Friday, September 30, 1977
"You're back from Quidditch practice already?" Sirius checked his watch and raised his eyebrows. "How are you going to build character and endurance and all that if your team doesn't practice until they can barely drag themselves back to the common room?"
"I didn't hear you critiquing my practice methods when we won the Quidditch Cup the past two years," James retorted, sitting down in his usual chair. "I ended practice a bit early today because I think the team earned it."
"He ended early so he had enough time to get ready for Slughorn's dinner party," Kath called from behind them. "Not that I'm complaining. He makes me practice just as hard as everyone else, even though I'm only a reserve."
"You're taking my spot next year, so really you should be training even harder than everyone else," James said, turning to face her. "Also, how do you know that?"
She shrugged. "Seven mentioned it. She always knows everything about everyone somehow."
"She does, doesn't she?" James turned to the rest of the group. "Have you seen Evans?"
"I think she's still getting ready," Mary said. She stood behind Sirius's chair, braiding his hair despite his half-hearted protests. "She asked me to curl her hair, which she never does because she hates sitting still that long, so you should feel special." She wrapped a hair elastic around the end of the braid and came around the front of the chair to face Sirius, her face lit with excitement. "You should let me curl your hair! It'd look brilliant."
"I'll let you if you get me drunk first," Sirius said with a shrug. "Actually, I bet curly hair would look great with my cowboy hat." He plucked the hat from the back of his chair and placed it on his head, then stood and modeled it for them. "What do you think? Does it go well with the braids?"
"It's going to be a long night, isn't it?" Remus asked. The usual blanket was tucked around him and he had a book propped open in his lap.
"A long night of being serenaded by the most talented ukulele player at Hogwarts, you mean?" He reached for the ukulele that rested against the side of his chair and began to strum. The tune was somewhat recognizable, but James could not quite place it.
"You learned another chord," Peter observed, giving him a thumbs up.
"So that's two whole chords you know now?" Remus asked, grinning.
"Three, actually," Sirius said, continuing to play as he stuck out his tongue at Remus. "How many do you know?"
"Zero, because I don't fancy annoying everyone in the common room."
"You're just jealous that I get to noodle around on the ukulele and make beautiful music while you just sit there and read boring books."
James frowned. "Why do I feel like I've heard the word noodle way more often than usual lately?"
Before anyone could respond, Lily descended the stairs from the girls' dormitory and crossed the room to stand next to James's chair. She wore a nervous smile and kept tugging at the hem of her skirt.
"Are you ready to go?" she asked. "I hate being the last person there. Last time that happened I had to sit next to Bertram Aubrey."
"Bertram Aubrey is in the Slug Club?" James demanded, appalled. "That's it, I'm not going."
She put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows. "Don't give me that rubbish. I sat there for forty-five minutes while Mary curled my hair and ranked her top five favorite sex positions. You're bloody going."
"It does look really nice. Your hair, I mean. Well, actually, it all looks nice," he said, standing and running a hand through his hair as he admired the effects of the extra time she had taken to get ready. Her hair fell in gentle waves down her back, and the sweater she had chosen happened to be his favorite, both because it brought out the color of her eyes and because of how the fabric hugged her slim frame. Tiny studs shaped like cauldrons sparkled in her ears, and the whimsy of it made him smile.
"You look nice too," she said, and he glanced down in surprise, hardly aware of what he was wearing and just glad to see he had actually remembered to put clothing on.
"Thanks," he said, grinning. "I wasn't sure if you Sluggies had official uniforms or something, but seeing as I'm just a guest of a Sluggy, I figured this would suffice."
"We don't have uniforms, you prat." Her eyes darted towards the portrait hole. "Shall we go, then?"
James nodded and waved to the group. As James and Lily headed for the portrait hole, Remus mouthed Good luck and Peter gave him a thumbs up.
"Have fun!" Mary called.
"If you were wondering, Prongs, number one is doggy style!" Sirius shouted, earning him a few confused looks from fellow Gryffindors before he returned to the ukulele with renewed vigor.
