I'm sorry in advance: I haven't updated for a while, and this is a very poor chapter :( But, read it if you will, and I'll update again anyway... By the way, did anyone notice the Princess Bride reference in the chapter 15? Hehe, what a great film!
Chapter Seventeen – The End of Term and Party Preparations
The lessons on that last day took a lifetime to pass. All the students were much more interested in the ball that evening, and the holidays after that; they did not want to know about the homework that the teachers had in store for them. Nevertheless, the sixth year was important to their NEWTs, and they knew their responsibilities.
Professor McGonagall gave them an epic amount of research to complete for next term's topic, on top of a four-foot long essay. Professor Swift respected the holiday spirit only a bit more, when he set them an equally long essay, but no research. Sirius was not pleased about this, after the effort he had put into the last one, but he gave in his finished work with pride.
Astronomy was their last class of the day, and, as it was Friday, the week. It was always a pleasant end to the week, as Professor Harlem was by no means a hard taskmaster, and he was generally as fed up as the students on a Friday afternoon. On this lesson, he set them an end-of-term test, quizzing them on all the different planets they'd studied that term. They were allowed to work in pairs, so really the class spent the whole time chatting about the upcoming ball, and occasionally jotting down an answer when they saw Harlem coming their way.
James and Sirius were working together on their test. Sirius, whose favourite subject was Astronomy, knew all the answers and had it finished in ten minutes, so they were free to do as they wished from then on.
"Listen, Padfoot," James started, looking uneasy, "Sorry about before, with Lily. I got a bit narky cause I like her so much and I really wanted to go with her."
Sirius felt guilty then, and hoped Remus couldn't hear the conversation.
James carried on. "But I realised you were probably right, as always – she wouldn't have gone with me, and now you can look after her."
Sirius laughed, thinking she didn't really need looking after. "You're not annoyed, then?" he asked.
"No. I'll see her there anyway, and you'll be miserable about Bethan." James grinned, and Sirius returned it, glad to know their friendship was in tact.
"So the Gryffindor anarchists have made it up." Professor Harlem appeared next to James; he appeared to be checking their answers.
"What do you mean?" James asked in surprise. He hadn't even realised the teacher was there. "How did you know we had an argument?"
"These blue eyes," Harlem answered lazily, not looking up, "They see everything, Potter. And they notice frostiness between friends." Sirius and James looked at each other, their eyebrows raised.
"Excuse me." Harlem got out his wand and conjured a bottle of red wine and a glass. With a tilt of his wand, he poured a perfect glass without even touching the bottle. It was an occurrence the students were used to now.
"I'm not really supposed to drink red wine, you know," Harlem told them musingly, between sips. "For some reason, it makes me go to sleep."
Sirius smirked to himself, remembering when he had found Harlem fast asleep at the bottom of the tower.
"Your head really is up in the clouds, isn't it?" Harlem commented, observing Sirius' quietly smiling face over the rim of his glass. "And I'm glad to see a fellow dreamer. You answered all the questions right, by the way," he said, getting up and draining his glass.
"Nice one, Padfoot!" James laughed, going for a high-five.
"And now I think I'll rescue Lupin from Mr and Mrs Slob-a-lot," Harlem announced, pouring another glass and making his way past Sirius' desk.
Looking over, they saw Peter and Adriana snogging each other's faces off, while Remus kept his eyes carefully averted.
At the end of the lesson, Professor Harlem returned to the front of the class and said, "Before you go, I want to tell you what we're doing next year. Probably not a lot, I expect, but there is an eclipse of the Sun taking place in June, which I am quite looking forward to, and which I am going to force you all to watch. It will be good for your studies," he added, blue eyes glinting, before saying, "Okay, off you go, and have fun at the ball."
The class started packing up, all smiles and excitement about the end of term finally being upon them. Until, that is, Harlem spoke up again.
