A/N: In the original text this chapter, now chapter three, was posted as chapters five and six. My major issue now is that I like both chapter titles "Very 'Sirius' Business" and "Halloween". If you go on to read this story and the sequel you will realize that Halloween has a particular importance for this story and that is why I am reluctant to scrap it. So, this chapter, now chapter three, has another honorary title and that is "Halloween".
The Last Laugh
Chapter Three: Very "Sirius" Business
By: Stardust
At eleven o'clock the next morning Lily forced her eyes open. The hot sun was streaming in through the window and practically blinding her tender morning eyes. She yawned audibly and carefully stretched her muscles. She did not want to get out of bed or move. They were up so late last night and she had not slept easily…
With some degree of caution she extricated herself from James without disturbing his slumber. There were dark circles under his eyes, even now. He had never complained but he often wrote to her saying that school was rigorous and he didn't sleep much. She smiled as she watched his chest rising and falling in his sleep.
With a contented sigh she slid out of bed and made her way down to the kitchen. On the stairs she was careful not to disturb Sirius as he was sleeping on the couch. Once in the kitchen she leaned on the counter and just looked out the window at the backyard. The leaves on the trees were mostly fallen. The fall day was wonderful and the air was crisp and clean smelling as a light breeze swirled the leaves by the window. For some reason the tableau looked different this morning. Everything looked different this morning.
She knew why…James was home and that made all the difference.
She started to make breakfast for her two boys and smiled to herself. If someone had tried to tell her two years ago she would be standing in her own kitchen in her own house making breakfast for her boyfriend and her best friend she would have laughed in their face. She wasn't sure how it happened but she had become extremely domestic…
"Mmm, that smells good." James murmured in her ear as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Lily, who had been busy cooking and daydreaming jumped and knocked three eggs to the floor where they splattered everywhere.
For a second she just stared wide-eyed at the mess and then she gave in and started to laugh. Nothing was ever going to be perfect here…but things would always be amusing. "Oh James…" She said with a sigh as she cleaned up the mess with her wand.
"Sorry babe," He said, kissing her cheek.
"It's OK," She replied, trying to smooth down his unruly hair. He smiled at her though his gaze seemed to be distant, as if he were lost in deep thought. She let her fingers gently run down the side of his face and she smiled too.
"Is something burning?" Sirius asked, sleepily, as he entering the kitchen stretching. It took Lily a second to indeed register the smell and connect Sirius's words with her senses as she had been so deep in thought about James.
With a muffled expletive she pushed James away from her. "Well…not too bad…" Lily said, holding up a blackened piece of toast. Sirius shrugged.
"I'll eat it…" He said, snatching it and sitting down at the table taking a gigantic bite. Lily shook her head and turned back to the rest of her meal. Together Lily and James started to set the table and the three sat down to breakfast.
"So," Sirius said, a twinkling in his eye. "How was your date?"
"We had a good time…didn't we?" Lily asked, cocking her head to look at James. "Not that it's any of your business," She added, giving Sirius a playful look. Sirius glanced at Lily's left hand—which, of course, was still bare—and raised his eyebrows at James.
James was busily studying his scrambled eggs. They were a brilliant shade of yellow this morning…especially when the sun hit them just right. James could feel Sirius's eyes boring into the top of his head but he didn't dare look up. He was glad Sirius wasn't an occlumen…that seemed to be the part of lessons as school he was struggling with the most. No matter what he did his professors were easily able to break down his senses by exploiting his preoccupation with Lily.
Lily was, of course, oblivious as she was reading the post that had been dropped off much earlier, when they all should have been awake. The Daily Prophet lay discarded. They scarcely bothered with it these days…it was only filled with unhappy news. She was busily perusing a piece of parchment that was full of very neat and precise writing.
While Lily was adequately distracted James passed Sirius a folded up piece of parchment which he immediately stashed for future consultation. After the brief exchange they busied themselves with their breakfast and carried on as normal. It was the sort of thing they pulled in front of Lily all the time at school.
"OH!" Lily exclaimed suddenly, startling the boys. She looked up at them excitedly. "Angie's got her own apartment in Hogsmeade now!"
"Angie?" Sirius choked, spewing a bit of scrambled egg. He had gone slightly pale at the word as if it held the same connotation as World War III.
"Angela Star?" James asked.
"Yes, Angela Star," Lily repeated impatiently. "Who else would I be talking about?" James glanced sideways at Sirius—it was now his turn to study the particular golden hue of his eggs.
"So…uh, Lily…how is Angela? She's working for the Prophet, isn't she?" Sirius asked, in a would-be normal voice. He was still carefully avoiding eye contact with James.
