Killed Her Personally

by adoeinthemeadowes

"That's Dorcas Meadowes...Voldemort killed her personally" Dorcas 'Doe' Meadowes didn't intend to have a screaming match with Sirius Black in the Great Hall, or watch Lily and James fall in love, and she definitely didn't intend to face Voldemort alone. From Hogwarts to Death, follow Doe's story through the first Wizarding War. CANON DM/SB JP/LE Dorius Marauders Era

34. Join and Live, Refuse and Die

The next few days were some of the strangest and busiest I've ever had at Hogwarts.

It seemed word had spread quickly about Gideon and I going to Hogsmeade together because all of Sunday, and Monday morning all I heard when people passed was quiet, whispered gossip about it.

I didn't care much about it. I was far too used to be stared and talked about by now to let it get to me. At least this time it was about something positive. I'd much rather have Ravenclaws gossip about who I had gone to Hogsmeade with then about the orphanage or my uncle.

It helped that Gideon was a good sport about it. He never pointed it out or acknowledged it. He either hadn't noticed or simply didn't care. I was fine with either one.

My friends had thankfully seemed to have grown tired of the subject by the weekend's end, but were still pestering me about when Gideon and I would be going out again, something I didn't have much of an answer for. Both of us were incredibly busy and everytime we tried to find a night to do something, it was foiled. Gideon had Head Boy duties and with the first Quidditch match a little over a week away, James was having practice basically every night. He had even managed to sneak a few in before lessons. More than once this week, Hestia had been sent into my dormitory, at six am wiping sleep from her eyes to tell me we had scheduled an emergency sunrise practice. It left me sweaty, exhausted and climbing into bed at eleven every night, with no time or enthusiasm for much else besides my massive piles of homework. I knew it would all be worth it after we won the match, but I would kill for a couple more hours of sleep at night.

Gideon, on his part, seemed to be trying exceptionally hard to make it work though, something that secretly delighted me. He'd walk me to classes, or sit with me at occasional mealtimes. He'd ditched Otto and his brother more than once to do homework with me in the Common Room, while my friends watched on with delight. But overall, it had been way too busy of a week for much to happen in that department.

I'd tried to carve out time for my friends too, but they seemed to be similarly occupied.

Mary and Landon seemed to have reached a new level of their relationship where they were glued together like a permanent sticking charm. It was rare nowadays to see one without the other, apart from Quidditch practice.

Marlene too, seemed to be making up for her missed Hogsmeade trip by snogging Dirk in every available chair in the common room. Dirk was walking around the castle with much more of a swagger than usual, and several older students gave him death stares wondering how he had managed to hold Marlene's attention.

Lily on the other hand had entered the exciting troughs of a new relationship with much more ease and grace than I seemed to be able to. She had spent three nights this week with Kellan, going on very adorably planned dates on the grounds, and came back gushing about how smart and charming he was every time. Something that Sirius told me had sent James' mood into a bitter spiral.

"It's a bit of hit to Prongs' ego if I'm being honest," Sirius had told me in the changing rooms, two nights before "because he's younger, and he's not bad looking. Well-liked guy. And his family owns a Quidditch team. He's not a tosser like Diggory was."

"It doesn't seem that serious though," I had told him, "they've only gone out a few times."

I had decided not to tell him how excited Lily looked whenever she returned to the dormitory after seeing him. James was suffering enough.

On Tuesday night, it was raining too badly for practice so it had mercifully been canceled. I had taken the opportunity to catch up on my massive piles of homework in the Common Room. The entire year, and most of the Quidditch team seemed to be doing the same, and the room was warm, crowded and noisy. I found myself squashed happily between my friends, both Prewett brothers, and Otto Bagman. Gideon had joined us the moment he spotted me.

"Merlin this is so boring," Marlene complained, dropping her head on her arm as she stared fruitlessly at her Transfiguration textbook. "I hate being a sixth year." She gave a deep irritated sigh and pushed the table away from her.

"Better than fifth," I reminded her, not looking up from my own textbook. "Remember the mountains of O.W.L. prep we had last year?"

"I try very hard not to," Marlene pouted. Her eyes turned out of focus as she no doubt thought of our strenuous exam period.

"How are you so focused on this right now?" Mary asked me, putting down her quill, her essay only half-finished. . Lily was the only one who'd done it already. She'd worked on it with Kellan the day before. "So that's what it's like dating a Ravenclaw, huh?" Marlene had teased her. Lily had thrown her wand at her.

"Because she has inhuman concentration," Gideon teased, looking up from his own essay to flash me a brilliant smile.

"Or because when it stops raining James will probably tie me to my broomstick, and I won't have the time," I reasoned.

"That too," Gideon agreed.

"He's really becoming a bit of a dictator isn't he?" Lily said, shaking her head.

Fabian chuckled darkly from his armchair. "That's one way of putting it. He's lucky he's so talented or Hestia probably would have skewered him with her wand by now." His eyes flitted across the room where Hestia was snoozing happily in an armchair by the fire. Even her dreams didn't look very restful today. She was out cold.

"I'll just be happy when you all win," Gideon said brightly to me. "I'm starting to forget what you look like."

"That's highly unlikely," Fabian sniggered to Otto under his breath. Gideon kicked him.

"Tell me about it," I said looking up from my essay. "It'll all be easier by the weekend, though. Sirius threatened a coo if we didn't have at least one day off. Plus it's Halloween on Saturday."

"Talking about me, are you, Meadowes?" Sirius asked as he plopped down on the empty couch beside our makeshift group. He was flanked by the other Marauders, all of them sprawling out on the furniture. Only James didn't look relaxed. He was staring out the window at the rain as if it had purposefully slighted him.

"Only that you threatened anarchy if we practice all weekend," I told him.

"Ah, yes. That," Sirius sounded delighted, and kicked his feet up on the table. "Don't worry Meadowes, I already told Prongs that Saturday is reserved. I don't think he'll fight me on it. We're thinking about having a classic Marauder bash in the Common Room anyway."

"A Halloween party?" Marlene asked excitedly, perking up. All of the despair on her face the moment before had vanished.

"Yup. Costumes. Firewhiskey The whole bit," James said looking slightly less moody. "I can cancel practice for Marauder business."

"Blimey, that sounds fun," Otto said, "You inviting the other houses?"

"Probably, haven't put that much thought into it yet," James said quickly.

Lily muttered something that sounded quite a bit like "what's new?" under her breath. Gideon caught my eye. He was very interested in the dynamic between Lily and James, from what little I told him so far. He seemed very invested in it. I thought it was cute. I grinned at him before turning back to my book.

Remus had opened his Transfiguration textbook now too and Sirius, seeing this, let out a low bored whistle.

"Really?" he bemoaned, taking in the sight of all of us working "You're all just going to study? Can't we do anything else? I'm bored."

"You're always bored," Remus reasoned.

Sirius guffawed. "Not true, Moony. I was perfectly fine when we were jinxing Slytherin fourth years last hour."

"So you need to jinx people to keep yourself entertained?" Mary asked in disbelief.

Sirius grinned. "It gets the job done." Beside him, James looked delighted.

Otto laughed. "Blimey, that's one way to fill an hour I suppose."

Marlene, who was still staring at the homework with an affronted glare, seconded Sirius. "Well I for one could use the distraction."

"Thank you, McKinnon!" Sirius said, gaining enthusiasm.

Mary and I sighed. If Marlene had joined Sirius' quests there would be very little work getting done from here on out.

"I'm tapped out of ideas at the moment though," Sirius mused. "Anyone got any firewhiskey?"

Lily and Remus sighed in equal measure.

"Some," James said shrugging, "But it's a good bottle. I was saving it for Saturday."

"Bollocks," Sirius said, slightly frustrated."How is it that a group of intelligent and interesting Gryffindors like ourselves have nothing better to do than transfiguration homework?"

"Doing our homework is how we stay intelligent," said Remus.

"Oh hush, Moony."

"Landon did just give me a box of Bertie Botts," Mary said, looking unsure of herself. "If you all fancy a game of Guess the Flavor?"

"Yes!" Marlene slid off of her seat with excitement and held out her hand. It was clear that the decision had been made. "We are doing this. Doe are you in? Lily?"

"I suppose if you're all playing," Lily said, looking a bit excited.

"You know I can't resist this game," I said excitedly. Marlene looked around wildly with excitement.

"Merlin they get so competitive when they play that game," James said to Sirius, shaking his head in our direction, as Lily, Mary, Marlene and I put away homework and spread out a fresh piece of parchment on the coffee table in front of us. Mary dug into her bag and unearthed the new box, dumping its contents onto the parchment.

"Brutal," Sirius agreed, looking on with excitement. "I hope they yell like last time."

Peter shuddered violently. "I don't. Marlene's wand hit me in the eye that time."

"Don't be such a baby, Pettigrew it hardly touched you," Marlene said with a slight eye roll.

"Looks like you got your wish," I said, turning to Gideon. "You get to see the game up close and personal."

"It sounds much more violent than I pictured," Gideon chuckled, casting a sly glance at Peter, who was inching away from Marlene.

"Oh it can get mean, trust me," I said excitedly. "In second year it got so nasty, Marlene and I jinxed each other for a week straight."

"So what you're saying is never get on Doe Meadowe's bad side?"

"Exactly."

"Shall I conjure some water?" Remus asked, pocketing his book with a sigh. Mary grinned. "Thank you, Remus," Lily said. He flicked his wand and four glasses appeared with ice water.

"I love it when we have an audience," Marlene chimed, making sure to look each of them in the eye "Alright boys take your bets."

"Mary," Peter answered without hesitation. They were far too used to this by now.

Remus blinked quickly. "Marlene," he said firmly, weighing his option. She fluttered her eyelashes seductively at him and his cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Meadowes," Sirius answered, winking in my direction. From beside me, I thought I noticed Gideon stiffen a bit.

"My money's on Evans," James said without the slightest hesitation. "I'm always siding with her."

Lily flashed him a sly glance. "As much as I don't want you on my team, that's probably the safest bet, Potter. I'm really good at this game."

"I know. That's because you're good at everything," James said, wiggling his eyebrows. "I bet you'd even be great at dating me, if you gave it a go." Lily tossed a pillow at him.

"And the newbies?" Marlene asked, looking at Otto, Fabian and Gideon.

Otto didn't hesitate. "Obviously you, Marlene. How could I choose anyone else?"

Marlene threw her perfect head back in laughter. "Smart move, Bagman."

"You're going to inflate her ego," I sighed at Otto.

James snorted. "Not possible. If Marlene's head got any bigger, we'd have to start calling her Sirius."

"Good one, Prongs!" Peter clapped. Sirius flipped his hair confidently.

"Alright Prewetts," Mary pressed.

"Doe, without a doubt," Gideon answered firmly, he flashed me a smile that made my knees go a little weak.

"Lily," Fabian said firmly. "Sorry McKinnon."

"I'll remember that," Marlene warned him.

"So a Galleon in, each?" Sirius asked the others. "Winner takes all? We can split it for multiple guesses."

"Oh definitely, good idea Padfoot," James said rifling in his robes for gold.

"Sounds good," Peter agreed.

"I suppose," Remus said, sounding slightly defeated.

Gideon and Fabian each put in a Galleon enthusiastically.

"Wait a minute," Otto paused, as he rifled for his coin. "How exactly do you play this game again?"

My friends and I exchanged sly smiles. We'd invented the game in first year and been teaching it to everyone in the castle for as long as we could remember. It was now a popular pastime at Hogwarts, that even the Marauders were impressed by.

"It's simple." Lily said, her voice taking on a kind, understanding tone."You dump out the box of Bertie Bott's and place all of the like colors together, there are usually two or three of each. Then during each person's turn they have to pick a colored pair and decide which one is which, and try one, obviously you want to choose the one with the better flavor, so you cut the bean in half and taste it, and the person next to you does too, to keep you honest," She threw a pointed look at Marlene, who grinned. " If you get it right, you continue on, if you don't you're out. The last person to stay in the game wins."

Otto nodded in understanding.

Mary reached into her bag again and unearthed the small silver dagger we used to chop the beans. We had splurged on a nice one from the apothecary last year. It had a self-cleaning spell that made it so it never retained the flavor of the bean it just cut.

Otto shuddered. "So you might end up eating the nasty flavors?"

Lily nodded. "Exactly. That's the fun of it."

"I feel bad for the bloke who has to eat the other end if you get it wrong," Gideon said, shaking his head.

"Marlene likes to do that on purpose when she knows she's going to lose," I told him, flashing her a pointed expression.

She bit her bottom lip with a sultry expression. "Me? I would never."

"You four are barmy," Fabian said, shaking his head.

The four of us chuckled, while we sorted the beans by color group and then flipped a Galleon to see who would go first. Lily won.

She gingerly picked up two light brown ones.

"Carmel and Mushroom," Mary pronounced looking at the two of them. She scrunched her nose.

Lily took a long look at the two beans, and then pointed to the one on the right. "That one's Caramel."

She reached for it and cut it in half, handing the other one to Mary. They both took a deep breath and popped it in their mouth. After a few seconds they smiled.

"She's right," Mary said, looking very relieved. She hated mushrooms.

Mary went next, picking up an ebony colored pair, and sliding it forward.

"Black Licorice and Tar," I told her.

Mary was confident. She didn't hesitate as she slid one towards me. "That one's Black Licorice."

She cut it surely and slid the other half to me, as we plopped it in our mouths.

"Merlin," I scowled. It was disgusting.

"So you got the tar?" Gideon asked.

Sirius snorted as Mary clapped excitedly. "Doubt it. Meadowes hates black licorice."

I was shocked he remembered that. I had mentioned it last year in passing. I nodded at Gideon. "He's right, I'd rather the tar."

