Jupiter | Harry Potter

post war ; a drink with the team (or five)

one-shot for harry's birthday!! (7/31)

June, 2001

The pub was already buzzing by the time the Puddlemere lot stumbled in, high off their win and barely bothered by their various bruises. It was a squat building off a coastal road in Devon, all exposed brick and battered wooden tables, the kind of place with too few chairs and too much character. The bartender—an older witch with a bleached mohawk and a dangerous pour—didn't even flinch when half the starting lineup of Puddlemere United rolled through the door shouting about discounted Firewhisky.

Oliver Wood was the first one in, hair still damp from the post-match rinse and a victorious grin spread across his face. He claimed a booth near the back and declared it "the official Puddlemere base of operations," before proceeding to forget he'd said that and relocate to the bar ten minutes later. His girlfriend Sarah trailed after him, already rolling her eyes but smiling anyway.

Jupiter Black, wearing an oversized Puddlemere jacket that did absolutely nothing to hide how cold she was, despite the match being in early June, hovered by the bar for a beat before beelining toward one of the chasers, Hallie Nguyen, and her girlfriend Stephanie. The three of them had ended up near one of the pub's scarred standing tables, drinks in hand, deep in a quiet but chaotic conversation that seemed to involve at least two exes, one disastrous Christmas, and someone falling off a broom mid-date.

"She didn't even apologize," Hallie was saying, her sharp eyes flashing over the rim of her glass. "Just landed flat on me like, 'oh sorry, gravity,' and then tried to kiss me two minutes later."

"Sounds romantic," Jupiter deadpanned.

"Sounds illegal," Stephanie said, nodding solemnly. "Mid-air assault."

That was the moment Harry appeared.

He didn't say anything at first. Just crept up behind Jupiter like he thought she wouldn't notice and started messing with the ends of her braid like a bored cat. She ignored him, or tried to, shifting slightly and elbowing him back, but he persisted.

"Can't you see I'm talking to someone?" Jupiter said without turning.

Harry took off his glasses and held them up like they were a defense. "No."

Stephanie snorted into her drink. "You two are exhausting."

Hallie reached for the basket of chips on the table and tossed one over Harry's shoulder. "Leave her alone, golden boy."

"You lot never want to hang out with me," Harry said, very seriously, as he set his glass of firewhiskey on the bar and perched himself on the edge of Jupiter's barstool like she wasn't already sitting there. "I'm a very fun guy."

"You're the least fun guy here," Jupiter said, tilting her head back so she could glare up at him. "Go back to your friends."

"I have no friends."

"You do, though," Jupiter sighed, gesturing back at the nearly full table of the rest of the team members.

"But you guys are cool," Harry shrugged. "Very 'devil-may-care."

"You're drunk already."

"Your fault," he said, then pointed to her half-finished drink. "Finish that. We're doing shots in ten."

"Are you sixteen?" she asked.

"I'm celebrating."

"You caught the Snitch. That's your job."

"I caught it with one hand while dodging a Bludger."

Jupiter picked up her drink and threw a small ice cube at his forehead. "Leave me alone."