*Disclaimer: These are J.K. Rowling's characters, not mine*
Author's note: This is sort of a sequel to "Sibling Drama and Cigarettes," and also references "Christmas in the Common Room," but you don't necessarily have to read either of those before you read this. Also, I just want to say that this quarantine life has me missing playing drinking games with friends, so I wrote it into the story.
January 30, 1977
At 6:30 am on a Sunday morning, the Gryffindor common room was deserted except for a yawning, tousle-haired James Potter. He sat sprawled on the floor in front of the fire, putting the finishing touches on the gift he was wrapping. Finally finished, he surveyed his work critically, noting that it was acceptable but not perfect, but he decided it wasn't worth the trouble to do it over again. The contents of the gift box would speak for themselves, he hoped. With that thought, he began to levitate the gift towards the stairs that led to the girls' dormitory, stopping when it had reached the landing outside of the 6th year's room. He hoped that was where it ended up, anyway, but it was labeled "Please deliver to the birthday girl, Ms. Lily Evans," in case he had estimated incorrectly and left it on the wrong floor. Feeling rather pleased with himself, he headed out of the common room and down to the grounds for a run.
James had started running years ago, when he'd read that one of his favorite professional Quidditch players ran five miles a day, claiming it was important to train both on and off a broomstick. Young, earnest and determined to realize his goal of someday becoming Quidditch captain, James had diligently jogged up and down the country lanes near his family's house, then around the Hogwarts grounds, most mornings before, as Sirius put it, "normal people have even rolled out of bed." He found that it did indeed benefit him on the Quidditch pitch: running improved his endurance and forced him to adapt to the variety of weather that a Quidditch player might have to face, because he forced himself to run even in biting cold or pouring rain. Besides these benefits, however, James also discovered that running a few miles helped him sort things out in his head. He was often filled with a restless energy, a need to push his body to its limits and force his mind to focus on one singular thought at a time. If he couldn't decide on the best strategy for an upcoming Quidditch match, or needed to figure out a workaround to a problem that had arisen while creating the Marauders map, or felt like giving up completely on ever getting Lily to go out with him, he found he always ended his run with a perfect plan for how to move forward. His early morning runs helped him maintain his air of carefree confidence, of always knowing what to do and how to do it and never doubting that this was, in fact, the correct way to proceed, because by the time he had mulled whatever it was over in his head for three miles, he could guarantee that level of certainty.
This morning he needed to sort out his concerns about the upcoming trip to Hogsmeade for Lily's birthday. The sun hadn't risen yet, but he didn't mind; he used his wand to light his path and took a few minutes to just enjoy the feeling of the cold air on his skin as he propelled his body forward. After the first half mile, his thoughts turned to Lily while his feet pounded the frozen ground. After the fiasco last year, she had expressly forbidden him to get her a birthday present and/or plan any extravagant celebratory gestures, and, as he had been making an effort lately to be less obnoxious in her eyes, had sought to respect her wishes. However, he couldn't bring himself to give her no gift at all, so he had settled for a rather silly assortment of inside jokes, delivered anonymously, so he could not be accused of ignoring her instructions. He was fairly certain that she would enjoy the gift, so that part was okay.
What had made him get that antsy urge to run was the nagging worry that he would make an idiot of himself during their clandestine trip to Hogsmeade that evening. This year, his interactions with Lily had become steadily more civil, and after their shared experience decorating the Gryffindor common room in December, he would even venture to describe their relationship as a friendship, albeit a tentative and fragile one. Strangely, this made him more hesitant to act than he would have been last year, because when she had been proclaiming her hatred of him regularly, there was nothing to lose. Now that they had started to make actual progress, he feared a slip up could reverse everything he had been working towards this year. As far as avoiding a slip up, well, that seemed unlikely, as Lily Evan apparently possessed some magical quality that caused him to act as idiotically as humanly possible. He had achieved popularity with very little effort, so it baffled him when Lily did not find him charming and funny like almost everyone else did, and this seemed to create in him an impulse to try way too hard. He often felt he had very little control over his actions when this happened, almost like he was watching from outside of himself, sure he was about to do something stupid but unable to stop himself. He had worked hard this year to reign in this impulse, and he had been successful, for the most part. However, he had a feeling he was not completely cured of his tendency to act like, in Lily's words, "an arrogant toerag."
After a couple of frigid miles, James had had no brilliant epiphany except the overwhelming feeling that he was overthinking this. He would just continue what he had been doing all along, which was simply to be himself minus his most obnoxious tendencies. It was clear to him now that he had gone most wrong with Lily when he was trying too hard, so he would not fall into that trap tonight. He would be his most charming, funny, casual self, while every so often repeating the mantra Don't be an idiot. It would be great. It would all be great. Feeling satisfied to have come to this decision, as well as pleasantly exhausted after his run, James made his way back up to the castle, beginning to whistle softly once he had caught his breath.
