Sweet Misery

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Lauren dug through her closet looking for some type of muggle clothing. She knew she had bought a new outfit especially for the party, then hid it to keep Loni from "borrowing" it, but now she couldn't remember where she had hidden it. She had thrown nearly every robe she owned across the room when she found a bag hung on a hanger beneath a robe she never wore due to its horrible brown color.

'Victory!' she shouted holding the bag up in triumph. The only thing she was missing now were the boots she bought for the outfit, but she knew exactly where she had put those if they hadn't decided to walk away on her. Out of the bag she pulled a black and white striped boat necked t-shirt, a black mini skirt, a white belt, and a pair of fish net stockings. Lauren looked over at a clock hanging on her wall and saw the hand slowly approaching "You're going to be late!" Quickly changing, she grabbed her purse and black cabbie before snatching her white mid-calf boots and running downstairs.

'I'm leaving!' Lauren said as she ran out the front door leaving it wide open to the annoyance of her family. As she ran down towards the street, she held out her wand hand signaling the knight bus. It appeared in front of her with a loud bang just barely missing a lamppost that jumped out of the way at the last second. She fished eleven sickles out of her purse and handed them to the conductor. She instructed where she wanted to go and asked him to hurry. Lauren took a seat close to the front of the bus and put on her boots careful not to do anything that might scuff them. She placed on her cabbie and adjusted it to the right angle. After two stops, the bus had finally reached Manchester. It had stopped at the end of Lily's street to avoid any attention from arriving muggles to the party. Lauren climbed off the bus and ran down the street towards the Evans' home. She slowed to a walk a few houses down from Lily's home. She looked around and saw a good few people she didn't know walking up to Lily's home. She smiled knowing that she was going to have so much fun with what she and Sirius had planned. 'Speaking of Sirius,' Lauren thought to herself, 'where is he?' Lauren figured that he must have arrived already and sped up a little. A loud roar filled the street and Lauren turned to see what it was. A motorcycle was tearing around the corner. She turned and started walking back wards to watch the cyclist. She smiled when she saw him pull into Lily's driveway. Lauren reached the house just as the cyclist was dismounting the bike. His back was turned as he started to pull off the helmet.

'Nice bike, maybe you could take me for a ride some time,' Lauren said, placing a hand on her hip. The rider turned around, slightly startling her. 'Sirius! You own a bike?'

'I got it at the beginning of summer,' replied Sirius, holding the helmet underneath his arm. 'You know, just to piss my parents off. They hate all things muggle apparently.'

'Well it looks great. You gonna get a leather jacket?' inquired Lauren.

'I have one. Can't own a motorcycle without one. I would've worn it, but I might've died on the way over here from the heat.'

'Good thing you didn't then, we don't need that.'

'Ready to head inside?'

'Sure.' Sirius quickly ran his hand through his hair to fix it from whatever the helmet could've done as he and Lauren walked up to Lily's door. 'Should we knock?' Lauren asked, her hand resting on the knob.

'Nah, who needs knocking anyway?' replied Sirius, placing his hand on Lauren's and turning it. He pushed the door open before Lauren had a chance to pull her hand off the knob, sending her stumbling in. Lauren laughed as Sirius stepped inside in an overly graceful manner (think ballet), though her laugh could barely be heard over the music in the other room. Lauren swung the door shut and followed Sirius to the living room where they found Lily who was introducing James to some friends of hers.

'Nikki, Anna, this is James, a friend of mine from my school,' said Lily. 'He's the star forward of our football team.'

'You're a football player?' Nikki asked in slight awe.

'I love football,' said Anne.

'How many games have you won?' Nikki inquired, taking his hand.

'How good are you?' questioned Anne, taking his other hand.

James smiled widely and said, 'Oh I'm not that good, last year we only won twelve out of our thirteen games.' Nikki and Anne were completely taken by James and continued to flatter him as he led them over to the couch to talk about his incredible football record.

'Not a very good idea,' said Sirius to Lily.

'Oh hey!' said Lily turning around to Lauren and Sirius. 'Well I had to do something to stop Nikki and Anne from assailing me with "Who's he?" "Is he taken?" and other questions like that.'

