4
All Hallow's Party
The news of Gemma Fairview's incident spread across Hogwarts quicker than wildfire.
Her parents, both of whom were outspoken muggle-borns, had been found murdered in the homes. It was the killing curse, and hovering above their Sussex home, was a dark mark.
You Know Who's mark. It was splattered all across the front page of the prophet.
Gemma Fairview had left the school last night to be with family.
" So did you hear?" Remus asked Doe in the common room the next morning. It had been all she had heard in the dormitories this morning. All of Gryffindor was talking about it.
" Yeah I did, " She told him, " It kind of explains last night"
Remus nodded solemnly.
" It's sort of terrifying huh?" Marlene asked, " You-Know-Who is a lot stronger than they're letting on"
"Marls, I'm sure they'll handle it, the ministry won't let these attacks continue" Doe said gesturing her eyes towards Lily, who had become quite pale.
Doe had noticed that Lily seemed more nervous as You-Know-Who gained power, and Doe couldn't blame her. Part of You-Know-Who's popularity was his intent to destroy muggle-borns.
" Yeah I'm sure they will " Marlene said catching on.
Lily wrapped her arms around her legs, and offered them a feeble smile.
" I'm going to go to the library I think" Doe said getting up and gathering her things.
" You're so weird!" Marlene shouted, " Behold the thing that studies too much"
Doe rolled her eyes, and headed towards the library.
It was very bright this morning. A little bit of sunshine was pouring in through the windows and casting light onto the rows of books and empty tables. The library itself was relatively empty. Most of the student's were off doing something else with their free time.
Doe liked it when it was like this.
It was easy to get things done and slip into a quiet little world of her own.
There were a lot of empty tables, but there was one in the back that had only one person sitting there.
Severus was sitting amongst a pile of books. Part of her wanted to pretend that she didn't see him, and the other part of her forced her to be nice.
Letting her kind side rule, she walked over to the table where Severus sat.
" Mind if I sit here?" she asked.
Severus looked up at her with a strange look on his face, " If you must".
It looked as if it had pained him to say it.
" You know," she said sitting down, " when someone makes an effort to be nice, it's usually customary to return it".
Severus rolled his eyes. He had several large potions books open in front of him and had obviously been immersed in them before she got there.
" Are you working on the project?" she asked eyeing the largest book on the table, whose title read " Impressive Potions of the New Century'
" Yes I am," Severus said harshly, " What great observational skills you have"
Doe blinked in shock. She thought she had been rather polite to him.
" Someone's a little cranky today" she said opening the cover of her own book.
He didn't respond. So the two sat in silence for awhile, both too engrossed in their books to attempt to make any more uncomfortable chit chat.
" You know, I'm Lily's friend too" Doe told him after a while.
" I know" Severus responded curtly.
" So were probably pretty similar," Doe said, " we could try being nice".
Severus eyed her curiously, " You must really want an O on this project".
Doe laughed lightly, " I just think this project will go much more smoothly if we get along"
" Well when you get the chance, I have come up with ideas for the project" Severus said sliding a piece of paper towards her.
On the paper were several different potions, each one very complex. Doe smiled lightly to herself, for Severus she knew this was something akin to a truce flag.
" I'll look them over, okay? and we can talk about them in Potions" She told him.
He didn't look up from his book, he just nodded.
They both worked in silence for a little while. Every so often he would look up from the book and give her a curious stare before turning back to whatever he was doing.
Doe let her eyes wander up to the window that overlooked the grounds. They looked as though they were shining. She decided it might be nice to go out and enjoy it a bit.
" See you Severus" She said gathering her books and getting up from the table. Severus didn't acknowledge her.
As Doe left the library and past the large clusters of students enjoying their Saturdays.
The grounds were clustered with people who were out on the lawn. A few first years were lounging underneath the beech tree and couple of Ravenclaw third years were doing cartwheels down the hill.
Despite all of the sunlight, there was a slight autumn breeze.
From where she was, she could see a figure sitting on the dock that hovered over the black lake.
Remus was sitting on it, letting his legs dangle over the edge of the dock.
Doe debated with herself for a moment before she decided to go over.
" Hey, Lupin" She said walking over to where he sat.
" Oh, Doe. Hi" Remus said smiling wider.
" Do you want some company?" she asked him.
Remus nodded eagerly, " Sure, sit down. Please" he said patting the spot next to him.
" It's really pretty out today" Doe said staring at the water. Its normal black color was more of a light charcoal.
