She'd been waiting for too damn long and this was supposed to be a good night. So she would make it one.

Pushing aside her guilt, Lavinia took a swig from the bottle, gasping slightly at the burn as the stuff went down her throat. It felt good. It felt like she'd swallowed a little bit of fire and it had lit something warm in the hollow of her stomach. So, deciding to ignore the girl's request, she had another swig. If a little was good, then more was better right? She decided to ignore the part of her brain that screamed about how flawed that logic was.

Then she tapped the shoulder of the nearest person and pushed the bottle into his hands, repeating what she'd been told and leaving him to get as drunk as he walked with his little group of friends.

Of course, now she was left with a warmth in her stomach and a lightness in her head and nothing at all to do with it. So she simply stood there, trying to decide how best to use the bubble of fog that had invaded her usually so crowded headspace.

After a little while, during which she came up with no answers, someone came boldly up to her and, looking and sounding utterly confident and mildly drunk, stuck out his hand. "My friends dared me to ask the Slytherin chick for a dance," he informed her, rather louder than was strictly necessary. "Would you like to dance?"

Lavinia stared at him for a moment, then shrugged and took his hand, figuring that dancing might be fun and if Sirius was going to surround himself with a whole host of other girls, she could have a dance with someone and not feel very guilty at all. Besides, dancing might be a good thing to do with this fake joy in her core.

The boy looked mildly surprised, an expression rather at odds with his previous blase confidence and, as he led her towards the side of the room where most of the dancing was happening, he called over his shoulder, "Suck it Trevor!"

Lavinia gave a snort that turned into a giggle that turned into a laugh by which point she wasn't actually sure what she found so funny. But she didn't have to know, she decided, because within a few minutes she was dancing and laughing and reveling in the attention of a boy whose name she didn't know and didn't care to learn.