Prongs {Book One}

Chapter Ten - Hangover Blues

JAMES.

I woke up on a desk.

It must have been very early in the morning, because it was still dark outside the windows.

Paula was stirring too, groaning - she must have woken me up.

We were in an empty classroom - fully clothed, I realised, relieved - and from what I could see of Paula, I could conclude we both looked worse than Merlin's left buttock.

"Oh... oh my god, what happened?" Paula muttered, "Were you trying to get me drunk, Potter?"

"No," I said, "I was hammered too." Groaning. Head spinning. Bile rising in my throat.

I retched onto the floor. "Oh, that's disgusting. Merlin's beard. Scurgify." The vomit vanished, but the smell lingered along with the taste in my mouth.

"We're not going to be able to play," Paula groaned.

"It's... I'm sure it'll be fine. I mean, Madame Pomfrey -"

"We're underage, you nitwit! I'm seventeen, you're fifteen, oh Lord, I got a fifteen year old drunk..."

"It's fine. I'll get Remus to... to fix us. Ugh." I squeezed my eyes tight to try and stop my head spinning, but when I opened them, it was worse. "C'mon. Our common room."

"Potter, it's 3 in the morning."

"So?"

"Never mind. Quidditch- Quidditch is more important. Onwards."

We stumbled out of the classroom, walking in zig zags.

It was astonishing how we didn't realise that we were out of bed out of hours, and also how far we made it before the caretaker found us.

Then we were sitting in McGonnogal's office, red faced, head sore and feeling very stupid.

"My own student, and our school's Quidditch star. Out of bed and 3 in the morning, and hungover no less. Fifty points each from your respective houses, and down to the hospital wing so you can both play the match today. Now!"

Her words seemed to blur into each other, so I didn't realise understand much apart from play the match today. I groggily nodded and walked with Paula to the hospital wing, where Madame Pomfrey tsked at us and gave us a potion along with a sleeping draft, helping me drift into blissful nothingness.

---

SEV.

"So... Mark West," I said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yes," Lily sighed, deliberately looking at the interesting pages of Quintessence: A Quest instead if at me, "What about him?"

"Just... why Mark West?"

"Why not?" She sighed, turning the page more harshly than needed.

"He's a-"

"What? Gryffindor? I'm a Gryffindor. Quidditch player? So what? Sev, are you really going yo do this about every single boy I date?"

"If you'd just date someone reasonable-"

"Mark is a perfectly nice guy. He's funny, smart, not arrogant or cocky, caring and as a bonus he's good looking. What's your problem?"

"Never mind," I said reluctantly.

"No, Sev, tell me. Every single boy I go out with, you always berate me about. Why? I'm a fifteen year old girl, and I am perfectly entitled to date whomever I want to."

"It's nothing," I mumbled, and I could feel myself going red.

Lily let out a very deep and deliberate sigh. "I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?"

"Just go all reclusive and withdrawn whenever I ask you something. Then you insist it's nothing and I can't get a straight answer out of you. Seriously. What's up?"

"Nothing. Honestly." I hated lying to her.

"You're doing it again," she went back to her book, "Is it subconscious, or deliberate to annoy me?" I decided not to answer that, but picked up my own copy of Quintessence: A Quest and tried to read.

I was, however, interrupted, by Mary MacDonald, who chose that moment to run up to us in the library and and say in a loud whisper, "Lily, did you hear? Potter and Paula Ashens are in the hospital wing for alcohol poisoning!"

"What!? Alcohol poisoning?" Lily's face broke into a smirk, "what an absolute idiot."

"They're still going to play today. Madame Pomfrey's given them some potions and painkillers."

"Oh, that's going to be something," she smirked, "I'm going to enjoy this match."

"I'm not," Mark had come up behind us, and he put his arms around Lily's neck and kissed her forehead, "Our captain is incapacitated."

"Oh, I'm sure Madame Pomfrey knows what she's doing," but Lily couldn't conceal her grin.

Mark and Mary left, Lily saying she'd join them in the common room when she'd finished reading. I knew it was just because neither of them liked me, but I was grateful that she had chosen to stay and talk a while longer.

"Okay, so you can date whoever you want. Fine. But you can't just go snogging people who you get with at a party," I said, now myself deliberately looking at my book instead of at her.

"I'm perfectly entitled to kiss whoever I want, too, Sev. You know- hang on. How do you know I was snogging Mark after the party?" I froze I the middle of tuning a page.

Shit.

I forgot she hadn't seen me.

"I, uh, heard it. Somewhere. From... someone."

"Were you following me!?" she whisper-shouted, standing up and glaring at me.

"No, not exactly! Well, sort of, but- Lily, I saw you leaving, and we were there together, so I just... don't go, please, I'm sorry!"

"Not. Another. Word."

"Lily!" but she was gone, her red hair flowing behind her like a lion's mane.

I sighed, wanting to slap myself. I shouldn't have said anything, I knew it, but Mark West? Quidditch keeper was low. What had happened to Quidditch being a barbaric sport? What had happened to us laughing together, not caring about the out of the games?

She grew up, hissed a voice in my head, she grew up and left you behind.

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Hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter! Sorry it was a bit short. I'm going to try as update a lot or at least more than usual because I have exams in three weeks, so I'm studying.

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