"Mary, do you know anything about this?"
Lily had stepped out of her dormitory, intending to go down to breakfast, when she had spotted a rather badly-wrapped birthday present sitting on the ground outside the door. She picked it up and read the note attached to it, a smile beginning to spread across her face despite (or perhaps because of) her suspicions about the origins of the gift.
"It's not from me, if that's what you're asking," Mary replied, following Lily out of the dormitory and peering at the gift in her friend's hand. "'Please deliver to the birthday girl,'" she read, "well, I'd say it's for you, so you may as well open it."
Lily tore off the wrapping paper apprehensively, as it would be just like James to give her some completely ridiculous and inappropriate birthday gift. Last year he had somehow convinced everyone in the Great Hall to sing "Happy Birthday" to her when she'd walked in for breakfast, a memory that still caused her to blush furiously. Then again, this gift was small and appeared innocuous enough, and James had been significantly less annoying this year…
A laugh burst from her lips as she pulled the first gift out of the box. It was a familiar-looking Christmas star decorated with an embarrassing photograph of Sirius.
"Is that from the tree that was in the common room this year?" Mary asked, glancing at it and giggling.
"Yeah. I about died laughing the first time I saw it," Lily admitted, and she realized that the gift giver must have included it knowing that it would make her laugh.
She pulled the next item out of the box and laughed even harder. It was another Christmas ornament, this one a snowman with a photograph of James's face on it. In the picture he looked faintly embarrassed but smiled resignedly. This, Lily realized, must be one of the personalized ornaments the Potters were so fond of. She continued to sort through the contents of the box, next pulling out an opened pack of Marlboro cigarettes. Frowning slightly, she flipped open the top and saw that it was empty except for two pieces of parchment. One was a tiny scrap that read, Gotcha, you cigarette-smoking delinquent! The other was a crudely-drawn comic that featured her sister's boyfriend, Vernon Dursley, being pulled into the lake by the Giant Squid, which then wrapped its tentacles around Lily and brought her to Madam Pudifoot's Tea Shop for a romantic date.
By this point, she was laughing so hard that she had to take a minute to get herself under control before she could pull out the last items from the box. It was a bar of her favorite Honeydukes chocolate and a box of Bertie Botts with yet another piece of parchment wrapped around them. Wiping away tears of laughter, Lily read the note.
Happy birthday, Evans!
I hope the Christmas ornaments gave you a good laugh. Feel free to hang them up in your dormitory so you can enjoy the Christmas spirit all year. Don't lose them, however, as they will be needed again come December. Please enjoy the comic, and don't hold it against me if that's not at all what your sister's boyfriend looks like, as I just drew the dullest-looking person I could imagine to fit his incredibly dull-sounding name. A very wise redhead once said she finds that chocolate makes everything better, hence the Honeydukes bar, and the Bertie Botts are all grass flavor, as I once heard you say that is your favorite even though it's strange (and it is, in fact, strange). At least, I'm fairly certain they're all grass, but eat with caution. Anyway, I hope you have a most excellent birthday.
With love from your no longer secret admirer, the Giant Squid
P.S. Please excuse my handwriting, as writing with tentacles is not at all easy.
After she finished reading, she found she could not keep the smile off her face. It was such a silly assortment of items, and it had cost almost nothing, yet each piece of the gift had been specifically chosen to make her laugh, and after the long and exhausting week she'd had, she was absurdly grateful for the thoughtful gesture.
Once Mary had examined all the items and read the note, and Lily had explained the inside jokes that Mary didn't understand, she smirked and looked at her friend knowingly. "Lily, you realize this is possibly the cutest and most thoughtful gift in the history of gifts, right?"
"He did all right, didn't he?" Lily agreed, gathering up her gifts and setting them on her bed before starting down the stairs in pursuit of breakfast, a smile still lingering on her face.
James did not see Lily until later that morning, when he returned from the library with a small stack of books to find her seated at her usual table in the common room, surrounded by her own rather larger stack of books. He sat down in his usual chair by the fire, then gave her a small wave.
"Morning, Evans. And happy birthday - that's today, right?" he said, trying to sound casual.
"Thank you, it is my birthday today, although I'm almost certain you already knew that," Lily replied. "I also wanted to say thank you for the gift. It was… well, it was one of the best gifts I've ever received, to be honest." She blushed slightly and looked down at her Charms notes.
James felt a surge of hope at her words, but managed to repress it with a momentous effort. "I'm not sure what gift you mean, Evans," he said. "As I recall, last year you made it clear that any further gifts from me would be most unwelcome." He opened one of his books and began flipping through it, although he was not looking for any particular information, but rather just needed something to do with his hands.
"Right. Then how do you explain how the Giant Squid got ahold of your Christmas ornaments, or knew about my sister's horrible boyfriend, or found out my favorite kinds of candy?" She raised her eyebrows at him questioningly.
