Dinner was delicious; they ate many different foods: soup, roast beef with smashed potatoes, chicken pie, beef, mushrooms, cheese, and all types of dessert. Cakes, candies, sorbets, biscuits. Madeline was full and happy. They also drank a lot; Sirius kept filling all of their glasses with a huge grin on his handsome face. Madeline was sitting next to Remus, in front of Sirius, with James on the other side. Lily had been forced to seat right in front of him, but she was enjoying the night nonetheless.
Elfic wine and firewhiskey were coloring their cheeks red and brightening their smiles. Endless laughter resounded through the gazebo.
Madeline and Remus had fun watching Sirius flirting shamelessly with Marlene, who was sitting right next to the charming boy and already looked totally in love and ready to marry him. Padfoot had a funny way of seducing girls; he would play with their hair, while giving them a very intense look with his grey eyes. The girls always fell for his fascinating stare. But to his friends, he looked just like a fool.
Sometimes after one too many glasses of wine, Remus confessed Madeline that he found Amelia to be cute, but Peter had told him he wanted to hit on the girl, and so Remus had given up on her.
Madeline felt sorry about that, but she knew Moony wouldn't change his mind. Since he had become a Marauder, he had sworn to always choose his brothers over any girl. They had become animagi for him. Remus felt in debt.
Madeline had tried numerous times to tell him his friends wouldn't have wanted him to fear losing them for foolish things like girls. But Remus had been irremovable. "You know what they did for me, Mads; they're my family. I won't hurt them", he had told her once.
And now Peter was chatting with Amelia who, being a very polite and sweet girl, was paying him a generous amount of attention.
Peter wasn't exactly ugly… He was a little boy, with messy, ash blond hair and a pointy nose. His eyes were little and pale blue. His face was long, and boyish. He was a scrawny, tiny thing. Cute, to some. And yet, there was something sinister in his hinted smile…
Madeline turned to look at Remus, who was dressed in a turtleneck jumper that highlighted his sharp cheekbones. He was drinking some wine while listening to what Sirius was telling. Suddenly, he felt Madeline's gaze on him, and turned to look at the girl, and blushed.
"Do I have something on my face?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Not at all, Moony. I was just thinking you're very handsome tonight."
Remus blushed harder. "It's such a huge compliment coming from you, y'know that?" he said, smiling tenderly and circling her shoulders with his arm. Madeline smiled back; tipsy Moony was touchy, and that made her laugh every time.
"Is it?"
"Yeah, look at you, you're beautiful. I don't find it hard to understand why he's head over heels in love with you."
Madeline's brows knitted. "Who's he?"
"Well, isn't it obvious?" he laughed, appearing quite groggy to her eyes. "That's S-"
"Are you flirting with Mads, Moony dear?", suddenly shouted James from her side, and then he started laughing. All eyes pointed on them.
Remus looked completely embarrassed, while Sirius was staring at them with a curious expression on his face. He looked dumbfounded. It took some seconds for Madeline to answer; after all, they had all drunk a lot.
"Quite the contrary, Prongsie. I'm flirting with him. But I don't thing I'm his type."
"Well, wash your eyes, Rem, darling." Said Meda with a serious tone, making all of them laugh aloud.
Remus laughed too. "No, I know she's great… But she's my sister." He said, shrugging.
Madeline nodded solemnly, and circled Remus' waist with her arm, putting her cheek against his shoulder. "And he's my brother."
Alice suddenly took Peter's camera, who was leaning on the table, and snapped a picture of them. The polaroid took some minutes to come into life, and when Alice and Frank looked at it, they smiled.
"This is a great one," said the boy.
Al nodded, "Yeah, I may have a future." She stated, and handed the photo to Madeline.
She couldn't help but think they looked so drunk, and complicit, and happy in it. "I want you to have this", she said to Remus after staring at it for a while. "Because I sometimes wonder if you know how much I love you. I know I'm not… Like them… To you..." she lowered her voice, gesturing towards Sirius and James and Peter. "But…"
Remus' eyes widened. "Not like them? Mads, just because you didn't become an Animagus, I do appreciate and value what you do for me everyday. Madeline, you're so important to me. Don't you dare think otherwise! You've helped me a big deal. You were always my friend, no matter what. You understand my silences, you know what goes on in my head. You're really my sister."
Alcohol made Moony touchy and emotional.
Madeline smiled, "Alright, then…"
"And I love you too."