"Yes, she seems to be doing great and getting all settled in. I can't wait to see her. It's been…well, wow, almost two months! I'm going to have to set up a lunch date! Hey James, we should bring her a housewarming gift tonight."
"Oh…well…" James said, hesitantly. "We'll probably run into her at the Halloween party, don't you think? And anyway, she didn't invite us over….Did she?"
"Well, no…but…well, I suppose you're right. She probably will be at the party tonight." Sirius choked again on his orange juice.
"All right, well," Sirius said, clapping his hands together after finishing his food. "I'm, uh, well, I'm off. I will see you two tonight in Hogsmeade." He lifted his glass of orange juice and said: "To Halloween, practical jokes, and plenty of single girls."
Or one single girl, James thought as he watched Sirius down the rest of his orange juice.
"Sirius, you're just going to eat and run?" Lily asked, giving him a slightly hurt look.
"Sorry, Lil. The food was great, couch was a little lumpy, but I'm not complaining. However, I have some serious business to attend."
"But there are still dishes in the sink." She pointed, giving him a wink.
"Very funny," Sirius said sarcastically. Then he disapparated with a pop.
"Sirius and important business just doesn't sound right in the same sentence," Lily said clearing the table lazily with her wand.
"He's perfect for the job, after all he said it was 'Sirius business'," James replied, smiling at his own joke.
"Oh no. What are you two up to?" Lily demanded.
"I'm in no way implicated in this, Lily, I swear! I have no idea what Sirius' 'serious business' is. For all I know it somehow involves Dragon-hide leather boots!" This was, of course, only partially truthful. If Sirius consulted that piece of parchment James had slipped him, then Sirius would be taking care of serious business for James.
"OK, ok, I believe you," Lily said easily. She had only asked on a whim.
"Good job, by the way, mentioning Angela," James said sarcastically, getting back to his eggs.
"What do you mean?" Lily shot back. James gave her a look while chewing. "Oh come on!" Lily said rolling her eyes. "Just because she and Sirius weren't speaking at graduation…I mean, really, they must be over that by now. Sirius has obviously moved on."
"Sirius always does," James pointed out.
"Well, Sirius was the reason they weren't speaking to each other at graduation."
"No, Vicki was the reason they weren't speaking to each other at graduation," James corrected.
"Oh, right," Lily snapped sarcastically. "It only takes one to have a snog fest."
"Snog fest is overstating things a bit," James replied critically.
"Why are you trying to defend him? The point of the matter is that while he was dating Angie he was snogging Vicki."
"She was snogging him and it was only once, you make it sound as if it were a torrid affair. Sirius promptly had nothing to do with her after that unfortunate incident."
"Unfortunate that they were caught, you mean."
"Well yes," James replied. "If they hadn't been caught then Angie and Sirius would presumably have been speaking at graduation."
"But getting back to just now," Lily interrupted, giving James a disapproving look. "It was Sirius' fault they broke up—every time they broke up—"
"NOT TRUE!" James interrupted loudly. "And anyway, it's obvious he still has feelings for her. In case you didn't notice how quickly he left and how he innocently inquired after her."
"Well," Lily replied rolling her eyes. "If he's still got feelings for her that's his problem. He never made any attempt to patch things up."
"I'm just saying, you might have been a little more tactful."
"Don't go blaming me for not being a mind-reader. And anyway, they're probably going to see each other tonight."
"Yeah…that's going to be interesting…"
Sirius Black, the eighteen year old, the cool, calm, collected, and notorious, walked, or rather strutted, into the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade village that afternoon. Without pausing or glancing from side to side he went directly to the counter and pulled up a stool. After all, he was on serious business.
"Rosie, a butterbeer." He demanded rather rudely.
"Don't call me Rosie," Rosmerta, the young bartender said automatically. She smiled at Sirius anyway, though as she slid the butterbeer across the counter to him.
"But, my dear," Sirius cried. "You're looking so lovely and rosy today!" Rosmerta narrowed her eyes and looked at him suspiciously.
"What is it that you want from me?" Madam Rosmerta asked slowly. Despite the fact that she knew Sirius only through the times when he came into The Three Broomsticks she knew his character well enough to know he wanted something. She had met Sirius two years previously when she had first started. Ever since he had made it his life-long ambition to hit on her every chance he got.
"What is it that I always want from you, Rosie? A date, a little kiss, some love. Come on, Rosie, just once."
"Maybe if you would stop calling me Rosie…" She replied exasperatedly.
"Let me take you out and I'll call you anything you want me to, baby," Sirius replied, his eyes twinkling.
"Don't call me baby, either," She snapped. Though she hid her smile she couldn't keep it from her eyes. She rather enjoyed playing with Sirius. "Besides, where would you take me, you bum? You're always in here, you don't work."
