DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor the world itself. I only own the characters I have created.
Announcement: I'm actually incredibly excited for this story. I usually post stories with no plans for future chapters, but this one is planned out in almost its entirety. I have a couple of chapters written too, and it gets a lot juicier as the story goes on. I hope you guys enjoy it!
September 1st, 1975
The Great Hall looked exactly as it did 6 years ago when Ember first stepped through the threshold for her Sorting ceremony. It never ceased to amaze her; the beauty of it all. The ceiling, enchanted to mimic the weather outside, gleamed stunningly above them – the sky, a mixture of blues and purples with a hint of a pink undertone, was the perfect backdrop for the hundreds of stars (most likely charmed to shine stronger in the display within the Hall) littering against the kaleidoscope of colours. Hogwarts, in its entirety, was simply breathtaking. Year by year, it was becoming harder and harder for Ember to leave the confines of the magical castle she came to call home.
Sighing as she glanced around the room as students filled in excitedly, chatting with their friends after the long summer holidays, a small smile spread across Ember's face, and she felt the weight that had been suffocating her chest for nearly four weeks lifting slightly.
"Well isn't this a sight to see? A beautiful smile on an absolutely stunning girl!" Rolling her eyes with a huff, Ember spun around in her seat on the far end of the Gryffindor table and faced the man that just spoke.
"James darling," Ember began with a glare, "you can drop the flattery act, okay? I'm fine."
At her words, the grin that was previously stretched upon his lips dropped and he ran a hand nervously through his already dishevelled hair. Exhaling, he looked towards the right where the rest of his friends sat, all staring intently their way, before quickly sliding into the empty seat beside her. "Are you really okay, though, Em? It's only been a few weeks, and this is literally the first smile I've seen from you since it happened."
When he grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting sqeeze, Ember dropped the pointed eyes she was sending his way and replaced the sour look on her face with a small smile. "I know you're concerned, Jamie, but I'm not going to get over it overnight, you know. My mum died – right in front of me, no less." Reaching for his arm, she wrapped herself around it and leaned in. "Don't get me wrong, I truly, truly appreciate your concern, Jamie, but it's going to take a while for me to regain my bearings."
"I know," He nodded in understanding, "But let me at least help you through this. We've known each other practically since birth, Em. I've seen you buck naked, for Merlin's sake!"
Ember rolled her eyes again, shoving him away from her with a laugh, "We were, like, 3 years old, you daft git. That doesn't really count."
"Whatever you say," He replied with a smirk, opening his mouth to say something else, but immediately closing it shut as his eyes landed on something behind her. "Oh, um – Evans, hey! I hope your summer was good?"
"My summer was just fine, Potter." Lily replied dryly as she took her seat beside Ember. Turning to her whilst entirely ignoring James' presence, Lily groaned as she embarked on a rant about incompetent prefects and their lack of initiative, even if it was just the first day back.
As Ember half-heartedly listened to Lily's impassioned triad, she turned to a dejected James with an apologetic shrug. Waving her off dismissively, he promptly walked away, only to plop down next to Sirius Black a few seats down from where Ember and Lily sat, who immediately turned to him with what Ember undoubtedly knew were questions regarding her well-being.
Lily's speech came to an equally impassioned end, and Ember, having nodded along to whatever it is she had been rambling about for the last minute yet hardly listening, gave Lily a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Not knowing what to say, she settled on a simple, "I'm sure everything will work out just fine, Lils." At the other girl's relieved smile and uplifted posture, Ember was pleased to know she hadn't said the wrong thing.
"So, where are Marlene and Alice? They were with us in the carriages, but I lost track of them on the trek up to the castle."
"Marlene's probably already in a broom closet seducing her next victim," Lily said with a roll of her eyes, but an amused smile lit up her face despite the judgemental comment. "And Alice is practically attached to Frank's lips at the moment."
Lily gestured a few seats to the right of their location, and they both grimaced in unison at the sight of the heated display their roommate and fellow House member were broadcasting to the entire student body.