'There's always telling them he's gay,' replied Lauren.

'Why do I always forget that one?' asked Lily.

'Because you're too nice to use that excuse, that's why,' said Remus, who seeming appeared out of nowhere, startling them all.

'Are you perfecting that talent or something?' Sirius said, setting his helmet down on a table.

'Why yes, yes I am,' replied Remus. 'I've nearly got it down. Who needs apparating when you've mastered the art of stealth?' Remus noticed the helmet on the table. 'I see you've gotten that motorcycle.'

'You got a motorcycle?' Lily said, surprised.

'The part that surprises me is the fact they gave him a license,' said Remus.

'I'm a great driver I'll have you know,' replied Sirius.

'Yes,' agreed Lauren. 'He makes very nice right turns. It was quite a sight.'

'Oh, you scared me,' replied Lily. 'I thought you were saying you rode here with him.'

'Oh no, I'm crazy, but not that crazy,' answered Lauren. 'Riding with Sirius could be suicide.'

'Hey, I thought you were on my side with all of this!' said Sirius indignantly.

'Oh look, people!' Lauren said quickly before moving off to mingle with people on the other side of the room and avoid further conversation about Sirius's driving skills. Sirius turned to Lily and Remus once Lauren had left.

'Why is it so hard to believe that I got a license?' he asked.

'Well, for one thing, it's you,' replied Remus. 'You have a tendency run into people at full speed when you're flying and that's not too much different from driving.'

'I run into them just to knock them off their brooms ensuring victory,' huffed Sirius, crossing his arms over his chest and looking off to his side.

'Knocking your own teammates off their brooms ensures victory?' inquired Lily.

Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but shut it again as James came walking by with his arms around Nikki and Anne. Both girls clinging on to James as they walked.

'That is sooooo cool,' Nikki said. 'James you are like the coolest guy ever.'

'And so cute too,' added Anne.

'Oh please,' James said trying to feign modesty, but failing miserably, enjoying the attention he was getting. 'I'm not that cool.'

'Tell us more about you,' Nikki pleaded.

As James began to ramble on about some life he was making up as he went along and lead the two girls past Sirius, Remus, and Lily, Lily looked disgusted at the way her friends were acting.

'I'm sorry I introduced them to him,' she said shaking her head as Nikki and Anne burst into a fit of giggles at something James said.

'Dude, I want some of your friends hanging on my every word too!' Sirius said. 'If James gets two girls, I want two girls too! It's not fair otherwise!'

'Sirius, I don't pawn my friends off,' replied Lily. 'I know it's hard for you to believe, but they are actually people and not objects. The only reason I introduced them to James is because those two were bugging me about him since they saw him arrive. And five minutes of "Ooh, who's that?" "He's so cute!" "You know him?! Introduce us Lily!" and stuff like that gets kinda annoying after a while.'

'No one's asked about me?' Sirius said looking a little hurt.

'Well, since I've been talking to you since you've arrived, I'd have to say I wouldn't know,' replied Lily. 'I'll go talk to some of them, Sirius. Check back with me in like five minutes.' Sirius's face lit up with delight as Lily wandered off towards a few of her friends.

'You are a petty man Sirius,' commented Remus, shaking his head in disappointment at his friend's actions.

'Do you have any cute friends?' asked Sirius.

'Only if you find guys cute,' Remus replied.

'You are of no use to me,' said Sirius, moving through the living room, past a few dancing people. Sirius caught up with Lily about ten minutes later. Lily shrugged when he cast an inquiring look towards her. Well that just wasn't fair in Sirius's opinion. He couldn't just let this injustice slide. James has his back turned towards him as Sirius plotted revenge. The idea struck him like a ton of bricks. He walked just fast enough to not create suspicion from people around him towards James. He could just overhear the conversation between them.

'James, you are just too much!' said Anne giggling.

'You are too cute!' Nikki said, placing a hand on his chest.

'Easy ladies, there's enough James to go around,' replied James with a million galleon smile on his face. James suddenly lurched forward as Sirius jumped on to his back with his arms around his neck.