It was my turn next. I picked up two pure white ones and smiled.

"Chalk and Marshmallow." Marlene told me. "Good luck, those look exactly the same."

I deliberated for a moment, staring carefully at them. The one on the left was slightly denser. The one on the right slightly shinier. One had faint grey spots, the other was more speckled. I took a deep breath and went with my gut picking up the fatter one.

"Definitely Marshmallow," I said cockily. Marlene chopped it one motion and we threw it on our mouths. The sweet taste flooded over my tongue as I wiggled in victory. Marlene went next, correctly choosing strawberry over salmon.

The game went on for six more rounds and another hour and a half, getting louder and more intense as it did. Having an audience made quite a difference. People were cheering and shouting at every turn.

Mary was out first, as she and I bit into brussel sprouts she thought was lime. And then Marlene sat out, coughing for ten minutes after biting into a black pepper bean she had been sure was dark chocolate.

Lily and I managed to go on for another half hour after that.

"Merlin, these two are good, huh?" Otto said, completely entranced by the game now. "Do they usually last this long?"

"It always comes down to them," Mary said, from her position in Landon's lap. He had joined twenty minutes prior.

Lily had just correctly bitten into milk chocolate over tripe and was dancing in her spot on the floor. "Beat that, Doe!" she teased.

"I love it when she gets feisty" James said, kicking his feet up on Remus' chair, his eyes glued on my best friend.

"Alright, Meadowes, you're up," Sirius said firmly. "Come on, I've got Galleons on this."

I rolled my eyes and pulled the next two towards me. A pair of bright yellow beans.

"Banana or Rotten Egg," Lily said, trying to look impartial. But she was having too much fun and I'd have recognized her mischievous look anywhere.

I stared at them carefully. Aware of all the pairs of eyes on us. Krysten and Nora had joined too, along with Sturgis Podmore and some second years watched from a few feat away.

"Oh this is quite intense isn't it?" Nora asked Fabian, while Otto tried to quiet Krysten from asking the rules again.

"You've got this," Gideon said supportively.

I stared at the beans again, while Lily flashed me a cocky smile across the table. I pointed to the one on the left. "Banana."

Lily took a great deal of time cutting the bean in half, making it very suspenseful, before she slid it over to me.

"Moment of truth," I said and the two of us popped it in our mouths.

The putrid taste of rotten egg filled both of our mouths and we began to choke and reach for the water.

"YES!" James screamed, as Sirius roared "NO!"

Lily and I both chugged our goblets of water, and when we finished she flashed me a cocky grin.

"Better luck next time, Doe" she said as she did a little jig around the Common Room to the laughs and cheers of our audience. James was eyeing her with a large, toothy smile, I didn't think he was even aware of.

"I abdicate my title to you, Lils. You earned it," I told her, as the others handed James and Fabian their gold.

"You fought very valiantly," Gideon told me, as I reclaimed my spot beside him on the carpet.

I grinned. "You can't win them all."

"You had a good run, though. Second place isn't bad at all."

"It's the first loser though," James reminded me cheekily. "Remember that on the quidditch pitch."

I rolled my eyes. Gideon looked amused. Mary, thinking everyone was distracted, had taken Landon by the hand and snuck up to the boys dormitory. That was new, I thought. Were they sleeping together now? I was positive Mary would have told me if they were. But it certainly explained why they were all over each other lately. I didn't have much time to ponder the thought.

Lily had finally stopped dancing around the couch long enough to cast a glance at the large clock on the wall.

"We played that for two hours?" she asked in disbelief, shock crossed her petite features.

"Time flies when you're kicking arse," James told her happily, his new galleons clicking loudly in his robes pocket.

Lily reached down to grab her bag and began to frantically shove her textbooks inside of it, looking frazzled but a bit delighted. She kept stealing looks at the clock.

"Are you rushing off to alert the rest of the castle of your win?" I joked.

Lily smiled. "Hardly. Although, I do think I will brag about it for the first least two weeks," she giggled. "I actually have to go to Ravenclaw tower, I promised Kellan I would meet him tonight." She threw her bag over her shoulder and gave her hair a good fluff.

From the couch, all of the color drained from James' face. He stopped playing with the Galleons and stared at Lily, as she got ready to leave the Common Room.

"Mind if I gatecrash?" Marlene asked, standing on her long legs without waiting for an answer, "I want to flirt with Kingsley Shacklebolt. He's gotten quite tall this year hasn't he?"

"Kinglsey?" Lily asked, recognition crossing her face. " Oh of course. The seventh year. He is nice. I can have Kellan introduce you if you want."

"Excellent," Marlene said, fluttering her eyelashes and unbuttoning one of the buttons of her uniform shirt. "Lead the way, Evans."

"Poor bloke doesn't stand a chance," Otto said wistfully. Marlene winked.

"Bye, Doe." Lily said, patting my head affectionately. "I'll see you in the dormitory later, okay?"

"Bye, Lily. Bye Marley. Have fun," I told them.

"Oh we will," Marlene said cheekily, swishing her hips from side to side with all sorts of suggestions.

Lily blushed, "I can't take you anywhere," she laughed, as the two of them headed for the portrait hole. James was still silent,. His face was stony.

"I should probably go too," Gideon said begrudgingly. "I'm supposed to have a meeting with the Head Girl tonight." He sighed.

He didn't look like he wanted to leave at all. I felt a flutter of disappointment at the thought, but did my best to squash it. I liked that Gideon was Head Boy. He should do the duties that come with them.

"Who's the Head Girl, this year?" I asked, realizing I didn't know.

Fabian and Otto both chuckled. Gideon didn't. He gave them a look and the two of them sniggered again and headed for their dormitory.

"It's Emmeline Vance," he said getting to his feet.

Emmeline. I was sure the disappointment had to be written all over my face. Of course it was Emmeline. The perfect quidditch commenting seventh year, who happened to be gorgeous and who happened to like him.

"Oh." I said quietly.

"Yeah, she's alright. Nice, I suppose." he smiled at me, his dimples suddenly very pronounced."Any chance you'll be up when I get back?" He looked hopeful. I was aware of several pairs of eyes on us.

"There's a distinct possibility," I told him casually, but I knew my smile gave it away.

Gideon beamed. "That's a risk I'm definitely willing to take. See you later?"

"Enjoy your meeting!" I said, plopping myself into one of the empty armchairs, pink-cheeked from excitement.

He nodded happily, and cast me one more look before he walked across the Common Room and disappeared through the Portrait hole.

The second it swung shut, Sirius rounded on me.

"So are you and Prewett a thing now?" he asked bluntly.

It took me a couple of seconds to process the abruptness of his question.

"What do you mean?"

Sirius pursed his lips, his eyes locked on mine. "Are you dating?"

I felt the color creeping to my cheeks now. Sirius's stare wasn't relenting.

"I don't know," I stammered. "Not officially or anything. We went to Hogsmeade together, but we haven't really done anything since."

I wished this line of questioning would end. I got the distinct feeling that Nora and Krysten, who were sitting only a few feet away, were listening to my every word.

"You certainly seem to be spending a lot of time together," James teased. I blushed again. Remus sent me a sympathetic look, as Peter watched on rudely.

"Have you snogged?" Sirius asked quickly.

"What?" I was blushing furiously now. "No. Merlin, Sirius. What's with the interrogation?"

Sirius crossed his long legs, still watching my face very carefully. "It was just a question, Meadowes. No need to get your knickers in a knot," he said evenly, tossing his wand into the air. He looked quite cocky now, not really looking at me anymore. His face was a handsome mask.

"It was the way you asked," I told him plainly, shifting uncomfortably in my armchair. "It was rude."

I didn't know why it bothered me, Lily and Marlene had probed me with the same questions, or why it seemed to bother Sirius so much but for a long moment we sat in very uncomfortable silence, as the marauders exchanged looks. Sirius didn't seem to notice. He took a deep breath.

"Sorry Meadowes," he said, forcing his face into it's usual grin. "Didn't mean to upset you. I like prying into your personal life." He nudged me in the knee with this leg, his grin deepening. I couldn't be angry.

"Believe me, I know," I said unable to fight a smile.

Sirius' smile widened and James sighed loudly at the portrait hole.

"Why doesn't she like me?" he asked simply, turning to face me. His glasses slid down his thin nose.

I blinked slowly, caught off guard. "Lily?" I asked.

"No, Meadowes. He means Madam Hooch," Sirius teased. I kicked him.

"What can I do to make her like me? Honestly, I'm really asking you. You're her friend." James looked at me expectantly.

"Oh, you're serious," I said reading his expression. There wasn't a trace of a joke or a waiting soliloquy on his face.

"Technically speaking, I'm Sirius," Sirius said beside me. I kicked him again.

"I'm dead serious," James said firmly.

"Well now that's just rude," Sirius continued, delighting himself.

Remus looked unenthused. "Honestly. He's like a first year."

I ignored them both, I was too focused on the look on James' face. He was really upset. Merlin, he must really like her. I sighed, knowing I had to help him.

"Well for starters," I said sitting up right in my chair. "It would help if you stopped jinxing people left and right. Especially the Slytherins."

James scowled. "Why?"

This was going to be difficult, "Because Lily is kind. And a prefect. Thats stuff is important to her. And with everything that happened with Snape it's probably-"

"That wasn't my fault!" James said, cutting me off. I could see his hatred of Snape boiling up, threatening to spill over. "I didn't make him say those things to her. I would never."

"I never said it was," I interjected quickly, before he could start on his anti-Snape rant. "It still doesn't change how Lily thinks about."

James huffed and crossed his arms in his chair. "So you think that's it, huh? I stop jinxing the Slytherins and Evans'll go out with me?"

"It's a start," I told him, knowing very well he had a lot more growing up to do before Lily would ever consider it. "You might want to consider complimenting her every now and again, too."

James looked exasperated now. "I compliment her all the time," he said throwing his hands up in the air.

"I mean really compliment her, James. Without trying to get anything out of it."

James furrowed his brow, like he was contemplating what I said. His fingers drummed quietly against the worn couch.

Sirius shook his head. I couldn't tell if he disagreed or not.

"I suppose I could do that," James said after a minute, watching me begrudgingly. "Do you reckon it'll work?"

"It might," I offered. "But it won't while she's seeing someone."

James glasses slipped down his nose again. "You mean I'm not supposed to try?"

"Not while, she's seeing Kellan. It won't work."

"Why not?"

"Because Lily isn't like that and you know it. It'll only make her think you're trying to ruin what she has going for her."

"I don't even know what she sees in that bloke," James huffed in irritation, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table and almost hitting Peter in the nose.

"Well his family does own a Quidditch team," Sirius reckoned fairly, playing with his wand. He wasn't looking at James. James narrowed his eyes at him.

"Sorry, mate," Sirius said quickly, with a casual shrug.

"I don't think he's nearly as interesting as Prongs anyway," Peter piped up, looking at James with so much admiration his eyes shone. James didn't seem to notice.

"I don't think that has anything to do with it," I reasoned, trying to make James feel better, "Lily doesn't care much for Quidditch, anyway."

James let out a very defeated sigh. "So, I just have to wait until she gets sick of the bloke?"

"To try and date her, yes."

"But you could start being mature to her at any time," Remus pointed out. He was also ignored.

"He's a stupid prat anyway," James muffled, slightly irritated. "What is he, fifteen?"

"Very stupid," Peter agreed.

James had an indignant look on his face now, irritated more than anything else. Kellan seemed to really bother him. I hadn't really spoken to himself myself. Just heard the things Lily had told me from their dates, but he did seem nice and Lily was over the moon about it. James must be picking up on it

"What if they never break up?" he demanded,turning to me and looking exasperated. "What if she marries the bloke?"

"She won't," I assured him, firmly. This time I was positive.

"How do you know?" he pressed.

"Because shes my best friend. I just do," I said sitting up straighter in my chair, much more confident now.

"Well what am I supposed to do in the meantime?" James said. "If I can't ask her out?"

"I'm at loss there," I told him honestly. " Maybe try shagging someone else?"

Sirius' booming laughter filled the room again, and James smirk replaced any animosity that had been on his face moments before.

"You're starting to sound so much like Sirius it's actually frightening," Remus said, looking up from his book for the first time.

"That's a high compliment," I said.

"Indeed it is," Sirius said, dramatically tipping an imaginary hat in my direction. Remus simply sighed.

James, who looked much happier than he had moments before, leaned over, waggling his eyebrows suspiciously. "You offering, Doe?" he replied cheekily, looking quite proud.

It took a few seconds for the insinuation to set in. Sirius got it faster than I did and chucked a heavy embroidered pillow at the Quidditch Captain before me.

"That's it," I said shaking my head, as I lifted myself from my armchair. "I am officially spending far too much time with you lot. I'm done."

"Relax!" James called, still laughing along with the others as I headed for the dormitories. "I was only joking!"

The sound of their raucous laughter followed me up the stairs to the dormitory. I was still shaking my head as I went. James Potter had a lot of maturing to do before he was ready for Lily. But still, he had asked me how to woo her. He wanted tips. He was moving in the right direction. I stopped in front of the door to my dormitory and let my mind explore the idea of James and Lily together. What would that even look like? Was it a real possibility? It certainly seemed to be for James. Whatever you could say about James Potter, you could never say he didn't care about Lily. That kind of unflinching devotion was rare. Maybe James really was a good option for her. He was smart. A good Quidditch player. A good friend. He'd been there for Sirius like he was his brother. If he didn calm down a bit, he could be great for her. I just had to get Lily on board.

I plopped on my bed in the empty dormitory, filling my brains with way to get Lily and James together.

