Sirius dragged himself through the portrait hole and flopped down on the nearest flat surface, which was the floor in front of the entrance. James stumbled in close behind, tripped over his friend sprawled on the ground, and fell into a couch, wincing. Remus had been particularly difficult to control after Alvie was sighted.
"Where….is…..Wormtail?" James forced out from his position with his face currently implanted in the pillow.
Sirius tried to shrug his shoulders, but couldn't, due to a seemingly dislocated left shoulder. "Should be here soon," he grunted. They had dispatched the rat to nick the necessary healing potions from the hospital wing. "I think I popped out my shoulder," Sirius continued, wincing.
"Well, I can't bloody wait to put it back in," James ground out, just as Peter scurried into the common room, arms full of bottles to draw out the pain. He was met with joyful, albeit scratchy, cries of relief.
"Wormtail, thank Merlin, get over here!" James cried impatiently.
Peter quickly deposited the various potions and remedies in the middle of the floor near the injured men. "I took care of myself on the way up here."
"Good, because our need is overwhelming," Sirius gritted his teeth as he poured neon blue liquid over a particularly nasty gash in his leg.
After a few minutes where the only thing that could be heard were hisses and then grateful sighs as the boys doused themselves with healing salves, James slowly got up and turned to Sirius.
"All right," he said, casting the silencing charm on his friend, "You ready, mate?"
The dog nodded resolutely, preparing himself for what was to come.
"Dislocated shoulder?" Peter guessed, watching the scene before him.
James shook his head yes, then, without warning, turned and forced Sirius' shoulder back into its socket.
Very colorful words formed on Sirius' lips, none getting past them.
"Fixed it," James said unnecessarily, then climbed the stairs to the dormitory without giving Sirius back the power of speech.
The next morning, the three animagi hovered over their friend's bed in the hospital wing discussing the previous night's events, after shooting the muffliato spell in the direction of the kindly matron.
"Why, though?" Peter asked again, "What reason does she have to be there?"
"Wish we knew," James said thoughtfully. "I don't think she knows, though. Or else she wouldn't have seemed so shocked."
"James," Remus said plaintively, "If you saw an enormous monster in the forbidden forest, wouldn't you be surprised whether you knew a kid in your year was a werewolf or not? In fact, wouldn't you be terrified since you now know there's a monster on the loose, one who's your classmate?"
"Can it, Moony, you're not a monster," Sirius growled forcefully.
"Yeah, and Alvie doesn't really seem the type to care about that crap. I mean, Lily's her best friend, and she's muggleborn," James concluded.
Before Remus had a chance to argue, a voice floated over the top of the privacy screen. The four compatriots tuned in carefully.
"Is that," James spoke disbelievingly, "Greene?"
Remus immediately assumed the worst, "Is she here because I hurt her?" he demanded of his friends.
"'Course not, we got you out of there as fast as possible," Sirius said, peeking around the privacy screen.
"Yeah, we weren't really keen on facing your wrath this morning," James wrinkled his nose.
"Is it Greene, Padfoot?" Peter asked.
"Shush up!" he silenced him, "I want to hear what she's saying." He was looking at a very….unexpected scene. Alvie Greene was facing towards him, eyes downcast, while Madame Luelle smeared yellow cream onto her back. Her shirt was completely off, and Alvie held it to her chest, covering herself.
"Some of the larger ones have opened again," Luelle said gently.
Alvie nodded curtly. "Yeah, they tend to do that."
"Are you sure your fine?" the matron asked concernedly.
Alvie pasted on a bright smile. "Yes, Madame Luelle. I'm fine. Thank you," she said quietly before ducking around a privacy screen.
Sirius slowly drew his head back in to Remus' bedside. "What was that all about?" James questioned.
"I don't know," he replied, confused, trying to focus on the situation at hand with the image of Alvie almost shirtless still fresh in his mind. "Luelle said 'some of the larger ones have opened again.' What does that mean?"
There was a pause, and then Remus answered.
"Scars," he said grimly, "she means scars."
"How do you know?" Peter asked.
"Personal experience. Trust me, they meant scars."
