AN: I am /so/ sorry this is like months late...it took longer than I expected to do this chapter wow and this should only be half of it, so the next chapter will hopefully be done soon! Thanks for your reviews and favourites, leave comments and let me know if it's okay! ;u;
Chapter Six;
"I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life," - Henry David Thoreau
"No one told me this was a costume party." Evelyn stated loudly over the booming music. She tried not to laugh, covering her mouth with her hand as James anxiously straightened his twinkling yellow tiara.
"It's not." James grumbled, sending Peter, who was sporting a very twinkly periwinkle colour all over, a glare as the boy chatted up a blushing Hufflepuff. "Someone thought it'd be a laugh."
Evelyn could see Remus in the distance at the drinks stand with the one and only Sirius Black, who was looking rather sexy in a gorgeous baby pink colour that made his hair seem even darker than it was already. His pom poms were glittery as he shook them and the tutu around his waist was haunting to look at, but she couldn't stop staring.
Her eyes were fixed onto him, she could hear James somewhere in the back of her mind talking to her about how self conscious he felt in the tutu, his legs weren't as long as Remus's nor as thin as Sirius's apparently... she didn't answer him, only gave him a murmur as a response and she had half a mind to ignore him and go up to Sirius Orion Black and kiss him right then and there... the feeling disappeared almost as quickly as it had came when a girl sauntered up to Sirius and sent him a smile. He smiled back and handed her a drink.
She stopped when she heard her name being shouted by James; he had asked her a question and he was waiting excitedly for her answer.
She shrugged, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to hear him over the loud music, even if she asked him to repeat whatever he had said.
"Sure?" She tentatively nodded her head, this seemed like the correct answer. James grabbed onto her hand and pulled her over to the drinks stand. She searched to see if Sirius was still there but he and the girl were nowhere to be seen.
James shouted over a request to the boy serving the drinks, a small and young looking boy who was most definitely under aged, and a few seconds later handed her a small cup.
"Oh..." She took it and watched as James brought the cup to his lips, one gulp and the glass was empty.
"Never been a fan of vodka if I'm honest," He laughed, putting his cup back onto the drinks table. He looked at her expectantly. "That one is for you, you know."
She had never tried vodka, or any kind of alcohol really. One time her big brother Caleb had given her some of their parents wine when they were children, but she doubted that could count. She didn't think it would be a good idea to mention to James that she had never drank before. She didn't think it'd be good either to tell him that Lily was behind them talking to a very good looking Ravenclaw boy... so instead, to save trying to raise her voice over the loud racket of voices and music in the charmed classroom, she closed her eyes tight and jugged the cup back. Big mistake.
It was revolting! She coughed instantly and shuddered, feeling the drink sting the back of her throat and feeling the rest of it dribble down her chin made her want to cough. James laughed at her but stopped when she glared.
"Not a vodka fan then like me, eh?"
She shook her head, feeling her face growing hotter and hotter as she put the glass down next to his. He tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"There's always tequilas, wkd and ciders... they're muggle alcohol stuff but they're pretty sick if you ask me... or there's fire whiskey..."
Whilst James was listing drink after drink Evelyn felt her eyes draw to Sirius once again; he was still talking to the girl, she hated to admit how pretty the brunette was, they were both laughing and she was touching the upper of his right arm as she giggled at something he said...
Suddenly James Potter was in her face, grinning. Busted, she thought; he had spotted her spying and was now ready to tease her about Sirius. She waited for the sly smile and the humiliation to flood her. Instead he just handed her another glass. This one was a lot smaller and had a slice of lemon on the top.
"This one is particularly nasty, if I do say so myself..." James admitted with another grin. "But it's good for when you need a bit of a boost."
She gave him a weary look. James was extremely good at drinking everything in just one gulp. He shuddered as he whacked the cup onto the table and brought the lemon to his lips.
"This is mad!" Evelyn said with a scowl, shaking her head in amazement.
