Rain was pounding against the large window panes in Gryffindor Tower as students buzzed about the Common Room, frantically cramming even more study time in before it got too late. There were still a couple stragglers coming in from dinner, and the vast room was rapidly reaching its capacity with every swing of the portrait hole.
"I'm so full." Sirius complained from his place on the couch. His head was in Harmony's lap, eyes closed, as she ignored him and read over her Transfiguration notes.
"Did you hear me?" Sirius asked, one eye cracking open to look up at Harmony.
"What?" she asked, her gaze switching from the text to Sirius.
"I said I'm full." Sirius repeated.
"That was a crucial piece of information." she said, sassing him. Her smile balanced it out, though.
Just then, James sauntered over from the boy's staircase. "How you manage to take up the entire couch amazes me, Padfoot." he said, attempting to sit on Sirius' legs.
"No-fuck off-" Sirius sat up and tried to push James off again, and they both fell off the couch, wrestling.
"Boys," Harmony sighed, letting her eyes wander to the brawling teens before her. "I'm trying to study."
There was a high-pitched screech from the floor and James shot up, rubbing his shoulder. "You did not just bite me."
Sirius cackled madly from his place on the ground and stood back up, grinning widely. He then proceeded to flop back down on the couch, his head resting on Harmony's lap again as he closed his eyes. They both listened to James rant off a bunch of curse words towards Sirius until he concluded, "I know where you keep your Hogsmeade candy. And I'm going to devour it."
"You can't," Sirius told him smugly, "because I spent three hours putting enchantments around it."
"You spent three hours?" Harmony said, tearing her eyes away from the review paragraph about animagi. How ironic.
"I even checked a book out of the library." Sirius said proudly. "Remus helped me."
Harmony snorted, and James said, "Fuck you, Padfoot." then he walked off again.
Sirius started laughing, his eyes still closed. After a couple moments, he stopped and sighed. "I think I'll take a nap."
"Go for it." Harmony told him.
"You should nap with me."
"I've got to study this, Pup." Harmony sighed, hating exam time.
"I know you do." Sirius told her. He closed his eyes again, as Harmony ran her hands through his thick curls.
"How nervous are you for the match tomorrow?" Harmony asked. The final Quidditch match was scheduled for tomorrow and tensions between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were high. Four fistfights, five duels and countless bets had already taken place and Harmony knew that tomorrow was going to be the most intense match yet.
"A little. I'm more excited, you know?" Sirius replied. "I still need all the luck I can get."
"I think you guys will do great. James has been pushing you hard enough." Harmony said. Sirius had been coming back at curfew, sweaty and exhausted almost every night for the last two weeks.
"I know." Sirius sighed. "He's definitely prepared us, I think."
Harmony nodded, and went back to reading her notes. Not three minutes later, Sirius' face relaxed as he fell asleep. Harmony smiled slightly, watching him for a moment, then she went back to studying, feeling content.
She stayed like that for quite a while as the Common Room slowly emptied itself out again, students wandering off to bed, chatting about the upcoming match and which exams they reckoned would be hard.
James eventually returned to the couch after glancing at them from across the room. He said, "You're going to have to wake him up."
"Why?" Harmony asked, her voice cracking from lack of use.
"He needs to have a good sleep in his bed. I need him to beat the living shit out of the bludgers and possibly some people tomorrow." James said, miming hitting a bludger with a bat.
Harmony laughed. "Alright. You're like his mother." she commented.
"I'm the captain. That's basically a mother figure." James replied, then he said. "And when he does wake up, don't spend twelve years snogging him. He needs to be in bed by no later than nine thirty."
"Good god, James. Okay." Harmony was trying really hard not to burst out laughing. "He looks so peaceful, though."
"Nine thirty, Sea."
"You and I both know that's not going to happen."
"I will make it happen, I swear to you." James looked down at Sirius' sleeping face sternly, then he spun on his heel and walked away like a sassy fourteen year old girl.
Harmony sighed, putting her notes down gladly in favour of Sirius. She poked his cheek. Nothing. She squished his lips together. Still nothing. "Sirius." she said, and he still wasn't responding. The hand that was still idly playing with his hair stilled and Harmony started slapping both his cheeks slightly.
"What?" he mumbled.
"Go to bed."
"Did James order me to?" Sirius asked, eyebrows furrowing.
"Yeah." Harmony replied. "And also my legs are falling asleep."
Sirius opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He looked at Harmony, then he stood up. "Got up too fast," he mumbled, using Harmony's shoulder to steady himself.
"C'mon, I'll walk you up." Harmony said, and she left her notes on the little side table as she stood up, stretching. Sirius followed her up the stairs in a daze, almost falling a grand total of three times because he wasn't attentive enough.
"I'm so tired." he complained.
"I know." Harmony replied, pushing open the door to the empty dorm room. "So that's why you should sleep."
Sirius collapsed on his bed and studied Harmony for a moment as she leaned against the bed post. "Do I at least get a kiss goodnight?" he asked.
"I suppose. But only because you made me all my coffees today." Harmony grinned, walking over into Sirius' arms. Sitting down, Sirius' face was almost level with Harmony's - just a little shorter than her. His hands slid around her middle and Harmony leant in, her lips finding his. Sirius kissed her slowly, and eventually they broke apart to catch their breath. Sirius rested his head in the crook of Harmony's neck and she felt his lips kiss her collarbone lightly. He started to doze off after a few minutes, so she pulled back.
"Go to sleep." she whispered. He nodded, eyes closed, but then he looked up at her.
"I want you to sleep in my Quidditch jersey tonight." he muttered, his eyes large.
Harmony chuckled. "Why?"
"You are the epitome of luck in my life and also you smell really good."
"Fuck, Sirius," Harmony was kind of melting. "You say sweet things when you're tired." Harmony laughed at how cheesy the entire situation was.