"I work when I feel like it," Sirius said, moodily. He took a long drag from his butterbeer. "So Rosie," Sirius said, making himself more comfortable on the bar stool. "What sort of people do you get in here? Any weirdos?"
"Oh yes, some guy constantly comes in here and harasses the staff. He's some silly model. I think he does toothpaste ads."
"Rosie," Sirius said, placing a hand over his heart in mock dramatics. "That hurts, deeply. I don't harass you, I have only love in my heart."
"Yes Sirius, I've heard about you. You have too much love in your heart. You have love for everyone."
"That's not fair, condemning a man for love!" Sirius protested and Rosmerta laughed.
"Oh Sirius, you might as well come right out and ask it. I know you've got some purpose today. You're too obvious." She winked and he grinned at her, his handsomely sculpted lips curling back to reveal his dazzling teeth.
"At the risk of ruining the mood," Sirius began, and Rosmerta snorted. "I've got to ask, did you see anyone particularly suspicious yesterday?"
"I see a lot of strange, suspicious looking people everyday. Goblins, hags, and part giants are just a few, shall I continue?"
"Anyone in particular. Anyone who you might have distinctly remembered for one reason or another?" Sirius pressed, ignoring her uncooperative tone. She paid close attention to her customers, often overhearing conversations. Sirius knew that if she felt like it, she really could answer the question.
"Yes, I distinctly remember the guy who threw up all over table four last night. Got any other questions for me?" She snapped.
"Anyone, you have never seen before, maybe?" He asked hopefully.
"New people come in here everyday." She said, slightly exasperated, as if she were talking to an idiot.
"Come on Rosie. Anything that looked out of the ordinary yesterday? There were some shady characters in town."
"Like you, for instance?" She snapped, raising her eye brow.
"Don't get sarcastic on me. Are you sure there was no one?"
"Sirius, I've got better things to do than entertain you." And with that she stalked off to serve her two other customers.
Sirius, slightly bitter, finished his butterbeer and fished around in his pocket for some money. Rosmerta bit her lip as she watched Sirius get up and start to leave.
"Sirius!" He heard her call. Immediately, he spun around.
"Lucius Malfoy was in yesterday; alone. It was only the second time I have ever seen him in here. He thinks he's too rich to come in here, or something," She said, waving her hand. "I don't know exactly what you're up to, but he would be number one on my list of suspicious characters."
Sirius grinned. He knew she had the answer. For one wild moment he toyed with the notion to kiss her, but quickly decided that that would really piss her off. "Rosie, baby; I owe you. Thanks, doll!" He turned to leave but was called back again.
"Oh, and Sirius? Don't call me Rosie." As he walked out he threw a "Bye, Rosie," over his shoulder and she couldn't help but smile.
Sirius was rather inclined to agree with Rosmerta. Lucius Malfoy was certainly a suspicious character and Sirius would have bet a lot of money that Lucius knew how to cast a dark mark in the sky. Lily and James also would have recognized his voice. But who was the other person?
Right now, those thoughts would have to wait, for Sirius had equally serious business to take care of for James...
Dusk was settling in, the sun was quickly sinking. A light wind blew causing Lily to shiver slightly as she leaned out and closed the kitchen window. It was going to be a typical Fall night; clear, and a little chilly.
"Lily! Are you ready?" James called from somewhere in the depths of the basement.
"Nearly," She called back quickly gathering up her cloak and putting the finishing touches on her hair. A brief sense of foreboding ran through her like a shiver as she remembered that only last night the dark mark had shone in the sky where they were about to be going. With a visible shake, she put the thought from her mind, convincing herself that everything would be fine, and that there would be plenty of security.
"You look lovely dear." The mirror said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Ready?" James asked as he suddenly appeared beside her in the mirror.
"Mmm hmm." She mumbled as she turned and kissed him lightly.
"A perfect match. Just like your mother and father." The mirror said reminiscently making reference to the late Potters.
With smiles on their faces, Lily and James vanished, only to appear moments later in Hogsmeade.
Almost instantly they were hailed. "James!" James whirled around to see his friend Peter Pettigrew making his way towards them with a big grin on his face.
"Peter!" James exclaimed shaking hands with Peter as they started chatting. Lily looked around anxiously hoping to see some of her friends. Not a whole lot of people were here yet. It wasn't dark yet.
"Padfoot's coming, isn't he?" She heard Peter ask.
"Oh yes," She heard James reply. "Too many single witches around for him not to come."
"I had a feeling..."
"And she blamed Lucius Malfoy?" A wise old voice asked, just to make sure he had things straight.
"Yes," An anxious young voice confirmed.