"So how do these things usually go?" James asked as they set off for the dungeons. "Is it two hours of the school's most pompous arseholes banging on about how successful their parents are?"
"Excuse me, are you lumping me into that category?" She glanced sideways to glare at him, and for a moment he forgot to concentrate on not tripping and had to grab onto the railing to stop himself from falling headlong down the stairs. A giggle escaped her lips, and she pressed her hand to her mouth to stifle it before flashing him an apologetic smile. "Sorry to laugh, that was just really smooth."
"It's all right. I probably would've laughed at you if you did the same," he said once he'd regained his composure. "And I was only joking, by the way. Well, I mean, I assume most of the Slug Club is made up of the pompous arseholes who brag about their parents' careers, but I know there are some people like you who are in there because they're really bloody talented, not because they're well-connected."
"'Really bloody talented' seems a bit generous," she said, but he did not miss the pride that lit up her face. "He just likes me, that's all."
"Don't give me that rubbish," he said, in a perfect imitation of her earlier tone. "You're top of our year, probably one of the best students he's ever had. You've got a real future in Potions, Evans, if that's what you want to do." He grinned. "Your dancing career, well, that's a different story."
"You love my dancing," she said, grinning back at him. "But thanks for what you said. You have so much faith in me. I'm not sure I deserve it."
"Sure you do," he said, running a hand through his hair and drinking in the pure joy that emanated from her in response to his praise. "If I say so, it's true, because I'm never wrong."
She laughed and gave his shoulder a playful shove. "Now who's the pompous arsehole?"
When they reached Slughorn's chambers they found a long table set for a formal dinner. Classical music played in the background, and a fire crackled in the fireplace. Slughorn greeted them enthusiastically and urged them to take two seats next to his own spot at the head of the table. James scanned the table and waved to Olivia, another seventh year Gryffindor, before identifying Bertram Aubrey, a Slytherin girl called Greengrass, and Stacey Tremblay, the Ravenclaw prefect who had once brought Sirius to the prefects' bathroom. While Slughorn was busy greeting the newest arrival, a Hufflepuff boy whose father was a former Quidditch player and now did a sports talk show on the Wizarding Wireless Network, James leaned close to Lily to whisper in her ear.
"Am I going mad, or does it seem like Slughorn is trying to get us together? Otherwise why would he tell you to bring someone?" He glanced around at the occupants of the table. "None of these people brought dates, right?"
"No, you're not going mad," Lily murmured. "I think that's exactly what he's doing. I expect he thinks we're a good match because, you know, we're Head Boy and Girl, and we both do well in classes, and, er…"
"We're pretty bloody great together?" he suggested, grinning.
"Something like that," she said, toying with her salad fork, and James noticed that she'd painted her nails with Mary's mood-changing nail polish. At the start of the night they had been a shade of green that matched her sweater, but now they had turned a bright pink. He racked his brain to remember what mood pink was supposed to stand for, but he couldn't quite remember.
"James, do you know Jeffrey Broadmoor?" Lily asked, nodding at the Hufflepuff boy who had just sat down across from them. "Jeffrey, this is James Potter."
The Hufflepuff boy gave James a thin smile.
"You must know of Kevin Broadmoor, former Beater on the Falmouth Falcons?" Slughorn said, clapping Jeffrey on the back. "I don't know whether you listen to his radio show? It's quite popular."
"Oh, I listen to it all the time," James said, nodding. "Evans can attest to that. Most of the time if she walks into the common room and hears Quidditch Banter with Broadmoor on the wireless, she turns right back around and walks out, because Sirius always ends up shouting at the radio." He flashed Jeffrey an apologetic smile. "He doesn't always agree with your dad's opinions, and sometimes I don't either, no offense, mate. I mean, what he was saying the other day about the new Seeker for the Tornados?" He shook his head. "I mean, I see where he's coming from, but I really think they need to make training up their Chasers first priority. But I do love it when he has a go at the Cannons. Always makes me laugh. Do you listen to his show much?" He ran a hand through his hair and smiled at Jeffrey again.
"A bit," Jeffrey said, not returning the smile, before turning to talk to the girl next to him.