"I guess the Giant Squid has been paying attention," he replied, shrugging and still aimlessly paging through his book. "What a thoughtful bloke he is. I suppose that's why you'd pick him over me if you had the choice." He looked up at her and grinned.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said, meeting his eye and returning his grin.
"Are you excited for tonight?" he asked. "I hope you're prepared, because if you're not falling down drunk by the end of the night, Sirius and I will be very disappointed in ourselves."
"I am excited, although I don't know if getting fall-down drunk is advisable. We do have classes tomorrow."
James waved her concern away. "It's your 17th birthday. If you don't get drunk, you're doing it wrong."
"If you say so. But if I'm going to be able to go, I have to get all this work done. So don't distract me, and make sure nobody else does." She returned to her notes, but James couldn't help but notice that she looked remarkably happy for someone facing the prospect of writing an 18 inch Charms essay. He allowed himself a moment of silent celebration before moving to the floor in front of the fire and pulling parchment, quill, and ink from his bag and beginning to do some actual work rather than simply pretending.
A short time later, Mary entered the common room, closely followed by Sirius. James raised his eyebrows at Sirius but said nothing, continuing to work on his homework. Mary sat down at the table across from Lily, and Sirius sprawled out on the floor next to James.
"James, that was a really sweet gift," Mary said, pulling her own homework from her bag, but not appearing particularly inclined to be productive. "You should have seen Lily's face when she opened it - she couldn't stop laughing."
"I don't know what you're talking about, since I didn't get her a gift," James insisted, but he shot Sirius a grin when the girls weren't looking, and Sirius returned it with a quick high five.
"Now, MacDonald," James continued, "I have to caution you that Evans has asked me to stop anyone from distracting her, because she has copious amounts of homework to complete before her night of drunken debauchery, so make sure you don't do anything to break her concentration."
"Feel free to distract me, though, I don't mind at all," Sirius added, winking at her.
They spent the morning and afternoon trying to be as productive as possible, with varying levels of success. Peter and Remus joined them eventually, weighed down with their own books from the library. As people filtered in and approached Lily to wish her a happy birthday, James continued to warn everyone not to distract her, and while she grumbled that this was not necessary, she did seem to be accomplishing a surprising amount of homework. She even had time to take a short nap to accommodate for the lack of sleep that was sure to be a result of their evening excursion. They all ate a hearty dinner at Sirius's insistence, because drinking on an empty stomach was what he considered a rookie mistake.
Finally, it was almost time to leave. They all gathered around to go over the plan once again, although they had already discussed everything the previous day.
"Right, we're going to go in three groups, so as not to attract suspicion," Sirius began. "I'll go first with MacDonald, followed by Remus and Peter a few minutes later, and James and Evans will leave last. We'll all be taking different routes, so as to further cover our tracks - is everyone clear on which route they're supposed to take?"
"Yes, we've already been over all of this," Lily protested.
"Yeah, well, you can never be too careful, Evans," Sirius replied. "I promised you a 90% chance of not being caught, and I want to follow through on that promise. Okay, so everyone will take their different routes and meet in front of the mirror on the fourth floor. If anyone is stopped and questioned, you're going to the library, all right?" He glanced around to make sure everyone was clear on this point, and they all nodded.
"Now, I went down yesterday and spoke with Rosmerta. We're all set, she's not going to chuck out the youngins who aren't of age yet, but I couldn't persuade her to actually serve you drinks." He looked deeply apologetic, as if this were somehow his fault. "But, she did agree that she wouldn't pay too much attention once we're seated at a tucked away booth with our drinks. Prongs?" He turned to James and gestured for him to take over.
"Right," said James, "well, Padfoot here was kind enough to restock our depleted supply, so all of us underagers will have our own flasks." He glanced around to make sure nobody else was paying attention to their group, then handed flasks to Remus and Mary and patted his own pocket to indicate he had one as well. "We can use these to spike our Butterbeer, but we'll have to be stealthy about it. Head on a swivel, people!"
Sirius took over once again. "Once we've had our fill of drinking and general merry making, we'll have to use a bit more caution once we get back to the castle. Prongs and I have decided to keep this part of the plan a secret until then, so as to make the reveal more exciting, so just know that more information is forthcoming, and we should be able to safely make it back to the common room without detection."
"Provided you're not your usual loud, drunken self," Lily put in.
"Careful, Evans. I'm the one organizing this expedition, and I can cancel it at any time," Sirius warned.
"Yeah, right," she retorted. "I think you're more excited about this than I am."
"Fair point. Okay, any questions?"
"Yes, what if a teacher comes into The Three Broomsticks for a relaxing Sunday night drink and spots us?" Lily asked, feeling it was a fair question.
"Unlikely, as it's Sunday and a fairly cold night, so the only staff we're likely to see in there is Hagrid, and he won't tell on us, especially if we buy him a drink or two." Sirius grinned. "But, if any teachers do come in, Rosmerta is going to give us a heads up, and we're going to sneak out the back. If we sit in the booth near the back, we should be able to see the door if any teacher comes in, and we should be able to sneak out the back undetected before they notice us. If not, well, we'll adapt the plan accordingly if we need to. Right, if there aren't any more questions, are we ready?"
