A/N: Surprise, here's an early update! Buckle your seatbelts everyone because this is a very interesting chapter ;)))
Jessica found her subjects for her sixth year to be both fascinating and exhausting. It was nice to finally only attend classes that she picked on her own instead of being forced to take everything that was required on her curriculum up until her fifth year. N.E.W.T. level subjects were harder than she had expected, but she quite liked the challenge. She was also more than glad that Professor Lupin was her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He already proved to be an excellent teacher in his first week at Hogwarts, and Jessica would even go as far as to say he may be the best one yet. He certainly made his class something she would always look forward to now, which was something she didn't feel in the previous terms when Quirrell and Lockhart taught them.
Like every year, nothing really stirred up much excitement until the Quidditch season began or when a scandal happened. However, for the fifth to seventh year Gryffindors, they were anticipating the last weekend of September because they had a party planned. Percy Weasley was surprisingly in a good mood and did not stop them from planning it, and Oliver and Carson were almost a hundred percent sure it had to do with the fact that he was dating Penelope Clearwater. He simply warned them to not make a mess and to ensure that the teachers didn't find out about the party, because if they did, he wouldn't hesitate to take loads of points off of his own House.
The Gryffindor common room was loud and full of life on Friday evening. The older students had snuck in firewhisky, gigglewater, gillywater, and pumpkin fizz. The Weasley twins got a bunch of snacks from the house elves down at the kitchen, and they were kind enough to also bring a lot of water and pumpkin juice for those who didn't want to drink alcohol.
But apparently, everyone wanted to drink alcohol that evening. The students in their fifth year and above had been craving for a way to release all their stress or to let loose before they drowned in homework, and this was the perfect way to do so. Bethany had downed an entire bottle of gigglewater by eleven o'clock and was a giggling mess in front of a seventh year girl and a sixth year boy who both seemed highly interested in the redhead.
Meanwhile, Jessica was enjoying her second — or third, she couldn't remember — glass of firewhisky as she conversed with some of her Quidditch teammates. Even with all the drinks she had consumed, her head wasn't spinning yet, giving her the impression that she may have a higher tolerance to alcohol than she thought.
"Lee's being awfully touchy with Nassar, isn't he?" Fred wiggled his eyebrows. He, George, Angelina, and Jessica all sneaked a look at the corner of the common room where Lee Jordan was sitting across a brunette.
"I bet five sickles he'll be snogging her by the end of the night," said George.
"Really? I say he's going to do it in the next fifteen minutes."
"Ooh, that's bold. You're on, Freddie."
"While you two idiots are betting over Lee," Angelina cut in. "Zhang over there has been making moves on Oliver for about ten minutes now."
Jessica searched for Oliver almost immediately. A girl was sitting next to him on the couch in front of the fireplace, inching closer to him every few seconds. She couldn't help but feel something bubble up inside of her. Was that jealousy? That sounded absolutely ridiculous to her, yet she couldn't shake off the feeling.
"Who is she?" Jessica said, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Millie Zhang. She's a fifth year like me," Angelina explained. "I'm not close to her, but she's friends with Nassar who's — oh, she's snogging Lee right now."
"Yes!" Fred cheered, looking back at Lee who, sure enough, was very preoccupied with Nassar's face. "Cough it up, Georgie."
George rolled his eyes and told Fred he'd give him his money the next day. While the twins squabbled, Angelina and Jessica continued talking about their captain and the flirty girl beside him.
"She's quite bold, don't you think?" Angelina mused. "I don't think Oliver likes it, though."
"He doesn't?" Jessica asked, hoping she didn't sound too happy.
"Of course not. He actually looks uncomfortable. Why don't you go and save him?"
"What?"
"Go on," Angelina urged, a smirk playing on her lips. "What do you think, Fred? George?"
"What was that, love?" Fred said, not having heard the two girls.
"I was telling Jessica to go and help Oliver out. He looks like he wants to curse Zhang at this point."
"Oh, yeah, you should totally go to Oliver," Fred agreed.
