"James!" Hissed Alice, "What if we get caught again? It's against the rules!"
"Oh, rules – schmules!" Sirius cried in response.
Marlene was giggling at the scenario, half in excitement, half in trepidation. Meanwhile, Lily and Remus were bickering over the merits and disadvantages of the groups' night-time activity, followed silently by their fellow seventh years; Izzy Davies, Elodie Goldstein and Peter Pettigrew. James Potter remained oblivious to his friends' protests, or at least pretended to do so as he marched ahead through the dark, cold halls of Hogwarts.
It was the group's first night back at Hogwarts' for their seventh year. Having been separated for the long summer, the Marauders had deemed it only proper that they should have a 'reunion'.
"Of course, your bloody 'reunion' couldn't have taken place somewhere like – oh, I don't know – the Gryffindor common room?" Elodie Goldstein sighed.
"Yeah, somewhere we're actually allowed to be!" Alice cried in agreement. She would have been calmer had her boyfriend, Frank Longbottom, been well enough to join them.
Peter was the one to respond this time, "But there's no fun in that!"
"C'mon girls, where's your sense of adventure!" James agreed wholeheartedly.
In unison, the very girls in question all glared daggers at James Potter.

The flow of conversation went very much like this until the group reached the Room of Requirement. With a pompous flair, James flung open the doors, to reveal the cosy sanctuary that lay within.
Sofas and beanbags lined the walls, and a plush crimson carpet was laid on the floor. A large square table at the centre of the room boasted some of the best food the wizarding world had to offer ('Ooh! Pumpkin pasties!' cried Peter.) The windows offered simply the most astounding views, reaching beyond the Forbidden Forest.
And all of this, the nine of them had to enjoy until the sun rose.

It didn't take long until the Firewhisky began to flow, obviously at the behest of Sirius. Stories of each student's summer were being told and joyous, innocent laughter filled the air.
"Just one shot?" Elodie asked Lily with an innocent smile on her face. Everyone knew that one shot was all Lily needed to get her started, before she knew it half the bottle would have disappeared. Carnage and chaos were clearly on the cards for tonight's events.
Someone, none of them seemed to know who, conjured a record player. David Bowie's 'Suffragette City' filled the air, prompting each of them to their feet. As they all danced in time to the music, it became apparent that they were all fairly intoxicated. Izzy was the first to stumble, caught by Peter. She giggled hysterically at her own blunder.

"Um, hi?" A sudden awkwardness filled the air as two new figures stepped into the room.
Vivienne and Caspian Szelsky were standing in the doorway. The twins; one Ravenclaw, and one Slytherin, stood out like a sore thumb amongst the eclectic collection of Gryffindors. Each of them had an air of elegance about them that even the rowdiest of Hogwarts parties couldn't shake off.

"Who invited you?" Izzy couldn't help but blurt out.
A general feeling of confusion settled over the room, at odds with the vibrant music surrounding them.
"I did." Elodie looked just a touch bashful as she admitted this, "I mean, it's time we let bygones be bygones, right?"
"She does have a point." Remus agreed.
Nods and murmurs of agreement slipped around the room, from all except Sirius. He in particular found it hard to let go of his history with the male Szelsky.
"This is a Gryffindor gathering." He spat.
Vivienne shuffled from foot to foot, betraying how awkward she felt. She wasn't alone, most of the room seemed to be avoiding eye contact with the pair. Her brother, however, pulled a bottle from behind his back with a cheeky grin.
"Will a present change your minds?"
Sirius perked up a little bit. "What is it?"
"Absinthe, a muggle thing – trust me, you'll like it."

And that's how they all ended up in a circle, doing shots out of Absinthe from brightly coloured plastic shot glasses.
"Okay, okay!" Remus laughed. "Never have I ever … been skinny dipping!"
Of those around the circle, Sirius, James, Elodie, Izzy and Marlene were the ones to drink, all sharing knowing smiles. Lily couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter at their obvious action. When James and Sirius shared a conspirational smirk however, she knew to be slightly worried.
"Maybe we could up that number to all eleven of us," Sirius suggested slyly.
"No chance, Black," Lily didn't hesitate to answer.
Vivienne seemed to agree, "Besides, didn't Potter place a permanent locking charm on the door? It'll hold until morning at least."
Sirius appeared to be the only one truly upset by this.
"Right, my turn." Alice said, eager to move on from conversation about skinny dipping. Soon, they'd all admitted far more than they would have been willing to had they been sober.