"Will you?" he asked.
"Alright." Harmony stood back as Sirius got to his feet again, blindly navigating his way across the room to where he kept his jersey, only knocking three garments off of the hangers in the wardrobe. She went up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist while he dug through the clothing.
"Found it." he said, and Harmony kept holding on to him as he stumbled back over to his mattress, making them almost trip multiple times.
"Thanks," she let go of him as he plopped down on the pillows. "Goodnight, Sirius." she said, smiling down at him. He passed her the shirt with a tired smile on his face.
Her lips had just brushed his again when the door was being busted open, revealing the frame of James in the light from the staircase. "I said nine thirty, Harmony Sea. It's nine thirty-seven."
"He's in bed! Wholy shit, I'm just saying goodnight." Harmony snapped, and Sirius snorted from the bed, sitting up again.
"Fine." James grumbled, then he backed out of the room, leaving the door open.
"Goodnight." Sirius laughed, planting one last kiss on her lips.
She pulled away and waved to him as she shut the door, jersey in hand, her mind already on her own four-poster bed residing in her dorm room.
The next morning was the first morning in weeks Harmony hadn't woken up with an anxious knot in her stomach. Maybe it was because of the shirt she was wearing, or maybe it was because of the impending excitement for the match and the massive after party, but Harmony felt so happy she voluntarily climbed out of bed.
"Good morning!" she chirped to Liven, bouncing off towards the toilet. Liven did a double take.
"Hold up." she said loudly. Lily turned around, too. Harmony stopped. "A: why are you bouncing before nine am? And B: is that Sirius' Quidditch jersey?"
"A: no comment. B: yes." Harmony continued towards the bathroom, only to have Liven drag her back.
"Did I miss something?" Liven asked suspiciously, glancing towards Harmony's bare legs.
"No, Liv." she laughed. "I'm just happy today."
"We've noticed." Lily chuckled, turning back to the mirror to do her makeup.
"Hey…wait," Harmony said, squinting at the shirt Liven was wearing. "Is that Jack's jersey?"
"It is." Liven laughed, and Harmony snorted but high-fived Liven's waiting hand nonetheless. Lily was very focused on her eyeliner, and it suddenly made Harmony wish that they hadn't made such a big deal out of the jersey thing.
The girls continued to get ready together, laughing and chirping away as makeup, clothes, hair brushes and even a couple books were thrown across the room. After about a half hour, they were all ready to go. Harmony adjusted her long-sleeved Gryffindor Quidditch team shirt (unsurprisingly Sirius' again) and cut off denim shorts before following her mates out of the dorm.
The boys had already left to go down to the Great Hall, so when they arrived Sirius waved them over. He didn't look as confident as he did the night before, Harmony noticed.
"Nice shirt." Sirius smirked, and Harmony laughed and threw his jersey at him. To her surprise, Sirius pulled off his plain t-shirt and slipped his jersey on, right in front of everyone in the hall. Harmony felt people staring.
"Why don't you take your pants off while you're at it?" she said sarcastically. Before he could answer, Harmony ploughed on, "You need to eat. What do you want?"
Sirius shrugged, handing her his plate with a small grin - knowing she would've punched him in the shoulder on any regular day for making her get him food like the 1950's. She rolled her eyes and started piling random items on his plate, knowing that he would eat whatever was on the dish. He kissed her on the cheek as she put down the mound of food in front of him.
Soon enough, as in when James stood up and yelled at the team to get a move on, the buzz in the Great Hall was so strong that Harmony was ready to leave. Between the tension and excitement, it was almost too much to handle. "I'll be a minute." Sirius told James, and James gave him a look but ushered the team out of the hall anyway. A good mixture of cheers and boos followed them.
"Come on, I want to wish you luck." Harmony said, and she pulled Sirius out into the entrance hall not long after. It was mostly empty, as everyone was still at breakfast. Just to be safe, Harmony took Sirius into the corridor over.
"Am I going to get a pre-game snog?" Sirius asked, already leaning in.
"Calm yourself." Harmony put a hand on his chest. "I was actually going to verbally wish you luck first."
Sirius laughed, his arms encasing Harmony against the wall. "Alright, shoot."
"Good luck." Harmony told him.
"That's it?"
"What else can I say, you little shit?" Harmony smirked. She leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. She felt him smiling through the kiss as their lips moved together. She pulled away, their faces still close, and said, "I want you to beat the shit out of Ravenclaw today."
"Okay." Sirius breathed, his eyes still on her lips.
"I know you're nervous. But you don't have to be. You'll do amazing, okay?" Harmony told him, catching his eyes.
"Okay." he said again and smiled, using the loose fabric of his own shirt around Harmony's hips to pull her in for a hug. Harmony moulded herself to him, breathing in his familiar scent.
"But be careful, too. Don't get yourself killed."
"I can't die in Quidditch."
"You're Sirius Black. You'll find a way, I'm sure."
He laughed, holding her tighter. "This is true."
Harmony started to snog him again, like she always found herself doing before his matches. They stopped only when students started pouring out of the Great Hall.
"James is going to kill me." Sirius whispered against her lips. She ignored him, kissing down his jawline instead. "Like brutally murder me."
Harmony pulled away. "You're probably right." she said, her lips a little red from the amount of kissing that had gone on before ten in the morning.
Sirius reluctantly pulled her back into the entrance hall after a couple more moments where students were hanging about, waiting for their friends so they could hike across the lawns to the Quidditch pitch. "Good luck." she grinned, hugging him again.
"After that kiss I'm pretty confident." Sirius chuckled into her shoulder as students around them pretended not to stare at the PDA.
"You better be." she snorted, then Harmony pulled back, her hand still in his.
"This jersey smells like you." he stated, sniffing it.
