The next few weeks passed without any intervention from either Lily or James. Demi's drinking problem was slowly beginning to get worse. On top of that, Remus's seventeenth birthday was coming up the next day. Everyone had managed to get their gifts for their resident nerd and were currently taking it in turns to sneak upstairs and quickly wrap their gift and sign the large card that James and Peter had bought for the occasion. It wasn't so much a card as it was a recording of all of them wishing him a happy birthday and giving him messages of how much he meant to each of them.

Remus looked up from the armchair by the fireplace, where he was currently rereading a novel that Lily had forced him to read. It was called "The Trial" by Franz Kauftka and he was thoroughly engrossed in it, pausing every now and again to readjust his position so the heat would hit every part of his body which was currently aching due to the upcoming full moon in three days. The aches had been getting duller and duller which was a good sign; it meant that the wolf was going to stop growing and so was Remus.

"Honestly, you haven't spoken in- like- five hours Remus," said Frank as he sat down on the floor by the fire, finishing the last part of his essay. "What the hell could you possibly be reading?"

"The best book of all time, now shut up... it's getting really interesting," Remus replied, as he flipped the next page urgently.

Frank shook his head, glad that Remus was distracted enough not to notice what was going on in front of him, but he was also worried because Remus had a tendency to grow attached to characters in books, and often went the next few days after finishing a novel mourning for fictional characters. And the last thing they needed was to be giving a toast to said characters tomorrow.

James tiptoed down the stairs and nodded to Marlene who quickly clambered up the stairs and into the boy's dormitory where the recording device was set up. They'd managed to get one from the Room of Requirement which repelled any temperament from the magic in the air. James appeared at her side, and pointed to a switch on the device, "flick this and the red light will turn green and you can start speaking. Flick it off to stop it. Everyone gets about a minute, so we don't have to worry about some of it not getting recorded. The timer is here, and just turn in when you start recording." Marlene nodded, and James left, giving her (as he did with all the others) her privacy. The only person that would get to hear the full tape was Remus.

James came back downstairs and made sure everyone had a chance to record something. Luckily (from what he could tell- which was quite a lot) Demi wasn't drunk when she recorded her message, which was a "blessing and a curse," he thought to himself. I shouldn't have to be worrying about one of my friends drinking all the time, he thought angrily. He wasn't angry at Demi, but rather at himself. He'd been to concerned with his own life that he'd become somewhat numb to what was going on around him.

Lily and he quickly found a small table in a relatively unoccupied section of the Common room. "Did you get a chance to talk to her?" James asked Lily, who merely shook her head, and pushed a lock of bright red hair out of her face. Her mouth was in a frown and her green eyes had lost some of their sparkle.

She picked at her nails as she spoke softly, "she was up all night- vomiting." James raised an eyebrow and Lily continued, "I tried to help her but she just kept telling me to leave her alone...she didn't get back to bed till about 5 or 6 in the morning."

James sighed, "she hasn't been eating either."

Lily nodded, "that's the reason for the vomiting. She's got nothing inside to absorb the alcohol." She paused, "I'm really worried. And I don't know what to do. She's getting worse."

"How d'you mean? Did she say something?" James asked, resting his hands on Lily's.

She drew a breath, as she recounted the events of that morning's Arithmancy class. "She stumbled in about 20 minutes late, and was completely off. She didn't smell of it, so everyone thought she was just tired and didn't get a chance to sleep. But when she sat down she was just out of it. I tried talking to her, just about the lesson." Lily's eyes watered slightly as she calmed herself down, "she didn't even know what class she was in."

James closed his eyes and leant back in his chair. "Shit. I didn't even think about it."

"What?"

James moved his hands from Lily's and brought them over his head, resting his elbows on the table, head in his hands. "Vampires don't get drunk that easily... Demi once told me that. She said it would take a very high and strong amount of alcohol to throw a vampire even slightly off. If she can't even remember where it is that she's going or what she's doing... think about how much she's consuming."

