The Prewett home was filled to the brim with people. Sirius and James moved slowly through the crowd inside, searching for alcohol. Sirius needed some, and quickly, if he was going to have to spend his night in such close proximity to loud, obnoxious, drunk teenagers. He decided he might as well join them in the endeavour and get absolutely smashed.
"Do you think Remus is here yet?" James called to him, Sirius' heart soaring as he spotted a table piled high with drinks of all kinds.
"Probably not, he'll come later. Peter might be, though…" Sirius would have searched the room but his mind was too set on the drinks in front of him. He grabbed a glass and filled it to the brim with Firewhiskey, proceeding to do the same to a second, which he passed to James.
"Are you trying to kill me?" James stared down at his cup apprehensively.
"I'm trying to prevent you from spending this entire party looking for Lily Evans." His friend froze up at the mention of the name. Sirius sighed. "Listen, Prongs, McKinnon was right about what she said: you've changed a lot. You don't have to sit around and wait for Evans to notice. Make her." James grimaced, taking the cup in his hand and chugging half of it. Sirius hooted with pleasure.
"That is the James Potter I love! Come on, let's see if we can get you drunk enough to want to talk to Penelope Frasier."
"You're terrible."
"Hey, I'm your wingman, have some respect!" Sirius and James ended up in a large sitting room cleared of all furniture so that people could move around in it. There were couples dancing and a game of Exploding Snaps taking place in the corner. Remus had shown up, Peter as well, and the four Marauders all leaned against the back wall, watching everyone else around them having fun.
"Hey Moony, that girl has been staring at you for the past twenty minutes," Sirius whispered in his friend's ear, hoping to get something exciting going. In truth, she'd only looked over once or twice, but Sirius didn't care.
"Which one?" Sirius nodded his head in her direction. She had dark hair, bangs, and a captivating smile. If Remus didn't take her Sirius sure would. He looked over at his friend, noticing the small flicker of interest pass across his eyes.
"There's no way she's been staring at me," Remus denied, shaking his head. "You must have gotten confused—"
"Would I lie to you?" Sirius threw back the rest of his Firewhiskey. That was his second cup and he could feel the liquid courage begin to flow through his blood. "Look." To Remus' horror, Sirius stood tall and strutted over to the small group of girls, tapping the dark haired one on the shoulder.
"Hello." He smirked.
"Yes?"
"Well, my friend over there—" Sirius turned to point at Remus, who waved back anxiously. "He thinks you are absolutely gorgeous." The girl's cheeks grew rosy with blush.
"Does he now?" Sirius nodded enthusiastically. "Well, you should tell your friend if he finds me so gorgeous he should come ask me to dance himself."
"Gotcha." Sirius returned to Remus, who looked about ready to pass out.
"What the hell did you say?"
"Go get her!" Sirius gave Remus a little shove and without any more protests watched his friend slowly approach the group. Five minutes later he and his new date were one of the many couples swaying around in the middle of the room, the night's dedicated dance floor. It was some of Sirius' best work.
"You're terrible," James chuckled, giving his friend a little shove. Suddenly the group of three grew quiet as a new figure entered the room. Lily stood in the doorway, her eyes roaming around nervously; she looked like she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. Sirius' eyes flickered towards James for a fraction of a second. His friend stood still, watching Lily in awe. Even Sirius couldn't deny that she looked positively jaw-dropping tonight.
Lily's emerald eyes spotted the Marauders in the back of the room and Sirius watched, rather excitedly, as she and James shared a look, which was quickly interrupted by Fabian's entrance. Sirius could have thrown him out the window, although that might not have been very fair considering it was his party. Just as James had been getting his one shining moment the big redheaded git had to come and ruin it.
"Why don't we go see if Penelope's shown up yet?" Sirius suggested as Fabian kissed Lily on the cheek and then pulled her along to dance. Sirius could see the slow rise and fall of James' chest as he watched the pair of them looking happy as clams. It wasn't often that James Potter didn't get what he wanted. Sirius was sure it was an odd feeling for him.
"I could get more drinks?" Peter offered, watching James tensely. Sirius gave him a nod and Peter shuffled from the room as fast as his legs would carry him.
