A/N Well when I tried to put the last 2 chaps of Werewolves and the first chap of this up, my cpu was still blocking fanfic. It really didn't make me a happy person. Well, more chaps to put up when it finally does let me on. If it's not until I get to college then, well . . . . I'll have a few years worth of chapters to put up. Isn't that a lovely thought.
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry or the other characters. They are JK Rowling's.
Thirty minutes after they got out of Knockturn Alley, James, Sirius, and Remus had cleaned up and were walking to the center of Diagon Alley, where the back-to-school party was supposed to be. Sirius and James looked completely calm, but Remus was starting to get nervous again.
"Relax, Remus," Sirius said. "At least you didn't have to get a date to this thing, and it's not formal or anything."
Remus looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. The stars were just starting to come out, and the air was cool. As they reached the space where the party was, he tried to let himself get swept up in his friends' enthusiasm. Listening to the music, he didn't recognize the band, but decided he liked their songs. He followed James and Sirius to the buffet and loaded up a plate. As they ate and talked over various subjects, Remus began to enjoy himself. At least, until the music slowed to a dangerous speed.
"Excellent." James stood. "I'll see you lot later." He walked to where Lily Evans was sitting with her friends and said something they couldn't hear. She stood up after hesitating slightly and allowed James to lead her to an empty spot and began dancing. Sirius nudged Remus.
"That girl's got her eye on you," he grinned, indicating a black-haired girl sitting by two other girls. Remus reddened slightly, and looked down at the ground. "Come on, aren't you going to ask her?"
"Does it look like I want to?" Remus answered, trying hard not to look in the general direction of the girl.
"Yes. You just gotta get the guts to do it," Sirius replied.
"Why don't you go find someone to dance with?"
"I will, as soon as you do. If you don't go I'll shove you out of your chair and make you look like a fool."
"Such a nice friend."
"Did I ever claim to be?"
Remus took a deep breath and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. After throwing a helpless look at Sirius, he stood and walked to where the girl was sitting, his hands shaking slightly. He was standing in front of her much sooner than he wanted to be, and suddenly wished he was back in Knockturn Alley instead of here.
"D-do you want to dance?" he stammered, hoping it was dark enough that she couldn't see him flush. She smiled at him, and he noticed that she was quite pretty.
"Okay," she said, and followed him to the dance floor. Remus barely even noticed what song was playing. He was preoccupied with trying desperately to act relaxed and keep a conversation going. Vaguely, he was surprised that he hadn't seen her at Hogwarts last year, and decided he would look for her this year. He learned that she was also a second year and in Ravenclaw. The song ended, and Remus returned to where he had stood with James and Sirius.
"That didn't kill you now, did it?" Sirius asked. Remus ignored him and looked at James, who seemed to be in blissful ignorance of the world around him.
"I guess he got his dance with Lily," Remus said, and James looked up.
"Did I ever!" He grinned. "That was wonderful. Who'd you hook up with, Remus?"
"Uh . . . " Suddenly, Remus realized he had forgotten to ask the girl's name. "A girl from Ravenclaw."
"You don't know her name?" Sirius shook his head. "Well, at least you didn't completely lose your head when you asked her to dance."
Remus rolled his eyes, embarrassed. "You said I had to ask her to dance, not find out her name."
"Most people generally find out the name of their dance partner," James scoffed.
"Are you trying out for the Quidditch team?" Remus asked, changing the subject quickly.
"Of course!" James exclaimed. "Are either of you going to?"
"I might go for Beater," Sirius said, shrugging. "Don't know if I want to have an extra thing to do every day, though."
The conversation continued through varying subjects for a half-hour, until the next slow song began playing. Remus saw Sirius and James looking at him and immediately shook his head. "No. Not this time. Maybe later."
"You're no fun," Sirius said. "Whatever. I'll stay here too." Remus shrugged and looked straight forward. In less than thirty seconds, he saw a girl walking toward them, looking at Remus. His suspicions were confirmed when she asked him to dance. This time, though, he was at least calm enough to walk to the dance floor normally and ask the girl's name. When the song ended, he walked back to the side of the dance floor. He saw Sirius and James walking away from two other girls.
"We got asked right after you," Sirius explained when they regrouped. "Did you ask her name?"
"Jana," Remus replied.
"Good job," James laughed. There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Ok, we really need to find something to do. This has got to be the most boring thing I've ever been to."
"Got anything in mind?" Sirius wondered, staring at the few people that were dancing as if he were asleep. Grinning, James pulled something out of his pocket. Both Remus and Sirius leaned forward with interest.
"Brilliant!" Sirius whispered, looking at the handful of fireworks. Remus smiled at the idea, ready for anything that would make the dance a little more exciting.
"Where should we set them off?" James asked, fingering the small explosives.
"A couple between the buffet and the stage, some in that corner over there, and a few by that tree," Remus suggested. James and Sirius looked at him in surprise, since he had never really participated in planning the trouble. Remus shrugged. He was ready for some action.
"Ok, Remus, take the tree, and Sirius, you go to the corner," James said, handing out the fireworks. "Sirius should go first since he's closest to the adults. We'll go as soon as we see yours."
They split up, and Remus walked casually to the tree and leaned against it, dropping the fireworks at his feet. He watched his friends get to their positions and gripped his wand inside his pocket. Sirius bent down, and Remus saw a spark. He pulled out his wand and quickly lit the fuses of his three explosives, then walked towards a large group of kids. He could see James' position from where he was, and was glad to see that the fireworks were almost impossible to see as they shot up into the air. There was a loud bang as Sirius' exploded, followed by several more noisy cracks. Remus ducked along with everybody else, but he was laughing to see the shock on their faces.
The magical fireworks continued popping and lighting up the sky for almost five minutes. After about thirty seconds, everybody was looking up and pointing at the pyrotechnics. Remus, James, and Sirius kept away from each other and the teachers. The music had stopped, and the band was staring up at the sky as well. When the lights finally died down, the band slowly began to play again as the teachers and adults walked through the students. Remus was glad that the fireworks had been made by wizards. Muggle crackers gave off a smoky smell that would point out the perpetrator in an instant.
After fifteen minutes and stern looks and questions from three separate adults, Remus finally met up with James. "Old McGonagall is giving Sirius a heck of a time," James muttered, looking over to where Sirius was standing by the teacher. "She suspects him, but he hasn't given her anything to back it up with. He was getting some food by the time they went off."
"Watch your tongue, Black," McGonagall warned Sirius as the two boys walked toward the pair. "You may not have set off the explosives, but if you continue to be disrespectful, you'll have detentions waiting for you when you get to school."
"Can I leave now?" Sirius asked irritably, and she nodded. "Come on, lets get back to our room," he said to Remus and James, and they left without any further questioning.
A/N Ok I'm supposed to be getting a new internet server tomorrow so hopefully I will be able to put up these chapters. I'm still kind of working out a plot so this chapter was a bit random, and I don't know exactly how much time I'll have to work on the next chapters. Soccer practice is every day and so I don't have all that much free time, but if I can get on to fanfic now, then it'll definitely be less time between chapters.