Regulus Black didn’t like parties, but he liked free booze. Most of his friends couldn’t understand how he could chug cheap alcohol, but it got him wasted faster than the expensive stuff his dad liked to drink, and it smelled better most of the time. Besides he liked the novelty of the cheap stuff, he was too young to drink dragon-aged fire whiskey over a shot of pink lemonade tequila that gave you a hangover you could feel in your teeth.
In particular, he hated Gryfindoor parties, they were less party and more like a suburban block party that fizzed out just after midnight, where they played the beetles and passed around dip as appetizers. Regulus usually hugged the wall, drank what he was given, and left before his brother got so wasted he started crying.
This party was different. There were almost no first second or third years, and most of the upperclassmen jammed themselves in the room of requirement. Regulus couldn’t say much about the Ravenclaws but they did know how to make a playlist. EDM music was blaring loud enough that he could feel it buzzing in his chest, and whoever mixed the drinks wanted most of the drinkers wasted by their third cup. Regulus brought his own flask and spiked his own cup until it was more alcohol than fruit punch and leaned against the wall watching the drunk gryfindoors trip over themselves singing poorly.
Barty and Evan found a corner of the room to makeout,even Pandora and Dorcas ditched him for more interesting company, leaving Regulus Black to people-watch alone. He pushed himself off the wall and made a wide looping circle of the room. He greeted Remus with a nod before moving on to find another corner to perch in.
As far as people went Remus was okay. As okay as a Gryfindoor could be, he seemed the most sane out of most of them. Despite his parent's awful parenting, he didn’t think any less of muggle-borns, it just happened that most of them were idiots. Say what you wanted to about Remus, but he was logistically smart. He stopped by the snack table, grabbed a handful of skinny pretzels, and poured himself more of the party-mixed booze. It tasted like someone poured a hodge podge of whiskey, vodka and pink Whitney, but he chugged it the same, he turned back to the crowd just as the music changed.
He heard a chorus of cheers before many people made their way to the middle of the room, which was transformed into a makeshift dancefloor. Someone cast a spell to make the edge of the floor flash colorful lights. Regulus watched the through of the crowd dance in the center of neon lights until he was shoved aside harshly by a group of giggling girls, who were desperate for more to drink.
He found a comfortable spot on the wall and sipped at the concoction in his hands when Remus found him and stood next to him.
“ You hate parties,” Remus said.
“ I like free booze,” Reglus slurred without care. Remus was one of the few people he didn’t bother to try to be proper with. “ You hate drinking,” Regulus noted.
He lifted his plastic cup of foam and tapped his head with a shrug. “ Special occasion,” he said.
Regulus caught the top of a familiar mess of curly brown hair pushing their way through the dance floor. He would know James Potter by the way he moved anywhere, it was the worst kept secret that they were something undefined. Regulus wasn’t sure how to label them and wasn’t going to ruin it by trying. James was the purest thing in his life and he was going to protect it, whatever the cost, for however long he could. He wasn’t an idiot, they would never last, in all reality, he would be dead before 20, but he loved James as much as he was capable.
James pushed himself through the crowd, stuck the rim of the solo cup between his teeth, and climbed to the top of the long forgotten pool table. The music blared loudly as James nodded his head picking up the beat. He must have got himself after school detention because he was still in his school uniform, unlike everyone else who changed into something more party appropriate. James ditched his white button-up, leaving him dressed in only a white tank top and untied his tie draped around his neck. He unbuttoned his pants and folded over the waistband of his pants leaving the elastic of his boxers and 2 inches of his midriff exposed. James smiled to himself as he found the beat of the music, took the cup out of his teeth, and lifted it into the air with his hand, he pushed his hips up and out and swayed them in motion with the beat. The colors shifted from blue to red, the color bathing on his skin.