Chapter Twelve
Harry opened the diary and flipped to where he last left off.
October 30th, 1976
Dear person-who-will-be-murdered-as-soon-as-I-discover-you've-been-reading-this,
You really should stay out of other people's things. It's rather rude to snoop. However, if you do not care about your untimely demise, I suppose you may keep reading. Just know that I'm coming for you.
Gryffindor won the Quidditch Match against Ravenclaw; not that anyone was surprised. I swear, Gerald Hunter is a joke of a Quidditch captain.
We had a party in the Gryffindor common room to celebrate. It's lucky our year doesn't have any snitches, well, besides Evans. But Marlene managed to convince her to come to the party, which means she can't go to Minnie without also revealing herself. Sadly for me, that also means she actually went to the party. James, of course, was overjoyed when he heard this. I still don't understand what he sees in her.
Even with Evans there, it was pretty wicked. We played Wizards Truth and you'll never guess what I learned about…
Harry closed his eyes and felt the world start to spin around him. When he finally landed on his feet, he pried his eyelids open and found himself in the middle of the Gryffindor common room, where a group of teenagers sat in a circle. A bottle of firewhiskey was being passed around.
Harry recognized several of the teens. On the right side of the circle sat the four Marauders: Peter, whose face was flushed in the dimly lit room, James, whose glasses hung crookedly on the tip of his nose, Remus, who for once was not wearing a sweater, and Sirius, whose Gryffindor tie was tied around his head like a bandana.
Sirius was on Remus' right, but Lily sat on his left. Her flaming red hair was tied back in a low messy bun and she seemed much more relaxed than she did on the train. Next to her was a petite black girl that Harry didn't recognize. Light bounced off her jet black ringlets, framing her face like a halo. The next person in the circle was another that Harry didn't recognize: she was a lanky blonde with rather severe eyeliner and a bright red lip. Alice and Frank Longbottom sat beside her. Frank whispered something in Alice's ear and she giggled. Harry tore his eyes away from them, knowing the tragedy that lay ahead of them, and spotted a young Kingsley. Even as a teenager, Kingsley was built.
"Wizard's Truth anyone?" Frank addressed the group as he was passed the bottle of Firewhiskey. A murmur of agreement was uttered from the group, with the exception of Lily, who asked:
"What's Wizard's Truth?"
"Well," Remus cleared his throat and turned to Lily. "Essentially, those participating sit around in a circle and pass around a bottle. Whoever has the bottle gets to ask the entire group a question. Then, they pass around the bottle and everyone answers. Everyone has to answer, including the person asking."
"Like Truth or Dare?" Lily clarified. Harry remembered that his mother was muggleborn, so her knowledge of the magic world was probably limited, much like Harry's had been.
"Sort of, but there is no dare option," Remus answered before continuing to explain. "And because it's Wizard's Truth, when you decide to play, you're locked in a truth-binding spell so you cannot lie, but if you don't want to answer a question, you're free to take a shot instead and pass." Lily nodded and the group settled into silence.
"Who starts?" Peter piped up, hiccuping. All eyes turned to Remus.
"Why don't we start with Remus? Since he did just explain the rules," James suggested.
"Fine." Remus shrugged as Sirius passed him the bottle. He thought for a moment before asking his question. "Hmm, how many detentions have you ever gotten?"
"Boring." James sighed and Remus rolled his eyes, smiling. He continued on, ignoring James.
"I've gotten two, but only because this one got us caught." He pointed to Sirius, who gasped in over-dramatised shock.
"Me!" He exclaimed, putting a hand on his chest as if he were offended. "What about James and Peter?"
"We both know that Peter gets dragged into your shenanigans, and while James loves causing chaos, you're the one that always lands him and yourself in detention," Remus said, a smirk tugging at his lips. Sirius grumbled resignedly and Remus passed the bottle onto Lily for her turn to answer the question.
"One." She turned towards James and glared at him. "McGonagall caught me hexing Potter after he asked me out for the millionth time."
"And I'd do it again, my love," James cooed, batting his eyelashes at her.