By winter, it would be so dark you couldn't even see in it.
" I love autumn," Remus said, " it's got all the beauty of winter without the bitterness"
"Fall is my favorite. I love the beginning of a new school year" Doe said, the water beneath them moved silently.
She could just make out the shape of the Giant Squid underneath them.
"Your birthday is in the fall right?" Remus asked.
She looked at him oddly, "Yeah it is, I can't believe you remembered that"
Remus smiled, "I'm not likely to forget the birthday of my one of my friends. Although James and Sirius do it often enough"
" You always have been the most responsible of the Marauders" she said in agreement.
He narrowed his eyebrows, " You know sometimes I don't understand why they're friends with me"
He stopped and looked as though he wished he hadn't spoken.
He blinked quickly, " I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that"
" Hey, " Doe said placing her hand next to his, "Just because you're different from them, doesn't mean that they're any better"
Remus smiled slightly, " Have I found the one person at Hogwarts who is not completely dazzled by James' and Sirius' lifestyle"
Doe laughed staring down into the lake, " I think you're my favorite Marauder".
Remus' smile widened, "I think that's the first time I've heard that"
Doe felt her chest tighten as smiled at her. She couldn't help but notice how nicely his brown eyes crinkled when he smiled. They were exchanging banter and for the first time Doe felt like maybe Marlene was right, and maybe he was flirting with her.
" Ah come on," she said smiling, "You're easily the smartest, and the most rational"
" Oh stop" Remus said throwing a small stone into the water, a slight smile on his face.
The stone made a little noise as it bounced off the squid and his tentacle reached out of the water.
" You better be careful, before the Giant Squid decides he wants to eat you" Doe warned, pulling her legs back over the edge.
Remus grinned and shook his head, " I'm not worried, the giant squid's an herbivore"
" Lupin the Know-it-all" Doe teased.
Remus grinned, " We all have our strengths"
Before she could respond, the wind blew by at that moment, causing her to shiver slightly.
" Are you cold?" Remus asked, he shrugged off the jacket he was wearing and handed it to her.
" I couldn't" she said shaking her head furiously.
He rolled his eyes lightly, " It's fine Doe, honest" he said handing it to her.
It was brown and had leather patches on the elbows. It was one he had worn several times.
" Thank you," she said slipping into it. It smelled just like him, and she found it very comforting.
Remus smiled again and leaned slightly closer to her. Doe felt her heart begin to race faster.
" HEY YOU TWO" Sirius said trotting down the pier. Both Remus and Doe jumped backward slightly in surprise.
" Hello Sirius" Remus said with a sigh, as he sat down in between Remus and Doe.
"What are we doing here?" Sirius asked happily.
" Just talking, Sirius" Remus said quickly.
Doe's heart was now racing so fast she thought she was going to pass out.
" I'm going to go, actually" Doe said getting up, " Thank you for the jacket"
She took it off and handed it to him. Remus took it, looking less thrilled than he had a moment before.
" See you, Doe" he called after her.
She left the pier with an odd feeling. It had felt like something was about to happen between her and Remus before Sirius got there. She had even thought he was going to kiss her.
She shook her head. No, that was just Remus. He was polite and honest. And anyway he had said 'friend' didn't he.
She must have just been reading too much into the situation.
As the weeks continued on, all anyone could talk about in the castle was the impending Marauder Halloween party.
Marauder parties were legendary. Whenever the Marauders found an excuse to have a party, be that for a Quidditch win or a Holiday, everyone ended up in the Common Room for all hours of the night. They had been throwing parties on Halloween for the last two years.
This year they had decided to make it a costume party, and invited everyone 4th year and above, except for the Slytherins. They never invited the Slytherins.
Doe knew that Sirius and James liked to do everything in excess. She doubted that this party would be anything other than an all night rager that got half of Gryffindor drunk on firewhiskey.
Unfortunately, the next day was the first Hogsmeade visit of the year, so all of those who partied to hard wouldn't be able to properly enjoy it.
This year Halloween fell on Friday, so Marlene, Lily, Mary and Doe got up extra early so they could sit in the dormitory to discuss costumes.
" I think these will work," Doe said pulling the abandoned fairy wings out of Mary's trunk, " Thanks Mary, I would have been lost without these".
" No problem" Mary said, " I anticipated the Marauders party and planned accordingly".