"Come on mate, torturing yourself is not going to do anyone any good." James' eyes turned to meet Sirius', filled with pain. Lily Evans was the one thing James had always wanted and never known how to get. He'd tried everything from the desperate pleas to fixing up his personality but it was a no-go. Sirius just had to stand by and watch in agony as James fumbled it time and time again.
Sirius wanted to hate Lily. It was usually how one felt about the person who hurt their friend so consistently, but he couldn't. Over the past year, Sirius and Lily had formed their own sort of friendship and even he could see she was drawing. Lily was kind, funny, and she never made you feel like you were a burden. Despite the fact that Sirius had spent years bullying her best friend she'd still showed him the benefit of the doubt, which was more than most people in his life ever had. Lily's warm nature and likeable personality were what made the whole situation even harder. It was impossible to hate Lily Evans, and James Potter knew it.
"I'm fine," James assured him. "Seriously, the whole Lily thing was a long time ago; it's not like I've never seen them together." Sirius watched as Lily and Fabian began to kiss, his own stomach sinking at the sight.
"Yeah, well I'm not. PDA is disgusting, let's go."
"Coming from the PDA master," James scoffed, following anyway. Out by the drinks again Sirius spotted Marlene surrounded by a group of guys.
"Come on boys, let's not get me completely trashed at my first party back," she grinned, accepting a shot from one of the many suitors surrounding her. She cleaned up nice. She was wearing a white t-shirt and a leather mini skirt, all of which served to make her look even more fit than she already did. It seemed no one could take their eyes off of Marlene McKinnon tonight, not even Sirius.
"How does she do it?" James asked in disbelief. "You'd think she'd slipped them all love potion before showing up." Sirius chuckled as Peter came hurrying over towards them, struggling to hold all the drinks in his hands.
"Thank you, Wormy. Here's to James finding himself a nice snog by the end of the night." James rolled his eyes but Sirius was not joking in the slightest. He was finding James a distraction if it killed him.
Mary twirled her hair around her finger unconsciously as she listened to Vincent, a wizard from Germany, go on and on about how much better their Quidditch teams were. If Mary happened to be interested in Quidditch, like Marlene or Lily, she might have had the mind to listen, but Mary McDonald was anything but a Quidditch fan.
The only reason she'd stuck around and listened to Vincent for so long was because he was the most attractive guy in the room. He had short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, and Mary's sights had been locked on home all night. Of course, she'd expected much less talk and more action from the guy, but Mary did not give up easily. She could work with this.
"Hey Vincent, have you seen the gardens here yet?" Mary proposed hopefully. He shook his head. "Oh, you have to see them! They are the most stunning gardens I've ever seen… would you like me to take you?"
"That sounds nice." Mary might have been terrible at flying, and the worst studier in history, but she was the most extraordinary flirt in the world and an even better kisser. Just as the pair of them were about to reach the back door a small tap on the shoulder grabbed Mary's attention. Alice stood behind her, a bemused expression on her face.
"I need your help," she stated in the least desperate tone. Mary wanted to turn around and pretend she hadn't heard her. All she wanted was one amazing hook up with an attractive German tonight, was that too much to ask?
"What?" she demanded through gritted teeth.
"Marlene is about to allow three sixth years to take shots off her stomach." Mary could've killed her. Marlene had gotten to shag an attractive French guy for the past two weeks, couldn't she at least give Mary this one?
"Where is your big Auror-in-training boyfriend? Get him to stop her."
"We've tried! She won't listen to reason and Lily is off with Fabian. Marlene is too drunk to understand the unfathomable regret she will feel in the morning for this."
"Fuck, where is she?" Mary demanded, ready to murder these sixth years. If she wasn't getting her moonlight hook up with Vincent they weren't getting anywhere near Marlene.
"Kitchen." Mary turned, smiling at Vincent.
"Wait for me?"
"Uh… sure." She knew that when she left him another girl would most likely snatch him up as quickly as possible and Mary McDonald would be left with some mediocre looking drunk for a hookup. She followed Alice off into the kitchen anyway to find that her friend hadn't lied.
Marlene was rolling up her white sweater and preparing to lie across the Prewetts' kitchen island, a group staring at her in anticipation. Frank stood in the corner of the room, horror on his face.