They all nodded, and Sirius and Mary headed out the portrait hole together. After a few minutes, Remus and Peter departed as well, leaving only James and Lily.
"You look skeptical," James observed, raising an eyebrow at Lily.
"I'm still half expecting to get to the meeting spot, only to have you lot tell us this is all a big joke." She lowered her voice. "I mean, how could there be a secret passageway into Hogsmeade that nobody else knows about? It just seems a bit too convenient."
"Nothing convenient about it, really. This passageway was discovered after hundreds of hours spent wandering the castle and the grounds, and we're quite proud of our extensive knowledge, thanks very much. But hang on to your doubts, if you prefer, as you're about to see with your own eyes that we're telling the truth." With that, he offered her a hand up, and proceeded to head out the portrait hole with her following close behind.
Luck seemed to be on their side, and they met no one on their way to the fourth floor. When they arrived, it seemed everyone else had been equally lucky, as they were all gathered around the mirror waiting. James turned to Lily.
"Evans, since it's your birthday, and since you think this is just one of our pranks, why don't you do the honors? Stand in front of that mirror and raise both your hands in the air."
She looked skeptical, but followed his instructions. When nothing happened, she opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.
"Now spin counterclockwise three times." Once she had done that, he continued, "Okay, now hop up and down on your left foot while touching your finger to your nose." She attempted to do thi, but was dizzy from her spins, and ended up falling down after her first hop.
"Hmm, that's odd, usually that works," Sirius observed, barely suppressing his laughter.
"You're messing with me," Lily muttered, scowling. "I knew this was all a prank."
"Relax, Evans," James said easily, helping her up. "I was messing with you, but this isn't a prank. What you actually have to do is tap the upper right corner of the mirror with your wand."
She hesitated, but decided she had already made a fool of herself, so she may as well give this a try. She did as directed and saw, to her surprise, that the mirror began sliding away to reveal a passageway with many stone steps leading away into the dark. She looked in silent awe at James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter in turn, her eyes wide with wonder.
"Bloody hell, this is excellent!" Mary burst out, breaking the silence. "How did you find this?"
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter looked at each other quickly, then each shrugged. "Years of wandering the castle after hours," Sirius replied. "Shall we, then?" He stepped forward and lit his wand, then motioned for Mary to follow him. One by one, the rest of them descended the stone staircase, which led them to a spacious chamber with a passage leading off of it.
"I think we should all have a drink before we go, as it's a bit of a long walk," Sirius suggested, pulling a flask out of his pocket. "I brought this for us just in case," he said, turning to Lily and Peter. He raised the flask in the air, and waited for everyone else to do the same. "To Evans," he said, before taking a generous sip and passing it to Lily, who followed suit and passed it to Peter.
"Right, let's go," James said, and began to lead the way down the passage. Lily followed, propelled forward by the warmth of the liquor and the thrill of sneaking out of the castle. The group walked in companionable silence, as the passage was narrow and forced them to walk in single file. Just as Lily began to wonder if they were ever going to get there, the passage widened again, then revealed another set of stone stairs. Climbing the steps, the six Gryffindors found themselves in a small supply shed which was barely large enough to hold all of them. Sirius went out first to make sure the coast was clear, then signalled for them to follow. They emerged in a fenced-in area behind The Three Broomsticks.
"Come on," Sirius said, and set off for the front door. They all filed after him, Lily and Mary still looking around in disbelief. Once inside, Sirius steered Lily and Peter up to the bar with him, while the rest of them took a booth near the back. Lily noted with relief that the pub was almost completely deserted, although Hagrid was seated at the end of the bar, sipping from a large tankard.
"Evening, Rosie," Sirius said, flashing his most charming grin at Madame Rosmerta. "You're looking lovely tonight." She laughed, looking pleased. "Can we please have three Firewhiskys and three Butterbeers, and I'll get Hagrid's next drink too." He handed over a handful of coins.
Rosmerta poured their drinks, then set them down on the bar. "Happy birthday, love," she said to Lily, then gave Sirius a wink and said, "Behave yourselves," before returning to her previous task of wiping down glasses. Lily, Peter, and Sirius each carried two of the drinks and headed for the booth at the back where the rest of their group had made themselves comfortable. One everyone was seated with a drink, and the underaged members of the group had spiked their Butterbeers from the flasks, James cleared his throat.
"I'd like to propose a toast, to our very own Lily Agatha Evans-"
"My middle name is not Agatha," Lily protested, but James ignored her interruption.
"To our very own Lily Agatha Evans, who has now reached the ripe old age of 17. May this be her best year yet, full of mischief, fun, and dates with handsome Quidditch players." He raised his glass, grinning, and everyone followed suit. Lily rolled her eyes, but raised her glass and took a sip all the same.
