I've been super busy for the past few weeks so I haven't updated this story. Anyways, I'm not JKR because then I wouldn't be writing this sorry excuse of a story. This is also a filler chapter of sorts because I had zero idea what to write about.


In about mid November, Remus was reading another book Alice had lent him when James interrupted the rare silence. Remus poked his head out of his curtains to see James ripping up the History of Magic essay. "James!" Remus said, alarmed. "Yeah?" James said nonchalantly. "You just ripped up your essay! That's graded!" At Remus's loud explanation at James's should-be-illegal activities, Peter joined in.

"That'll ruin your grade! You already don't listen during that class." Sirius, who was the reason James didn't pay attention, butted in. "That'd be funny if we were all second years and James was still in first. Wonder what the lovely Miss Evans would think?" James glared at Sirius. "I don't like her! Besides," he added, "I bet five Galleons Binns is going to die soon. We'll get an actual good professor who teaches us."

"Maybe by the time we cover wars," Remus sighed wishfully. Remus wanted to learn about the exciting war involving Grindelwald and Dumbledore with a teach who could, you know, actually teach. "We need something interesting," James said, changing the subject Sirius had brought up, Lily Evans. Remus rolled his eyes. "James, we go to a magical school. We use magic. It doesn't get much more interesting than that."

"I don't know," Sirius disagreed. "Sharing a dorm with a werewolf sounds much more interesting." Remus flinched and tried not to panic. What did Sirius know? It was only November, for Merlin's sake! "That would be more scary than cool," Remus forced himself to say. Sirius looked disappointed. The two stared at one another until Peter's voice brought them back. "James is right. Anything fun we could do?" Flustered from the possibility of Sirius knowing, Remus shouted out the first thing that came to mind. "Birthdays!"

James chuckled. "Remus, we can't just find somebody whose birthday is on November tenth right now." Remus tried to backtrack. "I meant when is all your birthdays? We could have a birthday celebration." James groaned. "So far." "Mine's further," Sirius said. Remus, still uncomfortable at addressing Sirius, let Peter speak first. "When is all of yours?"

"March tenth," Remus told them. "Let me think," James said. Remus, Peter, and Sirius gave him a weird look. Remus wasn't sure how James was at the top of their classes sometimes. "November third" Sirius said. James abandoned thinking. "We missed it?" he screeched. Remus winced and covered his ears. "Obviously. It's not even a big deal. Besides, Remus went home because his grandpa died."

Thinking back, Remus realized that was the full moon. "What do you mean it's not a big deal?" Peter demanded. Sirius shrugged. "I've never had a birthday party. It's just any old day. Although my cousin did give me a knife once." From what he had heard about Sirius's family, Remus guessed that cousin was Bellatrix Black. Remus opened his mouth to ask if he could see the knife, but James spoke up.

"We're throwing you a birthday party!" he exclaimed. Remus and Peter glanced at one another. Remus masked a laugh as a cough before catching what James was saying. "...and food and banners and balloons and firewhiskey-" "Firewhiskey?" Remus exclaimed. "James, we're in first year!" "I have some in my trunk," Peter said. Remus stared at his only sane friend. "Peter, no! Don't turn out like them!" he wailed.

James, who had already started going through Peter's trunk, shot Remus a glare. Sirius dramatically died. "You wound me! My own friend! My Remmy!" "I thought we agreed to never use those names?" Remus said before addressing the matter at hand. James had found the firewhiskey in Peter's trunk.

"We're eleven! Double ones! Ten plus one! Six plus five! Seven plus four! First years!" "I'm twelve," Sirius interrupted. Remus through his hands up. "You guys will get yourself killed!"

"Nah. One of you will kill me," said James, who was now making a list of party items. "Sirius," Remus bet. "I bet Peter'll kill me," James said. Peter looked offended. "Then Remus will kill me." "I'd never kill you. Unless you kill James and frame Sirius." Sirius then watched Peter's every move as if he'd murder James and blame it on Sirius at that very moment.

