Not Alone

When Dean returned to consciousness the next morning, he kept his eyes shut tight, buried his face in his pillow, and moaned. His head was throbbing even more horribly than when he'd once taken a Bludger to the head. His stomach seemed to think he was at sea in a storm, and something horrible had crawled into his mouth and apparently died. It was no comfort to realise this was his tongue. I'm not going to do that again... I'm never touching a drink again...

He kept his eyes shut tight and turned over, his stomach protesting at the movement. He opened his eyes with difficulty, wincing in the sunlight streaming through the window. He wrenched his arm into a position to see his watch. It was half past ten. Shit. I have to meet Seamus in an hour and a half.

He dragged himself out of bed when he'd much rather lie in there and wait for the hangover to pass. I wonder if there's a hangover cure...

He hauled himself upright and headed out for a quick shower. When he came back, the first thing he did was reach for his Potions book to look up a cure for hangovers. It looked simple enough: Armadillo Bile, Mandrake leaves and Dittany. Trouble was it needed to mature over three days. Dean groaned louder and cradled his aching head in his hands. He vowed that as soon as he found Seamus, he was going to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to see if they stocked Hangover Solution. I bet it was a student who invented that...

Knowing full well he wasn't going to eat breakfast feeling the way he was, he left to get the lift down to the Apparition point downstairs. At the lift, he met Ernie, who was a pale shade of green and had red-rimmed eyes.

"You look like death, mate!"

Ernie started to grin but it turned into a grimace. "I don't feel as bad as you look, at least! Where are you heading?"

"I'm meeting Seamus at the Leaky Cauldron, you?"

Ernie pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket. "Got half a dozen books I'm gonna get in Flourish and Blotts. Extra reading for Potions and Herbology."

"Cool. Maybe you could meet up with us later."

Ernie grimaced again. "As long as there's no alcohol involved..."

* ~ *

"Dean! You look like death warmed up, mate. What the hell happened to you?"

"Shut up." Dean took a seat beside Seamus, waving goodbye to Ernie who waved and yelled hello to Seamus.

"He looks like hell, too. What were you two up to?"

Dean winced and touched his head, it having just given a painful throb. "Ernie introduced me to Wizarding cocktails."

Seamus laughed uproariously and clapped him on the back, causing a wave of nausea and another flash of pain in his head. "Ah you've got a lot to learn, Dean! You don't know what a drinkin' session is 'til you've been out with the Irish!"

"I think I'll pass for now. And there was someone Irish there, or Northern Irish anyway."

Seamus roared with laughter. "I bet he drank you under the table!"

"Actually she doesn't drink that much."

Seamus looked stunned. "She doesn't drink much? Sure she's Irish?"

Dean told him about Beth, keeping it short and sweet. The last thing he wanted was Seamus asking awkward questions. Unfortunately, Seamus knew him too well. "Is she cute?"

Dean felt a wave of heat sweep his body, concentrated in his face. "Uh... yeah?"

Seamus looked at him suspiciously. "You're all embarrassed! You fancy this girl!"

Dean looked away. "I want to go to Fred and George's. I need a hangover cure."

Seamus laughed more uproariously than ever, but followed him, nevertheless.

"Guess who's working with me in the Floo Network office? Justin Finch-Fletchley. I think he's knocking about today; I told him I'd see him around."

They stopped outside Fred and George's technicolour storefront.

"Cool. Get in there - I need something to stop the pain!" Dean said.

Seamus pushed open the door and went in. "What you need is a nice greasy fry - perk you right up."

Dean held his stomach and groaned. Lee was sitting behind the counter, watching the curtain that lead into the back with trepidation. Assorted bangs and muffled laughter could be heard. He looked up at them as they entered.

Dean cocked his head towards the curtain. "What's going on in there?"

"Don't really know. They're inventing something new."

There was a sudden outburst of laughter and a voice. "It's not funny! That dose is definitely high enough. Now how do we make it stop?"

The response was choked with laughter. "Dunno yet! You'll just have to put up with it for now!"

"I can't go out in public like this!"