"Anyone up for a drinking game?" Sirius asked.
"Ugh, no, Padfoot, can we not?" Remus begged. "I always end up puking."
"Take small sips, Moony, you'll be fine," Sirius assured him.
"Fine, then we're doing Never Have I Ever," Remus suggested.
"I second that," James put in eagerly.
"What's Never Have I Ever?" Lily asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"You put up ten fingers, and everyone takes turns saying something they've never done. If you've done it, you put a finger down and take a drink. Sirius always loses because there's almost nothing he hasn't done," Peter explained with a chuckle.
"Damn, I don't think I stand much of a chance, either," Mary admitted. "Oh well, I guess we'll lose together, right, Black?" She clinked her glass against Sirius's. "I'm in."
"Okay, okay, but no purposely targeting me," Sirius warned. "It's unsportsmanlike."
"We'll do our best," James promised. "Evans, since it's your birthday, you can go first."
"All right." She paused a minute, trying to think of something suitable to say. "Um, never have I ever lost Gryffindor more than 10 points at a time?"
Everyone put a finger down and took sips. "Come on, Evans, that wasn't fair," James protested.
"It's not my fault you're all a bunch of delinquents," she shot back. "Go on, then," she said, as James was seated next to her and it was now his turn.
"Hmmm… Never have I ever attended a Slug Club party," he said, and Lily and Mary both put a finger down and sipped their drinks.
"Gotcha, Evans," he said, grinning at her. "MacDonald, I didn't know you were a Sluggy-type."
"I'm not," she explained. "I just went as someone's date."
"I know you've been invited, though," Lily pointed out, looking at James. "Both of you have, actually," she added, turning to Sirius. "Why don't you ever go?"
Sirius and James looked at each other and laughed. "Boring," Sirius said simply.
"Yawn," James agreed. "We have much better ways to spend our time."
"Have it your way," Lily said, shrugging, although she privately thought that they might have the right idea after all, as those parties could be terribly dull.
"Right, my turn," Remus said, getting them back on track. "Never have I ever stolen booze from my parents' liquor cabinet." He watched with satisfaction as everyone besides Peter was forced to put a finger down and take a sip.
"My mum doesn't drink," Peter explained, not wanting to appear prudish.
"That's okay, Pettigrew, I'm sure my mum drinks enough for the both of them," Mary said cheerfully.
"Evans, I'm surprised at you," James said, raising an eyebrow. "I want details."
Lily shook her head, but Mary answered for her. "It was a bottle of tequila this past summer and we got absolutely sloshed. You guys should have been there, you would have had a great time."
"Well, invite us next time," Sirius replied.
"Maybe I will. Okay, it's me now, isn't it?" She paused, appearing to think hard. "Never have I ever used the prefects' bathroom."
James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius all put fingers down and swigged their drinks.
"Did James or Remus tell you the password, or were you in there with one of the prefects?" Lily asked, looking intrigued.
"I'd rather not say," Sirius said, winking, at the same time as James whispered "It wasn't us." Sirius continued with the game, pretending not to have heard James. "Never have I ever…. Snogged a Slytherin." He and James both watched Lily to see her reaction, but she did not put down a finger, nor did anyone else at the table.
"What are you looking at me like that for?" Lily demanded. "If you're trying to find out if I
ever snogged Severus, sod off, but I guess you have your answer."
"We were trying to find out no such thing," James protested. "Padfoot, I think the rules require you to take a drink, since you didn't get anyone with your statement."
"That's not a rule," Sirius argued, but he took a sip nonetheless. "Okay, go ahead, Wormtail."
Peter hesitated, then said, "Never have I ever had a house elf."
James and Peter clinked their glasses together and drank, then each put a finger down.
"You always get us with that one," James complained, but he didn't look like he really minded much.
Feeling emboldened by the several swallows of firewhisky she had now taken, she said, "Never have I ever snogged anyone in a broom closet."
She watched as everyone beside Remus put a finger down and took a drink, then giggled triumphantly.
"Potter, who did you snog in a broom closet?" she demanded.
"I don't have to answer that," James replied primly.
"It was a certain red-headed Ravenclaw sixth year," Sirius confided. "I won't name names, but you should be able to guess, since there is only one girl who fits that description."
"It didn't work out, though," Remus added. "She took offense when he called her 'Evans' by mistake."
"She accused him of only snogging her because she has red hair and sort of looks like you," Peter contributed.
"She did have a point," Sirius concluded.
"I hate you all." James took another sip of his drink and scowled.
"Peter, who did you snog, then?" Mary asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
Peter blushed and began fiddling with the wrapper on his Butterbeer bottle. "I don't think I should say…"
"It was Bertha Jorkins," James whispered, although he spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear him clearly.
Mary and Lily both snorted with laughter.
