'Hey Mar, should I wear really high black Louboutins or my Steve Madden gold heels? They're both platforms.'

Marlene finished touching up her make-up and came out to look at the two pairs of shoes Noa was holding. Noa had been so distracted dancing that she had forgotten the time, and when she had finally gotten back to her dorm room, again covering her eyes when passing through the Common Room, she only had an hour to get ready. Marlene, in comparison, was already completely ready when a dishevelled Noa had burst in the door, and had designated herself to help her stressed out friend. After a hurried shower and a quick change into her outfit for the night, Noa was now struggling to pick the right shoes.

'Oh Noa, I thought you had sorted this out weeks ago!'

'I had! Well - sort of - I narrowed it down to these two pairs but then couldn't decide.'

'Definitely the Louboutins - the Steve Madden's will make your outfit look a bit trashy.'

Noa couldn't help but smile at her Marlene's blunt comment. She had never had a female friend who could honestly tell her how she felt about things.

'Now,' Marlene continued, 'Come sit down over here and let me do your hair whilst you put on your make-up, it's the only way you're going to be ready in time.'

'Thanks Mar, you're the best.'

Noa slipped on her shoes and went over to the small dressing table that was placed against the wall between the ends of her and Marlene's beds. She and Marlene had ordered it in a catalogue a couple of weeks ago, and it had been worth every Knut. She sat down and got out her eye pencil whilst Marlene started to blow dry her hair.

The girls continued their tasks in a comfortable silence, and when someone knocked on the door forty minutes later, Marlene had just finished Noa's hair and was sitting on the bed admiring her handiwork whilst Noa put the final touches to her make-up.

'Come in!' Noa yelled.

The door sprung wide open and Fabian and Gideon burst in. They were both wearing jeans and chequered button-up shirts in different shades; Fabian's blue and Gideon's green.

'Hey there mini Molly!' They chorused.

'What are you two doing up here?'

'We came to give you a little birthday gift.' said Fabian, and Noa noticed that his hands were hidden behind his back.

'If that little gift is something that explodes, emits a foul smell or does anything that harms me, my belongings or my room I swear-' Noa had known the twins long enough that she was suspicious of anything that they gave her.

But Gideon interrupted her, laughing. 'Don't worry, Molly's already threatened us with some graphic punishments that she will bestow on us if we mess up your special night. Anyway, this gift isn't really from us, we're just passing it on.'

Fabian stepped towards her, a more sombre expression on his face, and handed her a little black box and a letter.

'Apparently your mum gave this and some other things to Molly before she left with our parents on their final mission; she must have known that there was a chance that she might not have made it back. Oh, and Molly gave us strict instructions that you were not to open the letter tonight, as she said your mum wouldn't have wanted you to spend your big evening upset.'

Noa's heart tightened as she opened the box. Inside lay a silver Celtic bangle, with a tiny emerald set in the front. As Noa picked it up, she could see that something was engraved on the inside of the bangle.

'My little star,' Noa murmured, and her eyes brimmed with tears at the words her mom had had engraved.

'Aw damn it, if Molly finds out you've been crying she's going to feed us to those Blast-Ended Skrewts that Hagrid's been looking after since we were first years - have you seen how big those things are!'

Noa let out a half laugh and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, careful not to smudge her make-up. Fabian and Gideon always knew how to make her laugh. She carefully put the bangle on her left arm, and a feeling of warmth came over her. Even though her mom couldn't be there in person, Noa knew she was there in spirit. Gideon then came over to her and, bowing ridiculously low, gave her his arm.

'M'Lady.' He said, in the most posh English accent he could muster.

Noa laughed properly then, and took his arm. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Fabian asking Marlene if 'he could have the honour' and tucking her arm in his.

'It's showtime' Noa said, winking at Marlene, as the two girls were escorted down the stairs towards the waiting party.

'Any sign of the birthday girl yet?' James asked as he surveyed the room and, finding nothing wrong with it, collapsed down on a chair next to Remus.

'Fabian and Gideon just went upstairs to get her, so she should be down soon. How's Pete doing?'

Peter had drawn the short straw for the night, and was the designated bouncer. He was currently guarding the door from the excited Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who couldn't wait for the first major party of the year to begin.

'He's annoyed, but holding the fort. Shall I tell him to start letting people in?'

'Not yet,' said Sirius, coming down the stairs from the boy's dormitorys and waving a bottle of Firewiskey, 'Let's have a shot first, eh?'

