Saturday, August 7, 1976
Rule #36: Don't slack in the summer
"Bloody hell, Potter, your house is enormous!" Bubbles looked around in unabashed admiration at the spacious drawing room where he had just arrived by Floo powder.
"Yeah, I suppose it is," James replied, shrugging. He was so used to his house that he forgot how impressive others found it. "Come on, Seven's already here." He led the way to a formal sitting area where Seven sat in a wingback chair, perched on the edge of the seat with her back very straight. Sirius was sprawled out on a brocade loveseat with his legs dangling over the arm, his air of casualness and ease contrasting sharply with Seven's impeccable posture. James sat down on the rug in front of Sirius's loveseat, stretching out his legs in front of him
"Hello, Bubbles," Seven said, smiling brightly, and Sirius waved lazily.
"Hi," Bubbles said, sitting down in a chair across from Seven and setting his broom down at his feet. "Have you two had a good summer so far?"
Seven nodded. "Yeah, not bad. Bit boring, though, so I'm excited to see everyone today."
"The first month or so was shit, but it's looking up now," Sirius said, shrugging.
Before Bubbles could question him further, their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Nards and Bransnog, who were led in by a house elf.
"Hullo, everyone," Nards said, dropping her Quidditch gear unceremoniously at her feet and bounding over to join the group. "Nice house, Potter." She poked Sirius's leg. "Budge up, Black," she commanded good naturedly. "I didn't know you were going to be here."
"I moved in a couple weeks ago," he replied, making room for her on the loveseat. "Lucky I did, too, because I've agreed to play Keeper for you lot today." He grinned. "Full disclosure, though, I'm nowhere near as good as Crash, but I'll do my best."
"Did you both Apparate here?" Bubbles asked curiously.
"Yup," Bransnog said, taking a seat next to him after resting his broom and Beater's bat against the back of the chair. "Nards finally passed her test."
"Oh, shut up," Nards replied. "Plenty of people fail the first time."
"Is Unicorn coming?" Seven asked.
"Yeah, she's driving, apparently," James said.
"Really?" Sirius asked. "Think she'd let me have a go in her car?"
"Do you know how to drive a car?" Seven asked, surprised.
He shrugged. "How hard can it be?"
"Ooh, look, that must be her!" Nards said, pointing out the window at a large blue station wagon that had just pulled into the Potters' long driveway.
"Come on," James said, jumping up and leading the way outside, closely followed by the rest of the group. They reached the car just as Unicorn shut off the engine and climbed out, grinning widely.
"Hi!" she said excitedly. "Sorry I'm late. I got a bit lost."
"That's all right. I suppose it's rather hard to find, if you're not Flooing in or Apparating," James replied.
"Unicorn, can I take it for a drive later?" Sirius asked excitedly.
"Er, I suppose," she replied, slightly taken aback. "You have to be careful, though, because it's my mum's car, and she'll kill me if anything happens to it. I had to beg her to let me take it today."
Sirius grinned. "I'm always careful."
"No you're not," Unicorn said, grinning back, "but I'll let you have a go anyway."
"Now that's settled, are you lot ready to play?" James said, beckoning for the group to follow him.
He led the way around the house and down a small incline. When the ground flattened out again, the tall golden hoops of the goal posts came into view.
"Bloody hell, this is amazing!" Nards said, Summoning their brooms and other gear and looking around in admiration. "Why the hell do you need a full-sized pitch for just you?"
He shrugged. "So we can do this, I suppose. Rule #36: Don't slack in the summer." He mounted his broom and blew his whistle. "Right, here's what we're going to do."
They practiced for hours, glad to be together as a team again. There was a slight breeze, and the day was warm but not hot, and they had barely noticed how much time had passed until two house elves brought out a tray of sandwiches, biscuits, and pumpkin juice and set up lunch for them on a picnic blanket.
"Cheers," James said, smiling at them. "Don't worry about coming back to clear this up, we'll bring it in with us when we're finished out here."
They bowed and retreated back to the house.
"You have house elves?" Unicorn asked, eyes wide.
"Yeah, we have four of them," James said. "They're great, all of them. They could've gotten me in trouble with my parents so many times, but they never do." He sprawled out on the blanket and selected a sandwich from the tray. "Help yourselves. You've earned it."
As they are, the team chattered animatedly about the team's prospects for the coming year and about the possible candidates for the Keeper position.