"Now Sirius, let's not let school rivalries cloud your judgment," Dumbledore advised.
"You know perfectly well the reputation the Malfoy family has," Sirius argued.
"We needn't jump to conclusions. It wouldn't do to wrongly accuse someone of such a serious offense."
"But it's got to be him!"
"You've no evidence. Listen Sirius, we better get going if we want to get to the party on time. I promised Minerva I'd dance with her."
"You and McGonagall?"
"Well..." Young Sirius Black and wise Albus Dumbledore chatted lightly about girls all the way to Hogsmeade...
"James!" Lily exclaimed, tugging on his sleeve. He looked up to see what had caught her attention and spotted it immediately.
"Remus!" James cried. But, of course, he didn't hear across the square with a couple dozen people around.
They watched as Lupin glanced around and started to walk in the other direction. He looked up at the quickly darkening sky anxiously and looked around at the crowd once more before suddenly vanishing.
James blinked. "He's gone…" Lily looked up at him and shrugged.
"Never fear, the life of the party has arrived!" Sirius Black exclaimed, startling the couple.
"Where have you been?" Lily asked Sirius.
"I was just talking to Dumbledore about my 'business'," Sirius said slyly winking at James. James grinned.
"What is it with you two?" Lily demanded putting her hands on her hips. "You were in on it!" She exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at James. James put his hands up in front of him, as if to ward her off.
"Watch it, Sirius," James warned. "That finger can be deadly!"
"Ugh!" Lily said in an exasperated tone, throwing her hands up in the air.
"Oh, come on, Lily—"
"James, tell me what is going on. It's never good when the both of you are involved."
"Don't worry about it, Lily," James told her in a tone that left no room for questions. Lily's face darkened a bit.
"I'm not speaking to you," Lily said shortly. Sirius's eye brows shot up and he couldn't help but grin.
"Lily, come on," James pleaded with her but she just looked in the other direction. James rolled his eyes.
"Isn't this a picture perfect moment? Definitely one for the scrap book!" Sirius put in.
"Shut up!" Lily and James snapped.
"James, no secrets," Lily said, giving him a certain look.
"Yes James, no secrets. No, no, no." Sirius shook his finger at James. James gave him a daring look.
"We could do without the comments from the peanut gallery," James said dryly.
"Peanuts? Where?" Sirius said looking all around.
"Ha, ha, very funny." James said sarcastically.
"Don't worry about me. I'll just dance with Peter." Lily continued. She was half playing with him and half serious. It was true that if James and Sirius were planning something, it probably wasn't good, and if they weren't going to tell her about it…then it definitely wasn't good.
"Ooh! Low Blow!" Sirius added, thoroughly loving his current role as James' tormentor. James reached for his wand. He had half a mind to hex Sirius but thought better of it.
"I suppose that means you don't-" Sirius began but was interrupted by James.
"Sirius-" James said harshly. He, in turn, was interrupted by Sirius again who just continued with his sentence as if nothing had happened.
"-Want to hear what-"
"SIRIUS!" James yelled. He was starting to really get pissed off at him right now.
"-Rosmerta told me-"
"I SAID...wait. What did she say?" James said changing his mind and his tone half-way through his sentence. Lily couldn't help but turn around to listen. She was curious.
"Our old friend Lucius was in Hogsmeade yesterday evening," Sirius told them gravely.
"Yes... I suppose he could have been one of the speakers we heard last night," James said slowly and thoughtfully. The sentences had been so brief and the voices heard so long ago that he really couldn't be sure anymore.
Suddenly Lily gasped very audibly. "James! Sirius!" She exclaimed. "Look! A full moon!" She pointed up towards the sky. Darkness of course was fully settled in by now and a full moon loomed over the village of Hogsmeade.
"Oh no! A full moon on Halloween!" Sirius said in a mockingly horrified and teasing voice.
"Yes, genius," Lily replied sarcastically. "That's why Remus left."
"Oh, you're right!" James exclaimed staring at the full moon and cursing his own thick-headedness.
Suddenly Sirius's eyes widened and he gripped James's arm. "What the hell…?" James muttered as he and Lily searched for the cause of Sirius's sudden shock.
Directly in his sight-line was the most beautiful blonde in the group. Not only was her beauty obvious but her personality seemed to radiate from her. Her laughter brightened the area around her and time seemed to slow down.
James was raising his eyebrows and Lily was rolling her eyes. "ANGIE!" She cried at the top of her lungs. Sirius was visibly shaken by this sudden outburst and interruption of his thoughts. Lily left James and Sirius to their own devices and went to greet her friend with a smile and a hug.
As soon as Lily was a good distance away James turned to Sirius.
"Is everything in order?" James asked in a business-like fashion. "Hey! HELLO! I think you're drooling on yourself."
