October 16th, 1976
We looked good. And I mean really good.
Marlene was dressed as usual, in a tiny black leather high waisted skirt with a flowy white satin tank top tucked in, her thigh high boots making her legs look longer than should be legal. Her lips were dyed berry red, her eyes were dark, and her blonde hair was silky smooth and shiny. She definitely looked ready to break some hearts tonight - which is what she intended I'm sure. Lily was wearing a green emerald shift dress that she had cinched with a brown leather belt, accentuating her tiny waist. The color perfectly complemented her eyes, making them sparkle beneath champagne colored eye shadow and long eyelashes. She had curled her beautiful auburn hair into a half-up ponytail, letting her face frame curl around her delicate face. I was so jealous – if I tried that look, it would look like my hair had gotten trapped in tree branches, but Lily made it look so elegant yet effortless. Mary and Alice had both opted for a more subdued look of muggle bell-bottoms and cropped peasants tops. They both looked cute and modern, and excited to get downstairs and start the party.
Lily had insisted that I let her do my makeup and hair after I had awkwardly barged in to the dormitory. She had smoked out my eye shadow, darker than anything I would ever do to myself. Marlene had jumped in to tame my usually wavy dark brown mop. The potion that she had used in it made it straight, shiny, and much longer than I was used to. The girls had all donated an article of clothing to my look tonight - Marlene, a black pencil skirt (which was far too tight and short for my liking), Lily, a golden silk off the shoulder top, Mary, a pair of sexy black heels that she had bought for her brother's wedding and never worn again, and Alice, a pair of hoop earrings that they all said pulled the look together. But my favorite was a leather jacket that I had pulled out of the bottom of my trunk. The leather was buttery and perfect; the black leather was lovingly worn and broken in. I had found it in a muggle thrift store in London two years ago, but had never had the nerve to wear it before- I wasn't really the type of girl that could pull off sexy, and this jacket was pure sex.
"Damn Addie, you're a regular girl next door," Mary laughed, walking a circle around me.
"This jacket is to die for. You should wear leather always." Marlene agreed, adjusting her own leather skirt.
"You don't think it's too much?" I asked nervously, pulling down the skirt uncomfortably.
"Absolutely not. And stop pulling on that skirt, your arse looks great, and so do your legs." Lily slapped my hand away.
"Now, let's go girls. Time to make the boys eat out of the palm of our hands," Marlene threw her head back, and stalked out of the room, her high heeled boots clacking as she walked down the stone stairs.
I took one last look at myself. I barely recognized myself in the mirror, but I realized that with just a little bit more effort every day, I would slowly start to become this girl. I was there, just enhanced. And it felt damn good. I winked at myself in the mirror, turned, and followed Alice out of the room.
By the time I made it downstairs, Marlene already had a drink in her hand. Her and Mary had joined Michael Brown and Robert Boot near the fireplace. She was talking animatedly about something to Michael and Mary, while Robert barely pretended he was listening. He was practically drooling over Marlene, and she was pretending that she didn't notice (and wasn't loving the attention). I spotted Remus and James standing in a corner, and made my way over to them. I could tell immediately that James had already had a couple, as he was leaning heavily against Remus and exuberantly gesturing with his hands.
"Hey Addie. You look…wow." Remus said, his eyes widening when he saw me. I smiled shyly and shot back, "Wow yourself." And I meant it…Remus was looking extra good today, in a plain white t-shirt and dark jeans. He looked healthy, which made sense given that the moon had been two days ago, and he always looked remarkably better after a day of resting.
"I'm for another drink, can I get you something Addie?" When I nodded yes, he clapped James on the back before pushing him off of himself and against a wall. James didn't even notice that Remus had left, because he was honed in on one person – Lily. He had noticed her standing with Alice, a drink in her hand, laughing at something that Alice and Frank were discussing. Her red hair was reflecting in the firelight, and she looked truly luminous.
"It's like, she is the only person in the entire room." James said suddenly, a love-struck expression on his face.
"Gee, thanks Buddy." I said sarcastically, popping him with my hip.