"Merlin, he doesn't like you much, does he?" Lily whispered. "What did you do to him?"
"Why do you always assume I did something?" James retorted. "All right, I might've hexed him once or twice. And he overheard me talking about what a dirty player his dad was. It's true - he was suspended 14 bloody times, clubbed this poor Seeker in the face once and nearly killed her - but I didn't realize he was Kevin Broadmoor's son at the time, and by the time I figured it out the damage was done." He shrugged and took a sip of the drink in front of him, which he was pleased to discover was elf-made wine. "Anyway, if Slughorn had some grand plan to connect me with Broadmoor so I can get a leg up on a future Quidditch career, he'll be let down, but I'm not too chuffed about it."
"Did Slughorn invite you, Potter, or did Evans bring you as her date?" Stacey sipped her wine and left a smudge of red lipstick on the glass.
"She invited me," James replied, accepting a plate of rolls that Jeffrey passed him before handing it to Lily. "We're here as friends."
Stacey raised her eyebrows but didn't comment. Instead she leaned a bit closer and said, "So what's the story with Black and Macdonald? Are they dating? I've asked them both and they say no, but they always seem to be together, don't they?" Her tone was casual, but James detected a note of jealousy underneath the feigned nonchalance.
"He hasn't been joining you in the prefects' bathroom recently, then?" He took a sip of his wine and watched in amusement as a blush spread across her face.
"You're not meant to know about that," she muttered, "but anyway, that's not why I'm asking. I'm just curious, that's all."
"Well, as far as I know, they're not dating and never have been. But you're right, they are always together. So take that however you like." He shrugged and spread butter on his roll before taking a large bite.
"Are you all set with the rolls, Stacey? I think Aubrey's waiting," Lily said, gesturing at Bertram Aubrey who was eying the plate of rolls with an impatient scowl.
"Right. Sorry." Stacey handed him the rolls with more force than necessary, almost knocking his wine glass onto the floor.
"Mr. Potter, it's so nice that you decided to join us tonight," Slughorn said, applying liberal amounts of butter to his roll. "I'd about given up on ever getting you to accept my invitations."
"Sorry about that, professor," James said as he helped himself to mashed potatoes. "It was good thinking, getting Evans to invite me. There was no way I was going to say no."
"Of course you could've said no. I just might have hexed you, that's all." She grinned at him before taking a sip of wine. A trace of dark red lingered on her lips, and he had to tear his gaze away so nobody would notice him staring.
"Oh, I wouldn't take that threat lightly," Slughorn said, refilling his glass and beaming across the table at Lily. "I've seen the hexes this one can do. She's formidable, our Miss Evans."
"Formidable is the perfect word," James said, letting his gaze drift back to Lily. She rolled her eyes at their praise, but despite the show of exasperation, he could sense her irrepressible happiness that was contagious. Across the table Jeffrey Broadmoor still glowered down at his roast beef, and James marveled that anyone could be grumpy when Lily Evans was sitting here with her hair in loose curls and her lips wine-stained, emanating pure joy.
"Now, I'm sure you all know Mr. Potter from the Quidditch pitch, but did you know his father invented Sleekeazy's Hair Potion? I'm told it's quite useful, although I don't have much need for it these days." He gestured at his shiny bald head and chuckled. "How is your dad? I always liked Fleamont."
James grinned. "He's doing well. He's a bit like me, actually. Has no patience for this sort of thing. Actually, my parents were invited to some dinner party this summer - I won't say who invited them, as you're probably in regular contact with them - but anyway, my mum was all set to make him go, but he just looked at her and said, 'Euphemia, why would we waste an evening making small talk with people we barely even like when there's a perfectly good Quidditch match on the radio and I know damn well you'd rather sit at home and do your crossword? We're too old to be going to boring parties just to be polite.' So she made some excuse and they stayed home just like he said, and I've honestly never had more respect for him." He glanced over at Lily. "He let Evans borrow a Potions book this summer that she was quite excited about."