---

Like everything inside the castle, word that the Marauders were planning one of their infamous parties was spreading quickly. The entire week there seemed to be a palpable excitement among the older students as they readied themselves for the idea of a blow out in the Gryffindor common room. It had been ages since they'd thrown one and members of opposite houses were royally sucking up to the four of them in the hopes that they'd be invited. All of Gryffinor, per usual, was boasting with pride at the idea and it seemed to be the only thing anyone wanted to discuss. Even Lily, who usually disapproved of the rampant underage drinking and chaoticness of the shindigs, seemed to be looking forward to it. The four of us spent most of our morning Transfiguration lesson discussing it at length. The hedgehogs we were supposed to be transfiguring into turtles sat quite ignored on the table in front of us.

"So should we talk about costumes?" Marlene asked, as the Hedgehog in front of her gave a feeble yawn. "I don't want to wait until the last minute like we did that time in third year and we all ended up as ghosts in bedsheets." She shuddered at the memory.

"I kind of liked that year," I said fondly, "Remember how funny it was when we tried to explain it to Nearly Headless Nick?"

Lily giggled, snuggling her HedgeHog to her chest. It seemed to be taken with her. "Oh, that was funny. He refused to acknowledge what we were."

"He said we were 'sadly misinformed on our spectre and spirit history'" I quoted, unable to stop my laughter. Lily joined in, and Professor McGonagall threw a stern gaze our way.

"But it wasn't all that creative," Marlene said, her mouth turning into a frown.

"I thought it was cute," Mary reasoned. "Muggle children do it all the time."

"The lazy ones " Marlene whined, as if this proved her point. "I want to do something unforgettable this year. I want to be memorable. And I want to match. So we have to have a theme."

Mary sighed beside her. Usually when Marlene wanted to be creative, it meant Mary was up late drawing or sewing something for her. Mary was very artsy.

"Okay then, Marlene," Lily said, attempting to be diplomatic. "Did you have any ideas in mind?"

"Well," Marlene said, her face lighting up with excitement. "I'm glad you asked, actually. I was thinking it would be fun if the four of us went as magical creatures!"

"Oh merlin," Mary sighed, thinking of all the work this idea was going to create.

"Like Hippogriffs and Dragons?" I asked, snorting slightly. The Hedgehog in front of me jumped slightly and bit the end of my wand. Lily giggled at it. Hers was curled up asleep in her lap.

"If you want," Marlene said flirtatiously. "I bet you could make a dragon costume look good."

"Oh yes, I can really rock a pair of horns," I said shaking my head.

"But really, what do you think?" She was looking directly at me, waiting for an answer.

"I was just teasing you, Marlene," I assured her, "It sounds fun, actually. Maybe I'll go as a pixie or something."

"Excellent," she purred, her eyes lit with excitement. " What about you two? Are you going to spoil the fun?" She rounded on Mary and Lily, with a look that suggested a fit might break out if they weren't on board. Marlene's enthusiasm could not be curbed.

"I'm in," Lily said stroking the face of her Hedgehog. "There's a lot of adorable creatures we could choose from."

"And you Macdonald?"

Mary sighed and then her full lips turned into a smile. "I think it's a good thing I packed my craft kit in my trunk."

Marlene let out a high-pitched squeal of excitement that seemed to make Professor McGonagall decide she needed to begin pacing the room to ensure everyone was on task. The gesture made the four of us pay a bit more attention to our hedgehogs and by the end of the lesson we had all transfigured them into slow, unappealing tortoises. Lily did so begrudgingly.

"Now," Professor McGonagall said sternly as the bell signalled the end of our lesson. "While I have you all. I think it is time to remind you all that just because there is an upcoming holiday this weekend, does not mean that it is an excuse to behave in any way that will embarrass the good name of Gryffindor and the school at large. I expect all of you to be on your best behavior this weekend." Her stern gaze fell upon the Marauders quickly. "And not to do anything that could be perceived as ruckus."

"Its like she knows," I whispered quietly to Lily.

Her freckles seemed to get darker as she grinned. "I wouldn't put it past her. I swear McGonagall knows everything."

Professor McGonagall eye's followed the rest of us as we left the room and headed for Lunch, and I swore I saw them give me one good luck before I left my desk.

"Think Minnie is remoncising on screaming at us last Halloween?" asked a sultry voice behind me as I entered the corridor.

Sirius looked highly amused as he matched my footsteps, his faithful friends only feet behind him. I noticed Lily's pace quicken towards the Great Hall. It made me sigh. Someday I was going to have to find a way for them to all get along. I hated feeling I had to choose between her and Sirius.

"Merlin, I hope not," I shuddered at Sirius. "I swear, I can still hear that shrill voice she used."

Sirius grinned. "See, thats what happens when you pal around with Marauders, Meadowes. You've got to be prepared."

"Is it too late to stop?" I asked with a grin.

"Far too late," Sirius assured me. "We're all quite fond of you now. What would we do without your sunny outlook and responsible chiding?"

"Exactly what you do with it," I reminded him with a gentle roll of my eyes. "Ignore me."

Sirius waved me off and Remus chuckled.

"At least Sirius listens to you some of the time," Remus said evenly. 'If I had a sickle for every time I heard him say 'Moony's ruining the fun'..."

"Then you'd be richer than he is," I joked.

"You're probably right," Remus agreed.

"Hardly," Sirius chuckled, sounding quite amused with himself. "I'm loaded, Meadowes."

Remus and I exchanged an exasperated look, which Sirius ignored.

As the crowd of Sixth Years from Transfiguration entered the hall for lunch, a group of seventh year Slytherins pushed past us talking in quiet hushed whispers. There was a strange excitement on their face that differed greatly from the faces of the people talking about the Marauders Halloween party. It seemed more sinister, and a little dangerous.

"Wonder what they're talking about," James said bitterly. His eyes locked on Dolohov who whispered something to Rabastan.

"Oh I'm sure they're just having a lovely chat about the weather," Sirius said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Or what quidditch team will make it to the final."

"My guess? Something about You-Know Who" I muttered. "Thats all any of them ever seem to talk about anymore."

"Thats probably why they don't know which end of the wand to hold up," Sirius said.

"True right you are, Padfoot," James agreed.

We took our seats at the crowded Gryffindor table, and I still couldn't take my eyes off the Slytherins. Rabastan did look excited. He was actually grinning. That was never good. Whenever Rabastan was too pleased, something terrible usually happened. His happiness was like a alarm bell for trouble and misery. I found myself suddenly very anxious to find out what they were talking about, and what was causing that face.

I was so busy studying his expression, I wasn't prepared for when it changed. His eyes hardened. His mouth went rigid. He was glaring. At me. It was the same expression he had used on Gideon in Hogsmeade. Or, now that I thought about it, maybe it hadn't been Gideon he was looking at all. Maybe it had been me he'd been glaring at. Without taking his eyes off of me, Rabastan leaned over and whispered something to Antonin Dolohov.

I dropped my gaze quickly, deciding to focus instead on the sandwich and conversations at my own house table. Ones I were sure were happier than whatever those two were discussing. I didn't turn around, but I was sure they were both still staring at me. I could practically feel two pairs of eyes burning a hole in the back of my head.

There was a flurry of conversation at the Gryffindor table today. It looked especially packed and noisy, And as I looked around I realized why. The table was littered with students from other houses, clearly angling for an invitation to the Marauders party. This didn't seem to bother the Marauders very much. All four of them were basking in the attention.

"They're being so obvious," Mary said shaking her head as two Hufflepuff girls walked away from James giggling like mad. "Do they want the Heads to find out?"

"Technically speaking , we are allowed to have a party," I said fairly.

"With Firewhiskey and stolen Honeydukes food?" Mary asked, raising an eyebrow.

I frowned. "Well, no. Not that kind of party."

"Exactly," Mary said. "People should use their heads. They're going to figure out something's up if everyone from all the other houses is suddenly all crowded around Gryffindor."

"I agree with you, I just think people are excited, Mare," I told her tossing a couple of chips into my mouth. "We haven't had a lot of things to celebrate lately."

"Yeah, because everytime you open up the prophet at breakfast nowadays someones dead," Marlene said biting angrily into a sausage roll. Her eyes drifted to the middle of the table, where Nora Tenenbaum was buried behind the morning's prophet. The first page was decorated with a headline about a dementor attack.

"Remember when our biggest worry was Potions homework?" Lily said with a lofty sigh, reading the headline.

"That's still my biggest worry," Marlene reminded her. "We cant all be potion-making prodigies, you know." Lily beamed at the compliment,

"I see you Potions, and raise you Herbology," I said shuddering.

"How can you hate herbology?" Mary asked, turning to face me in disbelief. "It's just plants."

"Evil, vicious plants," I reminded her. "Devil's Snare. Poisonous Tentacula Lilies?"

"Doe's afraid of a little foliage." Lily teased, plucking the lettuce off her sandwich to wave it ominously at me.

"How ever will you get along with your adorable new outdoorsy boyfriend if you're afraid of greenery?" Marlene asked, fluttering her eyelashes at me.

I felt the pink color rise to my cheeks at the mention of Gideon. My icy complexion made it obvious.

"I don't have a boyfriend Marlene," I corrected her.

"Don't you?" she asked knowingly. She had one of her slim golden eyebrows raised at me, waiting for an answer. Both Lily and Mary were looking in my direction now too, obviously curious to hear what my answer was. Although they were being a bit more subtle about it.

"The real answer is boring." I told her honestly. "I have no idea what it is. I mean it is very new. Its not anything we've talked about."

Marlene frowned, twisting her expression into a grimace as she thought. Then she brightened quickly. "Well, I have a solution for you," She said easily. "You could snog him. That would clear things up."

Lily snorted before she could help herself. "That would certainly make a point."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Traitor. "

Lily lost herself in giggles again.

"Oh don't pressure her," Mary chided. Marlene made a face at her, and tossed a fresh crisp in her direction. Lily and I watched as the two of them engaged in a battle over Mary's remaining crisps, glad we'd moved on from talk of Slytherins and Headlines. Even if it did mean bringing up Gideon and wherever that was going.

"As usual, the party is fifth years and up," Sirius announced to a pair of dejected fourth year Ravenclaws. They sauntered away, without another word.

"Should be Sixth year and up," James said in a slightly disgruntled voice, casting a dark look at the Ravenclaw table. I was pretty sure he was staring right at Kellan Broadmor.

"No way, Potter," Dirk said from further down the table, with Tiberius nodding fervently from beside him.

"Well I didn't mean you lot," James corrected, still sounding disappointed. He sneered at the Ravenclaw table again. I couldn't help but sigh. Poor James.

"And no Slytherins," Sirius said, more firm this time to the group of Slytherins who had looked eagerly in his direction. They stomped away bitterly.

"That is so rude," Lily told him, looking a bit cross. Sirius looked unaffected. Then he turned to me to flash me his classic She's your friend look. I shrugged.

"Why?" James demanded of her. "Got any Slytherins you planned on inviting?"

"You know very well that I don't," Lily sniffed, "You made sure of that last year."

"I didn't make Snivellus call you that!" James said throwing his hands up.

"You may as well have," Lily said.

The rest of us sighed in exasperation. We couldn't hear this fight again or we'd lose our minds.

"Anyway," Marlene added, swiftly refocusing the conversation. "You're telling me if Emmeline wants to come you lot'll turn her away?"

Sirius grinned. "Vance is different. She's always invited." His expression turned mischievous and James burst into laughter. Peter turned bright red and even Remus had a twinge of pink to his cheeks.

I stabbed a potato on my plate with a bit more force than was necessary. Did everyone have to think she was that pretty? Of course the girl who happened to like Gideon looked like a Gladrags model. I felt the familiar twinges of jealousy creeping into my chest and had to physically beat it back before it could take root.

Emmeline was nice, I reminded myself. Well most of the time anyway. She hadn't looked at me too nicely in Hogsmeade, but I could have been imagining that. I probably was. I wasn't going to dislike the girl because we happened to fancy the same boy. That was stupid. I had always liked Emmeline. I was going to continue to like her.

The topic of who was and wasn't invited carried us through the rest of lunch. Apparently, excluding Emmline, none of the Slytherins were invited, but fifth years and up from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuffs were.

Marlene disappeared after lunch to the library find inspiration for her costume while Mary, Lily and I made our way to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Wonder what Madam Pince will say when Marlene shows up there alone," I chuckled.

"She'll definitely thinks she's up to something," Lily agreed, as we took our usual table near the front of the room. Mary begrudgingly took her seat with Caradoc, throwing us irritated expressions the moment Caradoc began to chat with her.

"Good Afternoon, Ladies," Professor Sayre greeted us kindly. Her strange accent seemed to echo off the walls.

She was sitting on the edge of her desk waiting for the rest of the class to come in, and fiddling with her wand. She looked a little keyed up, and slightly pale. Like something was bothering her. Normally she greeted us each lesson with a cool confident smile. But now, she looked twitchy and nervous.

"Good Morning Professor," I said warmly, hoping the shock wasn't written across my face. She offered us a weak smile and then took to pacing the room.

I turned to Lily and dropped my voice to a whisper, "Is it just me, or does Sayre look a little..."

"Scared?" Lily finished, her own penetrating gaze had focused in on her too. "Yeah, she does. What do you thinks wrong?"

My eyes darkened. "It better not be any more Slytherins making trouble. I want her to stay another year." I had already learned more from Sayre than any other teacher and her restricted section pass had given me so much information I was getting O's on every homework.

"She is really knowledgeable," Lily agreed, "but our defense teachers never stay more than a year."

"They might if they weren't being harassed every class." I cast a dirty glance in the direction of Elizabeth and Narcissa who seemed to be busying themselves with mocking Pandora Rabnotts choice of necklace.

"God they're such cows aren't they?" Lily asked, following my gaze.

"Thats exactly what I was thinking."