Remus sighed and stood up. "I'm going to find Lily," he announced. James shot up so fast that he hit his head on Peter's bed frame. Sirius went into a fit of hysterics. "I don't have a crush on Lily Evans!" he shouted. Remus quickly ran out the door when James through a rock that was on their floor, for some reason, at Sirius.


"Potter wants to do what?" Lily looked up at Remus in disbelief. Remus nodded sadly. Lily, who had been making paper airplanes for reasons Remus wasn't going to know, had just been told Potter's stupid plan to celebrate Black's birthday. "What's firewhiskey?" Lily then asked. She really hoped firewhiskey wasn't what it sounded like.

"A strong alcohol. And Peter had it in his trunk," Remus explained glumly. Lily shuddered. She really didn't want to imagine a drunk Potter. Then again, that would be excellent blackmail.

"What are the paper airplanes for?" Remus asked, interrupting Lily's thoughts. Unluckily for Lily, she wasn't a very good liar. "Oh, those? They're for... they're for Mary and Marlene. You know, birthdays and all. Did you know that Nicholas Flannel has infinite birthdays? It's on a Chocolate Frog card. Speaking of Chocolate Frogs, they're so good but so creepy. I mean, the frog feels alive! And-" "Lily," Remus interrupted. Lily blushed.

"I've been rambling, haven't I?" she said. Remus looked amused. "You're about as good as a liar as James. Now, really, what are the Chocolate Frogs for?" Lily sighed. SHe had lost this battle. "I was going to send them after Potter. He'll get many paper cuts and have to go to the Hospital Wing. When he gets out, I'll do it again." Lily smiled happily at her genius plan. Remus looked horrified.

"Paper cuts sting! Lily, that's almost as bad as the Killing Curse!" Lily scoffed. "I read up on the Killing Curse in the library. It's painless, except there's no chance of survival." Remus shuddered. "It sounds painful. Instant death? Something has to happen to your organs." Lily looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll ask my sister. She wants to be a scientist. But if I ever do die from the Killing Curse, I'll tell you how it feels." Remus made a face at Lily's sarcasm.

"What are the three Unforgivable curses anyways? Alice Fortescue was saying that the first years have to pick anything to right a topic on and present it to the class for Defense." Remus rolled his eyes. "My dad says there's been a different Defense professor since his third year. They all have different methods. That was probably Alice's teacher's method." Lily was let down. She loved doing projects. If she did well, people were intimidated. Lily relished in that power. "I was really looking forward to it. I'll just do it for fun."

"Those books are probably in the restricted section," Remus warned. Lily knew this wouldn't be a challenge. "All the teachers love me. I'll get Slughorn or somebody to sign a permission slip. Besides, I bet it's easy to sneak in." Remus laughed. "How humble."

"I'm going right now!" Lily exclaimed. Remus looked at her like she was stupid. "What?" "Lily it's past curfew." Lily sighed in a disappointed way and evaluated her options. She could wait, sneak out and risk detention, or ask an older student. She spotted Alice from across the room and made a beeline for her. "Alice, I need-" Lily trailed off. Alice was sniffling with tears running down her face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Lily said. Only she would be stupid enough to approach the fifth year at this time. "It's not a problem, Lily. What's the matter?" Alice asked as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Er, what are the three Unforgivable spells? I want to do a report for fun on them. And are you okay?" Alice gave Lily a wobbly smile. "Yes, I just- it doesn't matter. We cover the Unforgivable curses in fourth year, at least for my class. All the teachers are different. I have my old textbook upstairs." Alice took off. Lily awkwardly stayed where she was.

Alice ran back down with a book. "Here you go, Lily. It's in Chapter 4, I believe. There's three curses called the Killing Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Imperius Curse." Alice's eyes drifted to the boy who had just walked in the common room, Frank Longbottom. She began explain the whole chapter to Lily. "The Killing Curse kills people, hence the name. The incantation is 'Avada Kedavra'. I suggest to not try it on anybody."