The curtain swept aside and one of the twins fell through, clutching his sides and gasping for breath laughing. The other emerged and Dean decided that it was Fred who was laughing and George who'd been the lab rat. He was covered from head to toe in a raw, red rash. It was evidently itchy; George couldn't stop scratching long enough to look at the book they were using. They didn't notice Dean and Seamus standing there. Lee was joining Fred in laughing at George. George managed to lift his wand and point it at Lee. "Silencio!"

Lee's laughter stopped and he looked furious, gesturing furiously at George, evidently yelling at him. Fred cuffed George around the head and restored Lee's voice.

"- promised you'd stop bloody doing that! It's funny you know!"

"Not if you're the one with the bloody rash that can't be fixed yet."

"You know Essence of Murtlap and Unicorn Horn will clear that right up." The words were out of Dean's mouth before he'd realised he was going to say anything.

The twins looked over at Dean. They seemed suspicious, but the Healer in Dean couldn't stand to see George suffer like that.

George eyed him apprehensively.

"How'd you know that?"

"Was reading about skin complaints in my Potions textbook yesterday. It's a common cure; the Murtlap will help the skin look less inflamed straight away."

The twins looked at each other incredulously. "Well, it's worth a go. Have we got any Unicorn Horn in stock?"

Fred nodded, "There should be some in the top cupboard above the sink. Bind it with some Murtlap essence and stick it in the chew maker."

George went back through the curtain, still scratching his neck idly. Fred clapped his hands and stepped around the counter. "Well, what can we do for you?"

"Got any Hangover Cures?"

Fred grinned evilly. "Maybe... How much are you willing to pay for one?"

Dean was a bit unnerved by Fred's glee at his discomfort, but joked back anyway, "Right now? Just about anything."

Fred laughed. "I think we've got some in the back. I'll check."

While Fred went looking and Seamus browsed through the joke wands, Dean went to talk to Lee.

"How's the job going?"

"Ah, it's all right. Mostly dealing with house-elves at the moment. Everyone in that department got promoted 'cause they're trying to deal with the Dementor breeding problem."

Dean looked puzzled. "They're still breeding? Why is the mist all gone?"

"They're doing it in secret; they found a nest in some mountains in Wales last week."

Dean felt very nervous about the thought of the Dementors breeding again, but decided he didn't want to know details. "So you're relocating house-elves?"

"Yeah, mostly Hogwarts ones. Did you know there were about a hundred of them? And it's not like every family can afford a house-elf! Oh, and before I forget..."

Lee ducked down behind the counter, and then straightened up and set a large bundle down on the counter with a heavy sounding thump. "That's all Uncle Gary's first year notes. I tried to send them to you with Helios, but he bit me when I tried to tie it to his leg."

Dean picked up the package and felt a muscle in his arm complain about the weight. "I'm not surprised! I can barely lift it!"

Struck with sudden inspiration, he took out his wand and pointed it at the package. "Agitabili!"

The package now weighed almost nothing. "Wish I'd remembered that the day I picked up my books!"

They laughed just as the beaded curtain swung aside again and both twins entered. George was now rash free. "Brilliant, Dean! It would have taken us weeks to try that combination for ourselves."

George clapped Dean on the shoulder, starting another wave of nausea. His head gave another painful throb. "Ah, don't, mate. I'm hungover!"

George produced a bottle full of black potion from his pocket. "I know, but get this down you and you'll be ready for another round in no time."

Dean groaned. "No way, I'm never drinking again."

Seamus let out a cry of protest. "I'm not having a best mate who doesn't drink! We're having a few with Justin later!"

"Bloody sure I'm not..."

Dean uncorked the bottle and drank it down in one gulp. It tasted like liquorice which made Dean even more nauseous; he hated liquorice. He'd just set the empty bottle down on the counter when he suddenly felt a relief sweep through his whole body; it felt like a whole body sneeze. The nausea and headache vanished.

"Woah, that stuff is gold!"

"Yeah, we're expecting to sell it to a lot of the boozed up students who pass through these doors. Take a supply; after that tip, we're not charging you. Here, have five more."

Dean took the little bottles. "Cool! How much are they normally?"

"Eight Sickles a portion bottle. We were thinking of marketing a litre sized bottle soon, we'll see how these go."