Their gathering was growing rowdier by the minute. Even Remus and Lily, the two most hesitant to attend, were stumbling as they attempted to walk across the room.
"I'd like to propose a toast!" James suddenly announced, clambering up onto the table. "To us! A group of the my most favourite people in the entire world in our final ever year at Hogwarts! To one final year of pranks, fun, and excessive drinking!"
Everyone drank appreciatively to this.
"And to getting an actual education!" Remus yelled in addition. They all chuckled at this, everyone familiar with Remus' desire to prove himself.

As it neared 2 am their night showed no sign of ending. Half of them had gathered in a circle at the far end of the room, nestled by the largest bay window and surrounding several of the largest pizzas they had ever seen.
"This – is – amazing!" Peter sighed, practically drooling as he ate a slice of pizza.
"Mmphgh, I agree," Izzy said, also mid slice.
Peter began to respond, "I always say that nothing is better than -" But Marlene was hushing him and pointing frantically to the other side of the room. Sirius and Elodie were kissing as if there were no tomorrow, gripping onto each other tightly for support
"Ayyyy! Get in there Padfoot!" James yelled, thrilled to see his best mate with one of Hogwarts' most desired girls.
The other half of them not engaged in pizza-eating stopped their game of beer pong to ogle the pair. Wolf whistles and cries of encouragement filled the room.
"Blimey, I'm not even sure that classifies as kissing …" James mused as the pair showed no sign of letting up.
Sirius' only response was to raise one, deliberately pointed middle finger at his best mate.

Caspian surveyed the room from the beer pong table with a smirk. He was far less drunk than the rest of them, having arrived late and with a very high alcohol tolerance. None of them would remember a thing in the morning, clearly.
But, he had to grudgingly admit, he was having a good time. The Gryffindors weren't just tolerating him, they were treating him like a close friend. When Elodie had invited him, he was more than hesitant, considering his past with the group. It had taken a lot of persuasion from his younger twin to drag him along. At the end of the day, he never could resist the lure of Elodie Goldstein. Who, he was annoyed to see, was rather preoccupied with a certain Gryffindor heartthrob.
The frivolity lasted well into the early hours of the morning. Finally, they all collapsed in various heaps on sofas and beanbags scattered around the room. Peter's snoring was soon the only thing to be heard.

No one stirred, no one noticed a thing.

When they awoke the next morning, they had no idea what the day would bring. As they slowly roused themselves, bleary eyed and with thumping headaches, they groaned at last nights' mess surrounding them. Piles of empty Firewhisky and vodka bottles ensured that their hangovers were worsened all the more by the lingering smell of alcohol. Only Marlene noticed that one of their number was missing.
"Where's Elodie?" She asked in confusion.
There was a somewhat uneasy silence as they looked around the room.
"I'm sure she's just gone to the toilet or something," Caspian said, eager to brush it off.

Murmurs of agreement ran around the group.
"Um, guys," James winced. "There was a locking spell on the door? Remember? After Caspian and Vivienne interrupted us?" Seeing the flickers of confusion, he elaborated, "Only I knew the counter-spell. She can't have gotten out. Unless-"
"Unless she escaped." Sirius was the one to finish the sentence.
They all knew that was entirely plausible. Elodie never did like to do what others told her.

"Shit."
Remus's curse broke the silence. He had moved to stand next to the largest window of the room, which swung open slightly on its hinge, a small piece of paper on its ledge.
Some of them began to put two and two together, the silence becoming all the tenser.
"Let me see." Caspian snapped, grabbing the paper.

She deserved everything that she got.

The paper was stained ever so slightly in the corner.
"Is that -?" Lily whispered.
"Blood." Remus confirmed, his face grim.