Their disgusted stares were suddenly interrupted when Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat from the podium at the front of the room, and all attention immediately diverted to him as silence descended upon the Hall, listening intently as the Headmaster welcomed the new and returning students to Hogwarts.
And with a small sigh of content, Ember drifted back into her thoughts. Being back here - the home where she'd made lifelong friends, learned the true meaning of magic, and felt real happiness in every corner of the dreamlike castle – was exactly what she needed.
Not long after, students began to shuffle out of the Great Hall towards their respective common rooms to unwind from the long journey on the Hogwarts Express.
Settling down on the armchair by the fire, Ember and Lily, now accompanied by Marlene and Alice, jumped right into their stories of the past summer, Ember sitting in silence because, really, what was there for her to share other than what they already knew of?
As Ember listened to Marlene's quite detailed trip to the Bahamas, where she met all sorts of exotic boys while drinking a copious amount of alcohol by the serene beaches of the Island, her eyes drifted to the moving figures of the Marauders as they headed towards the staircase leading up to the boys' Sixth Year dormitory, whispering furtively to each other with mischief written all over their faces.
With a sigh, Ember stood up from the couch, interrupting Marlene's riveting account of her Bahamian adventures to inform them that she'd be right back, and followed behind the suspicious group of boys.
Reaching the sixth floor landing where their dormitory resided, Ember rapped lightly on the door before letting herself in. "So what are you troublemakers up to, now?"
Their conversation halted as they swivelled around to see Ember sauntering into the room and plopping herself down on Sirius's bed beside him. The boy in question turned to her with a roguish smirk on his face and winked, "Wouldn't you like to know, love."
Shoving his shoulder, she chuckled with a shake of her head, "If I didn't know you boys any better, I'd think you're planning a little Welcome Back soiree. Am I right?"
"That you are, Miss Fawley," Remus responded with a smirk, throwing himself down on his bed with a thump.
"It's tradition, after all." Peter piped up from his position across the room with a cheeky smile on his face.
"Of course. I wouldn't expect any less of you miscreants." Ember grinned. "A good party is exactly what I need to get my mind off all the…unpleasantries of the summer."
Silence suddenly filled the air as they all faced her, failing to mask the look of concern on their faces.
"So, how've you been, princess?" Sirius asked quietly, turning to face her from his lain position on the bed behind her.
"I'm fine," She huffed, ignoring the ever-so-annoying pet name Sirius often used to annoy her. She stiffened at the dubious looks they gave her. "Really! Can everyone just stop acting like I'm about to break into a million pieces? It was just a…minor setback in my life, and I don't plan on letting it ruin my Sixth year. So let's just drop it, yes?"
The four men nodded quickly in acquisition, but no one said a word.
Rolling her eyes, Ember pouted, "Well, you guys are a lot more boring than I remembered you to be." At the sounds of indignation that s`~~~~~uddenly erupted around the room, she laughed loudly and continued, "now, will someone fill me on this oh so fabulous party the famous Marauders are planning? I'm in desperate need for some Firewhiskey."
"Well, I'll leave you in the hands of these fine lads to bring you up to date. I'm jumping in for a quick shower!" James announced, hopping off his bed and heading towards the washroom with a towel in hand.
Turning expectantly towards the remaining three, Ember gave them a pointed look with a meaningful smile on her face as she folded her hands in her lap, waiting.
Sirius sighed, pulling himself up into a seated position, "Okay, so, since we start classes tomorrow, the party won't be happening until next weekend. The plan is to find…"
They launched into the elaborate plan that were to take place the following Friday in the Room of Requirement. Because the party was happening past curfew, the trickiest part of actually pulling it off was the slight fact that it would be quite difficult sneaking people out into the halls without running the risk of getting caught.
Twenty minutes later, the foursome were still brainstorming ways to avoid detection when James stepped out, dripping wet with a towel wrapped around his waist.
