It briefly occurred to Cassie that surely the staff must have an inkling that something was up. Every Gryffindor student from fifth year up, and a decent proportion of the older Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, all seemed far more excited than the end of the Halloween Feast really allowed for.
Marlene had been wittering excitedly about Jonathan Abbott (the date with whom had gone rather excellently), and Lily had been very much enjoying dropping hints about certain Hufflepuff friends that Abbott might well be bringing to the party in between musing aloud the possibilities of the evening's entertainment. Even Mary was fidgeting in her seat during the Feast, and Cassie knew her own excitement showed through her inability to eat a third helping of chocolate brownie ice cream cake - her stomach was squirming in a way that had felt reasonably pleasant before she attempted to eat her own weight in food, and now she was seriously contemplating whether she needed a digestion-aiding nap prior to making their way to the old disused Alchemy classroom to help the boys set up.
In the end, the Marauders didn't give her a choice in the matter: as she and Lily giggled over Lydia Ross' forgotten curler in the back of her hair on their way up towards Gryffindor tower, Cassie suddenly found her arm hooked, and she was pulled sharply out to the side.
"Hey, Sparks," a pair of hazel eyes beamed from behind their spectacles as James released her arm from his grip, "Not forgetting about your promise now, are you?"
"Of course she was," Sirius sneered from behind him, "She'll have been sneaking away to try and sleep off that gigantic food baby."
Cassie aimed a kick at Sirius' shins, quite satisfied with the yelp of pain she was met with. Whether he was right or not was irrelevant - it was her prerogative to pretend he was completely wrong, and his suggestion highly offensive, whilst the other boys agreed, in the silent knowledge that Sirius was spot on with his observation. It was a dynamic that worked well.
"I still can't believe we couldn't find that perfect room again," James lamented as the five of them traipsed upstairs towards the Alchemy classroom.
"Must have been a moving room if it wasn't on the Map," Sirius said, clapping his mate on the shoulder in an attempt to cheer him up, "And the Alchemy classroom is perfectly fine. Filch barely ever goes up there, and it's not too close to any teachers' offices."
"Plus," Peter chipped in, "It's nice and close to that passage from the Ancient Runes corridor, so there's a decent escape route."
Remus frowned at the smaller boy.
"There's no way everyone would fit in there, Wormy. And we would hardly bail on the party we threw and leave anyone else to take the rap."
Peter looked chagrined, but still a little worried.
The Alchemy classroom was already slightly creepy, with it's cobwebbed desks and chairs, dusty old blackboard, and strange smell that was somewhere between musty and rotten, so turning it into a perfect Halloween party location didn't really require someone with Cassie's skills at Charms and James' skill at Transfiguration. She drew her long cedar wand (14 ½ inches, unicorn hair, surprisingly swishy) and paused for a moment, meeting James' excited gaze as he reflected her movement with his own mahogany wand. Then, they made magic.
Headstones rose from the floor. Mist seemed to congeal in the air, drifting menacingly around their ankles. Black paper bats flittered through the air. A skeleton appeared, leaning casually against the wall, winking and waving at anyone who drew too close. Pumpkins sprouted, evil faces carved menacingly into them, their expressions shifting subtly with the light. The ceiling melted away to reveal a starry sky with a huge, silvery moon hung in the centre.
Sirius let out a low whistle of appreciation, but Remus, seeing the moon, flinched visibly.
"Is that necessary?" he asked, slightly tersely.
"'Fraid so, Moony, my man," Sirius said brightly, patting Remus on the back in a way that provided no comfort at all, "It's Halloween-y, isn't it?"
"But it's not the full moon, really," Peter said, half-questioningly, looking at the sky in consternation. Sirius rolled his eyes, but Cassie took pity on the small, mousy boy.
"It's not like the Great Hall ceiling, Wormy. I'm not that good at Charms. It's just a fake sky, that's all."
Understanding lit Peter's face, and he beamed encouragingly at Cassie, Sirius groaning at him, and James and Remus hiding smirks.
"It's very good, Cassie. No one would ever know the difference," he fawned, and Sirius mimed retching behind his back to the amusement of the other Marauders. Cassie murmured her thanks to Peter, scowling at the rather amused Sirius.
The Marauders didn't have long to smuggle their refreshments into the classroom and finish setting up before the first Gryffindors started to arrive. Lily, Marlene and Mary quickly whisked a surprised Cassie off to one side, whispering furtively.