"What?" Sirius asked distantly. He was still watching Angie and Lily laughing together with a mesmerized look on his face.
"Did you set everything for tonight?"
"Oh…Yes," Sirius replied distractedly.
"Well, tell me!" James demanded, impatiently. When Sirius didn't immediately respond James grabbed his shoulders and physically turned his back on Angela Star. With a frustrated sigh Sirius started to speak.
"One question first," Sirius said, looking squarely into James dark eyes. "Are you sure you're ready to do this? There's no turning back once you ask."
"I should smack you," James replied.
"OK…just checking," Sirius said. "Here's the gig: Dumbledore is your intro-man at eleven o'clock. Because we're talking about Dumbledore here, he's going to stop the band at eleven, and, of course, the band will stop and everyone will listen because it's Dumbledore. He's going to say a few words about you two and lead you right into a perfectly public proposal."
"Oh shit. Right. That's how I wanted it," James reminded himself.
"Just relax and be cool. You're going to score SO big tonight." Sirius said with a huge grin on his face.
"Shut up!" James snapped, though he was grinning too. "It's just, I love her so much. Sirius, you have no idea how much I need her. Ever since Mum and Dad died…she's just been amazing."
Sirius smiled. "Even I can't come up with a sarcastic remark about such obvious heartfelt emotion. You guys are just disgusting." James laughed and shook his head.
"Maybe just crazy," James compromised.
"Definitely crazy," Sirius agreed. "Now!" He said suddenly, rubbing his hands together and getting a feverish look in his eyes. "Let's go find Peter. We've got a bachelor party to start planning."
"Oh no…I'm suddenly more afraid of my bachelor party than I am of proposing tonight."
"Why?" Sirius asked, putting his arm around James shoulder and steering him through the crowd.
"You're planning it."
"Lily!" Angie squealed excitedly when she saw her friend. A guy near them clutched his ear and gave them strange looks; they paid no attention. "Oh my God! You look amazing! How are you?"
"I'm great! What about you?"
"Just fine," She replied dismissively, as if she wasn't positively glowing with beauty and excitement. "So, getting straight to the point, what's living with James like?" Angie asked with a wink and Lily giggled.
"It's wonderful when he's home. But it's lonely when he's not. Sirius keeps me company though."
"Hey, speaking of lover boy and Sirius, where are they?"
"Probably off with Peter making trouble. You know them." Angie laughed appreciatively. Some things never change.
"Remus is the only thing missing, where is he?" Angie asked. Lily looked away remembering Sirius suspicions the night before.
"Full moon." She replied distantly.
"Yes, I noticed, isn't he here?" Angie pressed, confused as to why Lily seemed to be ignoring her.
Duh Lily! Angie doesn't know about Remus. "OH!" Lily said with slightly more emphasis than she had intended. "No, I haven't heard from him."
"Do you think he's all right?" She asked with some concern. Angie had always had a good relationship with Remus. She had been more physically attracted to James and certainly to Sirius but she had always been good friends with Remus.
"I should think so." Lily replied carefully.
"Well, I mean, you know how inseparable they are. I just assumed he would be here. You don't think it's odd that he hasn't talked to you guys?"
"Yes, I do, and I'm worried. If he's in trouble he's not reaching out to us…and if he doesn't contact us…who else would he turn to? Oh Angie, let's not talk about it tonight, OK?"
"Sure," Angie said brightening. "Come on, let's go find the guys." She said tilting her head into the crowd. And the two girls hurried off in search of "the guys".
"The guys" were standing together in a small group near where the band was getting set up. They were laughing about something, which was not unusual. James noticed "the girls" coming and went to greet them, being ever so gracious. He gave Lily a kiss on the cheek and she instantly flushed. Angie hid her smile.
"Angela," James said formally, extending a hand to her and leading the two over to the group.
"James," Angie replied with as much evenness and formality as James had said her name. Unnoticed by the two of them Lily rolled her eyes. Angie and James had dated before and now that James was dating Lily, they were so formal. Lily personally thought that they only acted like that around her, as if it mattered to Lily whether or not James called her Angie.
"And here they are folks, the couple of the year: James Potter and Lily Evans." Sirius said mocking an announcer's voice and pretending to speak into a microphone. "Things got off to a rocky start back in sixth year but here they are now. We have already witnessed a minor disagreement here tonight but they always manage to work out their problems. How do you do it?" Sirius asked extending his pretend microphone to Lily.
"Shut up, Sirius," Lily replied. Angie giggled.
"Angela," Sirius said suddenly noticing her, dropping his "microphone" and voice at the same time. Lily rolled her eyes again. Here we go… She thought.