Lily covered her mouth. "A hell of a lot more than any one of us could drink without getting alcohol poisoning. She's literally killing herself from the inside."

"Who's killing their self from the inside?" said a voice. The pair turned and spotted Sirius and Peter, who were holding a small piece of parchment- the list of things they'd need for Remus's party.

"Er..." James said, running a nervous hand through his hair.

Lily quickly interrupted, "a character. From this book I've been reading. I've been telling James to read it for a while now... and he just got to the part where the character gets really ill."

"Of what?" Peter asked.

"Alcohol poisoning," James said tentatively.

Sirius nodded, "Okay. I don't know what depressing book you've been reading James." He paused, brow furrowed, "In fact... I haven't seen you reading in a while."

Lily and James exchanged a glance, "I've been reading it at night... I didn't want you lot to make fun of me. It's a bit of a girly book." Lily shot James a look as if to say, what is a girly book? James shrugged back, and looked back at Sirius and Peter.

Peter quickly took the parchment from Sirius. "Point is, we need everyone to be back here at exactly 7 tomorrow night. So no dilly dallying. We're going to bring the cake in at 7:30 and-"

"What's the cake like?" Lily asked.

"Chocolate of course!" Sirius supplied. "I know Moony, Evans. He's one of my best mates. It's in the shape of an 'R'. Now we've just got to decide when to bring out the drinks and snacks. I was thinking at 8:30-" Sirius continued, looking at his watch.

James and Lily exchanged concerned looks. "Er- do you really think getting drinks would be a good idea? I mean, it is Moony we're talking about."

Sirius and Peter laughed, "he's turning seventeen. He has to have a few drinks. It's a rite of passage. Plus, we did it for your birthday... we're trying to make things even."

James nodded, "Alright. You and Peter can be in charge of that. The rest of us will take care of setting up the common room for all the incoming stuff."

Sirius nodded and walked away, preparing to tell the others. Peter quickly leant down and whispered, "that book sounds interesting Prongs. Mind if I borrow it when you're done?"

James opened his mouth but luckily Sirius spoke, "come on Wormtail!"

Peter quickly rightened himself up, "coming Padfoot!" He quickly scurried away, leaving the pair alone again.

Lily and James turned back to one another, unsure of what to do. "Maybe we could try to keep her occupied tomorrow? Like, rebuff her overtime she gets close to the table?" he suggested.

Lily nodded, "we're going to have to make sure that we're on our game. Cause she can be damn sneaky when she wants to be." James agreed, and the pair sat in silence for the next few moments. "James, can I ask you something?" Lily asked.

"Yeah?" James replied.

"What the hell is the meaning behind the nicknames you, Remus, Sirius, and Peter have?" she asked.

James grinned, "In due time Evans. In due time." He got up and headed back to the common room to disassemble and wrap the recording and player for Remus.

The next day went as calmly as it could. They still had class (Remus's birthday was on a Wednesday- right in the middle of the week), and the boys were kind enough to let Remus use the bathroom first, allowing to take one of his beloved hot showers, which usually left the mirror far to steamy to allow James and Sirius to do their hair (which they fervently denied). In the meantime, they gathered their gifts and placed them on Remus's bed, along with the present he'd received from his parents as well. They made sure to keep the player at the very back, to put the best for last.

In the girl's dormitory, the girls gathered their presents and placed them in one large bag, which Alice gave to Frank, who dropped it off in the Marauder's dormitory. "Here's the rest," he said, passing the heavy bag to James, who nearly topped over upon taking it from Frank.

"What the bloody hell did they put in her?" he asked, not wanting to look inside. He left the bag with the rest of the gifts and they quickly busied themselves with the night's preparations. Sirius procured the cake from the Hufflepuffs who were going to drop by that night. "They're right by the kitchen and they knew where it was already, so it was relatively easy to get them on board... they love food."

James looked up, readjusting his glasses, "they knew where the kitchen door was?" he asked with surprise.

