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Slytherin was the House of Ambition. Cunning, clever and resourceful, they were seen as the troublemakers of Hogwarts, slithering around the school, sleek, cool and aloof.Which didn’t exactly bond well with the sight of most of Slytherin House lying across the various surfaces of the Hospital Wing, half of them silent, half of them giggling quietly, and all of them black-out drunk.
Madam Pomfrey was well used to nighttime visitors - homesick First Years, Third Years sick to their stomachs after a Hogsmeade trip, overworked Fifth and Seventh Year students on the verge of mental breakdown.What Madam Pomfrey was not used to, was what appeared to be every Slytherin student, excluding the First Years, being dragged to her Hospital absolutely sloshed at two in the morning.
She’d taken a good thirty seconds, as more and more were dragged, carried, supported and shoved into the room, just to breathe, allowing the various Professors who’d likely been the ones to break up the party, to deposit the last of the drunken children in, and shoo the giggling First Years back to bed.
It was an open secret that alcohol invariably made its way into the school, and even more of one that House parties were a regular occurrence - Merlin , some teachers would even join in, on the unspoken agreement that the lower years would be sent to bed sober, and that everyone else had to be alert and upright the morning after.
In the few cases that the party had gone too far, she might end up with a giggling Hufflepuff, or a conked out Gryffindor in her room the next morning (or in the case of a certain quartet a couple of decades ago, two Gryffindors loudly declaring their love, while the object of said affections sat in the corner and pretended they didn’t exist).
It was a rare case indeed to find a Slytherin in her care - they were self-sufficient, for the most part, with Severus Snape providing the majority of healing potions to treat sickness, as well as sobering potions for the hangover the next morning. It helped as well that the majority of them had been drinking from a young age - Pureblood gatherings usually involved alcohol, and plenty of it, and they would see nothing remiss in handing a five year old a glass of watered down wine.
So having fifty or so of them all at once, was very strange indeed.
“What on earth happened?” she asked a more-dead-inside-than-normal looking Severus, as she summoned a stack of inflatable air beds for the students who hadn’t claimed a bed already.
“From what I have gathered from the more sober among them, it appears to have been a drinking game that got out of hand.” replied the man wearily.
“I’ve seen my fair share of drinking games in my time, and never have I seen this many inebriated at once. What game were they playing? Drink whenever someone takes a breath?” she retorted sharply, as a bawdy song broke out in one corner of the room, Blaise Zabini using language he would never use around his mother.
Severus sighed, “You’ll see for yourself in a moment.”
As if on cue, a very haughty and disdainful voice rang through the room, the impression incredibly accurate given that the student in question currently was unable to stand, “Pottah!”
The entire room erupted in a wave of giggles, several people calling out ‘drink!’ in various stages of slurred speech.
“Ah,” she said, “I see. Well, that would certainly explain the amount of alcohol they’ve all consumed. And why Mr Malfoy isn’t present.”
“Indeed,” replied Severus dryly, “I had gathered from conversations with Lucius that my godson spoke frequently of the boy, but I was… unaware it was to this degree.”
Poppy sighed, “Well, there’s not much I can do for them currently, other than keep an eye on them so they don’t choke on their own vomit when the hangover hits, and force them to drink as much water as I can. I suggest they have a pass for classes tomorrow, as frankly everyone in here is as drunk as a skunk, and will likely not be moving for another day or so.”
“Damn Pottah, with his messy hair and emerald eyes.”
The entire room erupted again at the slurred statement, at least three of them falling off their beds and onto the floor.
Poppy sighed, “You can head back to bed, Severus, if you wish. I’ll take care of them from here.”
“That would be appreciated, Poppy. If you require a Pepper-Up Potion to make it through the night I have a rather strong one I brewed last week..”
“Thank you Severus, but-”
“Thanks Pottah .”
“... I’ll take it, thank you.”
—--------------------------
It took precisely four hours for Harry to realise what was so wrong with Hogwarts when he went down for Breakfast.
There were practically no Slytherins. Anywhere.
He checked with all his friends, both younger and older, but all of the Slytherins in their year didn’t turn up to class either, and the corridors seemed to be practically barren of green-ties.
It became the most obvious at lunch time, where aside from who he assumed were the First Years, given how small they were, and a perplexed-looking Malfoy, the Slytherin table was empty.
All the teachers refused to answer questions on where the missing pupils had gone, Professor McGonagall going so far as to threaten detention to anyone who asked more than once during the span of a lesson.
As the day went on, Harry became more and more antsy - what had happened? Were they dead? Expelled? Had something happened in Pureblood society and they all had to run back home?
He was at the point where he was even ready to ask Malfoy himself, and would have, if the blonde boy didn’t look even more confused than the rest of the school combined. He apparently didn’t know either where all his friends had gone, and had been wandering around the school looking slightly lost.
It all came to a head at dinner.
After the plates had disappeared, Dumbledore stood up at the front of the room, clapping his hands for attention.
“Good evening students,” he said in a raspy voice, “As you may have noticed, we are missing almost a quarter of our number tonight.”
Indeed, aside from once again the First Years and Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin table was empty.
“It has come to my attention that the Slytherin’s partook in a ‘drinking game’ last night, where they all drank when a particular phrase was said. Madam Pomfrey has assured me that they are all perfectly well, and have been sleeping off their hangovers in the Hospital Wing today. From today, I will be banning all drinking games across the school-”
A groan rang out across the room, and many bitter eyes turned to the greatly diminished Slytherins.
“- with significant consequences for all caught with excessive alcohol. Thank you students.”
In the silence following this statement, it just so happened that a certain voice chose exactly the wrong moment to speak, his voice clearly heard across all four tables.
“This is all Potter’s fault.” grumbled Malfoy, looking very bitter.
Up at the staff table, Snape took a shot.