𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗹𝘆, james potter

˗ˋ 21

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
✧
-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH THEY FIND THEMSELVES HALFWAY TIPSY

. . .

"You smell like lemons and butterbeer." Tiger commented, her voice somewhat scratchy. They had climbed up the winding staircase to the top of the astronomy tower, where they had sat down, James leant against a column and Tiger resting her head on his shoulder, legs kicking off of the edge of the building.

"And you smell like ice cream. How did you manage that?" James looked confused, looking down at Tiger, who paused, before digging in the endless pockets of her robes.

"Here." She had produced a clear bottle, holding it out. "It's Gigglewater. It's something I smuggled from America. Not that any muggles would have found it anyway."

"Is it stronger than butterbeer?" James asked, as Tiger twisted the cap off, slipping it back into her pocket before taking a swig of the drink.

"It's got more alchohol in, if that's what your asking. I don't know how to explain it, here, try some." Tiger passed him the bottle, and watched as he took a sip of it, making a face.

"It's sweet." He said. "But also like that stuff my parents had at the party." James said, and Tiger sat up a little, the top of her head banging against the wooden column, making her wince.

But all the same, her and James were thinking back to that fateful August day. Thinking back to the warm sun, the tray of treacle tarts, Tiger's mum nagging her to make friends.

"Oh, champagne!" Tiger said, thinking of the flutes of bubbly, yellow-beige coloured drink, which had floated around the garden, waiting for anyone to pick it up and drink it. "My mum would make me drink it with orange juice before. I'm surprised she let me drink it at the party."

"Champagne?" James repeated, the word somewhat foreign to him. "I didn't know it was called that. My mum just calls it the bubbly."

"I like it. Sounds better than champagne." Tiger smiled, holding out her hand. "I think it taste a little like alcoholic cream soda. So basically ice cream." She shrugged, tipping her head back and taking another sip.

"Can you get drunk off of it?" James asked, and Tiger only nodded, taking yet another sip before passing it back to him.

"I have, several times. I think the amount of times I got caught drunk off of it at Ilvermorny only added to my final sentencing." Tiger shrugged. "Meaning when I eventually got expelled, I can be too dramatic."

"I forgot you got kicked out." James murmured, as Tiger nodded, looking across the skyline, her eyes resting on the large stretch of water.

"Yeah. So do I sometimes." Tiger shrugged. "But it happened, might make Christmas a bit difficult this year but I had to deal with it all summer so I should be fine."

"You could come and stay with us. Mum and dad would be fine with it. They'll happily let you stay. I could write to them and ask, if you want." James suggested, looking over to the girl, who had fallen silent, taking sips of the Gigglewater.

"I'll think about it. My mum's a big Christmas person. She likes it a lot, likes the family traditions and all that. But then again, she'll end up making out that I ruined it." Tiger shrugged. "But thanks for the offer Prongsie."