(a/n): hi everyone! i just wanted to tell you guys I'm so sorry for not updating sooner, i started school and they leave so much homework! so we'll have to go back to the update once a week schedule. ill try my best to update!
if necessary, you can imagine Louis' lake house like the Bly manor. and that's all, i hope you enjoy this incredibly bad chapter! next one will be better, i promise!
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"I wasn't aware this was a couple's trip." Leo chuckled, trunk on hand.
You and Sirius were the first ones to arrive at the line that led to the fireplaces connected to the Floo Network. There were lots of different lines, all of them way too long.
It was around 6 PM, and the professors had just opened the access to the fireplaces connected to the Floo Network. You didn't know why, but what can you do about it?
"It isn't." You replied simply, "Sirius is just making us... company, yeah."
Sirius chuckled, "Exactly what she said."
Leo narrowed his eyes, ready to express his suspicions when an over-enthusiastic Louis interrupted him. "Are you three ready!?"
"Good morning to you too." You yawned.
"I am so excited!" Leo exclaimed, "I swear, it feels like I haven't done anything good for Christmas for years now."
"I know, right?" Sirius joined in in the excitement, much to your dismay. "Louis, again, thank you so much for inviting all of us."
"Oh, don't worry about it." Louis smiled, "On the other side, thank you guys for coming to help us."
Leo didn't quite catch what was happening but gave up on voicing his concerns when Sam, accompanied by Regulus, showed up.
"Morning, everyone." She greeted, the boy on her right merely waving. "Did you all rest well?" She received incoherent answers, all going from 'yes, and you?' to a simple hum.
"Hey!" Peter and Remus arrived several minutes after Sam and Regulus. "We got caught up on some stuff, sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Louis smiled reassuringly.
"Who else is missing?" Asked Leo.
"James." Sirius replied quickly, eyeing his two friends as to ask 'where is he?'. Both boys shrugged, turning around and looking at the hall for any sight of their friend.
"Oh, I'm sure he'll be here soon," Louis smirked. He didn't know how to sound natural, so his tone ended up sounding evil.
"What did you do?" You asked, lowering your voice to a whisper. "Did you plan something behind our backs?"
"What?" He gasped dramatically, "Me? Plan something behind your guys' backs? Never."
"Yeah, right." You crossed your arms over your chest, "If I didn't know you better, I would think you're evil."
"Good thing you know me better then."
"What is taking him so long?" Sirius mumbled to himself urgently, eyeing how the line was getting shorter and shorter and James was still nowhere to be seen.
"Don't worry about it." Regulus comforted rather awkwardly, "We're not in a rush, are we?"
Louis shook his head, "We have like 2 weeks, I don't think it'll matter if we get to the lake house right now or in an hour."
"Yeah, but it's still not polite to not be punctual to something someone else invited you."
"And since when do you worry about being polite?" You teased him, but he had no time to answer.
"Look, there he is." Peter pointed at the hall, where James was trying to run as fast as he could with a heavy trunk in his hands.
"Sorry for taking so long." James panted, "I was trying to find Lily so we could come together but I couldn't find her anywhere. Oh, and I also was looking for the Christmas presents."
"Presents?" Leo perked up. "Can I see them?"
James shook his head, hiding his trunk behind him. "Nope. You'll have to wait until Christmas."
"Wait, did you say Lily?" Remus asked, "Is she coming too?"
"Oh, uhm, yeah." He blushed, "She stays at school every year for winter holidays, so I thought it would be a nice change if she came with us."
"Aw, that's so cute." You said.
"Did you get permission to do that?" Sirius asked with wide eyes, cheeks, and tip of his nose tinted red due to embarrassment.
"Oh, I told him he could bring her along." Louis grinned, "You know what they say, the bigger, the better."
"So this is a couple's trip!" Leo whined, "Why didn't anyone told me? I could've brought August."
"It's definitely not a couple's trip." Regulus rolled his eyes, "It's just 2 couples and a bunch of single people."
"Yeah, sucks to be you." You said, smile sly.