"…Think she's a werewolf?" James contributed.
"No," Sirius argued, "she was up in the tree last night, remember? Not snarling on the ground."
"Family issues?" Peter supplied.
"Probably," Remus nodded his agreement.
"Why don't we just ask?" James questioned.
"She won't tell us," Sirius reminded, " 'society gets tedious', " he mimicked.
They all chuckled as they heard the bell ring. "Are going to Flitwick?" Peter queried.
"Yes," Remus cut in, "I need you to get me the homework."
"Oh, well then," Sirius said resigned, "since Remus said so, I guess we've got to go, mates."
The stag and the rat snickered.
"Glad to see you know who's in charge," Remus joked, before shooing them out the door.
The fell over each other into the hallway, then raced each other up the corridors to Charms, knowing Flitwick would not want them to start off the new semester late.
Sirius sidled into the classroom just as the bell rang and tipped his bag over on his desk, spilling out wrinkled parchment, bent quills, empty inkwells, sweet wrappers, and the like. Extracting the necessary supplies from the mess, he gathered the rest up in a neat little pile, and unceremoniously pushed it into his bag.
He heard laughing whispers behind him, and turned around in his seat to see Alvie smiling brightly at him.
"I have found a new kinship with you, Black!" She sang delightedly, then showed him the contents of her own bag at his confused look.
Peering inside, he saw a mess to rival his own, although hers was more of an artistic kind. Drawings half completed then given up on, pieces of beautifully patterned paper folded into origami, markers that looked like they had exploded in the cramped quarters. And the usual, quills, textbooks, inkwells, etc.
"See!" she nudged Lily excitedly. "Mess is normal!"
"So," Sirius began to strike up a conversation after Flitwick had given them the correct wrist movement for the reducing charm, "Since you already have been 'invited'," Here he glared at Alvie, to which she smiled back cheerfully, "To our Halloween party, might I ask what you're wearing?"
Lily turned to Alvie, "We're going to a Halloween Party?" She smiled, eyebrows raised questioningly.
"C'mon, Dee, it'll be fun!" Her friend pleaded.
She sighed dramatically, "Well, I suppose I've got no choice now, haven't I?"
"You are entirely correct, my dear woman! Now," Greene cried, clapping her hands together, "What should we go as?"
Lily thought for a moment, then whispered in Alvie's ear, to which Alvie nodded excitedly, "But which one if us is….." she trailed off, listening raptly to the redhead murmuring into her hair.
Sirius realized that he was no longer necessary in this conversation, and slid forward in his seat, now facing a knowing smile coming from his left.
"What, James?" He asked, unconcerned.
"Not trying to get in her pants anymore, eh?" he winked, "Yeah, that's definitely what I saw."
"Shut up, you immature git, I was simply making pleasant conversation." Sirius haughtily defended himself.
"I didn't realize 'pleasant conversation was now a sexual innuendo."
"Bugger off. She's got a boyfriend."
"So?"
"Blimey, James, you'd think you were the one getting shagged."
"I'm partial to gingers," James sniffed.
"Gingers plural?" Peter asked, joining the conversation, "Because the only other gingers in our year are Lance Rainhart and Christopher Duncan, and-"
"Quiet, Pete." James ordered while Sirius high-fived the rat.
Sirius peeked over his shoulder at the girls to see how they were getting along, and found that the conversation had taken a much more serious turn, for Alvie was gazing sympathetically towards Lily, no hint of a smile on her usually sunny face. Upon looking up and seeing Sirius looking at them, Alvie quickly shook her hand at him, indicating him to turn around. He obliged, and decided to think nothing of it.
Once the class had finally finished, and another agonizingly boring class passed, in which Sirius could not honestly say what class he had attended, they met near the Great Hall and followed the girls inside for lunch. Just outside, Lily stopped.
"You know what, Al?" she said slowly. "I'm not really hungry right now. I think I'll go back to the tower for a bit."
"Are you sure?" Alvie asked, concerned.
"Yeah, it's fine. I'll see you for our next lesson."
Alvie nodded, and watched Lily walk away, while the boys passed her on their way for food.
