A/N: Helen McDowell, the seventh year Ravenclaw student, is not to be confused with Hellen Richmond, Jane's old counsellor. I probably should have named her something different, but what's done is done. Sorry.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT
"Miss Campbell, Miss Hamby, please, less talking and more working," came the shrill voice of Jane's Healing Theory instructor.
Jane looked across the room at the two Hufflepuff girls who begrudgingly went back to brewing the Pepperup Potions that they were all supposed to be working on. She glanced at her wristwatch and sighed, wishing that time would go just a bit faster. She shivered as a cold October breeze drifted through the window that they'd opened because Parker Tollison had managed to fill the room with smoke a few minutes ago. Jane looked at her watch again before adding some ingredients to her potion.
"Need to be somewhere, Hensworth?" asked the Ravenclaw girl working across from her. "It's just, you've been looking at your watch for a while now."
"Last class of the day," Jane replied. "You know how it is, McDowell."
"I hear there's a party in up in Gryffindor Tower this weekend," Helen McDowell continued as she worked on her own potion. "Any truth to that?"
Jane flashed a grin.
"There sure is."
"Well, what for?" Helen asked.
"Today is Sirius' birthday. We've all decided, since we're in charge of all the Gryffindor parties this year, we'd go all out for each others' birthdays. Kind of our last big to do before we graduate, you know?" Jane said, stirring the contents of her cauldron.
"A Potter and Black party?" Helen asked smiling. "Should be tons of fun if they're behind it."
Jane smirked.
"Yeah, but technically James is Head Boy now, so we've been calling it a Black and Hensworth production—at least while Lily's around. Besides, I can throw a party just as good as James can. The parties we throw this year are going to be legendary," Jane said.
"Those sixth year Gryffindors are going to have a lot to live up to next year," Helen noted.
"That's what we hope," Jane said. "They won't be able to top us."
"Miss Hensworth, is there something you'd like to share with the class because that is the only reason I can fathom as to why you are talking."
"Actually, Professor Costner, I think I'm done with my potion. I know class isn't over, but is there really any use of me just standing around here? My time would be better spent in the library, studying for the test next week, wouldn't it?" Jane asked slyly.
"Well, I suppose that'd be all right," Professor Costner said. "Whenever you finish, I suppose you can leave."
"Finally!"
Jane shot a look at a Slytherin girl by the name of Rachel Burke who was gathering up her things. Jane glanced at Sadie who had been sitting across from Rachel. She was just as quiet as she normally was, packing up her things as well. Turning her head slightly, she looked directly at Jane, and Jane averted her eyes. Jane couldn't look at Sadie without remembering that the war was on the way, so naturally, Jane tried to avoid looking at her at all.
Shaking Sadie and the war from her mind, Jane smiled again as she packed her things. Pouring some of her potion in a flask, she corked it and brought it up to Costner's desk, eyeing the keyring lying in one of its corners.
Sitting her potion on his desk, Jane pulled her hand back, "accidentally" knocking the keys to the floor.
"I'm sorry, sir, I'll get that," she said, ducking out of his view.
Pulling out her wand, she waved it over the keys and whispered:
"Copias."
Immediately, another identical set of keys appeared, and she pocketed them before putting the original set back onto Professor Costner's desk.
"Thank you, Miss Hensworth," he said as she placed the keys in front of him.
Jane smiled. Adjusting her bag on her shoulder, she turned on her heel and proceeded to the door.
"Thank you, Professor," she muttered under her breath.
Walking over the threshold of the door, an arm swung out to stop her in her tracks. Jane smiled and looked at Sirius. Pulling the keys out of her pocket, she dangled them in front of him, and he grinned mischievously, grabbing them.
"Well done, Janie. You might yet prove useful," he said, draping an arm around her shoulders.
"I've always been useful," Jane argued. "You've just never appreciated me."
"How much time do we have?" Sirius asked.
"Healing Theory ends in exactly twenty-three minutes. Costner usually stays after, but let's get this done before class ends, just to be on the safe side."
The two of them walked to the small Eastern Tower where Professor Costner's office was. Once inside, Jane stood at the door, and Sirius made a beeline for a big cabinet with a lock on it.
"Okay," Sirius said, sifting through the keys on the keyring, "which one…"
Jane watched nervously as he tried the different keys on the lock. Originally, they had just tried a simple Unlocking Charm, but it hadn't worked on the lock. Finally, Jane heard a little click, and Sirius grinned at her before opening the cabinet.
"Oh, thank you, Professor Costner," Sirius said as he stared into the cabinet full of alcoholic beverages. "Thank Merlin for you and your well-known drinking problem."