Harmony laughed, and called "Good luck!" as he bounced down the front steps, making a beeline for the pitch. Harmony wandered around for a minute before spotting her friends by the open double doors. A warm, sweet smelling breeze was drifting in from the outside and sunlight was streaming through all the windows. It was the perfect calm after the thunderstorm they had the night before, and Harmony couldn't shake her feeling of optimism.
"Ready, guys?" Harmony asked, and soon enough they were among the wave of students flooding out to the Quidditch pitch. Everyone was laughing and shouting out to each other and students were swarming the stairs to get up on the stands.
Harmony looked around and was greeted with the sight of a red and blue coloured crowd. She smiled and turned to Liven, who was cheering for Gryffindor, ("Obviously, Harmony. He can't make me cheer for Gryffindor no matter how much I like his heads.") Harmony choked on her coffee at that comment.
Suddenly, Harmony picked up on a voice that was growing nearer and nearer, until finally the speaker was seated directly behind her. Of course, to Harmony's fantastic luck, Tianna was occupying the seat. Liven shot Harmony a glance, then she said, "I don't think she even knows you're here, want to move?"
"No. I'll be fine." Harmony sighed, refusing to let Tianna dampen her spirits.
The stands started chanting the house names, but the Gryffindor section was still the loudest and most energetic. Harmony laughed as one student completely ripped of this shirt to reveal a badly painted lion on his chest. The game hadn't even begun yet.
Just then, Madam Hooch stalked out onto the pitch, her broom in hand. The commentator, who was someone from Hufflepuff, introduced her and clapping ensued. The teams were then announced, and Ravenclaw came onto the pitch first, loud cheers coming from the sea of blue on the opposite side. Harmony spied Liven making faces at her boyfriend, Jack, who was on the Ravenclaw team. He was gesturing to her shirt and sending her mock-pouty faces that made Liven giggle.
As soon as the Gryffindor team was introduced, everything dissolved into chaos. Harmony shot up and started screaming next to Liven, her eyes already finding Sirius' tall lean frame among the group in scarlet red robes. She felt Becca clapping loudly from beside her, and Remus and Peter were holding up a large banner. James and Sirius were both grinning widely, scanning the stands for the group of mates all sitting in a cluster. James' eyes landed on them and he pointed this out to Sirius, who waved wildly, smiling through his nerves.
The players gathered in their respective positions, and not a minute later Madam Hooch blew her shrill whistle, signalling the beginning of the game. All that could be seen were streaks of blue and scarlet as they rose to the air. The Chasers raced to the Quaffle, the Beaters to the incoming bludgers. The Keepers were already at the goal posts, eyes following every move of their team mates, and the two Seekers were zooming around, high above everyone else in search of the little golden snitch.
The game was uneventful for about five minutes, in which the Quaffle was being bounced around between the two teams. Just then, Smith, an Irish fifth-year on the Gryffindor team caught on the Quaffle and passed it to James, who snatched it out of the air it with ease and ducked beneath the awaiting Ravenclaw Keeper, throwing it right through the left goal hoop.
"Ten points to Gryffindor! Goal by Potter!" the commentator yelled, the words drowning from the cheers on the Gryffindor stands. Harmony suspected the commentator was Collin Marks, a boy who she had studied with before. Harmony laughed in pure joy as James threw both of his arms up in the air, somehow managing to still fly around on his broom and slap a grinning Sirius' hand in a high-five.
Harmony looked down at Lily, who was smiling and whooping, staring directly at James. The crowed settled down a bit as the game resumed. Ravenclaw scored twice, then Gryffindor scored three times, then Ravenclaw shot one through the right goal hoop and a Gryffindor shot one through the centre goal hoop. Harmony's eyes were flitting around so much in her sockets that they started to hurt, and her throat was sore from screeching.
Just then, the Ravenclaw seeker dove down in a steep dive. Everyone jumped up eagerly, screaming all sorts of things as the Gryffindor seeker followed in rapid sequence. The chase went on for about a minute, in which both Seekers were head-on-head, desperately trying to reach out and catch the little golden ball that would decide the fate of this year's Quidditch Cup champions.
The Gryffindor Seeker reached out, out out…and was knocked off his broom by the Ravenclaw Seeker. Both toppled to the ground, and the stands starting roaring in outrage. James flew down to the ground and started yelling at anyone and everyone until Madam Hooch blew the whistle, calling a penalty on the Seeker. "Penalty to Ravenclaw Seeker, Harvey Dedford." Collin Marks yelled out to the pitch.
Harmony spied both Sirius and Jack circling above the ground anxiously. Tensions were high as the game resumed, and Ravenclaw scored again. Harmony was biting her nails viciously until Liven slapped her hand away from her mouth, saying, "We'll be okay. Don't worry about it."
Harmony nodded and exhaled, watching the players zooming around. Sirius flew over to the Gryffindor side of the pitch, chasing a bludger. Harmony watched the muscles in his back contract through his t-shirt as he put all his efforts into slamming the attacking ball away from the Gryffindor Seeker and towards the opposing Chaser. It missed, but it caused the Quaffle to be dropped directly into James' hands. James flew off at top speed for the other end of the pitch, barely dodging another bludger. The other Gryffindor Beater streaked after it. Harmony heard Lily inhale sharply as James sloppily dropped about three feet, almost falling off his broom, as he avoided Jack.
Harmony shot up in her seat again as James sent the Quaffle flying through the right goal hoop and she started screaming along with the rest of the Gryffindor supporters. The Ravenclaw Seeker rejoined the game, his face looking smug and whispering erupted as he resumed his previous activity of looking for the Snitch. The game continued, Quaffle being tossed around quite a bit, Sirius kept slamming bludgers farther and farther away from the team. Everyone was leaning far over their seats, eyes locked on the players in front of them.
