【 i don't mind your shadows,
'cause they disappear in the light, 】
— Sabrina Carpenter, Shadows

『𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄: 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐒𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐊𝐘』

     𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐘 that Slytherins have a party almost every night. But Fridays are the best and the worst. It's one of those nights that Solar gets to lose control, but she cannot fully lose control in the midst of wild, untrustworthy Slytherins crowding their common room. But to be fair, almost everyone is untrustworthy to her.

Aside from Aris, Legend, and Legacy.

Solar laid on one bed of the twin's dormitory, offering the 13-year-old twins her flask unmistakably filled with Firewhisky. Like Solar, the twins had to have a separate dorm for themselves given their own dragons taking up residency with them in their rooms. The two shared a dorm, already comfortable with one another. And if Aris was a Slytherin, Solar knew she would share a room with her.

But she's not.

"We're 13." Legacy pointed out, eyeing the flask Solar was dangling in front of their face.

Solar's reach slightly faltered at the realisation as she laid across the bed, her head on Legend's knee straightened under her. Perhaps her mind was becoming too foggy with the swirling effects of Firewhisky.

"I'd bite." The curly-haired boy reached for the flask, his senses awakening from the cool feel of the metal against his fingers. "I'm knackered. Maybe this ought to fire me up."

The eldest Dragonne allowed the boy to force some of the burning liquor down his throat as she contorted her face into a confused one.

"You're a third-year, what's got you all knackered?" Solar said, clearly forgetting what it felt like to be a third-year given that it had been three years ago.

"Granger. That fucking little Gryffindor know-it-all." Legend's anger issues earned him another trail of Firewhisky to run down his throat as he threw his head back with the flask. This Legend was completely different from the one that stood before Dumbledore earlier that same day. And the Dragonnes are already used to that.

Sensing that Legend refuses to elaborate further on the topic, Solar's semi-curious eyes turned to the sober Dragonne sitting on the edge of the same bed they're all sprawled out on.

Legacy rolled her bored eyes. "Granger bested him in a duel during Defence Against the Dark Arts class."

"She didn't best me, she cheated." Legend hissed after gulping down the alcohol, already feeling the effects rail him up. "I swear to Merlin, when I get my hands on that filthy Mudblood—"

"Breathe, Legend." Legacy cut him off, sensing that his breathing was turning into uneven, heavy pants. Legend's furious gaze snapped to his twin sister and slowly, the anger that was fueling the fiery boy like gasoline dissipated, recollecting his thoughts.

Solar took it upon herself to snatch the flask from Legend's grasp before she sat upright. "That's enough of that for you." She pushed herself off the bed, her knees wobbling as she made her way toward the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" The blonde twin said, pushing up from propping herself with her elbows to sitting upright.

"Anywhere but here." Solar slurred, as she exited the dorms and out of the common room.

Her firewhisky drunk self stumbled through the corridor of the Dungeons, her feet bare with the absence of her school shoes and knee high socks, her uniform blouse and skirt rumpled, her Slytherin necktie tied loose around her collar, and her sandy-blonde hair missing that silky shine and replaced by tangled waves.

She twirled around, a drunken smile creeping onto her lips as a giddy giggle rumbled in her throat. The inebriated girl let her feet take her anywhere, depending on the complete mystery of it all to entertain her as she explored the corridors of the school alone after hours. It was dim and quiet, not at all what it looks like in the daytime. It was...peaceful and eerie at the same time, comforting and suspicious, too.

Solar almost tripped and fell down the stairs, a genuinely surprised whispery chuckle escaping her as she relived the thought of dying by falling down the stairs. Oh, the scandal it would bring. A member of one of the most powerful families in the wizarding world that are guarded by their dragons, died by tripping down the stairs.

She laughed at the thought.

"Solar?"

Her gaze was quite blurry, but she was still able to decipher who it was through the sound of his voice.

Cedric was finishing the same book Solar encouraged him to read earlier that day, the one that contained the history of her family. He was about 9 pages left before he finished it when he heard slurred mumbling and saw the sluggish girl explore the Library barefoot.