Giving Ember an expectant smile, he simply said, "Pillow."
Knowing exactly what he meant due to the many, many hours spent in their dorm, Ember dropped down on her back and pressed Sirius's pillow over her eyes, but she couldn't help but bring back the conversation they had earlier by commenting with a cheeky smile, "Nothing I haven't seen before."
They kept up casual conversation as James got dressed, when Sirius amusedly asked, "Something wrong with your hand, there, Prongs? Is it sore from all the…workouts you've been doing?"
Ember's eyebrows shot up to her forehead from under the pillow, and a small chuckle escaped.
"Shove off, Pads," James grumbled, "I haven't gotten any action in nearly five months. Can you blame me?"
"You and me, both," Ember mumbled quietly to herself with a frustrated sigh.
However, her comment wasn't as quiet as she'd originally thought, because a noticeable silence filled the room before Sirius barked out a laugh.
"What was that, princess? Didn't quite catch what you mumbled under there." Ember felt her face heat up when she heard the amused and slightly suggestive lilt in his voice.
"Shove off, Black." She grumbled, echoing James's earlier words and smothering herself even further with the pillow.
Laughing, James pulled the pillow off her face and threw it onto the bed, "I'm decent now, although I wonder if maybe you were hoping to get a little peek. It seems someone is sexually frustrated, and I'm not referring to myself!"
Remus, Peter, and Sirius roared with laughter as James beamed at Ember with a joking glint in his eyes.
Fighting off the deep embarrassment she felt shudder through her body, Ember huffed in annoyance. "Oh, so it's okay for James to admit he's a little horndog, but when I say something, suddenly I'm the laughing stock of the night?"
Sirius nudged her side with his foot as he chuckled, giving her a teasing smile, "Nothing wrong with admitting you're in need of a good shag, princess. Just didn't know you had it in you." He said with a wink.
"Well," Ember grumbled exasperatedly as she hopped to her feet, but a small, amused smile played on her lips, and turned to Sirius, "I guess you just don't know me all that well, then, Black. I'm just full of surprises." And with a playful wink and a wave in their general direction, she twirled around and sauntered out of the room, leaving behind a shocked but pleased group of boys watching in her wake.
"So what kind of trouble are Potter and Black getting into?" Lily questioned the moment Ember rejoined their group, spitting out their names as though disgusted to even utter them.
Ember chuckled uncomfortably, knowing that even after 6 years of friendship Lily still disapproved of Ember's association with the menaces of Hogwarts. Clearing her throat, Ember mumbled, "Just a little…gathering they're planning for the coming weekend at the Room of Requirement."
"A gathering, huh?" Lily growled in Ember's ear as they stood in the entrance of the Room of Requirement, glowering at the large crowd of people taking over the ballroom-esque space holding cups that were most certainly home to some form of alcoholic beverage. Loud music blared in the background. A large, messily scripted banner fell from the wall in the back, spelling out the words: Welcome Back!
Ember turned to Lily with a shrug, "Don't look at me, I had nothing to do with this!"
Lily glared in return, "Yes, but you enabled them, and in my books that means you're just as guilty for this… this debacle!" She threw her hands in the air in annoyance.
Laughing from Lily's left, Marlene threw an arm around the redhead's shoulders and shook her playfully, "Drop the Prefect act for one night, Lils and just enjoy yourself!"
"Yeah!" Alice piped up from where she stood next to Ember, "This is our second to last year at Hogwarts. Loosen up just this once, it'll be fun!"
The three girls watched as a conflict of emotions flittered across the stubborn Prefect's face before she finally settled on resignation. "Fine. But the next party that's happening, I am shutting down."
Ember, Alice, and Marlene glanced at each other before nodding, "We'll take it!" Ember laughed, grabbing a hold of Lily's hand and dragging her into the throng of people towards where she knew the beverage table was set up.