A little while later, after Ravenclaw had scored again, Harmony froze as she heard Tianna say loudly, "Look at Sirius. He looks so fucking sexy in that jersey."
Her friends started to giggle madly, and Harmony felt the burning stares of her entire posse on her back. Liven was listening in to, her lips pressed together. "I just want to take it off him. I have no idea why he's with that mudblood."
That was the moment that the game reached a whole other level of intense. No one was sitting down whatsoever as Smith from Gryffindor scored another goal. Harmony and Liven stood too, her ears tuning out the noise and focusing on Tianna's words aimed at her. "She's completely useless. Honestly. I just can't wait until he realizes that."
No one sat back down after they stood. The game was getting to intense that people were screaming themselves hoarse, but not Harmony anymore. She was frozen. Ravenclaw scored. Groans surrounded them. "As soon as he dumps her ass I'm going to take her place. Then I'll be the one going off to shag him before Quidditch matches." Gryffindor scored. Cheers surrounded them.
Her friends were laughing madly. Liven and Harmony were still as statues as their own mates yelled and cheered along with the game. Ravenclaw scored again. There was groaning that was rapidly cut off by cheers, as Harmony watched with unfocused eyes as the Gryffindor seeker streaked off towards the bottom of the pitch, his face overtaken with determination. The Ravenclaw Seeker was hot on his heels.
"…Like look at his face. He's easily a ten. Just watch, in three month's time I'm going to be pressing him up against a wall and snogging the living daylights outta him as he takes off my shirt." the Gryffindor Seeker's arm was stretching, stretching, stretching, the screeching was getting to the absolute maximum volume, Becca was shoving Harmony around as she bounced up and down-
"…I can already hear him moaning my name-"
Harmony swung around so fast that she nearly knocked Liven over. Before any of Tianna's croonies could even react, Harmony's fist had come in solid contact with Tianna's nose, and the girl stumbled back, her mouth still gaping open with no words coming out. Like a fish, Harmony thought with satisfaction.
Just then, the Gryffindor Seeker snatched the golden snitch out of the air, his arm held high as the stands went positively insane. Insane wasn't even the word to describe it - there was screaming and crying and yelling and everyone was bouncing everywhere as the scarlet robe clad team flew full speed into the centre of the field, colliding painfully in a massive group hug.
Harmony was still facing Tianna as people around them gathered what had happened. Liven was on the floor, laughing and swearing and patting Harmony on the leg as she freaked out over the fact that Harmony had just punched Tianna square in the face. "Didn't think I would do it, huh? Leave me alone you cunt." Harmony cackled wickedly, not even feeling the pain in her fist. Tianna was holding her nose, blood streaming down her face as her friends stared open-mouthed at the scene before them. Students were openly laughing and cheering for Harmony along with the game, and Harmony had turned away from Tianna and was pushing past everyone as she tried to get down to the field.
Students and teachers alike were all flooding onto the pitch as Madam Hooch handed the massive Quidditch Cup to James, who was grinning so widely it looked like his face was going to rip. The Gryffindor Seeker was hoisted onto the shoulders of some Gryffindor students and he looked like he was about to cry in happiness.
Everyone was laughing and chanting; everywhere Harmony looked there was scarlet and gold. She shoved past more people, finally spotting Sirius in the crowd. He found her and they full-out sprinted at each other, Harmony launching herself in his arms. Sirius lifted her right off her feet and swung her around, planting sloppy kisses on her lips. "We won!" he was yelling in her ear, "We fucking won!"
"I know!" she screamed as he put her down, leaning in for an actual kiss that Harmony grinned through. She leaned away and pulled James and some other random player in for a bear hug, both who happily hugged her back.
"I'm so proud!" she yelled at no one in particular. Just then, Lily shoved her way over to James and threw herself in his arms. He hugged her tightly back around the middle, smiling his way into another universe. He lifted her up and spun her around in the air, just like Sirius had done.
Tianna walked by the group of students and team members, her hand clamped firmly on her nose as she tried to get past everyone without getting anyone's attention. It was unsuccessful, as people stopped in their celebration to stare at the blood running down her face and onto her shirt. Sirius pulled away to get a better look and Harmony couldn't resist herself, she shouted, "You might want to stop the bleeding on that, kid! Blood doesn't come out of clothing well."
People looked over at her, then down to her bruised knuckles. Sirius stared at her, wide-eyed. "You did not." his tone was a mix of admiration and shock.
Liven bumped into them, a sad-happy looking Jack with her. "She totally fucking did. Whipped around and clocked that bitch right in the face."
"I-I just-" Sirius was looking at Harmony, his mouth open and his lips stilted up. "You are just-" he yanked Harmony into him, and her body crashed into his chest as he hugged her so tightly it was almost painful. He moved his hands up to cup her cheeks as Sirius leaned in, practically shoving his tongue in Harmony's mouth. She didn't complain in the slightest.
They were being jostled around as students whooped and cheered all around them, the Gryffindor team the loudest of them all. McGonagall was almost crying, and Dumbledore was shaking James' hand. Harmony and Sirius continued to kiss deeply in the middle of all the chaos.
As Harmony pulled her lips away from Sirius', she didn't move her head back. His hands were still resting on her cheeks as he opened his eyes, lips brushing hers with every word he told her, "I've never felt this happy in all my life. And I've also never felt the same about someone as I feel about you, Harmony Sea."
Euphoria. That is what she felt at that moment. Pure, undivided euphoria at every contributing factor in that perfect situation. It didn't matter that people were around them. It didn't matter that the Slytherins and Ravenclaws were off pouting somewhere. It didn't matter that Tianna was a bitch. All that did matter was that she was there with Sirius and his words and lips and eyes. She was there with the celebrating Gryffindors and the excitement at the upcoming after party and as she leaned in to kiss Sirius on the lips again, Harmony smiled, her cheeks hurting, and replied, "Ditto."