"Oh, how could I forget? Homework." Looking around at their exhausted and crestfallen faces, the smallest of smiles played around his lips as he shrugged and gave in, saying, "Fuck it – your homework is to have a good holiday, but please, take a moment to cast your gaze at the skies a few times, and don't forget what you've learnt this term, or I'll be seriously anxious."
The Marauders were not fans of dress robes, and James, Sirius and Remus had no intention of wearing them to the ball. So, during the last Hogsmeade visit, the three of them had gone to a clothes-hire store to reserve some sharp-looking suits for the occasion. Peter had on that particular trip, had chosen to spend it with Adriana, so hadn't got a suit; he would have to make do with dress robes. Two hours before the ball was to begin, lessons were over and everyone was lounging in the common room, celebrating the start of the holidays. As the girls were going up to start getting ready for the evening, a loud tapping sounded on the windows, startling them as they went up the stairs. James dashed across the room to open the window, and in flew three large owls, each carrying big packages.
"They're addressed to us," James told Sirius and Remus when he'd checked the labels attached to the owls' legs. "Must be our suits!"
"About bloody time, too," Sirius grumbled, unwrapping the package with his name on. They'd had Quidditch practice earlier in the afternoon, along with the Ravenclaws, and seeing Bethan avidly watching Marley zoom about in a tight white t-shirt which showed off his six-pack had put Sirius into a bad mood. His face brightened, however, when he took out his chosen suit, and inspected it again.
"Ah, brilliant!" he grinned, holding it out in front of him to admire. It was plain black with slightly flared trousers, with a white shirt and black tie. What Sirius liked best, though, was the hat that had come with it; a black trilby. "Ah, man!" he said, putting it on now and pulling it jauntily over one eye.
"That's one mega hat," James commented, smoothing the material of his own suit, which was pure white. This was a typically hazardous colour, but as it looked spectacular on his lean figure.
Remus also had a hat, similar to Sirius' but brown with a ribbon around it. The suit itself was also brown, striped with different shades, with a white shirt and dark trousers. Together the ensemble looked great, and when the three of them came down from their room after changing, they were the picture of sophistication, attracting admiring glances from all girls within eyesight.
"I wish I had a hat," James said ruefully, looking at his friends'. "Can I try yours, Padfoot?"
"Um – no!" Sirius exclaimed, clutching a protective hand to his head as Peter came in and cast jealous eyes on his fellow Marauders.
"I wish I had a suit," he whined, going up the stairs to change into his dress robes, which, incidentally, made him look even shorter and chubbier than usual, and blatantly highlighted how unattractive he was compared to his friends.
"You should spend so much time with gorgeous women, Wormtail," Sirius told his retreating back.
"You can talk," Remus said, as he adjusted his shirt under his jacket. They sat on their normal settee with their feet up, sipping Butterbeer and attracting more admiring looks for an hour before the girls emerged.
Bethan was going with Marley, of course, Lily with Sirius and Adriana with Peter. James had asked Sarah, who was delighted to go with the most popular boy in the year, and Sirius had hooked Remus up successfully with one of his girlfriends from Lily's party. She was called Emily, and was blonde and full of life.
The girls couldn't help laughing when they saw the guys, trying to look suave in their new suits; this disappointed the Marauders slightly, but they didn't mind as their dates looked so fantastic in their dress robes, which looked more like ball gowns. Remus and James both thought Lily looked beautiful, but it was Sirius who got to bend and kiss her hand, sweeping off his hat and bowing.
She giggled. "You look like the Hogwarts Mafia or something," she told him.
"Keep your mouth shut, or I'll send the boys after you," Sirius warned, his brown eyes twinkling. He was thoroughly enjoying his new gangster role. "Wait, it gets better," he said, and whipped out a pair of wrap-around shades from his breast pocket. They completed the image perfectly, and Lily applauded.
"Looks like it's about time," Remus announced, smiling at Emily as he took her arm, and leading the group from the common room down to the Entrance Hall, which was now packed with dressed-up students.
A/N: Again, sorry for this pitiful chapter, but I think the image of the Marauders in their suits brings it up a bit!