"Oh, this? We were absolutely not about to drink this, professor. It's a gift for you! For our favorite professor!"
Sirius barked out a laugh. "It's swill that only a desperate student would buy. I should think that's an insult to Allie's teaching."
"Professor… is this a real human skull on your shelf?" Dean asked.
"Oh yes, all the bones are real. Mind the Venomous Tentacula sprout I have over there."
Neville squealed and rushed over to pet the plant's vines. He didn't enjoy parties much so this was where he was planning to spend the rest of his evening, especially as the other students fled, leaving him in an introvert's heaven.
As the children loitered, Alabasandria turned to Sirius. "You know, I don't believe I've ever attended a party. A couple of formal dinners but never a party. Is this what they're all like?"
"The kids are just being shy because we're here. If we weren't, they'd be three shots deep and screaming already. It's up to us to spice things up!"
Bouncing to his feet, he went over to the record player.
"If you wanted us to leave, you could have just said so," Harry complained. "Can't we listen to literally anything other than disco?"
"Sorry, what was that? I can't hear you over this excellent album!" He said as he turned The Supremes on full volume.
Sirius was pretty sure he heard Harry mutter something rude, but he was too busy letting the music groove through him to care about whiny teenagers. Besides, the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team immediately joined in. With Sirius' status as the 'cool adult' established (which was dubious at best in Harry's opinion), and Alabasandria lurking at her desk with a semi-approachable expression, the party kicked off.
"So, professor, where did you get that skull?"
"From a skeleton. Obviously."
"Whose skeleton?"
"Now that is an interesting story. That is King Edward the First's skull. I have a tibia of his as well. I have some souvenirs from a couple of other monarchs, but the others aren't in good condition so I keep them in a controlled environment."
" - Harry! Stop being a spoilsport and come do the YMCA with me!"
"Am I fashionably late? That is customary, isn't it?" Luna arrived in a neon green jumper and her arms loaded with containers. "I brought cookies."
"Harry! Luna! Come join us, we're just setting up a game of Scrabble!" Hermione called.
Later (as in 9 o'clock sharp, when all adult parties ended), as they made their way back up to Gryffindor Tower, Katie remarked. "You know, that wasn't how I thought the night was going to go, but that was actually really fun."
"The disco grows on you," Ginny said as she hummed a melody.
"I'm never playing Monopoly against Hermione again," Seamus said. Twenty-person Monopoly was a nightmare, and that wasn't accounting for the extreme competitive streak most players had brought. Professor Adams had been cheating, he would swear until his grave, but he hadn't found any proof.
"We saved most of the alcohol for Saturday night anyway. We can get properly sloshed then. Maybe we can convince Sirius to distract McGonagall for us." George said with a grin.
"Thanks for the reminder," Harry said.
"Oh chin up Harry, it's just a hedge maze. You can probably blast your way straight through, eh?"
"I've bet a lot on you winning, mate. No pressure." Fred butted in.
"Harry, would you like to practice spell casting with me tomorrow?"
Harry sighed very loudly. "Yeah, yeah, thank you for the advice. Goodnight everyone!"
Pushing his way upstairs, he tossed his glasses on his bedside table and rubbed his eyes. His attitude was a beating metronome back and forth between 'unstoppable god ready to kick Death Eater ass' and 'terrified child' and truthfully, he just wanted the damn tournament to be finished. As time crept closer and closer to the event, it was all anyone wanted to talk about. It was why he had anticipated a relaxing evening forgetting his own name at the bottom of a bottle. But alas, thinking about his problems was doomed to be Harry's fate.
Grabbing his glasses, he spotted a folded parchment resting on the table. With a pop of the wax seal, he toed off his shoes and settled into bed.
Harry, if you are still amicable to join me on an adventure, please meet me in my office tomorrow evening at 8. Yours, Headmaster Dumbledore.