"Absolutely fucking not!" Mary called out, everyone turning to look at her. "Marlene McKinnon, pull your shirt back down and get yourself some water," Mary ordered. She hated when she had to play the mother, but she did it well. Lily was too lenient and Alice too kind.
"Mary," Marlene whined, making big puppy dog eyes at her friend. "It's the first party of the summer!"
"And I'm not letting you give body shots to this lot," Mary answered pointedly, crossing her arms. Marlene slowly shimmied off the counter, taking Mary's hands. The room filled with disappointed groans and a few people booed but Alice and Frank did the job of shutting them all up. They were better than Mary at that.
"Body shots seemed like a good idea at first…" Mary wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulder.
"Maybe not so much now. That's okay, honey, we all make mistakes." Marlene scrunched up her face with displeasure. "Here." Mary filled an empty glass with water with just the swish of her wand and forced it into her friend's hand; watching her drink it slowly. Across the room, Remus was chatting very closely with some pretty, dark-haired girl Mary had never seen before and Peter stood off to the side alone. Mary's heart went out to him. It often felt like Peter just trailed behind the rest of the Marauders, never really a part of the pack.
"Please tell me the rumour is true?" Sirius asked. He'd come up behind them, grinning from ear to ear. Marlene grimaced at him over her cup of water.
"Guess you're too late to ever know," Mary replied with a slight shrug.
"McKinnon, you, my friend, are a legend." Sirius cupped her on the shoulder.
"I hate you."
"Come dance with me." Mary watched with amusement as Marlene protested.
"No, go away, Black. I'm not drunk enough for this."
"Come on, if I don't get to see sixth years take body shots off of you I at least get a dancing partner to make all the other girls jealous." Finally, Marlene broke, taking his hand and letting him guide her into the other room. Mary watched on with a smirk, turning in Peter's direction once they were gone. If she wasn't going to get Vincent at least she could keep Peter company.
Fabian and Lily were sat on the bottom of his stairs, his arm wrapped tightly around her. Lily rested her head on his chest, feeling completely at ease. Every once in a while Fabian would kiss the top of her head affectionately and she'd cuddle a little closer into the embrace.
"You look beautiful tonight," he told her, making Lily smile. "Have I told you that yet?"
"Only about a hundred times, but it's nice to hear again." They watched as a small group of people made their way to the door, waving at Fabian before leaving.
"You're so popular," Lily teased him.
"Truth be told they're mostly friends of Gideon's, and the minute anyone hears about a party there are crowds running over."
"Well I, for one, hate parties. I just find one of the hosts kind of attractive." Lily heard Fabian chuckle above her and she sat up now so that she could see his face.
"Only kind of, huh?"
She smirked slyly. "It's always on the fence with him…" Fabian tickled her so that Lily burst into laughter and then proceeded to kiss her all over her face until she changed her answer.
"Okay, okay! I love him!" Fabian stopped then. He slowed down and then their lips met slowly. Fabian was the first boy Lily had ever said I love you to; it had felt like a big step at the time. She was never really sure what love meant or how it should feel, but one night Fabian had said it to her while they sat by the fire in the Gryffindor common room and without much thought, Lily had said it back. She figured that's what it was like when you were in love, not much thought.
"I should probably make sure no one's caused any serious damage around here," he said as they pulled apart. "Don't want Molly stopping for a surprise visit tomorrow and seeing this place a mess." Lily nodded, pressing her forehead against his.
"I'll be right here waiting for you." With a final peck on the cheek, Fabian stood up and walked off into the other room. Lily's dress felt too tight and her hair was beginning to give her a headache. Truthfully, she didn't want to be right here waiting, she wanted to be home in her bed, free of any makeup or uncomfortable clothing, reading a book.
The party was beginning to die down. She caught sight of a group of her friends playing spin the bottle in the next room. She could have joined them but she decided not to, stepping out the front door instead to catch some fresh air. It felt nice outside, the warm summer air filling her lungs. Lily stepped forward onto the front lawn, soaking it in. She pulled the high heels she was wearing off of her feet, burying her toes in the dewy grass. It was an instantaneous relief.
"Are you okay?" Lily's eyes flung open and she turned to see James Potter, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers. Lily's cheeks warmed and she was glad it was too dark out here for him to be able to tell.