"I would like to propose a toast!" James yelled loudly, his face flushed from happiness and the pre-shot they had all taken. The partying had started late afternoon in the Gryffindor common room with the Gryffindors, after everyone had finally left the pitch, and now students from all of the houses were all trickling in from dinner to the Room of Requirement, which was set up for the real party. The girls and marauders had all snuck out of dinner early to ensure that the place was prepared for the annual end-of-year bash that always occurred.
The room was massive, with streamers and balloons everywhere. It was so packed with so many students that James had to stand on a table to get everyone's attention. There were probably close to four hundred and fifty students all jammed in there, as the party was only for fourth-years and up. Everyone laughed as James almost toppled off the table due to Sirius shoving his legs from behind. "Fuck you." he told Sirius, then turned to the huge crowd. "First of all, I would like to give a round of applause to Ravenclaw because they were amazing out there today."
Everyone started cheering, slapping the backs of the Ravenclaw team as they laughed good-naturedly. Jack got slapped so hard that his butterbeer tipped, some liquid dropping onto the floor. "Next, I wanna give a shout out to my team, who I have beat the living shit out of the last couple weeks preparing for the match. You guys are wicked." everyone cheered loudly again, whooping and calling out names.
Harmony leaned over and kissed Sirius on the cheek, and the hand that wasn't holding his bottle snaked around Harmony's waist. Sirius leaned forward and shouted, "Let's not forget about the captain, either! Round of applause for Mr. James Potter, everyone! The hardest-working, motherly, push-over of a captain that we all couldn't live without!"
Applause broke out, and someone even threw their bra at James, causing him to go beat red as everyone whooped and cheered for him. "Thank you," he smiled as everyone settled down again. Harmony scanned the crowd and smiled at how many students from all different houses were there. "Lastly, and most importantly, I want to give a massive congratulations to all of us, the students, who have successfully survived another year at this school! So, ladies and gents, put your fucking drinks up and take one for all of us!"
The noise in the room had reached a maximum pitch, everyone bumping bottles and shot glasses as they shouted out and cheered wildly at their own success. James hopped down from the table and Remus handed him a little shot glass filled to the brim with clear liquid. He downed the shot all in one, and Sirius pulled away from Harmony to give his best mate-slash-brother a bear hug. "We did it, Prongs!" Harmony heard Sirius exclaim. James just nodded, grinning widely.
They pulled away and the marauders all went in for a group hug. Harmony was yanked in it by both James and Sirius, her bottle almost falling over as they pulled her in, and eventually Alice, Lily, Becca and Liven were all involved too. "What do you say we all do a shot for us, guys? Because we made it through this hellish year?" Harmony suggested, as all their heads leaned in close.
"Fuck yeah!" James roared, and without letting go of each other they all bumped and pushed their way through the thick crowd to the open bar, laughing hysterically as people watched them, shaking their heads. Most of the school had adapted to the weird behaviour of this group of sixth-year Gryffindors.
They broke apart when they reached the edge, each reaching out and grabbing a little glass containing firewhiskey. "To us!" Liven yelled over the mind-blowingly loud music.
They all sloppily bumped their little drinks together, then tossed them back down their throats at the same time. "Let's dance!" Harmony yelled to Sirius, who grinned widely, letting Harmony pull him out into the jostling crowd. Everywhere they looked people were bumping and grinding up against each other, and some couples were just completely still as they snogged. The party was in full swing, and Harmony was so thankful they got those extra crates of alcohol from Hogsmeade yesterday, because by the looks of it they would need them.
Sirius planted his hands on Harmony's already moving hips as their mates all followed behind them. Becca was kissing Remus, and Harmony sent Lily a knowing smile. To Harmony's surprise, Lily didn't complain as James' hands slipped around her own waist. They both started to dance.
It was such an amazing moment with all her friends. Harmony just couldn't stop smiling as everyone made life-long memories around her. In the midst of her thoughts Harmony was being spun around, her butt going all up in Sirius' junk, grinding him. She could feel his smile from a mile away as they moved to the music, bottle still in Harmony's hand.
They danced for some time, in which three shot-runs had been made. Harmony was well on her way to getting completely hammered, and she didn't care in the least as she downed yet another gulp of alcohol. Someone was going around and blowing out every other candle lighting up the room, so it got darker but the music seemingly got louder. Sirius stilled his hips and pulled Harmony out of the mass of dancing bodies so they could take a breather on one of the many armchairs. She muttered out an unheard apology as she knocked a fifth year Hufflepuff in the face with her elbow when she tried to walk straight.
"We just have exams to go, and then we'll be done with this year." Harmony said, amazed. She felt a little dizzy. "It went by so fast."
"I know," Sirius said as he plopped down on the squishy fabric. Harmony sat down on top of him, adjusting the black skirt part of the short dress she was wearing so she didn't flash anyone. "It was one of the best and worst years of my life, you know?"
"Basically the only good thing that came out of it was you and all of our mates." Harmony said, gazing at Sirius. The music was so loud that Harmony could feel it shaking her bones.
"Amen." he said, and they clinked bottles together. Harmony was on her second or third…or maybe it was still her first?…she was beginning to forget. "I feel drunk." Sirius stated, grinning up at the ceiling as his arms encircled Harmony's relaxed body.
"So do IIIIIIII." Harmony smiled, too. Just then, Harmony felt the tips of Sirius' fingers begin to move along the side of her ribs, tickling her. "I swear to fucking g-Sirius!" she screeched, trying to get off him unsuccessfully.
"I won't stop until you promise to go get us some shots!" Sirius yelled, and Harmony desperately tried to escape his arms.
