As Ron kneeled down and opened the bag to take out the second bottle of Fire whisky, he found an extra something that he had completely forgotten about— a small vial of crystal clear liquid.
It took a few seconds for him to remember that it was something called the Soul-Freeze, a liquid potion meant to enhance the taste of Firewhisky by ten times... or at least that's what Sirius had told him... but the shopkeeper had something else, hadn't he...
'Something about a warning... um..." Ron frowned as he tried hard to remember what the shopkeeper cautioned him about but it just wouldn't come to him, 'Eh, it's probably unimportant anyway,' Ron shrugged before taking out the vial from the bag, 'Maybe I should see what this actually does...'
Behind Ron the game continued and this time the bottle turned towards Neville whose face alternatively turned a deathly pale and a blushing red, as he rapidly began shaking his head knowing what was coming.
"Come now, Neville. You know what we wanna know..." Seamus asked with a pure evil smile on his face.
"N-No, I-I don't like anyone..." he said with his head down absolutely refusing to look up at his friends as his blood rushed to his face.
"Now, Now, don't be so shy," Dean teased in an innocent tone, "We are all friends here, aren't we? No one's going to make fun of you, I promise. So you can safely tell us..." he said while hiding his crossed fingers behind his back.
"Yes, tell us, Neville," Seamus nudged with a sly look on his face, "Besides I remember you having quite the fun laughing when it was Dean's turn so you can't sneak out of it now..."
"You have to do it, Neville," Harry said loudly with an enthusiastic look on his face. It had taken a while but he had gotten into the groove of things by now and even began chanting in his excitement.
"DO IT!" "DO IT!" "DO IT!"
The other two joined Harry in mounting the pressure as Ron came back to his seat with an open bottle and an empty goblet in his hands before noticing what was happening. None of the others had noticed this but Ron had made the startlingly that drunk Harry, the Boy-who-lived was actually a... sadist.
"DO IT—"
"Hannah!!" Neville abruptly yelled with his eyes closed and a flushed look on his face, "I-I like H-Hannah," he let out while looking as if he wanted the earth to swallow him whole.
"Haha! I knew it!" Seamus laughed loudly while slamming his fist in his palm, "You were always sneaking your eyes at her every time we had classes with Hufflepuff, weren't you?"
"Um..."
"No need to be embarrassed Neville, she's quite the catch." Dean said elbowing his friend with a teasing look on his face, "You have good taste, my friend."
"So... when are you to ask her out," Seamus asked while wiggling his eyebrows.
"W-What?!" Neville stammered as he once again began rapidly shaking his head, "N-No! I-I can't... T-That is just..." his face which had barely begun to regain its colour turned red once again.
"Oh, come on, Neville, you have to do it at some time. So do it while you still have the chance," Dean advised before he shrugged, "Because a pretty bird like Hannah isn't going to stay single forever so you need to do it soon... After all, you don't want to see her get together with another guy, do you?"
"NO! Not...I mean...but..." Neville let out with a confused and miserable look on his face.
"Jeez! Leave him alone, guys," Ron interrupted with a glare at his somewhat apologetic friends, "Here drink this, Neville" he said filling Neville's almost empty goblet with the new bottle of Firewhisky he had gotten with that little shot of something extra in it, "You'll feel better after a drink—"
Ron didn't even get to finish his sentence as Neville clutched the goblet as if it was the elixir of life and immediately poured it into his mouth making him cough and hack but he finished it all nonetheless impressing Ron and Seamus.
"I think you need to do it today, Neville..." a quiet but determined voice suddenly interrupted them.
"What?" All three of them turned to look at Harry who had an unusually serious look on his face as he looked at Neville who had his face down and looked out of sorts after finishing that goblet of Firewhisky.
"You should confess to her, Neville," Harry said to Neville in a sober voice, "This is our last day before holidays... Maybe you won't get another chance so you should just do it today."
Now, all three of them were looking at Harry as if he was insane because suggesting that "Neville" go to Hufflepuff at this time of the night to confess to his crush in his drunken could only be lunacy and nothing else.