"Yeah… I was just getting some fresh air." He nodded, running a hand through his already messy hair.
"Me too."
"That's not very fresh though, is it?" Lily nodded towards his cigarette. She hated the smell of them — they reminded her of her father.
"I guess not…" James chuckled nervously, tossing the thing away. "How's your summer been so far then?" Overrun by thoughts of you, Lily thought, but she made sure to keep that one to herself. It was almost hard looking at James Potter after all the dreams she'd had; it made the hairs on her arms stand on end. All she could think about now was the time she'd dreamt about him pushing her against the wall in that deserted corridor on the fifth floor and kissing her passionately. Lily's heart fluttered and her palms sweat. What was she doing thinking about that in front of him? What was she doing thinking about that at all?
"Uneventful," she replied, struggling to keep her voice steady. "Yours?"
"Nothing too spectacular."
"That doesn't sound very James Potter of you," Lily teased him. A smirk spread across his face.
"No, I guess not." Lily couldn't believe how intense it felt standing a few feet away from him. A month ago she could have done this fine but now, all of a sudden, her mind was playing tricks on her. James Potter was just a metaphor for something else in her life, she was sure of it. There was no way in hell she could ever be attracted to him; they would never work. James and Lily together would be like putting orange juice in cereal. Not even a good idea in theory.
"You look really great," James told her. Not in the arrogant manner in which he'd said it to her many times before, but with true sincerity. His eyes didn't leave hers once, not even bothering to blink.
"I feel kind of ridiculous," Lily admitted for the first time all night. She kept tugging at the end of her dress self-consciously. He was the first one she'd admitted it to and she had no idea why. "Alice and Mary made me do it…"
"It's a gorgeous dress," James assured her. "But it's not really you, is it?" Lily's eyebrows drew together. How had James Potter, of all people, got it? How did he see what not even her own boyfriend had? "It looks like a dress for someone who has something to prove," James said, taking a step forward. "And you, Lily Evans, don't have to prove anything to anyone." Lily swallowed nervously, her heart pounding in her chest. Since when had Potter become so smart? Sure they'd gotten along well for the past year but she'd never heard him speak like this. He looked like he was about to leave but Lily spoke up, stopping him.
"Marlene told me about Penelope Frasier!" Lily didn't know why she decided to bring it up. The information had just come to mind and she hadn't wanted to see him go. For the first time ever Lily was enjoying James Potter's company.
"Did she?" James wasn't facing her as he asked. Marlene had only mentioned it in passing. When they'd first arrived the two girls had been standing in the back, drinking, and when Penelope had walked by Marlene had mentioned how great she thought James would look with her.
"You guys would be… nice," Lily said, trying to sound supportive. "Penelope's really great. I tutored her in Charms once and she was friendly. You two would look really great together and you'd probably find her funny… she's got a great sense of humour…" Lily didn't know why she was babbling on in the way she was but once she got on the topic her nerves kicked in and words were flying from her mouth at a rapid rate. James turned back around, smiling at her.
"Maybe I'll try talking to her." Lily didn't know why it made her heart sink a little.
"You should," she told him. There was a pause where her and James just stared at each other. Lily couldn't pull away, no matter how hard she tried. He was mesmerizing, and the way he stared at her with such awe made her feel like the only thing in the world. It was hard to tear away from a look like that. Of course, she did eventually.
"I told Fabian I'd be waiting for him…"
"You should go then." James was still giving her the same look. Lily didn't want to go. She wanted to stand like that forever, just the two of them, but then the front door opened and people's laughter filled the air as they made their way towards the street to leave. Lily was shaken back into reality.
"Hope to see you around again then." She smiled and turned back towards the house.
Sirius and Marlene's one dance had turned into five. They spent the majority of them bickering, but that was usually how it went between the pair of them. They stopped once the ache in Marlene's feet was too much and she collapsed off to the side of the room, breathing heavily.
"I hate high heels," she complained, resting her head on Sirius' shoulder.
"So why do you wear them?"
"Because height is everything." Marlene pulled her shoes off her feet, aching with pain. "Do you think the Prewetts will care if I use their bathtub to dip my feet in hot water?"
Sirius shrugged. "I doubt anyone will notice." Marlene stood unsteadily, dragging him up with her.