Distributing three glasses, Sirius poured out the amber liquid, spilling a bit on the table as he did so.

'To the best night!'

'To the best night!'

The boys clinked glasses and downed the whiskey, all grimacing slightly.

James then shouted loudly over his shoulder; 'Let them in Pete!'

The door to the Common Room burst open, and students started streaming in, laughing and chatting. Remus gave a flick of his wand to turn on the music, whilst Sirius and James helped themselves to some more Firewhiskey.

A couple of minutes later and the party was in full swing, but the main guest still had yet to show. It had been ten minutes since the Prewett twins had disappeared up the stairs to the girl's dorms, and there was still no sign of anyone coming down. Sirius was leaning against the wall next to the girls' stairs, when he suddenly heard a door close behind him. Turning around, he saw a group of four teenagers make their way down the stairs. At the front was Marlene, escorted by Fabian - or was it Gideon? Even though Marlene and Sirius hadn't spoken or interacted much since their break up last year, he had to admit she looked good tonight. A red corset merged into black ostrich feathers that went down to mid-thigh. Her only accessories were a few statement gold rings, and she was wearing bright red stiletto ankle boots. Marlene's hair was parted on one side and was dead straight, reaching the bottom of her rib cage. Smoky eye makeup finished off her outfit, making her look mysterious and sexy.

However, by the time Marlene had reached the bottom of the stairs, Sirius had completely forgotten her outfit. He stared, dumbstruck, as the next girl descended the stairs on the other twin's arm. Her outfit could not have been more different from all the other girls in the room who were wearing the shortest dresses and showing as much skin as was socially acceptable. She was wearing a low cut black lace jumpsuit. It was sleeveless and went down to her ankles. On her feet were black platform heels with red soles that added at least six inches to her height. Deep red lips matched the colour of her nails, and they both matched her burgundy hair that had been curled and now rested in waves down her back. A thin silver bangle on her left arm, that she kept subconsciously touching, completed her look.

'Wow,' Sirius murmured to himself, 'Noa, you look stunning.'

As Noa walked down the stairs, her eyes widened. The Common Room had been transformed. Gone were the red armchairs, gone was the sofa that faced the fire, gone were the desks and chairs for doing homework on. The walls were covered in drapes that were subtly changing colours. Around the edge of the room were tables and chairs for two or three people; each cluster was a different colour; Noa could see lime green, neon orange, deep crimson, and many more. In front of the huge fireplace was a bar that looked well stocked, and was being manned by a familiar seventh year, Frank Longbottom. In the centre of the room was the dance floor, and music was blasting out from hidden speakers. The whole room was lit by hundreds of orbs of light that were floating overhead and reminded Noa of fairy lights. The overall effect was magical, and Noa reminded herself to thank the Marauders profusely. Speaking of, she wondered where they were; she could see Peter by the door, supervising who came in, but didn't know where the others were. Although the party had only started ten minutes earlier, the place was packed, making it hard to spot anyone. This question was answered for her, however, as she reached the bottom of the stairs and felt someone touch her on the shoulder. Turning, she saw it was Sirius.

'I'm going to go get a drink from Frank, I'll see you later', Gideon whispered in her ear before disappearing into the throng of people.

'Hey there birthday girl, you look beautiful tonight.'

'You don't clean up too bad yourself.' And it was true, Noa thought. Sirius was looking rather handsome in grey chinos and a white shirt with a few too many buttons undone, showing the top of a very toned chest. 'This party, it's amazing, thank you so much!'

'You are very welcome', said James, who had popped up from nowhere and was also looking quite dashing. 'What would you like to do first?'

Before Noa could reply, Sirius jumped in.

'You've got to start off at the bar, I told Frank to put some of the better stuff aside for us.'

They walked over to the bar, squeezing past the crowd that was gathered around it to reach the front. Gideon had joined Frank behind the bar as there was such a high demand for drinks.

'Oi Frank, can we have three pumpkin juice and Firewhiskeys over here!'

While Frank mixed their drinks for them, James and Noa went off to sit down at one of the tables, finding a vibrant violet one free. A moment later Sirius joined them, setting three bright orange drinks down on the table. After toasting to Noa, they all took large gulps.

'Wow, that's strong!' Noa said, spluttering slightly.