Lily set down her fork and rolled her eyes at him. "It's not just a Potions book, James, it's extremely rare. There are less than 100 copies of it in the world." She launched into a detailed account of interesting tidbits of information she had gleaned from the book while Slughorn listened with rapt attention. James let the conversation wash over him, enjoying the way Lily's eyes got wide and her voice took on an urgent quality when she discussed something she was passionate about.
"Now, Aubrey, how are your parents doing?" Slughorn asked, and James realized with a start that he had completely lost track of the conversation. "Your father must be busy with everything going on at the Ministry these days."
Aubrey puffed up with self-importance at being addressed, and James nudged Lily and rolled his eyes. "You ever seen a picture of Aubrey's dad in The Daily Prophet?" James whispered, leaning so close to Lily that one of her dark red curls brushed up against his chin. "You can tell where he gets his enormous head from."
"Don't be a prat," Lily murmured back, but she failed to suppress the soft laugh that burst from her lips. "He'll hear you."
"Good," James said, savoring the little burst of joy he felt every time he made her laugh. "Maybe it'll shut him up so we don't have to keep listening to this rubbish. Merlin, I'd rather listen to Peter describe what Bertha Jorkins looks like naked while Sirius plays ukulele in the background."
Lily pressed a hand against her mouth to stifle her laughter, but the sound attracted Aubrey's attention despite her best efforts. Once he finished droning on about his father's Ministry career, he glared at Lily and lowered his voice.
"Are you making fun of me, Evans?"
"No, she's only laughing at you," James said, flashing him a cheerful grin. "I was making fun of you. But only because I think it's dead boring listening to you brag about what a big shot your father is."
Anger flashed across Aubrey's face, and he narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his wine glass until James feared it would shatter.
"Would you rather listen to Evans talk about her parents' illustrious careers?" He raised his eyebrows. "Your father works in some sort of Muggle factory, right?" He frowned and pretended to be confused. "I didn't take Muggle Studies, so forgive my ignorance, but is that an important career in the Muggle world, would you say?"
Lily looked down at her hands and traced the pattern on the table cloth, her teeth clenched and her eyes widening in silent fury. James leaned forward to see Aubrey better and just avoided knocking over a water goblet.
"I don't like your fucking tone, Aubrey," he spat. "It was me having a go at you, not Evans, so leave her and her parents out of this."
"What are you going to do about it, Potter?" Aubrey replied, keeping his voice low.
"Um, probably hex you, you bloody idiot," James said, rolling his eyes.
"James!" Lily hissed, resting her hand on his shoulder and shooting him a warning glare. "Merlin, just let it go. Don't cause a scene."
Slughorn had been drawn into a conversation with the Slytherin boy on his left, but he broke off mid-sentence and stared when he noticed the vehement whispers and furious expressions a few seats away.
"Now really, boys!" His voice contained a note of alarm and cut through the argument, rendering both James and Aubrey silent. "Let's keep it civil, shall we? What could there possibly be to argue about? We're about to have pudding!"
James folded his hands in his lap and turned to face Slughorn, the anger of moments ago replaced by a reassuring smile. "Sorry, Professor. Just a slight disagreement. Like I said, I'm not good at these sorts of things." He helped himself to pudding before offering the tray to Aubrey. "Treacle tart?"
When James and Lily extricated themselves from Slughorn after he kept them talking ten minutes after the rest of the guests had left, they walked in silence for a moment before James put his hand on Lily's shoulder.
"Hold up for a minute," he said, then studied her face, frowning.
She shot him a quizzical look. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to figure out if you're angry with me. You're not shouting at me or calling me an arrogant prat, so I want to say you're not angry, but it's you, so I don't quite trust my instincts." He ran a hand through his hair and continued to survey her expression, searching for a clue that would reveal the thoughts that were such a mystery to him.
"Quit staring at me like an idiot," she said, sighing. "I'm not angry with you."
His face brightened. "You're not?"
She shook her head. "No. I probably should be, but I'm not." Her lips twitched up into a wry smile, and James noticed the barest hint of red from the wine still lingered. "I actually kind of want to give you a hug, to be honest."