"Are you always this insufferable?" she spat, her grip on the bottle getting tighter.
"Are you always this beautiful?"
"Urgh. Take it, Mary." She passed the firewhiskey onto the girl next to her, whom Harry now knew was named Mary.
"Three." Mary shrugged and handed the bottle to the blonde girl.
"Seven." The blonde offered the firewhiskey to Alice. Alice took it and answered the question proudly.
"I've never gotten any." Frank grabbed the bottle from her.
"One."
"None," Kingsley answered.
"Seventeen," Peter said apprehensively. Harry was almost shocked before he remembered the shenanigans that his father and Sirius got up to while they were at Hogwarts. Like Remus said, Peter probably got dragged into many of their messes.
"Sixty-seven," James said, chest puffed up pridefully. "I managed to talk my way out of two of them."
"Sixty-nine." Sirius wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Remus groaned. He quickly snatched the bottle out of Sirius' hands and gave it to Lily.
"Alright, your turn Lily." She took the firewhiskey and thought for a moment before grinning evilly.
"How many times have you asked out a girl who's shown no interest in you, and has rejected you every time you've asked?" Harry snickered at the look on his father's face. "For me, it's never."
"Never."
"Never."
"I haven't."
"Nope."
"No."
"Never." Peter passed the bottle to James, who took it and put it down on the floor. His face was screwed up in concentration. He opened his eyes and did a quick count on his fingers.
"One hundred and three times," he announced. He then turned to Lily and shot her a cheeky wink. "And I don't plan to stop any time soon." Lily rolled her eyes.
"None."
"Never." Mary received the bottle and thought for a moment.
"What's your worst fear?" Her face screwed up in disgust. "Mine's spiders." She passed the bottle to the blonde who immediately answered.
"Dying." She gave the firewhiskey to Alice, who took a bit more time to figure out her response.
"Losing a loved one."
"Losing my mind," Frank said. Harry flinched: it seems that his worst fear did, in fact, come true.
"Heights," Kingsley said. James cocked his head at him.
"Kingsley, you play Quidditch," he pointed out.
"Yeah," Kingsley began to explain patiently. "But that's different. You have a broom. Standing on the edge of a tall building? That's terrifying."
"Being unwanted." Peter's voice trembled slightly as he glanced at the other three Mauraders. Harry felt a twinge of pity for the small blonde boy.
"Failure." James shrugged and passed the bottle to Sirius. Harry's eyes wandered over to Remus, who swallowed nervously and fidgeted with his tie. Harry paled, remembering the form that his boggart took. If Remus admitted that his worst fear was the full moon, people would be suspicious to say the least.
"Becoming like the rest of my family," Sirius admitted, feigning nonchalance, but the pain that flashed behind his eyes told a different story. He passed the bottle to Remus, concern evident on his face. Remus smiled at Sirius and threw the bottle back, taking a deep swallow.
The rest of the group, besides the Marauders, looked slightly surprised at his unwillingness to share.
"Not feeling up to sharing, huh Remus?" Frank teased. He didn't notice the dangerous look that Sirius regarded him with.
"Some secrets have to stay secret Frank." Remus smirked and handed the firewhiskey to Lily.
"Dying without being able to say goodbye." Harry swallowed. She never did get a chance to say goodbye. The bottle passed wordlessly from Mary to the blonde. She looked around the room, noting everyone's somber expressions.
"Well that got dark," she joked. "My turn. Have you ever gotten stoned? My answer is obviously yes." Harry bit back a laugh. This girl was certainly something.
"What's getting stoned?" Alice piped up. Harry remembered that she was a pureblood, and therefore probably had no knowledge of any sort of Muggle drugs.
"Muggle thing," Lily answered. "If you don't know what it is, you haven't done it."
The firewhiskey went around the circle, each person answering no to the question. Eventually the bottle reached Remus, who glanced around the room mischievously before answering.
"Yeah."
"Remus!" James exclaimed, shocked.
"I live in a Muggle neighborhood during the summers." He shrugged and gave the firewhiskey to Lily. The rest of the teens also said no, and the blonde passed the bottle to Alice.