"I noticed none of you asked me or MacDonald who we snogged in a broom closet," Sirius pointed out.
"That's cause we don't have we don't have time to listen to a long list of names," Remus retorted. "Sorry, Mary, I meant that about Sirius, not about you."
"Don't be sorry, Remus, she's just as bad, if not worse," Lily said, with an apologetic glance at Mary.
"They're just jealous," Sirius said, throwing his arm around Mary, and she nodded agreement and took another sip of her drink. "Well, I'm empty," Sirius added, glancing down at his glass. "Another round, then?"
"I'll get them," Lily offered, sliding out of her seat, and James followed.
"I'm buying this round," he said, handing money to Rosmerta after they had reached the bar and placed their order. "No argument, Evans." He passed her a drink, then slung an arm around her and leaned in conspiratorially. Normally she would have protested this physical closeness, but the combination of the alcohol and the hilarity of the night had worn down her defenses. "How would you feel about rigging this game to get Sirius drunk?"
"I like how you think, Potter."
"Great. Just say a random place you've never snogged anyone - I guarantee he's done it. Or a dumb thing you've never gotten drunk and done, or-"
"Or 'Never have I ever punched a wall'?" she supplied, grinning.
"Perfect. Come on, Evans," and he strode back towards their booth, carrying a drink in one hand and using his wand to levitate the rest of their drinks. Lily followed, clutching her own drink and feeling deliciously lightheaded. When she'd sat back down at their booth, she glanced at SIrius for a moment, then said confidently, "Never have I ever punched a wall."
After about five minutes, Sirius ran out of fingers and had already finished his second drink. Remus and Peter had caught on after James had shot them a meaningful look, and Mary had figured out what the rest of them were up to fairly quickly as well.
"You are all a bunch of prats," Sirius complained, draining the last drops from his glass.
"And yet you continue to put up with us anyway," Remus pointed out cheerfully, taking a sip from his own glass. "If it's any consolation, Padfoot, I think I'm drunker than you are, and I had more than half my fingers left."
"That," Sirius replied, enunciating his words carefully, "is because you are a lightweight. Okay, new game. Any suggestions?"
"Does anyone know how to play Quarters?" Lily asked.
They all looked at her blankly, except Mary, who squealed, "Oh, no, Lil, you know I'm awful at that game!"
"Watch and learn, boys," Lily said, taking a Knut out of her pocket and placing Sirius's empty firewhisky glass in the center of the table. "Right, so all you have to do is bounce the coin off the table and into the glass." She demonstrated, skillfully landing the Knut in the cup and making it appear easy. "If you make it, you get to tell someone to drink. If you miss, you pass the coin to the person next to you and they have a go. We're all going to need another drink, and I hope you lot are thirsty, because I am very good at this game."
After a few rounds it was apparent that Lily was in fact very good at this game, but James also appeared to be a natural. When Lily made three shots in a row, she made a rule that forbade messing up one's hair; James retaliated when he sunk his third shot and proclaimed that he was not to be referred to by any names other than Mr. Sexypants. The hilarity mounted as the level of inebriation increased, so that by the end of the game, Sirius had chucked the Knut at James's head in frustration, Peter had laughed so hard that he had slid off his seat and knocked Remus's drink over, and Lily had been forced to call James "Mr. Sexypants" no fewer than fifteen times. When Rosmerta came over to their booth to inform them that it was closing time, they were all astonished to realize how quickly the evening had passed.
James gave Rosmerta a hefty tip, Sirius winked at her, and Lily, to everyone's surprised amusement, threw her arms around the barmaid and thanked her for an excellent 17th birthday. With much laughter and a bit of unsteady swaying, the group made their way out of the pub and into the area behind it where the entrance to the passageway was hidden.
"Evans, you're a bit of a handsy drunk, aren't you?" James asked, still chuckling about the unsolicited embrace she had given Rosmerta.
"I am not," Lily protested, then proceeded to sling an arm over James's and Sirius's shoulders, unwittingly proving James's point. "You two set out to get me falling down drunk tonight, but I am still quite sober," she announced, slurring her words in a decidedly unsober way.
"That's debatable," James began, but the rest of his words were cut off as Lily's foot hit a patch of ice and she dragged the three of them down onto the ground in a tangle of limbs.
"Everyone okay?" James asked, once he had stopped laughing long enough to get the words out.
"I-I think so," Lily gasped through peals of laughter.
Sirius gave them a thumbs up, as he seemed to be laughing too hard to speak.
"Evans, you are most definitely not sober," James observed.
"Shush," she replied, freeing her arm from beneath Sirius's back and pressing a finger to James's lips. "Look at the stars."
It was a remarkably clear night, and their position on the ground gave them an excellent view of the velvety sky studded with stars.
"There's Sirius, and that's Orion's Belt," Sirius observed, pointing up.
"Really?" Lily asked, impressed in spite of herself.
