The party
The music was unbearably loud. Regulus had always known that the Gryffindors liked partying, but he never thought it would be like this. The lights were turned down so low you could barely make out single face and the only way you could see someone was if a flashy, brightly coloured disco-ball light hit them for a second. He was never going to find Sirius.
Regulus took a deep breath and began to slowly pick his way through the crowd without accidentally grinding up against someone. He wondered briefly where the hell Barty and Evan were. He told them that Sirius had invited him to the post-quidditch celebration party, and he asked them to come with him. But of course, being Barty and Evan, the two of them had come early to, in their words, ‘get piss-drunk before the music started so they wouldn’t be embarrassed to hook up in the middle of the dance floor’. Regulus never fully understood Barty and Evan’s relationship, but they made each other happy so that was all that really mattered.
After about 10 minutes of getting basically dry-humped and borderline molested every time he took a step forwards, regulus decided enough was enough.
‘Sirius!’ he shouted.
A few people close to him turned to look at him as he kept shouting until finally, a young girl, must’ve been only 14, tapped him on the shoulder and politely pointed in the direction of the far corner of the room.
‘He’s over there,’ she hollered over the noise. ‘I think he’s playing a drinking game with some Slytherins. Anyway, don’t go over there. Stay here. With me.’
Regulus didn’t think he had ever run so fast in his entire life.
This time he was not gentle. Now that he had a point of destination, he shoved his way through the crowd, not caring when he trod on a girl that had fallen over in a drunken stupor or stopping to apologise to the lad he had shoved causing some sort of bright blue drink, with probably illegal mounts of alcohol, to spill all over the guy’s shirt.
When he reached the corner, he didn’t think he had ever been so glad to see his stupid brother in his entire life.
‘Oi Regulus! Come to join the party, have you?’
His older brother was sitting in a circle on the floor with what appeared to eight other people. Two of which happened to be Barty and Evan. Regulus breathed a sight of relief that they were not out in that crowd getting half-squashed to death.
‘Yes, I thought I should grace you with my presence at some point,’ He said trying to sound bored and non-chalant when really the boy was just happy to see his brother.
‘Well,’ Sirius said cheerily ‘Consider us graced. Sit down. We’re playing never have I ever.’
Regulus attentively sat down in a space left between Barty and Remus. He felt eyes on him. It’s not like there were lots of them. Just one pair. Coming from the opposite side of the circle. He refused to meet them.
‘I’ve never played,’ Regulus said innocently.
‘Well, it’s easy enough,’ Evan told him. ‘Someone asks you if you’ve done something, if you have you drink and if you haven’t you get a point.’
‘First one to die from alcohol poisoning loses!’ Barty added in a tone way to delighted for the sentence.
Regulus could hear the eye rolls