A/N: Hi! This took a while. I had a silly party thingy on Friday, it's called a graduation, but that's a stupid word to use 'cos we go back to school on Wednesday to the hardest six months in our academic career. I was dreading it, but it turned out it wasn't that bad. Anyway, read!!
DISCLAIMER: The Marauders, Frank, Rosmerta, the man in the corner, the Nimbus, the Beatles, Abba and the Quidditch teams. What do all these have in common?? I don't own them.
Chapter 8: The celebrations begin!
"You and Lena are very close," James remarked as the boys headed back to their dormitory. "And please don't try to deny it. If that's the way you treat people who are 'just close friends,' I'm a little worried."
"It's not normal behaviour, is it?" Sirius asked.
"Normal for who?" Remus asked. "For friends? No. For 'friends who flirt'? Not really. That was a bit more than flirting. It was normal for boyfriend and girlfriend, though. You just have to figure out which you are."
"I thought it was 'friends who flirt,' but it seems more like boyfriend-girlfriend sometimes. But we aren't technically going out," Sirius said. "Maybe it means we should be going out."
"Yeah, then you wouldn't feel as guilty about ogling her in her nightie," James teased. "We saw you!"
"But does she like me?" Sirius asked, choosing to ignore James' comment.
"Hmm … let's see," Remus said sarcastically. "She hangs on your every word, laughs at all your stupid jokes, makes any excuse to talk to you, has her own little nickname for you 'cos you're – I quote – 'special,' flirts with you, ruffles your hair, hugs you, kisses you … nah, Sirius, her feelings are purely platonic. Duh, Sirius."
"Ok," Sirius admitted. "I'll go for it."
*****
"Are you sure?" Lily asked back in the girl's dorms.
"Lilz, c'mon," Lena said. "He calls me 'Lee' – sweet though annoying –, he threatened to send his mother a Howler, he defended me in front of Ritchie, he flirts with me, he serenades me on my birthday, he buys me Puddlemere things even though it's practically against his religion—"
"What?" Lily interrupted.
"He supports the Tornadoes, we beat them in the semi-final last season," Lena explained. "Anyway, the point is he walked into Gladrags and bought me them. He likes me."
"Plus, he couldn't keep his eyes off you in that nightdress," Ally added. "Lilz, she's right. She has him, if she plays her cards right tonight."
"And we'll make sure you do," Kim said.
*****
News of the boy's 'present' to Lena spread rapidly (with a lot of help from Adele and Sophie, who could gossip for Britain). The boys didn't mind, as usual, all attention was welcome.
"Potter, I always knew you had a little secret," Malfoy drawled when the boys were on their way to breakfast.
"'Course you do. We borrowed the skirts from you," Sirius said. Malfoy's eyes narrowed, and he stalked off.
"Boo!" Lena said form behind them. "Nice comeback." they turned around. She had braided her hair and tied Lily's Puddlemere bow at the end of one braid. Dumbledore walked across the entrance hall to them.
"Good morning students," he said.
"Good morning, sir," they replied.
"I believe it is your birthday, Ms White?" Dumbledore asked. Lena nodded. "Happy Birthday. Did you get nice gifts?" he asked.
"Thanks, sir. Yes, lots," she replied.
"I heard what the boys did," he said, his eyes twinkling. "What a nice surprise. And the earrings?"
"From Ally," she told him.
"Ah. And the bow?" he asked.
"Lily used it to wrap my present," Lena explained.
"Exceptional taste," he said. "Hurry on to breakfast." the Headmaster walked towards the Great Hall humming what sounded like 'Beat Back those Bludgers, boys and Chuck That Quaffle Here.' After breakfast, Lena and Sirius walked to Magical Languages.
"This is worse than the green mile," Sirius muttered.
"It could be worse," Lena pointed out.
"What, we might actually be on Death Row?" he asked.
"I was going to say that it could be the double class on Monday," she said.
"I suppose," he said. "I am glad it's Friday."
"Me too," she said. Sirius decided to test out Remus' theory.
"What's pink and fluffy?" he asked.
"I don't know," she admitted.
"Pink fluff," he told her, and she laughed. "What's red and fluffy?" he went on.
"Red fluff?" Lena guessed.
"No, pink fluff holding it's breath," he said. She laughed harder. 'Remus was right," Sirius thought. 'How unusual.'
