London had been an absolute dream. The Gryffindors had spent their day together strolling around the city, trying on funny Muggle clothes, taking pictures with Peter's camera, eating junk food, smoking cigarettes, looking for vinyls and laughing. Madeline had also showed Remus some Muggle books; he was the only one she could talk to about literature. The boy had been interested in the novels he had seen on Camden Market, and had also bought a second-hand copy of "The Great Gatsby" by Fitzgerald when Madeline had told him it was one of her favorite books.
James had been very interested in Muggle Culture from the moment Lily Evans had started explaining him about how some things worked; Sirius and Madeline had rolled their eyes at that. Before then, Prongs had always barely listened to them when they had talked about motorcycles, or rockstars, or other Muggle things. Lily did really take the best out of him.
James, contrary to what they all had thought, had acted absolutely charming; Lily had never once reprimanded him for his behavior. Sure, he had made jokes and funny scenes, but Prongs was just like that. He was a funny boy. He and Lily had chatted cordially most of the time, anyway, even if sometimes the girl felt the need to distance herself from him and exchange words with Madeline, Remus or Alice. Madeline had thought Lily looked afraid of liking James.
Frank and Alice had loved the trip, and Remus and Peter had understood why Sirius and Madeline were so fond of that place. Being among Muggles had made them feel free and young and invincible. It had made them forget about Hogwarts, about the War, about their futures.
Like all dreams, also their visit to London had ended pretty soon, and it had left some bitterness in the young boys and girls.
Alice, Frank and Lily had accepted the idea of spending New Year's with the Marauders and Madeline, and Sirius had even asked Alice to write to Marlene McKinnon to invite her, and her Hufflepuff friend, Amelia Riley, to the party. Alice had looked at him curiously and had accepted with a smile, and Padfoot had been very pleased by that.
Madeline knew what was going on into his perverted mind, and that made her take a sigh of relief; she hadn't forgotten about what Snape had told her. In his opinion, Sirius fancied her. But now, looking at his best friend getting excited for Marlene's presence at New Year's, she decided Severus must had been wrong.
On the 31st, all of the boys and girls agreed to reunite at Potter Manor. It was early in the morning, and James, Sirius and Madeline were waiting for their friends to arrive, lazily sitting on the couch and listening to some music.
Suddenly, Prongs stood and started pacing around the room, nervous.
"What's the matter?" asked Sirius, raising an eyebrow.
Madeline too started looking at James.
"Lily's coming to my house… she'll meet my parents… This is a very important day for me!"
Sirius rolled his eyes, "She's not coming as your fiancée, mate, chill."
James stopped in his tracks and looked at his friend, "Well, I can promise you, Pads, next time she'll come, she'll come as my fiancée."
"I certainly hope so, Prongsie, but won't you sit down? You're giving me a headache." Muttered Madeline.
"Sorry Mads… I'm just nervous! And happy!" he stated, sitting next to her. "Nervappy!"
Sirius barked like a dog at his words, "You're going crazy, Prongs dear!"
"Shut up" James said in return. He was about to add something when the fireplace lighted with green flames and, suddenly, Remus Lupin stepped into the living room.
He was wearing a big, toothy smile on his face, and his sweet eyes instantly made Madeline smile.
She stood up to hug him.
"I'm so glad you've arrived! I can't stand these two anymore."
Remus' laugh reverberated through his chest. "Not hard to believe" he whispered into her ear and gave her a wink.
"Mooooony", sang Sirius, raising to greet his friend, "You look amazing, Moony."
Remus blushed; Sirius had always liked teasing him, for he was a quite shy, reserved, easily embarrassed boy.
"Shut up, Pads." He said, and gave him a little menacing look that didn't look convincing at all on his gentle face. James laughed and gave a pat on the tall boy's shoulder. "Welcome back Moony. My mother can't wait to see you again. She constantly asks me about my "sweet, dear friend, the one with kind eyes." I think she missed you", he said, with a big grin plastered on his face.
Remus couldn't help but blush harder.
Madeline raised an eyebrow, "Well, your mother's got good taste, Prongsie. Maybe Lily will think the same of Moony." She stated, and Sirius started barking, "Oooooh, she burned you, James dear!"