Sirius laughed. "Fuck if I know. Everyone believes me when I say stuff like that because all the Blacks are named after stars, but Astronomy is really my worst subject."
"It's your worst subject, but you still managed Exceeds Expectations," Remus said, rolling his eyes and offering Sirius a hand up. This was not particularly advisable, however, in his intoxicated state, and he ended up on the ground next to the three of them.
"Why are you all lying on the ground like a bunch of idiots?" Peter asked, peering down at them and grinning.
"Come join us," Lily urged. "Sirius is showing us Orion's Belt."
"Don't believe a word of it, Lily," Mary advised, nevertheless plopping herself down next to Remus. "He's full of shit."
Peter, not wanting to be left out, stretched out next to James. The six of them stayed silent for a moment, staring up at the wide expanse of starry night and enjoying the feeling of being drunk together.
"Guys, this is one of those perfect moments," James said thoughtfully.
"What are you on about?" Lily asked him, giggling.
"Just let him get it out," Sirius advised, "otherwise we'll never hear the end of it."
"Shut up, Padfoot, you're ruining our perfect moment. No, I'm serious, it's one of those times when you're exactly where you want to be with exactly who you want to be with, and you have to take a step back and just remember the exact feeling of the moment, and file it away to remember later when things aren't as perfect and you need something to get you through."
"James Potter, you are a sentimental drunk!" Lily said with an astonished laugh.
"I am not," James insisted. "I'm just saying that I can't think of a better way to spend an evening than celebrating Evans's birthday by getting drunk with all of you, and not every day can be as perfect as this one, so I just want you all to remember what it feels like to be this happy together, that's all. And I just happen to be drunk when I am making this observation."
"Like I said, you are a sentimental drunk," Lily repeated. "But I will, as you said, file away this perfect moment."
"Thank you, Evans. What about the rest of you?"
They all assured him that they too would tuck this memory away to help them make it through tougher times, and despite their general attitude that this was a rather silly exercise, they did all take a second to really cement this night into their memories. As James predicted, not all days would be as perfect as this one, and the six Gryffindors had many difficult days ahead of them. At different moments in the distant or not so distant future, each of them would think back on this night as a method of coping with difficult emotions. None of them knew that yet, though, so for the moment they just enjoyed the stars and each other's company.
When the cold began to numb their fingers and seep into their clothing, they heaved themselves up with some difficulty and made their way into the shed and down the stone stairs. The journey back seemed to take a lot longer than the journey there, owing to the fact that the six were in varying states of intoxication and kept stumbling into each other. Lily had to hold onto James's shoulders to keep from falling. Finally they reached the open area with the second set of stone steps.
"All right. Prongs, you ready?" Sirius asked, his purposeful tone slightly undermined by his unfocused grin.
"Ready for what?" James and Lily were now supporting a swaying Remus between them.
"Focus, Prongs. Our big revelation, or whatever we're calling it," Sirius said impatiently, waving his hand around vaguely.
"Right. Wormtail, can you swap places with me, then?"
Peter, who looked only marginally more stable on his feet than Remus, nevertheless obliged, and James climbed up several steps so as to be in full view of everyone.
"Right, so, we're going to need more than just luck to get back to the common room undetected," he began. "Never fear, we have a plan, but to carry out said plan, we are going to have to reveal one of our secrets that has never before been revealed to anyone outside of the Marauders. Before we reveal our secret, we're going to need your assurances that you will not breathe a word of this to anyone."
"What happens if we do?" Mary inquired.
"We hex the fuck out of you," Sirius replied cheerfully. "And don't interrupt, MacDonald."
"So we are going to need you both to swear a solemn oath that you will not reveal our secret, otherwise we will, as Padfoot so eloquently put it, 'hex the fuck out of you.'"
"This is incredibly silly," Lily observed, losing her balance and almost losing her grip on Remus.
"You're incredibly silly," James said automatically, "and use caution, Evans, that's my dear friend you've almost dropped. Anyway, do you both solemnly swear?"
"Yes," they both said impatiently.
"No no no, that won't do, you have to say 'I, Lily Evans, do solemnly swear,' except Mary, you wouldn't say Lily Evans, you'd say your own name-"
"Yes, got it, thanks," Mary said hurriedly, and both girls repeated the oath, with much rolling of eyes and giggling.
"Now that it's official, I'd like to present to you one of my most prized possessions." James reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled something out, almost losing his footing in the process and windmilling his arms foolishly to keep from falling. Both girls giggled harder. Undeterred, James pulled the Invisibility Cloak over himself and waited for them to realize what they were seeing, or rather what they weren't seeing.
"Bloody hell!" Mary exclaimed, reacting first.
"No way! You have an Invisibility Cloak? But aren't they really rare?" Lily asked.
"It's been in my family for generations," James replied, removing the cloak and grinning at them. "It's bloody useful to have, let me tell you."
"No wonder you four are almost never caught wandering around at night," Mary said. "And all this time I just thought you were really clever."