"I-Sirius-fuck!" she was laughing so hard that it hurt. "We don't ne-need any-anymore-"
"Oh fuck." Sirius cursed as he knocked over the almost full bottle of butterbeer next to him.
"Good one, you prat." Harmony tried to get up but fell forward, not realizing how drunk she was. "Welllll. I'm just trying to figure out how exactly we're going to get them drinks because I don't think I can walk, kiddo." Harmony was sprawled out on the ground, and mess of limbs and hair.
Sirius rolled off the armchair and landed on top of her, cackling. "Let's roll there!"
"I'm in a dresssssssss!" she exclaimed, her words dissolving into giggles.
"That's okay." Sirius said seriously. "I'll make sure no one glimpses up the flowy part." he was pointing over to the chair, but Harmony assumed he was trying to point to her legs.
"Like hell you will." Harmony commented, but then she was yanked to her feet by a pair of arms that belonged to Liven. "Why hello there!" Harmony exclaimed in a thick, southern accent.
"What the fuck are you two doing? Know what? I don't want to know. Come on Harms, me and you are gonna put on a show." Liven didn't seem drunk, but Harmony knew better. She started walking and then realized that she was going in the complete opposite direction of the dancing area, so Liven whipped around, knocking over a snogging couple in the process. "Don't snog in the walkway!" she snapped, gesturing wildly off to some random direction.
Harmony wiggled her fingers at Sirius as Liven pulled her to the edge of the crowd. Sirius' eyes never left her as he pulled himself up unsteadily. Jack and some other Ravenclaw bloke walked up to Sirius and asked him something, and Sirius pointed in the direction of Liven and Harmony.
"Liven. I can barely walk." Harmony giggled joyfully tripping over someone's limb. Liven started shaking her hips, her arms in the air as she moved to the beat.
"You don't have to walk!" she shouted loudly, and Harmony started dancing, too. Becca joined in, and Harmony was struck by how gorgeous she looked in a short navy blue dress. It showed off her curves and made her dirty blonde hair seem even more shiny, if that was possible.
"AAYYYYYYYY!" Becca screamed, bumping her side against Liven and Harmony. They were all throwing their arms around, swinging their hips, laughing the entire time. Liven's dance moves were getting more seductive and more seductive by the second, and Harmony clued in that she was trying to call Jack over without asking him. This girl. Harmony thought, spinning under Becca's arm and almost sending both of them crashing to the floor. She felt her skirt twirling around her upper thighs and they both started laughing again for no reason.
Someone formed a massive grind line. Harmony had no idea who, or why, but she didn't care as she was shoved in between Becca and Liven. She could barely breath from laughing being pressed up against so many other people, all gnashing their groins together in a failed attempt at being attractive. Harmony, Becca and Liven all danced against each other, tears streaming down Becca's face as her lungs gasped for breath, but none of them could stop laughing.
Harmony took a chance and glanced over at Sirius, who was grinning wickedly and leaning against the armchair, arms crossed as he watched her. She beckoned him over and without a second's hesitation he was stumbling over to the crowd, arms reaching out for her. She slipped out from her place between Liven and Becca, and they didn't seem to even notice. She tripped, crashing into his arms, and laughed when Sirius' hands yanked her into his body.
They had just started to kiss when Harmony felt something fall on her head. She pulled back reaching up to grab it out of her hair. It was a shirt. Specifically, it was Liven's sheer, navy blue shirt. Harmony threw her head back and started roaring with laughter. She looked over to Liven who had Jack grinding up against the back of her, his hands sprawled on her bare stomach. At least her bra was pretty, Harmony thought. Then Harmony looked closer and realized, "Hey! That's my fucking bra you little shit!" she yelled. Liven sent her an evil grin.
Sirius was laughing too. He looked back over to Harmony and said in her ear, lips brushing her skin with every movement, "I think we should go swimming."
Harmony looked up at his handsome face and asked, "In the lake?"
He nodded, and she grinned. "Let's get everyone."
Sirius and Harmony stumbled away from each other, rounding up their mates. Harmony went over to Liven and said, "After you're done shagging on the dance floor, Sirius and I wanna go for a dip in the lake."
"YES!" she cried, and she turned to Jack saying, "Come on babe, we're going swimming!"
After Harmony had successfully broken Becca and Remus' lips apart to ask them if they wanted to come, it was clear that the only people mental enough to take a dip in the freezing lake were Sirius, herself, Liven, Jack, Becca and Remus.
They all stumbled out of the Room of Requirement, the silent halls suddenly deafening. "What the fuck! It's so quiet!"
Harmony chuckled, falling into a still shirtless Liven. It was well, well past curfew, but Harmony found it hard to believe that people in the castle were actually sleeping because she just felt so alive.
As Becca giggled away with Remus over something, Liven pulled Harmony in for a bear hug yelling, "I love ya, Harms! You are the best bee in the hive, you know that?"
"Once," Harmony started loudly while Sirius and Jack continued to laugh behind them, "I fell off the roof of the house trying to hide a bottle of whiskey from my parents!" Harmony finished and Liven burst out in giggles, knocking over a suit of armour in her wake. They heard crash behind them and turned to discover Sirius on his bum, the remains of another suit of armour in pieces beside him.
"ALRIGHT, WHO PUT THAT THERE?" he yelled, trying to get up. Harmony let go of Liven to trip over to Sirius. She reached out and tried to help him up, only to fall down on him again. They both dissolved in laughter on the floor. They were way past the point of "tipsy".
It took quite some time for the intoxicated group of teens to actually get to the entrance hall, then unlock the doors, then exit the castle and by some strange stroke of luck, they managed to avoid every chaperoning teacher. They probably woke up the better part of Hogwarts' sleeping population in the process, but no one cared in the slightest as they stumbled across the lawns.