Angie didn't say anything. She had probably preferred it when Sirius hadn't noticed her.
Angie and Sirius had a legendary relationship. It was legendary because anything involving Sirius Black seemed to wind up as legend at Hogwarts and also because at the end of their relationships (they had broke up and made up several times) it always seemed they managed to blow something up or cause quite a bit of property damage.
They had started dating in fifth year, shortly after Angie's mother was murdered. Their first stretch had lasted about six months, well into the second term and ended in devastating disaster. Angie was completely crushed. In sixth year she joined the Gryffindor quidditch team as beater opposite Sirius. This turned out to be a mistake ending in Gryffindor's worst defeat ever under James Potter as captain. Then, there was the Hogsmeade weekend which started with them dating and ended with them screaming. Although, Sirius later swore this weekend never actually happened. It was shortly after that Angie went to Beauxbatons for a semester. In seventh year they hooked up again over Christmas break when they both stayed at Hogwarts and lasted nearly to the end of the year. The rest was history.
Their relationship had been very love/hate. Both were temperamental sort of people. When they loved each other, they loved, each other and when they hated each other, they loathed each other.
The tension in the circle seemed to heighten as everyone nervously looked between Angie and Sirius. Peter half expected some sort of explosion given the terms upon which they had left their last meeting but nothing so dramatic happened. At any rate, they were interrupted.
"Witches and Wizards! Happy HALLOWEEN!" The lead bandsman shouted.
"HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" The crowd happily shouted back and the music started.
"Care to dance?" James asked taking Lily's hand and kissing it. Sirius rolled his eyes as he watched them trot happily off.
Peter immediately snagged a girl near to him and with a start Sirius realized he was "alone" with Angie. They eyed each other suspiciously for a moment.
"I don't suppose you want to dance?" Sirius asked her with a hesitant grin.
"What the hell?" Angie said shrugging and linking arms with him. "It won't be the first stupid thing I've done."
"You flatter me," Sirius replied sarcastically. "You just think you're so funny, don't you?" he asked, looking down his nose at her.
"I'm hilarious," She replied defiantly, fighting to keep a straight face.
"You're crazy," Sirius replied, fighting to keep his face straight too. An attractive dimple was forming at the corner of his pressed lips.
"I dated you didn't I?"
"Yeah, you're a wild woman!" Sirius agreed, again with sarcasm.
"Hey, you promised a dance," She reminded him, prodding him in the side.
"Watch it!" Sirius warned.
"I'm sorry, is that your sensitive area?" She asked, poking him again.
"Hey!" He protested. "I don't think this is the best place to be discussing my sensitive areas."
Angie laughed out loud and let herself relax. He was the same old Sirius. "You're right; we'll save that for later."
"Are you coming on to me?" He asked teasingly.
"I will if you don't start leading," She replied, reminding him once again that they were supposed to be dancing.
She tried to relax but for some reason was slightly on guard. It wasn't as if his presence would somehow cause World War III--it just seemed like she should be on edge considering they had screamed so much the last time they saw each other. Sirius was looking good as always, and he seemed so different, yet the same, as the last time she had seen him several months ago. He wasn't the horrible scary picture she had tried to make him into all summer. He was just Sirius.
Sirius could barely believe his luck. He was dancing with Angie. He knew he didn't deserve it—after what happened last time. But he was elated that she was speaking to him.
Sirius followed her gaze over to Lily and James. The happy couple. Angie smiled.
"Don't they just look perfect?" Angie asked Sirius.
"The sickening thing is: they are perfect. You must have thought I was kidding about the couple of the year thing." Angie allowed herself to laugh. That was one thing she really liked about Sirius. He could always make her laugh. She could hear the distant sounds of a rusty trap closing in on her heart and she scolded herself.
"Listen," Sirius said lowering his voice and moving in a little closer to her. "You can't tell Lily anything I'm about to tell you. You can't even hint about it. OK?" He asked Angie steering her away from 'the couple of the year'. In spite of herself, she felt a shiver run down the back of her neck with his sudden closeness.
"OK." She said, breathless with anticipation and breathless for other reasons she refused to admit to herself.
"James is going to ask Lily to," He glanced over at them and lowered his voice even more. "To marry him."
Angie gasped and pulled back from him. She had most certainly not been expecting that. And yet, it made perfect sense.
"NO WAY!" She yelled loudly, so loud in fact that several people stopped to stare at her. She had released Sirius' hands and stopped dancing. "Sirius Black! You're lying!" She continued in the loud voice. He glanced over at Lily and James who were thankfully oblivious to the situation. Sirius cracked up, everyone was looking at them, especially since most of them went to Hogwarts when the two were dating and knew how they fought and acted together.