Dean laughed. "Bargain! They'll walk out the door themselves, they will. I'm definitely going to tell the others who were out with me about them."

Fred laughed and clapped him on the shoulder again. "They as bad off as you?"

"Dunno, didn't see anyone else but Ernie this morning, and he was definitely worse for wear."

"Ernie? Ernie Macmillan? Surely the DA's resident pompous git didn't get drunk?"

Dean chuckled. "Better than that! He was even buying me weird drinks."

Fred put on a look of shocked indignity. "Ernie? Getting drunk? Oh, how the world changes."

Fred's eyes were wide open, and he simulated dancing like he had a poker somewhere it didn't belong. It was so accurate to what Dean had seen last night that he laughed until his sides hurt. "Oh, don't! When did you see him dancing anyway?"

Fred went and sat down on a stool in front of the counter. "At the Yule ball, with Hannah Abbott. Where did you go drinking anyway? You weren't in the Leaky Cauldron."

"The Dragon's Claw, just down the road from St Mungo's."

George choked from behind him. Dean looked and saw him clutching a stitch in his side that he had gotten from laughing so much. "Oh ho! That explains a lot! On the cocktails, were you?"

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Yeah... How-?"

Fred spoke up grimly from his seat, "Oh we've been... The Dragon's Claw is famous for their cocktails. Tell me you at least didn't have a Unicorn Ride?"

Dean scanned his memory for the ones he'd ordered. "Not that I can remember. What does it look like? What does it do?"

Fred regarded him darkly. "It induces euphoria, makes you feel like you're on top of the world for the night, then it brings you down with a bump. Even one of those will cause a bloody nightmare of a hangover."

Dean's stomach turned over. "Oh shit... is it silver?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to KILL Ernie!"

* ~ *

They found Justin and Ernie in Dervish and Banges, buying parchment and quills. Ernie had a heavy looking package wrapped in Flourish and Blotts paper.

"You found the books then?"

"Yep, and they weigh a ton!"

"Use the Weightlessness Charm; that's what I did with this," Dean said, holding up the package of notes.

"Oh, yeah. You look a lot better. Did they have a Hangover Cure, then?"

"Yeah." Dean thought about how miserable he'd felt half an hour ago, and then added, "I got the last of it, though. You'll just have to suffer. Do you know that you fed me a cocktail that causes the worst hangovers known to mankind?"

Ernie guffawed shortly, breaking off clutching his head and wincing. "You looked like you needed a kick in the right direction."

Dean's stomach clenched. Was it that obvious? "What are you talking about?"

"Beth - pity that drunk fell on her and messed it up."

Dean felt the heat rise in his face, worse than it had in all the times in the last few days. "Shut up. We're just friends."

Ernie chuckled. "Yeah, right!"

Dean turned pointedly away from him. "How are you, Justin? Long time no see."

Justin smiled, looking bemused at Ernie's mirth. "Doing great, how're you?"

Dean socked Ernie on the arm to shut him up. "Was going to say 'can't complain' but with friends like this, I think I can!"

Justin laughed, and exchanged greetings with Seamus. Seamus looked at Dean pointedly. "Shall we go for a drink, then?"

"You can if you want, but I'm NOT drinking!"

Seamus sighed as if Dean had just personally offended him. "All right. Shall we go and see if Fred, George, and Lee want to come? Make it a bit of a DA reunion?"

Dean smiled. "That'd be great! We should try to get the whole group together sometime. Well, maybe not Smith, but the others, yeah!"

Ernie looked at him, confused. "Even Ginny?"

Dean felt a needle stab in his heart. "Well... Yeah, I suppose so. She was a member and it's not like I hate her or anything."

Ernie looked sceptical. "Well, maybe some time. I think we'll be pretty busy soon, though."

They dropped in on the twins and Lee, who decided they would come. Before they closed the door, though, Fred turned to Ernie, who wasn't looking much better than he had when Dean had seen him that morning. "The other cocktail drinker! You don't want a Hangover Cure?"

Fred produced a bottle from inside his robes. Ernie shot daggers at Dean. "You said you got the last of it!"

"I lied. That's what you get for feeding me Unicorn Ride!"