"Ah, ladies!" Peter called as he stood behind the table, bottle in hand. Setting it down on the table amongst the many bottles that littered its surface, he gestured widely to the selection with a proud smile on his face. "Pick your poison. We have an ample amount of butterbeer, Firewhiskey – for those of you brave enough to suffer its wrath -, muggle Whiskey, Vodka, and a bottle of…wine?" Peter glanced down at the bottle with a curious look on his face, muttering, "Wonder where that came from."
"I think I'm feeling brave enough for some Firewhiskey tonight, Pete. Fix me a drink?" Ember asked.
She could feel the stares of her friends, knowing that they were probably questioning whether this was an act of rebellion in response to her mother's death, but chose to ignore it as she waited patiently for Peter to fill up the red cup and hand it to her.
"Well, ladies, I'm going to go mingle. Come find me later!" With a quick spin, Ember disappeared through the throng of students.
Alice turned to Marlene, worrying her lip as she asked, "D'you think she's doing okay?"
Marlene pursed her lips sadly, "She's going through a tough time. Maybe, just for tonight, she just needs to let loose a little and forget. She'll be fine, don't worry."
The three girls requested their drink of choice, Lily settling for a simple butterbeer on the pretense of being the only responsible Prefect to keep her wits about her for the night – especially after spotting Remus and a couple of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Prefects with suspicious looking drinks in hand – and then turned away to join the party.
A decent amount of time had passed when Ember finally ditched the dreadfully boring conversation she was having with Evan Pretsons, a Seventh year Ravenclaw, about the recent Bill that passed through the Wizengamot regarding house elf rights. Spotting James sitting on an armchair in the corner nursing an entire bottle of Firewhiskey in hand with a grim look on his face, she marched forward in his direction.
"Why is a handsome man like you sulking in the corner all by your lonesome?" She inquired teasingly as she perched on the arm of the chair, nudging his shoulder with her own.
James shrugged, giving her a small smile. "Just thinking."
Ember's eyebrows shot up in question, "Thinking about what?"
When she received no response, she glanced down and noticed that his eyes were fixated elsewhere, a glower darkening his face. Following his line of sight, Ember deflated with a sigh. Lily, with her back against a wall and a bottle of Butterbeer in hand, was blatantly flirting with Fabian Prewett, a Gryffindor student in his final year. "Come on, Jamie. You can't keep obsessing over Lily. You have to move on at some point."
"I know," He sighed sadly, "Just wish she'd give me a chance, that's all."
Throwing a comforting arm around his shoulder, Ember gave him a soothing squeeze. "Want to get out of here for a little bit? Go for a walk, clear your head?"
At his quick nod, Ember hopped up and headed towards the door, James quick on her heels.
They walked the hallway in silence, James occasionally taking a large swallow out of the bottle and passing it to her, where she herself would take a sip. They passed the bottle between each other for a few more minutes, disregarding the fact that they were doing so in plain sight where any teacher or Prefect could catch them in the act, when they reached an alcove hidden away n the corner with a window looking out into the lake.
"You know," Ember spoke, breaking the silence between them and turning to face him, "Maybe you just need a distraction. Find a bird and try to forget about Lily." She paused as a teasing grin stretched across her face. "Give your hand a break for a little while."
James laughed loudly, giving her a light shove, "You're one to talk. When's the last time you were even with someone? Didn't your relationship with Corfield end a while ago?"
Ember chuckled with a shake of her head, "Merlin only knows. It's been too long."
"Tell me about it. I can literally feel the sexual frustration coursing through my body," James admitted shamelessly.
Ember ran a hand through her long hair and sighed, "Looks like we both need some well-needed relief, then. I definitely know I do."
Expecting a laugh but instead only receiving silence, Ember turned to James questionably only to find him already staring back at her with an inquisitive look.
Frowning, Ember gave him a nervous chuckle, "What? Is there something on my face?"
"You know," James began tentatively, ignoring her question, "There is a… solution, let's say, to our predicament."
"And what's that, Mr. Potter? Find ourselves a pair of willing cohorts and use them for our own benefit?"