"Yeah, Jess, save the poor bloke," George said. Before she could even answer, the twins flocked Jessica's sides and began pushing her towards the center of the common room.
"Wait — hey!" She tried to resist, but both Fred and George were too tall and strong for her to fight back. When they were a good enough distance from the couch, the twins shoved Jessica hard enough until she stumbled right before Oliver.
"Oh, Jessica," he said, sounding relieved. Zhang looked annoyed at her arrival.
"Hey, Oliver," said Jessica. "Er, do you wanna... grab some more drinks with me?"
"Yes," he said instantly. "Let's go."
Oliver dragged Jessica by the wrist and led her away from the couch. They made their way to the table on the other side of the common room, leaving Zhang behind without another word.
"Thanks," Oliver said gratefully.
"Couldn't say no to her, could you?"
"Why, are you jealous?"
"No," Jessica denied, hiding her face behind her drink.
"Your face is bright red." For a moment, she thought Oliver would call her out for blushing, but then he added, "Is it because you've been drinking a lot?"
"Well, I think this is my third round... actually, maybe it's my fourth," she replied as she refilled her cup.
"Can you even handle all that, miss Gryffindor prefect?" Oliver chuckled.
"Not sure, but my head doesn't feel like I've been hit with a Bludger yet. Besides, I don't have to patrol till tomorrow night."
"When did you get so rebellious?"
Jessica scoffed at his joke and said, "Well, how much have you had to drink?"
"Only one. It's too early."
"It's already midnight."
"Exactly. The party's just starting," Oliver beamed. "Besides, I've got a high tolerance for alcohol. I'm Scottish."
"That's an Irish thing," Jessica pointed out.
"It still stands."
"Really? Then prove it."
Oliver raised an eyebrow at her challenge. When Jessica stared back at him eagerly, he suddenly felt his competitive spirit take over.
"Fine. I'm going to finish five whole cups to beat your number of drinks before... half past midnight," he said determinedly after glancing at the wall clock. On another day, Jessica would've stopped him. But today, she actually wanted to see him take the challenge.
And so, he did. Oliver drank five cups full of straight firewhisky in a record amount of time. As Jessica watched him in entertainment, she finished her own drink and began sipping another one, and by then, she was at least tipsy. Her eagerness at seeing whether Oliver succeeded or not kept her on her feet, though.
Finally, Oliver swallowed the last few drops of his drink and slammed the final cup back down onto the table.
"Done," he said proudly. Almost all at once, he felt the alcohol take effect over his body. His head pounded, the music playing in the background sounded faint, and his body felt like he didn't have much control over it. Okay, maybe now he was regretting chugging all of that in a row. He lost balance just a bit, but Jessica held onto his arm before he could tip over.
"Okay, you proved your point," she said, laughing slightly. It seemed that he was more of a lightweight than she was. "Maybe you should stop now."
"Told you I could do it," said Oliver, his words starting to slur just a bit.
"Yeah, yeah, you did it. Drink some water now, will you?"
"But I don't want to," he pouted, catching Jessica off guard.
"Y-You have to," she tried to be firm.
"Water's gross."
"You'll wake up with an awful hangover if you don't."
"Who cares? Carson and I already prepared the potions for that."
Jessica sighed, unable to convince him to sober up.
"Fine. Why don't we go for a walk, then? And don't bring firewhisky — no, not gillywater, either. You need to clear your head."
It might have sounded risky for two intoxicated teenagers to walk outside the common room after curfew, but Jessica was pretty confident in her navigation skills and still had a clear enough mind. After patrolling for most of the previous school year and taking note of the current prefects' schedules, she had a good idea of where to pass at certain times so as not to get caught. She wasn't usually one to break the rules like that, but the excitement from the evening was making her a tad more adventurous.
The halls were quiet as Jessica and Oliver walked in the dark, trying their best not to make too much noise. Jessica led the way with her wand lit up in front of her while Oliver tried to walk normally by her side.
"Stop tripping, Oliver," Jessica huffed. "I'm only risking this all because I thought a walk would sober you up."
