Chapter Thirteen: Truth or Dare or Midnight Kiss?
"James, I – I don't know," Alice stumbled as she sat down next to Frank. She curled her silk clad legs underneath her body and leaned into Frank's side.
"Live a little, Alice." Marlene murmured. "It's New Year's and you'll be seventeen in a few weeks."
Alice flushed at the reprimand. Frank squeezed her hand reassuringly. A smile and nod of Alice's head made Marlene grin triumphantly. Marlene grabbed one of the bottles off the table and insisted that each couple share a bottle. Frank grabbed the second one and whispered quietly to Alice that he would drink most of it for her.
"James and I are not a couple." Sirius scowled across the table at Marlene. He grabbed the bottle anyways as James sank down onto the fourth couch at the end closest to Sirius.
"For tonight you two will be since neither of you brought dates to your own damn party." Marlene's words stung a little bit. James wished he had been able to bring Lily to the New Year's party. Almost as much as he wished he could get the memory of that searing kiss out of his mind because he couldn't bring Lily to the party. Sirius really had no excuse. Remus glared at the shaggy haired boy as he opened his mouth to say something that was most likely to be something about wishing Marlene were his date.
"Cheers! To a Happy New Year! May it bring you peace, love, and wealth!" Marlene took a deep swig of the whiskey and handed it to Remus. Sirius and Remus both had the bottles at their lips and were chugging. They held eye contact as they did so, neither wanted to be the first to break. Finally, Sirius passed the bottle to James as his throat burned something fierce. Remus grinned across the table like a wolf at his prey.
Alice coughed after her tiny sip. Marlene made her take a bigger gulp of it and laughed as Alice cringed at the taste and fire. The clock ticked closer to midnight as the teens drank themselves into a stupor. Remus and Sirius had silently issued a challenge. Which pair could finish off their bottle first. Alice and Frank sat back and sipped on their bottle slowly, watching the spectacle that was the three Marauders and Marlene. Everyone was more than a little drunk, including Alice.
Sirius slammed the emptied bottle down on to the table. He grinned at James and they bumped their fists together. Remus scowled and looked at Marlene, pretending to blame her for the fact that they had lost. In all fairness, they never stood a chance. While Remus's tolerance for alcohol was high and so was Marlene's, James and Sirius refused to accept that there were limits.
"I guess that means we lost, Frank," Alice hiccupped and giggled. "Can we stop now?"
Surprisingly, Remus was the one to inform her that the night didn't end until every pair finished their bottle. Alice looked like someone had killed a puppy. Everyone, including Frank, laughed at the face she pulled. James procured another bottle of whiskey from somewhere so that he and Sirius could keep drinking.
"I think it's time to play a little game," Marlene's face was deliciously evil at this point. "So we can help poor Alice here finish off the bottle."
Alice groaned and laid her head down on Frank's shoulder. Marlene's games were more cruel than fun. "Why can't we just have a nice evening of dancing and music and food?" She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted like a child. This only made the other girl cackle.
"Who's up for a round of truth or dare?" Alice muttered darkly at Marlene's suggestion. This was always the older girl's way of getting Alice to do things she was hesitant about. "You get to pick a truth, a dare, or a drink from the bottle. But once you pick you can't go back, that means you're either going to finish that bottle Alice or you're going to play with me."
Sirius liked this game. He grinned across the table Remus who had a darkness in his eyes. Things were about to get a lot more heated between the two boys and they both knew it. Marlene insisted that they sit around the coffee table on the floor to make it more intimate. This produced another grumble from drunk Alice because she had been quite comfortable where she was. The blonde charmed the empty bottle on the table so that it was forced to land on someone every time. "Who wants to spin the bottle first?"
James reached for the bottle on the table and effortlessly flicked it into a spin. It landed on Alice who turned to glare at Marlene. "You made it land on me on purpose!"
"I did not! Now pick!" Marlene gleefully shouted at the girl.
Truthfully, Alice didn't want to pick any of the three options. She grumbled and looked around at her friends. She really wasn't keen on drinking right now. Nor did she desire to choose dare, James was kind to her but he was a Marauder and that could only mean trouble. "Truth."
James looked at Marlene to see if she would interject. Marlene held her hand out in front of Alice as if she were serving her up on a platter. "Alice, tell us where your favourite place to snog Frank is."
The question made her uncomfortable but it wasn't as awful as she had expected it to be. Frank nudged her, he knew full well where her favourite spot was and he wasn't going to let her lie. "Frank and I both have a free period on Tuesday afternoons. And his dormmates are all in Ancient Runes during it. I like to snog him in his dormitory."
