Template adapted from something I saw Emily do. <3

Cursed snow. Everett had spent an absolutely thrilling week, alone in James' house, while his chum was at the hospital, apparently up to no good. Judging by the dramatic letter he'd gotten, which Ev found entirely comedic in and of itself, but had no idea what it meant, he could only presume something had happened in the week they hadn't seen one another.

Finding himself utterly and completely bored, it took a lot of self restraint not to head down to James' wine cellar and empty it of its contents. While the house was stocked well with food and drink, drinking by himself, now that he was certain he wasn't going back to Hogwarts, seemed far too pitiful. He was trying to be optimistic about things, he had a lot that was now open to him. Lots of possibilities from here on out. He could find a new job, maybe regain his transient lifestyle. He would hate to admit it, but he'd grown attached to Hogsmeade as his home in the short time he'd been back and didn't intend to vanish any time soon. Definitely not when his bud seemed strung out over something now.

James had been exceptionally good to him, letting him stay here though he had no job and no idea of what to do with his life. He was thinking it may be time for something a little more adventurous, but liked the roots he had here. His best mates were here, even though half of them were now stuck on the romantic bandwagon of holy matrimony, he was sure they'd get tired of his antics sooner or later, but for now he was content, he just had to find a job.

That was the main reason for keeping away from all of Jimmy's oh so tempting stock of booze. Instead, he was a good house guest, keeping the fire going so the house stayed warm if James ever made it home from the hospital. Everett entertained himself by tuning and polishing his broom so he could store it. He wouldn't be needing it all that much now that he wasn't teaching. In a move that was completely our of character and driven by pure boredom, he cleaned the house, dusting and sweeping, making sure the dishes were done. If he had been in his own home, he wouldn't have bothered, but he was particularly fond of living her at the moment, so it was best to keep James happy.

The days seemed to get longer and longer, especially since he was running out of things to do. He'd even taken a book from James' library, a quidditch one of course, but reading had never, ever been something he'd done of his own free will. In fact, he was sitting at his mate's desk reading when the sound of another voice startled him.

"Ev, I'm home. Where's the booze?"

"Exactly where you left it." He called, making his way from the room to find his friend. Minus a few drinks of course, he hadn't completely abstained from it. "How's the hospital. It's good to see your ugly face." He joked, finding him finally, a giant goofy grin on his face. Merlin he'd missed people.

Template adapted from something I saw Emily do. <3

"Gotta keep my options open." Everett said without flinching at his mate's sour attitude. He had to say after the letter and a whole week at the hospital he'd be worried if James wasn't a bit grumpy. He seemed extra grumpy, but Ev wasn't going to hold that against him. "I'm not very good at much you know." He laughed, following James through the house. "I've gotta figure out of cleaning is something I can do, and hey look at that." He kept joking. Ev had never been in debt to a good guy like James, so he was trying to keep things even. The guy was doing him a huge favor, letting him live in his house while he was unemployed.

"I didn't exactly know when you were going to be home." He laughed again. "Otherwise I would have had dinner on the table and a large glass of whiskey ready to go." It was as if they were married. What a completely amusing and miserable thought. Were they that sad? No women in their lives? Well James had two in fact, and Everett had... several. None that were consistent anyway.

Watching James open a brand new bottle and drain half of it in one long draft, Ev merely raised his eyebrow, leaning against the kitchen counter, arms crossed against his chest. Apparently he should have met his mate at the door with two bottles of something, that way he would have at least gotten something. This was unusual behavior for James. The man liked to drink, but socially, he wasn't quite the alcoholic Everett was and rarely emptied bottles of whiskey on his own. Something was up and Ev was sure he was probably going to find out what.

Or maybe not just yet. "I think I would have rather been at the hospital. At least there's cute medi-witches there. Your house is very boring when there's only one occupant." He chuckled, amused at the way James held onto the bottle; like a lifeline. "Entertaining myself isn't as easy at it used to be." Ha, let him take that however he wanted to. In all reality Everett had done more cleaning and reading in the past week than in his entire life. His brother would be proud of him. "I'd ask how yours was, but I think I get the general idea." Cocking his head to the side just a bit, he really was curious to find out just what had set James off.

