six – eternity
"…Accio! You had the key to my heart…"
Aurelia's voice croons from the speakers in the common room and Remus buries his head in his arms.
"…I knew right from the very start…"
The boys wince as the girl, the lead singer from Aurelia and the Banshees, very nearly hits the note she's aiming for in her latest song.
"Who chose this crap?" Sirius asks, voicing the majority opinion.
"It's Lily's 17th, Padfoot. She gets to choose what she wants to listen to."
"She's Lily now, is she?"
"Shut up," James sighs. He gives his friend a punch on the shoulder.
"…I know that we were meant to be…"
Sirius turns to James and sings the last note with incredible sincerity: "…you're in my heart for eternity…"
They double over laughing. Lily and Marlene, who witnessed his serenading and decided to come over, join them on the sofa. The redhead perches on the arm of the seat the four boys are occupying and leans in close.
"I don't really like her singing," she whispers confidentially.
"The Banshees are quite good looking," Peter says thoughtfully, and Lily hits him in astonishment.
"How can you say that? They're disgusting! Disgusting!" Lily turns to Marlene. "That's actually quite a hard word to say. Disgusting. Dis-gus-ting."
Remus looks up and Sirius raises an eyebrow. "You alright, Evans?"
"I'm fine. I'm a little bit pissed, actually."
"I would never have guessed."
James shoots his friend a warning look and clears his throat. The song changes to a more upbeat disco number and he says, "Wanna dance, Evans?"
(She's been waiting all night for him to ask.)
Lily perks up considerably, apparently still lost in her outrage at Peter's suggestion that the Banshees were attractive, and nods. This time it's Remus giving the warning look as James squeezes past his mates.
"She's drunk, Prongs," he hisses. "Play nice."
James spreads his arms as if to say when am I not? and takes her hand, grinning.
Their friends watch them from the sofa. Sirius throws his arm around Marlene and she stiffens, chucking it off her shoulders with a pointed look.
"Just because our best friends are getting together, doesn't mean we'll be double-dating, Black," she reprimands. He bursts out laughing at the look on her face.
"You really think James and Lily are getting together?" asks Peter.
"Well obviously," she declares loftily. "Lily doesn't dance like that with just anyone. Even if she is off her face."
"That's the problem, though," Remus comments. "She's off her face, and tomorrow she'll go back to not liking him again."
Sirius makes a noise of agreement, pointing at Remus like he's just made a sterling argument. "He'll have got his hopes up for nothing. Again. She can't keep doing this to him."
Marlene stares at them all for a moment. Then she shakes her head. "Did you just hear me?"
They look back at her.
"Lily doesn't dance like that with just anyone."
They blink back blankly.
"James isn't just anyone," Marlene says slowly, as if speaking to a child.
Sirius rolls his eyes, feeling he understands. "Well, la-di-da. That's brilliant. Evans has finally decided James isn't any bloke off the street. Excellent. It's only taken her six years to get there."
Marlene shoves him, frustrated. "You're an arse, you know that? And you're completely missing the point." She stands up and brushes her skirt down. "I'm going to get a drink. Maybe you should get one too, it might knock some sense into you."
Sirius glares at her retreating back as she saunters away through the crowd, making her way to the drinks table.
"Oi!" he yells, standing up. "Marlene!"
(Remus tries to hold him back, he really does.)