Ten.
The prospect of the New Year promised a happy start. The reality of the New Year promised something else entirely.
Nine.
New Years were always meant to bring a wave of new opportunities, new beginnings.
Eight.
Marlene spent the night worrying.
Seven.
Alice found herself lying. Frank found himself fighting. So did Emmeline and Caradoc.
Six.
Ella told a secret. Sirius surprised himself with a realisation.
Five.
Adaline didn't know how to love, but she knew how to snog. And punch.
Four.
Lily arrived drunk.
Three!
Owls swooped down.
Two!
James left.
One!
No one was safe.
To say Lily was nervous about going back home after she'd been staying at the Potter's was an understatement. Euphemia shooed them out happily, wishing them fun at the wedding and short stay at Lily's house, not quite understanding Lily's anxiety about the whole thing.
"I'm sure any past misgivings will be forgotten for the day," Euphemia had assured when James had tried to explain the situation.
Lily had wanted to laugh bitterly. If only Petunia would be more open to what Lily was, they could have a friendlier relationship. She thought magic was different and though she said otherwise, Lily knew that Petunia held magic in some high esteem, thinking that Lily was somehow better, more special because she was a witch but the truth was, there was nothing extraordinary about magic just like there was nothing extraordinary about being muggle. Like all things, magic lost its wonder once you learnt about it, lived in it.
To a wizard or a witch, spells were like algebra, potions were like cooking and flying was like running. Magic didn't magically solve everything just like money and influence couldn't solve everything. Wizards still had their wars, their differences and their hardships. People held in the image of how well they could perform spells rather than their personalities. People shunned for their ancestry. People hexed in the hallways instead of being pushed into a locker.
Magic hadn't done anything except give everyone a weapon. Everyone had a wand and everyone got to choose how to use it. At least in the muggle world things were a bit clearer. When wars raged, there were armies who fought, soldiers who died but in this world of magic, everyone was a fighter, everyone was a defender and anyone could perish at the hands of another.
Lily wished Petunia could see the part of magic that wasn't all singing teapots and chocolate frogs that could hop away. Lily wished Petunia didn't resent her for her magical life.
"You okay?" James murmured, his hand brushing against hers.
"Just thinking about Petunia."
James fell silent and Lily leaned into him. There were no words he could say to make her feel better but sitting there with his arm around her, that was all the comfort Lily needed. She didn't need him to tell her lies, she just needed him there.
Lily shuffled even closer to James and wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him tight. Letting everything that was wrong in the world slip away.
She forgot about the sister who hated her and the war that planned to eradicate muggle-borns. In that moment, it was just her and James and their whole future flashed in her mind. A proposal. A wedding. A baby. She could imagine a messy haired toddler with round glasses splashing in puddles with her goofy husband in front of their house. She could imagine laying in bed with James on a Sunday morning. She could imagine them trying to cook dinner together and failing miserably because they kept distracting each other. She could imagine falling asleep in his arms every night just because she could.
"What are you thinking about?" he murmured against her head.
"Everything," Lily answered.
Caradoc stepped out of the fire at 11:03am on New Year's Eve and what he did not expect was the scene in front of him. In front of him was his sister cowering as his father smacked her, their mum trying to pull him off with little use and his blood ran cold. The room had frozen at the glow of green, waiting for someone to break the picture.
Ella turned to hide her face but he didn't miss the sweltering bruise on her left cheek bone, didn't miss how she held her ribs, her face squinting in pain.
"What's going on?" Caradoc asked. More silence. His leg started bouncing and he repeated, ice in his voice, "What's going on?"
Ella was the next one to break the silence as she sucked in a sob and turned to her brother. Caradoc took a step back, he'd missed a lot. Her nose was bloody, her right eye red, purple and swollen shut.
"Ella?" he whispered. "Who…?" the question hung in the air as Caradoc's gaze landed on their father whose knuckles were cracked open and rage filled him. "Why?" he demanded to his father.
"Hmph, quite deserved it," he mumbled, "Hiding my wand like that … quite deserved it. Do you know where she's hidden it? My wand? I can't seem to find … hid it she has."
Albert approached his son, walking in a crooked line and before he could say another word, Caradoc pulled his own wand out and said, "Stupefy."
Ella couldn't bear another minute in this house and finding unknown strength she walked passed her mother, ignoring the ache in her ribs every time she breathed like someone was stabbing her. She threw a handful of floo powder into the fire and said, "Caradoc's apartment," disappearing in the licks of green flames.
"Doc," his mother stepped forward.
"How long?" Caradoc asked taking a step back. "How long have known that he gets violent?"
"The last month," she admitted.
"And you let Ella come home … you let," he shook his head. "Why didn't you just tell me?"
His mother flinched. "I thought if Ella came home, he'd be good."
"Clearly you were wrong. Ella's staying with me," he spat. He went into the fireplace as his mother pleaded him to listen and with a handful of floo powder was gone in a flash of green like his sister.
Alice pushed the food around on her plate, her sister had not come home last night and she was nervous. Emmeline hadn't said where she'd gone but Alice had a crushing suspicion that she'd been on a mission for the Order of the Phoenix.
With Christmas and being surrounded by so much family, Alice hadn't the opportunity to question Emmeline on exactly what the Order did and this made her even more nervous. A resistance against the Dark Lord didn't exactly sound like tea and cakes. If Emmeline was on a mission, it was dangerous.
The door opened and Emmeline walked in and upon observing Alice's rigid stance, asked, "What's got your knickers in a twist?"
"Were you on a mission?"
Emmeline frowned and looked at their house elf who was cleaning up, "Leave us, Minky." The elf popped out of sight. "Alice… I can't tell you that. I told you that this is all very confidential."