"Oh my God, James!" Lily arrived right when it was your guys' turn to go into the fireplace. "Where were you? I spent all morning looking for you."
"Lils, finally. I woke up early and was waiting outside your room, don't ask how, since like 8 AM."
"I was the one looking for you. I was outside your roo- Oh." She facepalmed. "Ehr, and hey everyone. Sorry for the delay." She added sheepishly.
"No worries." Louis said, "Nice to meet you. I'm Louis."
"I know." The redhead stated, "Captain of the Slytherin quidditch team, right?"
"Yeah, and you're Lily Evans. Gryffindor head girl."
"This is Leo," James introduced everyone one by one. "And this is Sam."
"Oh, yeah, I've seen you around." Lily smiled charmingly, "Marlene talks about you all the time."
"She does?" Sam tried really hard to hide her grin, but it was to no use. "I mean, cool."
"And you already know who Regulus is." James continued, saving an awkward Sam's ass.
The youngest of the group stuck his hand out, "A pleasure to meet you."
Lily shook his hand, "Likewise."
"And finally, you already know (Y/N) here."
"Hey." Lily greeted, "Nice to finally meet you. I've heard lots of things about you."
"I could say the same. This guy over here just wouldn't stop talking about you." You gestured to James, who didn't waste any time shushing you.
Lily laughed, "We have a lot to talk about. In fact, I would love to tell you all about that time Sirius wanted to-"
"The chatty group over there!" Professor McGonagall's stern voice halted the conversation, much to Sirius' relief. "Your turn."
"See you on the other side." Louis was the first one to go into the fireplace. "138 Thirsk Road!"
• • • • • • •
The lake house was more beautiful (and way bigger) than you could've ever imagined.
The walls were almost entirely made out of bricks, and most of them had plants growing on them. There were lots of windows splattered across the house, all varying in shapes and sizes.
The living room, where you had all appeared, was taken care of. In fact, you couldn't even see a single particle of dust. In the center of it, was a scarlet red carpet with two couches of the same color on top of it and a wooden table on the center of it all.
In the wall on your right was a window that took up most, if not all, of the space. In the center of the window was a design made out of stained glass, which caused the light that went through it to become filled with colors.
"Was your aunt a millionaire?" Sam asked in wonder, looking at every corner of the house.
"Duh. Why do you think everyone wanted her dead?" Louis said, "But anyway! Let me give you all a little tour of the house."
"He can be so creepy sometimes." Regulus told you.
"Agreed." You smiled and began to follow Louis as he showed you guys around.
"And this is the... Well, I don't know what it's really called, but I call it the stairs room."
The room was pretty simple, but the lack of light and windows creeped you out. Two stairs led up to the second floor, both of them made of the same wood as the living room tables.
Louis kept walking, making turns left and right. It made you a bit dizzy, truth be told. "Now, this is the kitchen."
It was a small yet cozy room, with a table for 12 in the center, a red carpet underneath it. There was a big fireplace on the left side of the table, while the counters filled with food and cutlery were in front of it.
"Bla, bla, more rooms, whatever, nobody cares about that." Louis rushed over the rest of the rooms on the first floor. "Now, onto the good part. The bedrooms."
The second floor was filled with them. Although you had lost count of how many rooms there were, you could tell they were about 8 or even 9. Maximum, 10.
"What do you guys prefer, to unpack right now or to wait until it's nighttime?" Louis asked as he led you all into the hall. The only light source was the one proportionate by the window at the end of the hall and the ones from the rooms.
Everyone turned to look at each other, "We can wait, right?" Leo was the one to express the group's thoughts.
"Cool. So all rooms are pretty much the same size so I decided to assign the rooms." Louis said, "This is Sam's."
The room was big, a king-sized beg settled against the wall. There was also a desk, a pair of dressers on each side of the bed, and two windows, so even if it was kind of simple, it was everything anyone would need.
"This is Regulus'." Louis kept on assigning rooms to everyone, all of them pretty much the same. "Leo's."
"Do you two want to be in the same room or on different ones?" He suddenly stopped to ask Lily and James, who looked at each other and wordlessly communicated.
