"Wild night, eh?" said Nadia. She grabbed the bottle of wine on Lily's nightstand and sloshed it around.
"Hardly." Lily rubbed her eye with the back of her wrist.
"I'd've been drinking too if I'd spent the whole break with Slughorn," said Francine, as she flopped onto her bed.
"Lily actually likes the old Slug, Fae," said Nadia.
"Doesn't mean I have to."
Lily sat on the edge of her bed, staring into her open trunk and only dimly aware of her roommates' banter. For some reason, her vision zeroed in on the blue sweater her mother had given her two Christmases ago. She felt her tongue around her mouth and decided that she needed to brush her teeth. Running a hand through her hair, she decided a shower would also do her some good.
"I'm going to hop in the bathroom," declared Lily. She stood up and said to her roommates, "Hold the fort while I'm in there, yeah?"
"Aye, aye, Cap'n," said Francine, with a mock salute.
"At ease," said Lily drolly.
In the bathroom, she grabbed a towel from the cupboard and dropped it on the floor near one of the shower stalls.
She sang as she worked shampoo into her hair. Given that she had just woken up, she had pretty bad morning voice (probably morning breath, too), but it didn't keep her from singing a wizarding lullaby Remus had taught her back in the fall.
The bathroom steadily filled with steam and the aroma of vanilla. Lily shut off the water eventually, and wrapped her towel around her midsection. By the time she had mostly dried off, she felt like her usual self.
Lily opened the bathroom door, about to inquire about the state of the fort. Then she realized Nadia and Francine were standing in the middle of the room, kissing.
"All right then," said Lily awkwardly, ready to turn around and go back into the bathroom.
Nadia and Francine stepped apart. Fran's pale complexion reddened quickly, while Nadia just ducked her head away.
"So…um, I suppose I'm interrupting something?" said Lily.
"Um, just a little, in a not-really sort of way," said Francine nervously. "Inconsequential, honestly."
"Really? You sure about that?" said Lily. She was still clutching her pajamas with one hand and the top of her towel to her chest with the other.
"We have a thing," said Nadia calmly, finally looking up. "A dating thing."
"All right, good to know," said Lily.
"You know, I've heard your eyes can fall out if you keep 'em that wide for so long," said Fran.
Lily shook her head and relaxed her expression. She gestured between her trunk and the bathroom with odd, circular gestures. She said, "I'm going to do the, you know, get dressed, and whatnot. And…yeah."
"I'll explain when you get out," said Nadia.
"Much obliged," said Lily.
She grabbed her blue sweater and some old corduroys from her trunk and went back into the bathroom. After she quickly dressed, she ran a comb through her thick hair, which did little more than compact the tangles. She'd sort it out later.
She took her time placing her pajamas back into her trunk and folding them with care. Then she sat cross-legged on her bed, like a little girl about to be told a bedtime story. Nadia and Fran, she noticed, were both sitting on still-absent Alice's bed, each one of them leaning on one of the bed posts. Nadia slowly ran the edge of the bedspread between her fingers.
"So…" Lily said, attempting to begin the story for them.
"So," said Fran. "We're dating."
"I got that," said Lily.
"It started over break," said Nadia. "Fae came to stay with me. Her mum thought it'd be safer for her to get out of England, though I don't know how Scotland's much better."
"My mum's a worrier. And I kind of made the dumb choice a while back to explain to her what some people think of muggleborns these days," said Fran. "Either way, I went to stay with Nadia. Her parents put us in the same room, and things just played out."
"You can leave those details out," said Lily, wincing.
"Oh, it's nothing like that," said Nadia. "We haven't had sex, if that's what you mean."
"Only because her brothers were in the next room," muttered Fran.
Nadia pinched her girlfriend's midsection. Fran smiled mischievously.
"So how long was this coming on?" asked Lily.
Both girls looked at each other and shrugged. Nadia ran a hand over her mouth and then through her hair. She ventured, "A few months, I suppose?"
"Nothing concrete. Just little things, here and there," said Fran.
"Got it," said Lily, not really getting it at all.
Two of her friends were dating. It was an odd truth to get her head around, and for some reason it made something in Lily's stomach feel like it had a pebble inside of it. Maybe it was a kidney stone.