"Cedric?" Solar said, surprised that he was here—or was she surprised that she was here? Of all the places her feet could take her, they took her to the Library? "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

The boy flickered his gaze between the Slytherin girl and the book in front of him. "I'm finishing the book you told me to read."

If Solar wasn't intoxicated right now, her creativity would urge her to colourfully insult the Hufflepuff. But instead, she could only scoff.

"You're disgustingly obedient, it's hilarious." She said, hiccuping right after she got the words out and almost vomiting. With her eyes closed, she made her way toward the table he was using, only to walk straight to a chair and nearly throw her off balance if it weren't for Cedric's quick Seeker skills catching her just in time before dropping to the floor.

"Sod off." Solar tried to push Cedric away but the boy only held on to her tighter seeing as she seemed to have trouble functioning her legs. He was the only one holding her up.

With gentle steps, he brought her to the same chair she bumped into and sat her there, leaning her against the backrest. But as soon as he let go of her, the girl decided to slump forward and let her head and arms drop flimsily against the top of the table. Cedric could only shake his head.

Her right cheek was pressed against the table, her arms sprawled beside her, one of her hands still clasping the flask now empty, the only evidence of firewhisky remained on the stench that hovered on the flask itself.

"I suppose you had a fun party?" Cedric deduced while he sat back into his seat on her left and adjacent to hers since she was sitting on the chair that was placed on the edge of the table.

"They had a fun party. I had one of my own." Solar said, propping a hand up to support her head as she lifted it and faced the Hufflepuff.

Her dazed gaze then fell to the open book in front of them, the ink-kissed pages detailing the events of every generation of her family that came before her. She had every word on the book memorised since she was already reading it from the first time she began to learn how to read. She could recite it in her sleep...perhaps she even does say it in her sleep. That's how deeply embedded it was in her complex, spiteful mind.

"And you? Do you find my family history fun to read?" There's that familiar venom in her voice that Cedric vividly recognises. He was beginning to think that she was a completely different person under the influence of firewhisky. As it turns out, not so much.

"Not really, actually." Cedric admitted, immediately catching Solar's full attention.

"Interesting." Her tired eyes managed to narrow at the Hufflepuff. "Most people are captivated by our oh-so-majestic history. Which is why plenty dreams of becoming a part of it."

"There are some fascinating bits here and there. But I can't help but find it..." The Hufflepuff boy trailed, reluctant to continue his words as his eyes flickered to the focused Dragonne.

"Go on, Diggory." Solar told him, anticipating his personal judgement on their family.

"...sad." He didn't choose a fancier word like depressing, miserable, or downright despairing. Instead, he chose a much simpler and more common one. A single word with a single syllable. Sad. And somehow, that felt a lot more straightforward...more hurtful.

"All these traditions, expectations, and rules, it's all ridiculously outdated and overwhelmingly unrealistic. It weighs down a person. No wonder you're so glum." Cedric said as he fixed his gaze on the inks that resulted from a curious dance of someone's quill. He managed to lift his head and settle his eyes on the girl. "No offence."

"A lot taken. But understandable." She simply answered.

Then a pregnant silence hung in the air of the Library. Cedric noticed how Solar was drifting off to a sweet slumber multiple times before she woke herself up, fighting her sleepiness. He took it upon himself to make it easier for her to fight her sleep as he broke the silence between them.

"So, are you? Sad?" He asked.

It may be a silly question, one that would be considered prying. But, despite knowing Solar for almost six years now, he still barely knew her. All he knows about her is that she keeps to herself most of the time. She loves her sister and feels protective of her. She has a trauma that influences every decision she has. And...that's about it.

Which was why Cedric was so interested in knowing silly things about her such as hee likes and dislikes, pretending that it would be useful for their project.

"I may be suffering from the dizzying consequences of my decision to drink firewhisky without having anything to eat, but I'm not that intoxicated to pour out my feelings to you." The Dragonne responded. Well, she's awake enough to still be her normal, guarded self. Cedric smiled at that.

"Yes, just enough to wander into my company." Cedric boldly uttered, earning a tired scoff to leave the girl's lips.