"On the same one," Lily answered for the two of them.
"Okie dokie." Louis continued walking, "And that leaves us with you two." He turned to look at Sirius and you.
You looked at him, trying your best to guess his thoughts. He did the same thing.
"On the same."
"On separate ones." You two said at the same time.
"You want to be in separate rooms?" You asked him, surprised.
"You want to be in the same room?" An equally surprised Sirius replied.
"It's fine if you want to be on separate ones." You were quick to reassure.
He shook his head, "No, it's fine. I said on separate ones because I thought that's what you'd prefer." He said sheepishly, "Whew, it's hot in here, isn't it?"
"Well, I don't know- What do you prefer?"
"I-I mean in the same room it's fine, you know? I don't mind."
"Yeah, me neither. Like, at all." You bit the inside of your cheek anxiously.
"So... Together or separate?" Sirius double-checked with you.
"Geez, you two." Sam said, exasperated. "Louis, can we just speed this whole process up and just put those two in the same room?"
"We sure can." Louis agreed. "Now, everyone please follow me so I can show you the gardens. My aunt was a pretty great gardener, if I may say so myself, so the gardens are the best feature on the house."
The group followed Louis downstairs, and then to the outside. There was a road that led straight inside the manor, and on its side were several squared and oval-shaped bushes.
"This is the garden, oh and there's a well over there. And there's also a fireplace, but we can check that out later tonight." The owner of the house kept walking until you caught sight of a set of four chairs and a table in front of the lake.
Several beautiful plants surrounded it, all of them of different colors. In fact, a big tree let its leaves fall onto it, right next to the lilypads. The lake reflected the sunlight, nearly blinding you.
The sunlight fell onto the lake, nearly blinding you. The lake's water was crystal clear, and you could distinguish all of the fish, the algae, and even some coins people had thrown, most likely in exchange for a wish.
There was a lot more left to see, but Louis just seemed to gloss over it. On the side of your eye, you could see a wooden swing surrounded by pink and white roses, on the front and supported by vines on top of it.
Next to the swing, were at least 5 statues, all of them covered with all kinds of flora, except for any that could really be described as beautiful. Again, really creepy.
All of you returned to the house shortly after, right when the sun was hiding between the mountains and the cold breezes of air were just showing themselves. The sky was getting darker and darker by the minute.
"Alright, everyone. Unpack and meet you here in 20 minutes." Louis said as he grabbed his trunk and started going upstairs. "Don't be late!"
The rest of you followed his example. Regulus and you were at the back of the group, chatting.
"You won't believe what I brought." A sly Regulus told you as you two made your way upstairs.
"What?" You asked, "Wait, don't say anything. Let me guess. Is it... Fire whiskey?"
Regulus pouted, "What? How did you guess?"
You shrugged, "I guess you could say Trelawney taught me well. And what are you going to do with it?"
"I'm keeping it to myself." He said sarcastically.
You rolled your eyes playfully, "At least save some for me."
"Will do."
• • • • • • •
After a good 25 minutes, everyone was sitting down in the living room, surrounding the fireplace. Louis was put in charge of the music, hence why the song "Can't get enough of your love, babe" by Barry White was playing in the background.
"And then I just hear, 'Oh, Lily flower, her green orbs, and her fiery hair'. It was so funny." You told Lily about the incident at the start of sixth year.
The redhead turned to look at her boyfriend, laughing. "You really said that?"
"What? It's true! Your eyes are green and your hair is red." James defended himself.
"Aw babe, you're such a romantic." Lily swooned sarcastically, resting her head on James' shoulder.
"Oh, wow, haha." The brown-haired boy laughed nervously, not quite knowing where to place his hands.
"She was totally messing with you." Remus tried to contain his laugh.
James cleared his throat, embarrassed. "Oh, yeah. I knew that. Of course."
"Anyways, how about we make this more interesting?" Leo grabbed a bag seemingly out of nowhere and took a bottle of fire whiskey out of it.
"No way, you brought fire whiskey?" Regulus too took out a bottle of fire whiskey. "I did too!"