" You know, Doe. I'm surprised you actually agreed to go" Marlene said leaning against her pillows. She cast a wary glance at her dark haired friend, " we usually have to beg you to come to the marauder parties".
" Yeah you usually go on and on about how 'irresponsible' they are" Mary interjected.
Doe began to blush slightly, " Oh, I don't know. I just love Halloween"
" Uh, huh. Or maybe you're just looking forward to seeing a certain marauder" Lily said.
Doe had told them about what happened at the pier with Remus and now was regretting it ever since. They couldn't go five minutes without someone making a joke.
She grabbed a pillow off of the bed and tossed it at Lily, ignoring the laughter of her friends.
" It just might be fun this year" she told them. knowing her blushing was betraying her anyway.
" Of course we believe you" Marlene said sarcastically, rolling her eyes to compliment her wide grin.
" Can't you just be excited that I'm going?" Doe asked her, fastening flowers to the dress she planned on wearing that night.
Marlene smiled widely, "Oh I am. The marauder parties are legendary"
" Notorious, is more like it" Mary said.
" Either way, there's nothing like them. James and Sirius go all out" Marlene said.
Doe wrinkled her forehead, " Do you think McGonagall knows about it?" she asked.
" Not a chance" Marlene said quickly, " It's kept well under wraps".
" But the whole school knows" Doe pointed out.
" Trust me, McGonagall doesn't know. The whole staff has a get together for hours after the feast in Dumbledore's office." Marlene assured me.
" Is it just Gryffindor's who go?" Doe asked her as they got up to leave the dormitory.
Mary shook her head, " No, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are invited too. But no Slytherins"
" Which is ridiculous," Lily said shaking her ginger head angrily, " Not all Slytherins are evil".
" But most of them are" Marlene said pulling her hair until a knot on top of her head.
The four of them walked down the corridor of the school and into the Great Hall. They were still early, but most of Gryffindor was at the House table enjoying breakfast.
Doe sat down and served herself some toast. Her copy of the prophet had been waiting for her at the table. There was nothing terribly exciting in it today.
She flipped through a few pages of articles and read an article about the newest goblin hired at Gringotts.
" Surely you've got something more interesting to do than read articles on banks, right Meadowes?" Sirius asked, as he and the other Marauders sat down next to Doe and her friends.
" Not if you're around, Black" Doe said not looking up from the prophet article she was reading.
Lily burst into loud laughter while the rest of them sniggered
" You hurt me, Meadowes" Sirius said playfully.
" You'll live" Doe told him.
The rest of the the Marauders let out a chuckle at her comment.
" I'd leave her alone, Sirius" Marlene warned, " Doe's mean when she's trying to read"
Sirius frowned, " So's Moony"
They finished breakfast and headed down to Herbology. It was cold outside again. The end of October was bringing cold weather, and soon they knew they would need to break out their scarlet and gold scarves.
Most of the day passed by very slowly, but the teacher's tried to make the day as festive as they could.
Professor Sprout had brought them to Hagrid's pumpkin patch and had them tend to the pumpkins that were now almost to the students waists.
In Care of Magical Creatures, Professor Henley showed them Ridgels. A strange creature that resembled a bat almost exactly but when angered sprouted large purple horns.
By the time they got to lunch, it seemed as if the day was passing by slowly because of their shared excitement.
Even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs seemed as if they were ancy for the rest of the day to speed up.
After lunch, Professor McGonagall taught them all how to transfigure a lamp into Jack of Lanterns. Something that much to Lily's dismay, James mastered in the first two minutes.
Even Professor Flitwick seemed to be possessed by the Halloween spirit, teaching them a quick little charm to make any inanimate object shout " BOO!".
When it was finally time for dinner, Doe practically sprinted to the Great Hall. It was decorated beautifully from floor to ceiling, and the tables were lined with delicious looking food.
Marlene could barely contain her excitement. While everyone ate, she bounced in her seat.
" Marley, calm down" Doe hissed at her.
" I'm sorry," she said eagerly, " I just really want to get my costume on"
" Excited for our little soiree, are you McKinnon?" Sirius asked from across the table.
Marlene flipped her hair behind her shoulder, " Oh you know, if I dain to show up" she said with a laugh.
Sirius chuckled and Marlene flashed her a classic Marlene grin.
The feast continued, everyone discussing the party in hushed tones. It began one hour after the feast ended.
Marlene practically dragged them all back into their dormitory as soon as the plates disappeared from the table.
" Marls, what's the rush?" Doe asked as she sat them all down on their beds.