"Hehe, nice joke, Harry," Dean chuckled nervously while exchanging worried glances with Ron.
"You know what," Seamus suddenly interrupted in a subdued voice before nodding to himself, "That's a great idea," he agreed loudly before turning to Neville with an excited look on his face, "I agree with Harry, Neville. You really should go to Hufflepuff dorm and ask Hannah out... tonight."
"A-Are you both out of your mind," Dean finally cried in a panicked manner as he saw Seamus adding wood to the fire, "It is almost midnight and there's a curfew out there! Prefects, Teachers and who knows what else could be roaming the hallways out there... and you want him to go to the Hufflepuff common room right now."
Harry didn't know why he said it... maybe it was just FIrewhisky making him unusually reckless... but when he saw Neville talk about his crush with that innocent expression on his face, he suddenly realised that he could never have that... that he could never genuinely like someone without being afraid of putting them in danger... of them being used against him.
And then he remembered the conversation that night with Dumbledore in his office... knowing that Neville could have easily been in his place in another universe and he in Neville's, because of the damn prophecy... so he wanted him, no, he needed him to have what he himself couldn't due to the threat of Voldemort...
"If not now then when," Harry muttered while ignoring Dean and staring straight at Neville with a determined expression on his face, "Neville, if you really like her and want to ask her out, then I will come with you all the way to the Hufflepuff dorms, no questions asked,"
Nevile hadn't looked up ever since he had that drink, his eyes were half-closed and he felt as if an explosion had happened in his head clearing away all the debris of useless thoughts and feelings that filled his mind, leaving him with an unusually serene clarity for the first time in his life.
He felt as if he could do anything at that moment, he felt that even if Voldemort appeared in front of him at that moment... he wouldn't be scared and that he could fight him without hesitation... which was weird considering he wouldn't even be able to say his name a few seconds ago.
He felt oddly light as if he was sitting on clouds as if his entire being was filled to the brim with... courage! courage to do anything...
"Harry, I think you've just had a bit too much to drink—"
"I will do it," came a tranquil voice as Neville looked up with an eerily calm smile on his face. He nodded towards Harry and then without waiting for anything immediately got up and walked towards the door with his back straight and his walk without a single wobble.
All of them were left stunned in their places as they saw the shy boy leave the room without hesitation. Only when the door to their dorm closed before did they manage to break out of their stupors.
"No! Wait, Neville!!" Dean cried as he scrambled to go after the boy to stop him but someone else was faster than him.
"I am going with him," shouted Harry as he immediately ran after the boy with an oddly determined look on his face.
"Huh? Is he actually doing this? Are they actually doing this?" Seamus asked in a stunned voice as he looked at the door with amazement on his face.
"Ah! You idiot! We need to stop them! Or we'll all be expelled!"
"Who the fuck cares," Seamus shouted in an exhilarating tone, showing that he was well and truly drunk, "Let's all go to Hufflepuff!" He laughed loudly as he then followed after the two.
"I-I... Ron! What are we going to do?" Dean asked in a panicked tone to the only other person left in the room.
Ron had an odd look on his face as his gaze alternated between the door and the bottle in his hands with suspicion in his eyes, 'Was all that because of the drink...' he thought as he oddly felt compelled to drink the Firewhisky which had been mixed with Soulfreeze to check its effects...
"RON!! What are we going to do!!"
"Huh? Um..." Ron quickly shook his head after he was broken out of his daze by Dean and placed the bottle on the table without giving in to the temptation of drinking a possibly mind-altering thing, before answering Dean, "There's nothing really left for us to do here, mate. Other than just support our friend." he then patted Dean's shoulder with a smile and left after the others.
Dean stood in his place with a dumbfounded look on his face for a few moments before he cursed, "Arght! Fuck it!!" He immediately ran around the room and began collecting all the evidence of their party before he vanished them with a wave of his wand. And only after making sure that there was nothing incriminating left in the room in case it all went to shit he left the room to follow the suicidal Gryffindors he called friends to join them in this suicidal venture.
///