* ~ *

The twins wanted to make a quick stop in the apothecary for more Unicorn Horn, as it was on the way to the Leaky Cauldron. While they looked for supplies, another familiar face came in the door. Ernie greeted her happily. "Hannah! How have you been, girl?"

Hannah had lost a lot of weight since Dean had last seen her in November, when she had lost her mother to Death Eaters and left Hogwarts. The loss still haunted her features, but when she smiled, it was genuine enough. She hugged Ernie tightly; they had been best friends at Hogwarts. "I'm doing okay, Ernie. How are you? How's everything at St Mungo's?"

"Yeah, I came here to get extra books. I met all these guys here. We're going to get some lunch in a minute, would you like to join us?"

Hannah's eyes swept the group. She smiled warmly. "Yeah I would. All DA members, huh? Quite a little reunion."

"Sure is." Ernie told her. "Dean is at St Mungo's with me now; the twins still have the shop and Justin is in the Department of Magical Transport." He looked at Seamus. "Sorry, Seamus, I didn't ask you what you were doing now."

"I'm in the same department as Justin, and Lee there is in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

A smile flickered across Hannah's face. "That's great. I'm in a Herbology centre in North Wales. Neville Longbottom is working there already."

"We Hogwarts drop outs have done well for ourselves." Fred and George came back then, each with a large paper bag. "Are we ready to go?"

* ~ *

They had lunch in the Leaky Cauldron; talking and laughing as if they'd never left Hogwarts. Justin was asking Fred and George a lot of questions about their joke wands. "I'm definitely going to buy a couple. My little brother is forever picking mine up and poking things to make them explode. It's time he learned a lesson!"

Dean turned to him. "I didn't know you had a little brother, mate?"

"Oh yeah, he's nine. We're not sure if he's got magic in him; he hasn't done anything strange yet. But I wonder if he could make things explode using a wand if he wasn't magical?"

"My sister Vicky did." replied Dean "She pinched mine once and it shot stars out and set her curtains on fire. I got a warning from the Ministry about it."

"Really? No one has sent us any owls about Jordan."

Hannah spoke up from her seat on Dean's left side. "My little sister did something like that once. She got into my trunk and was playing astronauts with my cauldron. There must have been some Swelling Solution residue in it; her nose ballooned up so badly! We had to take her to St Mungo's because I wouldn't have been allowed to mix up a Deflating Draught at home."

Dean was laughing uproariously as Hannah imitated her little sister blundering around with her nose four times its usual size when he saw Beth walk in the front door with a smaller blonde girl. She saw him and stopped short, her eyes wide and her expression unreadable. She gave him a short wave and sat down at a table on the other side of the room. Dean stopped laughing abruptly, his heart sinking even faster than it had leapt when she came in. She's regretting it; she's sorry she kissed me.

Nothing anyone said after that made Dean laugh. Twelve hours ago, he had been on top of the world; he'd thought that Beth liked him and that maybe something could have happened between them. He picked at his food, talking little. No one else seemed to notice Dean's abrupt mood change because everyone else was talking and laughing so exuberantly. Fred and George were describing a new range of Glamour Potions they were getting ready to sell. "They're mostly for girls; they change your hair colour or eye colour. They can even alter the appearance of your nose or whatever."

"Those sound great guys; they're not dangerous are they?" Ernie asked, sounding concerned.

"No, they're not dangerous! Here, watch!"

George took a small bottle of purple potion out of his pocket and gave it to Lee. Lee uncorked it and swallowed it in one go. He screwed up his face as if he was trying to figure something out, then his dreadlocks abruptly turned white blonde. With his dark skin it looked really strange, and when he opened his eyes, they had also changed to a bright piercing blue. While everyone else fell around laughing, Dean laughed half heartedly, lost in his misery.

Seamus was apparently still hell bent on having a night of hard drinking. Fred and Ernie appeared to be on the same 'snowball's chance in hell' wavelength as Dean, but everyone else was happy enough to start ordering drinks after the food was gone. Seamus had a penchant for mulled mead with a shot of Firewhisky in it; Lee was drinking rum and Gillywater; Hannah was sticking with Butterbeer, having been regaled by Ernie about their exploits in the Dragon's Claw; and George was drinking blackberry gin and Gillywater. Justin was trying Dean's own drink of choice - Firewhisky and Gillywater.