James had to repress the urge to throw his arms around her and breathe in the scent of her hair, which had started to lose its curl but somehow looked even better this way. Instead, he paused a moment to get himself under control, then grinned and said, "I mean, I'm not opposed to a hug, if you're giving them out."
The moment seemed to stretch out between them, and when she didn't move James was afraid she'd changed her mind, but then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, her head nestling against his neck and shoulder. James was surprised to feel Lily's thin frame under the soft fabric of her sweater, and he realized he must have returned the embrace without being conscious of doing so. He didn't move, didn't breathe, wanting to preserve the moment forever, but soon Lily was releasing him and pulling away, her cheeks flushed and her eyes darting to his before looking away again.
"Thanks for sticking up for me," she said, setting off down the corridor again, and James hurried after her, still reeling from the intoxicating closeness of the hug. "I shouldn't care what Aubrey says, but it did get to me a bit, because my parents work bloody hard."
"Of course they do," James said, resting a hand on her shoulder for a moment. It was a gesture of comfort, but he also craved physical contact after the hug had given him a brief but tantalizing taste. "If they're anything like you, that is."
She smiled. "They are, actually. Except neither of them shout at people as much as I do."
"Hey, you've been better about that. I haven't seen you shout at anyone in ages." He ran a hand through his hair and grinned. "You haven't shouted at me in ages, come to think of it."
"Yeah, well, you haven't been as idiotic lately." The torchlight reflected off her hair and caught James's eye, and he had to remind himself to pay attention to where he was walking so he wouldn't get stuck in a trick step or walk into a suit of armor or trip over his own feet. "Bloody hell, I wish I'd eaten my treacle tart."
He frowned. "Why didn't you?"
"I was too annoyed," she said, smiling ruefully. "I did the same thing that night I shouted at my sister's boyfriend about gender roles. I told you about that, right? Left my entire bowl of trifle uneaten at the table. My mum was nice enough to bring it to me later."
"Well, seeing as your mum's not here, we'll have to get you some treacle tart ourselves," he said, steering them in the direction of the kitchens. "We can be nice and bring Sirius a snack. I'm sure he's drunk and hungry, or high and hungry, or drunk and high and hungry. Either way, he's probably hungry."
When they reached the common room laden with an entire treacle tart, a plate of biscuits, and several sandwiches, they headed for the usual group of chairs in front of the fire but stopped short when they found the spot occupied by several first years.
"They said we could sit here!" a blonde boy said, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"But if you want the spot back, we don't mind moving," another boy added. James recognized him as the former owner of the ukulele who had been teaching Sirius how to play in exchange for an unlimited supply of Honeydukes sweets and Butterbeer.
"Ooh, can I have one of those?" Kath asked, pointing at the biscuits. She was sprawled in James's usual chair with her legs hanging off the arm and a Quidditch magazine propped against her knees.
"Help yourself," James said as he held the platter out to her. "Where did they go?"
"No idea," Kath said through a mouthful of biscuit, while the other two first years shrugged.
"They're just up in the dormitory," Seven said, appearing from behind the cluster of armchairs.
"Oh, cheers, Seven," James said. "You want a biscuit?"
She smiled and took one from the plate. "Thanks. I'll see you at the team run tomorrow."
"Bloody hell, I'd almost forgotten. I'll see you there. I assume you've been training over the summer?"
"Course I have," she said, a note of pride evident in her voice.
"You never let me down, Seven. See you tomorrow," James said, waving before setting off for the staircase. When he realized Lily was not following him he looked back over his shoulder and frowned. "Aren't you coming?"
She grinned and hurried over to him. "I just wasn't sure if I should," she said, blushing and glancing down at her feet.
"Why not? You've been up there before. Besides, I'm not going to let you eat that entire treacle tart yourself."
A musky haze of marijuana surrounded them as soon as they stepped into the dormitory, and the sound of Sirius's ukulele met their ears as they crossed the room and set down the plates of food before plopping down on James's bed.
"Looks like you lot had a fun night," James observed, chuckling as he gazed around the room at his very high friends. "I don't suppose you left any for us?"
