Turn all the lights down now • [Sindri]

It was cold, even for an April night. Outside, late-night shoppers and those walking to bars or restaurants hurried through the windy avenues, clutching their cloaks and jackets close to their chests. Inside, however, one might think it was a hot summer night. That was the magic of magic, Dash thought, unsteadily pouring a shot of tequila for herself and a friend. It wasn’t just warm inside, it actually felt like summer in here. There had to be some sort of charm over the wooden floorboards or something. Dash placed the bottle down on the bench and tugged at her dress impatiently, waiting as her friend sliced a lime with her wand.

The brunette had been invited to this housewarming party only a few days ago, but had made every effort to be here, despite the short notice. Clemence and Darcy Perry were two people she’d known in school, and while they didn’t keep in close contact any more, they had once been close friends of hers. They’d married fairly recently. It seemed like it could be a late night – the beer was flowing and there were quite a few of her old school friends here. Dash wondered when Sindri would show up. She’d already asked Darcy if her ex had been invited.

“Come on, Clemence,” the brunette urged with a cheeky smile, speaking over the upbeat guitar music that was playing in the background. The two women tapped their shot glasses against each others’ and gulped the alcohol down. Anyone who knew Dash well would know that she’d had a couple of drinks already. Her flushed cheeks and bright smile gave her away. She wasn’t anywhere near drunk, no – the woman could hold her alcohol better than her small frame suggested – but she was relaxed, and it showed.

The girl bit into her assigned piece of lime, scrunching her face up at the taste of the alcohol as well as the sourness of the fruit in her mouth. She spat it out and poked her tongue out at her friend. Another couple of people joined the pair, but as Dash was about to answer one of their many questions (how was she, what was she doing these days etc.), she caught a glance of someone across the hall, in the loungeroom. Sindri. Had he just arrived? The woman’s hazel eyes stayed on his familiar figure for a moment, unsure as to whether he’d seen them yet or not. When he looked up, and their eyes met, her face broke into a bright smile. “Sin, do a shot with us,” she urged, waving him over to the kitchen bench, where she’d lined up a few tiny shot glasses filled with amber liquid.

"San...gio...what the hell...?" Sindri Trickett stumbled over the Italian word that danced across the deep red wine bottle in his hand in a flowing cursive font. Hazel eyes focused intently on the word before casting a glance down the vast collection in front of him. "Shit..."

The formalities of house warmings, admittedly, were lost on the young wizard who was currently wandering the aisles of the endless bottles of alcohol at his local market with hand steady on the back of his neck in exasperation. Darcy was easy -- a bottle of firewhiskey and his old house mate was set -- Clemence on the other hand was not so simple to figure out.

Sangiovese it was, Sindri decided as he gave a cursory once over of the rest of the bottles. If he had to struggle to pronounce one more name he would lose whatever shred of sanity he had left and he would certainly be even more late than he already was.

It wasn't a long journey from the market to his location, the wizard idly noted to himself as he weaved around strangers that fell somewhere along the spectrum of starting and ending their evening. Sindri wondered to himself where they were all headed with such precision, with the sense of urgency that seemed to plague the entire city. The Trickett, though, couldn't have been more of the opposite as he meandered through the crowd taking in every detail of his surroundings.

After quickly adjusting the buttons of his denim shirt, Sindri walked through the door of the bustling house warming to a cacophony of warm welcomes and hellos. Half of the crowd he recognized from Hogwarts and the other half were faces that he had never seen before. Just then it dawned on him that there was a chance that the most familiar face of all would be somewhere in between the two. Although he tried to avoid it, Sindri found himself searching for her.

Arden Dasher. Sindri's chest tightened in anticipation just as his eyes met with hers from across the room. It was like clockwork -- he thought of her and then there was smiling over at him as she had done countless times before. The juxtaposition of familiarity mixed with the obvious distance that came with their breakup was intoxicating and Sindri hadn't even had a sip of alcohol yet. Even during an embrace from the host, he couldn't break his gaze away from her own.

Sindri quickly gave Darcy his gift with a clap on the shoulder before heading over to Dash and Clemence, the smile on his face leading the way. It was an odd feeling to be finally feel normal around his ex who, for months he had lost many nights of sleep over, pouring over every detail of their relationship and its demise. It was as he approached the duo that Sindri realized that none of that mattered anymore. He wished her happiness. Nothing more, nothing less. 

"Clem, the place is lovely! Sindri embraced his old friend and haphazardly presented the bottle of wine to her, his woes of picking the right blend now the last thing on his mind. "Arden..." He turned to the petite brunette to wrap his arms around her, unaware of the face that their mutual friend was making to a few of their peers to the left.