*****
Lena dressed in her new clothes she'd bought in London the week before. She wore a patched, frayed denim skirt and an embroidered cheesecloth shirt. She added Lily's belt to complete the outfit. She was debating whether or not to wear make up when Pinky flew through the window and deposited a package on the bed. It was long, with a square-ish bit at the end. Lena ripped open the package and revealed a brand-new Nimbus 1500. She grinned. There was also a book, 'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare,' from her father and a watch that changed colour to match whatever clothes Lena was wearing at the time. She unfolded the letter.
Happy Birthday, dear!
I can't believe you're seventeen. It hardly seems like yesterday when you were toddling around and now you're all grown up, almost finished school. We're so proud of you. We really miss you!
I hope you have good luck with the broom on your first practice tomorrow. But then again you don't need luck; you got your talent from me!
Yes, I got transferred. Arthur Weasley, the Head of Department, is really nice. He invited me around to dinner, isn't that sweet? When he found out I was married to a Muggle, he asked me lots of questions about the Muggle world. His wife is really friendly, too. And he's got the most adorable kids, three boys. They're aged ten, eight and he has a three month old baby. Their names are Bill, Charlie and baby Percy. They all have red hair! Don't worry about Mrs. Black, she's history.
Love,
Mum.
Sweetheart,
I hope you like your gifts, and that you read mine! I know you'll grow to like it, read it with Sirius if you like. You could act out all the great romances, like Romeo and Juliet!
Good luck with the Quidditch.
Have a wonderful day,
Love always,
Dad.
Lena folded the letters up and slipped them inside the book. She put the watch on, and it turned the same shade of denim as her skirt, there was even a patch on it. She decided to just wear eyeliner and some lip-gloss. When she'd finished, she turned the girls.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"Perfect," Lily said. Lena grabbed her cloak from her trunk, and looked around.
"Ready?" Lena asked. Her friends nodded.
"Have fun," Adele and Sophie chirped from the Fluffy Zone. Lily grinned. Adele and Sophie were really jealous.
"Bye," she called half-heartedly. It was late enough for everyone to be in bed, so only the boys remained in the darkened common room.
"Hi," James said. " Everyone under the cloak." He held up something silvery.
"You have an invisibility cloak?" Lily exclaimed.
"That explains why you're never caught," Kim said.
"Yeah, c'mon, lets get going," Remus, said.
"How are we all going to fit?" Lily asked.
"We've engorged it," Sirius explained.
"Room for one more?" a voice asked from the boy's staircase.
"Sure, Frank, squeeze in," James said, and Frank Longbottom squeezed in. With some difficulty, the group of nine people maneuvered out of the common room and down to a mirror on the second floor. James took out his wand and whispered "Patens hians." The mirror melted away, uncovering a hidden passageway. They climbed in, and as soon as the last person climbed through, the mirror shimmered back. They now threw off the invisibility cloak.
"Lumos," Sirius said, and several others followed suit. "Lets go, then," he said, and Lena walked beside him.
"Nice passageway," she said. "Where does it come out?"
"Behind the Three Broomsticks," he replied.
"That's handy," she said. "That's probably why you picked it, though." He nodded.
"I know this castle like the back of my hand," Sirius boasted.
"This hand?" she said, touching the back of his hand. He looked at her for a second, surprised by her boldness.
"Yes," he said. "Watch it, there's a rock here somew—" Lena stumbled over the rock, and grabbed his hand to stop herself from falling.
"I found it," she told him, grinning.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she replied. She glanced down at their hands, which remained clasped, then looked him in the eye. She smiled and kept walking. "C'mon then, slowpokes, we're wasting valuable time," she called. Sirius allowed himself to be dragged forward. Lily noticed that they were still holding hands. She nudged Ally, and pointed it out. Ally raised her eyebrows and poked Kim, who grinned. Frank shot Kim a questioning glance, so she nodded her head towards the two in front. Frank pointed it out to Peter, who told Remus, who showed James. James tapped Lily on the shoulder and she spun around.
"Our friends are getting close," he whispered.
"I know," she replied. "And he'd better not hurt her."
"I can't control what he does," James said.
"Then you'd better hope he behaves himself, for his sake," Lily said abruptly.
"Yes, Mummy," James muttered under his breath when she turned around. It wasn't long before they reached the end of the tunnel. Sirius tapped the wall with his wand and it moved back. They climbed out and hurried into the pub. It was decorated to look like a Muggle disco. Well, it had a disco ball anyway, and a magical jukebox.
The pub was deserted apart from one man who sat in the corner with a pint of mead in front of him. Lily supposed that it was because things were getting worse, and people didn't feel safe after Easter. She shook all thoughts of last Easter from her mind and hung her cloak on a hook. She was going to have fun, and that meant putting Death Eaters out of her mind.