"I can't believe you haven't had a chance to change!" Marlene moaned, pulling at Cassie's uniform, the robes she had worn over the top for the Feast stashed in the secret passageway nearby for later collection.
"Neither have the boys," Cassie pointed out.
"But they're not wearing their school uniform underneath, Cass," Lily countered, raising one eyebrow at the smaller girl. Cassie opened her mouth to retort, but bit it back, turning to look towards her troublemaking counterparts. Remus still wore his robes, but James, Sirius and Peter had removed theirs, revealing smart shirt and trouser combinations (James once again in his waistcoat from the Slug Club party). She groaned.
"Urgh, why did I not think of that?" she lamented, dragging her fingers through her rampant curls, but her friends looked at her without pity.
"Well, clothes aren't usually your priority, are they?" Mary said gently, her hand moving consolingly to Cassie's arm.
Lily and Marlene ruined the comforting effect somewhat by snorting loudly. Cassie shot them a baleful look.
"What I wouldn't give for my Quidditch jumper…" she sighed.
"Well, there's the silver lining," Marlene laughed. Cassie looked at her suspiciously, and the blonde laughed harder, her hair falling forward across her face.
"At least you look like you forgot to change, rather than like you're the type of person who would wear a Quidditch jumper to a party!"
"But I am the type of person who would wear a Quidditch jumper to a party," Cassie said, confused. Lily tried valiantly to maintain her straight face, but soon lapsed into giggles alongside Marlene. Mary bit her lip, hard, a smile squirming out around it.
Several hours later, Cassie (and her Quidditch jumper) was seated at a table in the corner of the classroom with Lily, Mary and the Marauders, music pounding around them. Marlene was still dancing with Jonathan Abbott, but the rest of the seventh year Gryffindors were enjoying a good chat over their glasses of mead rather more than dancing.
"And that's how I became the first wizard to ride a Chinese Fireball for England in the Quidditch World Cup," Sirius finished his story with a flourish, his grey eyes gleaming. Cassie and Lily shared amused but disbelieving looks, whilst James and Remus scoffed loudly. Only Peter, who gazed at Sirius in adoration, seemed in any way taken in by Sirius' tale of skill and daring.
"Wow, Padfoot, that's amazing!" Peter gasped, as James let out a loud groan, "Are you playing for them again in the World Cup next year?"
"God, you really do talk a lot of rubbish, you know," Cassie said to Sirius with a smirk. He winked back at her across the table.
"God, is it? I mean, I know I'm handsome, and charming, and talented, but isn't it Prongs who thinks he's a god?" Sirius smirked right back at her. James turned around sharply to glare at Sirius, but ruined the effect somewhat by pushing his glasses back up his nose.
"You and your bullshit," James said, accompanying his comment with a punch to the arm.
Sirius' grey eyes gleamed fiendishly.
"Are you calling 'Bullshit', Mister Prongs?" he asked with a jaunty grin. James' face lit up, and he and Cassie quickly shared an arch look. Remus let out a long-suffering sigh, but the smile that chased it set the rather confused Lily slightly more at ease.
"What on earth do you mean, Black?" she asked, hesitantly, as the Marauders exchanged devilish looks and smirked at her. James stood up from his seat, his expression comically solemn, and he swept around the table, kneeling next to Lily with an exaggeratedly earnest expression. Cassie tried not to choke.
"My dearest Lily," he began, taking Lily's hand in his own whilst Cassie aimed a kick at Sirius' shin under the table to stop his barking laugh, "Please allow us, allow me, to introduce you to the delights of the game known as 'Bullshit'."
"Remember the Muggle card game 'Cheat' we used to play when our hands got a bit singed from Exploding Snap?" Cassie added slightly more helpfully over James' shoulder, "It's basically that, but with Firewhisky shots if you're lying, or you falsely accuse someone."
Lily looked back down at James, one eyebrow raised, considering. He beamed angelically at her, and she couldn't stop a grin spreading across her face at his antics.
"Alright, then. Let's play Bullshit," she said, although she looked like she regretted it as Sirius, James and Peter began to chant and thump the table in excitement while Remus, somewhat regretfully, began dealing cards.
What started as a simple game of Bullshit soon drew a large crowd, as most things involving the Marauders did: girls were swooning over Sirius' wicked grin whenever he revealed a particularly bold attempt at Bullshitting; guys were clapping James on the back in some strange, tribal display of masculine appreciation for victory whenever he tried to lay down a card; Remus' uncanny ability to know exactly what his friends unsettled everybody; and Lily's blatant satisfaction when she revealed yet again that she was totally innocent, and forced James to drink, made Cassie's grin grow even wider.
