FF Getting Drunk

[Wendy St John]

Hi, Derannimer,

So this is what happens when I stay up late and read OT-Chatter. I end up
sitting at my computer at quarter to two in the morning, replying to a
message about getting drunk! <GGG> Oh well, it is a topic I have some
experience with, and far better this than sticking my nose into the "Oy"
discussion ;-)

You asked:

" How many pints do you have to drink before you become drunk? Not so 
drunk that you absolutely cannot function -- I want Avery to retain 
the sense to watch what he says around Snape -- but drunk enough so 
that you're not thinking all that clearly, and. . .  "

My answer to that is that it depends so much on the drinker, that you can
pretty much make up whatever you like. But, I will give a few examples so
you have something more to go on than that. <G> 

If I were to go into a pub, less than half a pint would get me *really*
happy - but I'd still be thinking clearly. I'd just be in a really good
mood. (I'm 130 pounds and I don't drink at all ever, really. Maybe twice a
year I'll have a glass of something). I think my husband wishes I'd drink
more. No joke. A pint, and I'd be not thinking clearly, but probably still
mostly in control. More than that, though, and I'd move into  drunk pretty
quickly, which in my case would probably mean I'd find somewhere to curl up
and go to sleep. Then again there was a time (many, many moons ago), where
I was capable of downing a six-pack without being ragingly drunk. More than
just "happy" but still able to control myself for the most part. Not to
drive a car of course, but I was capable of holding conversations and
dancing (and I could walk straight and not throw up). Those important sorts
of things. <G>  This is when I went out drinking between three and six
nights a week (in country bars no less. SCARY, HUH?). <G>  (Question: is a
can of beer equivalent to a pint? Not sure, and I also guess it matters
whose pint you're talking about - Britain and the US have different ones.
Might be worth doing a bit of research to see what the actual volume is.
When I used to drink, it was in the U.S., so for myself I think of things
in terms of the glass you'd be served in an American bar. But I don't think
there's *that* much difference between the two. Hopefully someone will
correct me if I'm way off about this. And having lived in Scotland until
recently, I think of my husband's drinking in pints, so I guess that's
still relevant).

My husband, on the other hand, would probably need two pints to get to
"happy," and would have to drink several pints (hmnh. I'd say four or five
at  LEAST) in order to be "drunk." (Here again, I'm not talking about any
standard of being able to drive a car or anything. As far as I'm concerned,
you shouldn't be driving after consuming ANY alcohol at all. I'm saying it
would take that much before he'd be noticeably under the effect of alcohol
from a behavior standpoint - slurring his words, that sort of thing). This
is a man who weighs about 225 and drinks regularly, but doesn't get "drunk"
more than a couple of times a month, if that. And even then, it would
depend on how tired he was before he started drinking. And, for the record,
I'm talking about pints of beer or similar (Guiness, etc). I think the
heavier drinks (Guiness, for example) do have a higher alcohol content than
a light lager would have, but I think the difference is negligible for your
purposes. You can probably have them drinking whatever sort of *beer* you
want. If they start drinking *whiskey* though, or some other hard liquor
like rum or vodka or gin, they will definitely NOT be drinking in pints, or
they'll be DEAD long before they get around to chatting about Death Eater
business. <G> (I'm assuming you know this, but it can't hurt to mention,
just in case. Not everyone has such an extensive acquaintance as I do with
alcohol, having alcoholics on both sides of my family, and my husband's
family as well - not something to be proud of, but what the heck. At least
*I'm* not one). 

I do have a question about your scenario: I wasn't really sure if the raid
*just* happened, or if they've had a night's sleep? If the raid just
happened, and poor Avery is in a state of exhaustion and stress, I'd say
that a pint and half would probably get him at *least*  to "happy,"
regardless of whether he's a drinker or not, and any more than that would
be putting him in the danger zone of spilling his guts to Snape
(figuratively, not literally. Although he might be in danger of that, too).
Physical and mental state can have a big effect on the way someone is
affected by alcohol - maybe not in actual physiological terms (how long it
takes the body to process the alcohol, etc.), but certainly in the
perceived effect. And of course a BIG factor here is whether or not Avery
is a habitual drinker. If he drinks regularly, especially large quantities,
then his tolerance level goes UP and he would need more alcohol to get that
effect. So, really, I'd say you get to decide. I'd say a safe average would
be two pints to notice an effect in an adult man, but not so much that he'd
be considered "drunk" in behavioral standards. If Avery is not  drinker,
though, and hasn't slept since the raid, I think much more than a pint and
he's likely to be in trouble. 

Hope this helps. :-)

Wendy
(Who hasn't posted much since moving house - I've been so far behind that I
usually read the messages long after someone else has already made the
comments I would have made. But I finally got myself caught up this weekend
(at least with the digests)! YAY!)