They were seated comfortably when Alvie crashed angrily into her seat, looking ready to commit murder.
The three Marauders present looked at each other nervously. They had never seen Greene angry before, so they had no idea what to do with her.
"Erm, Alvie.." Peter began uncertainly.
"Shh!" she threw up a hand to stop him, eyes narrowed furiously.
"Uh, Greene…" James started.
"Did I not just say shush!" Alvie hissed, flying into his face.
"Do you know how absolutely furious I am right now?" she growled by way of explanation, "I am like PMS on fucking steroids."
"…..so we should stay out of your way." Sirius concluded.
"If you know what's good for you."
Sirius took her advice and turned to his plate, shrugging his shoulders at his fellow comrades. Every so often he would glance at Greene. It looked as though she was glaring at the Slytherin table. He followed her gaze and zeroed in on Snape.
After looking back and forth between the livid girl and the greasy boy, a slow smile began to grace his features.
"Men," he said softly, "I suggest we look to the Slytherin gits, for it looks as though we will soon be provided with entertainment." He nodded his chin in the direction of Alvie's hateful eyes, motioning for James and Peter to look. They did, and snickered in anticipation.
Sirius' prediction soon came true, for not five minutes later, Alvie lifted her wand high above her head, muttered an incantation, and brought it down fiercely.
At once, the Slytherin table and benches levitated five feet off the ground, overturned themselves, and dropped every unfortunate person sitting there to the floor, with food splattering all over them. It was magnificent.
Through his tears of laughter at the shock of every Slytherin's face, Sirius chanced a glance at Greene. She had a triumphant gleam in her eyes and a self-satisfied smirk on her face, with her wand still raised, pointing in the direction of her victims.
After the students picked themselves up off the floor and the other tables had stopped shaking in hysterics, Professor McGonagall got to her feet, her mouth as thin as a wire.
"Who is responsible for this?" She investigated.
Before she could even look at the Marauders, who knew that she definitely would, even though they were innocent, Alvie shot up.
"It was me, Professor!" she admitted cheerily.
It took McGonagall a moment to gain her bearings.
"Greene!" she screeched, "Detention tomorrow night, eight o'clock!"
"Yes, professor." She turned her attention to the food in front of her as the teachers began to clean up the mess and make sure none of the students were hurt.
"What was that, Greene?" Sirius asked, still chortling.
"Oh, that?" Alvie waved in the direction of the wreckage airily. "That, my dear boys, was revenge."
"Not that I have anything against attacking the slimy gits, but what have they done to you?" James asked.
"The Snape boy pissed on Dee and called her something that I shall not repeat," Alvie muttered darkly, nodding her chin towards Snape. "That's something he needed to take up with me. I didn't have an opening on my schedule, so I took pity on him and gave him his required dosage quickly and as painlessly as I could make it."
"Ah," Peter said understandingly.
James was focused on the mess across the hall. "Well, I'd hate to piss you off, Greene." He murmured eventually.
"A thought you would do well to keep in mind." She smiled wickedly, and walked serenely past the house tables, out the open doors, up the marble staircase, and out of site.
The boys stared after her. Finally, with a heavy southern accent, Sirius broke the silence, "Well, dah-lings, I do believe we have a topic for discussion with our precious invalid."
They all grinned at each other, then finished their food at top speed so as to get to Remus sooner.
Later that night, they were lazing around the common room, being irresponsible children and doing nothing, while talking to the slightly more responsible (or in Lily's case, significantly more responsible) girls, who were at least doing their homework.
"You know, Alvie," James observed, while sitting upside-down in his squashy armchair, with his legs dangling off the back, "I don't believe we've gotten to know you very well yet this year."
"Lucky you," Lily muttered from her place stretched out on the couch.
Alvie looked up from her essay propped up against her knees, eyes reflecting the dancing firelight. She was leaning contently against the couch, bottom parked on the floor, head right next to Lily's. "Well, Potter, I'd say that's a capital offense. I'd punish you for it, but it appears I am too lazy," she yawned, extending like a cat as she stretched her arms over her head. "I suppose I'll leave that business to Dee, it saves me the time of trying to find her a Christmas present, anyway." She looked up at her friend, smiling.