"It is." He gave another shudder. "Best not to leave it too long, do it now quick." He said, motioning to her cup. He watched for a few moments as she slowly sniffed the drink, I'm sure she'll like it, he thought. Ready to order two more drinks, he turned around to the bar but stopped. There was Lily looking as beautiful as ever, her eyes were positively shining with happiness and her hair seemed to be glossy and just magical. He felt his heart skip a beat at her beauty, but he felt the rage and jealously surge through him as he noticed the boy smiling at her and keeping her attention.
Lily never seemed to enjoy his presence, and yet she was so enchanted at this guy. The guy didn't seem special, he seemed quite burly and so evidently must have been in the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team. James immensely disliked him already.
He felt Evelyn shuffle next to him and so quickly moved his attention back to her, relieved to see that she was still frowning at the cup.
"Do it!" He dared, hoping that she hadn't noticed his brief moment of weakness.
Ten seconds later she was there again, liquid on her chin and a fiery chill at the back of her throat. James patted her back softly, sending her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
"Shall we have some firewhiskey next? After another tequila actually, to get us going..."
She was going to kill James Potter. After another tequila, that was successfully drunk in one gulp this time, Evelyn was feeling rather giddy and light headed. The firewhiskey next had burnt her throat so much that the blueberry tasting wkd she had after was sweet in contrast. She and James moved from the drinks stand, it had started to get rather crowded, and she noticed how he had gotten now a full bottle of wkd stuffed inside his tutu. He was also carrying a bottle of firewhiskey that he half drained after four gulps.
"You know," She said with a giggle as she stumbled and had to hold onto his pom poms for support, "You really do suit the tutu and the tiara. S'makes you look so pretty." He put an arm around her waist as he leaned onto one of the cold stone walls.
Someone had charmed the large cassette to play a muggle band called the Beatles and now dozens of couples were dancing drunkenly and singing out the lyrics.
"Thaankks," James shook his pom poms and did a jiggle in his tutu so that the glittery material flowed around him. "I think I look the hottest of the hots... out of all us marauders, Remus doesn't suit orange very much ha! He looks like a... a... an orange!" He was finding it difficult to speak properly, but it didn't seem to bother him as he took a swig from the bottle. Evelyn didn't even give it a second thought as he passed the bottle to her, if this was five drinks before then she would have been wary of what James was handing to her, and took a very large gulp.
Next they were giggling about something unknown; she had to lean onto him for support since she was laughing too much and now he had given her one of the pom poms so they matched.
"Wanna dance?" Abba had come on, James' guilty pleasure, and he was jumping up and down. He didn't even wait for an answer as he pulled her into his arms and twirled, all the while singing in a low operatic voice that she was the dancing queen. Evelyn had to bite her lip to stop herself from howling with laughter.
They were turning and turning and turning and turning so fast that she gripped onto his hands tightly. She squealed out his name and when he did finally halt to a stop, her world was spinning and he had to hold onto her waist to stop her from falling. Their faces were close. So close that Evelyn gulped, not minding this sudden close proximity. She was so close that she could see the slight golden specks against his heavy hazel eyes. She could feel his hot breath against her neck intensify as he held onto her more tightly, worried that she might just break in front of him.
He cleared his throat and tried to calm down his heavy breathing. "Sorry," He said after a few moments, although he showed no inclination of moving away from her. "I got a bit carried away there, didn't I?"
"Just a bit, mate." Came a voice from behind them. Sirius was leaning on the wall, staring at them, cool and suave with a raised eyebrow.
"Did you guys smoke something?" He had noticed them from the other side of the room, both holding onto each other, smiling and flirting. Anyone would have seen it.
"Alcohol!" Evelyn blushed. Her head seemed giddy and it was like the walls were dancing along with the masses of students who had started to dance to christmas songs.
"You smoked alcohol?" Sirius looked confused. "How did you manage that?!"
"Nononono..." James hiccoughed, now letting go of Evelyn (Sirius inwardly cheered) and awkwardly holding both of his hands together. "We uh... we had some vodka and then we had some tequila... no wait TWO tequila or is it tequilas? And and and then wkd berryblue flavour or wait no firewhiskey.."