Jane laughed at his remarks.
"What's he got?"
"Firewhiskey. Brandy. Vodka. Bourbon. Wine—"
"Wine? Bit upscale for our party taste, yeah?" Jane asked.
"Oh, Janie, alcohol is alcohol," Sirius said, opening the rucksack he'd been carrying that he'd put an Undetectable Extension Charm on earlier.
Jane rolled her eyes as he grabbed bottles from the cabinet and put them carefully into the bag. Initially, Jane had felt a little uneasy about clearing out Costner's alcohol supply, but it wasn't like he was her favourite teacher. Besides, it's not like he was going to go to Dumbledore to tell him that someone had taken his absurdly vast supply of alcohol that he'd been keeping in his office.
"Oh!"
Jane looked over at Sirius with questioning eyes. He pulled out a bottle from the back.
"Rum," he said, and Jane just smiled.
"Have you gotten it all?" she asked.
Sirius pulled at the drawstrings on his rucksack and picked it up.
"Got it. Let's get outta here."
"No."
"But Lily—"
"No."
"You're not even—"
"No."
"Would you just think—"
"No."
"Let me talk—"
"No."
"AGH!" Jane screamed at Lily in a frustrated way.
"Shout all you want," Lily said as she picked up a book. "There's going to be no party in this common room. I won't allow it."
"It's for Sirius' birthday," Jane said.
"Yes, I'm well aware of your plans this year," Lily said, sitting on the foot of her bed and opening the book. "If I allow this one, then there will be at least four more."
"Only two more," Jane promised. "James' birthday is only four days from mine, so we'll only have the one party. And Peter's birthday is during the summer, so we won't be able to have a party here."
"That's not including the victory parties we'll have after the Quidditch matches," Mary said from her bed, "and with James as captain, they're bound to win all of them."
Jane gave Mary a pleading look, silently telling her to shut up.
"Oh, lighten up, Lily," Alice said. "Let us have the party. How else are we supposed to make the Gryffindor class of 1978 memorable? Your Head Girl badge sure isn't going to do that."
"No," Lily repeated adamantly.
"But James already said we could. He was supposed to run it by you," Jane said.
"He did, and I told him the same thing I'm telling you, only he didn't argue as much."
"Well, that's because Jane doesn't fancy you like James does," Mary said.
Lily muttered something incomprehensible to the other girls, but Jane saw the light blush that crept across her cheeks. Jane opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it when Marlene came out of their bathroom in her bathrobe.
"Have any of you seen my red shirt with the stripes on it? I want to wear it to the party tonight."
Lily snapped her book shut.
"There's not going to be a party!"
Marlene snorted with laughter.
"Don't be ridiculous. Of course there is! I've only already told everyone about it," she said.
Jane smiled at Marlene and turned back to Lily.
"Come on, Lily. Do you really think you can stop all these people from showing up?" Jane asked.
"No, but I'm sure McGonagall could," Lily challenged.
Jane looked affronted.
"You wouldn't dare narc on us," Jane said. "We're your friends. You'd put your stupid Head Girl duties above our friendship?"
Lily sighed in a defeated sort of way.
"Just-just not too big of a party, okay?"
Jane smirked.
"Yeah, sure thing, Lils…"
"Peter, do you have any clue where the—never mind, I found it," Jane said, finding another bottle of Firewhiskey and uncorking it.
"Having fun?" Violet asked, walking up to Jane as she poured a drink for a sixth year Ravenclaw.
"Honestly, I didn't know how much work went into these things," Jane told the fifth year. "Take note. You'll be doing this in a couple of years."
Violet laughed.
"Nah, I think someone else will take over," she said. "I'm not really the party planning type."
"Yeah, neither was I, but look at me now," Jane said as Violet stood beside her. "Merlin, when'd you get so tall? Just yesterday, I was yelling at you in Hellen's office. Where have the days gone?"
Violet smiled.
"I've changed a lot, haven't I?" she said.
"You and I both, kiddo," Jane said, pouring herself a cup. "Hey, I need to make another run to the kitchens for snacks, you mind taking over for a bit?"
"No problem," Violet said, sliding over to the spot Jane was vacating.
"Hey, anyone under fourteen, Butterbeer only!" Jane called back to Violet.
"Well, that's no fair," came a joking voice. "I distinctly recall you puking up a bottle of Firewhiskey in our second year."
Jane rolled her eyes at James but smiled a bit.
"He should know. He held your hair back for you," Frank remembered.
"Ah, memories," Jane said in a sarcastically fond voice.