Remus had laughed too, and he was now giving her a thankful look. She crossed her arms as James stepped towards her, "Good point, sister." He eventually said, and his annoyed face turned into an amused smile. "But Moony knows Evans' mine. Right, brother?"
Remus nodded, "Sure, Prongs. She's all yours."
In that instant, the fireplace lighted again with green flames, and Alice and Frank stepped out of it.
They all greeted each other and settled on the couches once again, changing the subject of their discussion; they started chatting about homework, Quidditch and their trip to London.
Lily arrived an hour later, and James' eyes shone with emotion as he watched her throwing curious glances at his house.
"You ok, Evans?"
"Sure, Potter, just wanted to see where your head became so big"
Everybody laughed, but James pouted. "Right, back to normal, then…"
Their confront was interrupted as Marlene McKinnon and Amelia Riley shyly entered into James' house.
Sirius smirked widely at them and acted like a proper host; he started talking with the two girls and they almost immediately felt at ease. It was some time before Andromeda Black arrived too.
Madeline and the Marauders absolutely loved the woman. She was Sirius' cousin, but the two of them acted like brother and sister. Meda was older than them, probably around twenty-six, and she was, just like Sirius, a peculiar Pureblood. She had been a Slytherin, but a special one; her family had turned her away as she had started dating a Muggle Born, who she'd eventually marry and have a little girl with. Nymphadora was probably three years old by then. Sirius had told them about her story, because Meda rarely talked about her past, or about her strict parents and difficult sisters Narcissa and Bellatrix.
Andromeda stepped into the living room and everybody stared at her gorgeous figure. She had long, brown hair, that fell into waves on her shoulders; her eyes were blue, but kind and warm. She gave them a large smile as she take them all in.
"Hello children!" Madeline smiled at that. Meda had always told them they were her little brothers and sister.
"Meda!" Sirius instantly forgot about the two girls by his side and jumped up to hug his cousin. "I've missed you."
"Missed you too Siri dear" she said, and then she turned to hug James, Remus and Madeline too.
Only in that moment did Madeline realize Meda wasn't alone. Ted Tonks stood there, in his simple Muggle suit; his blonde hair were longer than the last time she had seen him, but his kind eyes were just the same. He shook hands with the boys before giving her a gentle smile. "Glad to see you again, Madeline."
"Same for me, Ted. How's life at St. Mungo's?"
"Oh, same old."
The two young adults presented themselves to the Marauders' friends and everybody started chatting again.
"Where's Pete?" asked Remus, suddenly.
James shrugged, "No idea."
Sirius raised an eyebrow, "His mother has probably forced him to have lunch with her before coming here. The woman's mad."
"Pads." Reprimanded Madeline with a firm tone, "She's alone. Pete's father's dead. It's only natural she wants to spend time with him."
Sirius shut his mouth, then. It was difficult for him to understand what having a loving mother meant. That thought saddened Madeline.
Peter arrived in the early afternoon, after that the boys and girls had all had lunch with the Potters. Lily's meeting with Charlus and Dorea had been hilarious. James had watched his parents shaking hands with the girl he loved with tears in his eyes. Dorea had taken a sympathy in Lily, and Lily seemed to like the woman too. She was fierce, and loving. Madeline adored her, and admired her, very much. Dorea was like a second mother to her.
Charlus was more like James; childish, funny and couldn't keep his mouth shut. She had always treated Madeline as the daughter he had never head, giving her gifts and fatherly talks, tips and advices.
When Peter arrived, and everybody greeted him, Madeline noticed the boy seemed… Different, from the last time she had seen him, in Camden. He looked paler, and more tired, and there was conflict on his round face. The girl couldn't quite understand why, but Peter was giving her incredibly bad vibes. Apparently, she was the only one to have noticed that, so she just pretended nothing was wrong. They had a party to organize. The New Years was about to come.