"Sorry, Adds. I just mean, when she is the room, I swear she is the only person I see or hear. I swear to Merlin, I can hear her laugh even across the room and above the noise."
"That…doesn't really make it better, but it is rather sweet. Go talk to her. This party is in honor of you and her, after all."
"I'll go in a minute, we haven't had a chance to talk all term. How are you?"
"Actually, there is something that I kind of have been wanting to talk to you about…" I got out breathlessly, my heart starting to beat hard in my chest. I really hadn't planned on bringing this up to James, not before I had had a chance to think of a plan, but something about the night made it seem like now was as good a time as any to tell James about Jase. I had promised Sirius that I would, and he seemed like he was in a good enough mood that he wouldn't kill Jase immediately – he wouldn't want to ruin his perfect day. He was so love-struck, and pleasantly tipsy, that I might be able to have a real conversation with him, without him flying off the handle. I looked over at him, when he didn't answer me, only to see that he had pushed himself off the wall and had taken a step towards Lily, who had noticed him and was making her way over.
"Oh, yeah Addie…listen give me a second, Lily is coming over. Can we talk later?" He asked, distractedly.
"Yeah, don't worry about…" I trailed off, because James had taken off before waiting for my answer. I tried not to feel dejected. Tonight was about him and Lily, after all, and I hadn't even planned on telling him before opening my mouth. It did sting, a little, that we hadn't talked all year, and he had barely even noticed that I was upset. Sirius was more perceptive than he had been, and he was supposed to be my best friend while Sirius was supposed to hate me.
I barely noticed when someone walked up next to me, until I felt a hand on the small of my back. I violently flinched away, expecting to turn to see Jase standing next to me – you know, speak of the devil and all that – but it was Remus coming back with a drink for me. He held both hands up, a drink in each hand, to show that he didn't mean to startle me.
"Phew… I'm sorry, Remus. Just was lost in my own thoughts," I apologized, taking the offered drink from Remus, and taking a large gulp of it. Remus looked at me oddly for a moment, but decided not to push the subject. He took a sip of his own drink, leaned back against the wall and began to survey the crowd. James and Lily had met in the middle of the room, and were leaning close together, engaged in an intimate conversation.
"I can't even tell you how happy I am to see them finally happening," Remus said, a smile on his lips, his eyes watching the pair closely. "If I never have to hear about how "radiant" Lily Evans is again, I will die a happy man."
"I'm surprised it took her this long, honestly. I thought for sure she was going to break at the end of last year, when he asked her to the last Hogsmeade trip with a hundred lilies, remember? She won't admit it, but I know she has at least a dozen of those dried lilies under her bed," I laughed.
"He had us down in the greenhouses for hours helping him pick those lilies, so she better have appreciated it," Remus joked, sipping his drink again. I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Jase walk down the stairs from his dormitory. I don't know if he saw me yet or not, but I was in too visible a spot. I needed to be surrounded by more people, so he wouldn't approach me. I chugged the rest of my drink, told Remus I was going for a refill, and made my way over to the crowded makeshift bar. Remus had opted to stand his ground, rather than brave the crowd again. Naturally, Sirius Black was the acting bartender, and naturally, he was taking two drinks for every drink he gave out. To say he was pissed would be putting it lightly.
"Jonesy, Jones, Jones! What can I get for ya?" He was slurring, and singing at the same time, which was mildly concerning but highly entertaining. He leaned onto the bar, which was really just a coffee table that someone had charmed to stand taller, and poured two shots of firewhiskey.
"No, no, I don't want to do a shot." I said quickly, knowing my stomach wouldn't be able to handle a shot so quickly after chugging a full mixed drink.
"Well, kitten, these aren't for you, are they?" He slurred, knocking back both shots in quick succession. Sirius had a horrible habit of calling anything in a skirt kitten when he was drunk, but that rule typically didn't apply to me. I ignored him completely, and reached up to grab a cup. I filled it with a mixture of butterbeer and firewhiskey, my favorite mixed drink. I took a sip, sighed, and smiled; although Remus had remembered what my favorite drink was, he was a little heavy handed with the butterbeer. I preferred my drink strong, with the butterbeer acting to sweeten and lighten the burn of the whiskey. Too much butterbeer and it was sickly sweet.