Alice nodded. Frank's training was all very confidential too but she couldn't have another morning like this one. "Can you at least tell me if you were out on a mission? I don't want to know the details."
Emmeline considered and then nodded, "I was."
"Were you safe?"
"You know, this is starting to sound a lot like a sex talk." Emmeline bit into an apple, sitting down casually.
"Emmy," Alice warned. She was serious.
"Look, I'll make a deal with you. I'll tell you when I'm out on a mission so you don't have to worry every time I leave the house."
Alice nodded. "Any plans for tonight?"
"Mission," Emmeline informed her as simply as if she were going to a party.
"Oh."
"Come on, don't be like that," Emmeline whined. "I'll be fine."
Alice nodded. "Of course, just be safe."
Emmeline decided a subject change was for the best, "Any plans for tonight?" She never said it'd be original.
"Marlene and Adam are throwing a party."
"Frank going?" Emmeline asked.
"No, he decided spending New Year's Eve away from his extremely hot girlfriend was for the best," Alice said sarcastically.
"Well, just remember to be safe," Emmeline winked and Alice threw a grape at her. "Oh, don't act like you're still a virgin. I know mum and dad are still holding out hope, but I've seen what's in your locked draw."
Alice blushed. The locked draw in question was the home of Alice's sexier lingerie. "That draw's locked," she mumbled.
"I can work my way around a locking charm," Emmeline pointed out, Alice just threw another grape at her.
Her mother hugged her for three full minutes whilst James had stood awkwardly in the corridor trying to get past them to use the loo. They had arrived early in the morning, with their clothes in what Lily called dry cleaning bags. He was, surprisingly, saved by Petunia.
"Can you start getting changed?" she ordered, a snappiness in her voice that Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes to however Lily and her mum parted and James finally slipped around Lily and into the loo. "The photographer will be here in an hour and no one is even close to ready! I don't know why you didn't just get ready at your boyfriend's house and meet us at the church," she huffed.
"It's your wedding," Lily said quietly, trying to hide the hurt, "I didn't want to miss you getting ready. Besides, isn't the photographer meant to get some getting ready shots?" Lily questioned putting on an awfully cheery voice that pained James' ears.
"Only if you want your bed hair in the photos!" Petunia snapped. "And tell that boyfriend of yours to comb his hair! This is a wedding not a football match."
Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes for the second time as Petunia made her way downstairs where a smattering of voices could be heard.
"You better start getting ready," Rosie told her daughter, "Before she murders someone."
"I'd protect you, mum," Lily promised.
She smiled, "Go get dressed."
Lily closed her bedroom door behind her, slipping out of her night gown and stepped into the yellow, chiffon dress that she had purchased back in August. The door clicked open and closed just in time for James to pull up her zipper at the back and they stared at themselves in the mirror for a moment. Lily in her pale yellow dress that fell to her calf and James in his trousers with a white shirt tucked in. He moved her hair to one side and placed his chin on her bare shoulder, murmuring, "You look good."
She smiled softly. "It's odd seeing you in muggle attire but you look good too."
"LILY!" Petunia screeched from down the stairs, "It's your turn for hair and make-up! Come down stairs! NOW!"
Lily groaned. She wanted to do her own hair and make-up the much less painful way, using magic to aid her as she'd gotten quite accomplished at it when Marlene had had a make-up phase in '75 and had somehow sucked Lily into it too.
"You know," James said, going over to his trunk where his tie lay, "She could use a calming charm … or four."
Lily snorted and then seriously, "Don't you even think about it!"
"Maybe a cheering charm," James continued.
Lily shook her head. "I hate you."
He grinned, peppered kisses on her shoulder and said, "Nah, you don't."
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked placing a cooling charm on her face. It was a stupid question really.
"Because," was all she could muster up. There were a hundred reasons why, denial being the biggest one. How could their once happy family have turned into this?
She'd thought, the first time he'd hit her on Christmas morning, that he was just pissed and drunk. Nothing had bruised, nothing had bled, it was just a slap. It had been nothing.
He pushed her into a wall next, her head had the lump to prove it but it was still nothing. He'd only done it because she was pouring all the firewhiskey down the drain. It was nothing. She had expected him to lash out.
He threw a plate at her during dinner but it had missed and instead crashed angrily to the floor. She wasn't hurt. It had been nothing.
He threw a hex at their house elf, so she'd disarmed him taking his wand. He slapped her, grabbed her and threw her face first into a wall. She kept hold of the two wands and scrambled away whilst her dad continued to cause destruction to the house. Her nose bled, and her ribs ached. It was nothing.
He tore the house apart trying to find where she'd hid his wand the next morning and when he couldn't find it, he became violent. He pushed her and she didn't know if he had meant it, but she fell down the four steps that separated the drawing room and the dining room, landing on her bum, her arm hitting the table with a painful knock.
He'd dragged her back into the drawing room, and he punched her in the face, in the stomach, wherever his fist could find and it was like everything in her went numb. He kept bashing her around, her mother's cries deaf on all ears, until the flames had turned green and Caradoc stepped out. It was like time had sped up and slowed down all at once. It was nothing and then it wasn't.
"Because why?" he insisted. "The bruise on your ribs is at least two days old."
"Since when were you an expert?"
"Don't deflect. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because it was nothing!"
"This isn't nothing, Ella," Caradoc said softly. "You should have told me."
"I told you to stay for Christmas," she said softly.
"I couldn't," he whispered and she didn't doubt the genuinity of what he'd said but she needed to know.
"Why?"
"I should've been around more," he said instead, "I'm sorry."
"As long as you're taking the couch," she replied, deciding he wouldn't tell her anything. Not today anyways.