"Let's play the question game," Sirius suggested from the hearth.
"Okay, question, Black," Alvie said. "How the hell are you not on fire?"
Sirius smirked. It was a fair question; he was practically lounging in the fireplace. "I just strike the perfect balance of getting pleasantly warm but not getting burned."
She raised an eyebrow. "Bet that gets you out of a lot of trouble."
"That, and his incredible ability to fling bullshit at the slightest command," Peter commented.
Sirius smiled lazily. "What can I say, I'm a man of many talents."
"And those talents will get you very far in life," Lily jibed half-heartedly, scratching away at her parchment.
"Well, it does get me very far along the bases." He responded in typical teenage boy fashion.
Lily scowled in disgust.
"Don't take it personally, Dee," Alvie patted her head affectionately. "Boys have a brain, a penis, and enough blood for one of them to work at a time," she glanced disdainfully at the boys, "though I wonder if these specimen of teenage boy have either of the two."
"Oh, how you wound me!" Sirius drew his arm protectively over his face. "Why do you use such harsh words?"
"Probably because she knows they're true." Lily sniffed.
"Ouch," Peter called from the couch.
"So, are we still playing the question game?" Sirius flipped onto his stomach.
"I suppose so," Alvie inspected her nails, feigning disinterest.
"Well, then," Sirius grinned. Here was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about this Zane.
"Describe Zane."
Alvie looked at him, confused. "What? Why?
"I care for you, dearie." He half-closed his eyes and smiled toothily.
She laughed at his antics, then granted his request. "He's got these dark, green eyes-"
"Like, Lily green?" James interrupted.
Alvie shook her head. "Darker. Dark green, but at the same time, bright and energetic. His hair is black, he's pale as fuck, and he's about your height."
Sirius snorted. "Bet I could take him."
"Lay off the boyfriend, Black."
He huffed at that.
"He's somewhat quiet," Alvie continued, a faraway look in her eyes, "but he's really smart when you get him to talk. He's nice and witty."
"How long have you been dating?" James cleared his throat.
She focused back on the conversation. "About a year. Now I've got a question for you people," she paused, "what're you being for Halloween.
Peter started to answer, but was quickly stopped by Sirius. "Ah, ah, ah," he shook his head. "No, Greene, we tell you when you tell us."
James slid his glasses up his nose, which was red due to his hanging upside-down. "Why can't we tell them, Padfoot?"
"They won't tell us what they're being."
"So?"
"James," Sirius said slowly, like he was talking to a four-year-old, "Your darling Lily won't tell you what hopefully revealing costume she'll be wearing come Halloween night."
James froze. "Lily!" He cried, flipping around in his chair, so he was no longer upside-down and mere inches from her face. "My sweet," he reached over Alvie, which was not particularly difficult because she was already lying on the ground, nearly killing herself with laughter; grabbed Lily's arm, and attempted to kiss his way up. He didn't get past her wrist before a small, red handprint colored his cheek.
"Knock it off, Potter."
"Cold-hearted bitch," Alvie hiccupped. Lily looked down her nose at her.
"So, we don't get to know what the lovely, attractive ladies are wearing for the Halloween party that we are throwing?" Sirius clarified.
Alvie shook her head, smiling, "Aw, don't look so sad, boys," she ruffled Sirius' hair, "think of it this way. On the thirty-first, you'll be….pleasantly surprised." She winked deviously at them, then grabbed Lily's hand and ran up the stairs with their bags.
Sirius lay back on his elbows. "Damn," he sighed, "I really wanted a mental picture."
Peter threw a pillow at him.
Time passed quickly for Sirius. Between dreaming up new prank ideas, getting detentions, progressing wonderfully in his goal to bed all the girls fifth year and up, and laughing with the Marauder's new friend, Alvie (for it had been determined that she was a friend), the time flew by. Before he knew it, it was the full moon again.
"D'you think Greene will be there?" James asked of Peter and Sirius while they were waiting for the coast to be clear so that they could get out of the castle.
"Dunno," Peter stared at the rapidly darkening sky.