Once everyone had filed into the room, Professor Sayre, in a much quieter and less assuming way than she normally did, gave a lecture on vampires.

"Now," she said, pulling a chair from the room to sit forward so she could face us. "There is a lot of misinformation about vampires in the wizarding world. While they can be dangerous and you should always approach them with caution, they are plenty of vampires who are a danger to no one and live very fulfilling lives."

"Ho hum," Narcissa pretended to yawn behind me and examined her manicure instead of taking notes.

"Bet this whole lesson is just the yankee going on and on about her love for leeches too," Elizabeth snickered to her.

Lily and I both gripped our quills tighter as we tried to ignore them. If Professor Sayre had heard them, she pretended not too.

"Vampires are made, not born," She continued. "If a NoMag-"

She stopped and grinned. "Sorry, a muggle."

There was a collective chuckle around the room. Elizabeth and Narcissa didn't laugh.

"Is bitten," Sayre continued. "Then they will die. If a witch or wizard is bitten, then they will become a vampire. Now it is unlikely you will see a vampire very often. Even in the wizarding world, they tend to be nomadic. And their skin is very sensitive to sunlight, so they prefer to come out night."

Sayre continued describing the diet, practices and lifestyle of the average vampire.

Lily raised an hand.

"Yes, Ms. Evans?"

Lily offered her a smile.

"If vampires are made from witches and wizards, are they still able to perform magic?" Lily asked.

Behind us, Elizabeth did a cruel impression Lily's eager face. I wanted to kick her desk.

Sayre smiled. " Thats a good question. Does anyone know the answer?"

"Shouldn't you?" Narcissa hissed in a cruel whisper.

I thrust my hand into the air in response.

"Yes, Ms. Meadowes. Go ahead."

"Witches or Wizards who have been made into vampires are unable to perform magic anymore, but they do still enjoy some of the benefits. They are still able to see magical institutions and have the same lifespans as wizards," I said confidently remembering the passage from the reading I did last night.

"Excellent!" Professor Sayre admonished. "Take ten points to Gryffindor!"

"Bloody show off," Elizabeth snapped behind him. Lily turned around to give her a dirty look.

"Its not worth it Lily," I whispered to her, as Sayre began to lecture again.

Lily's eyes were still narrowed. "I know, but just once I want them to have consequences for the vile things they say."

"They will," I assured her. "Eventually."

"I hope thats true."

The rest of the day passed without incident. I spent the afternoon break in the library with Lily and Remus working on our homework for Transfiguration and then managed to sneak in a quick dinner before having to rush off to the Quidditch pitch for practice. We had a practice every night this week besides Saturday, and as exhausting as it was, we were really starting to see the results. The team that James had assembled this year, worked together seamlessly. Tiberius, James and I moved like a well oiled machine. If one of us dropped the quaffle, one of the other two were directly beneath us to catch it. And if someone was attempting to make a far throw from one side of the pitch, the other chasers kept the air clear. We even seemed to be able to predict each others movements. Something that delighted James to no end.

"We're even more coordinated then the beaters!" he called proudly that night at practice, only for Sirius and Fabian to jokingly chuck their bats at his head, seconds later.

After practice, James had insisted on a team meeting in the Common Room to discuss our strategies and a new idea he had for the match, that the rest of us only agreed to because he promised to have it on the squishy couches in front of the fire.

"So what was so important that we had to discuss it right here and not on the pitch?" Hestia demanded. She and I were curled up in the loveseat, as the boys crammed themselves on the couches and the fluffy rug. The fire crackled loudly in the background. The Common Room was unusually empty for this time of night with only a few stragglers around. James seemed to like this.

"Its too hard to hear everyone on the pitch," James said quickly. "And I wanted to hear everyone's opinion on this."

"This feels very ominous," I commented, folding my legs underneath me. Hestia was carefully twisting her hair into a plait beside me.

"Honestly, Prongs," Sirius piped up, "What are you suggesting? We sacrifice a Hippogriff before the match or something?"

Hestia let out a loud laugh. "I wouldn't put it past him at this point."

"Matching team tattoos?" I suggested.

"Daily Protein potions?" Tiberius asked.

Landon grinned. " Upping our practices to three a day?"

There was a collective chuckle from everyone and James mouth turned upwards into a grin.

"Not quite," he bemused. "But you've all given me some excellent ideas for the upcoming season."

"Actually," he said growing slightly more serious. "I wanted to know how you all felt about postponing our twice daily practices until next week?"

"Excuse me?" Hestia almost slipped off the couch in surprise.

"Oh don't tease me," Sirius implored.

I blinked. "Are you feeling alright, James?"

"Perfect," James answered. "Why?"

"Because you sound barmy, mate," Fabian supplied, exchanging a quick glance with Landon.

"Have you been imperiused, Prongs?" Sirius asked flatly. "Blink Twice if someone on the Slytherin team cursed you."

James guffawed, looking amused "I'm fine, alright? I just think you're all flying excellently. Theres not much point in continuing at this pace or we might burn out. I'm proud of this team and I know we'll do great next weekend. You've all earned a little rest. We might have overdone it a bit."

"We?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Hestia grinned as she chewed on the end of her plait.

James sighed. "Alright. I may over did it a bit, okay?"

Hestia and I grinned, as the boys hooted appreciatively. James rolled his eyes but he didn't look offended.

"Either way, I hink we're going to cream Slytherin so you all deserve a little rest. So lets all stay healthy, stay alert and I know we'll win," James said proudly.

"Here, Here!" Sirius cried in delight, and it was murmured by the rest of the team.

"Good then," James said, looking much more relaxed. "Go on then. Enjoy yourselves a bit. Have a snack. Get some rest."

He got to his feet, stretched and then followed Sirius back to their dormitory.

Hestia practically skipped as she got to her feet. "Merlin I don't know what I'm going to do with all this free time now," she said happily.

"Get a full nights sleep?" I suggested excitedly.

"From your lips to Merlin's ears." She beamed. "Won't it be so nice not to have me waking you up at the crack of dawn tomorrow?"

"Oh you have no idea. I like you a lot Hestia, but every time you wake me up before six, I consider using the killing curse on you," I told her.

She threw her head back in laughter. "That's fair."

"I'm going to go see if Emmeline's out of that blasted Head Boy & Girl meeting," Hestia said, eyeing the Portrait Hole. "See ya later, Doe."

"See ya Hestia."

Fabian, Tiberius and Landon were still by the fire, continuing to talk about the match in hushed voices. Otto joined them after a few minutes and soon their voices were hard to drown out.

Part of me was trying to motivate myself to climb out of the loveseat, which had become increasingly comfortable the longer I sat there, when I decided to just sit and enjoy it a little it longer. The fire was making the room very toasty, and I was in a great mood now that I had a week full of unencumbered nights.

"Somebody looks quite happy," Gideon said plopping down beside me in the loveseat. I had been intently watching the different hues of orange and red glistening together in the fire, and hadn't noticed him enter the room. He was still dressed in his full uniform, and brandishing a wide smile as he looked at me.

"Oh, hi!" I said blushing quickly, hoping I didn't look quite as eager as I felt. I was still wearing my clothes from practice, and had my hair gathered in a messy ponytail. "I am actually."

Gideon leaned back on the loveseat. "Yeah? I like the sound of that."

"I think you'll like it a lot actually," I said turning around to face him properly. "James suspended practice for this week."

"Did he?" Gideon asked, looking a bit surprised. "Did Sirius manage to confund him then?"

I chuckled. "I don't know, but I'm not complaining either way. I could really use some beauty sleep, so I'm taking advantage of it."

"Beauty sleep?" Gideon asked simply. "As if you're not already the most beautiful girl in this castle?" The dimples in his cheek deepening as he said it.

My mouth parted slightly in surprise. I blinked quickly as I wrapped my mind around the compliment.

"Well, thanks Gideon. That's really nice," I stuttered, still slightly shocked.

Gideon nodded casually as if this wasn't a big deal. "Of course. Good news about practice though, huh? You deserve a little reprieve."

"Yeah, it'll be nice not to be so busy," I agreed, "speaking of which, how was your Head's meeting?"

Gideon shrugged, still smiling at me. "Perfunctory, really. Filch spent most of it lecturing Emmeline and I on how to make sure no wrongdoing goes on on Halloween." He rolled his amber eyes.

"Wrongdoing like the illicit Gryffindor party you plan on attending?" I snorted.

"Exactly like that," Gideon grinned.

I chuckled. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but Poor Filch. He thinks he finally has an ally, and here you are, contributing to the madness."

"You're feeling bad for Filch?" Gideon asked, raising a ginger eyebrow suspiciously. "Have you been confounded?"

He was so good looking when he did that, I almost had trouble answering.

"Well no I wouldn't go that far," I teased. "He's just being misled by the powers at be, is all"

"Ah," Gideon said, nodding along in amusement. "I see. Well, speaking of the illicit party at hand. Is there any chance you'd like to go with me? I figure I might have a good chance at spending some time with you if I schedule it a couple of days in advance."

I chuckled. "Ill see if I can pencil you into my timetable."

Gideon grinned. "So it's a date then?"

"Absolutely."

"Good," Gideon smiled, his eyes lingering on my face. "Im looking forward to it then. Now, if you don't mind, I have to go find Fabian and give him a letter from out mother."

"Say hi to my favorite Prewett twin for me, will you?" I teased as he rose from the chair. He winked.

---

"So remind me again, why you've waited until the last minute to do this?" I asked Sirius the morning of Halloween. The two of us were sitting in our favorite table in the back of the library, hidden away from the prying eyes of Madam Pince. Sirius had pounced on me the minute I had left breakfast and begged for my help in finishing the essay Sayre had assigned on Vampires. When been in the library for nearly two hours and had spent so much of the time talking that he'd barely written two inches. Our defense against the dark arts textbooks were laid open and forgotten as we talked and snuck bits of pink coconut ice under the table.

"Because I was too busy planning an epic celebration, Meadowes," Sirius said, as if this was obvious. "Or are you not excited for the bash of a century tonight?"

"You know I am," I said breaking off another piece of the block of coconut and handing it to him. "But I still think Sayre would appreciate it if you finished your essay."

"I'll get to it eventually," Sirius said waving me off, as he leaned back in his chair and let a piece of the candy melt on his tongue. "Sayre's cool anyway. Not like Marchbanks. She cares about what shes teaching. I don't think she'll get to touchy about deadlines."

"So you like her too?" I asked, resting my elbows on the table.

Sirius gave an enthusiastic nod. "Hard not too. She knows her stuff. You still completely obsessed with her?"

"Im not obsessed with her," I said quickly, narrowing my eyes.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Then im hideous."

I rolled my eyes, and Sirius grinned. "Look Meadowes, it's not a bad thing. She's a hell of a teacher. We're all learning a lot. Bet we'd learn even more if the Slytherins didn't shut her down at every opportunit, though"

"Noticed that have you?" I asked glumly.

Sirius nodded, looking irritated. "Yup. They're not exactly subtle about it, are they? They usually make it known how they feel about blood traitors." He gestured his long, sturdy hands down his body.

"Yes, I do believe I know a thing about being persecuted for blood status," I chuckled. "The summers at the orphanage really enforce the theme."

"I still say I'd rather have dead parents then mine," Sirius offered. "I think you lucked out."

"Im not arguing with you there," I agreed, watching as Madam Pince chastise a small first year girls with a beaten library book. "I'd take a double funeral over Walburga and Orion any day. It's a miracle you turned out all right."

Sirius shrugged, "At least I got the undeniable Black family beauty out of it,"

"And the modesty too," I grinned, plopping another candy into my mouth.

"Merlin, Meadowes," Sirius sighed. "Haven't you been listening to anything I've told you? Modesty is boring. Accept the fact that you're beautiful and use it to your advantage like I do."

He grinned at me, and my stomach tightened for a moment. I felt a strange fluttering feeling spread across my forearms and shoulders. It was the second time in two days, that a man had called me beautiful and in two vastly different ways. Although I hadn't felt quite so keyed up when Gideon had said it. Or the point of nerves that had formed in my stomach.

Why should I care if Sirius thought I was beautiful? He was my best friend. That was normal. I thought he was beautiful. Though that wasn't saying much. Everyone thought he was beautiful. You could say what you wanted about Sirius Black, but you couldn't deny he was extremely good-looking. It was normal for friends to find each other attractive. It was perfectly normal, I assured myself again as a felt a roar of something like desire in my chest. This was what happened when you were good friends with good looking people.

"Why are you staring at me, Meadowes?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow, drawing me out of my thoughts. He had kicked his feet up on the table. And was chewing on the end of his full lip as he watched me. Ironically, he did look really attractive like that. I shook my head. What was wrong with me today?

"What?" I murmured refocusing myself, and making sure I looked relaxed. "I wasn't!"

He blinked, looking at me like I was going mad. "Whatever you say." He seemed to watch me with a look of mild interest, a cocky grin on his face, and then shook it away.

"Anyway, speaking of the Slytherins," Sirius continued, his grey eyes sparkling with a sick excitement. "Did you hear they're having their own Halloween party?"

I snorted. "Are they?"

He nodded. "Seems they didn't take too kindly to being excluded from ours."

"Even though they swear up and down that they'd rather take another O.W.L. then willingly enter our Common Room," I said rolling my eyes.

"Exactly," Sirius agreed, rolling his eyes and shooting a dark look at a group of Slytherin Seventh years who were sitting a few tables away. They glared at us.

"How did you find out about it anyway?" I asked, my curiosity peaked.

"Emmeline let it slip to Hestia. Which is ironic because she's going to ours anyway."

That peaked my interest. Emmeline was coming to the Gryffindor party instead of her own?

"Emmeline's coming?" I asked.