"Yeah," Sirius replied, nodding unsurprised. "Say what you want about Hufflepuffs, but they're pretty fucking good at finding things."

Peter nodded, "You can say that again." They quickly planned how to get the food and drinks from Hogsmeade to the Tower. While none of them were overage (save for Lily and Remus), Madam Rosemerta was quite soft on James and Sirius, allowing them to purchase whatever it was they wanted.

Just then the door to the washroom opened and Remus stepped out. "Happy Birthday Moony!" the three boys cried, clapping Remus on the shoulder. "Quite an exciting time, am I right?" James asked, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Remus grinned, "yeah it is! I can finally use magic whenever the hell I want! So much responsibility."

The smiles faded off the faces of the three boys, as they looked at Remus. "Well, thanks for that mate," said Peter, grumbling off as he gathered his belongings and headed to the washroom.

James shook his head, "trust the man who folds his socks to make his 17th birthday sound completely shot." Sirius nodded, and they moved out of the way, revealing the large stake of presents on Remus's bed.

Remus's eyes began to water. While his father worked for the ministry, he wasn't as highly paid as other members, which meant that Remus was rarely able to afford the nicer things that James and Sirius had. He never felt extremely left out- the two would often pass of "things that didn't fit" to Remus (they'd purposely purchase things in Remus's size, to give to their best friend without making it seem charity like). "Are these all for me?" he asked, gently running his hand along the wrapping of the present Sirius had given him.

James rolled his eyes. "No, we thought we'd pile things onto your bed and then take them away...what are we? Monsters?"

Remus grinned as he tore off the plaid wrapping of his parent's gift. "Wow, a brand new gold watch!" James and Sirius rolled their eyes at Remus's excitement for the watch. It had various stars and hands all pointing in different directions. Peter had gotten Remus a bunch of extremely outlandish socks and some argyle sweaters (Remus's collection and been depleting for some time now). James had made the recording, which was sitting in the back, ("listen to it when we're not here. It's for your ears only" James had said). Sirius got Remus a pair of tan oxfords and Lily got him the matching briefcase, embossed with the words "Professor R.J. Lupin" in gold. It came at no surprise that Remus wanted to be a Defence professor when he grew up. Marlene and Kiaria had gotten Remus the latest album by David Bowie. Demi had gotten Remus a collection of novels called "Lord of the Rings" that were bound in leather and stamped with his initials ("So you can stop borrowing mine and Lily's). Frank and Alice had managed to find some extremely popular muggle films (thanks to Beckensly). They'd gotten their hands on "Rocky," "The Omen," "Silver Streak," and "King Kong."

They spent the rest of the day trying to lessen the fact that they were in classes by sending notes back and forth. The only downer was that Remus, Lily, and Demi all had an Arithmancy test the same day. Lily watched in horror as Demi stumbled in (half an hour late) and grabbed a test paper from Vector's table. She quickly sat down and began to write- haphazardly- across the paper. She made a mental note to tell James about this when they congregated for lunch. However, she;d completely forgotten as the period after lunch was a spare for all of them (except for Frank and Alice who had Herbology), and Sirius had dragged them down to Hagrid's Hut for a spot of tea before class resumed.

"How're you all?" Hagrid asked, as they piled into the large hut. "I haven't seen yeh in ages!" He quickly grasped Remus by the shoulders and pulled him into a tight, bone-crushing (literally) hug. "yer seventeen now, eh? Lotta responsibility with that.. but a lot more freedom if yeh ask me!" He quickly produced a small box and passed it to Remus, who opened it. Inside was a pure gold feather.

Remus's jaw dropped, "is that- a- a- a feather from a Pegasus?"

Hagrid grinned, "I found one in the forest, running' wild. It shed a few feathers and I thought I'd save one for yeh. I knew ye'd like it!"

Remus was too shocked to speak, "Hagrid... its amazing" he managed to squeeze out.

