A Circle of Flame- Sirius Black x OC

Chapter 9

"Lovely," Liza puffed out her breath. She had never been to a party. At least not one like this. Any gatherings in the Slytherin Common Room were strictly reserved for their house only and consisted of the older students daring the others to increasingly twisted challenges. Last year, Regulus had almost lost a finger to a Grindylow that one of the Lestrange boys had smuggled in. Events in the dungeons were less celebration and more deadly competition.

Pushing herself through the crowd, Liza winced as a random elbow and knee prodded into her chest, the respective owners not bothering to apologize. She could hardly breathe through the muggy space. Finally, using an armchair as a barrier, she had darted close enough to the edge to stand on her tiptoes and stared into the center of the throng. She let out a grunt.

Sirius stood on top of the thick center rug, which was soaked with various puddles of alcohol and what disturbingly smelled like piss. He tilted his head back as he chugged the remains of a bottle of Firewhiskey, several steams of the liquid streaming down his stubbled throat. The droplets stained the collar of his undershirt as he shook his mane of waves in victory.

"THREE! TWO! ONE!"

The crowd burst into cheers as Sirius swallowed the last drop before tossing the bottle onto the floor with a crash, sending shards of glass flying in every direction. Liza winced as one edge caught the side of her cheek, sending a sharp stab of pain across her face. No one else seemed to notice the damage as they surged forward, eager for more entertainment. She grimaced. This alone proved why Gryffindors were idiots.

"Lizzie?"

She glanced over to see Fabian holding a bottle of Butterbeer in each hand, his hair drenched with sweat. The ginger hue of his hair had darkened into a thick auburn. Even with the loud timber of his voice, Fabian had to shout to be heard over the song that blared about the tower. The bass chord progression sounded like Queen. There was certain times Liza didn't like magic. It allowed wizards to be even more obnoxious than usual.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" she yelled, leaning closer as the familiar aroma of gunpowder and butterbeer assaulted her nostrils. The scents seemed to follow the twins wherever they went. If not for their cheerful demeanor, Liza might have accused them of being resident alcoholics. "You're a year closer to old age!"

Fabian frowned and tossed one of the bottles to George, who appeared to have taken the place as DJ. The Gryffindor was busy flicking his wand to the beat in a Muggle baseball hat and dark shades. A fake silver chain bunched about his neck.

"YOU WANT A CAGE?" Her brother's face twisted. "Merlin, Liza. I don't want to hear your kinky fantasies."

Liza flushed, smacking her brother's bicep much harder than she had intended. Still, she didn't exactly feel sympathetic when he flinched. "No, I—"

But Fabian had already turned away to where Gideon was beginning to rally the crowd, leading them with a series of suggestive movements that Liza was sure would make Molly have a fit. The partiers responded with rabid enthusiasm and flung their arms into the air. Several fingers were centimeters away from prodding her eye sockets.

"Never mind," Liza edged back to the sofa, her tentative mood beginning to sour. Of course, her brothers didn't give a lick that she was here. The love of Gryffindor House greatly surpassed any Liza could offer. It always had.

"Liza?" To her left, Remus had looked up from where he sat in an armchair, tapping a socked foot to the music. Liza noticed with amusement that his sock was covered with various versions of Sirius's face, all in different expressions. The one nearest his ankle blew her a kiss.

"What are you doing here?"

Wincing, Liza reached over for a sealed bottle of butterbeer before cracking open the top. "Not sure anymore, honestly," she took a small sip, savoring the warmth of the liquid. The rich taste saturated her tongue. "Probably gonna find Myra and head out."