"Oh yes, the Jones Special." Sirius said, taking in my satisfied expression. "Care to make me on? Nobody quite gets it right like you do."
"I really don't think you need another drink." I said sternly, "How many have you had, anyway?"
"Well given my calculations…I lost track at least 10 drinks ago." Sirius pretended to be pensive, but quickly gave up, shrugged and picked up the bottle of firewhiskey I had just put down. He poured himself a fireshiskey and butterbeer, but over poured the firewhiskey – it was clearly a delicate balance. He took a sip, grimaced, and put it back down. "Like I said, nobody gets it right like you do." He repeated.
I decided to hang out by Sirius for a little, given all of my friends were occupied, and I would have quick access to the mind-numbing alcohol. Remus had caught up with Kelly Farrow, the third chaser, and was eagerly discussing various quidditch tactics. Everything was going well, until Jase made an appearance looking for a drink. It was too crowded for me to escape, so I tried to pretend I didn't see him, praying that he wouldn't touch me.
"Addison Jones. They way you are looking tonight, you're making me regret breaking up with you," he smirked at me, his eyes roaming up and down my body.
"Go fuck yourself, Jase." I spat at him, turning back towards him and facing Sirius. Sirius was busy chatting with Robert, who had come up for a refill for himself and Marlene, who had been spending a lot of time with him tonight. I'm sure he was happy that he's her chosen victim of the night. Sirius didn't notice anything was going on, not that I could blame him. It was so loud in the common room; I was surprised I could hear myself think. I was getting hot, my heart beating quickly, and I was beginning to break out into a sweat.
Jase didn't take me turning around as a deterrent, and why would he? I felt him put his hands on my back, slowly sliding down until he reached my arse. I was shuddering, but was frozen in fear, and couldn't do anything to stop him.
"Jase, please. Stop." I begged, quietly, not daring to move.
"Why don't we take this party back upstairs? Have a replay of the last party I took you to?" He whispered in my ear, his warm breath tickling the back of my neck, making the hair on my arms stand up. I didn't smell any alcohol on his breath, so he was doing this while sober.
"I'm asking you again. Please stop."
"You shouldn't walk around wearing clothes like this, if you don't want me to look. Who are you dressing up for, if not for me?" He asked, his voice getting more and more slimy the more he spoke. I used to think this deep, quiet, just for me tone was appealing. I realized that the more he spoke, the more my stomach turned, churning up all of the alcohol that I had consumed that night. I wasn't drunk, but I definitely was feeling the effects, and his voice was making me feel sick. I needed to get away from him, but I didn't see a way out, especially since I had turned around and caged myself in.
"Whitmore, if you don't take your hands off of her, now, I promise you we are going to have a problem," A deep, commanding voice barked out. It was quiet enough that those around us didn't hear, but intimidating enough that Jase dropped his hand and took a step back. I risked a look over my shoulder to see that Sirius had come to my rescue. I turned around to look at the scene in front of me. Jase was smirking at Sirius, who had stepped in front of me, putting space between Jase and me.
"Oh, are you her guard dog now, Black?" Jase asked sarcastically, still smirking.
"I'm her friend. And if you don't turn and walk away right now, and never speak to Addison again, I promise you that next time, I'll have more friends here and a lot less to hide." Sirius promised, suddenly sounding incredibly sober, given how drunk he had been just seconds before.
"What do you mean, less to hide?" Jase froze, looking suddenly fearful. He glanced at me, just with his eyes, but I kept my face impassive.
"I mean that my good friend Addison here has told me some stuff about you, stuff that she isn't ready for the rest of the Marauders to know about yet. But I promise you, that if you so much as look at Addison again, I will take matters in to my own hands, tell the rest of the pack and track you down. Are we clear? Good." Sirius stalked Jase down like a predator; making Jase back up with every step he took. He spoke with finality, leaving no room for argument. Jase shot me a heated glance.