'I told Frank to add an extra shot or two of Firewhiskey. Can't handle it Prewett?'

'Of course I can, I just haven't had Firewhiskey in a while. Where's Remus?' Asked Noa, eager to change the subject; she wasn't really a big drinker, but knew if Sirius found out he would tease her about it or challenge her to a drinking competition.

'I don't really know, he's in charge of the music so he's probably over by the sound system.'

Just then the song changed, and a track by the Wierd Sisters came on.

'Oh, I love this song. Come dance with me!' Noa jumped out of her seat and dragged James and Sirius out onto the dance floor with her, thinking to herself that this night was turning out to be one of the best in a very long time.

'Come on, just a couple more steps!'

'Hey, look, it's Sirius wearing funny clothes!'

'No it's not, I'm Sirius, that's a statue!'

'Shut up James, I'm trying to talk to Sirius!'

'Did someone say my name?'

'Go away Prongs! Noa, I'm Sirius, James is over there and that is a statue! Now, come on!'

'Will you two be quiet back there! Sirius, Noa looks like she's about to collapse, are you sure this is a good idea?'

'Yes, the water will wake her up, just lead the way Moony.'

The group of teenagers carried on walking along the deserted moonlit corridors in search of Prefects' bathroom. It was just past four, and the Marauders, along with Noa and Marlene, had decided to leave the party that was dying down in the Common Room and find a different place to continue Noa's birthday celebrations. Noa, who had had a few too many drinks, had loudly announced that she wanted to swim in the Black Lake. However, the others didn't particularly want to swim in its freezing waters, so had compromised and decided to go to the Prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor instead.

'Minty fresh,' Remus said to a statue of Boris the Bewildered. The statue didn't move, but a door to the left of it swung open. 'Guys, we're here.'

The Prefects' Bathroom was apparently the nicest one in the whole school, and as the teens looked around they had to agree with the rumours. The toilet stalls and sinks standing against the left wall were nothing out of the ordinary, but the thing that made the bathroom stand out was the huge swimming-pool-sized bathtub, sunk into the ground. One hundred golden taps surrounded the bath, and a different jewel was set in each.

Remus quickly ushered everyone in, looking around furtively as he did, before locking the door.

'Wow, this place is so cool!' James said, turning three-hundred-and-sixty degrees to take it all in. The only person who had even been in the bathroom before was Remus; the others had all known where it was, but none of them had ever been bothered enough to walk all the way to the fifth floor of the hospital tower when they had a bathroom less than five steps from their beds.

James was the first to switch one of the taps on, tentatively turning one adorned with a sparkling aquamarine stone. Pink foam started to gush out and, slowly, the pool began to fill up. The others got the idea, and soon they were all turning taps on as fast as they could. The bath was filled within minutes, a rainbow of bubbles that smelt like 100 different scents that, instead of clashing, resulted in a heavenly smell. Sirius was the first to pull off his clothes and, clad in only a pair of black boxer briefs, dived cleanly into the tub. James and Remus followed suit shortly after and, after hesitating slightly, Peter jumped in, his pink-and-green spotted underwear provoking some laughter from the other boys.

'I didn't expect my day to end up like this when I put these on this morning,' he grumbled under his breath.

'Same here,' said Marlene, feeling a bit self-conscious in a matching red bra and pants set that was on the skimpy side. She was the only one who felt this way though, as all the boys were really enjoying the view. However, she quickly slipped into the bath, happy that there were a lot of bubbles to cover her.

'Ugh, I can't undo this button!' Noa had been so eager to get in the pool that Marlene had only just managed to stop her jumping in fully clothed, and now the intoxicated teen was having trouble taking off her jumpsuit. She finally succeeded, however, revealing a dark-purple lacy bra and black girl boxers. Whilst the others all watched on in amusement, she managed a messy dive into the bubbles, splashing water everywhere. James couldn't help but dunk her in return when she resurfaced, which lead to a battle between the two; the other Marauders quickly joined in, with Marlene splashing the others a couple of times from a distance to keep her hair dry.

It was a good twenty minutes later that a truce was called by an out-of-breath Noa, who dragged herself out of the pool, too tired to keep on treading water. The others followed her shortly after, and they all ended up sitting at the deep end, dangling their feet in the water.

'Well, now that's over, we need to decide on the very important matter that is choosing what to do next!' Sirius had opened another bottle of Firewhisky, that seemed to come from nowhere, and as he spoke he waved the bottle around, splashing the dark-coloured liquid everywhere.