" We have to get our costumes on so we can do our hair and makeup, silly" Marlene said.
She grabbed her costume out of her trunk and dashed behind her bed.
" I'm very scared, if you're that excited" Lily called getting out her own costume.
Doe grabbed the purple dress she planned to wear with her wings and put it on. Lily had helped her to sew little flowers and leaves on the skirt in order to make it look more 'pixie' like. She had also made a crown on leaves that sat on her head.
Doe slipped on the wings, finishing the costume.
" That looks really cute on you" Lily said coming around the corner. She was dressed her own costume, a pink chiffon genie outfit.
" All thanks to you and Mary" Doe told her.
" Mary the costume queen?" Mary asked coming out in her own costume, a pirate outfit decked out with a sword and an eyepatch.
" Marlene" Doe called loudly, " come out here. We want to see"
" Alright, if you insist" Marlene called and dashed out of the bathroom.
She was wearing a long-sleeve skintight black leather catsuit with matching ears. It was cut down very low, and tight enough to leave nothing to the imagination.
It was just as over the top as Doe had thought it would be.
" Wow, " Lily said,
" Yeah its very.." Doe trailed off.
" I think Sirius is going to love it" Marlene purred, hanging off her bedpost.
" Oh he will" Mary said, " and so will the rest of the boys there"
Doe caught Mary's eye and they exchanged a worried glance.
" He needs to notice me" Marlene said, " and this is the perfect way"
The heard music began playing downstairs and it got louder as it mixed with the voices of the arriving guests.
" It's starting let's go!" Marlene said practically running down the stairs. Mary followed after her quickly, while Lily and Doe walked down together.
They were not expecting what was waiting for them down there.
The entire common room was decorated with Halloween festivities. Hanging Jack-o-Lanterns were floating in mid air from a levitation spell, miles of cobwebs were strung across the walls, and orange streamers were clustered together.
All of the Gryffindors, most of the Ravenclaws, and a few of the Hufflepuffs were all huddled around the common room clad in costumes. Music was blaring through the room so loudly it seemed to vibrate, and two tables had been pushed together in the back adorned with food and drinks.
" Woah" Doe said to Lily.
" So this is what we've been missing" Lily in agreement.
" Ah and the lovely prefects have arrived" Sirius said greeting them at the stairs.
He was dressed as a greek god, shirtless except for a white toga draped around him.
Doe knew he would somehow find a way to be as close to naked as possible.
He had two red cups in his hands, he handed one to each of them.
" Drink, party, enjoy" he said loudly.
Doe could smell the firewhiskey in the cup. She handed it back to him, " I'm going to take it slow"
Sirius grinned widely, " We'll break you eventually, Meadowes" he said as he walked away.
Lily clutched her cup tightly, " Ugh James just saw me he's going to come over. I'll find you in a minute" she said disappearing into the crowd.
Doe wandered over to the other side of the room, very unsure of what to do with herself. The room was crowded full of people she knew, but rarely went to these parties.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Remus sitting down on one of the chairs. He was dressed as a vampire, complete with a cape and fangs.
" You know I wouldn't expect to see you here" Doe told him, walking over to the chair he was sitting on.
He smiled, revealing the stark white fake fangs, " My roommates are hosting this party, I'm obligated to be here"
" This a marauder party, " Doe told him, " so technically, you are also hosting"
He grinned, " Leave it to you, Doe".
She bit her lip nervously, and old habit. Remus seemed to be as unsure of what to do with himself at this party as she did.
" I like your costume" She told him, " very creative."
" I like yours as well" he said, " a pixie?"
She nodded, " Thank Mary, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have a costume"
" Well, I'm glad you're here. Can I get you something to drink?" he asked.
" Anything but firewhiskey" she said quickly. She wished she had slowed down when she said it. She always managed to make herself look like an idiot in front of him.
" A butterbeer coming right up" he said and headed towards the drink table.
Doe watched him disappear across the room and turned to watch as two sixth year Ravenclaws dressed as princesses strode by.
" Doe Meadowes at a Marauder party?" Landon called from behind her.
" Hi, Landon" Doe said turning around to face him, smiling slightly.
He was dressed in scrubs with a stethoscope around his neck. Doe found it to be extremely funny, growing up as a Pureblood Landon would have never seen a doctor.
" I'm a muggle doctor, I hear they're quite successful" Landon said.
She laughed, " You've never been to one have you?".