"It was great." Evelyn giggled and James murmured in a slightly drunken agreement. Sirius knew all too well that James was very good at holding his liquor, so for James to be tipsy it must have meant the boy had consumed rather a lot of alcohol... and it wasn't even midnight yet. He cursed under his breath and sent James a rather disgruntled glare as his best mate took hold of Evelyn's hand and told her about how cool it was like at the Potter's house during the Christmas celebrations.
James had just finished mentioning how one year his father had managed to get the gnomes to be dressed like Father Christmas, with long silvery beards that could almost be a rival against Dumbledore's, and Evelyn was 'wow'ing and 'awh'ing in astonishment and staring at him with these large eyes full of amazement. Sirius couldn't stand it, it irritated him for some reason. It irritated him how James seemed to be liked by so many people; even when the lad was intoxicated he was the epitome of suave and coolness and confidence and wit. He hated to admit it, but Sirius was burning with jealously.
"No one cares about the bloody gnomes, James." His voice was almost unrecognisable and ostentatious, he spat out the words with such envy and spite that for a second there was a glimpse of the old Sirius Black, the one who could have been if he had never met James Potter and got sorted into Gryffindor.
Evelyn raised a sharp eyebrow. "Excuse you, Sirius." She said coldly, her words slipping up as she tried to control herself. "I... swant to lirsten tooo what Jaymes haz to say. I find gnomes interesting." She crossed her arms but found it difficult to stare at the boy in the eyes; they seemed distant and sad- not angry like his voice led on.
Sirius stubbornly copied her actions and took a step closer to her. "I bet it's not just the gnomes you find interesting. I saw you both from the other side of the room..."
"Sirius, don't..." James started but his attempts were ignored.
"You were acting like James was bloody prince charming. You were being so fucking obvious it's astounding that people in China don't know!" He waggled his right pompom at her angrily.
There was a brief moment of silence: Evelyn looked livid, James looked scared as he glanced between the two of his friends and Sirius stepped backwards slowly, realising that what he had just said could be deemed offensive. Or was offensive. It was definitely offensive. To both Evelyn and James.
"So what?!" Came James' delayed answer. He sighed. "It's Christmas, mate. Why do you always have to act like such an arse? You ruin everything."
"I do, do I?" Evelyn watched with worry as Sirius breathed in and out deeply, his cheeks surpassing the pink colour of his pompoms. The boy was shaking and it was easy to tell that he was stressed, his voice was high and shaky.
James was hesitant. Before he could muster up any sort of reply Sirius had already stormed off towards the drink stand and grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey before going into the huge crowd. James groaned, bringing a hand to his face.
"Oh God." He turned to the wall and banged his head against it, all the while muttering to himself 'stupid stupid stupid'. Evelyn had to eventually pull him away, as with each slam he hit his head harder and harder and was now sporting a small graze on his head that had already turned a nasty purple colour.
"Don't beat yourself up about him," She said with a frown. "He deserved it. You were right..."
"No." Was all he could manage. His hands were covering the entirety of his face, she had a hard time deciphering his mumbled words.
"What?"
The students around them were buzzing with excitement as the clock struck 23:00, it was only an hour until the Christmas holiday started.
"He didn't deserve that. Look, Sirius... he... he's been going through a lot lately. And this year has been the only year for him where he's been able to stay at Hogwarts during the holidays..." He let out an angry sigh and sent her another sad smile. "He was looking forward to this so much..." He slid down off the wall and onto the floor with a plop! It was a clear sign that he was quite tipsy and upset. Evelyn was towering above him, he was so used to it being the other way around so he tugged at her arm gently, moving to the left a bit to give her space to sit down next to him.
He took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose.
"I've never seen this side to you, James."
He let out a little giggle. "The drunk side? I'm so pissed, I'm seeing doubles of everything."
"Well there's that, yes. But it's just nice to see how much you care for Sirius."
He rolled his eyes. "He's my best friend. Of course I care. And I know you do too."
She shifted slightly, noticing suddenly how stiff the wall against her back felt. "Yeah," She tried her hardest not to blush and lowered her gaze down to her tights. She picked off a bit of grit and cleared her throat. "Well, he's a friend too. I guess. Sort of."