'We could play truth or dare?'

'Ah, but my dear Pete, we cannot, for all dares would have to be confined to this room, as the rest of you - who are not as superior as me - would alert the teachers with your raucous behaviour!'

This caused a thoughtful silence, as everyone mulled over Sirius' wise words. Well, everyone except Remus, who was the least drunk and therefore the only person that realised how stupid Sirius sounded, especially because he was the one who would be the noisiest. However, he let it slide for the moment, storing it away to repeat when Sirius stopped seeing double.

'What about truth?' Noa asked, but before anyone could reply, Marlene interjected.

'Oh, I've got it! Let's play never have I ever - it's a muggle game! This girl who I used to know taught it to me,' she added in reply to the confused looks she, as a pureblood, was getting. She quickly explained the rules to the others, and the game was received with enthusiasm, especially when Sirius and James realised it involved drinking. They procured two more bottles of Firewhisky by more mysterious ways and divided them up into six glasses - which had been bars of soap before Remus transfigured them, and still smelt slightly like lavender - before settling down again and starting the game.

'Never have I ever... been in a threesome before,' James started, grinning around at everyone, eager to see who would drink.

Sirius, to no one's surprise, took a large swig from his glass. However, after a pause, Marlene also drank. James' watchful eyes saw her and he pointed at her with much delight.

'Tell!'

Marlene sighed as everyone turned to watch her. 'It was last summer, at the end of exams party. I was seriously drunk, and it is not an experience I want to repeat. And no,' she said, seeing Sirius was about to interrupt,' I will not tell you who it was with.'

It was Sirius' go next, and he sat there with his brow furrowed for a while before speaking. 'Of course, this is quite hard for me since I've done everything there is to do, but I think I've got one. Never have I ever spent the whole night with a girl. Or, in your case,' he said, gesturing to Noa and Marlene,' a guy.'

Noa, Marlene, James and Remus all drank to that one. Sirius nodded to Remus, indicating that he should explain first.

'There's not really a story to tell; I slept with a girl, in both senses of the word. Pads, I think I can assume that everyone here who's had sex with someone else has had feelings for them - you're the only one in this room who leaves a girl with no explanation after shagging them.'

Sirius looked a bit put off with this reply, and decided to skip the others explanations, letting Noa have her go.

'Never have I ever fallen in love with someone.'

The atmosphere in the room changed, and at once the air was thick with tension. James, oblivious to the disquiet, threw his glass up in the air, spilling half of it as he did so, before taking a large gulp of his drink.

'Oh my sweet Lily-pad,' he murmured, his eyes half closed.

A minute of silence followed as suspense rose around the room. Just as Noa was about to move on with a new statement, Marlene and Sirius rose their glasses in sync and sipped from them, all the while staring intently at each other.

Noa bit her lip, realising the damage this question could cause. However, there was no way to stop it now and, as no one was coming to rescue her, she turned to Marlene.

The girl took a deep shuddery breath before answering.

It only happened once, and his name was Sam.'

Suddenly there was a smash from the other side of the room, and everyone wheeled around to catch a glimpse of a dark haired boy before the door slammed shut behind him. On the floor by the wall, the source of the noise, were thousands of shards that had once been a glass.

Before anyone could react, Marlene had also sprinted from the room, a sob escaping her as she did.

Both James and Noa scrambled to their feet and hurried to the door, reaching it at the same time. James grabbed the door knob, about to turn it, when he felt a hand cover his own.

'Please James, let me do this.'

He looked deep into her eyes, studying them searchingly for a moment. Satisfied with what he saw, he let go of the handle and stepped back a pace.

Noa stepped out of the door and looked left, in the direction Sirius had gone, then right, her eyes following the fleeing form of Marlene. After praying she was doing the right thing, she was gone, racing down the corridors in search of the one person she knew needed her the most right now.

A/N: Another cliffhanger! Who will Noa go after? Whoever guesses correctly will get a sneak peak of the next chapter!

I've got two weeks off of school now so I should be getting more writing done and hopefully a new chapter will be up soon.

I appreciate every single one of you that has read this far, and looking at the number of views I get makes me smile. What would make me jump around with joy, however, is if all of you posted a review after reading this and told me what you thought about it.

So, to all of you amazing readers out there, please review! They really warm my heart.

Love to you all

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