"You better hope, Jones, that I don't get you alone again. I don't know what lies you are spreading, but I have friends too, and I'm not afraid of a bunch of sixth year pompous assholes who think they run this school because they have rich daddies." With that, Jase turned on his heel and walked away, pushing people out of his way until he disappeared into the crowd and I lost sight of him.
I started breathing heavily, feeling a panic attack coming on. I expected Sirius to go after Jase, and for a second I think he considered it. But Sirius, sensing my panic, put his arm around my shoulder and ushered my out of the common room and up the stairs to the boy's dormitory. He led me to his bed, and sat down next to me. He didn't speak, instead letting me calm down naturally. When I felt like I could speak without screaming, I broke the silence.
"I appreciate what you did for me down there. But he knows that you know now. He's going to come after me. He's going to come after you!"
"No he won't. Because he knows that if he does, James and I will kill him."
"James doesn't even know! I tried to tell him tonight, but he was so distracted by Lily that he didn't even spend five minutes with me before running off. He hasn't even noticed that I've been acting differently, he doesn't care anymore." I had started to cry somewhere in the middle of my rant, without realizing it. I guess James blowing me off had hurt more than I had thought.
"Of course he cares, Jones. But he also just had his life's ambition come true today, so it probably wasn't the most fair time to try to get his attention," Sirius admonished me quietly. He didn't seem freaked out that I was crying, but then, he never really seemed freaked out when I was crying.
"You're right, how dare I try to make tonight about me," I said sarcastically, my anger rising. I made to stand up, but Sirius grabbed my hand and gripped tightly.
"Don't get upset. You know that's not what I mean. I know how hard it is for you to talk about this, so if you felt comfortable tonight, then you had every right to try to tell him. But you can't blame the guy for being distracted when the love of his life finally is giving him a chance, and he's at a party where she is looking fit and giving him the time of day."
My anger deflated immediately, because Sirius was seriously…right. He was making complete sense, and I was being whiny. I knew now that I had the courage to tell James, I just needed the right time.
"And, I've also been thinking. I think we should tell Professor Dumbledore, or Professor McGonagall. We have to get an adult involved here, and Jase needs to face real consequences. Legal consequences. James and I have will obviously have your back, but there's only so much we can do. What do you think? I'll go with you?" Sirius said, still holding my hands, and looking me straight in the eyes. His gray eyes were determined, hard as steel, and staring into my soul. He had the most beautiful eyes I've ever se…Addison! What is wrong with you? This is definitely not the time to be lost in Sirius Black's eyes.
"You think Lily looked fit tonight?" I asked suddenly, the words coming out of my mouth before I could stop them. That seemed to be happening a lot to me tonight.
"Addison, can you focus?" Sirius shook his head, incredulous. He rolled his eyes at me, and waited pointedly for me to answer his question.
"I don't know Sirius, I've had about a hundred drinks, my ex-boyfriend just cornered me, my ex-nemesis stood up for me, and all I can think about is how beautiful your eyes are," I snapped. Shit, did I say that bit about his eyes out loud?
"You're obviously exhausted. You're right; we can talk about this another time. Get some sleep, and I'll make sure no one bothers you tonight. I'm sure the girls noticed you coming up here, so just stay the night and in the morning I'll give you the invisibility cloak to go back. Hopefully they'll think they just imagined it because they were drinking," Sirius said, ignoring my comment about his eyes, like a true gentleman. He got up and grabbed a pillow and blanket from his bed, making a makeshift bed on the floor. I made to get off his bed and onto the floor, but he shot me a look that sent me scurrying up to the head of his bed and settling down.
"Thanks, Sirius. I'm sorry for ruining the party for you. And thanks for letting me take your bed." I said feebly. His bed smelled like him – masculine, leathery, and piney – and I quickly felt my eyes drifting shut.
It was a while before Sirius spoke again, but he did so just before I fell asleep.
"Lily may have looked fit tonight, but you were the only girl I saw in that room. Leather sure looks good on you," I didn't say anything, convincing myself that I had already fallen asleep. But inside, I felt giddy. Sirius Black did like me, and even though it shouldn't…it made me happy.