"You're not half bad, Black," Bubbles said through a mouthful of sandwich. "Why don't you try out?"
Sirius shook his head. "Nah, I prefer Beating, to be honest. And I don't have the motivation and dedication to train with you crazy buggers in the rain and snow and before the arse crack of dawn." He grinned. "Plus, I value my friendship with James too much to make myself accountable to his bloody rules."
James nodded. "It's true. I tried to convince him to try out back when I joined the team, but it's better this way."
"He still makes me train with him all the bloody time in the summer, though," Sirius added.
"You have the honor and privilege of training with me, you mean," James said in mock outrage.
"Right, that's exactly what I mean," Sirius replied, eating half of his biscuit in one bite.
After lunch, they spent several more hours playing, finally calling it a day when the sun began to set. After packing up the Quidditch gear and the remnants of lunch, they all headed back toward the house.
"I'd say there's still enough time for Sirius to take your car for a drive before everyone shows up for the party," James said, setting down the tray of empty plates on the kitchen counter and turning to face Unicorn. "What do you say?"
She hesitated for a moment, then grinned. "All right. But you'll have to squeeze in if you all want to come. It's going to be a bit cramped."
They all headed for the car, and after a bit of maneuvering, with Nards sitting on Bransnog's lap and Bubbles sitting hunched on the floor in front of Unicorn's feet, they all managed to fit into the station wagon.
"Now, go slow to start," Unicorn warned Sirius, after she had explained the basics of how to drive a car.
"I've got this, Unicorn," Sirius assured her, applying rather more force than was necessary to the gas pedal and jerking the car forward.
She gritted her teeth and clutched the door handle tightly, but made no reply.
"So where are your parents, anyway, Potter?" Bubbles asked, craning his neck to face the back seat and seeming completely unphased by Sirius's lack of driving experience.
"They're on holiday at our house by the sea," James replied. "Sirius and I were out there with them for the past week, but they let us come back for this as long as we promised to be good." He ran a hand through his hair and grinned. "Which, of course, we always are."
Nards laughed. "There's no way they believe that, do they? Don't they suspect you're going to throw a party the second you're here alone?"
James shrugged. "They don't suspect, they know. But as long as we clean up the house afterwards and replace the alcohol we take from the liquor cabinet, they let it slide. They're good like that."
"Yes they are," Sirius agreed, accelerating more smoothly this time and rolling down his window to let in the warm summer air. "Should be a good party. Mary Macdonald promised to come with girls. The proper girl to bloke ratio makes all the difference, you know."
"Is Evans one of the girls Macdonald is bringing to improve the ratio?" Unicorn asked, glancing at James.
James tried to look determinedly casual, but couldn't altogether banish the hope that filled his face at the mention of her name.
"She said she'd try to convince her, but told me not to let James get his hopes up too much," Sirius said, turning around to give his friend a sympathetic grin.
"Keep your eyes on the road, Black!" Unicorn chided, punching him lightly on the arm.
"Don't abuse the driver," Sirius shot back. "And I'm in complete control of the vehicle, so keep your knickers on." He paused for a moment. "Actually, on second thought, feel free to take them off. I don't mind in the slightest."
She giggled, but James glared at them both.
"Yeah, yeah, Prongs, I know, rule number 13." Sirius rolled his eyes. "You lot want to see how fast this thing goes?"
Without waiting for a response, he pushed the pedal to the floor and sent the car hurtling down the abandoned road. Unicorn shrieked in protest, Nards cursed loudly and Bransnog wrapped his arms around her waist reassuringly, and James stuck his head out the window and whooped enthusiastically. By the time they returned to the Potters' house, wind-tousled but not worse for the wear, Sirius could not keep the exhilarated grin off his face.
"That was brilliant!" he exclaimed, handing the keys back to Unicorn.
"You almost killed us," Unicorn protested. "It's a station wagon, not a bloody motorbike."
"You haven't got a motorbike, have you?" he asked excitedly.
She laughed and shook her head. "Sorry, no."
James glanced at his watch. "We'd better hurry if you lot want to shower before everyone gets here. And no offense, but I'd say you all need it." He grinned and ushered them inside.
