CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
When November rolled around, the fluctuation in weather almost cost them the Slytherin match. It had been nothing but thunderstorms for days, and on the Saturday of the game, it was as bad as ever. The pounding rain had made it hard for them to see where everyone was, so passes were dropped and intercepted; Bludgers were hit at the wrong people; shots were missed. And at one point, Jane had almost fallen off of her broom when she was startled by a particularly loud crack of thunder.
However, the weather affected the Slytherin team as well, and in the end, it had come down to Brenton and Regulus. Jane hadn't known how he'd done it, but Brenton had managed to snatch the Snitch, winning Gryffindor the game.
Jane was happy when she could finally get into some warm, dry clothes and settle down in front of the fireplace with some Butterbeer and a book.
"You are aware that a party is happening just outside of that book of yours, right?" James had asked.
"Actually, yes. It's pretty hard to ignore; I can hardly get through a paragraph. Reading in the midst of a Gryffindor victory party was perhaps not my smartest decision," Jane said, though she still tried to read.
"Reading in general is a stupid decision," Sirius butted in as he sat beside her.
"This happens to be a great book," Jane said, but she closed it. "You just have bad taste."
"I have impeccable taste, and…The Picture of Dorian Gray sounds boring," he replied, reading the title.
"Actually, I think you'd like this book. It's got everything. Sex, drugs—"
"Rock and Roll?" Sirius asked with a smirk.
"No," Jane said, grinning, "however, eternal youth might be of interest to you as well. You and Dorian are very much alike."
"Mm, is that right?" Sirius said.
"Both fairly handsome, both always chasing after women, both have a proclivity for rule-breaking," Jane said.
"So, you admit that I'm handsome?" Sirius said, smirking.
Jane rolled her eyes.
"Both are narcissistic arseholes who care only about their looks," she added.
"This Dorian sounds like someone I could get along with. What about you, James?"
However, James had left as soon as Lily had walked past them. He was currently trying, and failing miserably, to hold a conversation with her.
"How much do you want to bet that this ends with Lily's Butterbeer in his face?" Sirius asked.
"Two Sickles says she just walks away all flustered," Jane said.
"Four Sickles say you're both wrong," Remus said, walking up to them.
"What's she gonna do then?" Sirius asked.
"Well, this is the fifth time this week that he's talked to her, so this is going to end with a slap to the face," Remus said.
"While I find it weird that you keep up with how many times James talks to Evans, I still think you're wrong. I maintain the Butterbeer theory," Sirius said.
"I still say she walks away," Jane said. "You're both on. Four Sickles it is."
They all watched intently, each wishing for their own theory to be proven. The success of one of them lay in the hands of Lily rejecting James; therefore, one of them was getting paid.
"Come on, Lily, walk away," Jane whispered under her breath. "Roll your eyes and walk away."
However, the sound of someone being slapped filled the common room, and Remus grinned.
"You both owe me four Sickles each. I expect it tomorrow morning," he said, still smiling as he walked away.
Jane and Sirius both sighed.
"Can I borrow four Sickles?" Sirius asked, and Jane rolled her eyes as James walked back up to them.
"I think she's warming up to me."
"What makes you say that, mate?" Sirius asked.
"She touched me," he said.
"You're delusional," Jane said, sipping on her Butterbeer.
"Maybe, but at least I'm not the one who brought a book to a party," he pointed out.
"Fair point," Jane said, thinking that the idea, admittedly, sounded a little lame. "But still, maybe next time you talk to her, don't do it while drinking Firewhiskey."
"I fail to see what that has to do with anything," James said, pulling his cup protectively towards him.
"Yeah, Evans would've rejected him anyway," Sirius said.
James scowled at him. Jane smiled.
"At the rate you two are going, you're gonna need new livers by the time we're in seventh year," she said.
"And at the rate you're going, you'll have already killed James and I with boredom before our livers have the chance to go bad," Sirius teased.
"Excuse me for having morals," Jane said.
"You don't have morals," James said. "You puked them all up in second year after you and Remus downed a bottle of Firewhiskey by yourselves."
"Yeah, the only reason you don't drink is because you had a bad experience," Sirius said.
"Keep in mind that I would've never drank in the first place if you hadn't pressured me into it," she said to Sirius accusingly.
"Me? Why I would never do something like that," he said, feigning innocence.
"Right, and Lily doesn't really hate James," Jane said sarcastically.
"She doesn't," James said.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, mate" Sirius said, clapping him on the back.