Hello again! Since Draco/Blaise friendship is repaired now, we can do the obligatory couple's friend group hangout lmao
Also this accidentally turned from silly goofy to lore dump/angst/poopy I'm so sorry
Ever since I rewrote the original 3rd chapter, the angst machine has been demanding a replacement and it finally had enough of waiting
Anyway enjoy :3
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Umbridge has finally been kicked out of Hogwarts, so now that Blaise's friends are no longer bound by the duties of the Inquisitorial Squad, they've been invited up to the Room for an end-of-year hangout.
Draco looks hilariously uncomfortable sitting between Hermione and Lovegood as the two girls bicker over whether Nargles and Wrackspurts actually exist.
Pansy and the twins, in a (not-so-) shocking turn of events, got along swimmingly and are currently making a booze run, because the three love nothing more than acquiring contraband and sneaking it past teachers.
Blaise is sitting next to Harry (obviously) as his boyfriend prays for Pansy to bring back a bottle of prosecco.
"Why prosecco?" He asks.
"Auntie's favorite. It's the only kind I've tried."
"Do you like it?"
"Hell no! But what are my other options? Beer? Yuck. And premixes probably aren't even a thing that exists in the magical world. So prosecco it is." Harry concludes and goes back to praying.
The booze collectors return a short while later, bearing a variety of alcohols which they show off proudly. The lineup includes Firewhiskey - which erupts a cheer from the whole group minus Hermione - Bailey's, apple cider, Gamp's, Butterbeer (for Hermione), and peach schnapps, which makes Harry go absolutely feral and snatch the bottle from Pansy's hand.
"I fucking love peaches!" The boy practically has stars in his eyes. "I hope this tastes good. If it doesn't, I'm throwing myself out a window." He says excitedly to an amused but slightly concerned Blaise.
Hermione chooses then to needlessly chime in with, "There's actually a word for that, Harry! Self-defenestration!"
"Thanks, Mione..."
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Once Pansy arbitrarily decides that the group is 'loosened up' enough, she suggests a game of truth or dare. The first several rounds pass quickly, with everyone picking truth and having to answer some pretty embarrassing questions.
The twins are the first to choose dare. George is made to do an impression of Snape with a thick French accent, and Fred has to take several big gulps of Gamp's without throwing it back up.
Jo also chooses dare, and she has to practice kissing on her hand. When she proves to be rather terrible at it, Davis pats her on the back in consolation while the rest of the group laughs.
Throughout the afternoon, Harry takes steady sips of the peach schnapps he stole, hoarding it away from everyone else. For some reason, his behavior makes Blaise look quite enamored with him. Or maybe he's tipsy and imagining it.
Eventually, Harry himself comes in the line of fire.
"Harry, truth or dare?" Pansy asks. Her face is devoid of makeup, as she was dared to remove it for the rest of the game.
"Truth!"
"Why did you start drinking those... erm... what were they called again?"
"Energy drinks."
"Yes, those! Why did you start drinking them if they're so unhealthy?"
"Er... I changed my mind. I want to do a dare instead."
"Whyyyyy!? It's not even personal or embarrassing!" Harry blatantly disagrees.
"Fine. I dare you to answer the question." Pansy smirks.
He sighs in defeat and puts on a brave face. Maybe if he says it in a silly way, they'll brush him off and move on. He hopes so.
"Crippling nightmares, haha! Me when I experience at least one severely traumatic event every year of my magical education with no access to therapy and my only other option is Dreamless Sleep, an addiction to which is arguably worse long-term than caffeine!"
His plan doesn't work, and everyone stares at him in dead silence. The grin he was wearing falters. He'd try to deflect by taking another few swigs of the peach schnapps, but he's emptied the bottle already.
"Harry, what the actual fuck." Blaise has a scary expression on his face that makes Harry want to curl up and die.
"Erm... teehee?" The staring makes him suddenly feel quite claustrophobic.
Hermione finally breaks the silence. "Harry, why didn't you tell us anything? We're your friends!"
"'Cuz you wouldn't understand." Harry hopes this won't spiral into an argument. He hates getting angry.
"Says who, you? Try us." The bushy-haired girl fixes him with a stubborn look.
"How can you begin to think you'd understand when you weren't even there? Do you think you could empathize without experiencing something at all similar to what actually happened? No. It'd only make you treat me like glass, so why bother."
"You're right, we weren't there. But Headmaster Dumbledore always told us about what happened while you were recovering! So surely that counts for something!"
"Oh, Dumbledore told you? Right. I'm sure the old fart definitely told you the whole story and didn't sugarcoat anything." Harry doesn't mean to sound so cynical, but he's not lying. The man sugarcoats everything. Probably because of his sweet tooth.
"Don't be disrespectful just because you're upset, Harry. The Headmaster is doing his best! You don't have to be so bitter and angry about this."
God, he is so fucking done.
"Have you ever considered that maybe I'm angry and bitter because almost everything I've had to do, I did by myself instead of with the support of my friends!? And not only that, but just about all of it was entirely preventable!? None of the staff here are doing their best! Especially not the Headmaster!"
The entire group is dead silent and staring in various stages of disbelief and shock. It seems nobody expected the Boy-Who-Lived to have such a rocky relationship with Dumbledore and resentment for his own friends.
Blaise must sense that he's on the verge of going mental, because the Italian rests a heavy, comforting hand on his shoulder. Harry relaxes slightly, but he has a visceral need to drive the point into Hermione's skull.
"Did Dumbledore," he starts in a calmer tone, "ever tell you what happened to Quirrell?"
Those who weren't in the know - namely, everyone except Hermione, Ernie, and the twins - start to whisper at that.
"He disappeared, right? Escaped or something." Ernie jumps in when Hermione doesn't speak up.
"Is that what he told you? What a fucking joke. I killed him." Several gasps sound throughout the room, and his friends pale. "Imagine that, having to fucking murder an adult man at the ripe age of eleven because the teachers couldn't be arsed to do their bloody jobs! I'm going for a walk."
The sobering argument allows Harry to stand up neatly despite his intoxicated state and summon The Room of Hidden Things, which appears via a door in the wall behind him. He drags Blaise up too, and they leave the rest of their friends behind in stunned silence.
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Okay so this was longer, but it started getting wayyyy super long so I'm splitting it into 2 parts lmao
My 10 dot points of notes somehow turned into almost 1700 words at the halfway mark so we ball
See u next chappie, hopefully soon lol 🥺💖💋
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That One Where Harry Potter is Addicted to Monster and Plays Electric Guitar
Fanfiction^^^ Title (REWRITE OF OLD STORY -> READ A/N) Was supposed to be crack but evolved into something resembling a plot with a potential endgame ship so 👀 -------- I thought of this and it won't go away. figured I might as well just write it and see wha...