Ella's brow lifted in question when her brother emerged from his room in the early evening wearing a muggle tuxedo and complaining about how muggle pockets weren't deep enough for a wand.
"Undetectable extension charm," she reminded him.
"Yes, thank you, Captain Obvious," he retorted, "It's just annoying."
"Well, what are you wearing muggle clothes for?"
"A party."
She rolled her eyes. "Very informative. Who're you going with?"
"Some friends."
"And those friends would be?"
"Classified information," Caradoc declared. "Are you still going to that party at the McKinnons'?"
Ella shrugged. She hadn't decided if she could handle everyone asking questions about her face which was still splotched with purple bruises. Her father must've used some accidental magic when he punched her because no matter the spells Caradoc had tried, the bruises had persisted.
"You should," he said and at her raised eyebrow he clarified, "You should go to the party."
"So everyone can gawk at my repulsive, oozing eye? Yes, I'm considering it."
"I just don't want you to be alone," he admitted.
"I'll be fine," she assured but she wasn't so sure. She didn't want to be alone either.
Nate and Marlene stood in the doorway waiting as Mr and Mrs McKinnon walked down the street where they'd be apparating to a fancy muggle themed party in London that was being held by the Ministry of Magic. Marlene's parents had left for Paris in the morning and now with Nate's parents tucked away in London for the night, their big New Year's Eve bash was a go.
"All right," Marlene clapped her hands before she started assigning everyone jobs — Aria and Henry were assigned to packing away the breakables and setting the party food out, whilst Marlene and Nate were in charge of alcohol and decorations. Faith stood in the backyard with her wand, performing charms that would stop the neighbours from noticing anything odd and it was with minutes to spare that they all convened in the living room, dressed and more than ready for a drink.
"Here's to starting the new year with a bang!" Faith toasted, they all clinked their plastic cups together before drinking. "You two better have soda in your cups," she warned Aria and Henry.
"Oh bugger off," Aria rolled her eyes. "Like you never drank in sixth year."
"When's Logan getting here?" Marlene asked to change the subject.
"Any minute now," Faith assured. "My wardrobe is locked, right? I don't want him seeing the dress by accident," she added nervously.
"It is," Nate and Marlene both assured her as she had made them both check. She also didn't want any drunk party-goers to stumble across her expensive, white dress.
As the time ticked slowly past seven people started trickling in and Marlene's nerves started to fade despite the fact that none of their immediate friends had arrived yet.
"They'll come, right?" she asked Nate for the billionth time.
"Unless they've formed some secret 'We Hate Marlene' club, they're coming," Nate assured. "You need to relax."
But just as he said that, Marlene's eyebrow shot up at the sight of Mia Scott, the fifth year Nate briefly dated. She was stunning in a dress that was entirely inappropriate for winter and her hair in soft curls down her back. "What's she doing here?" Marlene grumbled, pulling at the fur coat she had worn over a plain top and jeans.
Nate looked over his shoulder and shrugged, "I'm sure she just heard about it from someone else."
"So you didn't invite her?"
"No, did you?" Nate asked. Marlene glared at him. "Oh, who cares about Mia freaking Scott?"
"I just," Marlene battled with her emotions before sighing, "You're right — oh! There's Della! Della!" Marlene shouted over the music, flagging down the brunette.
Alice arrived at Frank's house at exactly seven o'clock, knocking her petite hand on the door, Mrs Longbottom opened and Alice put on a fake smile. Frank promised he'd opened the door because as much as she loved Frank, she loathed his mother.
Mrs Longbottom pursed her lips, "Did you travel alone?"
"Yes, Mrs Longbottom."
"Come in, dear," she said stepping aside before chewing Alice's ear off about how it was unsafe for a young witch to travel alone in these times and how back in her day, the man always picked up the witch. Alice found it polite to not point out that in Mrs Longbottom's time people rode threstral drawn carriages to Hogwarts instead of a train.
"Frank!" Alice called with relief when she spotted him leaning on the balustrading from the second level.
"Hey, Al, I'll be down in a second … work rang long. I've just gotten out of the shower."
The mention of his Auror training sent a cold reminder through her. Emmeline was going on a mission tonight though Alice couldn't fathom why Emmeline would need to be dressed in a glittery silver dress paired with white gloves and heels for a mission. She also couldn't fathom why Caradoc Dearborn had picked her up instead of literally anyone else that they knew of. All of this had left Alice to conclude that the mission was the undercover sort and Caradoc Dearborn, also known as Ella's brother, was also in this secret Order business. She wondered if Ella knew.
"Tea?" Mrs Longbottom asked as they sat down in the stiff and uncomfortable drawing room where no less than six deer heads stared down at her from the walls.
Pondering Mrs Longbottom's question Alice thought, only if there was firewhiskey in it but knew Mrs Longbottom would not find the humour in that she politely said, "No, thank you."
"What are your plans for after Hogwarts?"
"I'm planning to be an Auror."
"Ah, following in Frank's steps I suppose." Mrs Longbottom's mouth opened to continue but Alice interrupted.
"My mother's an auror actually. I'm following in my mother's footsteps."
"Why I never, who's your mother again?"
"Nadia Vance."
Mrs Longbottom's eyes widened. "But she's Head of the Auror Office."
"Fourth year and counting," Alice confirmed.
Mrs Longbottom seemed stunned for a moment but she quickly recovered before a satisfactory smile could even triumph across Alice's features. "I hope nepotism doesn't factor in when they decide to admit you. I'm not doubting your ability at all, just that being an auror is an extremely dangerous job not to mention draining. It would be very concerning if they admit you purely because of your mother."
