The cure to overthinking is alcohol. At least I thought it was.

After the match and dinner, Gryffindor would be throwing a victory party, which meant that everyone in Gryffindor Tower would be there with lots of firewhiskey.

I was replaying the conversation with Marlene in my head over and over again. Was I right for defending him, or am I just as naive as my sister said I am?

This is how I ended up six shots deep before eleven at night.

I thought getting drunk would make me stop thinking, even if it was just for a few hours, but instead the firewhiskey had the complete opposite effect. I was still overthinking, but now all of my thoughts were scattered and I couldn't comprehend anything.

"You good, Meredith?"

I glanced up at Thomas through heavy eyelids.

"Oh, I'm doing just fine," I slurred, leaning my head back on the brick behind me.

Thomas gave me an odd glance and sat down next to me, holding a drink in his hand.

"I don't think you should be sitting on the windowsill if you're drunk," He said.

I shrugged, "Why? Do I really look like I'm going to jump?"

"That's not funny. But, yes, you do," Thomas answered. "What's going on?"

"I got in a fight with Marlene."

Thomas took a sip of his drink, waiting for me to continue.

"I defended someone who now I'm not sure is worth defending," I said. "I think I might've been wrong."

Thomas nodded, "Why not go ask then? Figure out if this person was worth defending?"

There was music playing loudly in the common room. Emmeline and Maggie were dancing with Jack and Sam, all four of them dancing along to the music.

"I'm not sure that I want to know," I admitted.

Thomas shrugged, "If you don't want to know then you have to let the whole thing go."

I sighed dramatically, leaning my head against my hand. "I'm too drunk for this, Thomas," I muttered, my head feeling fuzzy.

"I know, Meredith."

I glanced over at Thomas. "I need another drink," I announced, getting up from the windowsill."

"That's not a good idea-"

I shrugged, "I really think it is."

I stumbled over to the drink's table, pouring myself another shot of firewhiskey. I took the shot, letting the cinnamon-flavored liquor warm my throat as I swallowed.

My thoughts were so slowed at this point that by the time I realized what I was doing, I was already exiting the common room through the portrait hole.

In the corridor, there was a couple pressed up against the wall, tongues down each other's throats.

"Gross," I mumbled.

My legs were unsteady as I took the stairs down from Gryffindor Tower. This is a bad idea. I can't even walk straight, how am I supposed to make it all the way down to the dungeons.

Somehow, by the grace of Merlin himself, I am standing outside the entrance to the Slytherin common room.

Why am I here?

This was a bad idea. I don't even know why I'm here or how I'm going to get inside. It's almost midnight at this point, which means that most people outside of Gryffindor Tower will be sleeping or getting ready to go to sleep.

"Fuck," I muttered, leaning against the wall across from the entrance.

I need to talk to Regulus. I'm not leaving until I talk to him.

I took a second to try to gather my scrambled thoughts, but when this didn't work, I gave up and sat down on the cold stone floor.

I spoke out loud, "What would the password even be? Pureblood's only?" This made me laugh.

"Surprisingly, it's not."

I jumped, looking down the corridor.

Lucinda Talkalot is walking down the corridor, heading towards the entrance to the common room. Her mascara is under her eyes, and there's a fresh love bite on her neck.

"What are you doing here, Head Girl?" She asked.

I exhaled, "I need to speak with Regulus Black."

"You sound drunk."

"I am drunk," I said. "But I really need to speak with him. Can you let me in?"

Lucinda looks me up and down. "No."

I sighed in defeat, holding onto the wall as I got up from the floor.

"But I can send him out here," She continued.

I nodded, "Yes, that would be great. Thank you."

Lucinda shook her head, "Yeah, yeah. Just don't write me up for being out past curfew."

"I won't," I slurred. "I would be a fucking hypocrite."

Lucinda muttered the password, and the entrance to the Slytherin common room appeared, and she stepped into the passageway.

"I'll send him out," She said.

Before I could thank her again, the passageway sealed itself up and Lucinda disappeared.

Okay, now what. I can't just accuse him of being a Death Eater and demand that he shows me his arm.

I'm starting to regret this entire night. The shots of firewhiskey, leaving the safety of Gryffindor Tower. This whole thing was a bad idea.

It feels like minutes later when my entire head is swimming when the entrance opens once again and Regulus steps out.

"Meredith?" Regulus looks me up and down. "Fuck-, are you drunk?"

I slurred, "I am moderately functional."

"What's wrong?" He asked, stepping closer towards me.

"Nothing," I said. "I don't know."

Regulus was standing right in front of me now, looking down at me. His hair was damp, he smelled expensive, and he was wearing a gray jumper and plaid pajama pants.

"I got into a fight with my sister," I admitted.

It wasn't a lie. It just wasn't the whole truth.

"Oh-," Regulus replied. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Regulus exhaled loudly, his face softening when he looked at me. "Why are you here, Meredith?"

"I'm drunk and I just wanted to see you," I admitted, staring up at him.

He gave me a small smile. "While I'm happy to see you, how am I supposed to get you back to your dorm?"

"I can get back perfectly fine-"

"No, you can't," Regulus said. "You're on the verge of blacking out, Meredith."

I shrugged, leaning back against the wall. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay, really, it's okay," Regulus interrupted. "Come on, you can stay with me."

I raised an eyebrow, "Your roommates-"

"Are already sleeping. And the common room is empty."

I nodded slowly, "Yeah, okay."

Regulus muttered the password and the passageway opened up again. He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me into the common room.

I knew that I was drunk, but when I saw the Slytherin common room I thought for sure I had blacked out. The entire back wall was glass, giving a view of the Black Lake, and the things inside it. I'm pretty sure I saw a Grindylow swim by as Regulus led me to the staircase.

There was a couple in the common room, but they were so engrossed with each other's tongues that they didn't notice us stumble past.

Regulus led me up the stairs and opened the door to his dorm. He checked inside before opening it to let me in.

The curtains were drawn around all of his dorm mates beds, the room dark.

He had me sit down on the edge of his bed as he went through his dresser. Regulus handed me the dark blue jumper that he had been wearing on patrol a couple weeks ago.

"Here," He whispered, "Jeans can't be comfortable.

I took the jumper from him and quickly changed into it, taking off my jeans and top. Regulus turned around, pretending to look at something across the room.

When I was finished getting changed, the room was fuzzy and my eyes felt extremely heavy.

Regulus got under the covers and gestured for me. I laid beside him, resting my head on his chest. His heart was beating fast through his jumper.

He closed the curtains around his bed and got comfortable.

"Reg, I wanted to talk to you about something," I whispered.

He tilted his head to look at me. "Let's talk about it in the morning, yeah? We should go to sleep."

I nodded, "Yeah, okay."

Regulus's quick heartbeat was almost rhythmic as I closed my eyes, feeling completely exhausted. My brain began shutting down as I started to fall asleep, head resting on his chest.

Just as I was about to fall asleep I heard him whisper.

"It was always you."