"Why wouldn't she?" Sirius asked, as if this was a stupid question. "You know we like to fill the party with attractive birds"

Something deep and irritating raged inside the pit of my stomach at hearing those words come out of Sirius' mouth, but I ignored them, taking out my frustration on a piece of coconut ice instead.

"And it isn't like the Slytherin party is going to be any fun anyway" Sirius continued, oblivious, "No one from the other houses is going to go, not that they'd invite anyone other than Purebloods" He rolled his eyes.

"Nobody worth a damn would risk missing a Marauder Bash," I assured him, "they're legendary."

"Belive me, I'm not worried," Sirius chuckled confidently. A haughty smile crossed his face as he examined his thumbnail. "This one is going to be the best yet."

"Knowing you and James, I don't doubt it," I said confidently. "But if you are worried there's always a way to ensure the Slytherins cant have their party at all." I flashed him a mischievous look.

Sirius raised an eyebrow curiously. ""I'm listening."

"You could always very kindly, invite Slughorn to their party," I offered, impressed with the ingenuity of my own idea. "I'm sure they would love to have him there. You know how fond they are of their head of house."

Sirius stared blankly at me for a moment, completely devoid of any emotion as he processed what I said. Then his lips curved into a sultry, self-assured smile.

"Meadowes," he said evenly, his face turning from even to completely thrilled, "Have I ever told you that I love you?"

I threw my head back in laughter.. "Nope. Not today, at least."

"Well I do, Merlin, You're fucking brilliant." Sirius reached enthusiastically into his bag and rifled around for a quill.

"I do have my moments," I said as he unearthed a fancy bit of a parchment.

"This should definitely throw a wrench in their firewhiskey plans," he said as he scribbled out a surprisingly beautiful batch of calligraphy on the invitation. "What do you think?"

"I think it's perfect," I chuckled, reading the flowery prose. "He'll be so flattered, he'll definitely go. And nothing ruins a party like a Head of House."

"I cant wait to tell James," Sirius said, as he sealed it. "He may cry"

"He does seem to be in a rather good mood all of a sudden," I commented, examining Sirius' face carefully. "Do you know what caused him to do such a 180 on our Quidditch practices?"

Sirius looked up from his lashes quickly. "Oh, that." He chuckled. "I believe that would James taking your advice, actually."

"My advice?" I asked, confused. "What did I tell him about Quidditch?" I knew better than to question James about Quidditch.

"Not about Quidditch. About you dear friend Lily Evans."

"Alright, now I'm still lost. What does Lily have to do with Quidditch?"

Sirius sighed, and put the sealed invitation into his robes pocket, before giving me his full attention. "From what Moony told me, it seems he overheard Evans telling Marlene that she thought James was a dictator because of how much he was working us with practices."

"Oh," I said quickly, starting to understand.

"And since James seems to be trying to finally get Evans to like him, he decided ease up."

Sirius made a strange face, like this annoyed him. He shredded the sides of his essay.

"Does that bother you?" I asked.

"Having a break from Quidditch?" He asked in a odd voice. "Course not. I finally managed to convince Thelma Tortington into a broom closet with me last night."

I ignored his comment about Thelma and pressed on. "I meant about him trying with Lily."

Sirius avoided my eyes this time and sighed loudly. "I think you might get a bit testy with me if I tell you the truth."

He looked up evenly from beneath his thick, dark lashes. His grey eyes peering very strangely at mine.

"Why would I get testy with you?" I asked, blinking slowly.

Sirius stared at me. "Merlin, your eyes are big you know that?" he asked, avoiding my question.

"Yes I'm aware. I've had them since birth." I said rolling them quickly. "Now stop evading my question."

Sirius sighed again. "Alright now I know she's your best mate and all. But personally I don't think Prongs should have to change everything about himself to get a bird to go out with him. Theres tons of birds in this castle."

"You would know," I chided easily.

Sirius gave me a slightly annoyed look. "Meadowes, thats the point I'm trying to make. There are girls in this castle who would cut off their arm to go out with him and he's wasting all this energy on a girl who would rather snog the giant squid. I really don't see the point."

He looked confused, and a bit haughty. I felt very torn. Part of me understood where he was coming from. But another part of me thought it was a bit childish. I knew Lily. She was my best friend. She wasn't curel for not liking James at the moment. She was more mature than he was. James needed to grow up a bit more.

I gave Sirius a knowing look. "James is in love with Lily."

"I know," Sirius said in a slightly miffed tone. He leaned back in his chair. "So?"

"So," I continued, ignoring face he was making "Sometimes when you're in love with someone you make sacrifices. To be what they need. Not because you have to, but because you want to."

Sirius didn't say anything. He was just staring very intently at my face, chewing on his bottom lip.

"And you don't always get to choose who you love so easily, you know," I added, since he had chosen to stay uncharacteristically silent. "Do you really think if she had a choice, my mum would have fallen in love with a Muggleborn, growing up they way she did? Sometimes it just happens. It's about who makes you happy. Who makes the world feel a little less terrible. For James, thats Lily."

Sirius was still staring at me. His expression was one I'd never seen him make before. His eyes were twisted and narrowed in anguish and his mouth was pulled into a very tight line. It looked almost like...pain.

"You're right, Meadowes." He said very evenly. He looked strange now. Like he was deep in thought. He didn't take his eyes off me for a full minute, like he was trying to memorize every inch of my face. Then he shook his head.

"I think I'll finish this essay later, I want to get this invitation to Slughorn as soon as I can," Sirius said gathering his stuff abruptly. "See you later at the feast?"

I was shocked. He seemed to be in quite the rush all of a sudden. I nodded.

"Have fun ruining the Slytherins night."

"I will. Thanks for the idea," he grinned. "And don't forget to wear something tarty tonight."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll see what I can do."

Sirius winked, and quickly maneuvered his way through the tables and out of the library in seconds, leaving me slightly dazed.

What had I said that had made him so desperate to get out here? Sure, he wasn't always Lily's biggest fan but could he really care that much that James loved her? Surely he just wanted his best friend to be happy. I racked my brain trying to think about what else I had said. All I'd really said was that you couldn't choose who you loved. That couldn't have possibly bothered him. Why would it? It wasn't like Sirius loved anyone anyway. He hopped more beds in this castle then Marlene. He actually shuddered if someone mentioned the word commitment around him.

But why had he looked at me like that?

I shook my head. I was wasting too much time analyzing Sirius' actions. Sirius was an enigma. Reckless and spontaneous. Nothing he did ever made sense. And I was already ten minutes late to meet my friends. I'd promised them we'd spend the afternoon making our costumes for the party, so we could enjoy the feast.

I gathered my jacket from the back of the chair and left the library. Everyone I passed in the Hallway seemed to be in a great mood. I didn't know whether it was the feast or the party. Or just the general Holiday spirit but every single face I passed seemed to be beaming.

I stopped abruptly as I rounded the corner on the fourth floor, Rabastan was walking very quickly down the hallway. He was dressed smartly, in a fitted, black sweater and black trousers. A bit fancy for a Saturday in the castle. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to where he was going, but his handsome face looked very smug. Very different from the scowl he wore yesterday, I thought of the look he had given me and shuddered, doubling back to take the longer way to the Common Room. He was the very last person I wanted to deal with right now.

I eventually made my way to the Common Room. It was full of life, the way it usually was on weekends, with most of the house loafing around and trying to keep entertained until the feast. Fabian, Gideon, Otto and Landon were all lounging raucously in the far corner with Nora and Krysten. When I passed, Nora nudged Gideon hard in the ribs and he looked up immediately.

He made eye contact with me as I reached the stairs and beamed. He held up a large freckled hand in greeting.

I waved quickly, trying not to bite bottom lip as I took the dormitory stairs three at a time. Did he always have to make me that nervous? I pushed this thought aside. He had looked quite pleased to see me. That counted for something.

I still felt light as air as I pushed open the door to the dormitory and found my three friends splayed across the floor, in a massive pile of tool, gitter and spellotape.

"Merlin," I said taking in the sight of them surrounded by what looked like every article of clothing they owned. "What are you lot doing?"

Mary let out a dark chuckle from the pile of sweaters and craft supplies where she sat, looking slightly overwhelmed.

"Were making costumes," Marlene told me, holding up her wand to a pair of shiny black trousers. "Obviously."

"Obviously," I chuckled.

"It's a process," Lily assured me, as I sat down and leaned against my own trunk.

"Oh, I trust you," I told her, opening my own trunk and searching for the pieces I thought might work for my own costume.

"We were just wondering where you were, actually," Marlene said waving her wand, and looking pleased when the sleeves fell of the sweater she had pointed it at.

"Yes, how was the studying?" Lily asked, putting down a gorgeous organza periwinkle dress,

I shrugged. "We didn't get anything done, honestly."

"Ugh" Mary clutched at her chest and pretended to be surprised. "You and Sirius getting nothing done? I'm shocked!"

I flicked one of my throw pillows at her. "What were you guys talking about before I got here?"

"We wondering if you were and Sirius were murdering one another or snogging," Marlene said waggling her eyebrows.

"Not funny," I told her, waving my wand ominously in her direction.

"Whose says I'm joking?" Marlene asked flirtatiously. I turned my back to her and faced the other two. Marlene frowned at me.

"We were actually discussing what were being," Lily said holding up a dress with a feathered collar. "I officially decided on an Owl."

"And I'm being a Unicorn," Mary said proudly, holding up a pinecone she had transfigured into a horn.

"That's adorable," I said admiring her perfect transfiguration.

"I tried to get Landon to be a the back end of a Centaur but he told me he'd rather transfigure himself into a dung bomb." She frowned.

"Can you blame him?" Marlene snickered.

Mary shrugged. "Boys."

"Are you still being a pixie?" she asked, turning to look at me from expectantly.

I nodded. "I think so. I have this blue dress already," I said unearthing the short, silky blue dress from my trunk. Lily and I had bought it several summers ago and I had since not worn it once. It was too short and too fancy to get any use at the castle until now. "And I figure I'll transfigure my ears, and maybe make a pair of wings."

"Thats sweet. I like it," Lily said stroking the material of the dress in my hands. "You do look nice in blue."

"Thanks Lils."

"Is this that dress that looks like its been painted on you body?" Marlene asked, with excitement, reaching out to stroke the silky material.

"That would be the one," I told her, padding through Mary's impressive collection of glitter.

"This is tarty for you, "Marlene said as she eyed the dress appreciatively before placing it back down on my bed." Merlin, Doe. Im proud. You couldn't possibly be trying to get the attention of certain red-haired Gryffindor tonight, could you?"

I kept my face trained on the sparkly fabric I was holding, but I could feel my cheeks betraying me and starting to pink up as I felt her eyes on me.

"Maybe."

Marlene let out a squeal of delight, and I tried to bury my face in the fabric,

"In all honesty, just snog the bloke tonight," Marlene pressed as the other two giggled from beside me. "I mean, Doe, he's bloody gorgeous and he's obsessed with you."

"He does seem to really like you," Mary said, fastening strips of tulle into her her skirt. "I always had a sinking suspicion he did, but now.. I mean now it's quite obvious, isn't it?"

"Well I certainly hope so," I told her, running my fingers across the fabric of the dress. "I suppose well see tonight, wont we?"

"We better."

"Speaking of boys who are obsessed with us," Marlene said, and turned to Lily, so she could face her properly. "Have you heard anything from Snape lately?"

If I hadn't been looking directly at Lily, I would have missed the flash of pain that crossed her eyes at the name of her former best friend. It only lasted a couple of seconds, before the emerald orbs became steely and focused on the clothes in front of her,

"Nothing exciting," Lily murmured quietly, her eyes narrowed now. "He still tries to talk to me every now and again, but I made myself clear at the beginning of the year, I don't want anything to do with him anymore."

She let out a low sigh, and dropped the dress she was holding. "I mean, how can I now? Even if I was willing to forgive what he called me, which I am absolutely not, look at what he's done since. Whose he's hanging out with. Rosier. And Mulciber!" Mary shuddered violently, and Lily flashed her a sympathetic look.

"I even see him with Rabastan sometimes and his lot of future death eaters," Lily continued, and a cold trickle of fear seemed to creep up my neck at the mention of his name.

"Theres just no moving forward from here," she continued. "He made his choice. He has to live with it."

She looked defeated now, no longer trying to hide the pain that this realization had caused her. It was written all over her face. She bit down on her bottom lip.

Marlene looked enraged at Snape, and Mary looked unsure of what to say. Her fear of the Slytherins was much stronger than the rest of us.

"Do you really think he's going to be a Death Eater some day?" I asked Lily, who was now staring at her shoes.

She took her time answering. "I hope not," she said quietly. "But in all honesty? Probably. All the people he hangs out with are lining up to join. All the people who think like he does, will be. So I suppose I should make my peace with the fact that I was friends with a death eater." She shuddered and buried her face in her hands.

"Well thats not your fault," I reminded her, coming to her side "You two were kids, Lily. How could you have known?"

" Snape is a big boy, " Mary agreed. "He makes his own choices. You're not responsible for what he does."

"She's right," I added. " It says absolutely nothing about you."

Lily was sniffly now. I moved closer to her so I could wrap an arm around her.

"But I should have known, shouldn't I?" she whimpered quietly. "I mean, you all did. None of you liked him. You all hated him."

"Hate is a strong word," I reasoned. "We just worried."

"I mean, I hated him," Marlene said arrogantly. She stopped talking when she saw the look Mary and I gave her.

"Sorry," she mouthed when Lily buried her head again, beginning to sob.

"I'm sorry," Lily blubbered, wiping at her eyes. "I shouldn't be so upset about this. Im ruining a holiday over someone who isn't even a part of my life anymore."