Looking at Remus, she winked at him, causing him to laugh a bit. As she walked off, Jane heard James ask:
"What's funny? I want to know!"
Jane made her way up to the seventh year boys' dorm and dug around in James' suitcase for his Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map. Grabbing Sirius' charmed rucksack from his bed, she headed back downstairs, happy with the party's turnout. The same couldn't be said for Lily, who had locked herself up in the dorm and refused to have anything to do with it.
Opening the map as she walked down the stairs, Jane whispered the incantation and tapped it with her wand. She lost her grip on it and it fell to the ground, unfolding itself in some spots. When she picked it up, she smiled as she saw the numerous names crammed into the Gryffindor common room. However, as her eyes travelled to another part of the map, she frowned.
Walking into the crowded common room, she quickly found Peter and begged him to go to the kitchens for her, as she now had something different she wanted to do. As Peter headed down to the kitchens, Jane headed up to the Astronomy Tower.
Jane shook her head as she climbed the final staircase. Walking over to stand beside Sirius, she pulled out a pack of smokes from her pocket. Sirius looked over at her as she leaned beside him on the parapet.
"You know, you're missing your own party," Jane said, lighting up a cigarette and taking a drag.
"Yup," Sirius replied.
"Why?"
"I stayed for a while. I had fun. And now I'm here."
"Yes, I know, but why?" Jane asked again.
Sirius shrugged.
"I don't know. Maybe I just want to be alone for a bit. Think about things for a while," he said.
"I'm sorry, what?" Jane asked. "Are you ill? Do I need to take you to Madam Pomfrey?"
Sirius let out a small laugh.
"No, I think I'll be okay. Rum?"
Jane took the bottle Sirius offered her, and she took a sip.
"Cigarette?" she offered, holding her cigarette out to him.
"Don't mind if I do."
"You know, it's not good to drink alone," Jane informed him.
"Well, it's a good thing you came along then, isn't it?" he said, smirking down at her.
The two of them stayed up in the tower for a long time, smoking and drinking and talking. At some point, they'd both laid down on the floor to look up at the stars as they twinkled far above them in the night sky.
Jane was pleasantly intoxicated at this point, and she was pointing out constellations. Sirius already knew everything she was pointing out (having been forced to take Astronomy exactly like every other student at Hogwarts), but he let her continue anyway as he took long drags of his cigarette.
"You know," Jane started, leaning up a bit to take another sip of rum, "I've just realised that you've picked the worst place in all of Hogwarts to drink at."
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Because how on earth are we supposed to get down all those stairs when we're drunk off our arses?" Jane asked, slurring her words just a bit.
Sirius let out a small chuckle.
"I'm not nearly as drunk as you are," he informed her. "Besides, we've drank up here before. Remember Christmas Eve in fifth year?"
"I remember almost falling down the stairs," she told him.
"Almost being the key word," Sirius said. "I caught you."
"Yes, as you laughed your arse off," Jane recalled.
Sirius smirked.
"Well, it was funny," he said truthfully.
Jane sat the bottle of rum back on the ground and propped herself up on her elbow to look at Sirius.
"What?" he asked, putting out his cigarette.
"Do you ever wish you could go back?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"After my mum died, I asked Sarah that question," Jane remembered aloud. "I don't really know why. I guess it was because everything just seemed so terrible right then, and I wanted to know if she felt the same way I did."
"What'd she say?"
Jane thought really hard.
"You know, I don't think—I don't think she ever really answered me."
Sirius thought for a moment.
"Well, why are you asking me?"
"I guess it's 'cause I think about it a lot. I'm always wishing I could go back, and-and I guess it's 'cause I feel trapped here. I want to go back because I'm scared of the future. And I guess I ask 'cause I want to know I'm not the only one who feels that way. I need to know I'm not alone," Jane said.
A few tears managed to escape from Jane's eyes, and Sirius' hand automatically touched her face, wiping away the tears and lingering there.
The truth was that Sirius thought about it a lot as well. He constantly wished he could go back to much simpler times. Neither one of them had had ideal pasts, but right now, the future didn't seem too promising for them, if they had a future at all. The truth of the matter was, a lot of their generation were probably going to early graves because of the war. The only question was, was it going to be their names on the headstones?
Sirius swallowed, trying to dissipate the lump forming in his throat. He shook his head slowly.
"You're not alone," he told Jane in a voice just above a whisper.
And without giving it another thought, Sirius leaned up, pulling Jane closer to him, their lips finding each other with such ease that Sirius vaguely wondered why it had taken him over six years to do something that felt this natural.