The Marauders set up a big gazebo in Potter Manor's huge garden. They casted a spell to keep it warm and they enchanted the ceiling to recreate that night's sky. Inside of the gazebo, there was a long table on which the girls and boys would have a great, rich dinner, especially prepared for them by darling Larry, James' House Elf. Next to the table, richly prepared and decorated, they recreated a Muggle disco. There was a wonderful dancefloor with colored lights; Sirius had set up a small bar with all types of alcoholics: Firewhiskey, Butterbeer, Bloody rum, Elven wine, and even some plain, Muggle Vodka.
The night promised to be unforgettable.
While the girls and she were preparing for the night, wearing long dressed and lots of make up, Madeline couldn't help thinking about how different it would have been if Severus had been a friend of theirs. She missed him; she wanted to see him. He would probably spend New Year's in Mulciber's gloomy house, surrounded by stupid Death Eaters who thought nothing of him.
The thought pained her.
How wonderful it would have been if he was to be with her…
She shook her thinkings away as Marlene asked her to style her hair. She agreed with a smile.
Marlene was wearing a long, silver dress, which hugged her slender figure. Madeline styled her wavy hair into an high ponytail which characterized her sharp facial traits.
"Sirius won't be able to keep his eyes off of you." She told the girl.
Marlene seemed to light up at that, and smiled. "You think so?"
"I know so, Lene. You look amazing."
"So do you, Mads. Really. I've never seen a girl so beautiful."
Madeline shook her head, "Noone's better looking than another. We are all different. Everybody finds beauty in different things, and persons." She said absent mindedly, and her mind couldn't help but travel to Severus. He was so beautiful to her. And yet, he hated himself…
Madeline was brought back to reality by Lily, who had exited from the bathroom wearing a long, dark green dress, which showed the skin on her back. Lily's pale skin looked delicate and soft.
"James will die" stated Madeline, and the red head blushed.
"I don't know how to take it. I should probably feel relieved." Commented Lily.
Alice laughed. She was wearing a short, black dress, and black, combat boots. She looked great, too.
"Those boys are so lucky!" she said aloud, and all of the girls laughed.
"Ok, girls, I'm gonna get ready too." Announced Madeline, as Amelia exited from the other bathroom. The Hufflepuff girl had turned out to be really nice to talk to, and also really kind. Remus and she had chatted a lot during the whole afternoon, and Madeline thought that when he'd see her wearing her long, blue dress he'd die too.
Madeline was a simple girl, but she liked to impress. She was a teaser, after all.
She wore a long, burgundy, silk dress, who had an elegant neckline and showed skin she usually covered. She smiled at her reflection. She felt good, and confident. Her mother had gifted her the dress for Christmas. She really did know her daughter's taste.
She wore little makeup, concentrating more on the eyes; she put on mascara and some lipstick.
When she exited from the bathroom, the girls looked at her with wide eyes.
"Madeline you are breath taking…" said Alice.
"She's an absolute dream, isn't she?" stated Andromeda, who had just opened the door to the room, and was now staring at the blonde girl with a huge grin plastered on her face. The woman was wearing a white suit, with a long jacket and some skinny pants. She looked fierce, and mature, and beautiful.
Madeline blushed, and smiled at them. "Enough with these compliments, girls! Let's make those boys drool!" she said, trying to take their attention away from her.
They all laughed and descended the stairs to meet with the boys.
They had all cleaned up really fine. James was wearing a black, three-piece suit with a tie; Sirius was wearing a two-piece one, and part of his shirt was unbuttoned, reveling a part of his chest. Remus and Frank were wearing turtleneck jumpers and elegant pants, while Peter had opted for a simple white shirt and a black waistcoat. Ted Tonks was wearing clothes more similar to Wizard's fashion; a long, green robe which reached his thigh, and some black pants.
The boys were staring wide eyed at the girls, while the girls were silently taking in their handsome appearance.
"This is gonna be one hell of a night!" announced Sirius, suddenly. Madeline noticed his eyes were roaming all over her body, and she hoped Marlene wouldn't see it.
"Let's start the party!" agreed James, and they all moved towards the gazebo.
The New Year was getting closer, and they wanted nothing more than to dance the old one away.

Heellooooooooooo! And thank you if you're reading this! I hope you like it!
I just want to remind you I'm not an English native speaker, so feel free to correct me... It really helps me improve!