Marlene looked scandalized. "I didn't know sweet little Alice had it in her. Your turn to spin it, sweetie."
Alice glared at her. Frank had to prop her up so she could reach the bottle in the middle of the table without toppling over. The bottle did a few lazy turns and landed on Sirius. He grinned at her like he was going to devour her. "Dare."
The girl threw her hands up. She didn't know how to dare Sirius. "Can I have some help?" Alice gave a pleading look to Marlene.
"You're allowed to ask one person for help if you take a drink." Marlene wasn't going easy on her friend.
Remus and James knew Sirius best so they were obviously the two she should ask for help from. Both were good choices. And both were looking at Alice waiting for her to ask one of them for help. "James?"
James grinned and turned to look at his best friend. "Padfoot. I dare you to go and waltz our mother one whole loop around the floor."
Sirius gave James an equally evil grin and stood up. He was a little wobbly on his feet and glimmer of hesitation swept across his face. The drunk teens followed Sirius down the hallway of the upper level until they reached the wide open space by the grand stairs in the foyer. Down below music played loudly and witches and wizards were whirling around the floor. Some were off to the side holding conversations and eating. Alice nudged Sirius as they reached the top of the stairs. With a deep breath, he sauntered down to the first floor, trying his hardest not to show how drunk he was. The five teens leaned on the bannister and watched as pulled Euphemia Potter into his arms and began spinning around the room with her. The dance ended as quickly as it had begun when Sirius stopped right where he had started.
The boy's head spun furiously from the alcohol and the waltzing. He did his best to dash up the stairs. He tripped on the last step and crashed onto the second floor. The other teens dashed back down the hallway they had come. Sirius struggled to his feet and chased after them. Euphemia Potter watched them go. A younger parent might have been inclined to chastise the children for drinking but she felt they were old enough to learn how brutal hangovers could be.
The six teens crashed down around the round table again. Sirius bowed to the applause he got before he spun the bottle. It whipped round and round endlessly. It slowed and lazily spun around another half dozen times before stopping on Marlene.
Brown eyes stared down grey ones. "Dare." Remus tensed a little beside her. Sirius caught his eye and raised his eyebrow ever so slightly. Another challenge to his friend. Remus scowled at him from across the table and lazily draped an arm around his girlfriend.
"Marlene McKinnon, I dare you to kiss the prettiest person in the room." Everyone tensed a little bit. They all knew what Sirius was really daring her to do, he was challenging her and Remus by daring her to kiss him.
What Marlene did next shocked the five friends. She turned her face to Remus and gave him a seductive smirk. She scooted out from under his arm and Sirius looked gleeful. Marlene edged closer to Alice, away from Remus. She took her left hand and turned the girl's face towards hers slowly. Marlene leaned in and locked lips with Alice, who sat there in shock. The temperature in the room seemed to raise ten degrees in that moment. When Marlene pulled away she turned her head and winked at Sirius. All the boys, Frank included, looked incredibly turned on by the girl on girl action.
"You did say 'the prettiest,' Sirius." Marlene reached forward and spun the bottle hard. Round and round it whirled until it stopped on James.
The boy looked at Marlene skeptically. He had known her for so long that he felt he knew the inner workings of her mind, at least when she was drunk. He drummed his fingers on the table as he pondered what he should choose. He opened his mouth and then closed it, teasing Marlene. She certainly had the most dirt on him next to Sirius and she had just proven her mind could provide a creativity so chaotic. "Truth."
The blonde grinned almost as wolfishly as Remus could. "Tell us in detail about the sex dream you had after Lily Evans snogged you in the Transfiguration classroom while you two were on your way back from Slughorn's Christmas party."
Oh but Marlene McKinnon could be a cruel girl. Sirius's jaw dropped to the floor. Never had he heard a more specific or gut-wrenching truth question asked in the game. Alice was highly uncomfortable now. Not only had Marlene just kissed her full on the lips but now the conversation was turning to a topic she just couldn't handle. She ducked her face into Frank's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his body, as if it was going to protect her from Marlene's twisted pleasure. Remus had no idea how twisted his girlfriend's mind really was until now. Four pairs of eyes rested on James.
James grinned at Marlene, impressed at her attempt to make him squirm. Fortunately for him he didn't share a dormitory with her. "I can't."
"You don't have a choice. You chose truth, Jamesie. Now spill." Marlene leaned on the table.