"Don't flatter yourself." Said the Slytherin girl, shifting and pushing herself further on the hard wood surface of the table. It must be uncomfortable. But, Solar made it look like she was resting on clouds. "I could've wandered into anyone else's company."

"I'm glad to be lucky then." He whispered, still a bit loud enough for her to hear. However, he didn't receive a response. Instead, he heard a faint exhale alongside a soft whimper. The sound of her finally giving in to a deep slumber.

Cedric smiled before standing up and taking off his dress robe, engulfing her with it to keep the cold from crawling at her skin in spite of the liquor already warming her up.

Then he went back to his seat, took one last look at the girl before continuing to read the rather tragic lives of the Dragonnes.

.・゜゜・

Solar felt a bittersweet sensation wash over her as she jolted awake at the sound and feel of heavy weight dropping onto the surface where her head and arms rested. She wanted to sleep more, like she wasn't fully satisfied by the hours she slept. But she's also glad she's awoken from her recurring nightmare.

A protesting groan rumbled in Solar's dry throat as she rose from hunching over what seems to be a table. Her confused, dazed state made it harder for her to piece together what was happening even though she was staring at Madam Pince in the face.

"What exactly are the two of you doing here?" Madam Pince's usual strict tone strained the girl's ears.

The two of us.

Solar whipped her gaze over to where Madam Pince was flickering her gaze between and breathed in the sight of a morning-spelled Cedric. His rumpled, caramel hair fell like untamed short waves yet effortlessly beautiful. His cheeks are a bit flushed, adding a sweet colour to his ethereal features that rivalled that of Greek statues. His eyes still held that slumber glaze over those bluish-grey orbs, like he still hadn't come completely to his senses.

Unlike Solar.

Her eyes widened at the realisation and began flickering her erratic gaze between the half-awake Hufflepuff and the red-faced Madam Irma Pince.

"Detention for the both of you." Madam Pince hissed at them. Then deducted 10 points each from both Hufflepuff and Slytherin House, making Solar slump back into her seat and groan.

Good thing it was a Saturday. If she was late for another class and her parents caught the news, she'd never hear the end of it. She then pushed herself to her feet and gave Pince a scowl and an eye roll before slipping on her dress robe and walking out of there. She had managed to charm herself with a pair of shoes because the last thing she wants is to walk around the castle barefooted and earning muddled glances from the students.

But for some reason, she still received those stares as she walked down the halls with the intention of going back to her dorm—occasionally tripping on the length of her dress robe that has somehow become a bit longer on her. Her eyebrows furrowed at the looks and whispers that they were giving no effort to conceal. And her curiosity was alarming. What was it about her that made them look like they're gossiping about her?

Apparently, that answer has to wait as her exhaustion overpowers her curiosity.

After a few stairs to climb down on and a few corners to turn to, Solar had finally reached the Dungeon corridors, she whispered the password under her breath and entered.

She was greeted by a sea of stunned expressions and lurking eyes.

"Salazar Fucking Slytherin, what the hell have you done?" Legacy was the first to pierce through the uncomfortable silence. Her question seemed to have confused her even more.

"I think the more appropriate question would be who have you done?" An amused grin tugged on Legend as he eyed her down.

"I think the more appropriate question would be, what?" Solar responded. Her gaze flickered between the shocked faces of every Slytherin present in the common room, all gazes fixed on her.

"Solar, you're wearing a Hufflepuff robe." Legacy finally pointed out.

The eldest Dragonne felt like she stopped breathing. She felt like freezing water had poured all over her and when she glanced down on her body, she was mortified.

Her dress robe. Black and...fucking yellow. Her dress robe—No, Cedric's dress robe was on her and she walked around the fucking castle with the fucking robe on and basically announcing to the fucking students that she spend the fucking night, with the fucking Hufflepuff Prince.

"Fuck." Solar muttered, breathless. And then she got her voice back. "Fucking, fucking fuck!"

She stomped out of the common room and towards the stairs, slamming the door once she had reached her room.

Legend then turned to his twin sister. "And they say I have anger issues."

.・゜゜・

Expect a lot of drunk Solar in this book <3