Template adapted from something I saw Emily do. <3

Still avoiding the subject which was bothering him, James went on about how the house really was big and how if it were smaller, he wouldn't come out as much, which Ev knew was a lie. Or an over exaggeration anyway. He was pretty sure their drinking habits would be very similar, no matter what size Jimmy's house was. A wife and kids at home, Ev wasn't so sure. While his mate claimed he was a solid drinking buddy and the two were practically attached at the hip on a good night out, he figured once James settled down that things would change. It wasn't something he could hold against his friend. Simply because Everett didn't really believe in marriage, didn't mean he would begrudge his friends who chose to enter into holy matrimony. He wouldn't mind being an uncle though, that could be funny. They had already lost Anders a little, and Percy now too, but Percy had never been a completely regular drinking buddy. Again, Ev couldn't hold it against either one of them, they were newlyweds after all, there were more important things to be done than go out with the boys for a drink.

Finally James came out with it, along with draining the bottle and Everett had to wonder if his friend would need to be carried to his room before long. In all honesty he hadn't seen that coming. No, he expected that somebody had died or something. James kissing his intern hadn't even crossed his mind. Ev didn't even know about an attraction between the two. "Yes, you've told me about Felicity." It had mostly been drunk ramblings in which Ev was not in shape to really pay attention, but he had figured that James was just bragging about her talents. Little did he know James was going all googly eyed at her.

Then there was Alice. That was a tight situation indeed. Everett knew that his two friends despite their engagement, were often at odds, but he had hoped they'd figure it out. He couldn't imagine either one of them seeing anybody else. Unfortunately, even though Everett was a man of few morals, he knew James was and based on that, he knew that decision to write Alice and break the engagement must have been very painful.

Unsure of what to say, he gave James a minute. "Well mate, that's rough. You know I'm miserable at that stuff so I can't offer any anecdotes or advice." He shrugged, reaching up into the cupboard to grab another bottle, an open one, about half-way through. Taking a long swig himself before passing it over, he leaned once again on the counter, resuming his previous position. "I'd say I'm sorry, but that would be like a smack in the face," He smirked. "What did Alice have to say?"