Dean stared into his glass of pumpkin juice, swirling it idly. He kept stealing glances over at the table where Beth was sitting. She was similarly staring into a small glass of something reddish coloured. She hadn't taken so much as a sip yet. Her friend prodded her in the arm a few times, and then Beth lifted the glass and drained it in one gulp, grimacing wildly and looking very much like she'd like to have spat it out. Wow... clearly she hasn't got a hangover like the rest of us if she's drinking something like that.

Another hour passed with no one really noticing how quiet Dean was being; they were all to busy catching up on one another's lives.

Dean continued to watch Beth surreptitiously while she chatted with her friend. He knew he should be enjoying this time with his friends, some of whom he had not talked to properly in months, but he could not concentrate with her sitting across the room acting like he wasn't there. He did try - he talked more to Justin about his Quidditch team, the Montrose Magpies, and football. Justin was Muggle-born and knew all about football. It was something of a novelty for Dean to find someone in the Wizarding world to talk to about football. It even distracted his attention from Beth for five whole minutes.

Eventually, Beth got up to get another drink while her friend disappeared to the toilets in the back. She gave her order to Tom and then caught Dean's eye. He grinned at her nervously, terrified she'd blank him. She smiled back at him falteringly and he saw her gaze slide to Hannah beside him. Encouraged by the smile, however faltering, he excused himself to Justin and stood to go and speak to her.

The walk to the bar seemed to take forever. His peripheral vision was very blurry; all he could see clearly was Beth standing there, turning to look at him in slow motion. Her mouth twitched into another faltering smile and there was a trace of sadness in her eyes. Dean couldn't for the life of him understand why she looked so upset to see him. Was the kiss bad? Felt great to me...

It became clear that she wasn't going to speak, so Dean decided to take the first step himself. "Hi."

She was looking at her hands. "Hi."

The seconds stretched out. Dean was horribly aware that the table he had left was getting quieter by the second. He felt eyes boring into the back of his head. I don't want to do this here, not like this, not with them watching...

"So... how did you feel this morning?"

"Like someone hit me in the head with a silk-wrapped brick. You?"

Why won't she look at me? What did I do to deserve this??

"Pretty much the same..." he replied quietly. "Want some Hangover Potion?"

He took one of the bottles George had given him out of his pocket and offered it to her. Her eyes strayed briefly from her hands to the bottle.

"No thanks, I've had a Prairie Oyster to sort me out."

Dean became aware that the table behind him was completely silent. You are not listening to this. He turned his head and glared at them until conversation broke out again. He turned back to Beth and let several more awkward seconds go by.

"Um... Er... do you want to take a walk?"

"I can't just leave Ciara." Beth still wouldn't look at him.

Dean's stomach contracted and his heart sank down to sit on top of it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ciara return to their table, eyeing them suspiciously. With his infamous sense of timing, Seamus took the opportunity to join them. He ordered another mead and Firewhisky from Tom before turning to Dean and Beth. "How ya doin? I'm Seamus. You're Beth, right?"

Beth looked taken aback that one of his friends knew her name. "Yes. So you're his Irish friend?"

"That's me! Say, who's your friend?"

Understanding dawned in Dean. He felt a rush of gratitude and affection for Seamus. He heard her say she wouldn't leave her friend alone. Beth was answering Seamus, still sounding stunned. "That's Ciara. We've been friends since we were eleven."

"I think I'll go talk to her. What does she drink?"

"Redcurrant rum and Gillywater."

Seamus bought the drink and went to sit down with a surprised-looking Ciara. Dean turned back to Beth and was unable to help but smile at her as she watched Seamus with a bewildered expression on her face. Seamus' upfront attitude sometimes took people like that. He spoke up to attract her attention. "So, how about that walk?"

* ~ *

Dean led Beth back into Diagon Alley and into a little coffee shop on the right just inside the arch. They ordered coffees which were abruptly conjured up. Several minutes went by in which no one spoke; they just sipped their coffees. Dean had no clue how to broach the subject of their kiss last night - he'd never done anything like this before. What if she just tells me to get lost? Or that she made a mistake?