It was warm in the empty, dark grounds. The only light was from the moon above, and the sky was completely clear; millions of stars twinkling above them. They approached the water, and Harmony watched the slight ripples in the surface until Sirius pulled off his shirt, which caught her attention. Liven was already running in the water, trying to get away from Jack who was following her in his underwear, arms splashing water around. They were both laughing.
"Is it cold?" Harmony yelled, not really caring. Out of the corner of her eye, Harmony saw Becca struggling to get off her dress as Remus blushed furiously and chuckled at the same time.
"No, we don't want any juice!" Liven screeched back.
Harmony kicked off her shoes, chuckling, as she turned around. "You're gonna have to unzip me, Pup. Actually, I don't even remember if there is a zipper on this dress. Check for me, would ya?"
"Good god," Sirius replied, "How the fuck am I supposed to see what I'm doing?" his hands felt around her back before finally coming in contact with the cold zipper at the top of her dress. He yanked it down a couple of times until it gave, revealing her back. She pulled off the dress, and Sirius' eyes were burning down on her in her black bra and knickers. The one time she decided to match her undergarments.
"It's rude to stare," she sing-songed.
"I really wish that I wasn't drunk right now. I kinda want to implant this image in my head forever." Sirius told her, his eyes not on her face.
"You have no filter, Pup." Harmony laughed, pulling Sirius towards the water as he tripped over his pant legs. His boxers were covered in butterbeer logos and she cackled. How fitting.
They stumbled into the water, Harmony recoiling at the temperature at first. Sirius slipped his arms around her from behind, though, as she made to get out of there as fast as possible. "Nice try!" he yelled.
She screamed as he lifted her up, running full force into the murky lake. Both of them were soaked as he finally let go of her. "IT'S COLD." she whined loudly.
"I'll warm you up," Sirius said, leaning in to kiss her neck. She used his shoulders to pull herself up in the water, her toes no longer in contact with the sandy floor. His hands were tight around her bare waist, and Harmony tilted her head back, looking up at the stars as she felt Sirius' lips travel down her neck and to her collarbone. Harmony exhaled, feeling completely and totally relaxed in his arms. She was so happy. Everything was perfect at that moment. Everything was perfect.
Sirius stopped kissing her, and she looked down at him. Her heart skipped a beat as she studied his face. Being in the water sharpened her senses, made her more alert, sobered her up the slightest bit. She let her fingers trace down his cheekbones lightly, thumbs brushing over the flushed skin there. "I'm so happy."
"You make me happy." Sirius stated as he looked back in her glowing eyes. She tried not to smile, but failed.
Harmony let out an actual giggle as Sirius ducked down to kiss her neck again, his lips turned up in a grin. "I never got to tell you how amazing you were out there today." she sighed, trying to control her heart rate.
"You never got to tell me about clocking Tianna in the face."
"She was going on about how hot you are. And something about you taking off her shirt when you realize that I'm worthless or something like that. Wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow, I think you use magic shampoo!" Harmony said, burying her fingers in Sirius' hair.
"Tianna revol-revol…shit what's that word…revolts! She revolts me." Sirius told her, looking up at her face. "And I'm so proud of you for punching her in the face. I can't get that image out of my head. Wholy shit. It brings me genuine happiness when I think about how hot you must've looked all fired up."
"Hah!" Harmony threw her head back in laughter, then she started singing at the top of her lungs. "TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR, HOW I WONDER WHAT YOU ARE, UP ABOVE THE WORLD SO HIGH-"
"Harmony shut the fuck up!" Becca was yelling somewhere from Harmony's left.
"LIKE A DIAMOND IN THE SKY-"
Sirius was trying not to drown as he laughed, his lungs desperately gasping for breath. He kept going under the water for a few seconds at a time, then shooting up again, howling.
"TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAAAAAAAAAR-"
Liven's infectious laughter was getting closer and closer to where Sirius and Harmony were huddled.
"HOW I WONDER WHAT. YOU. AAAAARRRRRRRREEEEE!" Harmony held the last note until she felt like her lungs were going to burst. "Bravo to me! Encore, anyone?"
Liven launched herself on Harmony's back, sending them both head first in the water. "Ya little shit!" Liven exclaimed as they resurfaced.
Eventually Becca and Remus wandered over, too, and the group of six all gathered in a tight little circle as they talked loudly and rode the wave of being completely, incoherently drunk. Liven was planting sloppy kisses on both Harmony and Becca's cheeks.
"Alright!" Harmony yelled suddenly. "Who's leg keeps touching mine?" she slurred.
"S'not mine." Liven said, her eyes wide as she shook her head. No one spoke up.
"Did someone just touch my leg?" Jack asked, glancing around the group. They were all quiet for a minute, in which Sirius jumped about a mile when something touched his leg, too.
"It's not the-" Remus started.
"-GIANT SQUID!" Liven screeched in terror, attempting to swim towards the shoreline. The thing is, the giant squid wasn't scary, but everything is either terrifying or hilarious when you give a bunch of teenagers way more alcohol than they should be allowed to consume.
Sirius screamed at the top of his lungs the whole way they ran to the shore, the sound drawn-out and left Harmony's sides splitting with laughter. They all collapsed onto the grass, out of breath. "What time is it?"
"Wait!" Remus exclaimed, sitting up. "I got this guys. I have a watch!" he wiggled his eyebrows then looked down at the watch. "It's. Um."
"You can't read it, can you?" Becca asked, giggling madly as she looked up at him.
"It's ten." he said firmly.
"No it's not, you prat!" Sirius yelled loudly. "It was ten so long ago. I remember asking James."
"Oh." Remus squinted at his wrist before looking up hopelessly. "I haven't the foggiest, kids."