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Everett's question was followed up by a rapping at James' door.
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<br>The holidays were mostly hell for Anders. Who would have thought working for the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes was a good idea? The Department and its employees had been made responsible for diffusing the snowy disaster that befell the poor town of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. At first, the crew attempted to vanish the snow from the streets with vanishing spells, for heat spells would only cause ice to form under the unstopping snow. Once realizing their efforts to be fruitless, the department turned to investigate how the snow was multiplying at dangerous levels. As some people stayed outside to assist denizens in trouble, which was what Anders was assigned to do, the rest headed back indoors to their warm, cozy desks to find the solution to what seemed to be a grand Geminio spell that went utterly awry. The theory which proved correct was that the enchanted barrier which guarded the city was somehow tampered with and tainted by a powerful Geminio curse by some capable prankster. There were several leads as to who was the culprit, but with the snow storm seizing up the city the way it did, the investigation was practically halted for the time being. Had Anders found the prankster himself, he might have strangled the guy. Anders was rather displeased working double shifts in the snow storm, but Florence's reminder of the Christmas spirit kept Anders warm enough to provide assistance for people who really needed help this holiday.
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<br>When the holiday wasn't absolutely terrible and cold, it had been somewhat pleasant for Anders. After a hard days work, Florence was there to take care of the almost frost-bitten fellow. Anders took the dangerous opportunities to return home after his shifts despite the treacherous weather, which only added to his frigidly cold work day by having to destroy the constant replenishing snow boundary coming between him and his house. On almost every occasion he had to enter through the second story window after clearing enough snow to safely enter.
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<br>By Christmas Eve night, the jinx was finally discovered and disarmed, which was probably the greatest gift Anders and the rest of the town could have been given. Anders spent Christmas morning vanishing snow again, only to return late at night for his Christmas dinner. It was fortunate that his lovely wife was so considerate; she even had a wonderfully hot Christmas meal ready for him.
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<br>Coming home to his first Christmas with his wife was a wonderful experience--plenty of food and mirth for themselves, all alone in their new enormous house. Anders had provided many gifts for his darling to open, including new linens, jewelry, dresses, and a hat or two. He was rather pleased with his gifts to her, especially since she seemed very pleased with them herself. Anders had hung copious amounts of mistletoe, which he had purchased more than a week ago, in every room of the house to further woo and cherish his wife, while also providing her an intimate gift that kept on giving throughout the holiday. Love and Christmas spirit hung everywhere in the air in the Howland home, and elevated their spirits despite the snow storm that kept them apart for what seemed to be an eternity. While the weather outside was frightful, the fire was so very delightful.
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<br>The effects of the 'after Christmas snow clean-up' were now being exhumed from the frosty depths by the Ministry; the snow had died down (but was still snowing normally), and people other than Ministry employees were now assisting in the snow's removal. However, even though the snow levels were starting to return to normal, the damages unearthed by its removal were more difficult to deal with than just clearing snow. Damaged houses and injured and sick people were around almost every corner, and it was taking much time to mend and mitigate these issues now plaguing the town. While most upper class citizens enjoyed their holidays, the middle and lower classes had taken some big tolls from the storm, and parts of the Ministry were working at full steam to alleviate the damage.
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<br>Let's just say Anders was about to receive a significant holiday bonus for his services. This pleased Anders very much, but for all the time spent outdoors helping people left him fatigued by the beginning of the new year. Once things had finally settled down, the Ministry was about to give Anders and most of the employees of his department some holiday time off.
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<br>This then leads us to the rapping sound upon James' door.
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<br>Anders had made his way to see his friends to inquire on their health. Much time had passed since he had last seen his friends. Last time Anders recalled seeing James or Everett was on that night they got trashed at the Hog's Head. Much had happened since then, and now with the storm gone, it was time to diffuse with the company of friends. Even though Anders approached the property uninvited, he assumed James would be pleased to see him holding two wrapped gifts in the shape of bottles, each one secured in the crooks of his arms. Hopefully Everett was OK, since discovering Everett's resignation, Anders had lost track of his good friend. Anders certainly intended to ask James if he knew Ev's whereabouts. All in all, Anders had hoped his friends did not receive a fate as horrible as some he had seen over the holiday.
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<br>Anders knocked on the door, hoping James was home. It was after hours, and Anders had just finished his last day at work before his holiday break. At this point Anders was feeling like a zombie, as if the cold had taken away some of his life. He had hoped the medicine he held in his hands would help warm the frost that had congealed onto his soul. Florence was a great help through Anders' obstacles, but right now he needed to be comforted by something a bit different--the knowledge that his friends were OK.

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tag: Lynn and Bee <3 | outfit: Heavy coat + vest, work pants, undershirt, and other winter accouterments | notes: Brofest!<br/>
made by Emily exclusively for Charming</div></div></center>[/dohtml]

James merely nodded at Everett's words; he hadn't really expected advice. There wasn't anything to do. He'd done all of the damage and as much of the clean-up as could reasonably be done for the situation, so now the only thing left to do was drink. Drink, and maybe die. James wouldn't have been at all opposed to crawling into a hole and dying at the end of the night if it spared him from having to see Felicity give him the cold shoulder again.

James received the other bottle like a child being handed its favorite teddy bear, clutching it to him rather than taking a drink. It was more important, for the moment, to have something in his hands; the alcohol he'd just ingested would hit him soon enough and then he could measure whether it was important to drink the rest of this bottle or not. He didn't answer immediately when Everett asked what Alice had to say, unsure how to answer. He wasn't really sure how to interpret her letter, in any case, so it was hard to relay its contents to Everett.

He was saved from having to answer by a knock at the door. James tensed, as if hearing something from an Edgar Allen Poe story, some nightmarish noise breaking into his life and threatening his sanity. Who could possibly be at the door? Fixated as he was on his own problems, only ridiculous answers occurred to him: it was Alice, ready to demand an explanation for the break off; it was her brother Oxford about to beat him for making a fool of their family; it was Felicity's brothers--all sixteen of them, or whatever there were--ready to lynch him for impugning their sister's honor.

