Disclaimer: The overwhelming stress of biochemistry and organic chemistry and the need to do well in order to get some sort of job since I'm drowning in student loans should make it painfully obvious I am not J.K. Rowling and therefore do not own Harry Potter or it's canon characters.
Four
Gryffindors were legendary for their parties.
This was mostly due to the resident trouble makers, collectively known as the Marauders. Their first two years, when they were (somewhat) naive, they didn't host any, but allowed those older then themselves to go through the trouble. It wasn't until midway through second year when they snuck down to enjoy a party hosted by Brandon Milkens, that the idea had even crossed their mind. Three of them were innocently as ever, trying to sneak down to spring their constantly ill friend from the hospital ward, when a drunken sixth year had shoved a drink into Sirius Black's hand. Third year, two nights before Halloween, the Marauders began their reign, not only as top notch trouble makers, but as expert party planners.
Mary MacDonald thought that Marauders parties were a splendid place to dance. It was the rare occasion that there was any opportunity to dance (in the girls dorm didn't count) and Mary desperately wanted to dance all the time. It was easy to get lost in the music swirling around you and making your body sway in rhythm. It was easy to have an excuse to get close to a boy that you may have had an eye on, or to bring your boyfriend from another house into the common room without anyone getting cross with you, as everyone was usually too pissed to care.
Caradoc Dearborn loved the music. He hated dancing of course, as most blokes do, but he loved the music. All the wards around Hogwarts limited the use of radios or any clever muggle devices. But those Marauders, his crazed roommates, always had a way to play music when they wanted. It was smashing to have a party filled with loud drums and such (although he couldn't deny the urge to strangle them all when they decided 3 am the night before a test when he'd been having a pleasant dream was the appropriate time to hear a new song from bloody Skeletal Growth).
Dorcas Meadows could never quite decide if she liked Marauder parties. Sure, she liked to get smashed as much as the next girl, she enjoyed the resulting pictures from Marlene's camera (maybe not all of them), and she usually had fun with a boy or two, but overall Dorcas was beginning to grow bored of them. Wasn't it always the same thing? People would get smashed and end up half-naked trancing all over the common room throwing themselves at one another in a way, that even smashed, she was not interested in seeing.
Marlene Jardine adored parties. She loved to see her friends having a good time, and was always thrilled to take part in the games played. It was wonderful the mash-up of games. There were the typical wizard ones like Goblin Grab or Newt but then there were the ones Mary had brought (Lily refused to teach any), Kings one was called. Never Have I Ever was another. Though as much as she loved most of the games they played, she had a large about of disdain for one. Yes, Sirius Black was a bloody good shag, but that didn't mean Marlene had any interest in the repeat.
Edgar Bones usually had a good time at the Gryffindor based parties. Remus Lupin normally made sure Bones knew of them, in exchange for certain tips like the current Hufflepuff password. It was at one of course, in the beginning of the year, just after James Potter's tremendous first win as Quidditch captain, that he first met Dorcas. He'd knew her before hand, as those at relatively small schools do, by face, by family parties, by aquaintance. But he'd really met her then. She'd sauntered over to him, claiming she was bored of Gryffindor blokes and thought a Hufflepuff might be a nice change (he didn't comment that he'd remembered her briefly dating his roommate, Doug Alercki, but simply let her lead him out into the corridor. He'd had a good time then, before he knew she grew bored so easily, at least of him.
Lily Evans hated Marauder parties. It's not to say she didn't have fun at them, she loved dancing with Mary or watching Marlene delight in being taught (and winning at) a new game, but at some point in the night she would be grabbed by a bloke who'd drank too much and all hell would break lose. Saying that to a non-attendee, it would be automatically assumed it was James Potter. They'd say he'd tried to kiss her, hold her hand, or grasp her arm firmly and drag her close to dance with him. They would of course be wrong. In all the years they'd known each other, he'd never forced himself on her physically. Lily liked to rant (as she did about him quite often), it was because he took too much pride in having a functional anatomy, but she would never willingly admit that she knew it for a different reason.
James Potter had thrived on parties, at first. Ever since Sirius had that fateful drink shoved into his hands, and the Marauders had tasted what a party was like. Ever since they began their own, girls had begun throwing themselves at the four boys, older ones even, and all the older guys thought they were brilliant, with their large stock of Ogden's best. The parties made it so James was cheered on all quidditch days, win or lose. It was around one party fifth year he noticed that one girl particulary didn't like the parties. Rather he was always aware of how she felt about them, but that year was different. He had noticed her in so many other ways. It was also the party he ended up getting into his first physical fight. Poor Davy Gudgeon.