"But you see Marlene, I actually can't tell you about a sex dream I had after Slughorn's party that night." James leaned forward to match Marlene, "I didn't sleep that night. So I didn't have any dreams."
It all became too much for Alice. She stood up quickly and fanned herself. She excused herself to the loo and made off down the hallway. Frank excused himself to go find a glass of water and something to eat. The three Marauders and Marlene were left sitting on the floor. The girl looked a bit angry at James for so skillfully evading her. Sirius was staring across the table where Marlene's boobs had squished together a bit more in her dress while she leaned on the table. Remus was lost in thoughts about how devious and cruel his girlfriend was. James grinned knowingly at Marlene. The two had been playing mind games for as long as he could remember. He was impressed with how she had managed to wrap him into the one she was currently playing with Remus.
"You better be careful, Marlene." James murmured from across the table. "Little girls who play with fire get their fingers burned."
Years had passed since James had tried to curtail Marlene's joy for risk-taking. "Don't worry, little brother. I know what I'm doing."
James shook his head and got up to stretch. "I'm not so little anymore. I wish you'd heed my advice." He walked off down the hallway in search of something to put in his grumbling stomach.
Sirius, Marlene, and Remus still sat on the floor. Marlene was fully in Remus's lap now and Sirius was watching them from across the table. The girl was pleased with the effect she was having on them. She might finally get what she wanted from Remus and she'd get the payback she so desperately desired from Sirius. The boys were glaring at each across the table again. Marlene caught Sirius's eye and smiled coyly at him before slowly turning her face to Remus and pulling him into an intoxicating kiss. He didn't even try to stifle his groan. It was in that moment that Sirius realized Marlene had been toying with him all night. He growled in the back of his throat as he stood up. He yanked the bottle of firewhiskey off the floor and marched off after James.
Lily sat by her bedroom window looking up at the stars. She wondered how Marlene and Alice were enjoying the Potters' New Year's party. Downstairs her sister was having one that Lily hadn't been invited to. Not that she had really wanted to go anyways. Her parents had invited her to go out with them to a party they were going to but Lily had declined. She would have felt odd being surrounded by all those adults, asking her questions about a school she knew she couldn't tell them about. Midnight was closing in and all that her mind could think about was that kiss she had shared with James Potter two weeks ago. She just couldn't get her mind to stop replaying that moment. Something had pushed her forward to him.
"Stop it, Lily! You're being ridiculous!" She had started her pacing again.
To her, James had always been a bit like Peter Pan. Lost in Neverland. Causing mischief. And he was never going to grow up. She couldn't even convince herself that she believed this anymore. At some point James had stopped being Peter. He was growing up and she felt it tugging at her. Lily was in all honestly terrified. The world around her kept growing darker and she was powerless to it. It was in that moment that Lily realized she didn't want to grow up. She wanted to stay a child just a little bit longer. She wasn't ready for the responsibility that was going to be thrust upon.
Cheers from downstairs echoed around her room. She looked at the clock on the wall as the church bells chimed midnight. She slumped down by her window again. She looked around her room. At the stuffed bear sitting on her bed. The bookshelves filled to capacity with wonderful books, muggle and magical. She pulled her copy of Peter Pan off her shelf. Battered and worn but one of her most prized possessions. A tap at the window brought her attention back to the darkness outside.
Lily grabbed her wand from the dresser and crossed the room cautiously. She laughed at herself when she realized that it was just an owl delivering a letter. Confused as to whom would be writing to her now she unlatched the window and through it open for the owl to fly through. Aristotle, her own owl, was out hunting. The beautiful barn owl perched on Aristotle's cage and Lily pulled the owl pellets down from a shelf. She filled the dish and put it within reach of the owl before carefully untying the letter from its leg.
Lily,
Please don't toss this note in the fire before you read it all the way through!
Lily rolled her eyes. She would recognize this script anywhere. Despite not having received letters from James for over six months she still knew his hand writing. She recognized the owl now even though she hadn't when she'd let it in. She couldn't read this now. Her head wasn't all there. Lily didn't want to toss it though either. Something made her want to keep it even though she didn't want to read it right now.
Petunia rapped hard on Lily's bedroom door. Informing her that she had five minute to come downstairs and take a glass of champagne up to her room before she would be quarantined again until the morning. Lily heard her sister stomp back down the stairs. Lily tucked the note inside the book. She dropped the book into one of the bookshelf and raced down the stairs at the promise of champagne.