"You're allowed to be upset," I told her firmly. "And were required to listen. Thats the whole point of friendship, Lily."

"Yeah thats why we listen to you and Doe go on about Charms exams for two hours," Marlene joked. "Not because we like it."

Lily cracked a tiny smile and wiped the remnants of tears from her eyes.

"But still," she siffed. "I don't want to talk about him anymore. He doesn't get to ruin today too. This is supposed to be fun. So lets make these costumes and enjoy our night. It should be fun. Its been ages since we had a proper Halloween party."

"Well you've got the Marauders to thank for that," I said, giving her one last hug, "Sirius told me they spent the entire week on it."

Lily scrunched up her nose. "I'm just going to try and just enjoy the party without thanking the Marauders, if you don't mind"

"Good luck with that," Marlene snorted. "I bet a Galleon James makes everyone personally thank them before they can even enter the common room."

"I wouldn't be surprised," I chuckled lightly.

Lily sighed into her hand mirror. "I wouldn't be surprised if he forced people to make speeches thanking him."

"How many firewhiskeys would it take you to make a speech in James Potters honor?" Mary asked Lily, teasingly.

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Macdonald, there isn't enough Firewhiskey in the world..."

The four of us burst into loud laughter that practically carried into the Common Room. Ten minutes later we were back to working on our costumes without another thought about Severus Snape. Although the three of us did watch Lily very carefully for the rest of the evening.

Finishing our costumes carried us until it was time for the feast. Marlene had spent the last hour beforehand complaining that if the food there wasn't satisfactory enough she'd have to grill an owl, listing as many breeds as she could think of until Mary threatened to jinx her mouth closed.

Thankfully, it wasn't necessary. The feast was just as filling and delicious as usual. The house elves had prepared all of the old favorites and had even created a no-melt ice cream cone that the first years were fighting over. It seemed to be especially exciting this year, as everyone was bouncing up and down with excitement about the party, and trying to fill up before consuming their weight in firewhiskey later.

Not altogether unsurprising, the Marauders weren't present at the feast. Peter Pettigrew had followed in behind the four of us, loaded his arms with every treat he could carry and then disappeared back towards Gryffindor tower. No one besides the four of us had even noticed he was there.

The teachers all seemed to be enjoying the feast too. Chatting jovially with one another and downing glasses of elf made win. All of them, except Professor Sayre. She looked very pale still and was hardly eating. She had her eyes trained on the Slytherin table. There was definitely something going on with her. Could she be ill? I felt my stomach tighten at the thought. I was growing far too fond of her for her to have to leave the school because of illness. I followed her eyes to the Slytherin table. They all seemed to be enjoying their feast well enough. I wondered if that meant Slughorn hadn't RSVP'd to their party yet. That was even better. I hoped he just showed up during it. That would make it so much sweeter,

The smile slipped from my face when I noticed Rabastan. He was still wearing his formal outfit from earlier, whispering to Antonin Dolohov with a wide cocky grin. He looked thrilled.

My stomach tightened again. Rabastan stopped whispering to Dolhov as he caught me looking in his direction. His mouth pulled up on one side, and winked, raising his glass to me. It took everything I had not to physically shudder.

I trained myself instead to focus on the feast. And not think about whatever was making Rabastan that happy. As I nibbled on the delectable assortment laid out in front of us I couldn't help but think about this night last year, when I had blindly followed Sirius into the forbidden forest. I couldn't believe I had done that. Sirius and I had barely known one another back then. So much had happened since then. I almost hadn't gone. I hadn't trusted Sirius or his judgment. And now? I trusted him as much as I did my friends.

"What are you thinking about?" Gideon asked, from my other side, watching me stare off, lost in thought.

His voice and the sight of his attractive smile refocused me. "Last Halloween actually."

"Oh yeah? Anything particularly exciting?" he asked, plopping a sugar quill in his mouth. His dimples appeared as he smiled down at me.

I grinned. "Well I did get a detention for sneaking into the Forbidden Forest."

"Ah, so for you, not really then?"

I elbowed him playfully in the arm, and Marlene snorted across the table as I missed and hit a passing third year Hufflepuff boy by mistake.

"Well luckily for you, I doubt I can get into that much trouble at a party in the Common Room"

Gideon chuckled. "At a Marauder party? You're likely to get into more. Thats what I'm hoping for at least."

"He's got you there," Lily reasoned happily, stealing a glance at Kellan at the Ravenclaw table.

I spent the rest of dinner with a smile plastered on my face while Gideon told me about the Halloween party Meredith Mckinnon had thrown his fifth year,

Marlene, who wanted a much time to get ready as possible, and convinced the three of us to leave the feast halfway through dessert. I had said goodbye to Gideon and promised to meet him in the Common Room and then followed after my friends to the dormitory.

We spent the next twenty minutes perfecting our costumes. Marlene had begged and finally convinced me to let her do my makeup, and now my eyelids were covered in a blue glitter shadow and my cheeks were dusted with matching glitter. I left my hair alone, and it sat loose and pin straight down my back. I had never really figured out what do with it on a normal basis and it was longer than usual this year.

I slipped on the blue silk dress and was impressed with how well it fit. It was snug around the bodice and my waist and flowed slightly very high up on my thighs. It was something I never normally would have worn, it was much more of Marlene's style, but I found I did like it quite a bit. Especially with the blue wings Mary had made me to match. I didn't care if it was short.

"Eareres pixium," I said pointing my wand to ears and transfiguring them into long, blue pixie ears.

"Creepy!" Mary said excitedly, as she fastened the gold unicorn horn to her headband. She was wearing a white, sparkly dress that made her skin glow, and had twisted her long dark hair into a long braid that resembled a mane. She took a step back and looked at me. "You look really good, Doe."

"Thanks, Mary! I love the horn!" I said.

Mary grinned, "Really? I got the idea from last year. With the Marauders stupid prank. You remember? When I had the hoof?" She chuckled darkly, and straightened her very tall gold boots.

"And I had to vomit a pile of feathers?" Marlene called from behind the changing screen where she was changing for full dramatic effect, "If you've got feathers on your costume, Lils. Keep at least three feet away me. I still haven't recovered fully from that."

"Ill do my best!" Lily giggled from beside her bed, were she wore a a dress made entirely of feathers. I had to give Lily her credit. She always went above and beyond. It looked like the feathers were stacked on one another in layers. She had even twisted feathers into her hair and onto the sleeves of her dress, so that every time she moved, she looked like she was mid transitioning into an owl. It was incredible.

"Prettiest owl I've ever seen by far," I told her, as she twirled on the spot for me.

Lily grinned and waved me off appreciatively. "I was hoping you guys would like it. Do you think Kellan will?"

"He'd be an absolute prat not too," I assured her. She gave another twirl for dramatic effect and then tucked her wand into a hidden pocket she had made on the dress

"Okay, everyone. Get ready," Marlene called from the other side of the screen where the sound of something plastic like was coming. "I'm coming out."

"Were waiting with baited breath, Marley," I said leaning against one of the four posters of the bed behind me.

Marlene made a big show of sticking one leg out at a time, until finally she dipped out from behind the screen to audible gasps from the three of us.

"Oh my Merlin!" Lily shouted.

"Wow!" Mary whispered.

"You look amazing," I told her.

"Do I?" Marlene asked, feigning doubt. She spun around in front of us confidently. She wore a black long-sleeve, catsuit that clung so tightly to her body it left nothing to the imagination. Marlene was the only person in the entire castle who could have worn something like that and looked that good. It looked like someone had sprayed her in black leather. She had curled her thick honey colored hair and coated her eyes in thick smoky liner. Perched carefully on top of her head was a pair of fuzzy cat ears.

"I'm a black cat," she said pointing to them. "Do you think people will know that?"

"Do you care?" I asked her. "You look incredible."

Marlene winked and then stopped to survey me. "You know, Meadowes. You don't look too bad yourself. I love that dress. You look me"

"She means tarty," Mary giggled. Marlene ignored her.

She took my hand and spun me around for a moment, before the four of us tossed ourselves on Lily's bed, to wait for the party to start.

"Do you think Kingsley Shacklebolt will be there tonight?" Marlene asked, pretending too sound innocent.

"Is he your chosen victim this year?" I teased playfully.

Marlene winked. "One of them."

"He's really smart," Lily said, reaching behind her to pull a fat honeydukes chocolate bar out of her nightstand. She broke it into four chunks and handed one to each of us.

"He's also really fit," Marlene told her, nuding Lily's thigh with her socked foot.

Lily rolled her eyes, but kept smiling. "Slughorn told me he came up third in that Potions contest I did last year. And that was bloody hard."

"Are you going to do it again this year?" I asked her, nibbling on my chocolate.

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. I did it with Sev- er,, Snape, last year. So who knows. I don't know if I'll be able to do it alone."

"Well i'd help you but I'm bloody awful at potions," Marlene said, twirling her wand to make the geraniums on Mary's bed open and close.

"I'll help you if you want it," I offered. "I'm no Potions prodigy but I can cut ingredients and things for you."

"Me too!" Mary offered. "I am great at stirring."

Lily laughed. "Maybe Ill take you two up on that some time."

"Any time."

The door to the dormitory opened and Alice and Rylie sauntered in, looking full and satisfied from the feast. Alice's eyes opened wide as she saw us.

"You guys did great!" Alice said, taking the sight of the four of us. "Magical creatures?"

Lily nodded and beamed at her. "Thanks, Alice. Are you going?"

Alice nodded. "With Frank. He's excited about it. Like you lot, it seems."

"Bored, mostly," Marlene said rolling on her stomach to look at her. "Where they done setting up down there yet?"

Alice shook her head. "Not quite. James and Remus were hanging some decorations and Peter was setting out the food. Which reminds me! Doe, Sirius asked me if to see if you could come to the boys dormitory and help him with something?"

"Excuse me?" Marlene asked, her eyebrows raised. Her jaw swung open, and she turned to me as if she was missing something important. Mary began to giggle nervously. Lily looked shocked.

"He asked...what?" I blinked confused at Alice. It sounded incredibly salacious. Not that that exactly surprised me when it came to Sirius.

Alice shrugged. "I thought it sounded weird too. But I told him I'd tell you."

Marlene gave me a very odd look, when I sighed and lifted myself from the very comfortable bed.

"You're going to go?" Marlene asked, shifting into a cross legged position. She was watching me very intently, though her face was unreadable.

"Might as well go see what he wants," I said with a shrug. "Knowing him, he'll probably apparate right in here if I don't."

Marlene looked like she wanted to say something else. But she refrained. Which was odd for her.

"You can't apparate inside Hogwarts, technically," Lily said happily, as if she had noticed this too.

"Thank you for the Hogwarts lesson, Lily," I smiled, smoothing out my dress.

"Any time," she beamed.

Marlene was still watching me. Her face was blank like it was deep in thought, processing something.

"I'll be back," I told them, and quietly traipsed out of the dormitory. I didn't know why, but I was sure the moment the door had closed, the five of them were discussing me.

Why had Marlene cared that I'd gone to see what Sirius wanted? We were friends. I did things like that for her all the time. But the look she had given me was so odd. Like she thought I was doing something weird.

I shook my head and stepped down into Common Room, where the other three Marauders had busied themselves with decorating for the party.

Peter was crowded in front of two massive tables, spreading out what looked like a thousand cups. I counted more than thirteen bottles of firewhiskey spread out amongst them before I gave up.

Remus and James had their backs to me, and were waving their wands as black sheets and silvery spider webs erupted from the ends of their wands. I was deeply curious what was happening there, but I decided I'd see for myself at the party. Apart from them, the Common Room was empty. Everyone was probably in their dormitories getting ready still. I quietly slipped past them without being noticed and climbed the stairs to the boys dormitory. I could hear excited voices from every door I passed on the massive stone staircase. The first four floors were less enthusiastic, seeing as no one below fourth year was allowed to come. I could hear a raucous hooting that sounded like it was Dirk Cresswell from the fifth years door. They certainly sounded excited.

I stopped when I got to the sixth floor, and reached out to knock tentatively on the door.

"Come in!" a familiar voice called happily from the other side. I pushed open the door to the boys dormitory and stopped as the heavy oak door closed behind me.

I had never been in this particular room before. But I felt like I had. My cheeks burned pink as I remembered when and why.

It rushed back so quickly it was like being hit with a bludger at practice. I could taste the firewhiskey spreading over my tongue. I could feel Sirius hands in my hair. I had kissed Sirius in his dormitory. I forced the memory back into my subconscious. That had been a drunken mistake. It had meant nothing. He didn't even remember it.

This one looked exactly the same. The boys clothes and textbooks were scattered all over the floor in mishappen and senseless piles, and only one of the beds was made. Remus' I guessed.

Sirius was standing in front of a dusty mirror at the front of the room, and turned at the sound of my entrance.

"Ah, Meadowes."

He was dressed from head to toe in a long sleeved jumpsuit. As tight as Marlene's was, except this one had a white and black diamond pattern, The chest of it was removed too, giving me a full view of his tanned, muscled chest. It took me a minute to realize why it looked so familiar.

"Like it,?" he asked, "I'm Freddie Mercury. From Queen."

"I can see that," I said, starting to smile. "You must have really like that record."

He had nailed it. He had even painted his nails black. The one piece was practically sculpted to him. I found it hard to not focus on anything in particular. I tried not to stare.

"Its a masterpiece," Sirius said without question, fixing his hair in the mirror. "Muggles make better music. Without a doubt."

"Not very many wizards know muggle music," I told him. "So you might have to tell people who you are."

"Does that matter?" Sirius asked. "I look hot. Thats all anyone will notice anyway."

He stopped checking himself out in the mirror for a moment and turned to look at me. His eyes widened in surprise for a moment, taking in the sight of my costume. I watched his eyes trail up and down my body for a moment and then stop.