Sirius turned around to ask what Lena wanted to do first, and his jaw dropped. He had seen Lena in tracksuits, in school robes, in pajamas and that nightdress earlier. But nothing could have prepared him for what she looked like right then. She was stunning in her floor-length skirt and light shirt. As she was reaching up to hang her cloak on a hook, her shirt slid up a bit, revealing several inched of bare back. She turned around and he gulped. Her shirt was just a little bit see-through. It was enough to make him need to avert his eyes. She caught the embarrassed look on his face and tugged her shirt down to cover her stomach.
"Let's find somewhere to sit," Remus suggested.
"That'll be hard work," James said sarcastically.
"What's everyone having, then?" Remus asked once they'd sat down.
"I want to dance first!" Lena exclaimed.
"No-one else is dancing," Peter said. Lena raised her eyebrows.
"There's no-one else here," she pointed out. She grabbed Lily's arm. "C'mon, you two aswell," she told Ally and Kim. The girls got up and made their way over to the dance floor.
"Nice top Lena's got on, isn't it?" James asked innocently.
"Shut the fuck up James," Sirius said.
"What?"
"I know you're just trying to piss me off, so drop it," Sirius said.
"I'm not!" James exclaimed, with fake indignation.
"Well you're either trying to get on his nerves or you're looking at Lena's tits," Remus pointed out. "Either way, he's going to punch you."
"Ha ha ha," Sirius said sarcastically. "Let's get a drink." They headed over to the bar. Madame Rosmerta came out from the back and rolled her eyes.
"You lot again? I won't ask how you got here," she said. She peered over at the table. "And I see you dragged Frank with you."
"Frank asked to come," Sirius said defensively. "We only dragged the girls."
"The girls?" Rosmerta asked.
"Yeah, they're dancing," Remus said. Rosmerta looked over at the dance floor.
"You got Lily Evans to sneak out?!" she exclaimed. "Why? She was such a nice girl."
"And one night with us will turn her into a miscreant?" Peter said. "I don't think so."
"Not all of us," Remus said. "Just a night with James'd be enough." James punched him playfully on the arm.
"It's Lena's birthday and we offered to take them out for a bit of a celebration," James said. "And it's not like you couldn't use the business."
"Well, that's true," Rosmerta admitted. "I thought a disco would draw people in." she sighed.
"It brought nine people in," Sirius pointed out.
"Great, now I have ten people in my pub on a Friday night," Rosmerta said. "What age is Lena, anyway?"
"Seventeen," Sirius replied.
"And I suppose this celebration involves alcohol," Rosmerta said.
"Rosie, dear, you know the law," James said. "We are allowed alcohol."
"Only in the presence of an adult," Rosmerta replied.
"Are you an adult?" Sirius asked.
"I suppose …," she replied.
"And are you here?" Remus went on.
"Um … yeah," she said.
"So we can drink," James said logically.
"I'm not sure that's what the law means …," Rosmerta said.
"Please?" Sirius said, giving her his best puppy-dog eyes.
"Oh, all right then," she gave in. "But not too much. I'm not having Dumbledore telling me tomorrow that you lot woke the castle going back."
"Thanks, Rosie. Five pints of mead, please," Remus said. Rosmerta raised her eyebrows and handed five bottles of cider to the boys. They made a face at her as they headed back to their table and she grinned.
"Lilz, pick a song!" Lena exclaimed from the jukebox. Lily thought. She was just about to answer when Ally spoke for her.
"Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club," Ally said.
"How did you guess?" Lily said sarcastically.
"All those Divination classes are finally paying off," Ally joked. Lily grinned. She was surprised that Lena actually needed to ask. She absolutely loved The Beatles; they had been her favorite band in the entire world since she was seven.
"I need some more!" Lena exclaimed.
"Ok … I Feel Fine, Yellow Submarine, Penney Lane, Hey Jude, and The Ballad of John and Yoko," Lily recited. Lena scribbled all the songs onto a scrap of parchment and pushed it through the slot. She headed back to the boy's table.
"Look, it's the dancing girl," Remus joked.
"And there's the wallflower," Lena retorted.
"Ooh," Sirius said. "Someone's got their claws out."
"Shut up and dance," Lena ordered. "All of you, now." They stood up.
"What song is this?" James asked Lena. Lily gasped.
"You poor, poor, pure blood," she said. James noticed that it was the first time she had addressed him with anything other than hostility in her voice.
"Imagine not knowing the Beatles," she went on sadly.
"Who are the Beatles?" he asked her. Her eyes lit up.