'Oh James!' shouted Sirius. He was holding on to James so tight that the Jaws of Life wouldn't be able to pry him off. 'You're so cute! Back off girls! Jamie-Boy's mine!' Nikki and Anne stared wide-eyed at Sirius and James as they slowly backed away. James was fuming as he stood there slouched from the weight of Sirius on his back, slowly turning red from a mix of anger and embarrassment. He looked out of the corner of his eyes towards Sirius who was grinning like a maniac. 'You know, you're cute when you're angry,' teased Sirius.

'You are so dead once you get off me,' James growled.

'Are you saying you don't want me to get off, Luv?' Sirius said in a mocking tone. James reached up trying to hit Sirius, but he jumped off just in the nick of time. James went after him again when Remus came up behind James grabbing him by the neck of his shirt.

'Remus let me go!' James said still struggling to get at Sirius who was standing just out of his reach taunting him.

'James, please leave your lover's quarrel for later,' said Remus, who found James turning on him. Sirius tackled James to the ground.

'Leave it for the bedroom boys!' Lauren shouted from across the room where she was dancing with some muggle guy.

'Truce?' Sirius asked still pinning James to the ground.

'Truce? How can we have a truce?' said James.

'Well, you had two beautiful girls all over you, I had none, I fixed that by you not having any,' explained Sirius.

James sighed. 'Fine, truce,' he replied. 'Though I don't see where I'm benefiting in this truce. Everyone thinks I'm gay.'

'Everyone thinks I'm gay too,' said Sirius.

'That's a plus.' Sirius got up letting James off the ground. The other guys at the party refused to go anywhere near James or Sirius, always moving away if they got too close. This quickly turned into a game for James and Sirius seeing who could get closer to the other guys at the party before they moved away in fear.

The party continued on for hours, everyone having a blast, or as much fun as Sirius and James could possibly have after their little scene earlier. Lauren spent a good amount of her time one the dance floor, a new dance partner for every song. Lily danced occasionally, since dancing wasn't really her thing and spent the rest of the time catching up with her old friends and making some new ones. Remus was often found hanging out by a wall watching the people around him, often talking with Sirius, James, or one of his other friends. He was occasionally pulled away from his spot on the wall by Lauren and on to the dance floor forcing him to "at least have a little fun" in her words.

The party was drawing to a close quickly. Lauren had finally taken a break from her dancing to grab a drink and spend some time with Lily, Remus, Sirius, and James. She grabbed her black cabbie, which she had abandoned on the refreshment table sometime earlier, and placing it back on.

'I have to say, I'm having a great time Lils,' said Lauren.

'Everything was going nicely till Siri ruined it for me,' commented James, casting a quick glare at Sirius.

'Oh Jamie, I'm hurt!' Sirius said, clutching his heart. 'I thought you really cared about me! Oh listen their playing our song! Let's dance Jamie! For old times sake!'

James just blinked. 'Now you're scaring me,' he replied.

'That's what he's here for isn't he?' asked Lily.

'Too right this one is,' agreed Sirius. 'Come James! Dance with me!' Before James could react, Sirius had taken James's hand and pulled him out to the dance floor where he forced James to dance with him. James finally stopped fighting thinking, 'To hell with it.' He knew there was a rare chance that he would ever see any of these people again. He lightened up and joined Sirius in doing the most ridiculous dance moves ever seen.

'Oh, I didn't realize "September" was playing!' said Lily, letting the lyrics sink in. 'Remus, dance with me!' Lily took Remus's hands and pulled him towards the dancing crowd as he said, 'Sure, but if you start dancing like Sirius and James, I don't know you.'

Lauren stood off watching as Sirius and James began some odd waltz sped up to meet the beat of the song, hold her Pepsi and running her finger along the brim of the cup. She set the half-empty cup down on the table and walked over to James, who was starting to tango with Sirius, and tapped him on the shoulder.

'Mind if I cut in?' she asked. James stepped aside allowing her to take his place and she and Sirius continued the moronic dance moves. James went over to where Remus and Lily were dancing and stole Lily away Remus. No sooner had Sirius and Lauren started dancing, the song ended and a slow song began as the final song. Lauren and Sirius groaned when they found that the tempo had dropped turned too slow for their liking.