"Is that a joke?" He asked to the group of eyes staring back at him. "It must be."
One sighed, another frowned, and the third spoke, "I'm right there with you Prongs. Us throw a party for the bloke who thought he could steal your girl? Bullocks."
Remus sighed once more, "James it's not as if you've been as vocal about your feelings as you had been."
"That still doesn't give him the right."
"Tosser should've asked James first."
"Sirius don't egg him on." Remus snapped.
"He's not egging me on, he's being supportive."
"I'm just saying maybe he didn't know."
"As if anyone could think Prongs here was over Evans. The only person who doesn't seem to be aware he's tripping over himself around her, is Evans."
"Don't be ridic-"
"Are we throwing the party or not?" Peter said, causing the three who had gradually moved closer to argue. After all everyone knew it was easier to get your point across while yelling.
"We voting?" Remus questioned.
"Can we not?" Sirius said darkly, "I hate voting."
"How about this, I'm saying no. The ass went after my girl, when he knows I've fancied her for years."
"I think we should." Remus said, but adapted at the two responding glares he received. "Not for him, mind you, just for everyone else. It's been an awful year, and next year I can only imagine it'll be worse."
"So we're having a party on Caradoc's birthday, but it's not for him?" Peter laughed, "No wonder no one else understands us."
"Are you joking?" Mary said, flabbergasted, "They were holding hands while you were on a date?"
"I could see how cozy they looked from across the room." Dorcas said from her bed. The four girls were sprawled out in various positions around their room. Mary was sitting on her bed, dangling her legs off the edge. Marlene had taken up the center of the floor, mirroring DaVinci's famous painting while Dorcas lay on her bed with her legs crossed. Lily was curled up in the cushioned chair in the corner of the room, counting celing tiles between Mary's questions.
"That's low, even for the best friend of Caridee."
"Caridee isn't that terrible." Marlene commented, while swinging a leg over to crack her back.
"Marly, don't you remember what happened with Joshua Schoderiun?" Mary fired back, "She and your boyfriend fell out of a broom closet while we were walking to Herbology and all she could say was oops!"
"To be fair, he was terrible. The bloke went after Lily while he was still dating me."
Dorcas laughed, "That had to be Potter's best attack yet. I couldn't look at him again without picture pink feathers."
"Muggles have been tarring and feathering for decades. It wasn't anything original."
"Do you just feel like arguing Marlene? Evaluations not work out well?"
"Evaluations?" Mary popped off her bed and took a seat on the floor, and leaned her face over Marlene's. "What bloke were you evaluating?"
Marlene glared up at her friend for a second, before rolling herself over onto her stomach. "No one."
"Dory who was she evaluating?"
"No one since you and Dorcas have snogged most of the eligible bachelors at Hogwarts." Marlene snapped, lifting her head up.
Mary pouted, "That's not—"
"Mary save it. You and me, we like blokes, nothing wrong with that." Dorcas smiled, remembering her midnight rendezvous with Edgar. She had found the more aloof she acted in public, the more he tried to impress her later, in the best of ways.
"Eddie man, it's gotta be a joke. We can't be done." Doug announced clapping his roommate on the shoulder as they walked to breakfast. "We showed up here, not knowing anything, and now look at us. Both off to the Auror Academy in a few weeks,"
"It's weird to think this is our last day here." Edgar agreed. As they entered the Great Hall he quickly scanned the Gryffindor table to see if she was present. When he discovered she was not, his face twitched ever so slightly into a frown, thankfully his roommate didn't notice, as he was currently reliving their first time seeing the hall's enchanted ceiling.
"Your sister coming back to see you graduate?"
"Amelia? Yeah of course."
"Wicked, I haven't seen her since she got out of here." As they sat down Doug cocked an eyebrow, "You introducing the mystery girl to her?"
Taken by surprise Edgar asked, "What mystery girl?" As far as he remember he'd never mentioned anything about Dorcas to his roommate. The way to keep Dorcas, was to not to let their relationship, if you could call it that, get out.
"Mate you've snuck out every other day for the past few months and half the time don't show back up till the next day." Doug smirked at him, "What bird you shagging these days and when the hell do I meet her?"