"It would," Alice agreed. "Which is why a separate committee of senior aurors decides on who gets accepted into the program."
"Ah, of course … but being an auror is no doubt time consuming when would you ever get the time?"
"Time?" Alice prompted.
"To get married and have children."
"Mum!" Frank interrupted whatever Alice was going to say. His face flushed with mingled anger and embarrassment, he turned to Alice, "Let's go before she proposes you move in too."
Alice stood up quickly having never heard a worse idea. The woman was intolerable.
"I was merely suggesting-"
"Mum!" Frank cut her off again.
"Thank you Mrs Longbottom for the," and then realising her mistake since she'd declined tea improvised with, "Conversation," which Frank teased her about as soon as the front door closed.
"Oh, shut up," Alice sighed, rubbing her temple. "I swear ten minutes with your mother and I can already feel the migraine coming on."
"I know she's … difficult," Frank started but Alice shook her head.
"I'm a bitch. She's your mum," Alice sighed, "She just makes me so frustrated sometimes."
Frank kissed her forehead, "Is that helping the oncoming migraine?"
She shook her head so he kissed her nose. "Better?" She shook her head again but a smile was already pulling at her lips as he kissed both of her cheeks. "How about now?"
"Getting there," she murmured, the little smile growing.
He pressed his lips lightly to her mouth and mumbled, "How 'bout now?" into her lips. Grabbing the back of his neck she surged into him and let her mouth move against his.
The light snow fell around them as they embraced passionately on the Longbottom's front step, the lights from the windows softly illuminating their faces as they smiled into each other. Alice pulled away, rubbing her thumb across Frank's cheek. She frowned at the fresh pink line she hadn't noticed before.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Work," he explained and her face smoothed over in hidden disappointment as she realised that Frank wasn't going to elaborate further.
"We better go. Marly will have my head if no one shows up at seven thirty on the dot."
Frank chuckled, lacing his hand in hers they walked down the steps to the street and casually strolled through the London streets until they found a secluded place to apparate from. Frank tried to start a conversation again but Alice didn't have the heart for it. His brief mention of work and the new scar on his face had her even more worried about Emmeline and the entire validity of the Order of the Phoenix.
At least with Frank she knew that there were other trained professionals. Wizards and witches who had been trained to fight, trained to heal. Emmeline had a sharp wand, Alice had been caught off guard by Emmeline's hexes one too many times to not know that but it didn't change the fact that Emmeline was a columnist for the Daily Prophet. She had no business fighting in a war.
Alice and Frank walked down the narrow side lane of the McKinnon house where they could hear music pumping, music that they couldn't hear from the street. Alice's hand was small in his and she was dressed up in a shiny, blue dress and her mousy blonde hair was feathered out.
Frank pulled her to a stop just before they were about to enter the party.
"Is everything okay?"
Alice nodded. "Of course. Why?"
"You've just seemed quiet today, actually you've seemed quiet since Christmas."
Remembering her promise to her sister and knowing that Frank kept secrets from her, she shook her head and lied. "I guess I'm just a little despondent knowing that this is my last year at Hogwarts."
Frank furrowed his brows, "You sure that's it?"
She nodded, leaning up on her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips. "Positive."
It wasn't that she wanted to lie to Frank, and she kept telling herself she wasn't lying, but she promised her sister.
"It also may be because the day after tomorrow, I have to go back and you have to stay in London," a playful smirk had appeared on her lips but it vanished slowly as she placed a hand on his cheek, "This year has been hell without you."
He grabbed her hand, kissing the back of it. "Just a few more months."
"Let's dance," James proposed but Lily wrinkled her face. The dance floor where her sister and her new husband danced seemed so unappealing. Petunia smiled happily and Lily didn't need to be a seer to know that the smile would tighten at a glimpse of Lily and James.
The ceremony had passed in what seemed like no time at all and Lily had led James to a table near the front where they were seated with some relatives that had come down for the wedding from Ireland. James could tell by Lily's overly polite smile that she was upset by the seating arrangements as she looked longingly up at the main table where the bride and groom sat along with their parents.
Their table had been deserted once the dancing had started and James shoved his chair closer to Lily. She protested at first but eventually relented and leaned into his chest.
"I don't want to dance," she murmured.
"You mean, Petunia doesn't want you to dance," James said softly. "You need to stop sacrificing what you want for her."
"It's her wedding," was all Lily said. "Wanna go outside and get drunk on firewhiskey?"
"And where did you get a bottle of firewhiskey from?" James raised his brow.
Lily smirked, "Sirius gave me a Sibling Survival kit. It may or may not have been a basket of different types of firewhiskey bottles and one of those bottles may or may not be stashed in my bag next to my wand."
Lily twisted in time to see the grin spread across his face and despite everything, a glimpse of that grin could lighten her soul. "Let's go," James said, thinking he'd much rather be snogging Lily on the side of the building with a bottle of firewhiskey between them. "This party is terribly dull."
After a tremendous amount of snogging and half a bottle of firewhiskey they stumbled back into the party giggling and Lily didn't have any qualms about dancing anymore. Grabbing both his hands and smiling widely, she pulled him onto the dance floor, dragging his body to hers.
James played along, pulling her in by the waist and dipping her extravagantly as she threw her head back and laughed freely, her hand around his neck. James had thought spending New Year's Eve at a muggle wedding would be torturous but here, with Lily, it wasn't so bad, not when her sparkling eyes and her smiles were all for him.
"Lily," hissed Petunia, who grabbed her by the arm tightly and James frowned at the tight grip and gently tugged Lily away from her sister. "Are you drunk?" she accused.
"Tuney, it's a wedding, if you aren't drunk, you aren't doing it right."