Harmony laughed, turning her head to look back up at the stars - which seemed to be spinning. "The sky is moving on me, Siri-poop."
"Oh, it's okay, I will protect you." Sirius muttered, rolling over and accidentally squishing Harmony in the process.
"You-" Harmony gasped as he let his full weight rest on her chest. "-are so unhelpful."
"You are welcome, my beautiful little butterfly." he spoke in a French accent as he dramatically kissed her nose.
"Guys," Becca hiccuped. "We should probably be getting back because everyone is meeting back in the boys' dorms for that slumber sleepover, right?"
"Slumber sleepover? What ever is that?" Harmony asked, grinning, then she shoved Sirius off her forcefully. "Let's all go have a massive drunk group cuddle!" she exclaimed.
That motivated everyone to get up. Liven got up too fast, though, and sent Becca flying into the lake again. They all grabbed their clothes, not bothering to even attempt to get them back on. Together, the still-drunk, but slightly less than they were, group of sixth years unsuccessfully attempted to stealthily creep back into the castle. Harmony tried to figure out what she would do if a teacher came across them - six completely soaking, piss-drunk and unclothed Gryffindors. She just hoped that they wouldn't be put in that situation.
They arrived at the portrait hole, finally, and someone told the Fat Lady the password, not sticking around to listen to her yapping on about their current state. Sirius pulled Harmony's body against his, shielding her, as they all shuffled through the Common Room, giggling and shushing each other loudly. There were a couple of third years still hanging about on the couches, and they were staring wide-eyed at the group. No doubt they had forced themselves to stay awake to witness the aftermath of the party, as they were doing now. Harmony remembered doing that as a second year, before she started sneaking into the parties.
"Are you drunk?" one of them called out boldly, and Sirius stopped with the rest of them, his back to them.
Remus turned to Becca, water dripping down his face and mock gasped, "Drunk? Drunk? Us? We never get drunk!"
Becca slapped Remus on the back and said, "What is this drunk that you speak of?"
"We would never do such a thing." Harmony interjected helpfully at the wall.
"We just decided that it was a really goooooood idea to take a quick, unclothed dip in the large body of water out there." Becca sassed, almost falling over and then slamming her palm against the wall to catch herself.
"Speaking of water, I'm going to dissolve into a puddle of my own fucking piss if we don't move now!" Liven screeched, making everyone jump.
"How do you have to pee?" Jack asked in disbelief. "You just drank shots of firewhiskey!"
"DID YOU SEE HOW MANY OF THOSE FUCKERS I DOWNED, JACK?" Liven yelled, and they all froze, glancing at the scared-looking group of third years before bursting out in laughter for the millionth time that night, making a beeline for the stairs.
Liven was still asking loudly, "What? What happened?" as they drunkenly stumbled up the stairs (in Sirius' case) four at a time. Liven burst through the door of the boys' dorm to Lily, James, Alice and Frank lounging on top of the desk that had clearly been shoved into the middle of the room. There were blankets hung off either side and it looked like they had attempted to build some sort of fort. Alice wasn't even on the surface of the desk, her legs were just thrown over the corner as she laid on the floor. "Heeeeeeeeeey!" Lily yelled excitedly, falling off the side. James snorted, but then he also toppled off at the loss of another body supporting him. Peter was chilling out on the bed, and Harmony was convinced he was passed out until he sat up, blinking around.
"The fuck happened to you idiots?" James asked, not bothering to move from the position he landed in.
"We went for a swim!" Liven said cheerfully, then she added, "Aw, shit. I think I mighta pissed myself."
"Go!" Jack shoved her in the direction of the toilet and she waddled off, returning a minute later.
James hopped up and said, "Wait, don't move!" he slammed his body into the wall as he tried to get to the other desk in the room. Off of it, he grabbed a camera and called, "Smile!"
They all struck a pose, Sirius tugged Harmony to him by her waist, and she burst out laughing as he tried to seductively lift his leg and wrap it around her. The flash went off.
Remus tripped, causing Becca to trip, causing Liven to trip, causing Jack to trip, causing Harmony to trip, and Sirius just threw himself down to the ground for the hell of it. It soon turned into a 'big group cuddle with lots of love and firewhiskey!' as James kept referring to it as he plopped down directly on Peter's lap. The camera in James' hands went off quite a few more times as they drunkenly started discussing the party and how much they all loved each other. They all stayed down on the floor in an uncomfortable mass of wet, sticky bodies for a good fifteen minutes, no one really caring how gross it was.
Harmony started shivering not too long after, and finally, finally, they all started to feel the dragging effects of the alcohol in them. Becca yawned, and eventually, one by one, they stood. Harmony used her wand that she left on Sirius' bedside table to dry herself off, then she turned to Sirius and did the same. She didn't do a very good job, because her bra still felt damp and her butt felt like she had sat in a puddle.
The large group all collapsed in their different places. Liven and Jack had conjured a mattress earlier on, which was set up next to the one Frank had made for Alice. He chose to crash out on the ground beside her. James had convinced Lily to take his bed (of course) and he clumsily pulled a pillow and a blanket out of the wardrobe so he could sleep next it. Remus and Becca decided to share one, and so did Sirius and Harmony. Peter was already passed out in his own four-poster bed.
The chatter died down soon enough, as one by one they all drifted off into a deep, alcohol-induced slumber. Sirius turned to Harmony in the darkness, his lips brushing the side of her mouth as he said, "G'night, Harms."
"Night, Pup." Harmony sighed. The last thing she felt before she lost all consciousness was Sirius' warm hand on her bare stomach, holding her there as if she was going to leave. She placed her hand atop his and closed her eyes. "Best night ever." she mumbled.
A/N: THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE.
Basically one quote that describes this chapter and me writing it… "Write drunk, edit sober." I'm not sorry because this turned out to be one hellova party.