"Why would I lie?" He asked trying to keep from laughing. "I mean…now, about that?"
"God only knows how your mind works."
"For once, I'm living up to my name." He lowered his voice again. "I even saw the ring."
Angie squealed. "Oh my God! This is so sweet!" She gasped again and then suddenly got serious. "If you're lying, I swear..."
"I'm not!"
"OH!" Angie squealed again. "Good Lord Sirius, when did we become adults? Are we really old enough to be getting married?"
"Say it a little louder and maybe Lily and James will hear you next time," Sirius scolded. Angie blushed.
"Oh sorry…So, um, how are you? Lily says you stay with them, sometimes," Angie said trying to make conversation.
"I'm great. You know, I've always lived with the Potters. And, well, I pretty much do now too. I always keep some clothes and toothbrush and all that stuff there. You never really know where I'll be."
"That sounds like you."
"Yeah, I'm just sort of bumming around having fun because I didn't have the ambition to go on to more schooling like James. D'you suppose he'll save the world someday while I watch?" Sirius asked with a bemused grin on his face.
"Yes, he'll be cleaning up your disasters," Angie replied without missing a beat.
"That cuts like a knife, Angie," Sirius replied, trying to act hurt. Angie just shook her head.
"I was only teasing…"
"What about you? The new independent woman, on her own in Hogsmeade working for The Daily Prophet."
"Keeping tabs on me, Black?" She asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Maybe," He replied enigmatically. "But I think you'll make a great journalist. I mean, you were always skilled at asking questions."
"Why do you say that?" She asked, giving him a slight frown.
"Because you annoyed the hell out of me, asking me where I went every month, blah, blah, blah."
"Yes, you still haven't told me, Sirius Black, and I would like to know."
"You know, I was surprised to see you here tonight." Sirius said, purposefully changing the subject.
"And you would make a wonderful criminal. Always sidestepping questions and purposefully changing the subject, but I suppose I will let it slide. So, why were you surprised to see me?" She prompted almost in a bored sort of tone.
"Well, with today being what it is and everything, I thought maybe you would do something with your family." Sirius replied honestly.
Angie suddenly stood frozen and looked away from him. The lines in her face tightened, her eyes started to get moist and her muscles tensed. Sirius swallowed guiltily.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." Sirius said quietly. Three years ago on Halloween Angie's mother had been murdered and it had been particularly devastating for her.
"You remember?" Angie asked quietly, almost in a whisper. She feared if she tried to talk any louder she might cry.
"Of course, how could I forget?"
"Yes, well. I came here, because crying is not going to bring her back." Angie said with a sniff and an attempt at a more confident tone of voice. She swallowed hard but didn't appear as if she was going to actually let a tear slip from her eye.
"It's OK Angie," Sirius said, his voice even softer.
"I didn't come here to think about it," She insisted but allowed herself to be pulled into a hug. She felt so secure there in his arms, her head resting peacefully on his shoulder.
"I shouldn't have said anything." Sirius repeated and he really meant it. It had just sort of come out of his mouth with no thought whatsoever. He had assumed that if she was here and not at home with her family she was going to be OK with it.
"No, it's fine," Angie insisted, patting his chest reassuringly. "It's not like I was going to forget about something like that; I just can't believe you would remember." She tried to smile up at him but her face didn't want to make the effort.
"You wouldn't go to classes; you didn't even come down to lunch," Sirius said, a far off look in his eyes. He was reliving the memory. "I sneaked into your dorm and brought you some food and skipped classes. We just sat and talked for a long time. Then I bribed a house elf to bring us some food from the Halloween Feast. We talked some more…you cried a little. Then when people started coming to bed I stole James' invisibility cloak and we walked all around the castle. Late that night we came back to the common room and fell asleep on the couch in front of the fire. James laughed himself silly the next morning and wouldn't leave me alone all day. I couldn't stop thinking about you either—so I asked you out. For the next…what was it? Six months? We dated and…yeah…Why would I forget?"
"Oh Sirius." She sighed heavily and put a little extra effort into their embrace. "After this summer I thought for sure you would have forgotten everything about me."
"Why?" He asked. "Because I'm a heartless jerk?" He was teasing her and he was half grinning down at her. That had been one of the last things she had screamed to him several months ago. She had half a mind to answer yes but didn't. He certainly didn't seem heartless at the moment.
"No…I don't know…"
"I'll always remember that, Angie. Our first six months were probably our best, don't you think? We hung out a lot and had fun. We had real conversations, like a real relationship."
"Yeah, we had real fights too." She said looking away.
"Yeah well, with the other girls we were always too busy doing...well we were always too busy to have fights." Angie couldn't help but laugh. Sirius blushed slightly but cracked a smile.