James wanted to laugh, he really did because Petunia's face flushed red as she battled on how to express her anger without exposing it to the rest of her guests.
"She's just a little tipsy," James supplied with a smile. "She's fine."
"No, she's not," Petunia snapped quietly. "She's embarrassing me!"
"I'm having fun," Lily corrected. "Something you should learn to do more often!"
"I have plenty of fun when you aren't around!"
Lily's smile faded and her eyes turned dark as the stinging words echoed in her mind slicing deeper and deeper every time. "Why am I even here, Petunia? You've never, ever tried for me and all I've ever done was try and try again for you."
"Lils," James murmured, "Maybe now isn't the best time for this conversation."
But Lily didn't want to cause a scene, she just wanted to talk to her sister and here her sister would never lash out, forced into calmness by the sea of people she was trying to impress.
"You're my sister," Petunia supplied.
"But you're happier when I'm not around." She said it like a question and Petunia remained frozen, neither confirming nor denying but to Lily her silence was confirmation enough. "Right," she murmured with a realising nod. "Right so James and I will be off then. You can enjoy the rest of your life and be happy without me and I'll enjoy my life and be happy without you and maybe it'll be enough knowing that somewhere out there, we're both happy." She looked at Petunia, green into blue and said, "Goodbye, Tuney. I hope you have a fantastic night and a beautiful life."
Without another word, Lily grabbed James' hand and led him away from the dance floor and out of the party. She didn't stop until they were outside and she all but collapsed into him, tears falling down her eyes as she finally said goodbye to any sort of meaningful relationship with her sister.
James held her as she sniffled away the last of her tears and he leaned back, kissing the dried tears on her cheeks. "Come on, we can go to McKinnon's party and you can get ridiculously drunk." Lily didn't protest as he stuck his wand out for the Knight Bus.
Ella really couldn't fight the inexplicable urge to be around people no matter how hard she'd tried to tell herself it was a bad idea. So she peeled herself off of her brother's couch and dug through the school trunk Caradoc had gone back to fetch. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a knit jumper that was actually Marlene's and tried to hide her bruises by dabbing concealer on. They looked better but were by no means hidden but it was as good as it was going to get.
She wore her hair down, being cautious not to tuck it behind her ears so it fell on her face and pulled on a pair of heeled boots before leaving the apartment. She apparated out and landed in a lane a few houses away from Marlene and Nate's houses. She stuffed her wand into a pocket in her cloak and started the walk.
The abundance of people overwhelmed her.
"Ella!" Marlene cried happily as Ella stood awkwardly in the small foyer of Nate's house. "You made it!" and then the dreaded gasp as Marlene caught sight of her face. "What happened?"
"Had a fight with a troll." She grabbed Marlene's drink and drowned it a little laugh escaping her and she looked down in distaste. "Did you mix giggle water with firewhiskey?"
"Possibly."
"It's disgusting."
"Ella, what happened to your face?" Marlene asked not believing Ella's story of battling with a troll.
"I told you. You should see the troll," Ella deflected. Despite her previous need to not be alone, she now craved nothing more than being secluded. "I'll find you later!"
Ella escaped up the staircase and immediately felt more at ease as no one else was on the first level of the house. She eventually found a door that led to a balcony that overlooked the garden and, by extension, the party, and plopped herself down on the dainty chairs that were clearly chosen for their aesthetic rather than their practicality.
Breathing in the cool winter air, Ella rather found that this was what she had been seeking. A quiet nook in a noisy place where she would never be in danger of her thoughts getting too loud.
Adaline could enjoy a party, it was one of the things she was great at. She had always been terribly picky with boyfriends, but one night hook-ups didn't need much thought as long as they were fit and a good snog. It was how she ended up behind a tree in the McKinnon yard snogging sixth year Bellamy Davis.
Bellamy Davis was a standard bloke. He had blondish hair with chocolate brown eyes and a narrow nose contrasting his round chin. His personality wasn't anything to brag about, in fact, Adaline considered him quite a boring sod but he didn't need to be interesting to snog and snog he could.
In the furthest corner of the McKinnon yard, hidden mostly by a thick tree, Adaline snogged Bellamy Davis with no shame. Her hands roamed every crevice of his torso, rummaging in his hair and scratching lightly down his back as his lips occupied hers, moving together as if they did it all the time.
Another thing she was good at was dropping the boys she snogged at parties. Easily, she untangled herself from Bellamy and said, "That was fun! Find me at midnight," and then she left a confused Bellamy behind the tree as she set off to find her friends and get herself a drink.
Ella was nowhere to be found which annoyed Adaline because as the only other person in their group who didn't have a boyfriend, Adaline had hoped they'd stick together but she spotted Remus and Peter by the drinks table and it wasn't too long before they were having drinking competitions and laughing loudly as they took shots of giggle water and failed miserably at trying not to laugh.
At some point Marlene and Nate joined them and Marlene looped her arm through Adaline's and said, "Why does Tommy keep glaring at you like you killed his boggart? No — wait, that's a good thing," she frowned. "Like you killed his niffler? Do people have nifflers as pets? Dragon? Dragon works," Marlene decided. "Dragon keepers love their dragons like crazy."
Adaline giggled at her friend's ramblings and shrugged, "Hell if I know but he dumped me so I should be staring at him like he killed my dragon."
"Preach it," Marlene agreed. "No one dumps my friend!"
"It's okay, I snogged Bellamy Davis behind that tree," Adaline told her friend pointing to the fat tree at the back of the yard.
Nate wrinkled his nose, "If I knew everyone was just going to start snogging on any available surface I would've had the party at Marly's."