"The best band ever!" she exclaimed. "They're all from Liverpool, and there's for boys. They split up a few years ago, but some of them have released solo stuff. Their names are John, Paul, Ringo and George, and –"
"I have to stop you there before you start into when they cut their first tooth," Lena said. "You would if I let you, and you know it."
"You know when they cut their first tooth?" James asked.
"No, of course I don't, Lena's exaggerating. I'm not that obsessed, it's just that they're so good—" she stopped abruptly, realizing that she was talking to James, she was actually holding a conversation with him. She shut up and went back to dancing. The machine seemed to figure out that there was a Beatles fan out there, and played random Beatles songs.
"Why bother with the jukebox?" Kim whispered to ally. "We could just've brought Lily's albums down." Ally and Lena giggled.
*****
Lena walked over to the bar, fanning herself with her hand. Dancing was exhausting. Her cheeks were flushed.
"Having fun?" Rosmerta asked.
"Yeah, tons," Lena replied, grinning. "Are you serving alcohol to us?"
"Yes, semi-illegally. What do you want?" Rosmerta asked.
"Vodka and pumpkin juice," Lena said. Rosmerta handed her the drink.
"On the house," the barmaid said. "Happy Birthday."
"Thanks," Lena said, grinning. She sipped her drink. "Rosie?" she went on.
"Yes?"
"Is Sirius looking over?"
Rosmerta peered around Lena's head.
"Don't look!" Lena exclaimed.
"Then how do I know if he's looking?" Rosmerta asked logically.
"I suppose you have a point," Lena said. "Well, was he?"
"Yes," Rosmerta answered. "And now he's walking over."
"Hey Lee," he said. "Are you having fun?"
"Lena," she corrected. "Yes, are you?"
"Yup. What are you drinking?" he asked.
"Vodka and pumpkin juice," she told him.
"Do you want another?" he asked.
"Sirius Black, are you trying to get me drunk?" Lena asked. He grinned.
"That depends. Do I need to?"
Lena laughed. "I'll tell you in a half an hour. Let's dance, or were you going to get a drink?"
"Nah. I'll dance," he said, and they headed over. They met the others, who were on their way back to the table.
"We're tired, we're going to take a rest," Lily said.
"Ok," Lena shrugged. "I've got Siri to dance with."
"You do?" he asked.
"Yes. You're fun to dance with, actually," Lena said.
"You're not just saying that 'cos I'm the only one with the energy to keep up with you?" he checked.
"Well, yeah, but that's why I like to dance with you," she said.
"Aha!" he exclaimed. "I knew it!"
"That's not the only reason," she said. "I do like you for other things, you know."
"Like what?" he asked.
"You're funny. And smart. And silly. You're like me," she said, then giggled. "I think the vodka's gone to my head."
"Me, too," Sirius said, grinning. "But I like dancing with you, too. And I know one type of song that we can be very silly to."
"What?" she said.
"Abba," he said, writing a couple of songs down and putting them in the slot. Lena laughed and they started dancing.
Sirius was captivated by her; the way she moved, twirled, she was so beautiful, so energetic. She spun around, and he thought he saw something silver catch the light around her midriff.
"Do that again," he said.
"What?" Lena asked, puzzled.
"Spin around," he said. She obliged, confused. He looked at her stomach again, and sure enough, there was something there. He held up his hand for her to stop, and she did. He pulled up her shirt ever so slightly and saw the little hoop. Realization dawned on Lena's face.
"Helen Morgana White!" he exclaimed. "When did you get this done?"
"When I was in Muggle London," she told him. "Lily dared me to. Do you like it?"
"Yeah, it's … cool," he said, not taking his eyes off her tummy. "Sexy, actually. What next? A tattoo?" Lena blushed.
"Well, now that you mention it ...," she said, and his head whipped up.
""You got a tattoo?" he asked. She nodded, smiling. "Wow. That is incredibly sexy. Where? And what? Can I see?"
"It's a phoenix, and, well, it's …," she trailed off. Sirius' eyes lit up.
"Ooh, is it in a naughty place?" he asked excitedly.
"It's on my hip," Lena told him, smiling.
"That's naughty enough for me," Sirius shrugged.
"I thought it would be," she said, smiling.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: That's all for now purely because I'm too tired to type any more!! I know I promised the drinking game, but I'm going to collapse!
No promises as to when I'll get the next one up, I really have to work at my schoolwork until June. But after that I'm finished secondary school forever!! Unless I do really bad and have to repeat. But hopefully that won't happen. I just have to knuckle down and get it over with, so writing must take a backseat. I won't stop writing; I just won't have as much time to do it in.
Pleeeeaaaasssseeee review!!!