"What do you think they are talking about?" Lily asked James, as she looked over and around people towards Sirius and Angie.
"Who knows, they've been dancing and talking for almost two hours now."
"Two hours? Has it been that long since we got here?" Lily exclaimed. James checked his watch and nodded. Lily changed the subject and she didn't make a move to stop dancing. "Did you see them slow dancing earlier? She had her head on his shoulder. What if they got back together?"
"I'm not so sure that would be a good thing." James said thinking back to the four previous times they had been together. "I can't even believe she agreed to dance with him in the first place."
"Yeah, well. Sirius has a way. No matter how much of a jerk he is girls still fall all over themselves for him." James laughed. It was definitely true. Though Angie hardly seemed the type to do such things.
"Where'd Snape get to?" James asked looking around. They had been trying to keep an eye on him ever since they spotted him. The pair walked out of the dancing crowd near a refreshment table. "Where IS he?" James asked again straining to find him in the crowd.
"Anyone I know?" A voice asked from behind. Lily jumped a little, it had been rather startling. It was Peter; he seemed to be rid of the girl he had been occupying himself with earlier.
"Snape," James replied shortly. "We're afraid he might be up to something."
"What time is it?" Peter asked, a slight edge to his voice.
"10:30." James replied.
"Oh, OK then. I'll, uh, go look for him, shall I?" Peter said quickly sliding off in the opposite direction. Angie and Sirius approached.
"Have you seen Snape lately?" James demanded when Sirius arrived.
"Uh...no…Snape is here?" James, of course, had known full well that Sirius had been rather pre-occupied but it was still funny to see him squirm a but. A smirk was just itching to break free from his mouth. Sometimes Sirius swore he belonged in Slytherin.
"Never mind," James said exasperatedly.
"Hey James, I think I spotted Frank Longbottom near the stage earlier. Let's go find him," Sirius said, trying not to be obvious, but barely containing his excitement.
"Yeah, I haven't seen Frank for ages," James said in a much more convincingly normal tone. Linking arms with Lily, he started to lead her toward the stage. Lily glanced at Angie and shrugged as she was led off. Sirius and Angie followed behind at a leisurely pace.
At eleven o'clock the foursome was in front of the stage and the song stopped. The clock started chiming eleven. Everything was perfect.
"Come on James. Let's go sit down," Lily said. She didn't want to even go near the stage in the first place but Sirius and James insisted. Even though they hadn't spotted Frank Longbottom.
"Wait! Dumbledore is going to say something," James said as Dumbledore walked onto the stage.
A hush fell over the crowd as Dumbledore moved towards the middle of the stage. He was an important man with loads of respect so it was not hard to silence a crowd.
"Happy Halloween!" He began with. The crowd which was mostly younger people erupted in applause and cheers.
With all eyes focused on Dumbledore Peter Pettigrew—who had indeed found Severus Snape—slipped away from the festivities. Now was their moment—with the crowd's attention focused in one place.
"Tonight is a very special night," Dumbledore continued beaming. "Two of my top students who graduated this past spring are here tonight." With his wand he put a spotlight on Lily and James. James grinned and Lily blushed. As she looked from face to face no one did anything but smile.
"Some of Hogwarts finest." Lily really blushed now. What was he doing? "Tonight, is the night that their ever lasting love with be ensured forever." Rose petals started to fall softly around them. Angie stood anxiously at Sirius' side clutching his arm painfully.
This was the moment.
A piercing scream broke the silence and sent shockwaves through the crowd and through the moment. Everything happened so quickly people could barely react. A swarm of masked figures overwhelmed the group. Sirius and James landed hard on the ground.
With a jolt of animal panic Sirius heard Lily's screams. Instantly James was on his feet again and broke into a dead run. Sirius was right behind him.
A ring of black robes stood in front of them—Lily and Angie in the center. Without a thought James blasted through the one nearest him rugby style and scrambled toward Lily. In the ensuing chaos a variety of shouts filled the air.
Somewhere near her head Lily thought she heard Angie yell but the next moment a loud male voice rose above all else and screamed "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The light was so intense everyone near it was thrown to the ground.
A/N: You'll notice if you go on to read this story or if you've already read this story that I've changed the person who was murdered to Angie's mother instead of her sister. So, if you are later met with her mother (who I just told you has been dead for three years) that is because I haven't made it to re-writing that part of the story yet. However, because of other later events in this story, changing the victim from her sister to her mother makes much more sense. However, this is completely minor and not something to be terribly concerned about.
I'm trying, as you'll notice, to rewrite this story successfully. I'm having numerous difficulties but I hope that if you compare the original writing and the new writing you'll appreciate my efforts.
Thanks!
Stardust