Marlene nudged him before turning back to Adaline. "Bellamy Davis is cute! I forget how fun you can be at parties. Oh, have you seen Ella? Something's happened but she wouldn't tell me and then she ran off and I haven't been able to find her."
"Bad," Adaline shook her head.
"Taking that as a no," Marlene slumped.
"Taking what as a no?" Sirius asked taking a spot in the small circle they'd formed.
"Marlene can't find Ella," Peter recapped, "Apparently something's happened to her."
"What kind of happened?" Sirius asked, alert.
Marlene stumbled on her words before dragging Sirius out of the group. "Since when does he get to know Ella's problems?" Adaline wondered.
"Beats me," Remus commented, a slight slur to his words and Adaline giggled. "If you ask me though, he fancies her. I don't think he knows yet so shhh, it's a secret!"
"You're drunk!"
"So are you, Del," Peter pointed out.
"Yeah but it's Remus!"
"Oi," Remus laughed.
"He doesn't get drunk at school because he's a prefect," Peter sneered the word.
"So pretentious," Adaline remarked.
"Della," someone said from behind her and Adaline sighed recognising the voice of her ex-boyfriend.
"What?" she bit, turning around.
"I — Did you really snog Bellamy Davis?" he wanted to know.
"What's it to you?" Adaline snapped.
"I — nothing," he said coolly before turning around and leaving.
"Boys confuse me," she crossed her arms, frowning deeply. "He broke up with me! Why's he care if I snog Bellamy Davis? I could snog Remus and you know who's business it would be?" she asked the three boys. "Not his because he dumped me!"
"I love drunk Della," Nate said happily.
"She's so much more fun than regular Della," Peter agreed.
"Yeah cause regular Della got dumped by Thomas freaking Plunkett and secretly cried about it for two weeks. Regular Della is a weak bitch." Remus stifled a laugh. "Drunk Della isn't afraid to punch a bitch."
"Oh, you should punch Thomas!" Peter dared.
"Oh my god!"
"A galleon says he'd cry," Nate bet.
"This is a terrible idea," Remus pointed out. "But money on Del making his nose bleed."
"No, no, no!" Adaline shook her head, "It's a grand idea! It's splendid! Why shouldn't I punch him in his pretty little nose? He dumped me! I'm going to punch him!"
Marlene popped up out of nowhere, "Who're you punching?"
"Thomas Plunkett," they all chorused.
"Della," it was Thomas again, "Can we-"
Adaline's fist connected with Thomas' face, and as Remus predicted, blood trickled out of his nose as his hands came up to his face and Adaline grinned proudly.
"Holy mother of Merlin," Peter wheezed.
"She actually did it," Marlene said weakly, torn between laughing and being horrified.
"What the fuck, Bennett?" Thomas yelled.
"You don't get to dump me and then get pissy that I snogged another bloke. And you owe Remus some money, he didn't specify how much but he bet that I could make your nose bleed and love to admit it, your nose is bleeding."
"You're mental!" he declared stalking away, his eyes watering from the sting of the punch and the group burst out in hysterical laughter, doubling over and clutching their stomachs.
"His eyes were watering," Peter said, "I think that counts as crying."
"It was close enough, Pete. Close enough," Adaline said, before downing the rest of her drink, feeling like Drunk Della could fight Voldemort himself, the group were in a fit of laughter when she said so.
Lily and James drank a considerable amount of their bottle of firewhiskey on the Knight Bus so when they stumbled into the front lawn of the McKinnon property with two hours to go until midnight, they fit right in with the rest of the guests at the party.
"Oh, and did you see their terrible cake?"
"You know substituting a walrus for the cake topper could have improved it," James proposed and Lily giggled as they crossed the threshold. She caught his lips in hers having a sudden need to touch him.
She didn't know how he could still make her feel all these things. Happy, electric, light, free and yet she would be perfectly happy trapped with him for eternity. His touch could ignite things in her no other living person had ever been able to illuminate and she knew that no one would ever compare to James.
"Hmm, love, we're blocking the door way," James mumbled into her lips as she giggled, pulling him closer still.
"Don't care," she breathed, peppering kisses down his neck as though the world may end if she didn't, "Need you."
James, happy to oblige, pulled her up, using her bottom for leverage so she was on the very tip of her toes, and hungrily took her mouth with his, letting their lips move together with such passion it was a wonder sparks didn't fly out from their finger tips. Her hands in his hair, his body pressing her into the door frame, his lips on her neck.
"Need you," she gasped as he sucked lightly on the spot right under her ear, her centre burning for him. She pulled away, grabbing his hand and charging through the crowd until she opened a door to a bathroom where a girl was washing her hands, "Out!" Lily ordered with such ferocity that had James pulling her into him and fumbling with her zipper. Lily kicked the door shut behind the girl who did not hesitate to scarper out of the bathroom as James finally worked the zipper and dug her hand into James' pocket, pointing his wand at the door she clumsily locked it before throwing the wand to the ground in favour of James' belt.
She stepped out of the dress, distractedly, James' belt proving difficult he got his shirt off and Lily forgot about the belt as she let her hands trail over every inch of his abdomen, back and chest. James twisted them around, catching her mouth in his and biting her lower lip, nibbling as he hoisted her onto the vanity where she easily locked her legs around his waist pulling him ever closer. Closer, closer, closer. It was never close enough.
"Belt," Lily mumbled into his mouth, her hands reaching down to try again and finally she unclipped it and unbuttoned his pants shoving them down his hips.
"Lil," he breathed out as she pulled down his boxers, he tugged on her knickers and using his shoulders for leverage, lifted up and he slid her knickers down her slim legs, letting his fingers leave a trail of fire behind. She unclasped her bra, flinging it anywhere.