"You brought a what?" Sirius asked his 16-year-old brother protectively. "Where did you get that from?"
"...From the Three Broomsticks?" The younger Black replied, "Like everyone else."
"But- But you're 16." Sirius insisted.
"I look older, I guess." Regulus shrugged.
"Okay, just- Be careful with how much you drink, okay?"
"You're really overprotective." You told Sirius, exhaling out of your nose.
The boy shrugged, "I'm just worried about him."
"Like you didn't drink whiskey at 16 too," Remus remarked.
"I'll go for some glasses." Sam stood up and rushed to the kitchen, only to come back 5 minutes later with lots of glasses. "Would anyone be kind enough to help me over here?"
You, along with Leo and Lily, rushed to stand up to take some of the glasses and then set them on the table.
"So how is this going to work? Just drink?" Asked Peter.
Lily shook her head, "I know what we should do. Truth or dare."
"Truth or dare? Really?" Sam teased lightheartedly.
"That's a kid's game." Peter agreed, yet his voice tone was way more hostile than Sam's had been.
"Geez, it was just a suggestion."
"I don't know, I like that idea. What else could we possibly do?" Leo said, taking a sip of the firewhiskey.
"Put that glass back on the table." Louis said, "I have an idea."
"Spill." Sirius urged.
"So, why don't we play truth or dare but if you want to back up on a dare or a truth, you drink."
"Fuck it, why not? Sounds fun." You agreed, "Who starts?"
"Oh, oh, me, me!" James exclaimed. "Dare."
"Risky, I like it." You smirked, looking around the room in search of an idea. "Hmmm... I dare you to kiss Lily? Sorry, I have no ideas."
James shrugged, then leaned in to connect his lips to Lily's. The redhead grinned and cupped his cheeks, bringing him closer and causing her boyfriend to become a deep shade of red.
Louis whistled, "Get a room!"
The two lovebirds finally separated, basically panting. Lily licked her lips, "Are you wearing chapstick?" She asked James.
"Yeah." He said proudly, "Do you like it?"
"Mhm. Tastes like cherry."
"Why can't we be like that?" You asked Sirius sarcastically, leaning your head on his shoulder.
"Because we're way cuter." He replied smoothly, resting his own head on yours.
"I feel awfully single right now," Sam stated.
"Second that." Leo whined, "Guys, can't we just keep playing?"
"Sure, who's turn was it again?" Lily ignored James' attempts at capturing her lips on his once again.
"Wait, wait." Leo interrupted, "I have a question."
The group responded with a low hum, so the boy continued. "Can we dare people to kiss someone?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't we be able to?" Remus said lightheartedly.
"Because..." Leo lowered his voice like the words he was speaking were a secret only a few people in the world knew. "There are couples here."
"Only James and Lily." The werewolf shrugged.
"(Y/N) and Sirius are dating t-" Sam started to say, but was interrupted by Peter.
"No, they're not."
Sirius turned to look at you, not quite knowing if he should give the rat (literally and figuratively) an answer.
After an awkward silence, the song changed into "I want you back" from The Jackson 5. s
"Yeah, you can dare us to kiss other people, right?" Lily asked James, who nodded.
"We're in an open relationship," James explained a moment after, smiling as best as the situation allowed him to.
"Oh yeah, what about you and August, by the way?" Sam reminded her friend.
"That's why I'm asking." Leo answered, "Because I know how our hormones are and I'm not accepting kiss dares."
The girl nodded, "Makes sense."
"So, in conclusion... You can dare anyone to do anything.? Peter's tone was malicious, yet no one but yourself seemed to notice. Was this his way of repaying you for comforting him that one day while he cried? Fucking asshole.
'Break his nose right now.' Your heart screamed, and unconsciously mover you away from your lover. You sat up straight, leaving the comfort and heat of his body.
'Don't make a scene.' The logical side of your brain stopped you. And so, as you always did, you shut your heart up and listened to your brain. It was for the best.
"Yeah? I guess..?" Louis said but quickly changed the topic. "Moving on, who's turn was it again?"