"We are really clever!" Sirius protested, sounding offended.
"Anyway, here's the plan for getting back to the common room," James continued. "We can really only fit three of us at most under the cloak, so I'll go first with Peter and MacDonald, then I'll come back for Sirius. Lily, you and Remus can walk back without the cloak, since you're prefects and can pretend you're investigating a tipoff about students out of bed if you're caught."
Lily eyed Remus doubtfully. He now had his head resting on Peter's shoulder and his skin had a greenish tinge. "Are you sure he'll be okay?"
"I'll be fine," Remus said, lifting his head up briefly before returning it to its resting place. "Don't worry about me."
"He'll be alright if you take it slow," James assured her. "I'll scope out the route on my way back and make sure it's safe." By this he meant he would consult the Marauder's Map, but he wasn't prepared to reveal a second big secret in the same night.
With the plan set, James, Peter, and Mary set out for the common room under the Invisibility Cloak. When they had left, Sirius nudged Lily and grinned.
"What's that big smile for, Evans?" he asked.
"Nothing in particular, I'm just happy to have had a fun birthday with my friends," she said evasively.
"Sure," he said, nodding knowingly. "Hey, you got any food?"
"Are you hungry?"
"It's not for me, it's for Moony."
"Are you sure food is what he needs right now?" she asked skeptically.
"I know what I'm doing, Evans, trust me. Do you have any food or not?"
She reached into her pockets and pulled out the Bertie Botts and chocolate James had given her for her birthday. "Honeydukes nougat bar or grass-flavored Bertie Botts?" she asked.
"Grass flavor? You're a freak, Evans. Are you trying to make him puke?" He took the proffered chocolate bar and broke off a square. "Here, Moony, eat this," he said, offering it to Remus, who accepted it without complaint.
"Sirius Black, you act like this tough guy with your leather jacket and your wall punching and that haughty too-cool-for-school expression, but I have you figured out," Lily said, poking him in the chest for emphasis. "You're just a big softie."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Evans," Sirius replied loftily, handing Remus a second square of chocolate.
"You all look out for each other," she continued. "It's really sweet."
Remus chuckled softly. "Padfoot, she called you a big softie."
"Shut it, both of you," Sirius said, but he looked pleased.
James, Peter, and Mary had to crouch down and move slowly so their feet wouldn't be seen, but they made it back to the common room without incident. On his way back, James pulled out the Marauder's Map and scanned it for any possible dangers, but the route appeared clear. Upon arriving back in the secret passageway, James instructed Lily and Remus to go first, so he and Sirius could follow them and make sure nothing went wrong.
"The coast is clear and it should all be fine if you go slow and stay quiet," James assured them.
"Be careful, though, Evans," Sirius added. "Remus is a known puker, so don't let your guard down."
"Hey!" Remus protested, looking more steady on his feet after eating the small amount of chocolate. "I've been doing better lately, and I always give a warning when I can."
"That's true," Sirius said fairly. "To his credit, he also has pretty good aim. Just, you know, be aware."
They proceeded slowly up the stairs, through the opening, and down the corridor, Lily's arm linked through Remus's just in case. James and Sirius followed closely after them, being careful not to trip over the Cloak.
"Nice work tonight, Padfoot," James whispered. "I think Evans had a really good time."
"Yeah, I reckon she did," Sirius agreed. "I think you have a ways to go, but I predict you'll be dating by the fall."
"Shh, you'll jinx it," James chided, but he smiled in spite of himself.
When they all reached the portrait hole safely, Peter and Mary had already gone up to bed. Sirius put an arm around Remus and began leading him toward the staircase to the boys' dormitory. "Goodnight, Evans," he said, giving her a wave with his free hand. "I hope your birthday was everything you hoped it would be."
"Night," she replied, smiling warmly. "Thanks for this. It was brilliant."
"You're welcome. You can drink with us any time. You hold your liquor better than I would have thought." With that, he began helping Remus up the stairs, muttering, "Pick up your damn feet, Moony, or we'll both fall down and Evans will laugh at us." After some missteps and cursing, they disappeared up the stairs.
"Well, good night, then," James began, running a hand through his hair. "Happy birthday. I hope you had fun."
"I really did," Lily said, meeting his gaze. "Thanks for everything. I'm glad to have found someone who can give me a run for my money in Quarters. Thanks for the gift, too. Honestly, this was the best birthday I've had in a long time. " She hesitated a moment, then threw her arms around him impulsively. She breathed in the scent of his shampoo and a hint of firewhisky on his breath. Her heart sounded very loud to her all of a sudden, and she released James, feeling self-conscious.
"Night, then," she said, and fled up the stairs before he had a chance to react. He stood there at the foot of the stairs for a full five minutes, grinning stupidly, before he roused himself and made his way up to bed. This was another of those perfect moments that he would file away to sustain him through tough times. He replayed the moment over and over as he drifted off to sleep.