However, what caused the most amusement in their spectators, and what seemed to be triggering a spontaneous betting ring to spring up around the table, was the fierce rivalry between Cassie and Sirius.
"You lying dog!"
"Not so innocent a Princess after all!"
"Ha, take that, Black!"
"Nice try, Sparks, but those short little legs just can't keep up with me!"
The two sparred as much with their words and expressions (and one jinx, the aim of which was sorely affected by the volume of Firewhisky consumed) as with the cards, and as Remus called the final hand and began to deal, their gazes were locked in a battle of wills that refused either to look away. Sirius raised one eyebrow challengingly, and Cassie tilted her chin upwards in defiance.
"Bring it on, Princess Sparkles," Sirius growled.
"Oh, you've seen nothing yet, Padfoot," she laughed airily, and slightly too loudly, and Sirius' eyes narrowed at her patronising manner.
"Well you'd better hurry up then, Sparks, or I'll have won and you'll still be trying to come up with trash talk."
James started. Lily played her hand. Peter nervously placed his own cards on the pile. Then it was Cassie's turn.
She had to play fives, sixes or sevens, and didn't have a single one in her hand. And she knew that Sirius was going to call her on Bullshitting the moment she laid her cards. It was the final hand, and he was going to gloat for the entire rest of the evening.
She steeled herself, and played her hand.
"Two sevens," she said, slurring slightly, and placed the cards face down on the top of the pile carefully, her hand no longer particularly steady. Sirius grinned, and leaned back in his seat casually.
"Bullshit," he called, but, possibly somehow related to the vast quantity of Firewhisky imbibed, it was a fraction slower than Remus' call of "Three eights," as he placed another three cards quickly onto the pile.
Cassie gaped at the sandy-haired boy beside her, her head starting to spin as she turned to look at him. He had played his turn before Sirius could call her out! Sirius looked positively shocked, and increasingly annoyed.
"Well," he said, darkly, "I'm assuming this traitor here at least is Bullshitting."
Sirius overturned the first card, carefully. Eight of spades. Then the second: eight of hearts. After a long pause, and a green tinge rising to his cheeks, Sirius turned the last. The eight of clubs.
Remus grinned, smugly.
"Sorry, mate. Drink up."
Sirius gave a growl, but sportingly downed the Firewhisky to the cheers of the crowd of students who had very much enjoyed the spectacle.
The game over, the crowd began to disperse, Galleons slipping between hands inconspicuously. Remus disappeared with the cards and the bottle of Firewhisky, his friends certainly not needing either any more, and his seat next to Cassie was soon filled with a Sirius-shaped blur.
"You are one lucky Princess," he said wryly, and Cassie giggled as though he were the most hilarious person she'd ever met. For a moment, his eyes clouded with confusion, but then he shrugged and his grin came back.
"And you're a drunk Princess, too," he said gleefully.
"Am not," Cassie argued, totally unaware that her dissension, ironically, made it perfectly clear that she was indeed drunk.
"Ok, whatever you say," Sirius agreed with a smug smile that completely belied his words. Cassie slapped at his arm weakly, and he barked with laughter.
"I'm absolutely fine," she insisted, "I could even sit my Transfiguration exam right now, I'm so fine."
Sirius raised an eyebrow, fighting back a smile.
"Oh, really? Then you must be really rather 'fine', because you couldn't even do that sober."
Cassie hesitated for a moment, trying to process what he'd said. The Firewhisky was hitting her now, like the Hogwarts Express in full steam.
"You, Sirius Black, are mean," was the best retort she could find.
She rose to her feet, her hand going quickly to the back of the chair to steady herself just as Sirius' hand went to her other elbow. He stood up, and threw his arm around her shoulders like he always did - but this time she felt rather pleased by this turn of events. It helped keep her upright after all, even if it did justify Sirius' claims a bit.
"And where are you off to, Princess?" he asked playfully, "Need an escort back to Gryffindor Tower, to bed?"
Cassie swiped at him again. She might be a bit tipsy, but she still recognised a Sirius innuendo when she heard one. She felt his answering laugh rumble through his chest.
"No," she said primly, "I'm going to go and dance with Lily and Mary and Marlene and Remus and James."