Still holding the bottle, as if this would protect him from whoever was at the door, he stalked through the rooms back to the front room and peered through the tiny looking-glass in the center of the door. A distorted blond head was there, although too close to see anything other than the hair color and a vague sense that there was some skin beneath it, a brief glimpse of a totally distorted face before being swallowed by winter-wear. Oh, god. What if it was Felicity? He couldn't think why she would have tracked him down (or even how), but suddenly he was convinced it could be no one else.

Steeling himself, he threw open the door. It wasn't Felicity. It wasn't even a girl. It was Anders, with that stupid grin he always wore and a few bottles tucked under his arms.

"Anders," James said, feeling as if something had just knocked the wind out of him. "What are you doing here? Did Ev tell you?" He didn't think he would have; Ev hadn't really known what was wrong before James had come home just recently, and why would he have invited Anders to share in James' pity-party not knowing what the subject matter was? But here he was, and certainly had come equip for the night, by the looks of it.

Shaking the thought off, James took a step back, pulling the door back with him. "Come in, I suppose," he said a bit grimly. Remembering that he had a bottle, he took another sip as Anders entered, then quickly closed the door behind him, closing his warm house off from the snow. "Ev's in the kitchen," he continued, hollowly, and started shuffling off in that direction, still nursing his bottle.

Ev was out of his comfort zone at the moment. He didn't do feelings and emotions; he did lust and that was about it. He had no idea what James was going through, though it was obviously distressing. That right there was why Everett avoided those kinds of things at all costs, it just wasn't worth it to him. Fortunately, he was saved by a knock at the door. He just shrugged, though James hadn't asked him if he knew who it was.

Ev automatically feared the worst; that it was either Alice of Felicity at the door. Girls were so over dramatic and unpredictable, it was actually scary. He could totally see Alice showing up on James' doorstep, furious and demanding answers. If that was the case, Everett would retreat to his room and drink until he passed out. It would be considered abandonment in the highest degree, but he doubted his friend would want him around anyway. The look on James' face before he went to answer the door plainly said that he was thinking the same thing and for sanity's sake, Ev hoped somebody had the wrong address or was lost or something.

He waited, apprehensive, in the kitchen as his friend went to see who it was, leaning against the counter, trying to look casual, but ready to spring at any moment. His reflexes were still good, too many years of quidditch for it to be any other way, but they had saved his ass on many occasions.

Listening intently to see if he could hear anything from the other room, but before he could really get a good listen, he heard footsteps and was unsure of whether or not to retreat. Lucky for them though, it was Anders with his typical grin and some extra liquor.

Excellent.

Everett really had no idea how to handle this version of James, so he figured that having a little back up was greatly appreciated. Otherwise the two of them would just end up drinking themselves into a stupor and passing out in the living room. While Everett had no problems with that, it probably wasn't the best solution for the problem. Then again, he had no alternative either. Having Anders there would balance things out. Perhaps James would explain to him and Anders, the true romantic would have some words of wisdom. Or, James might let it go for the moment, avoiding explaining the situation again. Not that Everett had gotten all of the juicy details, but he'd gotten enough to know that James had managed to ruin two 'relationships' in the matter of twenty-four hours, which Ev was pretty sure was a record in their group of friends. Ev messed things up all of the time, but they were meaningless things, this had substance to it, which was why he was clueless as to how to help.

Skipping Dustin; just jump back in whenever you have time.

James walked past Everett, going immediately, as soon as he entered the kitchen, to the little kitchen table. Supposedly for breakfast, though he very seldom ate breakfast, and when he did, generally didn't bother to sit down to eat it. Instead, the table had become the any meal table, and the dining room was almost completely unused. The last time it had even been opened, someone had chosen to sleep there after Percival's bachelor party. No one ate there; it was the kind of place you needed a group of people to feel comfortable in, and since James didn't have--any probably would never have--a family, it was superfluous.

So James went to the breakfast table and dropped into one of the chairs, only mildly interested in whether Anders was following behind him or not. Ev was still at the counter, and that was fine; tonight was only a little bit about company. Mostly, it was about booze. He'd had to go without it through the entire storm, and... well, it hadn't gone over well.