Hagrid smiled as he poured a round of tea and offered them some of the fresh banana loaf he'd made in honour of Remus's birthday. Eventually, the bell rung, and the Gryffindors found themselves running through the third corridor with their bags swinging wildly. They hurled themselves into the Defence room, and into their chairs just as Mensah walked in. He placed his briefcase on the table and opened it, with a smirk.

"Now, we've been studying various creatures for a while, and we are now moving onto the final section of our studies; Dark history." He paused as some of the students began to murmur. "So, we're going to start from the beginning of time, before magic was what it is today. "We will begin by studying the likes of Morgan Le Fay, Berwyn the Malicious, and Herpo the Foul. Then, we will move onto Owell Bullock, Raczidian, and Yardley Platt. Emetic the Evil, Loxais, Arcus, Livius, and Godelot. Finally, we will be studying the most recent dark wizards; Gellert Grindelwald and- Lord Voldemort." Many of the students shuddered, and the Slytherins looked quite mutinous as Mensah used the Dark Lord's name.

After dinner, the real party began. Remus was ushered up the stairs by the rest of the Gryffindors while Sirius and Peter went to Hogsmeade and back, bringing a few cratefuls of drinks and placing them on the tables set up in the common room. A large gramophone was sat in the corner, currently playing the newest tracks by Pumpkin Juice. A lopsided stack of vinyl records was next to it, held up by magic.

The moment Remus arrived the common room erupted and the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who'd been invited immediately began to congratulate Remus on achieving his 17th year. "Happy Birthday Remus!' said two very pretty Ravenclaws, each giving him a kiss on the cheek before disappearing in flurry of giggles.

Remus blushed and looked down as Sirius appeared at his side, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "Ah yes, women! Oh how they toy with a grown man's feelings!" Remus rolled his eyes and ignored Sirius next few comments, which were of an extremely sexual nature. "You know, I'm always game Moony!" he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Remus quickly turned to the others who were stuffing their fists in their mouths to keep from laughing. "Okay, get Padfoot off of me!" Remus cried, and James quickly tugged Sirius away, muttering something under his breath that sounded a lot like "first Dumbledore, now Moony."

"Jesus, he really doesn't have a filter, huh" said Kiaria as she picked up a few chips and munched away.

"It wouldn't be the Sirius we've grown to love if he did," Peter replied, as he grabbed some sweets off a nearby tray. He looked at the clock and noticed the time, "7:40?" he choked, as he grabbed Frank and pulled him towards the back of the common room.

Lily noticed this and quickly climbed onto the armchair, one foot on either armrest. "ALRIGHT EVERYONE SHUT IT!" The entire common room fell silent and she looked over at Remus. "I've known Remus for a fair few years now, and I have to say he is one of the nicest, funniest, and smartest people I have ever had the fortune to meet. So- LET'S BRING OUT THE CAKE!"

Peter and Frank carried out the large chocolate cake, and Remus's eyes widened! "It's CHOCOLATE!" he yelled in excitement.

"It's also in the shape of an "R" but I mean, what does it really matter?" Alice grumbled.

Remus grabbed the knife James was passing him and quickly cut a huge slice, and scooped it onto a plate. "IT'S ALL CHOCOLATE!" he yelled as he ate it.

Lily and Demi exchanged looks, "Probably wasn't the wisest thing... but-" Lily was cut off.

"AWWW look how happy he is!" Demi cried clapping her hands and pinching Remus's cheek as he ate the cake. James and Sirius quickly distributed the rest amongst the guests and were relieved that there was still some extra.

"He'll probably keep it under his bed for all we know," Sirius muttered under his breath.

A few hours later, the drinks were being poured and Peter grabbed a tray-full, making abetting for where the rest of the Gryffindors were. "Shots!" he yelled, passing one to each of them.

Lily and James exchanged looks as Frank pressed a shot into Demi's hands. She took hers and followed suit as Frank made a toast. He raised his in the air, "to Remus Lupin... he's 17 now!"