"Oh, yeah. James, your turn." Sirius agreed, swallowing the lump forming on his throat.
James looked at everyone in the room and rubbed his hands together, "Leo."
"Finally!" The boy cheered, "Truth."
James pouted jokingly, "Lame. But okay, have you ever had a crush on someone here?"
Leo smirked, grabbed the bottle filled with firewhiskey, and poured some of it onto his cup. "Bottom's up." He drank all of it, the entire cup in one sip. Pretty impressive.
"No need to brag about your excessive alcohol consumption, Leo." You joked, trying to feel a little less uncomfortable about Sirius' eyes on your back. Just now did you notice you had moved away from him. Fuck you, honestly.
"My turn." He said, setting down his empty cup dramatically. "Remus."
"Dare," Remus answered, daring smile on his face.
"I dare you to..." If you guys were on a cartoon, perhaps you would've seen the bulb that turned on inside Leo's brain. "To go out naked into the snow."
"You're a sick, twisted, individual." Remus joked as he began to take his shirt off.
"Hey Moony, why don't you add a lap dance to that dare while you're at it?" Sirius too joked as a way to stop feeling uncomfortable.
Remus rolled his eyes and took off his pants too, "Does it have to be naked?"
"Scared you might disappoint someone?" James joked.
"You can go in your boxers." Leo laughed.
"No, no. This guy," He gestured to James. "Says I'm afraid of disappointing you guys. Let me prove him wrong."
Sam tried to contain her laughter, "I mean, if you want, no problem by us."
Remus stood up and opened the door. He was greeted by a cold breeze that made him shiver. He then proceeded to take his boxers off and ran off into the white snow, yelling all the way.
All the people in the room ran to the window, trying to catch sight of Remus' glorious cheeks.
"How are they so plump?" Regulus wondered. He was indeed gay panicking.
"I wish mine looked like that," Peter whined.
5 minutes later, and Remus was back, fully clothed. You wouldn't say this out loud, but you took a mental picture of that dare. One word: damn.
20 truths and dares later, and almost everyone was tipsy, if not completely drunk. You were the soberest one, along with Peter and maybe Regulus.
"Regulus." Sam said, "Truth or dare?"
"Dare." The youngest of the group replied after a moment of hesitation.
"I dare you to..." The girl let her eyes scan the room. "Kiss Louis."
A collective gasp was heard. Regulus started to grab the cup filled with alcohol when a pale and boney hand stopped him.
"Don't." Louis slurred, "Kiss me."
"W-What?" Everyone stared in shock. You had always thought Louis was the straight one.
"We're friends, right? And I'm straight, so it's just a kiss." He shrugged, "Plus, I've always wondered if you were a good kisser."
"Oh, wow- Haha," Regulus once again, gay panicked. "Okay, if you say so."
Both boys stood up from their seats, and it took a while for either of them to move. Louis was the first one to lean in. Judging by his over-exaggerated, puckered lips, it was obvious Regulus was just going for a small peck. And instead of that, he got something else.
When their lips connected, Louis grabbed Regulus and pulled him closer using the collar of his shirt. Not going to lie, the kiss was more passionate than you thought it would've been. There was definitely something else going on here.
After a good 30 seconds, Louis separated. They stared into each other's eyes for a second, the tension was so thick you were sure you could cut it with a butter knife. Finally, Regulus blinked, and as if he had gotten out of a trance, went to sit down.
"...Reg?" You asked, "Your turn."
"Huh? Oh, oh yeah. Uhm, I chose... Sam."
"Truth." The girl answered.
Regulus looked over at Leo, wordlessly asking for help. The boy then leaned in to whisper something into his ear. "Oh, good one. Who is your secret lover?"
Instantly, Sam grabbed her cup and the empty bottle of fire whiskey.
"There's no more fire whiskey." Lily stated, "You gotta answer."
Sam sighed. "Both bottles?"
"What can I say?" You asked the air. "You guys drink like animals."
If she hadn't been so drunk, she would've just walked out. "Fine, you got me. I'll finally spill. Marlene. Marlene McKinnon is my secret lover."
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𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 3934 words