He shook his head, " I'm a St. Mungo's kid all the way".
" Well you've certainly captured the look" she told him.
" I like your costume too" Landon said playing with the end of her wing, " You're much prettier than the pixies we study in defense against the dark arts"
Doe could feel her cheeks burning. He had just called her pretty.
" Well I don't have the pointed ears or the bright blue skin. That might help" She said laughing lightly trying to distract from the turn the conversation was taking. Landon was Marlene's brother and she didn't think anyone would appreciate him being any more than that.
" Doe" Remus said walking over and handing her the cup of butterbeer.
"Oh, thank you" Doe said smiling brightly at him
" Oh, hey Remus" Landon said taking a step closer to Doe, " we were just discussing how Doe's looks are far superior to that of a real pixie"
Doe eyes Landon strangely, shocked at how cavalierly he had just said that. Remus's eyes darted quickly from Doe to Landon, looking almost frantic.
Remus pursed his lips. He looked conflicted about something.
" Doe, will you come to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?" He blurted quickly.
He looked extremely uncomfortable as soon as the words had escaped his mouth.
" With you? Tomorrow?" She asked Remus.
His eyebrows furrowed together and his mouth was open slightly, " Yes" he nodded.
Landon was looking at Doe quizzically, and she was suddenly very uncomfortable having both Remus and Landon watching her.
" I think I should probably give you two a moment" Landon said quickly and disappeared through the crowd and leaving the two of them alone.
"Yes " Doe said quickly, turning back to Remus.
He smiled a little, " Great so tomorrow then?" he asked quickly, he looked rather nervous.
She nodded.
"Okay. Great," he said quickly, "I have to find James, but I will see you tomorrow" he said and walked away quickly.
Doe was left very dazed. She took a quick sip of butterbeer to try and calm herself down.
Remus had asked her to go to Hogsmeade with him. It was very sudden, and he seemed rather uncomfortable doing it.
Maybe it was just a formality. Maybe he just wanted to be polite.
" Hey there, Doe-re-mi" Mary said when she walked by her, " why so quiet?"
Doe waited a moment and then told her everything that happened in a hushed whisper.
" Wow," Mary said taking it in, " that's a date".
" I dunno, it didn't seem like it" Doe told her, shrugging.
She shook her head, " Trust me, Doe"
Mary could tell she was unconvinced. She sat down on the arm of her chair, watching the other party goers.
Lily was talking earnestly to Laura Abbott across the room and Marlene was throwing herself at Sirius. She had the attention of most of the boys in the room.
Ludo Bagman couldn't take his eyes off of her, and Dirk Cresswell was hovering near her with a drink in his hand ready to pounce. Marlene however, ignored everyone but Sirius.
" Marlene and Sirius might just be the next it couple huh?" Amelia Bones said walking over to Doe and Mary.
Amelia was a Hufflepuff in their year, but she wasn't like the usual Hufflepuff. She was a great dueler and was extremely outspoken, defying the 'useless Hufflepuff' stereotype.
" I'm sure Marlene hopes so" Doe told her.
She laughed, " Well she should. Only someone who looks like Marlene would be able to tame the infamous Sirius Black".
They watched as Marlene said something to Sirius again in a hushed voice. Her long blond hair fell down her back and she looked so beautiful that she complemented Sirius' looks nicely.
" If he can be tamed at all" Doe said.
" True," she said, " he's a fabulous kisser, either way"
Doe shoved her lightly, " I always forget that you two were together"
" Not 'together'" she reminded her, " just a fling, and I was 13. Naive and all. Oh I better go, here comes Benjy Flitwick and I am not in the mood to discuss charms".
Amelia floated away, joining some of the other Hufflepuffs in attendance.
" I really like Amelia" Mary said.
" I do too," Doe agreed.
" Okay we need to get Marlene to bed" Lily said walking over to them.
Marlene was spinning around the room singing to herself, but several decibels louder than music.
Dirk was still watching her from the corner.
" Let's go" Doe said to Mary walking over to her.
" Guys!" Marlene squealed in excitement, " are you having fuuuunnnnnn?"
Lily and Doe each slid one of Marlene's arms around their shoulders and led her towards the girl's dormitories.
" I don't want to go to bed" she whined.
" I think you've had enough marauder for tonight" Doe said dragging her up the stairs and into their room. She fell asleep in her clothes on Lily's bed.
" That was certainly a party" Lily said.
" It sure was" Doe said to her.