"Let's go."
"Why do I have to come?" he whined.
"I'm drunk and someone has to make sure I don't accidentally fall in and drown." Sirius rolled his eyes but Marlene ignored him. They'd been like this since they were kids. They'd both come to visit James and argue the whole time, fighting for his attention. Of course, James had loved it. Somehow the behaviour had travelled through from childhood to adolescence. When they reached the stairs Marlene stood in front of them, frowning.
"What?" Sirius sighed.
"My feet hurt."
"We've established that." She stared up at him, offering her best puppy dog eyes, which were very convincing in her experience. She pouted her bottom lip just slightly. "No," Sirius shook his head immediately once he realized what she was begging for.
"Please." Of course, after a few more heavy sighs Sirius agreed, she always got her way with him. She had since they were kids. He bent down and let Marlene hop onto his back, carrying her up the stairs.
"Merlin, you got heavy. I thought you were supposed to eat less in France?"
"Shut up." Even though the deal had only been up to the stairs, he carried her all the way to the bathroom, setting her down on top of the toilet seat while he started up the water.
"Sleep with anyone in particular recently?" Marlene inquired casually.
"No one I can think of off the top of my head…" His attention was focused on getting the temperature just right. Marlene sat still, watching. She hadn't noticed how in recent weeks he'd become more toned, or that his hair had grown out just slightly longer than the last time she saw him.
"There," Sirius said, standing up straight, "that should be good." Marlene got up, just a few inches below him. She stared up into his cool grey eyes.
"Thanks—" She barely got the word out before his lips had collided with hers. Marlene's hands ran through the familiar terrain of Sirius' hair, her mouth moving in unison with his. She was smiling when they pulled apart.
"Some things never change, huh?" They were both smiling now. It wasn't their first kiss. No, that had taken place some time at the beginning of sixth year. There had always been tension between them, the kind of tension that had never existed between Marlene and James.
She had kissed him first. They were fighting about something stupid that had happened during Quidditch practice and somewhere in the middle of it all, Marlene had jumped forward, pressing her lips against his.
"Bet you Anthony didn't kiss you like that," Sirius said proudly as Marlene sat down on the edge of the tub, dipping her tired feet into the water.
"It's Anton, and for your information, his lips were magic." Sirius raised an eyebrow questionably.
"Oh yeah?" He leaned down, grabbing her face in his hands and kissing her roughly. It set a fire in Marlene's chest, her tongue begging for more. When they pulled apart, Marlene felt a tingling deep inside of her.
"I'm supposed to be going home with Lily and the girls," she told him, his eyes staring her down hungrily. They'd never told their friends. It'd been some kind of silent agreement they had, which they were both very good at keeping. Marlene didn't want the reputation of being just another one of Sirius' broom closet hookups. It was easier for them to do it in private, no strings attached, and return to each other whenever they both felt like it. Marlene didn't mind that there were other girls and she sure hoped Sirius didn't care about the other guys she had.
"It won't take that long..." Marlene exhaled heavily, pulling her feet from the water. She had missed it, missed the way it felt when she and Sirius were together. It was probably because there was no tension when it came to other people, no pent-up chemistry. She and Sirius had six years in the making of bottled up feelings, and it made it unlike anything else when they were together, emotions and attraction all tangled into one. Marlene appreciated it, but only in moderation.
"Don't you dare get this skirt dirty," she warned him, slipping her underwear off.
"Yes, ma'am." Sirius took her by the waist, their lips pressed tightly together, and hiked her up against the wall, pushing into her.
"Where's Marlene?" Alice asked. She was sitting on the floor of the Prewett's living room, leaning against Frank's chest. Their game of spin the bottle had finished a while ago and most of the party guests had begun to clear out.
"Last I saw she was dancing with Black," Mary shrugged. "Where is he?"
"Haven't seen him either," James announced, emerging from the kitchen. Alice stood up, rather wobbly, prepared to go and search for the two, but barely took two steps before footsteps could be heard coming down the staircase.
"Where the hell have you two been?"
"My feet hurt so I made Sirius make me up a tub of hot water for them." Had Alice's eyelids not felt so heavy, and her feet not ached so much, she might have questioned them further. She might have asked Marlene why her hair was slightly dishevelled and why Sirius' shirt was buttoned up wrong, but she didn't.
