January 28th, 1977
Marlene McKinnon prided herself on the fact that she was an acute listener. It came with all the musical training she had accumulated in her short life. She studied violin in Vienna; vocal lessons in America and France; and piano lessons by a number of famous mentors. Right now, however, she was not listening at all. She was doing all the talking.
The blond Gryffindor strutted down a Hogwarts' hallway with a crew at her side. She had a look of an Olympian: determined with absolute tunnel vision towards . "All right, so remember, Mary, no yellow," she reminded, "Lily hates yellow. She thinks it makes her skin look paler than it already is."
Mary MacDonald took down the note with her quil and pushed the rim of her glasses. "Like that's even possible," the small Hufflepuff scoffed as she veered off from the group.
"Emmeline, you are in charge of security. I already asked Damian Gordon and Ash Cattermole to help out, but you've got the eye for that sort-of stuff." Marlene gave her friend a wink.
Emmeline Kim chewed on her lower lip. She was about to ask for a new job since she did not feel confident in her current placement. Her eye for security was foggy recently, and the Hufflepuff did not want to be the one to blame if Lily Evan's Birthday Bubble Bash failed miserably. However, she remained quiet, knowing that she would ruin Marlene's well-organized (for once) plans, and followed Mary down the stairs.
"Prewett Twins?" Marlene called for.
"Yes, Madam Pain-in-the-Arse?" Fabian Prewett said through a forced smile.
Marlene shot him a glare. "Don't mess with me, Fabian. I'm in a mood."
"At least you're cognizant of it," Gideon added cheerfully, ignoring the glares from the others.
"You twins are in charge of invitations," she informed. Their smiles grew identically. "Listen. This is a party for Lily! We don't need you two bringing only females into this party. We made it co-ed for a reason," Marlene ended with a snap.
"Afraid of a little competition, McKinnon?" teased Fabian, poking at her side before she smacked it away with her notebook.
She gave him a nasty look. "Competition for what?"
"You know, a lot of birds are interested in a night with me, and I am graduating from this fine institution fairly soon."
"Not soon enough, obviously," she retorted finally as she turned to her cousin and his cohort of friends. "Now, you lot. You four have a very important job," she said in stern voice. "A lot of responsibility."
"Responsibility is my middle name," Sirius Black said in a smug tone.
"I thought it was Orion," Peter murmured.
"I'm special; I have two."
"Sirius Orion Responsibility Black…?" The smallest Marauder repeated in a slow voice.
"Focus!" insisted Marlene as she raised her voice. "We have literally 27 hours to make this the best birthday party ever, and I am not letting your incompetence ruin this for my best mate. Understood?!"
"You sound like McGonagall," James Potter grumbled as he eyed her appraisingly.
"Ha. Ha." Marlene deadpanned. She dug into her pocket and pulled out parchment with a lengthy list on it. "These are your tasks."
The Marauders scanned the list once over before James asked,"Do I look like a House Elf?"
"More like a House Giant."
"So you do view your own flesh and blood as a servant?"
"Only because you view your kin's flesh and blood as secondary to that of slags," she countered hotly. She even stopped her fast pacing throughout the castle to emphasize her argument.
James almost shot back a very good argument about pettiness being bad for the skin, but instead remembered that he did have a favor to ask of his favorite cousin. "You'd never come before a bird," he reassured, sprinkling sugar atop of every word.
Marlene gave him an appraising sort-of look, because she knew James far too well. "I don't like that."
"Like what?" He asked in a sweet tone.
"That voice you use when you want something."
James let out a hardy laugh, obnoxiously loud too. "That's real rich coming from you-"
"Come on, James -" she pointed to an imaginary watch on her wrist - "I'm on a schedule."
"Can you ask Lily if it's all right if I bring Henley to the party?"
The Marauders waited for Marlene's response as she took her time to suck her teeth. The sound of her tongue against her mouth was wet, and it caused a terrible smacking sound. Only Sirius could appreciate it.
"I know you aren't a big fan of Henley," James continued after a moment, when he realized that Marlene was not going to reply anytime soon, "but, she's been going through a hard time with Cresswell's fall and all. And I think she could use some well-earned fun, and I heard birds love bubble baths-"
"Stop your begging, it's pitiful," Marlene said in a solemn voice as she put up her hand.
James cocked an eyebrow. Normally convincing Marlene was like trying to convince the entrance to Diagon Alley at the Leaky Cauldron to just open. Impossible and not worth anyone's time.
"For some mad reason," Marlene sighed, clearly defeated, "Lily insisted on inviting Henley. I am beyond the reason why, but yes, Henley is already on the approved guest list."