He took another drink. "Should I even be so cut up about this?" he said to anyone or no one, forgetting that Anders probably had no idea what he was talking about. "I mean, it's not like you could call what Alice and I had a relationship. I don't even know if she's sad about it or not. Isn't that sort of fucked up?" His thoughts were becoming more scattered already. He probably wasn't going to leave the table for a while. If at all. He didn't have to work tomorrow--he and all of the other healers who'd been stuck at the hospital had a few days off, while the ones who had been stuck at home got the heavy-duty shifts. Which served them right, really, for bailing in the first place.

James didn't feel very benevolent towards anyone at the moment; here he had his two closest friends and they were just barely tolerable, and anyone that he usually got along with was downright detestable. He probably regarded himself in the worse light of all.

"Ugh. I fucked upppp," he moaned, putting his head down on the table and letting his words slur unabashedly. Realizing how pathetic he probably sounded, and looked, he propped his head up on his hand. "I'm gonna stop talking now," he said, taking another sip. "Hopeless anyway."

As James trudged back in, Anders in tow, Everett watched as his mate flopped down in one of the kitchen chairs, before passing a helpless look at Anders. What the hell were they supposed to do with him? Everett had absolutely no idea what to say. He literally had no experience with heartbreak. He kept it that way on purpose, exactly for the reason sitting in front of him. Of course he'd had a rough time when his dad passed away, but this wasn't exactly the same and he'd been a teenager at the time. His mother on the other hand had lost it and he sincerely hoped James would eventually be able to pull himself together. Everett could not be the responsible on in this trio.

"Anders, good to see you mate." He said before James started in on his ranting. He was really, really happy to have some backup here. The look on his face clearly said HELP ME. Maybe Anders would have some words of wisdom for James because Ev had absolutely nothing.

He wondered if he should explain for James? Perhaps, then again he wasn't exactly sure that James wanted his business shared. Then again, it was just Anders. "James had a rough few days at the hospital." That was pretty vague, but it left it open for James to pipe up if he actually wanted to share. Though Ev figured he should share anyway. "And not just with the patients." There, that was still vague, but at least intriguing. "On the other hand I had a very relaxing week of nothing." He grinned at that, knowing both of his mates had very hectic weeks.

"I'm glad you brought some extra liquor. Really." He emphasized the really. Really, really glad. The way James was going they'd be out in the next half hour. Of course if he continued at this rate, he'd be passed out and maybe dead before the hour finished out. This was backwards, usually James was the one telling people to slow down, not the one racing to finish bottle after bottle; that was Ev's job. He'd never heard James swear this much either and while it was amusing as all get out, Ev wasn't sure about it. He'd truly never seen his friend like this and it was actually a little scary. Not that James was always chipper and bright, but he was better than this.

Since he had decided to stop talking, it also made sense that he would start drinking. Well, drinking more. He'd already been drinking.

He would need more liquor than was in his kitchen, he decided, and without a word to either of the boys stood up to go to the pantry, lurching sideways a little and bumping into the counter on his way towards the cellar door. The pantry was down some stairs. Stairs were difficult at moments like this, but somehow, James knew he would overcome.

"Lumos," he slurred, before he'd had a chance to find his wand in the midst of his pockets. He repeated the spell when he finally did find it, which shed some light on the stairs, enough so that James felt confident enough to place one foot in front of the other and try to plod his way down the narrow wooden things. He just had to reach the bottom--from there the liquor was in reach, on the nearest available shelf. That probably said something about him, but oh well.

"I'm jest gonna get somemore bottles," he said over his shoulder to his two friends, "Be right back. And we can talk about some happier things, or something. How was Christmas, Anders?" This was clearly too much talk to handle while also trying to navigate the difficulty of stairs, because James slipped--thankfully he was near the bottom anyway--and landed on his back on the floor, which was thankfully just wood, not stone or tile.

"Mmmmkay!" he shouted up the stairs, as a way of reassuring the other two, if they had heard his fall. It hadn't really hurt at all. But that was probably because he was drunk. What had made him think he could handle stairs? He probably couldn't get back up them.

"I'm gonna stay here a minute," he said, a little quietly, but wisely. With one hand he fumbled around for his wand to put out the light, but eventually gave that up and just laid there on the floor. It felt good to be numb.

OOC | HOT MESS.