Sirius stopped playing the ukulele and hopped down from his trunk to sprawl out on his bed. James noticed his hair was curled underneath his cowboy hat, and along with his leather jacket and Chudley Cannons pants, it was quite a look.
"We meant to, but then we didn't," he said, patting the mattress beside him. "Come here, Macdonald." He gestured at the plate of biscuits. "You brought snacks? What a good friend you are, Prongs. Toss me one, will you?"
James knew tossing it would have disastrous results, so instead he carried the plate of cookies over to Sirius and set it down on his bed. The second it left his hands, Sirius and Mary attacked it as if they hadn't eaten in days. James left them to it and wandered over to greet Remus and Peter.
"But what if you put two boggarts in front of each other with nobody else around?" Remus was saying, a dreamy expression on his face as he gestured with the half-eaten chocolate bar clutched in his hand. "Would they turn into each others' biggest fear, or would they, I dunno, just have a chat about Quidditch, or the weather, or whatever boggarts talk about?"
Peter frowned down at the chessboard between them, his brows furrowed in concentration, and did not reply.
"Are you listening to me, Wormtail?" Remus asked, tapping him on the head with the chocolate bar.
"No, I'm trying to concentrate on the game," Peter said, batting away the chocolate bar.
"We're too off our arses for chess," Remus said. "You haven't made a move in twenty minutes." He frowned. "Or an hour? Or maybe five minutes. Either way, you've been staring at the board for a bit."
"I'm trying to think, but it's hard when you're banging on about Merlin knows what," Peter said, looking up from the chess board in irritation. "Oh, hi Prongs." His gaze drifted to Lily and his eyes widened. "Hi, Evans."
"Prongs!" Remus stood and grabbed James's arm, then pulled him towards James's bed where the two of them sat down on either side of Lily. "Lily! How was Slughorn's dinner?" Before either of them could reply, he beckoned for them to come closer. "Can you tell I'm stoned right now?" he whispered. "Because I can."
Lily burst into laughter and shook her head. "We had no idea." She reached for the treacle tart and held it out to him. "Treacle tart? Oh damn, I forgot to get forks."
"Here," James said, pulling one from his pocket. "I got your back, Evans."
"Lily!" Mary said, brushing crumbs from Sirius's duvet. "Do you like Black's hair? I knew it would look good with the cowboy hat."
"It's brilliant," Lily said after swallowing her mouthful of treacle tart. "You should wear that outfit every day, Sirius."
"I know, right?" Sirius looked down at his clothes and nodded with satisfaction. "Can you imagine if I walked into Transfiguration like this?"
"You'd have to bring the ukulele, though," James said. "The ensemble's not complete without it."
"Ooh, do you think Minnie would like the ukulele?" Sirius asked.
"Unlikely." Lily took another forkful of treacle tart, then paused with it halfway to her mouth as an idea struck her. "Can you learn to play 'Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard,' Sirius? It's a perfect ukulele song. Also, it's my second favorite song."
"I can't bloody stand that song," Sirius said, scowling. "Sorry, Evans, but I'll only be learning good songs." The treacle tart caught his eye, and he nodded at it. "Will you give me a bite of that?"
"Not after what you just said, you arsehole," she said, yanking the tart out of his reach. "You can go hungry for all I care."
"He just ate most of that plate of biscuits," James said, pointing at the tray which now held only crumbs. "He'll hardly go hungry. On the other hand, I might waste away from hunger."
Sorry he laughed. "We just ate a five course meal! But you can have some if you like." James rummaged in his pocket for another fork, but before he located it she had speared a piece with her fork and held it up to his mouth. Without thinking he opened his mouth and ate the bite of treacle tart while she still held the fork, then immediately became self-conscious when Sirius smirked and raised his eyebrows.
"Sod you," James muttered, swallowing the treacle tart and glancing at Lily to see if she was disgusted at the thought of his mouth on her fork. She had helped herself to another bite, which he took to be a good sign.
"I didn't say anything, mate," Sirius said, reaching into his pocket for his cigarettes and lighting one before handing the pack to Mary and rolling onto his back.