'It figures,' said Lauren. 'The moment you and I finally get to scaring some of the muggles, something happens to ruin the plans.'

'I know,' agreed Sirius. 'Well, care to dance anyway?' He held out his arms waiting for her answer. She shrugged.

'Sure,' she replied. Taking the normal dancing position, Lauren placing her arms around Sirius's neck and he placing his hands on her waist, they placed slightly more than normal space between them. They danced silently as the song progressed, often looking around at the others, barely letting their eyes linger on each other.

'So, um, how's the animagus thing going?' Lauren said, trying to ease some of the odd tension between them.

'Okay, I guess,' said Sirius. 'We're still working on it. We're getting close though.'

'Oh really? I think I might take you up on that offer to become an animagus,' Lauren said. She looked back towards Lily who was dancing with James; the two of them laughing at James dipped Lily to the point where she was barely an inch off the ground.

'Nice song,' Sirius said.

'Hmm?' replied Lauren. 'Oh yeah, if you're into this type of music.' The two of them fell back into their awkward silence for the remainder of the song. Once the song had concluded, the guests slowly began to disperse, each saying goodbye and wishing Lily and Remus 'happy birthday.' Sirius, Lauren, and James were the final guests to leave. James left via port key, which he had his parents set up. Lauren and Sirius left after James had. Lauren was about to call for the night bus when Sirius called over to her.

'How bout I give you a lift?' he suggested.

'Oh, no, I couldn't possibly let you do that!' said Lauren. 'Driving to Firan Valley would be sending you too far out of your way.'

'Nah, it's fine,' replied Sirius. 'I've had enough caffeine to keep me awake till the end of the week and I've never been to Firan Valley. It'll be an adventure.'

'You do realize that it's close to Scotland, don't you?'

'And? Do you have a curfew or something that you're worried about missing?'

'Well, I do have a curfew, but it's been a while since I broke it… Eh, what the hell, if you're willing to drive me there.'

'Great, hop on.' Sirius handed her an extra helmet as she sat sidesaddle on the back of the bike.

'Ooh, an extra helmet, were you expecting to take someone out tonight?' Lauren said, taking off her cabbie and putting the helmet on, fastening it tight.

'Not really,' replied Sirius. 'I didn't expect anyone to trust my driving skills that much, but I never take it off the bike anyway.' He placed on his helmet and mounted the bike. 'Hold on,' he told Lauren. She placed her arms rather loosely around his waist as he started up the bike. He backed out the drive way kind of slowly.

'Show me what this thing can do!' said Lauren. Sirius gave the engine a quick rev and sped off down the street. Lauren gave a quick yelp at the sudden burst of speed and clutched tightly to Sirius as the scenery whipped by.

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A/n: Yay! It's done! Isn't it spiffilicious? Before I go on with my normal end of chapter rant, I need to say a few things. First of all, I'd like to give credit to Iancomix for the whole Sirius jumping on James thing. Next, a big big BIG thank you to Inspection 12 for writing such great songs that helped me get over my little block on how to write this chapter. Pssht… Like Inspection 12 would be reading my fanfic. And third of all, thanks to Padfoot for giving me a list of seventies songs which I didn't need as much as I though I would, but Padfoot, you're my hero anyway! Now on to my normal rants.

THERE WILL BE JAMES AND LILY ROMANCE! But not yet. Please don't go demanding that I put some in right now. It will come in good time, my children. Be patient. Now my little communists, I do not like reviewers who think I will change my entire plan that I have had carefully planned out from the beginning of this story just for them because they can't wait for something to happen. And now, I have to come up with an overall summary for SM because some reviewers don't understand that I change the summary for the most recent chapter posted. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Anywho my little minions, I just had to let that out for a reviewer who has mildly annoyed me.

BTW: Does anyone know the driving time from going from Manchester to just outside of Scotland when going about 50-70 mph? My guess is 5-6 hours, but that's just a guess from comparing that distance to that of one I've traveled many times. If you know, please tell me.

Well, bai bai for now!

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