James took another swig of the bottle, glancing away from her gaze nervously before returning his stare to hers, "Or…"
"Or…what?" Ember asked, confusion coating her words as she tilted her head uncertainly.
With a huff, James gave her a pointed look, eyebrows raised suggestively.
Understanding slowly dawned on Ember, and with a gasp, she pointed to herself, and then to James. "You don't mean…"
"Just think about it!" James quickly inserted, halting her words with a pleading look. "We've known each other since we were kids. We practically grew up together, and we've seen each other naked, no less!"
"When we were, like, 3!" Ember screeched, throwing her hands up.
"Yeah, but it's not like there's ever been anything between us. You're practically one of my best friends, and I definitely don't have any feelings for you," Ignoring her offended huff, he continued, "It would simply be a casual arrangement between two friends in desperate need of… what did you call it? Relief!"
"This is crazy, James!" Ember cried, a nervous jolt swimming through her as she attempted to wrap her head around the sudden proposition, "The fact that you're one of my best friends is precisely why this arrangement could screw things up! You're too important to me to risk that."
James stood up too, leaning forward on slightly wobbly feet and gripping her shoulders between his hands, "We'll be fine, Em. Nothing can come between our friendship – you know that! Come on, doesn't a small part of you see the logic behind it? We're both very aware that this would be entirely casual, we're comfortable around each other, and if I do say so myself, I am quite dashing. And I've heard from many a suitor that I'm not too shabby in bed, either. It's a win-win situation, see?"
Ember rolled her eyes at his final comment but paused for a few moments as everything rushed into her slightly muddled mind, unsure of whether it was due to the copious amount of Firewhiskey she consumed or at the shocking turn of events that just occurred.
James and Ember have, as he said, literally known each other since birth. Their mothers were quite close growing up, their friendship only strengthening after they delivered their children only days apart. Ember has seen James at his absolute best, and very worst, and vice versa. There were many a times when Ember would find herself staying over at the Potter Manor for a couple weeks' time, and there were even a few, albeit rare, moments where they would share a bed (admittedly, when they've had a bit too much to drink while hanging out in James's bedroom and they'd pass out without much thought of the matter).
But Ember knew James was right. They were close enough to not let an arrangement like this ruin what they truly had with one another. They were best friends, simple as that, and while they both found an attraction to the other that they couldn't deny – they did have some good genes running in their families, after all -, there was no chance of any romantic feelings developing between the two. And as much as Ember knew this could be a colossally bad idea, the benefits definitely outweighed the flaws. She needed this just as much as he did, and not just as a coping mechanism, but as an outlet that could quite possibly liberate all of the tension that has been holding her hostage since the attack that occurred towards the end of July which left a deep, aching gap in her heart.
As she mulled over the suggestion for a few moments, going over his reasonings and begrudgingly admitting to herself that it wasn't such a bad idea after all, her shoulders sagged in resignation and met his waiting eyes.
A beat of silence passed before Ember snatched the bottle out of James's hands and took in a long, profound swallow. Coughing slightly as she pulled it away from her lips, she threw all caution to the wind and leaned up quickly, taking James's lips into her own as she pushed him up against the wall.
They snogged heavily for a few moments, fueled by the mixture of Firewhiskey rushing through their system and the adrenaline that seemed to have taken over. Despite the utter weirdness she felt in the first few seconds, an entirely different fire quickly ignited between her legs. Slowing down the ferocious movement of their lips, James gently pulled away and gave her an inquiring look, "So I take it that's a yes?"
"Shut up and fuck me, Potter." Ember whispered huskily as she pulled his head back down to hers and their lips met once again.
END NOTE: Reviews will be GREATLY appreciated. I need to know that people are actually interested in reading the story in order for me to post and write the following chapters. So please leave me a comment, feedback, opinions! The favor will certainly be returned in kind (meaning frequent updates and a riveting storyline!)
Lots of love,
Mar.