May 26th 27th, 1894, Just After Midnight — Hogwarts Classroom
Coming Out Ball

"Four bottles of bubbles, as promised, lads!" Rex announced gleefully, using his rear to open the cracked door, given he bore an armload of champagne.

It had been surprisingly easy to abscond with the alcohol, given this was technically a school function, but the majority of the attendees had descended to the shores of the Black Lake to watch the seventh years sail off into the night, leaving primarily children (the fifth years) and the indifferent (or drunk) in their wake. Besides, Abraxas Crabbe wore a prefect's badge on his dress robes; [Head Boy] and Miss Thompsett were gone—only professors were likely to question him, and they had been rather occupied by the sendoff. It had been the perfect opportunity.

"Cheers," the Hufflepuff declared, having divested himself of three of the bottles, keeping the fourth, his prize, in hand, "to our time at the top of the castle hierarchy!"

Invitational to the Sixth Boys:
Paxton Fudge Nicodemus Dursley Nicodemus Zabini Sirius Black

  

The Coming Out Ball had been a fun endeavour but it had also not taken much to convince him to join the other boys. He had danced some so it was nice to be able to sit down. He grinned as Crabbe returned with the bottles of champagne. He took one of the bottles proffered and returned the prefects toast. "I wonder if any of you three will be named Head Boy," Paxton wondered, amused at the irony and the fact he was the only non-prefect present at the moment.

  

---

set by Bee!

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings

---

Nico accepted the bottle of champagne warily, like he was holding onto it for someone else and worried he might drop it. He'd had a few sips of alcoholic drinks before but nothing substantial, not a whole bottle. Not that he had to drink the whole bottle necessarily, but it seemed like that was the suggested serving size since they apparently weren't decanting it. He didn't want to get into trouble for having or drinking alcohol or - Merlin forbid - being intoxicated, but the atmosphere made it hard to resist going along with it all.

Head Boy?! He couldn't see him being Head Boy, if anything because he was convinced Black would be Head Boy - his father was the Headmaster, after all. Surely this was the one year no one had to wonder? As much as he might feel honored to be made Head Boy, Nico highly doubted he would be singled out of all the other boys in his year. Well, I doubt it'll be me, he offered, chuckling amiably. He couldn't be the only one thinking Black was a foregone conclusion, but he didn't want to say as much outright, he wasn't close enough to the Slytherin to feel confident it would go down well.

---

Outfit | Tag: | Notes:

  

"It'll be Black," Rex answered with an eyeroll, "or P.B. may well explode."

His words were good-natured enough, but Abraxas had always assumed the headmaster's son would claim the Head Boy's badge, just as he had (rightly) assumed his friend would be named prefect when the time came. Any other outcome seemed laughable, really; the Hufflepuff did not think that Headmaster Black could abide the blow to his pride if Rex or Nico managed to wrangle the honour.