An hour later, the team sat around the large table in the dining room, freshly showered and enjoying the first drinks of the night. They had been joined by Peter and Remus, and had begun a game of drinking Exploding Snap. As they played, guests slowly began to arrive, and they had to restart the game several times to include new players. Everyone had done his or her part and invited friends, and soon the guests were spilling into different areas of the house.
"I have to get going soon," Seven said regretfully, finding herself alone with Remus after James had taken most of the group outside to see the pool.
"You're not staying?" Remus asked, raising his voice to be heard over the loud music and looking slightly disappointed.
"No, my parents are really strict, and I didn't want to risk lying to them, because if they found out I'd be off the team for sure." She smiled ruefully.
"That's too bad," Remus observed. "I read an interesting book recently that I think you'd like, and I wanted to tell you about it."
"And I was hoping to ask you all about the Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L." she said, frowning. "But I do have a bit more time before I have to floo back. We can just talk fast." She smiled, then gestured for him to follow her outside where it was a bit quieter, and he followed, looking considerably cheered.
Meanwhile, out by the pool Sirius greeted Mary Macdonald, who had brought several of her female friends with her as promised, although James was disappointed to discover that Lily was not among them.
"You couldn't convince Evans to come?" Sirius asked, correctly reading the expression on his friend's face.
"Nah, I tried, but she said she couldn't think of anything she'd enjoy less than attending a party at James Potter's house," she replied, smiling apologetically at James.
"Bad luck, Prongs," Sirius said bracingly. "But at least you're here, Macdonald. I assume this means you've ditched Stebbins, then?" He raised an eyebrow at her expectantly.
She smirked at him. "I have, actually."
He grinned. "Excellent. Well, bad luck for him, but great for you." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you by any chance invite Bertha Jorkins?"
She shook her head. "No, why would I? She spread that rumor that I cheated on Stebbins with you."
"Well, you can't put all the blame on her for that rumor. A bunch of people asked me about it, and I didn't tell any of them it wasn't true. Anyway, we can't figure out who actually invited her, but it doesn't matter. Come on, let's get you a drink." He draped an arm around her and steered her toward the drinks table inside.
James also drifted inside, wending his way through guests and greeting people who had just arrived. He pushed past Bubbles and his girlfriend, who were locked in a tight embrace, and took a seat in the deserted drawing room. Sighing, he took a swig of his drink and slouched down in his chair.
"What are you doing sitting in here all alone?" Remus asked, making his way over to James and sitting down in a chair across from him. "How come you're not with everyone else enjoying the party?"
James shrugged. "No reason." He frowned. "Where did you disappear off to?"
"Oh, I was just outside walking Seven through the Defense O.W.L., but she just left."
James laughed. "What a couple of nerds! Why would you want to discuss an exam after you've taken it?"
Remus grinned. "I guess because we're a couple of nerds." He raised his eyebrows. "I don't suppose this has anything to do with Evans not coming tonight, does it? I mean, did you really expect her to show up?"
"Well, no, not really," James answered, running a hand through his hair. "I guess I just hoped she might."
"Give her time, she might come around." He clinked his drink against James's and took a sip. "Now come on. No more of this Jay Gatsby, moping around and not enjoying your own party because your girl didn't come act." He stood, then offered James a hand up. "Let's go convince Padfoot to jump in the pool naked."
James sighed, then accepted the hand up. "All right, fine." He grabbed his drink and took a sip, then began to head for the pool. "Who's Jay Gatsby, anyway?"
Remus chuckled. "Never mind."
Making their way out to the pool, James and Remus came upon the unwelcome sight of Dan Dingle, who was talking to a rather surprised-looking Nards.
"Dan Dingle, how's it going?" she asked, taking a sip of her drink and glancing around to see who might have invited him.
"Oh, just living the fucking dream," he said, taking a swig from his own drink and grinning.
"Nards, please tell me you didn't invite this tosser to my house," James said, glaring at Dan Dingle.
"No, I didn't, but-" Nards began, but James spoke over her.
"Padfoot, did you invite Dingle?" he called to Sirius, who ambled over with a drink in one hand and his other arm still draped around Mary Macdonald.
Sirius raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Why the fuck would I do that? This git ratted me out to McGonagall for smoking in the loo, when he was the one who sold me the cigarettes in the first place." He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one, taking a deep drag then exhaling the smoke directly into Dan Dingle's face as if to illustrate his point.
"I still can't believe you stooped to buying from him," James observed, shaking his head in disgust.