"I know, Evelyn." He grabbed hold of her hand. "I know."
"A-am I really t-that obvious?"
"Not really. I wouldn't worry about Sirius finding out... he's a bit oblivious to things like that."
She nodded her head but said nothing, there was a large lump in her throat and she was worried about how much she would croak if she spoke again.
"I uh..." James continued, "Lily told me about it. Well, we had been talking and it sorta slipped out. ...I promised I wouldn't say anything."
"That's alright, I don't think it matters much anyways."
"You're not going to tell him?" His shocked expression made her confused.
She gave him a puzzled look, followed by a chuckle. "Why the hell would I do that, James? He's better off not knowing."
"He hates it when people keep secrets from him, especially his friends. I guess I should go and find him now," He said. He held onto the wall as he heaved himself up and widened his eyes at the floor to make sure he wasn't dizzy. "Make sure he's not got himself into trouble."
"I'll help you look for him. I've never been a fan of parties."
"OK. But first..." James sent a longing look towards the drinks stand. "First I need another drink."
Evelyn agreed almost immediately, then they headed over to the drinks bar once again but this time were stopped by a blushing Lily and the smiling Ravenclaw boy.
"James! Evelyn!" She giggled, sloshing about her mulled wine as she waved. "Viktor and I were wondering if you wanted to have a drink together? And socialise? Seeing as it's the hols tomorrow and all."
James glared at this so called Viktor. The boy smiled and awkwardly held out his hand towards James, who shook it tentatively.
"Uuuuh. Thanks but... me and Evelyn... we need to find Sirius." He wanted to be with Lily so badly, just standing next to her made shivers run up and down his body... he wanted to stay here and push this prat Viktor away; it was obvious that he wasn't the one for her. And yet, in the back of his mind there was that low and soft voice reminding him that a friend was in need. He would make Sirius pay for this, in the friendliest way possible.
"Black?" Viktor Haynes asked, putting an arm around Lily's shoulders. James glared at the hand, wanting to just rip it and bite it. "Didn't he leave quite a while ago?"
"Oh really?" His voice was shaky. "I... we didn't see him."
"Had a bird around his neck. Bet she's going to be around his dick in no time as well." Haynes laughed, not realising that nobody else was joining. Lily continued drinking, James didn't blink and Evelyn was trying not to imagine how easy it would be to punch this guy in the face.
"Bit like you two if I'm honest." He said after he had calmed down and winked at Evelyn.
"Pardon?"
"Don't play dumb, Potter. I saw you both over in the corner. A lot of us did, we've been making bets about how long it'd take you both to leave and find a broom closet!"
"But I..." James looked shocked and shivered, sending the small girl next to him a raised eyebrow. "It wasn't like that."
Lily was being awfully quiet, sipping at her mulled wine and refusing to look anybody in the eyes. "It sorta did seem like that." She said slowly, a hint of anger being raised as she glared at her friend.
"Lily, you honestly can't think..." Evelyn started. "That me and P-Potter? No offense to him but he's... the epitome of what I do not want."
"It sure as hell didn't seem like that before." Venomous Lily was not something Evelyn was used to, so this cold tone shocked her.
"Come on Lily, babes." Viktor handed James a bottle of firewhiskey. "Let's let them go off to their broom closest in peace." He winked and pushed them both towards the door.
"Wanker." James muttered under his breath as they both left the party. "What the hell does Lily see in that git?"
"He is pretty fit."
He scoffed and shook his head. "Him? Trolls are better looking."
The portraits glared down at their raised voices but the two quarreled along the corridor until they got to the moving staircases. Students were scattered about, some drunk, some sober and some seemed to be just out on a stroll. The professors were being lenient since it was the day before they holidays and the prefects, who on any other day would be patrolling and docking off points left, right and centre, were enjoying the free time.
"We need to go back to the common room first." James said, pointing right at the staircase.
"That'll be the last place Sirius would be..."
Yeah I know," He pulled at her elbow to make the turn. "I err... how good are you at keeping secrets?"
"I'm pretty drunk, James," She glared at him as they stumbled down the stairs. "I doubt I'm going to blab about it whatever it is."