"Tequila?! You two are mad, you know that?" The wizard shook his head in mock disapproval as he took the liberty to pass them their already poured shots, his gaze lingering on Arden yet again. "To... Hogwarts?" Sindri made a face before tossing back the amber liquid.

How long had it been, a year and a half? The brunette moved to sweep a loose strand of brown hair back from her face, but her hand froze mid-air as the action was interrupted. A quiet, surprised “Oh,” escaped Dash’s lips as Sindri pulled her in for a hug. The way their bodies met in an embrace was wildly familiar, she noted. Even after all this time.

“You still wear the same cologne,” she found herself commenting, her voice a little teasing and her eyes a little sentimental. She giggled, breaking whatever tension she’d created. “Sindri, tequila is the flavour of the night!” The group downed their drinks after a chorus of “Hogwarts!” and Dash screwed her face up once more, biting into the slice of lime she’d prepared.

She spat it out into her hand, smiling up at Sindri as she did so. The girl tossed it in the kitchen bin. As the others filed out of the kitchen, Dash grabbed the half-full tequila bottle off of the bench, wiggling it at Sindri with a cheeky smile. Dash was in a good mood. This was perhaps the first time in a very long time that seeing Sindri hadn’t sent her down a spiral of memories, filling her with angst and nostalgia. Perhaps she was actively blocking that out, but the brunette couldn’t see how that was a bad thing. This was fun. Why did it have to be more serious than that? “I think you should do another shot, because I’ve already done a couple,” she told her ex with a grave nod.

Dash poured yet again, but this time only a single shot sat by itself on the kitchen bench. She placed the bottle back down clumsily with a cute smile and poked the shot towards him with one finger. “Go on,” she urged. Dash leant back on the kitchen bench, smiling. She was beaming. “I don’t see you for months and months and boom…” the girl made actions like fireworks exploding with her hands, “… you’re there again. We just keep running into each other. Is the wizarding UK really this small?”

She mused all of this out loud, with an easy, lighthearted smile. The woman had thought being around school friends might be trying. Indeed, she’d felt a little anxiety coming here – what if she wasn’t successful enough? What if there were people here she hadn’t seen for years? But Dash had nothing to worry about. As soon as she’d arrived, things had been easy. Smooth as honey.

The same cologne. Sindri's face flushed momentarily, every fiber of his being aware of the musky scent from the bottle that Dash gotten him one of their last holidays as a couple. It was then that he recognized her tone. "Same bottle and all, would you believe it," He countered, the light banter of their mutual teasing likely only detectable between the two of the them. There was far too much history there for anyone else in the room to catch on.

It seemed the whole party had joined in on their cheers, loud and out of key 'to Hogwarts' chants rumbled throughout the rooms. Sindri followed suit of the two ladies and tossed his used lime to the bin to their right, his face still contorted from the harsh after taste of tequila.

"Another?!" Sindri caught the eye of the Dasher woman just as their mutual friend was pulled away for a group photo. Whether or not it was a strategic move on their friends' part was lost on the man who found himself tearing his gaze away from the brunette in front of him in disbelief. He couldn't even recall the last time he had seen her so relaxed, so happy.

"Apparently so," The wizard replied with a grin, his gaze slowly taking in the faces around him. "I suppose we were asking for it, this time?" He dared, raising an eyebrow. "Darcy and Clem's place and all," He mused. They had all been close at Hogwarts, it was no shock to bump into each other even after all the time that had passed. "It's good to see you," He added, the corner of his lips pulling up into a small smile.

Sindri watched with a smirk, clearly amused as Dash poked the glass full of alcohol his way. "I'm not taking this shot alone, Arden," He feigned a stern tone although he was unable to keep a straight face. He wasted no time to fill her glass. "Although I do believe you are missing a step, Miss Dasher," Hazel eyes shot around the kitchen for the necessary ingredients before spotting the salt on the other side of the kitchen. A quick flick of his wrist and the shaker was in his hand and ready for use.

"Salt," Sindri licked the spot between his thumb and pointer finger before sprinkling a bit of the white substance on his skin. Without thinking, he reached over to Dash's hand to raise it to her own mouth before he realized what he had done. "Sorry..." He removed his grip and watched carefully as she mirrored his actions. "Yeah, er, that," Sindri shot a final hesitant glance her way before he took her wrist more delicately this time and poured the salt on her skin.

"Cheers," The chestnut haired man held up his shot glass. "To?" His hazel eyes met hers again, this time with a hint of mischief that had not been there before. One thing was certain, it was going to be an interesting evening.