"I don't have a mystery girl." Edgar announced stubbornly.
"Bullshit."
"Emmy stop joking around, I'm not in the mood for your theatrics."
"Joking around?" Emmeline screeched at her best friend. "He's actually not speaking to me, for the first time in our lives, we are actually not speaking!"
"He didn't answer you as he was trying to recover a date that you helped ruin. He'll be fine by tomorrow." Caridee told her exasperated, "I, however, am not trying to fix a date, but am trying to eat. Can you pull yourself together and come?"
"Cari, my best friend oh and bloke I'm in love with isn't speaking with me! This isn't time to eat!"
"Here's what happens Em. Either you go down to breakfast, find him, apologize and say you had no idea, or you hide up here and act like a child, a guilty child." Cari crossed her arms, "Make your decision now because I am getting food with or without you."
"My life is a joke."
"No it isn't." Mary said twirling her hair, while Marlene glared down at the meal that had apparently offended her.
"Yes it is." Marlene's predictably immediate response came. "There's no decent bloke left in this place and now, Hogwarts has created a beautiful breakfast of all things I hate. I want my waffles."
"Have some fruit, the fruit salad is perfect this morning."
Marlene scowled down at the bowl Mary held out to her, "I'm allergic to strawberries and they have taken over the table."
"I don't think Ben likes strawberries either."
"I hate you."
"Caradoc! Wanna hear a joke?" Emmeline smiled sliding into the seat next to her Gryffindor.
"Not right now Emmeline."
"Well you will anyway. Are you ready?" Caradoc poked the eggs Benedict in front of him.
"Fine."
"We haven't talked since Hogsmeade." Emmeline dropped the smile on her face, and twisted the corner of her shirt nervously.
Caradoc stopped torturing his egg and smiled at her, "Suppose it's because you haven't gotten any better at telling jokes since the knock knock joke incident." She returned his grin and quit twisting her shirt, as much. "I'm sorry I just wasn't in the mood to do much other than sulk yesterday after what happened with Lily and James."
"He's an ass. Ignore him."
"If only it was so easy."
"Potter, I'm not in the mood for a joke."
Lily was sitting in the window of the Owlery watching as her owl Achilles flew away. She had thought to write to a friend from home, a muggle. Fiona was under the impression Lily was at a boarding school where she spent a decent amount of time researching owls, which of course explained while Lily was able to use an owl to deliver her mail, rather than the post office. The extra reading she had to do before returning home didn't bother Lily in the slightest, she found that sitting in the owlery calmed her, for whatever reason.
"You look like you could use one." James said, sidestepping a pile of droppings and advancing towards the window Lily was at. He had been aware since about fourth year that this was her spot to come and sit. He had wanted to send a surprise Howler to Sirius, he couldn't remember the reason why of course once he saw her. He credited the moment he saw her gazing out the window with the orange of the sunset reflecting off her face with his ongoing obsession with her. He had tried to bring other girls to the area, wanting to see if they could shine in that light as she did, but they complained about the smell, or as with Sidney Bailey, the dropping that fell on their perfectly combed (and previously clean) hair.
Lily sighed and turned her head towards him, only a fraction. "I don't. I just needed to send a letter."
"You could have done that at breakfast you know." He kept his slow advance going, "All your friends are down there, and I'm sure your owl would be if you had been hungry."
"I guess I wasn't in the mood." Lily swung her legs over the ledge so she was now facing James, her back against the background of acres of green. "Did you need something Potter?"
"Are you coming tonight?" He had finally reached her and stood about a meter from her, he was trying to not invade her space more than he knew he already had.
"Are you going through with it then? The birthday party?" She had thought the Marauders had switched from being separate and put out with Sirius to being united (for the most part) against Caradoc.
"It's not a birthday party. It's just a party." James shrugged, "Remus thinks we need it before summer, and given this mornings paper, I'm beginning to agree."
"I've never been a fan of them."
"You could come with me?" James voice nearly cracked half-way through. It had slipped, despite his desperate attempts to avoid asking that one simple question for the past month.
"I said I wasn't in the mood for a joke Potter." Lily slid off the ledge and brushed past him, leaving James staring at the outside, cursing the first sunset he had seen there (and his bloody mouth).
Authors Note: Sorry for the length, midterms have taken over my life.