"It was only until I found a more reputable source," Sirius protested.
"All right, fair enough. Moony, I assume you didn't invite Dingle?"
Remus shook his head. "I did not."
"Right." James gestured for the attention of the party guests. "Oi! Listen up, everyone," he shouted. "Did any of you invite this prat to my house?" He pointed at the frowning Dan Dingle.
Most of the guests looked confused; a few shook their heads, but most simply eyed Dingle curiously.
"I was invited!" Dan Dingle exclaimed. "It was Bertha Jorkins, all right? I have just as much right to be here as anyone else, Potter, so stop being a bloody git and let me enjoy the party." He made to walk away, but James put a hand out to stop him.
"Bertha Jorkins wasn't even invited. I dunno how she found out about the party, but she has some sort of uncanny sense for that sort of thing. Anyway, the only reason I haven't kicked her out is I'm fairly certain she's here to shag Peter, and Merlin knows he needs it. So long story short, thanks for stopping by, but you've got to go, mate." He smiled ruefully, as if the circumstances were out of his control.
"Hang on, Potter," Nards said. "Remember what we talked about on the train? There's no reason you can't let him stay - what harm would it do?"
"What harm would it do? Nards, he charged Bubbles four Galleons for watered-down firewhisky and then almost got him expelled!"
"Still, it would be nice of you to let him stay," she insisted.
James thought a moment, then nodded. "All right, fine. You can stay, Dingle, but there's a four Galleon cover charge, and you can give it directly to Bubbles."
"That's not fair!" Dingle complained. "Nobody else had to pay a cover charge!"
"And nobody else ripped off one of my teammates and ratted out my best mate, then had the audacity to show up to a party at my house when they hadn't even been properly invited. Either pay up or leave, Dingle." James crossed his arms and fixed him with a steely glare.
Dan Dingle sighed in exasperation, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of coins before glancing around and heading off to find Bubbles. As he walked away, he could be heard muttering furiously under his breath.
"How do you like that, Nards?" James asked, grinning at her. "I'm getting nicer every day"
She rolled her eyes but couldn't help grinning in spite of herself.
As the night wore on, the party became wilder and wilder. Sirius did in fact strip naked and jump into the pool, accompanied by Mary Macdonald. Someone pushed Bubbles in fully clothed, and then a bunch of them stripped down to their underwear and jumped in to play a drunken game of chicken. Later, Peter disappeared into one of the bedrooms with Bertha Jorkins. Around 1:30 am, Nards expressed a longing for pancakes, so James had one of the house elves make a large batch of chocolate chip pancakes for everyone.
Slowly, people began to drift off to bed. Bransnog supported a very drunk Nards up the stairs after she threatened to moon everyone again. Remus fell asleep sitting up in an armchair, and Sirius tucked a blanket around him before retreating to his bedroom with a giggling Mary Macdonald. Finally, James glanced around and realized he and Unicorn were the only ones who had not left or passed out in one of the many upstairs bedrooms. Stifling a yawn, he turned to Unicorn.
"What do you think, should we go to bed? Must be almost three in the morning."
She drained the last sip from her drink and nodded. "I'm just not sure where I should sleep. I'm scared to look in any of the bedrooms in case I, you know, interrupt something."
James laughed. "Good call. Well, you're welcome to stay in my room. Not in my bed, I mean, I have a couch in there. It's pretty comfortable - Sirius passes out on it almost as often as he sleeps in his own room."
She raised her eyebrows. "I just don't want anyone to think…You know, what about rule number 15?" She blushed slightly but met his eye.
James shook his head and laughed again. "I appreciate your commitment to the rules, but don't forget that I created those rules, and I'm the one who enforces them, so you're fine. And if anyone accuses us of breaking rule number 15, I'll just tell them they're wrong, and then remind them of rule number 18."
"Which is, of course, don't argue with the captain?"
"Precisely. See, Padfoot insists you lot don't listen to me, but you've obviously been paying attention. Come on, I'll even let you borrow some of my pajamas. Unless you're going to puke on them, in which case I'll let you wear Sirius's Chudley Cannon pajamas instead." He grinned and offered her a hand up.
The two made their way to the second floor, causing a slight commotion when Unicorn tripped over a rug on the landing, and James laughed so hard at the startled look on her face that he almost fell over. When they finally made it safely to James's room, he handed her some pajamas and a blanket, then nipped into the loo to change and give her a chance to do the same.