He nodded at her answer, his head throbbing. "The others and I... we made some sort of... well, map. It took us months, almost a year. It shows all of Hogwarts. And it shows where people are."
"A map?"
"Yup."
"How...?"
She didn't get an answer, they were both interrupted by a screaming Snape who was running in the opposite direction. He had his wand out in his hand and didn't even notice them as he ran past. All James and Evelyn did was share a look of surprise before Snape fell to the floor, being hit by a jelly muscle jinx.
Sirius entered the scene, smoke practically steaming out from his ears as he sent Snape the most hateful look. A girl was behind him, her shirt a bit rumpled and scruffy as she hastily tried to redo all the buttons.
"You're a disgusting piece of shit!" Sirius yelled, sending another hex at Snape. "How can you even - "
"Sirius?! What the hell is going on?" James ran towards them, trying to stop his friend, but arrived there a little too late and got hit by the curse Sirius was intending for Snape.
All of them watched, horrified, as James dropped to the floor and hit his head against the concrete, knocking him out. As they stared at his unconscious body they noticed that he was slowly beginning to sprout pink feathers and began growing a beak.
"Fuck." Sirius ran towards him, kneeling next to him. "FUCK!" He shouted. "What do I do?! You stupid git, why'd you have to run in at the wrong time?"
Evelyn was about to suggest going to the hospital wing, although she had no idea how easily Poppy would be able to cure the bird problem, when Regulus Black ran towards them, being chased by Peeves and Hallows, a snotty fifth year Slytherin who seemed to be the epitome of pompous-ness.
Hallows was sending hexes at Regulus and Peeves was cackling beside them, egging both the boys on. It only took Sirius a matter of seconds before he got up off the ground and stumbled towards his brother, all of them seeming to be quite drunk. Evelyn was shaking as she caught his eyes for a second, he didn't seem to be very sober as he stumbled up to them. Hallows was pushed aside by Sirius. The girl Sirius had been interested in only moments before, ran away as she tried to cover her body.
"Cooheee, students fighting in the corridors! Filch doesn't care if it's Christmas, he'll put you all in detention!" Peeves cackled above them, throwing water pellets as he did so.
"Don't touch my brother!" Sirius shouted and walked forward with his wand directed straight at Hallows.
"This is getting ridiculous! Sirius! Stop it!" Before Evelyn could get to his side, a stunning spell hit him straight in the chest. He fell onto the floor, his body limp but he seemed to be breathing and his eyes were full of... something. As Evelyn towered over him, asking him if he could hear her, his eyes seemed like he needed to say something.
"Why are you still here, Acres? This doesn't even involve you." A snarly voice from behind her made her jump. Regulus had been put in a body jinx by Hallows and was glaring at him.
Evelyn glanced at Sirius once more. "I don't know what the hell is going on here... but if you don't stop then I will not hesitate in getting the headmaster involved in this."
Hallows sneered at her and shook his head. He pushed past her, making her stumble, as he grabbed Sirius' robes and pulled him up.
"I'll let you walk away right now, but this is your only chance."
"What even is your problem?!" Her body was shaking, but this time it wasn't just because of the alcohol that was still in her system. For the first time of the night she realised what dangers lay right inside Hogwarts.
Sirius, who seemed to be unstunned and was now breathing heavily, let out a sigh.
"Evelyn," He said quietly, not even looking at her, "Just go okay? Go and save yourself." Sounding extremely intoxicated, he waved his hand towards the corridor and stared at her.
He looked confused when she didn't run away like he had told her to. Instead she did quite the opposite; feeling a surge of bravery flow over her (or perhaps it was the alcohol, she didn't know), she sent a rather incredible jinx at Hallows. His legs instantly gave way and he ended up with jelly legs. Snape had just woken up and was ordered to take him to the hospital, so the two jiggled out of the corridor.
Evelyn ran back to Sirius' side and gave him the counter curse. The two were silent for a moment until they remembered that James Potter was still lying unconscious with feathers all over his body.
PREVIEW:
"Sirius... I love you."