Alice paused for a moment to look over he shoulder. She met Frank's eye and whirled back around. "Moving on, the Cruciatus Curse causes unimaginable pain. You'll never feel pain beyond it. Many people have gone insane from prolonged exposure to the curse. This incantation is 'Crucio'. To cast the spell, you need to really mean it." Alice once again glanced at Frank across the room. He was staring at her. Alice blushed and turned towards Lily once again.

Lily figured that something was going on between Alice and Frank. She wondered what, but Alice had started talking again. "The Imperius Curse seems like the most innocent, but it's the deadliest. You're under complete control of the caster. The incantation is 'Imperio'. The only way to throw the curse off is to regain your mind. Only the strongest minds can handle that."

Alice finished her mini lesson and handed the book over to Lily. There's some examples in the book. I think they'll help." Lily smiled gratefully at Alice and thanked her. As she walked back over to Remus, she heard somebody yelling her name. "Lily! Come here!" Lily spun around and saw Dorcas staring at her with wide eyes. "Dorcas, what's the matter?"

Dorcas grabbed Lily's arm and dragged her up the stairs. Lily shot Remus an apologetic look. "I did something so stupid! Lily, you need to help me!" Lily was slowly becoming more and more confused. "Take deep breaths. What did you do?" Dorcas buried her head in her hands. "Can you help me bury a body?" Lily's eyes widened. "Are they still alive?" Dorcas bobbed her head up and down. "Please, Lily! Help me!" Lily set the book down on her bed and stood up. "Where to?"

As Dorcas and Lily sneaked out of the portrait hole and down the hallway, Lily glanced at Dorcas through the dark. "Who is it?" she whispered. Dorcas stayed silent. "Dorcas?" Dorcas sighed and replied. "That Ravenclaw girl from Charms, the one with the long fingernails, called you and Mary a you-know-what." An image of the Ravenclaw popped up in Lily's mind.

"What was the word? She did insult me, I think, on the first day of Charms." Dorcas's face changed from frightened to angry. "Was the word mudblood?" Lily nodded. Dorcas stormed down the hallway. Lily had to run to catch up with her. "What does it mean?" Dorcas closed her eyes briefly.

"There's a war brewing on the horizon. People want to get rid of people like you, muggleborns. Mudblood means that your blood is dirty because your muggleborn." Dorcas had stopped outside a random classroom. Lily burst into the room. "I was thinking we drop her off by Ravenclaw... Lily what are you doing?"

Lily felt hate overflow in her heart. She pointed her wand at the girl and thought of Alice's little lesson. "Crucio!"


James eagerly strung up banners that were actually old homework as Sirius pounded on the bathroom door. "Let me out!" Peter, who was in charge of making sure Sirius didn't escape, panted. "Hurry up, James! I can't do this for much longer!" Just as James finished hanging up the banner that had "Happy Birthday" written over the homework, Remus opened the door. "Is that my homework?"

James decided that he'd answer that question after Sirius's party. Instead, he focused on the gifts. "Can you spare any chocolate?" James asked Remus. Remus looked like James had asked for one of his organs. "Thanks to Sirius and Peter, I don't have a lot left. My mum could only send so much over mail, you know." James huffed and spotted his ripped up essay.

After scribbling a homework pass he gave to Remus for Sirius's present, James sorted through his trunk. He found a Quaffle he had nicked from Quidditch lessons with Madam Hooch. "What are you giving him?" James yelled over Sirius's shouts. "The firewhiskey. Write that's it's to be used five years from now." With everything in order, James instructed Peter to move from the bathroom door. Sirius, who still expected Peter to be standing in front, pushed open the bathroom door with much more force than needed and fell over.

James nervously watched Sirius survey the room. He grinned. "Nice. Although, James, you spelled 'happy' wrong." Sure enough, James had only spelled happy with one p. "It was either that or tear up Peter's History of Magic essay. He wouldn't let me rip up the essay." Remus rubbed his forehead.