"WOOOO!" they all cried, downing the alcohol.

"ANOTHER ROUND MOTHERFUCKERS!" Demi yelled and the shot glasses were filled once more.

"Are you sure-?" Lily asked, but Demi cut her short again.

Everyone found this to be slightly odd, but they thought Demi was just really excited about Remus's birthday. They followed suit and took another five shots, before deciding they'd had enough.

Slowly, they all found themselves in the crowd of dancers in the middle of the common room. They were currently listening to "Let There Be Rock" which suddenly switched to "Purple Haze." Lily had her back against a wall and realized that she hadn't spotted Demi in a while. She began to search through the common room, between the huge crowd of people, but couldn't make the blue hair out anywhere. She quickly climbed atop the armchair as she had done before and cast a glance around the room.

Her mouth dropped open in shock as she spotted the girl snogging Remus furiously. Lily jumped down and made a beeline for the pair, and found Remus standing there with a shocked and bemused expression on his face. "Where's Demi!" she yelled over the music.

"I- uh" Remus began, turning red and fidgeting.

"I know she was snogging you Remus, but that's none of my business,' she said quickly.

"Uh, she went to get a drink, I think" Remus said. Lily made to turn way, but Remus grabbed her by the arm and said, "Don't tell Sirius about this- it was just a kiss."

Lily nodded, her main concern finding Demi before the girl drank more than she could handle. As she drew closer to the table, she could see a small droplet of blood on the table. Lily quickly looked around and spotted someone pushing their way through the crowd and up to the girl's dormitory. She quickly followed Demi and noticed a small trail of blood. Lily quickly vanished the drops as she headed upstairs. She shut the dormitory doors and quickly ran to the washroom where Demi was coughing loudly. "Dems, you alright?"

She didn't get a response, but rather another chorus of coughing. Sighing, she pushed the door open and saw Demi hunched over by the sink. As she drew nearer she noticed some changes in Demi's appearance. Her skin had gotten paler, making her veins stand out against the thin layer. Her eyes looked tired, and she was perspiring. The biggest shock occurred when she saw the sink. It was splattered with blood, and as Demi coughed harder, more blood sprayed from her mouth. Lily turned the tap on cold, and grabbed a towel soaking it slightly, before dabbing at Demi's forehead. She grabbed her wand and waved it, tying the blue curls up and away from Demi's face.

"I'm fine," Demi whispered hoarsely, as she continued coughing.

"I seriously doubt that," Lily said, continuing to dab at Demi's forehead. The girl rolled her eyes, and quickly hunched over the sink again, vomiting a mixture of pure alcohol and blood, which was swept away down the drain. "How much did you drink?"

"That's none of your business Lils," Demi managed to say.

"If you're coughing up blood in our bathroom, then it is my business," she replied icily. A few minutes later, the blood stopped spraying and Demi had gotten everything out of her system. Lily gently guided her to her bed, and helped the girl change before tucking her in. She conjured a bucket and placed it by Demi's head, along with a jug of water and a glass. A moment later, Demi was fast asleep, and Lily decided it was safe to head downstairs. Before she could, Demi spoke. "Lily?"

"Yes?" Lily replied softly, coming back to sit by Demi's side.

"What am I doing?" she asked.

Lily furrowed her brows, "You were kissing Remus," she replied, assuming that was the answer.

"Shit. Well, I don't mean that. I mean what am I doing with myself?" Demi asked. She curled herself up and hand her hands around her stomach, "It hurts in the inside."

Lily gently rubbed Demi's back, attempting to soothe her, "It'll stop if you stop drinking." Demi didn't respond for a while, so Lily assumed she'd fallen asleep again. Just as she reached the door, a faint voice held her there.

"But that stops it from hurting," Demi whispered. "I like it when it doesn't hurt... when will it stop?" she asked before she fell back asleep.

Lily's eyes watered slightly as she shut the door on her best friend. What was hurting?