He risked a glance at her, and though her head was still bowed, he could see her eyes shining brightly, because they were brimming with tears. What? What's going on? Dean had never dealt with a crying girl before and he did not know what to do. So he reacted on instinct.

He put an arm around her shoulders and felt a wave of relief and a tinge of happiness sweep through him when she rested her head on his shoulder, her small frame shaking occasionally with silent sobs. He rested his face on top of her head, breathing in a vaguely flowery smell from her hair. "What's wrong, Beth? Why won't you look at me? Are you sorry we-" He bit the sentence off, afraid of the answer.

Beth took a hitching breath and sat up. "No! Not at all! But you were in there all pally and laughing with that other girl and I thought-"

"Oh, Beth! I went to school with her! She's one of the DA! Her name is Hannah, but I don't- you thought I fancied her?"

"Well, yeah! It's not like you waved me over or came over to speak to me-"

"You acted like you didn't want me to!"

"Well, you still could've-"

Beth's rant was cut off as Dean kissed her. He was so relieved that she did actually like him; she wasn't sorry she kissed him. He felt tingles that reached all the way to the fingertips he had tangled in her hair. He felt her cool fingers on the back of his neck and something in his heart purred.

She pulled away slowly and, it seemed to Dean, somewhat reluctantly. "We'd better go back."

"Yeah, let's go and see if Seamus has proposed to your friend yet."

* ~ *

When they got back to the Leaky Cauldron, Seamus had worked his trademark charm on Ciara and she had joined them at the table. Now that he hadn't the distraction of Beth ignoring him, he was able to look at Ciara properly. She was very petite, thin and wiry looking with shoulder length blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. He saw Seamus stealing appreciative glances at her when she wasn't looking.

Dean sat down at the end of the table, beside Hannah again and introduced Beth to her. The girls chatted happily for a few minutes, getting each other's background information, while Dean caught Seamus' eye and mouthed 'thank you' at him. Seamus winked at him and engaged Ciara in conversation again.

Hannah and Beth were talking about the college course. "So, Dean, is there anyone else from Hogwarts there, apart from you and Ernie?"

Dean looked around at Hannah; he'd been watching Seamus and Ciara with a smile on his face. "Oh... yeah, there's a Ravenclaw girl, Su."

Hannah's head snapped up. "Su? Su Li?" She burst out laughing, whipping her head round to look past Justin at Ernie, who was determinately not looking at her. "Hey, Ernie! You didn't tell me Su was in class with you!"

"What's so funny about that?"

"He had such a crush on her - tried to ask her to the Yule Ball but bottled out and took me instead."

Hannah's face was flushed with laughter. Dean knew it was probably the first time she'd laughed in a while. He was glad this little reunion was helping her have a little fun. He decided to tell Hannah all about the night before - his version, not Ernie's edited version that left out his attempts to dance with Su

Lee came over to sit down and talk to him. They talked about their jobs for a while and about the lack of attacks when they were supposed to be at war. Lee tried to get him to talk about Beth, which he was uncomfortable doing when she was sitting a foot away, so he refused to talk.

Soon, Seamus began teasing Ernie about his status as a lightweight. "... I mean these cocktails can't be that bad."

"Oh they are..." said Fred darkly. "I've been there."

Beside him, George suppressed a laugh with difficulty and tried to rearrange his face so that it did not look too amused.

"When did you guys go drinking in the Dragon's Claw?" asked Dean.

"When we fled Hogwarts... a celebration drink." Fred clutched his head, as though remembering the headache. "I think I tried every cocktail they had."

"Not me, though, I had the sense to stick to good old Firewhisky." George slapped Fred on the back as he talked. Fred groaned at the memory.

"It was hell. I spent our first day in Diagon Alley with a severe hangover. Why do you think we stock cures now?"

Dean laughed with the rest. Seamus eyed them incredulously. "I always thought you were tough, Fred, never thought you'd buckle from a little hangover-"

"Little hangover??" Fred looked up angrily. "That's it, you cheeky little git. C'mon! We're going to the Dragon's Claw to teach this kid what hangovers REALLY are!"