Sirius hoisted himself out of the chair he had been sitting in, "Why don't I just go scope out the forest?"
James looked less conflicted. "Good idea, mate. You'll be able to find her?"
He tapped his nose, "My sense of smell is….advanced for my kind."
Peter snorted, "Get outta here, mate."
Sirius exited the castle and, after doing a complete three-sixty degree turn to make sure no one happened to be watching, transformed into a large, black dog. He bounded towards the forest and sniffed up and down the tree-line. Once he caught her scent, which he remembered from…..last time, he followed the path into the woods, nose to the ground. He stopped at the base of a tree with low-hanging branches, and looked up, craning his neck to see her.
She was sitting in a different tree than last time, and instead of looking at the moon, she was scanning the ground, as though looking for something.
Sirius began to circle around her, memorizing her place in the forest. She spotted him, and Sirius could hear her quill hit the paper as she drew something in haste.
Sirius backed up and looked at her, eyes scrunched up in concentration, body hunched over parchment, ink splatter on nose, and quickly ran out of her sight, changed back into a human, and went to report back to James and Peter.
Since they had originally planned to explore the small houses in Hogsmeade, Alvie didn't interfere with their night at all. Nothing went wrong, and they found a nice little hot spring that looked like it would be fun to swim in.
One week later, after Remus had fully recovered, they had decided to get the food and drink for their upcoming party, which had been looming ever closer. They had begun to spread the word about it, and almost everyone in Gryffindor knew about it now, and was already contemplating what they were going to wear. Girls put their heads together and tried to come up with the sexiest, most revealing costumes they could create for the night. It was going to be their best party yet, aside from the one they threw after exams last year.
The four party-planners were currently sneaking along the hallways after curfew, lugging two heavy crates of alcohol back to the common room. It was easy to handle with their wands levitating everything, but once they heard the swish of a cloak rounding a corner, they hurriedly darted into the nearest empty classroom/broom closet and tried not to snigger at their cramped conditions and location. Eventually, they managed to make it to Gryffindor tower in one piece. The party was next week, and that was one very important thing crossed off their list.
While lying down on their beds, they speculated over what Alvie and Lily would be dressed as.
"A playboy bunny," James said hopefully.
"We all know that's not what Lily'll be dressed as," Peter escorted him down from cloud nine.
"Personally, I don't care what Greene's dressed as, so long as there's not much material to the costume," Sirius remarked as he leaned back onto his pillow and put his hands under his head.
"Well, lucky for you, Padfoot, Alvie won't be the only girl at the party," Remus reminded, "and the rest of them don't seem to mind wearing clothes that inspire your fantasies."
Sirius grinned. "Thank god for that."
Finally, dear god, finally, it was the day of the party. Everything was ready. There was enough booze for everyone to be drunk twice over, and enough food for them to throw up the next morning. They had gotten out their old speaker set that they had bought two summer's ago and checked the wiring on it to make sure it would function. Tonight was going to be worth the detention they would probably get when someone squealed.
James was practically vibrating with excitement. "I can't believe Lily's actually coming! Usually she'd be trying to get us in detention or something."
"You've got Alvie to thank for that," Remus adjusted the claws on his Wolverine costume.
"And I thank her every day," James nodded adoringly.
"Guys, these costumes seem weird," Peter complained.
"We told you," Sirius explained impatiently, "these guys were part of a group that fought the villains and saved the world on a daily basis."
Yes, it had been decided that the Marauders would be dressing up as muggle superheroes this year. James wanted to be Superman, Remus was Wolverine (they had gotten a kick out of that), Sirius was Green Lantern, and Peter was dressed as Captain America. They really did look cool, Sirius thought, as he admired his costume in the looking glass.
"Is everything set up, soldiers?" He feigned solemnity as he tweaked the bottles on the drink table.
"All set, Cap'n" James robotically saluted Sirius.
Remus checked his watch. "People should be coming about….now," he reported, and the first couple met at the bottom of the stairs.
They all grinned. This was something they did best.
"Any sign of them?" James shouted over the music.