She gave him a peck on the cheek and was about to reply, when they were interrupted by a sudden cheer; everybody was staring at Sirius, who was emptying a glass of firewhiskey.
"You go, Pads, you go!", James was encouraging him, clapping.
Remus and Madeline started laughing with the rest of them.

They then moved to the dancefloor. Everybody already had a partner for the slow dances, so Madeline ended up dancing with Remus during them. She had a lot of fun. He was a bit clumsy and shy, but knew how to move.
She danced also with the girls, with James, and also with Frank. Sirius was snogging Marlene for a while by then, and she didn't want to interrupt them just to have one dance with the boy.
Peter and Amelia were talking in low voices on one side of the dancefloor, while James had somehow convinced Lily to stick with him for the night. It was probably due to the alcohol in the redhead's body.
Midnight rapidly approached. The thought of the year that was about to comr made Madeline feel both happy and anxious. Moony seemed to sense her thoughts, for he gave her a gentle smile, the one he always gave his friends when he wanted to reassure them; the one who made him look so much older and wiser.
"You know, Madeline… There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind." He whispered to her.
"I hope you're right, Remus."
And then there was the countdown, and everybody started yelling, and Sirius and James took bottles of Champagne in their hands, and the young boys and girls all looked at each other… And then it was 1977.
There was clapping, cheering, shouting, singing, dancing, kissing, hugging. Andromeda and Ted conjured massive fireworks which recreated the writing "Happy New Year" in the night sky. Everybody was happy.
Padfoot walked to her and took her in his arms, and then whispered sweet words into her ear. "You're so beautiful, Mads, and I love you so much." And she replied, "I love you too." And then, he smiled at her. Suddenly, James hugged her from behind and they all laughed, and soon she was in Andromeda's arms. "You're really blind, little one, but I love you anyway". She didn't really understand what they were all telling her, the alcohol and the excitement making her feel like she was high on some kind of illegal potion.
She had so much love in her life it was disorientating.
Some time later, when everyone was chatting, dancing to some ballad or snogging, she took advantage of a moment of peace to go and smoke a cigarette on her own. Madeline often felt the need to stop and think.
Above all, when she was drunk.
She entered into James' house, and exited from the front door. She needed to put some distance between the others and herself. She lighted a cigarette when she reached the front porch of the Manor.
She cursed when the chilly air of the night made her shiver. She instantly regretted leaving the warmth of the gazebo.
She tried to distract herself by taking a long drag from the Marlboro. She closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply the scent of nicotine. It made her feel dizzy, and light-headed.
"Are you an angel?" a deep voice whispered, right into her ear. She smiled. He had frightened her, but she knew his velvet tone too well not to recognize it; plus, the whiskey had slowed her reaction.
"If I'm one, then you must be a devil..." She said, and his breath tickled her neck when he gave a low laugh. "…who came here to take me into darkness." She continued.
His hands circled her hips and her back was suddenly pressed against Severus' chest.
"Maybe I am." He said, before leaving a gentle kiss of her jawline. Madeline shivered again, but not because of the cold. The boy's warmth was already encircling her. She thought he had probably cast a charm to make her feel alright. She smiled. "Merlin, you're so beautiful." He muttered.
"Are you drunk?", Madeline asked, surprised by his confidence and boldness. Severus' breath smelled of Firewhiskey.
"Just a bit more than I was in the Room of Requirement."
"So the answer is yes."
Madeline said, turning in his arms to look at him. He was wearing a new suit; black; two-piece; his shirt was unbuttoned and it showed his pale, bony chest. His inky hair were messy and fell around his face.
"You're drunk too, though." He stated.
Madeline grinned, "I am." She said, and put the cigarette between her lips. Severus gazed at them, licking his own. "Living with Mulciber gives me access to portkeys… And, well... They say you spend the rest of the new year as you start it." He explained, after a while.
Madeline raised an eyebrow. "Is this a declaration of some sort?"
Severus laughed slightly, "You're a little tease even when you're drunk."
Madeline smiled and tossed the cigarette away. "Shut up, won't you, Professor Snape?" she whispered before leaning into him, and he kissed her full on the mouth.
Drunk Severus was way touchier than Remus, Madeline thought when the boy let his hands move to her lower back. She bit his lip and smiled at his hungry expression before he claimed her mouth again. Their tongues danced together for some time. Electricity was in the air.