"You look comfy," he observed when he returned and sprawled out on his bed.
"You were right," she said, stretching out on the couch and looking quite at home. "This is a very comfortable couch." She stifled a yawn, then looked at him thoughtfully. "Can I give you some unsolicited advice?"
"Let's be honest, you're going to give it to me whether I agree or not, so out with it, Unicorn." James reached for the Quaffle that rested next to his bed and began tossing it absently into the air.
"Right, well, I just want to say that I saw how sad you looked when Evans didn't show up tonight, and I feel for you, I really do. I also know that Nards told you off on the train right after Evans did, and as much as you pretend that it just rolled right off you like most criticism does, I think it struck a nerve. And unless I'm very wrong, I think we're going to see you making an effort to be less of a bully this year."
James stared at her, the Quaffle forgotten in his hands, then raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going with this? What does it have to do with Evans?"
She frowned. "Hold on, it all made sense in my head, but I'm not explaining it well because, well, because I'm quite drunk." She paused for a moment. "Right, so I think if you're less of a git this year, Evans might take notice of that. But I don't think you should ask her out. I think you should try to be friends with her first. A lot of relationships start as friendships, and even if it doesn't turn into anything more, wouldn't you rather be friends with her than nothing at all? And no matter what anyone says about you, you're a great friend."
James sat up and ran a hand through his hair, grinning slightly. "I suppose I'm a decent friend, aren't I?"
"Yeah, you really are. It's one of your best qualities, I'd say, besides your ability to take a ragtag bunch of misfits and make them into a Quidditch Cup-winning team. So let her see more of that side of you, rather than the arrogant prat side of you that makes her want to hex you into oblivion."
James threw the Quaffle at her, but she snatched it out of the air with impressive skill despite her intoxicated state. "Careful, Unicorn," he warned. "If you're not nice to me, I'll kick you out of my room. I think you could probably find a spot on the floor in the room Peter and Bertha Jorkins are staying in."
Unicorn tossed the Quaffle back at him and pulled the blanket over herself. "The only way you are going to get me off this couch is if you drag me. It's way too comfy."
"Fine," James conceded, returning to tossing the Quaffle into the air and catching it. "Since your advice was rather helpful and mostly complimentary, I'll let you stay. And I'll do my best to, how did you put it, be less of a bully and show the good side of me. Not just for Evans, but also so Nards doesn't shout at me again, because honestly that was a bit scary." He paused and looked at her with a curious expression. "What about you? Any life-altering problems you need help solving? Because it's nearly three in the morning, and I'm at that precise level of drunkenness where I feel like everything I have to say is wise and profound, so you might as well take advantage."
She laughed, then thought for a moment. "Well, I don't know what you can do to help me with this, but I have no idea what I want to do after Hogwarts."
"That is rather life-altering, isn't it?" he mused.
"Possibly the most life-altering decision I'll ever need to make," she agreed. "And as I'm about to start my seventh year, I'd better get a move on and figure it out, shouldn't I?"
"I'd say so. Hang on, let me think for a moment." He fell silent for so long that she feared he had fallen asleep and was slightly startled when he spoke again. "Got it. You're good at giving advice, if mostly unsolicited advice, right?"
She nodded slowly. "I suppose."
"So why not do something with that? You know, for people who have actually asked for your help. You could be some sort of counselor or therapist - you have the grades for it, and you're a good listener - it's perfect."
She gaped at him. "Are you kidding me?"
He frowned slightly. "What, you don't like the idea?"
She shook her head. "No, like you said, it's perfect! It's just, I've been trying to sort this out for the past two years, and you think about it for two minutes and figure out a career path for me, just like that?" She laughed. "You're unbelievable, James Potter."
He flashed her a self-satisfied grin. "Unbelievable is one way to put it. I'm glad to help, though. Do you have any other quandaries you need me to solve?"
"Not at the moment, no." She stifled a huge yawn.
"Then I think we should both get some sleep."
"You'll wake up freakishly early and get me out of bed, right? I've got to work tomorrow, and I told Mary I'd give her a ride home."
"I'll make sure you're up," he said, pulling the covers over himself and rolling over. "And make sure to ask Macdonald about her night with Sirius, all right? Night, Unicorn."
"Night," she replied, and they both fell asleep almost immediately.