By the time Lily and her roommates headed down to lunch, a steady stream of students had begun bringing life back to the tower. It was mostly younger students, although Lily saw a few fifth and sixth years in the mix. She waved hello to fifth-year Mary MacDonald, with whom she was fairly good friends. No Marauders to be seen, though, thank Merlin.
Lily couldn't help but be hyperaware of the tiny subtleties of Nadia and Fran's new dynamic during lunch. The couple spoke more to each other than to Lily. They angled their heads and their bodies toward each other, and some parts of them were almost always in contact. There was one moment where Lily could have sworn they were holding hands under the table, but then Nadia reached for the pumpkin juice, and Lily ignored it.
"Any New Year's resolutions?" asked Nadia at one point.
"Drink more, study more, kiss more boys," said Lily.
"Mine was more or less the same, minus that last bit," said Fran.
Nadia snorted, putting a hand to her mouth to keep from spitting out her soup. Lily couldn't help but laugh a little, too.
Most of the professors filtered in and out of the Great Hall, except for Professors Slughorn and Dumbledore. Dumbledore was probably just busy as sin, but Lily couldn't help but worry about Slughorn. She explained her previous night's excursion (minus the strange banging sound) to Nadia and Fran, and they were as puzzled as Lily.
"Maybe he's lost someone," said Nadia quietly, after a minute or so. "It's been happening more often lately."
"I hadn't considered that," said Lily.
"Speaking of losing someone, I heard Grennar Beauregard lost his granny over break," said Fran.
"I thought he was pureblood?" said Lily.
"He is. But his granny was a squib."
"Poor guy," said Nadia.
"Yeah," said Lily. She forced herself to add, "Such a shame."
She looked over at Grennar where he sat at the Ravenclaw table. Lily knew how hard it must have been for him to lose a family member, having herself lost her father just over three years ago. But the sympathy she felt for Grennar was tempered by the ugly things he'd said when he broke up with her the year before. He'd been, on the whole, correct about her friendship with Snape, but it didn't give him the right to be a prick about it.
Lily felt the pebble in her stomach again. It seemed like all of her insides were gravitating towards it.
"You okay?" asked Nadia.
"Yeah, of course," said Lily.
"Good. Y'know, I was thinking of doing something for the last night of break. How about some firewhisky and exploding snap?" said Nadia.
"Exploding snap? Come on, Nadia, we're not fourth-years anymore," said Fran.
"That's why I also suggested firewhisky," said Nadia, with a grin.
"And I do so relish the thought of getting you drunk."
They kissed, barely even a peck, but Lily excused herself from the table. She needed a few hours to adjust to everything, or else she knew she was going to just wind up being an arse to two of her closest friends.
The doors to the castle had been propped open, and students filtered in and out of the entrance hall. Some went towards the Great Hall, and others headed toward their respective common rooms. Amongst the stream of students, Lily noticed Alice walking side by side with Frank Longbottom.
"Oi, Alice!" called Lily, waving.
Alice waved back. She said something to Frank while gesturing in Lily's direction. He waved goodbye and headed toward the Great Hall. Passing in front of a gaggle of hugging first years, Alice came over to where Lily stood. The two girls embraced.
"How was your Christmas?" asked Lily.
"It was swell. My sister came home from the States for a few days, and my mum gave me a new broom. I saw my dad for a little bit, too."
"How are your parents handling the divorce?" asked Lily, as they started up the stairs.
"Fine, fine," said Alice. "My mum's a tough woman. It's not like the divorce was so horribly contentious, either. And my dad's already found a new place in London, near the ministry. But did I mention my new broom?"
"Yes, Alice, you did. I'm guessing it's a good one?"
"It's amazing! I'll have to show it to you later. I haven't been able to get out and fly on it much, being in the city and all. I wonder when James is going to start practices again."
"Probably pretty soon, knowing him and how quidditch-crazy he is."
"Hey, watch your tongue about my sport."
Alice gave Lily a playful punch on the arm, which Lily returned in kind.
Halfway to Gryffindor Tower, they heard familiar voices coming from the staircase below. Lily leaned out over the railing, one hand keeping her balance and the other pushed up to keep her hair out of her face.
Sure enough, Potter and his friends were swaggering up the staircase, still red-faced from the cold. James and Sirius were clearly griping at each other in their usual way. Sirius responded by swatting his friend on the head. Remus and Peter walked beside them, giving each other a look as if to say, those two.