Sirius pulled his hand to his sternum sharply, feigning a shot to the heart.
"Ouch, Sparks. And what about me?"
Cassie rolled her eyes.
"Like you're ever short a partner, Pads," she said, steering him in the direction of their friends, who had drifted towards the dancefloor.
"Well," he said gruffly, 'Maybe I'd rather dance with my friends."
"Alright," Cassie sighed deeply, "Come on then, Moany McMoanerson."
Sirius directed her towards the dancefloor, where he pulled her into his arms.
"Um," Cassie said, questioningly, as she looked at all the other dancers around them, "is this really necessary?"
"If you want to fall over, go ahead," he said with a smirk. Cassie rolled her eyes, but the room was spinning in a manner that was not totally unpleasant, so she didn't object further. Instead, she leaned her head against Sirius' shoulder, and slowly closed her eyes.
"What on earth have you done to poor Sparks?" came Remus' voice from far away.
"She's alright. I'll take her back in a bit."
There was a moment's silence.
"For God's sake, Moony, not like that."
There was another silence. Cassie took a deep breath, noticing that, contrary to expectation, Sirius really didn't smell like wet dog.
"We shouldn't have let her drink so much. She is rather small."
"She's small, but she's fierce - like a bloody Flesh-Eating Slug."
"How flattering," Remus' voice said, dryly. You tell him, Moony, Cassie thought to herself, but the effort of speaking seemed too much.
"In all seriousness," he continued, "she looks like she's about to pass out - want a hand getting her back?"
Cassie lifted her head, and growled softly.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she breathed.
"Sparks, you haven't opened your eyes," rumbled Sirius' voice in his chest.
"Because I know the room is going to spin a bit if I do. But I'm fine with them closed."
"Well that makes perfect sense," Remus snarked, but Cassie felt Sirius' chest shaking with laughter.
"Yeah, ok," he finally said, breathlessly, "I'll get her back."
Then, suddenly, Cassie's feet were swept out from underneath her, and Sirius was carrying her out of the classroom, away from the noise of the party. There was a rocking motion as he walked, and Cassie felt her stomach roll uncomfortably.
"Padfoot, put me down," she said weakly.
"Let me just get you back, and then you can go to sleep, Sparks," he said soothingly.
"No, seriously, I need a plantpot or an urn or something. I think I'm going to spew."
Sirius must have moved faster than humanly possible, and been rather fortunate in his route back to the tower, because it seemed to be no time before Cassie found herself bent over a toilet, throwing her guts up, Sirius holding her curls back from her face and gently rubbing her back.
"Go on, get it all up: you'll feel a lot better tomorrow for it," he said, resignedly.
"Urgh," Cassie moaned, before heaving again.
"Are we in a toilet?" she asked after a moment, trying to sit up to look around her.
"Yes," he confirmed, quickly aiming her back towards the toilet before another wave broke, "Although unfortunately it's -"
Sirius didn't have time to finish before an irritatingly high pitched girl's voice came from in front of Cassie, somewhere above the cistern. Oh, for goodness sake, Myrtle's bathroom. She'd rather have vomited in a plant pot.
"Why are you in here with a boy?" Myrtle asked suspiciously from above the cistern.
"I really don't think that's my biggest issue right now," she groaned. The ghost sniffed loudly.
"You've been drinking, haven't you?" she asked accusingly.
"Wow, Myrtle," Sirius said appreciatively, "I never noticed how pretty your eyes are behind your glasses, you know."
Myrtle giggled.
"You really shouldn't be in here," she said, but her tone had lost it's harshness.
"We know," Sirius admitted jovially, "But I know you're a really cool girl. You won't tell, will you?"
"Of course not," Myrtle crooned. Cassie felt her stomach roll, and another wave of vomit hit the back of the toilet.
A/N: Sorry for the delay with this one folks - it's been a very busy few weeks with work, uni and personal circumstances. But I'm back, with some more chaps for my multi-chaps, and a few oneshots in the pipeline for this week.
This chapter got longer than I thought - this and the next chapter were originally supposed to be one, but Cassie and Sirius just had to overdo things. But the next chapter's events are good, so stay tuned!
Also, for those who don't know the rules of Bullshit, do look it up - it's a great fun game, either the drinking or non-drinking versions (depending on your age and resident country's drinking laws!).
And also - thank you to all the followers, reviewers and favourite-ers - it's much appreciated, and (despite appearances) does inspire me to keep writing!