"That was a bit…" Mary began, then took a drag on her cigarette as she struggled to locate the correct word from the depths of her muddled brain.
"Seductive?" Remus supplied, then turned to address Peter. "Wormtail, what are you up to? I feel like I haven't talked to you in hours. Are you still planning your next chess move?"
When Peter did not reply, Remus went over to investigate and found him curled up next to the chess board, fast asleep with a peaceful expression on his face despite the hard surface underneath him and the strange angle of his body. Remus grabbed his hands and tried to hoist him to his feet, but Peter did not budge, and only stirred and muttered in his sleep.
"Prongs, can you help me?" Remus asked, putting up his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "If I try to lift him I'm going to drop him, and if I try to levitate him I'm pretty sure I'll drop him, too."
James pointed his wand at Peter, and a moment later his sleeping form was lifted into the air and deposited safely onto his bed. Peter's eyes fluttered open, and he looked around at them in confusion before he rolled over and fell back to sleep.
"I suppose I'd better go to bed," Lily said, stifling a yawn as she stood up and brushed crumbs off her clothes. "Sirius, do you want the rest of the treacle tart? I suppose I can forgive you for your poor taste in music, and also I'm really full."
"You can leave it in here in case I need a snack later," Sirius said, grinning.
Lily turned to Mary. "Are you coming, or are you going to stay here?"
Mary and Sirius glanced at each other, and James thought he detected an unspoken current of longing pass between them, but this could have been him projecting his own feelings onto his friends.
"I'll come," Mary said, casting one last look at Sirius before standing up to join Lily. "I want to hear details about your evening." She took a last drag on her cigarette before dropping it into the overflowing Butterbeer bottle and waving to everyone. "Good night. Don't let the curly-haired cowboy play ukulele all night." Her eyes lingered on Remus. "You look like you could use some sleep."
He had stretched out on James's bed and was studying the ceiling with a dreamy expression on his face while he ate the chocolate bar he was delighted to discover in his hand. "Don't I always, though?"
She nodded. "That's fair. And I suppose being high doesn't help, either. Anyway, I'll see you lot tomorrow."
Lily smiled at James as she stood to leave, and he longed to wrap her in a hug, or beg her to stay a bit longer, or ask her to go for a walk - anything to extend his time with her, to hear her laugh a few more times and see the shy smile that brightened her face every time their hands brushed or their knees touched. Instead he smiled back at her and ran a hand through his hair.
"Night, Evans. Thanks for inviting me tonight, even though I'm sure Slughorn won't welcome me back again."
"Nah, you weren't that bad. Besides, I think he's so set on us getting together that he'd look the other way even if you'd hexed Aubrey right there at the table." Her eyes remained on his for a moment longer before she turned and headed for the door with Mary behind her, already leaning in close to pepper Lily with questions about her evening with James.
"So how was it?" Sirius asked once the girls had left. "I assume there was no snogging, since you're still able to form coherent sentences, but you did come in with that sort of happy, idiotic look, so it can't have been a complete loss of an evening."
"It was brilliant," James said, stretching out on the bed next to Remus and folding his arms behind his head. "Absolutely bloody brilliant. I told off Bertram Aubrey for being a tosser to Evans, and I thought she was going to be upset about it, because it's Evans, and that's the sort of thing she does, you know? But instead she hugged me."
Sirius chuckled, and James realized the happy, idiotic expression must have returned to his face, but he found he didn't care.
"Was it a good hug?"
"Don't patronize me, Padfoot," James said. "And yes. It was an excellent hug." The memory came rushing back to him, so vivid that he could almost feel his arms around her thin frame and smell the floral scent of her shampoo.
"But it was just a hug?" Sirius said. "No suggestive comments, no arse grabbing or groping or anything?"
James sighed. "Sadly, no."
"Well, that's a shame, but don't worry, Prongs, I'm sure that'll be sooner than you think. Do you know what tomorrow is?" James could hear the excitement in his voice, although he could not see him from his position on the bed.
"Saturday?" he replied. "Team run day?"