"Let's go back to Lily's, then." Alice had never been so excited to spend a night in a sleeping bag on Lily's bedroom floor.
"Where is Lily?"
Remus cleared his throat. "I believe she is saying goodbye to Fabian." Everyone looked at their feet, not risking a glance in James' direction by accident.
"LILY!" Marlene called out impatiently. Most of the guests had cleared out and the music had been turned off. Alice watched as the last few stragglers went out the front door, desperate to follow them. "LILY KATHERINE EVANS—"
"I'm coming!" Lily came stomping down the stairs. Her hair had been let out of its bun, hanging loosely around her face.
"Thank god," Mary exhaled, Peter offering her a hand to get off the floor.
Frank and Alice waited by the front door for the rest of them, everyone gathering shoes and coats. He had his arms around her, her forehead pressed against his chest as she struggled not to fall asleep.
"I can't believe I let you kiss Remus tonight," she mumbled into his t-shirt. Frank laughed.
"Oh, don't deny that you liked it."
"I will when you admit how much you loved watching me kiss him." Frank grumbled in response to that.
"I love you, Al." She leaned her head back so that he could meet her for a kiss.
"Me too."
"Don't get into too much trouble tonight."
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it."
X
They set up a blowup mattress on the floor, which Alice and Mary split, while Marlene and Lily slept together on the bed. Alice had been so tired at the party and yet, now that she was lying in bed, sleep seemed impossible.
"You won't stop tossing around, Alice," Mary complained. Alice flopped onto her side so that the girls were face-to-face, sighing heavily.
"I can't sleep."
"That's too bad," Mary mumbled, burying her face in her pillow.
"I think there's something wrong with me." Alice couldn't stop. She could feel her stomach doing backflips, keeping her wide awake.
"Me too — it's almost four in the morning and you won't shut up."
Alice couldn't. She couldn't stop thinking about the unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach, the one that had been there all week.
"Mary?" Alice's eyes filled rapidly with tears. Finally, Mary looked over, growing alert when she saw the look in Alice's eyes.
"What's going on? Did something happen at the party?"
Alice was snuffling, tears rolling down her cheeks. Why was she doing this? She was acting like a child.
"Something just doesn't feel right, you know? It doesn't fit… I'm just scared…"
"Honey, you aren't making any sense." Alice could see Mary was confused, only half awake to start with. All she could do was reach out and rub Alice's arm in an act of comfort. It was soothing. Mary was always good with this, making you feel better. She had a mother's touch.
"I love Frank," Alice explained. "I'm just afraid that everything is moving so fast... I found what looked like a ring box in his bag the other day." Mary gasped. "It wasn't!" Alice assured her. "It wasn't an engagement ring, I just… Mary, I panicked! I wasn't excited or even a little interested in the idea, I just had a complete freakout."
"I think that's a pretty standard reaction for a teenager, Al-"
"We've been together since we were fifteen. He's the first boy I ever said I love you to, the first guy I ever had sex with, the first person to see me completely naked." Mary held her hand now, helping to calm Alice's ragged breaths. "I've only ever been with Frank and now I'm scared… what if there's more? What if we've locked ourselves into this little box doomed to misery because we've never tried to see…"
"That's a dangerous way to think."
"I don't want to think it," Alice admitted. She fell back down onto her pillow, staring up at Lily's ceiling, which was covered in glow in the dark stickers; something Lily had probably done in her childhood, or perhaps her parents had done it for her, placing a replica of the night's sky above her head.
"The way I see it, you and Frank are the lucky ones," Mary yawned, clearly desperate to go back to sleep. "Most of us are forced into coasting from one person to another, but you two, you've found it. The person who just fits."
Alice's bottom lip wobbled. She desperately wanted Frank to be that person. She'd never loved anyone as much as she loved him, but then again, she'd never really had the chance to be in love with anyone else before, had she? Frank was perfect, though. He didn't nag her when she was having a bad day or try to make her into anything she wasn't. He took Alice as she was and loved her unconditionally, and here she was, questioning him.
"Yeah," Alice agreed, exhaling calmly. "You're right, Mary."
They fell asleep soon after that.