James was everywhere, his hands on her breasts, on her back, on her thighs leaving her skin burning as his mouth ravished her.
Someone knocked loudly on the door and James and Lily both shouted, "Occupied!" before Lily turned his face back to hers.
Driven to insanity, Lily took his length in her hand and he groaned her name in a way that made her feel all sorts of things. He picked her up, pushing her against a free wall and she slid onto him and she gasped in pleasure, looking into his frenzied eyes, she pushed his hair off his face as he started thrusting into her, building up the pace until Lily had to bite down on his shoulder to stop from screaming out in pleasure.
"Lil, Lil, Lil, Lily," he whispered biting his lip as he released inside her. He stepped closer, his head collapsing on her shoulder and pinning her against the wall. "You drive me crazy," he mumbled.
She giggled, nibbling on his neck softly and whispered, "You love it."
He lifted his head up, smiling as he kissed her deeply, "I love you," he told her.
"We should probably put a few cleaning charms on that vanity," Lily said, unhooking her legs from around James' waist and pushing him off her gently. "Oh, and I love you, too, I suppose."
"I suppose?" James hit her arse playfully and she squealed with laughter as she reached up to fetch her bra off the curtain rod.
They dressed quickly, fumbling with clasps and buttons and zippers and giggling the whole time with stolen kisses and they stumbled out of the bathroom, James' tie loose around his neck and his hands around Lily's middle, still pressing kisses to her neck.
Sirius raised an eyebrow at them. "I'm telling Nate you had sex in his bathroom."
"We cleaned it," Lily defended.
"Everyone is outside," Sirius said before walking off but he headed upstairs which any other time would've intrigued James and Lily but now, Lily and James took advantage of the deserted corridor and snogged until they were interrupted by Marlene Adams herself.
"I …" Marlene sighed and grabbed Sirius pulling him out of the circle, "I'm only telling you because you seem to get this side of her better than I can," she sucked in a breath, "Her face was bruised, like badly. I think one of her eyes wouldn't even open."
Sirius' eyes darkened. "I'll find her."
Relief flooded her face, "Thank you! You're the best!"
"Yeah, yeah," and with that he turned and left, heading into the house.
It was her dad, he just knew it and somehow it didn't even surprise him.
He passed a snogging James and Lily and continued on up the stairs where he saw her through the glass door, sitting on the balcony that overlooked the party. Keeping his steps light, he stepped out onto the balcony, shutting the door behind him.
Ella flinched turning to see who'd disturbed her peace before slumping back into her chair and murmuring, "Oh, it's you."
"Don't sound so excited," Sirius quipped collapsing into the chair next to her. His stomach dropped at the glimpse he caught of her face. Marlene hadn't been exaggerating. Ella's eye was swollen shut and her cheek bone was an angry red and purple.
"What are you doing up here?"
"Marlene was worried about you."
"Drew the short straw again, did you?" she asked bitterly.
"No," he said honestly.
This surprised her, a little "oh" escaping her lips.
"What happened?" Sirius asked.
"Hmm?"
"To your face," he clarified.
"Oh," she said again. It seemed to be her word for the night. "My dad," she said quietly.
Sirius didn't need to know anymore and asked, "Do you need a place to stay?"
"No. My brother — I'm staying with my brother."
Sirius nodded. "Do you need to talk about it?"
"It was stupid," she started, "He hexed the House Elf so I," and the story spilled out of her lips like soap and even when the tears fell, she pushed through and told it. She told all of it. "I think I need a drink," she mumbled at the end.
Sirius surveyed the crowd below them and then eyeing a bottle of firewhiskey on a table, summoned it. Sirius caught it and slid it across the table to her. "There you go."
"You don't have to stay," Ella said, pressing the bottle to her lips and taking a deep sip.
"I know," Sirius said but he made no move to leave and he wasn't going to.
He remembered how this felt. He knew how you craved company and being alone at the same time. He knew all about the emptiness that followed when your own parent can't stand you. He knew it all too well but he'd had James and Sirius couldn't say when, but he decided that Ella would have him.
Marlene turned the corridor and her face fell and froze. Mia Scott's lips were puckered, brushing over Nate's lips and Marlene's eyes darkened as her heart screamed. Their lips had touched ever so lightly and Marlene could feel herself break from the inside out, could feel the tears already stinging at her eyes.
"Mia stop," Nate pushed her away. "I'm with Marlene now."
Relief for the briefest of moments and then the sudden feeling of crushing weight on her entire soul as she realised the power Nate McKinnon had over her and it terrified her and in that moment she was left thinking that maybe Adaline had had the right idea about not dating all these years.
"Oh please," Mia said, pushing herself closer to him. "You're only with her because you feel obligated because she's your childhood best friend. She's a total nag not to mention completely neurotic … You can't say that you haven't missed me. Can't say that you actually like her!"
"Don't talk about Marlene like that," Nate demanded angrily, and he turned away only to see Marlene. "Marly…" he said unsurely.
"I got us our drinks but I think I might have to get us some more," she said absentmindedly, her eyes narrowing at fifth year, Mia Scott. Realisation or not, Nate was her boyfriend and no one but her closest friends got to call her neurotic. "Why you conniving little cow! In my own house!"
"This is Nate's house," Mia corrected.
"Same difference," Marlene and Nate answered together. "I want you out!" Marlene shouted.
"This is Nate's house," Mia repeated, "If he wants me to go, I will."
Marlene couldn't help herself. She pulled a Lily Evans and threw the two drinks she held onto Mia's dainty little dress, the one that was entirely inappropriate for the middle of winter.