"Sober? I don't know the meaning of sober," Oliver said playfully. "I do know what wasted means, and I think that was the whole point of this party."
"I never should've allowed you to drink that much alcohol."
"Yeah, this is all your fault, lass. Of course I'm going to say yes to whatever you ask."
Jessica coughed awkwardly, not quite sure how to interpret those words.
"Keep it down, okay?" she said after a short pause, noticing how his voice grew louder every time he spoke. She didn't expect Oliver to be this loud and talkative when drunk. She was used to him babbling about Quidditch on a daily basis, but this was different.
"You know, it's cute how you're also drunk and yet you're trying to keep me in check," Oliver grinned.
"I won't be so cute after I hex you if you don't pull yourself together," Jessica threatened.
"Hey, you're supposed to compliment me back. Am I cute, too?"
Yes, Jessica internally screamed.
"I swear, if you say another word, I'm going to use silencio," she ignored his question. "Because unlike you, I'm actually not drunk yet, so my brain is working just fine."
All of a sudden, Jessica heard footsteps. Her heart stopped — it was almost one in the morning, so the teachers were supposed to be patrolling the lower floors at this time! At least, that was what she remembered from the schedules. Maybe I read them wrong, she scolded herself. Panicking, she pulled Oliver into one of the spiral staircases nearby and forced him against the wall.
"Whoa —"
"Shh!" she shushed him. She moved closer to him so that they could hide deeper in the shadows, hoping that that and the pillar before them was enough to hide them from sight. Oliver gulped at their proximity and it took all his willpower to not react or make a sound. He suddenly didn't feel as intoxicated as earlier anymore, and it was like his head was empty of all thoughts and he could only focus on the dark-haired girl before him.
Jessica waited with her breath held. The footsteps eventually faded away, and she prayed that they wouldn't come back anytime soon so they could return to the Gryffindor common room. It was a stupid idea to go for a walk, she cursed herself.
"Okay, they're... gone," Jessica whispered but trailed off when she turned back to Oliver. Their faces were inches from one another, and she only realized then how much she had pressed up against him. She took a step back, but Oliver's hand latched onto her wrist, keeping her in place.
"Can... can I try something, lass?" he asked quietly, his face leaning dangerously closer to hers than it already was. He didn't know what came over him, but seeing her up close like that made him want to act on it right then and there as if he had been holding something in for the longest time.
"What's that?" Jessica said cautiously.
"I think you know what I mean. So, if you tell me to stop now, then I will."
Jessica could tell from the mere look in his eyes what he was suggesting, but she still had her doubts because maybe she was just imagining it. After all, why would he want that in the first place? They were just friends, right? But she so badly wanted to see if her suspicions were correct, so she replied in just above a whisper, hoping she was right about this.
"You don't have to stop."
Barely a second later, Oliver pressed his lips onto hers. Jessica didn't know how these things escalated, but she quickly found herself returning the favor. She couldn't deny that deep inside, she had been waiting for this moment and just never wanted to admit it. Their bodies were so close to one another that Jessica could smell a mixture of firewhisky and cinnamon coming from him, and it was so strong and addicting that it felt even more intoxicating than the alcohol she drank earlier.
Part of Oliver actually thought that Jessica would back away like she usually did whenever she was faced with some form of confrontation, but she didn't. Instead, here she was, kissing him back in a way that was somehow both shy and eager, and this sent a surge of confidence through him. His hands moved to her waist and he stepped around her, forcing her to change positions. She let out a surprised yelp as her back hit the wall, making Oliver chuckle in amusement. Not wanting to stop, he placed one hand on the wall beside her head for balance and captured her lips again. His heart rate spiked uncontrollably when he felt Jessica's hands hold onto his shoulders, and this urged him to deepen the kiss even further.
Neither of them had ever pictured in their wildest dreams that they would find themselves kissing in the shadows like this, and yet, there they were.
A/N: So... that finally happened. I suck at writing ✨ spicy-ish ✨ scenes, but I tried 👀