* ~ *

Under no circumstances was Dean touching anything remotely alcoholic, even in the Dragon's Claw. He stuck to pumpkin juice and watched Fred line up one of each of the wide range of cocktails the Dragon's Claw offered.

A dozen drinks later, Seamus was singing old Irish folk music at the top of his lungs, so exuberantly that several Irish students in the corner joined in. Dean laughed until he was in tears at the sight, but felt vaguely guilty since he knew Seamus would wake up the following morning feeling like he'd slipped into the seventh circle of hell. While Seamus sang and conducted the other Irish guys in the corner, Dean took a bottle of Fred and George's potion and slipped it into Seamus' pocket.

Some young, depressed-looking girls in a corner were hogging the magical jukebox and getting it to pump out endless Celestina Warbeck tracks, which Seamus and his newfound friends were drowning out with "The Leprechaun and his Fairy." A girl with long bright green hair with silver streaks kept shooting him dirty looks and pointing her wand at the box to turn up the volume. Beth was glancing between the two like she was watching a tennis match. She looked very amused.

Fred and George were watching her with distaste. "We get enough of that crap at home. Our mum is daft about that shill old wench."

Beth moved her gaze to the twins. "Really? So is mine! Must be one of those archetypal things with mothers."

"Yeah, thank God it's not all girls. Ginny at least didn't have her blaring out of her room. She likes the Weird Sisters like a normal girl."

Beth tilted her head curiously. "Ginny?"

"Our little sister."

Something cold flickered in Beth's eyes for a moment, then she broke into a wide smile. "Oh, you must be the famous Weasleys who left the school so spectacularly."

"You've heard of us, then?"

Dean broke in before they could get into full bragging stride. "Oh yeah, you guys are legends there now, and you damn well know it."

The singing across the room had changed into out and out yelling to cover Celestina's "Asphodel Nights." The girls in the corner were starting to look mutinous, and when Dean saw the green haired girl start to point her wand in Seamus' direction, he got to his feet quickly. "Time to go!"

He hurried over with Justin at his side. As one, they each got an arm around one of Seamus' and dragged him bodily out the door. The others followed.

As soon as he was out in the evening air, Seamus drooped, like someone had pulled out a plug that had been keeping him going.

Dean turned to Fred. "If we give him food, will it help the hangover at all?"

Fred shook his head. "Nope, only gives him more to be sick with."

Dean winced. "Let's just get him home then."

"If someone helps me, I can take him. He lives in the same building as me." Justin was panting under Seamus' dead weight.

"I'll go." Dean managed to say. "I hope it's not far."

Ernie and Beth volunteered to go with them. They said goodbye to Hannah, Fred, George, and Lee and promised they'd all meet up again soon. Lee promised to tell his mother hello from Dean before he clapped Dean on the shoulder and Disapparated.

When they dumped a fully unconscious Seamus in his own flat, Justin asked them in for a drink before they went home. They had all sat down with glasses of pumpkin juice when Justin started back onto the topic of football.

"Are you going to any games this year, Dean?"

"Nah, probably going to be too busy with college. My dad is taking my brother to the Sunderland match next month."

"You guys like football?" Beth looked almost surprised.

"Yeah... so?" Dean hadn't meant to sound so defensive, and he registered the brief hurt look on her face.

"So... my dad is a Muggle, and a Muggle who's daft about football at that. What team do you support?"

Dean was stunned. Never in his entire life had he met a girl who liked football. He didn't think they existed. "You... like football?"

"Of course I like football! I'm a total Daddy's girl. I grew up watching all the Newcastle matches!"

The three of them talked about football for about ten minutes before they noticed that Ernie had fallen asleep out of sheer boredom. They shook him awake and decided it was high time they got back to the college.

"Promise me you'll write tomorrow morning and let me know what kind of state Seamus is in. If possible, take pictures." Dean grinned at Justin. "Oh, and there's a bottle of Fred and George's antidote in his pocket... But don't tell him for an hour or two."

Justin threw back his head and laughed. "Sure thing. See you soon!"