"Nope!" Sirius answered, just as loud. It was almost an hour since the party had begun, and the two boys were still eagerly awaiting their (hopefully) playboy bunnies.
"When will they be here?" James moaned.
Sirius shrugged his shoulders, staring wistfully at the girls' dormitory staircase.
Ten minutes later, they arrived.
Sirius and James had been talking when the latter had stopped, mid-word, eyes focused on something behind Sirius. The dog quickly spun around and was met with a justifiable reason for the blank stare in James' eye.
Shit.
Lily and Alvie looked like they had stepped out of any teenage boys' dreams. Lily had magicked her hair brown, leaving one long red streak streaming down her back, weaving in and out of the coffee-colored mass. She was wearing a brown dress/shirt, for it wasn't really a dress; it only came down to rest on her upper thigh. It had a belt accentuating her hourglass figure, with brown lace-like sleeves (for they weren't covering her hands, nor attached to the dress) stretching almost to her shoulders. She had long, skin-tight brown with white diamond patterned legwarmers that stretched up to reach nearly where the dress ended on her legs. On her neck were three brown necklaces, highlighting her cream skin.
Sirius took a moment to wolf-whistle his appreciation for the redhead's attire, and nudge James roguishly, before directing his attention to Lily's counterpart. Alvie, like Lily, had changed her hair color. Hers was white, with a black streak drawing a sharp contrast. Her dress was the same design as Lily's, with off-white as its base and brown polka dots. It had two small brown flowers that began side by side at the top of the dress, right in between her cleavage, and followed brown stitching, reappearing at regular intervals, until the lines separated and traced her waistline. Sirius had a hard time keeping his eyes off the first of this line of flowers. Also like Lily, she had sleeves, these solid white. Unlike Lily, her dress had petticoats showing underneath it and it ended about half and inch above Lily's. And she didn't have the legwarmers. Only lace-up white sandals, ending three quarters of the way up her calves. Miles and miles of smooth leg, left for Sirius' eyes to roam freely. She had even gone so far as to add a garter. If Sirius had been wolf-whistling for Lily, he was drooling for Alvie. He noticed blood begin to collect around his naval. Shit. He had to pick today to wear spandex. Ah well. He didn't expect much less from them. Well, this was a bit of a shock from the innocent Evans, but Alvie didn't disappoint. Well, he thought, tonight will be...interesting.
With a quick wink in James' direction, Sirius sauntered off to socialize with the two late arrivals.
"Hello, ladies," he said to Greene's chest.
Two thin fingers found their way under his chin and lifted his chin up, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Staring at my boobs isn't going to make the material in front of them disappear, Black." She was amused by his apparent lack of brain activity. Her voice made it obvious.
"Well," she asked, stepping a foot away from him, "do you like the costume?" she twirled lightly, allowing the dress to ride up just a bit more on her thighs.
James was suddenly at Sirius' shoulder, "I think I speak for both of us when I say your costumes are a bit….revealing, What are they supposed to be?"
Lily spoke up, "I'm chocolate and she's vanilla," she tugged faintly at her brown (chocolate brown, Sirius now realizes) hair, and gestures towards Alvie's vanilla white hair.
"Ah," Sirius nods, an air of understanding about him, "I get it now. Ingenious, ladies. Pardon us for a moment, darlings,"
Alvie smiles and waves her hand, signifying her permission. He quickly pulls James into the crowd of boy that seemed to have surrounded the girls while they were talking.
"You alright, mate?"
"Chocolate….." James replies dreamily, "She came as chocolate…."
"Yes, I'm fully aware of that, James," He's one to talk, having a rather difficult time getting the image of Greene's body slathered in vanilla buttercream frosting out of his mind.
And so the party was ruined for Sirius Black, for he spent half the night slapping James to get that stupid look off his face, and adjusting his pants every time he caught a look at Alvie.
….Hi.
I'm still alive, therefore will keep writing. This story's got far too much plot for me to abandon it now.
Get the link for their costumes on my profile.
Not one of my better chapters, but still necessary.
See you next time. Till then, work hard, and eat right with Kellogg's frosted flakes, a great tasting part of a nutritious breakfast.