"You look great, Meadowes," he said, almost suspiciously. He didn't take his eyes off of me, but raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

I couldn't help but smirk a bit. The dress was working then. He was looking at me the way he looked at Marlene or Emmeline when they wore a short skirt in the Great Hall. Gideon was definitely going to like it.

"It's a costume," I reminded, feeling a bit more confident. I rested my hands on my hips "For the party you're throwing remember?"

Sirius was still staring at me. "I remember."

I grinned. "Alice said you needed help with something in here."

Sirius continued to stare for a second and then blinked. "Right. I needed your help, perfecting the costume."

He held out what looked like a compact. "In the album, he's wearing eyeliner and I don't know how the bloody hell you birds put this on."

I took the compact from him and chuckled. "You called me in here to help you put on eyeliner?" I managed, through my laughter.

Sirius gave me a knowing look. "Well I thought you'd be more help than Prongs."

"Marlene would've been your best bet actually, she's way better at this stuff than me."

Sirius shrugged. "I like you better."

I smiled. "Sit on the bed, I'll see what I can do."

He grinned at me and plopped down on the closet bed that I assumed was his, as his wand laid beside him.

I opened the compact and took out the tiny makeup brush. As I looked at him, I noticed a pair of lacy red knickers tucked behind the corner of his bed.

"Seriously?" I asked in disbelief at the sight of them. "Merlin, Sirius."

He followed my gaze and grinned. "Sorry Meadowes. Forgot about those. She was in a bit of a hurry."

"I so don't want any more details," I said shaking my head furiously.

Sirius grinned. "It is fun having a bloke for a best friend isn't it?"

"Oh, loads," I said sarcastically. "Now close your eyes so I can do this properly."

He did as I told him, and his long black eyelashes traced his cheekbones as I did. He had excellent bone structure. Those damned Black good lucks. I hovered over him slightly and swept the black powder across his eyelashes the way Marlene had taught me in second year. She would have been better at this than I was, but I could do a decent enough job. I was very aware of his sculpted chest just inches from me. He must have really been training hard for Quidditch.

"Where''s Caradoc?" I asked, realizing I hadn't seen him downstairs.

"James jinxed him out about an hour ago. So I'd guess the Hospital Wing"

I sighed. "You guys are so mean to him."

"Dearborn is fine, I promise."

"Define, fine. He lives with you four."

Sirius brushed me off, and I continues to work quietly.

"You seem rather excited about tonight," Sirius said, swiftly changing the subject "Getting all dressed up."

"Well you did promise me an epic party," I told him. "A Marauder soiree is reason enough to be excited."

"But you seem more enthusiastic than usual," Sirius reasoned.

I shrugged. "I like Halloween."

Sirius let out a deep chuckle. "Where was that enthusiasm last year?"

"You mean when you almost got us killed by a pack of centaurs?"

"Yes that," Sirius grinned. "We got out of that in the end though."

"I got us out."

"Semantics," Sirius said with a wave of his hand. "That was a fun night."

"I was just thinking about it earlier actually," I told him.

"Fondly or angrily?"

"Fondly, I suppose. Although not the detention."

Sirius grinned. "Its okay, Meadowes. You can admit it. You had fun on a Marauder excursion. I wont tell anyone."

I opened my mouth to give him a cheeky retort when something occurred to me. A Marauder excursion, searching for that mysterious piece of paper in the dark.

I smacked Sirius in the shoulder.

"Ow! Merlin, Meadowes. What was that for?" He demanded rubbing at his shoulder.

I stopped applying the makeup to scowl at him. "I just realized that last Halloween the thing you were looking for in the forest was the Marauders Map, wasn't it?"

Sirius grinned as recognition filled his handsome face. "Good memory. It was. Peter lost it the night before when we were out on the grounds with Moony."

I crossed my arms. "You could have told me what it was."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Told you I had made a map of Hogwarts that told me where everyone was at any given time? You'd have hexed me yourself. Lily would have a cow when you told her. And anyway I didn't fully trust you yet."

He looked at the frown on my face and sighed. "Oh come on Meadowes, don't pout. I told you eventually, didn't I? And anyway that was night the rest of the Marauders decided that I-.. well that we could all like you. You really proved yourself in there."

"Hmpf" I said and went back to his makeup. "Look up."

Sirius did as he was told but still kept eyeing me as I applied the makeup.

"I never told Lily about the map, you know," I told him quietly. Sirius looked back at me.

"Really?" he asked, looking unconvinced.

I nodded. "I promised you, I wouldn't tell anyone. So I didn't."

Sirius eyes were laser focused on me now. "You make it quite easy to trust you, you know that?" he asked.

"I would hope so," I said going back to his makeup. He was quiet as I did the underneath, not moving very much.

A large excited horn blew from downstairs. A screeching voice called from the Common Room through the dormitories "THE PARTY HAS BEGUN" and then music began to play loudly from the Common Room. There was the sound of footsteps on the staircase and doors opening and closing, as people filed into downstairs. From here we could even hear the sounds of annoyance coming from the Fat Lady as she began to open and let it students from other houses.

"Sounds like your dormmates finished up down there," I told him. Sirius looked eager. Then he turned to me.

"So are you going to this thing with Prewett?" he asked, as I moved on to the next eye.

I paused before I swiped it again. "Maybe. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Sirius said in a very even voice. He seemed to grow quieter now. The sound of blaring music from downstairs was making it hard to hear him.

Then he took a deep breath. "I guess I wanted to know if-" his words were cut off as the door to the dormitory burst open again and James stood in the doorway with Remus.

"What are you two doing?" James asked in disbelief his eyes were wide. He was fully in costume already, dressed as a pirate complete with an eyepatch. He looked a bit like Alastor Moody.

From his perspective I could see how this looked. I was half hovered, practically straddling Sirius, whose was leaned back on his bed.

Sirius seemed to know it too. Grinning, he said "Something more fun before you dained to interrupt us, Prongs."

"I can leave you to it, if you like, Padfoot" James replied cheekily. He winked at me. "Nice dress, Meadowes."

Beside him, Remus, who was dressed impressively as Merlin himself, sighed audibly.

I had straightened up and held up the makeup. "I was helping him finish his costume, James."

"Is that what were calling it now?" Sirius replied cheekily to me.

"Will you stop that?" I said to him, narrowing my eyes, He and James both laughed.

Remus sighed again. "You two have such a strange relationship, you know that?"

"If Padfoot is finished primping, there is a party going on down there," James said excitedly. Then his eyes flickered cheekily, and he pretended to close the door. "Unless you two would rather I leave you alone..."

Sirius winked at him and I scowled. "No. No! Stop making that face. We're all going downstairs. Now!"

The three of them chuckled at the frantic quality my voice had taken on and followed me out the dormitory and down the stairs. I put my wand in the pocket of my wings Mary had sewn in. I didn't like to be without nowadays.

"Handy," Remus commented.

"Did you make them?" Sirius asked, playing with the end of one.

I shook my head. "Mary did. That girl can make anything."

James stared at the side of my head. "Did you transfigure your own ears?" he asked in disbelief.

"I needed them to look more pixie-like." I nodded.

James shook his head. "You're a strange bird, Doe."

By the time we got to the bottom of the stairs, it was so loud. I could barely hear what they were saying to me. Not that it mattered. I was immediately floored by the sight in front of me. Though I had been standing in the Common Room minutes before, it had been completely transformed in my absence.

Dark gauze-like strips of fabric had been hung from the ceiling very few feet making the room dark and cozy and giving the space lots of hidden 'rooms'. It gave the impression of being stuffed inside of a very spooky snuffbox. Silvery cobwebs were draped across the fabric too, and fog poured mysteriously from underneath them. From where it was coming, I didn't know, but it curled around the floor, making the room look ominous. The only place they weren't hanging was the large cleared off dance floor that sat was directly across from the table littered with firewhiskey and snacks. Purple, green and orange lights flickered off of the walls and on everyone's skin rhythmically, they seemed to be coming from jars of colored fire that were suspended above everyone's head, by a charm.

"You outdid yourselves," I said staring at it in disbelief as I took it all in.

"I did promise you an epic party," Sirius said proudly, flashing me a wink.

"Come on, lets go get a drink," James said. "You look like you need one."

As the four of us made our way through the crowds of people, the other Marauders got lost between Mafalda Hopkirk and Petra Chang, and I focused on making my way to the clearer part of the room that was the designated dance floor.

I'd never seen the Common Room this crowded before. As I moved past what looked like every person year five and above, I passed by a large group of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws who had scattered amongst the room, meeting up with friends and serving themselves large cups of butterbeer.I saw Rylie and Alice in the corner with Frank Longbottom and a few Ravenclaw seventh years. Tydie Fuller looked excited as she joined them, levitating cups in front of her. Peter Pettigrew was trailing behind a couple of Hufflepuff fifth year girls, looking excited. At least I thought it was Peter. He'd worn a bedsheet over his head. The other Marauders had made their way to the drink table. Where a large group of admirers was hanging on their every word. Sirius had his usual band of female admirers rallying for his attention, and James was challenging Dirk Cresswell to a drinking challenge.

I scanned the room for any sign of Gideon or my friends. A feat that was becoming more difficult with how crowded it was in here and the fact that everyone wore costumes. I noticed Fabian Prewett and Otto Bagman had already managed to take out a funnel and were pouring a butterbeer and firewhiskey combination down it, but I didn't see Gideon with them. Several people pushed past me as I searched on the tips of my toes for any sight of them.

After a minute, I spotted Mary and Landon in of the darker corners, wrapped around one another, per usual. I didn't see Lily, but Marlene was in the middle of the dance floor with Nora and Krysten, a cup of firewhiskey in each hand. That girl wasted no time.

The music seemed to be getting louder the longer I searched, and a familiar Goblin Gang song pounded in and out of my ears.

I spotted Odie Macmillan talking to some Hufflepuff friends as I cleared the dance floor. He smiled at me enthusiastically for a moment and I moved quicker hoping to avoid him.

Then I spotted Gideon in the corner, making polite conversation with someone. He was looking at her, listening half-heartedly. He seemed to be dressed in black robes, but I couldn't see what it was exactly that he was supposed to be. I smiled, and headed towards him, faltering slightly and stopping when I noticed who it was he was chatting with.

Emmeline looked radiant. Her hair was long and loose down her back and she wore a glittery gold dress, her skin coated in matching gold paint. In her hand, she held a quidditch broom, also painted gold. She was beaming at Gideon as she spoke.

"She's as a Quidditch cup," Hestia said, coming to stand beside me. She was dressed rather hilariously, as Professor McGonagall. "Creative huh?"

"Very," I agreed, still watching her with Gideon.

Hestia seemed to be looking at this too. Her eyes darted from our two Heads ans then back to me. She sighed.

"She likes him," she said after a minute. "Gideon."

I had suspected it, but now watching her it was obvious.

"Err…..." I didn't know what to say. I really liked Hestia. I hoped this wasn't going to become uncomfortable.

Hestia shook her head casually. "I know he likes you, Doe. I think she knows it too. She's my best friend, but I think she can be a little thick at times. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."

Before I could say anything else, Gideon looked up. His eyes had been scanning the crowd in front of him and he had locked on me. Color filled his face as he broke into a wide smile. Emmeline noticed and turned, following his gaze in my direction.

I waved, returning the smile.

Gideon said something politely to Emmeline and left, moving towards me quickly, leaving Emmeline looking a bit crestfallen. Hestia immediately joined her side.

"There you are!" Gideon cried happily stopping t in front of me. "I was looking all over for you. I thought you may have ditched me for Fabian after all."

"Hardly," I joked, "I see enough of Fabian at practice."

Gideon smiled. "Good. That will quiet my insecurities for awhile."

Now that he was standing in front of me, I got a proper look at what he was wearing. It seemed like his normal full uniform, except the longer I looked at it, I noticed the emblem on the lapel was a snake. And his tie was green.

"Are you a Slytherin?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Scary huh?" Gideon asked, and I tipped my head back in laughter. "That's brilliant."

He smelled a bit like firewhiskey already and I found the scent drawing me in. He was standing very close to me now. I could hear my heart hammering in my chest as he smiled.

"Blimey," he said as he looked down at me properly. "You look incredible, Doe. Really. Wow."

He was staring at me with a look I'd never seen before., It made me blush.

I did a small turn for him. "I'm a cornish pixie."

"Well I do love Magical Creatures," Gideon said reaching out to touch the tip of my new wing.

"I got the idea from you,," I told him, "From that story you told me about the pixie in Hogsmeade."

Gideon seemed to weight this for a moment. "Hmm," he said quietly. " Well, I won't let McNair put a finger on you."

His hand that had stroked my wig, tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. I could hardly breath now from nerves. A pair of people dressed as Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans boxes pushed past us and almost knocked us over.

Gideon steered me out of their way at the very last second.

"Shall we get drinks?" he asked.

"Probably should," I agreed, "before we get trampled by our housemates,"

"I think that might have been Xenophillius Lovegood, so technically we would have been tramples by Ravenclaws, but I see your point." Gideon smiled, and placed his hand on my lower back, leading me towards the tables of firewhiskey.

James was still standing by the makeshift bar, pouring overly full of cups of Firewhiskey to anyone who didn't already have one. He gave Gideon a hearty sized one and tried to hand me two.

"Are you mad?" I asked, only taking the one. James pouted.

"But you're so much more fun when you're tossed," He pressed. "Remember last year? Most fun I've ever seen you was after three cups of this stuff." He nodded at Gideon with a smile. "Just a little tip for you, Prewett."

Gideon gulped a large sip and nodded his cup at James. "I'll keep that in mind."