Sirius made a disgusted sound. "Ugh, fuck that. Why do you torture your teammates that
way? No, I mean, it's the first day of October." The emphasis he placed on the last word gave James a little rush of anticipation, even though the day had no real significance other than Sirius's continued assurances that "you two will be together by October."
"You know that doesn't mean anything, right? It's just an arbitrary endpoint you came up with." James tried to hide the hope that filled him when he considered what the new month might bring, but he was sure he wasn't fooling Sirius.
"Nah, it's going to happen this month. Probably sooner rather than later. I saw her feeding you that bloody treacle tart." He hesitated, and James heard the bed creak as he pushed himself into a seated position. "Are you still waiting for her to make a move? Because at this point, I say fuck that. Just go for it, mate, because I think she's too scared to do it herself, and she's probably dying for you to make a move."
James rolled over to face Sirius, mindful of his feet so he wouldn't kick Remus. "Do you really think so?"
Sirius nodded, a knowing smile on his face. "Oh yeah. You can just tell any time the two of you are together. Bit infuriating to watch, really. But it'll be worth it once you're actually together." He slipped off his leather jacket and removed his cowboy hat, then set them both on top of his trunk before sprawling out on the bed. "It'll be great. I'm so bloody excited for you, mate. I honestly think I might be happier than you when it finally happens."
James chuckled and stood to remove his clothes. "Doubt it." As he climbed back into bed, careful not to disturb Remus, who still lay stretched across the foot of the bed, he allowed himself to imagine what it would be like when Lily actually said yes after so many emphatic, angry no's. Then after a few blissful moments he pushed the daydream away, because if he didn't limit himself the thoughts would consume him and he would not be able to sleep.
"I'm still on your bed, aren't I?" Remus said, turning his head to face James. His eyes were half shut, and he looked so comfortable that James felt it would be unkind to ask him to move.
"You're okay, Moony," he said, stifling a yawn. "Here." He reached for the red and gold crocheted blanket that was folded at the end of the bed and tugged it out from underneath Remus before tossing it on top of him. It only covered the top half of his body, but Remus did not seem inclined to complain.
"Thanks, Prongs. I'll try to move eventually, but right now that seems like an impossible task." He pulled the blanket up to his chin and heaved a contented sigh. "I swear your bed is more comfortable than mine." He lifted his legs up and frowned at them as though just realizing they hung off the end of the bed. "But why is it so much shorter than my bed? Do they give smaller beds to shorter people?"
James and Sirius burst into laughter. "You're right, Moony. Nothing gets by you," Sirius said. "That bed's noticeably shorter than ours. I can't believe you never noticed!"
"Sod both of you," James said. "I'm not short. I'm just not freakishly tall like you."
Remus lifted his head to look between them, puzzled. "But if you're not short, then explain why my legs are hanging off this bed?"
"Because you're laying on the bed the wrong way, you prat," James said, laughing and shaking his head in exasperation.
"Well, that would explain it," Remus said. "But I'm measuring our beds tomorrow to compare them and be sure."
"Go for it," James said, rolling over and tucking his legs into his chest. "Padfoot, are you staying up for a while, or should we shut off the light?"
"I'll shut it off, but I'll probably read for a bit if the light from my wand won't bother you," Sirius said, standing to retrieve his wand and a book before shutting off the light and returning to his bed. "I might get a start on the Transfiguration reading."
"I can't think of anything that sounds less appealing, but enjoy, mate." James laughed and let his eyes drift shut.
"How come I'm not allowed to read my Transfiguration book completely sober at the pool, but you're allowed to do it stoned off your arse on a Friday night?" Remus demanded.
"Because the best time to read Transfiguration is when you're stoned off your arse," Sirius replied, opening his book and flipping to the correct page. "For me, at least. It's when I'm most in the mood for the sort of deep thinking Transfiguration requires."
"If you say so," Remus said. "Good night, weirdo. Night, Prongs."
"Good night," Sirius said, lighting his wand and propping his head in his hand to read.
"Night," James said, and although he had to be up early for the team run, he did not fall asleep right away. Instead, he let his mind spin out all the possibilities the days ahead might hold, until he finally fell asleep with a smile on his lips.