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“You have been holed up in the Arithmancy lab for days. Even Luna has noticed that you’ve been missing. Have you even changed your robes?”
Draco felt the carefully balanced equations fall as the layers of magic faded from above the desk. “You’re lucky that was a dry run.” He pushed his hand through his hair, and attempted to surreptitiously sniff his sleeve. “And this is a clean robe I’ll have you know, I put it on straight out of the dryer this morning.”
“Sure. In any case, you haven’t done anything other than stare at glowing numbers for weeks. You aren’t going to make any progress if you don’t let yourself relax. And I know for a fact that the labs are closing for the holidays in,” Pansy quickly cast a wandless Tempus, “about ten minutes and you haven’t worked out how to get around the wards yet.”
“Fine,” he sighed, “what do you have planned now? Not Revs, or anything else Muggle, I don’t have the energy to blend.”
“Nothing so plebeian, darling, some of our old year mates are hosting a house party this evening, just the few of us who managed to make it here. I don’t know about you but even the other Barnwell students look at me sideways when I say I had cast the curses we are studying to survive, and that’s nothing compared to their reactions to the spells Granger pulls out.”
***
The party was in full swing by the time he and Pansy were ringing the doorbell. He could hear music and muffled voices behind the door.
The street around them was quiet; a row of trees separated the small close from the main road, sheltering it from the sounds of the cars speeding past. If it wasn’t for the cars parked outside the houses, Draco could have almost convinced himself they were in a fully magical area.
He was just about to ring the doorbell for a second time when the door swung open revealing a short blonde in a set of bright blue and pink tie-dyed overalls.
“Pansy! Draco! I’m glad you could make it.” Luna pulled them both into the house, the door gently closing behind them. Moving though the house, she pointed through doorways as they passed by. “We’ve set up food in the dining room, Kreacher made most of it but Harry made most of the desserts. All the drinks are set up in the kitchen, you know where glasses are right, Pans?” She was moving again before they had a chance to respond. She stopped briefly at the bottom of the stairs, “We’ve shut the Kneazles upstairs, Crookshanks got Lyra pregnant and it’s causing both of them to be more aggressive than usual. Everyone’s gathered out in the back garden, I’ll let them know you arrived.”
“I had forgotten quite how unnerving she could be when not focused on spellwork.” Draco observed.
***
“I’ve taken to disguising my books and studying in the university library, rather than staying in the college,” Granger was ranting. “Fucking hell, we are halfway though our second year here, they should be used to us being here by now, yet every time I pull out my research I can feel their eyes on me” she knocked back her glass and summoned the bottle of firewhiskey.
“Granger,” Draco looked up from where he was laying under a tree, “are you sure that’s not because at the college you just casually pull out Moste Potente Potions and Magik Moste Foule as if they weren’t highly regulated texts? In the university library you just look like another NatSci student.”
“I don’t see what’s so special about it, I was reading Moste Potente Potions in our second year.”
“’Mione,” Potter leant over and took the bottle of firewhiskey from her, “Lockheart was an idiot and a fraud, no other professor would have even let you get into the restricted section, let alone give you a carte blanche to take whichever book you wanted. The fact that you not only understood what was in that book but managed to successfully brew fucking Polyjuice in a fucking haunted bathroom is not normal.” Potter filled his cup and then carefully set the bottle on the grass before turning to Ginny, “I honestly don’t know how we didn’t run into each other while that was happening, it felt like we were in and out of that bathroom all the time.”
“I wouldn’t know. By the end I was only really aware when I was in class. Tom must not have seen it, he wouldn’t have risked it being successful." She summoned the bottle and started drinking directly from it. “Honestly, I don’t even know how I passed that year.”
***
A few hours later, when most of the group had left, Luna came out carrying a fresh bottle of firewhiskey and seven shot glasses.