I took a large sip of firewhiskey, and felt the familiar burn slip down my throat. It was better the longer you drank it, so I took two more sips. Gideon looked amused.

"I'll have to work harder to keep up with you," he mused.

"I am multi-talented," I agreed, taking another sip.

"You drink, you duel, anything you cant do?" he asked.

I pretended to think. "Well, I'm rubbish at Herbology."

"Herbology?" Gideon rolled his eyes lightly. "Well in that case, I simply can't date you."

"Had plans to do that, did you?" I asked, my heart fluttering even faster now.

"Before I learned of your Herbology skills," Gideon teased. "What am I supposed to do without a botanically inclined woman at my side?"

Behind us James made an irritated noise in the back of his throat, distracting the to of us from our shameless flirting.

"You alright mate?" Gideon asked. James scowled.

Gideon and I followed his gaze, to where Lily was standing with Kellan Broadmoor. Kellan was dressed as a Quidditch Player. Hence, James sudden darkening.

"Creative costume," James muttered darkly.

Gideon gave him a sympathetic look. "Oh man, I'm sorry James."

James sighed and downed the rest of his firewhiskey, pouring himself another and heading across the room to where Sirius was chatting up a bunch of fifth year girls.

Lily waved to me from beside Kellan and I returned it. The room was becoming more packed by the minute as more people crowded into the Common Room, drinking, dancing and occupying the comfy squat armchairs. Gideon and I finished our first cups and poured another, chatting as we did.

The longer we stood there, the louder it seemed to become. Gideon watched me and smiled as the song changed to a much faster one by Goblin Gang.

"So, how much convincing would it take to get you to dance with me?" Gideon whispered in my ear, looking over to the dance floor where crowds of people, and couples were flailing about to the music.

"I suppose if you asked, I might be able to be convinced," I said, biting my lip. "Though I might knock someone over in the process."

Gideon shook his head. "Don't worry I'll keep hold of you."

Feeling a new excitement roaring in my chest, I downed the rest of my firewhiskey and threw away the cup. I was actually starting to feel the firewhiskey now. A tiny vibrating seemed to be running through my body, as Gideon took me by the hand and led me to the dance floor. My head felt weightless, cloud-like almost. My cheeks and chest were filled with warmth. The song was a good one, and it was actually surprisingly fun to dance too. Thought I suspected that had much more to do with Gideon than it did the song. I was aware of every time he touched me. His hands on my shoulder, my waist, my hip. Every where he touched me, it felt like incredibly hot fire. I didn't know if it was nerves or the firewhiskey making me feel this way but I didn't care. His large freckled hand knotting through mine as he spun me or pulled me to his chest. His eyes locked on mine the entire time as we moved around and against one another on the floor. I was only vaguely aware of other people around us now. The clumps of people from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw who were watching us. And it seemed that everyone was watching us. Even from across the room I could see Sirius and Emmeline, talking to one another, their eyes in our direction, and James kept periodically coming by to refill everyone's drink to the point where I was almost starting to get dizzy.

At some point, Mary and Landon had managed to tear themselves away from one another and joined us on the dance floor, followed by Lily and Kellan. Marlene managed to dance with both Fabian and Otto. The group of us took up practically the entire dance floor, but Gideon's hands never strayed from me, and kept me close by and upright, promising me I wouldn't knock myself or anyone else over. Unsurprisingly he was a fantastic dancer.

"I think I might need a Gillywater break," I managed to whisper in Gideon's ear, after out eighth or ninth consecutive dance. Marlene was now so drunk, she was simply spinning beside Otto. Mary and Lily were taking turns being her partner.

Gideon grinned. "I'll get it," he told me smiling broadly, and disappeared into the crowd of people towards the drinks table.

I wasn't aware that I had been smiling so much until I realized my cheeks were actually starting to hurt. I watched Gideons, tall broad frame disappear between the throngs of people.

"Found ya!" an excited voice called behind me, as I found a pair of hands grasp at my waist.

My initial reaction, was that somehow, Rabastan had managed to slip past the Fat Lady, and I nearly shot into the hair.

"Blimey," Amelia said with a chuckle and held her hands up defensively. "I didn't mean to scare you, Doe."

I clutched at my chest, feeling an enormous relief at the sight of Amelia's familiar face, gleaming under the flickering lights. She was dressed as a pumpkin. Her friend Charity beside her, in a matching costume.

"Just took a couple years off my life is all," I said, taking a deep breath. I couldn't be mad. All I felt was relief at the sigh ot her and not Rabastan.

"Well you didn't want to live long enough to get wrinkles anyway, did you?" Amelia teased.

My mouth curved upward into a smile. "I don't think I'll get them. I don't have a family history of getting very old."

"Merlin, that's morbid," Amelia shook her head. I watched her look off to where I was and spotted Gideon.

He was filling up a cup with gilly water from the large gallon, and winked when he saw me looking.

"Holy Hippogriff! So that's finally happening?" Amelia asked, looking from him to me.

"Sort of," I said sheepishly, trying to hide how pleased I was. "At least I hope it does."

Amelia shook her head in disbelief. "I'm shocked. I mean good for you. Prewett's a looker. Not that you aren't yourself," she stopped to admire my dress. I winked dramatically, finally aware of how much Firewhiskey I had.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "I just... I don't know, I always thought it would be Sirius." She shrugged very casually.

"Sirius?" I demanded, probably a touch too loudly. Some of the fifth years beside us looked on with interest. "What do you mean?"

Amelia gave me a knowing look. "Come on, Doe. You know what I mean."

"I have literally no idea what you're talking about," I said.

Amelia blinked, unconvinced. "You're seriously telling me there hasn't been something going on with you two this year? You've been inseparable."

I could feel a heat flooding through me, almost aggressively, turning my cheeks pink. Her words were causing a strange uncomfortable knot to form in my stomach. My chest tightened to match.

"He's my friend Amelia. One of my best friends," I told her firmly, ignoring the anxiety that seemed to be filling me.

"So am I," she reminded me. "But you and him…." she trailed off, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Are just friends," I said with a touch of hostility in my voice. I'd never used that tone with Amelia before. We'd never been in anything even close to a fight. Even when we were kids and I broke her Wanda the Witch doll.

Amelia looked surprised. "Alright. Alright, Doe. You're just friends." She looked understandably hurt.

I sighed. "Sorry, Aimes. I just have to tell people that all the time..."

"Ever wonder why?" She asked cheekily, completely back to normal.

I narrowed my eyes and she held her hands up again. "Sorry. Couldn't resist. Anyway, don't worry about it. I was being nosy anyway. Have fun with Prewett. He certainly looks like he adores you. Well talk later okay?"

I nodded. "Of course. Have fun."

"You too."

Amelia disappeared through the crowd with Charity, leaving me alone on the dance floor. For whatever reason her words had bothered me more than I understood. Why did she too have to think there was something going. And why had the insinuation irritated me like this?

I decided to chalk it up to the Firewhiskey. I rarely drank so I must not have been used to this feeling. There was no other reason that any insinuation about Sirius and I would have bothered me.

My eyes glanced around the room, and sought out Sirius. He was sitting with the other Marauders, crowded around the couch. Imogen Warbeck dangling on the arm beside him. He downed another cup and shouted something jovially to James, who barked in laughter. It made me smile.

Sirius looked up, noticed me and grinned a very familiar grin. He gestured for me to join him.

This gesture only seemed to make me more confused. It enraged the knot in my stomach.

"I had to sneak the last of the Gilly water for you, it almost got dicey over there," Gideon whispered coming up behind me. He handed me a large goblet of water.

"Uh, thank you. I think all of this Firewhiskey has gone straight to my head," I said taking a grateful sip of water,

"You're still using complete sentences so you're doing a bit better than Marlene," Gideon reckoned. "I overheard Lily telling Kellan she may have to confound her and drag her to bed."

"She'll fight," I assured him. "Theres few things Marlene likes more than a party."

I took another sip of water and then turned to Gideon. He was watching me with the same entertained face he always seemed too. He was close again. Practically pressed against me so we could hear one another over the sound of the music.

Across the room, Sirius crushed his plastic cup in his hand, frowning. He whispered something to Imogen, and she shifted so she was practically in his lap.

Gideon leaned down to say something but the sound of it was washed out by a loud chorus of a Celestina Warbeck song.

"Do you want to get out of here for a bit?" I asked, leaning on the tips of my toes to speak into his hair. "I can barely hear myself think in here."

"Love too," Gideon said quickly. "Fancy an illegal late-night walk through the castle?"

"Lead the way," I said encouragingly.

His face lit up, and he hesitated before taking my hand in his, leading me through the throngs of inebriated people. No one noticed as we slipped through the Portrait Hole and into the corridor. The Marauders must have used some sort of charm on the common room because although it was blaring inside, the moment the Fat Lady swung closed, you couldn't hear a thing.

"Know of any sneaky secret passages?" I asked, as Gideon and I walked down the corridor. I was very aware of the fact that he was still holding my hand. It felt incredibly warm. It was twice the size of mine.

"I don't think we need them," Gideon said, the left side of his mouth turned upwards. "I'm Head Boy, remember? Im allowed to patrol."

"With a guest?" I asked suspiciously.

Gideon bit his lip. "I've never tested the theory."

I liked the sound of that. We were quiet for a minute or so as we walked hand in hand down the corridor. My heart was thudding so loudly now I was surprised he couldn't hear it.

"Quite a party, huh?" Gideon asked, his voice sounded a little softer now. "Seemed like everyone showed up."

"Everyone but the Slytherins," I noted happily. "How did you get those robes by the way?"

Gideons face flashed quickly. He paused. "Well, Emmeline actually. I told her about what I was going to be and she stole them from the Slytherin laundry."

"Ah," I said quietly, slightly put off. "So both of our Heads don't follow the rules, huh?"

He chuckled. "I guess not."

And because I had consumed too many glasses of Firewhiskey to count, I said "I think she likes you, Emmeline."

Gideon blinked, and then then turned to look at me. His face was kind, a little amused. Like there was a private joke I was missing.

"Emmeline is nice," he said kindly, "but I like someone else."

He gave me a very knowing look, and then behind him I saw the shadow of a very familiar shape.

"Come on," I whispered quickly, pushing him further down the corridor into a small alcove that fit the two of us.

"What is it?" Gideon whispered. We barely fit in the darkened hiding space, I was pressed between him and the stone wall,. It was in the unlit part of the corridor and gave us a hidden view of the person walking down the hall.

It was Rabastan. He was grinning. He walked with confidence, a jaunty strut down the corridor. His greedy green eyes darting back the way he came, from the classrooms.

He seemed to take his time. Meandering down the corridor with a smug look on his face. He kept grinning behind him, and even begun to whistle. The sound echoed across the walls. The sound of it made me shudder.

Understanding crossed over Gideons face as he looked at me and waited for Rabastan to disappear around another corner and from view.

"I hate that guy," Gideon said shaking his head.

"Join the club," I said, looking back at him. We were still pressed against one another in the tiny little space.

"What do you think he's doing skulking around out here this late?" I asked nervously. I knew with him, it couldn't be good.

Gideon shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't think he was coming from any party. Makes you wonder why he looked so excited doesn't it?"

I gave a grave nod. "He's probably up to something. Sorry, I shoved you back here. I didn't want to have to deal with him."

Gideon laughed. "Don't apologize. There are worse things than being stuck here with you," Gideon said firmly.

Then his face softened a bit. "You look really beautiful tonight, Doe."

He was close again. Really close. Looking at me with those clear blue eyes of his. It was closer than we'd ever been before. I could see every freckle and crease of his dimple. His hair hung loosely on his shoulders and smelled faintly of the woods. He really was handsome.

"Thank you," I whispered, and Gideons hand moved very slightly towards my face. His fingers brushed my cheek as they moved a piece of hair out of the way. He bent his face towards me.

"DO NOT TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!"

The sound of the shrill frantic voice echoed sharply across the corridor, and Gideon and I, mere inches from each other broke apart at the sound of it.

I felt a rise of frustration grow inside me as I realized what that intrusion had interrupted. I stopped feeling angry, when I heard the frantic voices growing louder and watched Professor Sinistra and Professor Sayre stride into the corridor.

Professor Sayre looked wild. She was striding around the corridor, wide-eyed, like a trapped animal.

Professor Sinistra, tall and red-haired followed after her, looking just as concerned as I felt.

"They know!" Sayre shouted, rounding back on her. "Someone knows…"

Gideon and I exchanged a look, and slipped deeper into the alcove out of sight.

"Ines-" Professor Sinitstra began, but Sayre cut her off. "No, You have no idea what this means. You don't understand. What will happen.."

Professor Sayre's eyes darted down the length of the corridor, searching for something that didn't seem to be there. She seemed to be approaching closer to where we stood.

Silently, Gideon and I slipped out of the alcove and crept deeper down the corridor, further out of sight, hiding behind a suit of armor.

Professor Sayre and Sinistra didn't linger long. The two of them headed the way Rabastan had, and after we couldn't hear their frantic voices anymore, Gideon and I turned to one another.

"What was that about?" I asked him, my wand already drawn and ready.

Gideon was staring after the teachers with a blank, confused expression. "No idea. Didn't sound good though, did it?"

I shook my head, staring after the two of them. I'd seen people look as scared as Professor Sayre did. My mom a few times when she'd run into witches and wizards that her family knew. That look in her eyes, was pure undiluted fear. A shiver ran up my spine.

"Lets head back to the Common Room," Gideon suggested, "I don't fancy running into whatever they did."

"Good idea."

And I followed Gideon back into the loud, cramped common room, unable to shake the prickling fear that had crept up my spine and lingered near my neck.

Whatever it was that Professor Sayre had been afraid of, was very dangerous.