"It's them," Lily said to Alice. Her tone made it clear who "them" was.
Lily thought of the idea Nadia had mentioned at lunch. Getting the Marauders drunk on firewhisky, now there was an idea.
They had to wait until the younger students were in bed though, of course. There was no need to set a bad example. Lily sent Alice to explain the idea to the guys, who only too readily agreed. That left the rest of the afternoon and a fair portion of the evening to get through.
While her roommates unpacked their things, Lily stayed in the common room to catch up with Frank Longbottom. He arrived at the castle in the mid-afternoon, but had yet to go up to his dormitory to unpack.
"Giving the roommates time to settle in," he had explained.
Lily could only imagine what it must be to room with Potter and Black.
"So how's your break been, Lily?" asked Frank.
Lily had done a lot of quality potions work for Slughorn, and then there was the odd incident of the previous night. But given where her head was that day, the first thing that came out of her mouth was, "Snogging."
"I'm – what?" spluttered Frank.
"Snacking," amended Lily. "No one was around to catch me going to the kitchens."
"Sure, of course."
Lily was sure her face had turned bright red. Thankfully, Frank seemed as willing to shift the topic as she was.
"Before break, hadn't you mentioned something about doing some work for Slughorn?" he asked.
"Yeah, I did. He kept me pretty busy. I caught a bit of a cold around Boxing Day, though. Being in the dungeons all day and all," she replied.
"I hope you didn't spend the holidays like that."
"Well, Christmas was quiet, but I forced myself to get down to the Three Broomsticks for New Year's. Rosmerta was nice company. That woman really knows how to hold her liquor."
"I'd imagine so. She's nice, that Rosmerta," said Frank.
Lily gave him a look and nudged his shoulder. "I'm guessing nice isn't the first adjective on your mind."
"Probably isn't," he said with a smile.
Frank Longbottom was not a bad-looking bloke. Features aside, he held himself with a kind of confidence that James Potter strove too hard for. Even just lounging on the couch, head tilted back and arms crossed, Frank had an easiness to him. Lily wondered whether he would actually pursue Rosmerta. One could never tell whether Frank was serious when he threw out these casual asides.
At dinner, Nadia explained to Alice that she and Fran were now dating, as she had for Lily. Alice seemed just as surprised, but she smiled and told them how happy she was for them. Lily couldn't truthfully say she payed attention the whole time. The words "dating", "couple", and "girlfriend" made her stomach feel oddly tight.
As she zoned out of the conversation she was supposed to be involved in, Lily couldn't help but notice that Remus didn't look well. He seemed tired and aged, and Lily could have sworn she saw a gray hair or two around his ears. She tried to think of what phase the moon was in, but she realized she hadn't gone outside at night for some time. She really needed to get out more, she decided.
After dinner in the common room, Lily went over to where Remus sat with a book. She put a kind hand on his shoulder, bent her head down, and whispered in his ear.
"Is it near the full moon?" she asked.
"Two nights ago," he said, his voice pained.
Lily moved her hand to his back and rubbed it in a circle consolingly. Remus gave her a smile that said quite clearly how hard it had been on him.
"It's rougher when you're not here, isn't it?" she said.
Remus nodded. Lily was aware of the real reason behind the Shrieking Shack's name. Every time the full moon rolled around, she felt a pain in her chest at the thought of Remus cooped up alone in there.
"You want to sit?" said Remus. "Tell me how your break was."
"Nothing special," said Lily, taking the seat across from him. "Spent New Year's with Rosmerta. Spent Christmas alone. Everyone sobbed and I was a lonely spinster for all of time."
Remus chuckled.
"You?" asked Lily.
"Spent Christmas at the Potters'. James's mum is quite lovely to be around," he said.
"I'm sure. Makes you wonder how the apple fell so far from the tree."
"Well, from what I hear, his dad wasn't entirely innocent during his Hogwarts years."
"There it is."
Over near the fire, Sirius was sprawled out on the couch while James sat on the floor.
Sirius nudged James's head with his foot and said, "I reckon a dungbomb or two would clear this place out nicely."
"That'd get rid of all of us too, idiot," said James.
"But I don't want to have to wait for the children to decide it's bedtime before I can get drunk," moaned Sirius.
"I'll get you the bottle now if you like. I'd enjoy seeing you make an ass of yourself around children," said James.
"And that's why you should never be a father, mate," said Sirius, laughing.
