Continued from last chapter. Also, I only just realised that Remus will one day be Andromeda's son-in-law, and they have no idea yet. Awkward.
It felt good to get out of the tiny village and in to a real town, all glittering and smokey around us. The sun had set during the bus ride - complete hell, by the way, bloody Muggle transport - and by the time we arrived the sky was pitch black and strewn with stars, with no full moon to be seen. Realising this seemed to calm Remus down a lot, because the crease in his brow disappeared and he began laughing at our jokes again. Ava was hanging off his arm, staring up at him with glossy eyes. Peter still had an expression reminiscent of a Mandrake.
"Where to then, my dears?" James asked, clearly in high spirits.
"Let's follow them," Lily suggested. She nodded towards a throng of people dressed up to the nines who were disappearing around the corner. We skipped to catch up with them.
It turned out that the next street boasted a whole parade of bars, clubs, and pubs. Music pounded dully from inside the clubs, one tune drifting easily in to the next with every step we took. Lights dazzled our eyes and the buzzing vibe of excitement coursed through my veins as if transmitted from the air around us. One club had a long line snaking from the door to the other end of the street, with a neon sign proclaiming "Grand Opening." flashing above its door. We all looked hesitant.
"We could spend ages lining up for that place," Remus pointed out.
"But it does look good," Ava said from beside him.
We all agreed to join the line but leave if we still weren't inside in ten minutes. Eight minutes later, we were in. I had only ever had a fleeting glimpse of a Muggle club before: last year when the four of us sneaked in to one in London before being tossed out on to the street by the burly bouncer only seconds later. Once inside all of our senses were cut off. The thumping music stole my ability to hear a word anyone was saying and the smoke rippling across the floor clogged up my taste buds. Every step I took was mimicked by the vibrations from the towering speakers placed in every corner of the room.
I went with James to get the first round of drinks in. We still a had quite a bit of our Muggle money stashed away, so we generously ordered everyone a drink each plus a tray of neon coloured shots, which looked fairly toxic. We necked them together, pausing to shudder and hiss as the alcohol burned at our throats. James and Lily are always first on to the dance floor, and off they went, twirling in to the throng until they were completely consumed by the other dancers around them.
Andromeda was sat on one of the leather sofas, looking haughty and bored as usual. Her dark eyes scanned the room. Peter was quietly sipping his drink, his legs tucked self consciously in to the patch of shadow beside the sofa. And then there was Remus and Ava, engrossed in a conversation, though I was surprised they could even hear each other.
I felt strangely lonely, and therefor determined to search for some prey. "Coming for a gander?" I shouted down Andromeda's ear. She shrugged.
"Whatever," She called back. We each necked what was left of our drinks - which were both double Vodkas and coke - then began prowling the club, searching for anyone even vaguely attractive underneath the flashes of luminous light. I wasn't looking for anybody special, simply somebody who could entertain me for the rest of the night.
However the lightning was too tempermental to make it possible to take a good look at everyone. After a while my head was beginning to hurt, so I slipped outside. I realised that I had a cigarette in my pocket, no idea how it got there but I suspect James had something to do with it. I borrowed a lighter off some girl with poorly bleached yellow hair and lit up. Taking a huge drag, I rested my head against the damp brick wall behind me. I closed my eyes as I emitted a lungful of smoke, when I opened them again Lily was there.
She looked slightly sweaty but her eyes were sparkling. "What're you doing out here?" She asked.
"It's too stuffy in there," I complained.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Cheer up. Can I?" She said, nodding towards my cigarette.
I passed it over. "Everybodies gone off doing their own thing and now I haven't got anyone. I need a bird," I sulked.
"So," Lily said, pausing to blow smoke over her shoulder, "Go and find somebody. It shouldn't be too hard, nobody can resist the charms of Mr Black."
"Mm," I said.
Lily tossed the cigarette butt across the street, then she gripped my hand. "Come on, a dance will make you feel better," She assured me. I allowed her to lead me back inside. The dance floor was well beyond over crowded, but we managed to wiggle in somehow. Lily laughed as I span her around, and I admittedly began to have a better time. Then a skinhead with an obvious steroid addiction slammed in to Lily, causing her to go flying in to my arms.
She turned around to glare at him. "Dozy bitch," He muttered. He meant to walk away, but I gripped his inhumanly thick shoulder. I wanted to defend her in honour of James, who was no where to be seen. Lily shook her head at me, green eyes wide with fear.
"What did you just say to her?" I snapped. After all of the years spent together I now considered Lily as a sort of sister. And I was going to be damned if anybody bad mouthed my sister.
"Who do you think you are?" The thug muttered, shrugging me off, "You better get away from me, mate."
"I'm not your mate," I said hotly.
"What's going on?" James's voice sounded from behind me.
"Stop him James, he's going to get hurt," Lily begged.
"I'm not scared of you," The thug snarled at me, "Why don't you come outside now? You, your specky mate and your little tart."
"Speak about her like that again and I will personally rip your spine out through your mouth!" James shouted venomously. Even I would have found him terrifying, if I hadn't had known him well enough to know that he could hardly snap a broomstick in half. Still, since Lily was involved, who knew what James was capable of.
He lunged, Lily screamed, I threw myself in to the middle of the fray, aware that there was now a crowd gathering around us. I spotted the bouncer marching over. "He isn't worth it, Prongs," I mumbled down James's ear, "Let's just find the others and get out of here." James continued to breathe heavily, then reluctantly nodded and took a step back.
"That's right," The thug sneered, then he looked over at Lily, "Any time you fancy a proper shag, you leave these witless tossers and come to me, darling."
James made a noise like an angry cat. The thug turned smartly on his heel, but as soon as he was faced the other way a strangers fist flew through the air and hit his face with a crunch. With blood flowing heavily from his nose, the skinhead collapsed on to his knees, suddenly looking very faint. We all stared to get a good look at the attacker. There was a collective gasp.
"Sorry. God, what a bastard," Remus said, apologetic and mildly spoken as always.
"Moony," James cried.
"Oh Remus, you idiot!" Lily said, rushing forwards to hug him.
As soon as she released him, Ava came sprinting from some corner of the room and threw herself in to Remus's arms. We all watched as she just about sucked his face off. Flushed but nevertheless looking pretty proud of himself, Remus gave a small wave to the cheering crowd. I shook my head, laughing.
"Come on, let's get a kebab and go home," I said.
It all played like something out of a Muggle movie. The five of us walked through the parted crowd, like soldiers emerging from war. Andromeda and Peter scurried to follow us, demanding to know what had happened. When we got back to Alfred's it was understood that a celebration was in order. The house is now completely devoid of alcohol.