“I thought we could play a game of truth or dare. I have sober up potions for the morning and, thanks to our resident genius, I have this”, she pulled a small bottle of clear liquid out of her pocket. “I know we have all taken this before but this time it should be much more enjoyable. A single drop each, not the full dose, just enough that we can’t directly lie but you can still choose not to answer.”
They all took a shot with a drop of veritaserum in it and moved around so they were roughly sat in a circle. He didn’t know how it happened but Draco ended up sitting between Pansy and Potter, their legs brushing each time one of them shifted. Luna was sitting across from them half lying on Ginny’s lap.
“I’ll go first since I suggested it,” she stared up at her partner, “I pick truth, ask me anything!”
“Do you love me?” Ginny asked with a completely straight face.
“Of course I do! Why would you ask that?”
Ginny burst out laughing and barely managed to reply, “I… wanted… to make sure… it was… working. I had… to ask something… I knew the answer to.” She leant down and gently kissed Luna.
After a few minutes Potter grabbed a napkin that had been left on the grass, rolled it up into a ball and threw it at them. “Ginny, take your turn, then you can go back to snogging Luna.”
She pulled back and threw the napkin back at Potter. “Fine, give me a dare.”
“Uhhh… Run the length of the garden twice.”
“Really, Potter.” Pansy drawled, “Daring the professional quidditch player to run around?” She turned to face Longbottom, “Your turn now, truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Why did you break up with Abbot?”
“We wanted different things. She didn’t like that I would be staying in student housing for most of four years, and didn't understand why I wasn't willing to get married straight out of Hogwarts. So Parkinson, truth or dare?”
“You seemed to work well together, I’m surprised your grandmother wasn’t pushing for marriage.” She sipped her drink, “And I pick truth.”
“Were you really betrothed to Draco when we were at school, or was that just a rumor?”
“What! No, but my parents were pushing for me to make a good match, and, well, Draco was the best of our year in Slytherin. He’s a good friend but we would curse each other every week if we were married.”
“What’s this about cursing marriage?” Ginny dropped down onto the grass, finishing her dare.
“Parkinson thinks she would curse Malfoy repeatedly if they were married. Did you have a good run?” Granger replied. “Malfoy, truth or dare?”
Draco thought about it for a moment, “Truth.”
“If you don’t have romantic feelings for Parkinson, is there anyone you do want to date?”
He froze, then he very carefully leant forward, picked up the bottle of firewhiskey from in front of Luna and poured a new shot. He could feel the slight haziness from the low dose of veritaserum but he fought against it to answer. “I am not answering that question.”
No one said anything for a few moments, then Luna turned to Potter and continued the game. Draco barely paid attention, trying to ignore their legs moving against each other as Potter completed his dare, then Granger, Luna and Ginny answered their own truths. Then something hit him in the chest.
“Draco,” Longbottom called, “give me a dare.”
“I don’t know… Spin around in a circle 20 times.”
Longbottom barely managed to complete the dare before falling and landing in Pansy’s lap.
“Why?” Pansy sighed, “Darling, why?”
“I blanked, just couldn’t think of anything.”
“Fine, Granger, give me a dare.”
“Kiss Neville, properly.”
Longbottom quickly got off Pansy’s lap. “Hermione, wha-” Pansy pulled him back towards her and kissed him.
When they didn’t seem to be stopping Draco turned to the others. “One of you, give me a dare.”
Luna and Ginny grinned at each other. “Kiss Harry.”
Slowly he shifted so he was looking at Potter.
“You don’t have to, Draco, no one will be mad if you pass again.”
As Potter spoke, Draco grinned in spite of his nerves. “Scared, Potter?”
Potter blinked at him. After a few seconds he replied, “You wish!”
Leaning forward he pulled Potter towards him. Their lips barely touched; hesitant and tentative at first before gaining confidence as the other continued the kiss. They got lost in each other. Distantly Draco heard someone get up and begin gathering the glasses.
“Try not to fall asleep out here, Sober Up and Pepper Up can’t be taken together.” Granger said, then a door slid closed somewhere behind him.