"You're too beautiful to stay around boys that aren't me" he muttered against her neck. She raised her chin so that he could have better access to it.
"You're sexy when you're jealous," she said with a grin on her face.
"Maybe I should... take you... away from here, then." He stated, looking at her in the eyes. "We could... spend the night together."
Madeline sweetly smiled at him, and raised a hand to caress his cheek. "I can't just leave, babe." She sighed, "They're my best friends. They don't deserve this."
He tightened his grip on her waist and leaned his forehead against hers. "Alright." He said, and his low, velvety voice resonated through his chest, making her smile again.
"Don't be sad," she muttered, moving his hair away from his pale face. "There will be other nights."
He nodded slowly, before kissing her again, this time more gently. His hands went into her hair to slightly caress her scalp, and she put hers behind his neck to pull him closer.
Their kisses tasted of firewhiskey, cigarettes and fragile promises.
"MADS!" Someone shouted, and they instantly separated. Hearing Sirius' voice wasn't something she was looking forward to.
Snape sighed, his facial features hardened with anger and his jaw clenched. He shot her an apologetic look when he heard footsteps coming closer.
"I need to go" he said.
Madeline looked at him with saddening eyes. Then, she nodded.
"Happy New Year, Severus."
He gave her a little smile, and moved forward to kiss her one last time. "Happy New Year, Madeline." He whispered. Then, he grabbed a lighter from his pocket, his portkey, probably, and disappeared.
Right then, the front door opened and Sirius stepped into the porch.
"Mads, I was looking for you! What are you doing here?" he asked, with a high-pitched voice, getting closer to her and encircling her shoulders with his arm.
"Oh, just smoking a cigarette away from the mess." She simply answered, looking disinterested; she was already missing Severus' kisses and whispers.
Sirius smiled, "Yeah, I understand." He said. "Want to smoke another one?" he asked, sitting on the porch steps and putting a Benson and Hedges between his lips.
"Sure," she murmured, and sat right next to him. Sirius lighted her Malboro, and they stood there watching the night sky in silence for some minutes. The stars shone so bright.
"So… Marlene?" she said, looking at him in her peripheral. "She's nice, I like her."
"Do you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "She's… Fine, I think."
Madeline laughed. "She really is, Pads."
"Yeah…" he shrugged. He sounded kind of tired in Mads' opinion. "You're really breath-taking tonight."
"You're quite dashing too Mr. Padfoot."
He grinned, and took a long drag from his cigarette. "James has tried to snog Evans, by the way. She slapped him and ran away. Alice went to talk to her and then James told her he was sorry, and knelt in front of her and begged for her forgiveness. Damn, he's so drunk. Evans was so embarrassed she eventually accepted his apology and retired to bed with the other girls. Now, Prongs dear is having a long talk about women with Frank and Ted."
"WHAT?" asked Madeline, her eyes wide opened. "I CAN'T BELIEVE I'VE MISSED ALL OF THIS."
"Yeah, that's why I came looking for you, the boy's gone crazy and it was totally hilarious." Sirius said, and started barking. "Thanks Merlin James exists." He added, "He's always there to lighten up my mood."
"Was your mood down? I thought you were enjoying yourself."
Sirius smiled bitterly and shrugged. "You know I have ups and downs when I'm drunk."
Madeline smiled, "Maybe it's time for all of us to go to sleep."
She raised to her feet and extended his hand for him to take.
Sirius looked up into her face, and there was some pain and uncertainty in his grey eyes. It seemed he was about to make one of the most important choices in his life. "I think I'll stay here a little bit longer." He whispered then, like it took him so much strength to say the words, and broke his stare. Madeline let her hand fall to her side. "Alright." She said, "Goodnight Pads. And Happy New Year."
"Goodnight." He replied softly. He wasn't looking at her.
Madeline walked to the door, and when she was about to enter, his voice stopped her again.
"Oh, and Madeline…" she turned to look at her best friend, and he had a sweet expression on his face, though it was mixed with bitterness and struggle. The boy exhaled. "Happy New Year." He simply said.
Madeline smiled, and walked inside the house.

What can I say about this chapter?
I've been re-reading Harry Potter lately and... Well, I can't deny I'm so in love with Sirius Black.
Are you Team Sirius or Team Severus? I would like to know (even if I'm now pretty sure about where to lead this story).
Till the next time.

All my love x