"Alright Alice, your turn."
"Do you fancy anyone?" She smiled dreamily, looking at Frank. "For me, it's yes." Frank caressed her cheek before answering.
"Yes."
"No," Kingsley said, bored.
"Yes," Peter admitted. James gave him a gentle shove in the shoulder and smiled at him.
"Petey!" Peter blushed and covered his face with his hands after handling the bottle over to James, who took it and eagerly answered.
"Yes, and her name's Lily Ev-"
"She only asked if you fancied anyone, not who it was that you fancied!" Lily cut him off and pointed an angry finger at him. James pouted, but passed the firewhiskey onto Sirius.
"Sort of." Sirius shrugged.
"Kind of," Remus said casually, but the blush creeping up his cheeks suggested anything but casualty.
"Yes," Lily sputtered before slapping a hand over her mouth. James grinned, but even she seemed too shocked by her admission to notice.
"No." Mary shook her head.
"Yes," the blonde said, smirking.
"Who do you fancy?" Frank asked the group once the bottle came to him. "Obviously, my answer's Alice."
"I don't fancy anyone," Kingsley rolled his eyes and held out the bottle for Peter.
"Jillian Holdsby," Peter said, flushing furiously.
"That Ravenclaw sixth year?" Sirius reached over James to ruffle Peter's hair. "Good for you Pete, she's quite fetching."
"And smart," Remus added, giving his friend an approving nod.
"And way out of my league," Peter grumbled.
"Don't worry Wormtail," James gave Peter a reassuring smile. "We'll help you score a date with her." Peter shrugged and passed the bottle to James.
"Me?" He took the firewhiskey excitedly. "Finally, Lily Evans!" Lily shot daggers at James. He smirked at her and handed the bottle to Sirius, barely noticing when his friend took a shot instead of answering the question.
Harry regarded Sirius suspiciously as he offered the bottle to Remus. Sirius didn't seem like the type of person who would be shy about who he fancied; it must've been someone quite embarrassing for him not to share.
To Harry's surprise, Remus and Lily didn't answer the question either, each taking a deep gulp from the firewhiskey instead.
"No one," Mary said, but her attention was fixed on Lily. The blonde snatched the bottle out of Mary's hand and spoke.
"Georgia Fang." Harry swallowed his surprise; he knew there were gay wizards and witches at Hogwarts, but after years with the Dursley's, he still couldn't help but be surprised whenever someone was so confident in their identity. The rest of the group looked equally shocked; well, everyone except Sirius, who seemed oddly unruffled by the news. James opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. When he started to speak again, Harry secretly prayed that his father wouldn't say anything offensive.
"Marlene, isn't she a Slytherin?" Is what James finally managed to ask.
"Yup," Marlene said, popping the 'p.'
"Traitor," Kingsley taunted teasingly.
"Hey! I can't help who I fancy!" She threw up her hands in exasperation.
"I suppose you can't," Remus muttered, his eyes glued to the floor.
"Frank," Alice said when the bottle reached her. The firewhiskey was passed to Kingsley, who thought for a second before posing his question to the group.
"How many people have you shagged?"
"Finally, a good question!" James practically shouted. Kingsley ignored him and continued with his answer.
"Three."
"Zero," Peter said abashedly.
"Zero," James admitted. "But only because I'm saving myself for the most beautiful of all women, the most wondrous human amongst mankind, the one, the only, Miss Lily Ev-" Sirius slapped a hand over James' mouth to keep him from talking and it was the first time all night that Lily regarded Sirius with a less than venomous expression.
"Two," he said, stealing the bottle from James and passing it to Remus.
"Four." Remus shrugged. Harry's eyes widened. Remus didn't really seem like a player, but clearly, not everything was as it seemed.
"Remus!" James leaned over Sirius and gave his friend a playful punch in the arm. "You dog!"
"Really?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"You don't know what I get up to in the summer." He smirked and gave Sirius a wink.
"Evidently, you get high and shag people in dusty old libraries," Sirius retorted, nudging Remus.