It was around ten thirty when the common room finally emptied, aside from them. Nadia and Fran went up to their dorm and returned with three unopened bottles of firewhisky. Well, the bottles were unopened until Fran pulled the cap off one, tipped it back, and took a swig.
Sirius took one of the bottles from Nadia and made a face. "Blishen's? Didn't you have any Ogden's?"
"If you don't like my liquor, you don't have to drink it," said Nadia.
Sirius gave a dramatic sigh and put the bottle down next to the other two. He pulled a deck of cards out of his back pocket and then took his place in the circle they'd all formed on the floor.
"Name of the game is BS," Sirius said. He shuffled the deck with one hand, like he worked at a casino. "We catch you cheating, drink. We don't catch you, drink. If you lose, drink."
"Wouldn't it be easier to inject it into my bloodstream now?" said Fran.
Sirius gave her a look. He gave the deck of cards to Alice, who sat to his left, telling her to cut them. She did so and passed them back. Then Sirius dealt the cards with surprising speed, before taking up his own and dramatically pondering them. He stroked his non-existent beard and made various "m-hmm" noises.
"Get on with it," said Peter.
Sirius tossed down the first card. Then they all went around the circle, taking it in turns to put down their cards. Poor Remus had to cheat on his first move; Lily was the one who called him out on it.
"Maybe the liquor will make you a better liar," she said.
Remus swallowed some firewhisky and made a face at her.
They went around a few more times, and everyone had to drink at some point or another, except for James. Lily was doing better than most of the others. But on the few times she had to drink, she could definitely feel the burn at the back of her throat. She had never quite developed a taste for firewhisky.
On her seventh turn, she laid down a queen and a ten. "Two tens."
"Drink, Evans," said James.
"Wanker," she muttered, taking the proffered bottle.
After a few more circuits, there was more chatting and drinking than actual playing. No one waited until their turn to take a swig from the communal bottles. People's accounts of their cards were inaudible above the din of laughter and shouting. Lily rested her head in Remus's lap and held her cards close to her face so he couldn't see them.
"Are you trying to poke your nose through your queen, Lily?" said Sirius.
"S'not a queen, Black. Even if it were, my nose'd be nicer to get poked with than what you've got," retorted Lily.
For some reason, Fran found that comment utterly hilarious. She started snorting wildly, throwing her head back with each burst of laughter. Nadia threw an arm around her new girlfriend's shoulders, laughing with her.
"So let me get this straight," said James, "You're gay for each other?"
"Not just for each other. I'm gay for most girls," said Nadia.
"I'm comfor…comf…nicely bi," said Fran.
"So you're saying I've still got a shot?" said Sirius.
Fran gave his head a shove. "Don't be an arse!"
A few feet away from the center of the din, Lily poked Remus in the side. His stomach was inches from her nose, as she was still lounging in his lap.
"What about you, Remus?" she asked.
"What about me?" he said.
His words were less slurred than the others'. He had been forced to drink more than most of them, but Lily knew Remus to be able to hold his liquor fairly well. Better than Sirius, it seemed. And definitely better than Peter, who was a bit of a lightweight.
"You got anyone?" she asked. She, too, was more sober than not. Unlike Remus, it was mostly due to a good hand.
"You've been asking for years, Lily, and the answer's always no." He raised his eyebrows and added, "I'm starting to get the feeling you want me for yourself."
Lily giggled. She sat up and put her arm on Remus's nearer shoulder. She said, "I love you, Remus. You're great. But you've got idiots for best friends, and it looks like you four are a package deal."
"You say that like I'm not one of the idiots," said Remus, grinning.
Lily giggled once more. She watched as Sirius and James began swatting at each other, their hands flapping all about. They looked like children fighting in a schoolyard.
Peter was the first to head up to bed, and Lily went up not long after. All of them trickled into their respective dormitories, one by one. By the time the common room was empty, the fire was little more than a few embers next to the andirons.
As Lily changed into her pajamas, she lost her balance and knocked into the bottle of wine still on her nightstand. She heard it hit the floor and probably crack, but then it rolled across the floorboards. She bent down and groped around for the bottle. No such luck. She sighed and decided to look for it in the morning.
One of the beds in the dormitory was empty that night, although Lily didn't notice. Just as she had so many times over break, Fran fell asleep next to Nadia.