"You know where the door is," Nate said coldly. "Come on, Marls." Nate twined his hand in hers but her hand was slack as he led her into his kitchen.
Marlene's mind spun, not paying attention to anything at all, lost in her own mind. He pushed her away. She had no reason to be mad. None at all and yet she felt the seed of anger start in her because her heart had been broken. He'd broken her heart but he hadn't meant to and yet she couldn't get the image of Mia's lips on Nate's out of her mind.
"Marls, you okay?" he asked at her deep in thought look.
"I'm just, I'm gonna find Ella. I'm getting really worried about her." Is technically wasn't a lie. She was worried about Ella.
He frowned and tightened his grip on her hand, "You know you have nothing to worry about, right?"
Marlene smiled tightly, "'Course. I'll find you before midnight." She pulled her hand out of his and went on the hunt for any of her friends. The house and yard were packed with Hogwarts students from sixth and seventh year, not to mention some of Faith's friends were floating around and Marlene found it difficult to cut through but eventually, she quite literally stumbled into James and Lily snogging.
She had heard a rumour about them shagging in the bathroom but they seemed to have moved their snogging session into the yard.
"Wow Adams, you could've just tapped us on the shoulder," James remarked.
"I tripped but since you're free," Marlene turned to Lily, "We need to talk."
"What's up?" Lily asked.
Marlene looked at James uncertainly and he swore, "Won't tell a soul."
"Mia Scott tried to kiss Nate but he pushed her away."
"I'm not seeing a problem," James admitted.
"Well, Mia called me a nag and neurotic and said that Nate was only with me because he felt obligated."
"What a bitch!" Lily exclaimed.
"I threw two drinks on her."
"Lily Evans'd her. Nice," James commented.
"That is not becoming a thing!" Lily giggled, as James wrapped his arms around her middle and normally Marlene would have commented but she was in a crisis.
"But he didn't feel obligated did he? I mean … how do I know if I'm in love?"
"Do you want to jump his bones every time you see him?" James asked. Marlene nodded. "Great, you're in love."
"James!" Lily nudged him. "There are other things too."
"Like?" Marlene questioned eagerly.
"Like who you think about when you fall asleep and who you want next to you when all your dreams come true and who you'd want to stay up 'til four a.m with."
Marlene considered. She had always imagined all those things with Nate. She said so.
"Congratulations," Lily declared, "You've always been in love with Nate then. You know what I like to do with people I'm in love with? Snog them. So go do that and stop making something out of nothing."
"But-"
Marlene was cut off as Lily jumped up and started kissing James again, pulling a face she left them alone to snog.
Marlene left them to it but she wondered how they did it. Anyone paying the slightest bit of attention could practically see the love radiating out of those two and yet they seemed so fearless about it all. How did they do it? Trust each other so fully with something so breakable. Live with the fact that with a simple change of mind, they could be left completely heart broken.
Marlene Adams was in love and it terrified her.
Ella and Sirius watched from their spot up on the balcony as everyone started the countdown from twenty.
"You should go down and enjoy the celebration," Ella told him. "I'm sure some bird would be glad to snog you for their New Year's kiss."
"I'll go down if you do. I'm sure some bloke would be lucky to snog you."
Ella snorted. "Oh yes. The bruising and puss is such a turn on."
"They're just bruises," Sirius shrugged. "I'd snog you." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and his forehead creased when he thought about just how much he'd like to snog Ella Dearborn.
Ella flushed, unsure about the compliment. "Thanks I guess."
"No problem," he said quietly, confused at where this sudden need to kiss Ella came from.
It wasn't that she wasn't fit. She was extremely fit and he'd meant it when he said any bloke would be lucky to snog her. He just hadn't thought he'd want to be the one to snog her and he actually considered it until everything dropped out of his mind like a weight to the floor as the countdown died and New Year's kisses didn't seem important anymore … to anyone.
Alice had her arms looped around Frank's neck as they shouted the countdown with the rest of the party, their shouts mingling with the crowds' and the excitement of the New Year running high.
Frank pulled away as they shouted, "SEVEN!" and Alice frowned because he pulled something out of his pocket, his eyes reading something off what looked like a fob watch.
"I have to go," Frank murmured.
"What?"
But suddenly, the wireless radio could be heard above all else and the countdown died out.
Frank grabbed Alice by her shoulders and kissed her fiercely before ripping himself away and disappearing with a pop.
Lily and James hadn't bothered with the countdown, deciding it'd be much more fun to end the year and start the new year snogging but they pulled apart when the countdown suddenly faded and the wireless said, "WE'RE BEING ATTACKED — WE'RE BEING ATTACKED! MERLIN! NO PLEASE NO! — Avada Kedavra!" the voice abruptly stopped but screams, live from the exclusive New Year's Eve party being held at Flamel Hall in central London, rang live through the speakers. Names and curses and protection spells mingled into a haze. Shouts of a fire and blocked exits. A voice claiming that true wizards and witches had nothing to fear, they weren't here for them and Lily felt sick.
James pulled away from Lily his face white as a ghost, "My parents," he croaked.
Lily's face paled. Lily had helped Euphemia pick out a dress in muggle London for the event which was muggle themed.
She watched as a million emotions played across James' face and she could feel it. He was going to do something stupid. "James — don't! They'll be okay. Don't do anything stu-"
He disappeared with a pop.
The clock ticked twelve.
Happy New Year!
Nobody cared anymore.
A/N: Hi guys! Sorry for the really late update and this mammoth of a chapter. I have two jobs in retail so December was really hectic and busy for me, hopefully now in January things will calm down a little and I'll be able to focus more on editing and updating.
Thanks to everyone who reads, follows/favs and most of all reviews!
-Natalie x