"I would never! I consider the library to be holy ground." He handed the firewhiskey to Lily. The bottle continued around and everyone answered.
"Zero."
"One."
"Two."
"One."
"One."
"When you were Sorted," Peter began, now his turn to ask a question. "Did the Sorting Hat consider you for any other houses? For me… it did."
"Not me," James said proudly.
"Yeah," Sirius looked at the floor.
"It did for me too." Remus gave Peter and Sirius a reassuring smile.
"No," said Lily.
"No."
"Nope."
"Yes," Alice admitted.
"No."
"Yes."
"What other houses were you considered for?" It was now James' turn and he continued off of Peter's question. "It only ever considered me for Gryffindor so…"
"Slytherin," Sirius said, and James looked as if his eyes might bug out of his head. "But only because of my family," he added quickly. James relaxed.
"Ravenclaw." Harry thought Remus' answer made sense. Remus had always been extraordinarily smart, and he did have quite the knack for all things academic. He became a Professor for Merlin's sake. Harry wondered how his life might've been affected if Remus was never put into Gryffindor with his father.
"None."
"It didn't say any others."
"Only Gryffindor." Marlene smirked and handed the firewhiskey over to Alice.
"Ravenclaw."
"None."
"Hufflepuff," Kingsley said begrudgingly.
"Hufflepuff." Peter glanced over at Kingsley, relieved that a fellow Gryffindor was considered for Hufflepuff.
"Finally, my turn." Sirius reached over James and snatched the bottle out of Peter's grasp. "If you had to snog one person in this room, but they had to be the same gender, who would you snog?"
"Why do they have to be the same gender?" James whined. Harry rolled his eyes: his father was obviously disappointed that he wouldn't get to talk about Lily.
"Because I don't particularly want to hear any more about how you'd like to suck face with Evans, or how Alice and Frank want to suck face with each other." Sirius raised an eyebrow at James. "Besides, it's the questions you least expect that are the most interesting."
"Fine. So who'd you snog then?" James relented and leaned back against the couch.
"Easy. Remus," Sirius said casually. Remus quickly looked over at Sirius, eyebrows furrowed, before glancing away to stare at the floor.
"Not me?" James pouted at Sirius and moved in closer, invading his friend's personal space. Sirius rolled his eyes and shoved James away, smiling.
"Sorry Jamesy, but you're basically my brother and as we all surprisingly now know, Remus easily has the most experience here. He's probably a bloody fantastic kisser." Sirius raised his eyebrows and Remus… blushed? Harry couldn't be sure, but he swore there was a pinkness to his cheeks that wasn't there before.
"As much as I hate to say it," Remus sighed defeatedly. "Sirius."
"So you want to makeout with me Moony?" Sirius wrapped an arm around Remus' shoulder, which he brushed off.
"I did not say that," Remus corrected. "You said if we had to snog one person of the same gender in this room, not if we wanted to."
"So you don't want to makeout with me?" Sirius faked being hurt. "I've never been so offended in my life!" Remus snorted and handed the bottle to Lily.
"Lily, your turn."
"Marlene." The bottle passed to Mary.
"Marlene."
"Mary." Marlene shrugged and the firewhiskey moved to Alice.
"Marlene."
"Marlene, it appears as though you're popular among the ladies," Sirius said suggestively.
"That is the idea, yeah." She smirked back at him.
"Ummm… probably… Peter?" Frank made awkward eye contact with the pudgy blonde.
"Frank. The rest of you are complete idiots," Kingsley announced.
"Excuse me?" Remus raised an eyebrow.
"Remus, you're an idiot because you willingly spend time with the rest of these gits." Kingsley pointed at the other three boys beside Remus.
"... fair point."
"Well, I suppose… James?" Peter said after a moment of consideration.
"Kingsley," James said surely.
"Alright, next round. The next question is…"
But Harry never got to hear the next question because at this point the memory swirled out of focus and soon Harry was seated back in his own bed. He yawned, having completely forgotten the reason why he felt the need to distract himself and tucked himself into bed.