"Gift time," James yelled. Sirius jumped. "First, our very own Mr. Remus Lupin would like to gift Mr. Sirius Black with a pass for him to do your homework." Remus sighed and handed Sirius the pass. "Only once, and I mean it." "Next," James announced, "Mr. Peter Pettigrew would like Mr. Sirius Black to receive this bottle of firewhiskey to use in five years." Sirius studied the bottle with great interest.

"And last but certainly not least, Mr. James Potter would like to give Mr. Sirius Black a Quaffle to throw at people." Sirius threw the Quaffle at James. James rubbed his arm. "I mean, a thank you would work too. Anyways, let's get to the game. We'll be playing a muggle game that Mary MacDonald was showing Emmeline March last week- Truth or Dare. I think we all know how to play, since we're either half bloods or present when Mary MacDonald went on her rant on the lack of wizard games."

The four sat down in a circle. Sirius was staring at Remus. Remus looked uncomfortable. Peter's face had turned red at the mention of Mary MacDonald. James decided to ignore all of this for now, seeing as his friends could be secretive. "Sirius can start off, since it's his birthday."

"Remus, truth or dare?" Sirius asked Remus. Remus said dare without considering it. Sirius looked disappointed. "Fine. I dare you to drink the toilet water." Remus looked disgusted. "That's so unsanitary." Sirius smirked. "Should've picked truth." With Sirius words, Remus went into the bathroom. The remaining three exchanged looks and piled into the bathroom.

Remus leaned his head closer and closer to the toilet. Peter gagged and ran out of the bathroom. Sirius turned away in disgust. James watched with a weird fascination as Remus took a sip of the toilet water, stuck his hand down his throat, and threw up. "There," Remus said when he finished puking, "it's out of my system." James made a face. Sirius had fled the bathroom when he heard Remus began to throw up. Peter was laying on the floor and was covering his ears. "My turn," Remus said as if he hadn't just thrown up.

"Peter, truth or dare?" Remus asked Peter. "Truth," Peter said hastily. Personally, James thought that Peter was scarred for life by Remus's dare. "What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?" Peter flushed. "I, er, once I dressed up as a doll for Halloween." Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "At least you were little," Remus said kindly. Peter looked mortified. "No, it was last year." At this, James and Remus went into a fit of hysterics.

"James, truth or dare?" Peter questioned when they had calmed down. "Truth," James said. The floor was too comfortable. "What's your middle name?" Sirius snorted. "How creative." James was wishing he had never picked truth. Sirius stopped picking on Peter's choice when he saw James's face. "That bad, huh?"

"It's... it's," James stuttered. He couldn't do this! They'd tease him forever! "You have to tell the truth," Remus warned. "It's Fleamont" James spit out. The only amused three exchanged looks before falling onto the floor with laughter. James huffed and crossed his arms. "I bet somebody in here has a weird middle name!" Sirius sobered up at this immediately. "Sirius, truth or dare?" James shouted over the laughter to his next victim. "Dare," Sirius chose quickly.

"I dare you to tell us what your middle name is." Sirius looked flabbergasted. "He can't do that! Right?" James exchanged subtle looks with Remus and Peter. Luckily enough, Sirius knew only the basics of Truth or Dare. "That's not against the rules. Go on, Sirius," Remus encouraged. Sirius squeezed his eyes shut. "It's Orion," he told them softly. There was silence for a moment. Then they all, excluding Sirius, began to giggle again.

The game went on for hours. It only ended when Dorcas Meadowes stormed upstairs and told them there was a huge issue going on and she'd appreciate it if they shut up. James was curious about what issue was big enough to have Dorcas up at three in the morning on a school night. Remus yawned. "We'll be exhausted tomorrow," he groaned. James shrugged. "It was worth it."

That was only the beginning of their late nights.