Sirius jabbed his friend's side with his elbow. "Steamy threesome on the way," he whispered in a sing-song voice.
James' mind processing could barely process that image before Marlene smacked Sirius' arm with her notebook. "Don't be lewd, aye?" she glared. She turned her attention back to James, "She feels bad for Henley and Jones after what happened to Cresswell too. She almost invited Cresswell when she heard he woke up yesterday, but decided he still needed rest."
James smiled. Of course she had already considered girls like Henley and Jones. Lily always thought of everyone.
"And she thought you might enjoy Henley's company," Marlene added, with another touch of sourness to her tone.
Now, James' ego came up with numerous reasons as to why Lily Evans would invite Camilla Henley for his own sake. The list tackled his brain like an oncoming bludger. Was she playing matchmaker? Trying to console Henley through male attention? Or did she know that James and Henley had already gone out together? The options were endless.
"Speaking of inviting others," Remus said as he stepped forward with hands forced in his pockets and a smile that did not seem confident. "Can I bring along someone too?"
The three other Marauders exchanged glances with Marlene, who looked just as intrigued. She eyed her housemate up and down with a devilish smirk sprawled across her lips. "And the date would be?" She inquired in a flirty voice.
"Not a date," Remus clarified, "just a mate. I think we all consider her one actually. Meadowes?"
"Meadowes?" Peter repeated, almost as in a whisper. He heard from the other two that their friend and the elusive Slytherin had been hanging out now, but this was the first time Peter had mentioned it himself.
"Yes, Meadowes," Remus repeated, straining his voice. His friends always tended to cause a ruckus when it came to friends of the opposite gender. The other Gryffindors stared at him, waiting for him to go on. "What? It's just a party. It's not like the Slytherins throw the most exciting birthday bashes."
Marlene leaned in and poked her long finger into Remus' chest, which was more sturdy than the blond had imagined (not the point, however.) She narrowed her eyes at him. "What - do - you - two - have - on- each - other?" She asked, jabbing him with each word.
Remus took Marlene's hand and gently removed it from his body. As he let it drop, he said in a simple voice, "Nothing. I just… well, we're friends. I thought she was yours too."
Marlene shrugged. "Friends may be a little strong, since I barely know her. She's nice, and I appreciate her though."
"So, she can come?" He tried not to sound too enthused, but the other Marauders definitely picked up on the inclined tone.
"Only if you tell me what you and Meadowes do at night? I bet she's a bit of a freak-"
"Oh, sod off, McKinnon," the prefect groaned impatiently, "Meadowes and I are seriously just friends."
Marlene looked unconvinced as she gave a pout. "Boring," she sighed as she peered down at her notes for the party. "Yeah, she's coming already too. Lily wanted her on the list as well. Tell her for me?"
"Oh, sure."
Sirius clapped Remus' back and teased, "Seems you don't get to play Prince Charming now, do ya, Moony?"
Marlene's eyes lit up like Christmas decorations. She turned her attention to him. "Are you jealous of Lupin?" She asked. The girl lived for drama.
Sirius let out a short bark of a laugh. "Sirius Orion Responsibility Black does not do jealousy."
"You do know there is nothing to be jealous of, right, Mate?" Remus clarified in a solemn voice. "Dorcas and I aren't-"
"Oh, I know that you two have an exclusively platonic friendship," Sirius revealed nonchalantly, "at least for now."
Remus decided not to engage his friends any further on the topic of Dorcas Meadowes. It only brought about an excessive amount of interrogating, which he was simply not in the mood for. It had already been hard enough to keep a secret from his mates without them being suspicious; he didn't need to give them further reason to question his relationship with her.
For the past two weeks, Lily Evans stopped questioning her relationship with Connor. She stopped doubting her own affection towards him whenever she got the chance. She decided to do something she had never even attempted before. She tried going with the flow.
Now, Lily was not an uptight person per say. She did not schedule her week out to a T, or freak out when Marlene would leave clothes around the dorm. But when it came to her own feelings, like remained regimented. She liked the ability to identify and categorize her emotions; it made them easier to register. For a while, her feelings towards Connor were so messy that she felt like ripping her hair out. She'd flip-flop between admiration and boredom. But maybe that was just how romantic love worked for Lily Evans.
And that's what she decided on. No point in trying to change her feelings for Connor; maybe this was all her love to offer.
Was it bad that she thought about this while they were snogging in a nook by the Hospital Wing?
Lily eventually pulled back when she heard the snickers of one-too-many underclassmen. She gave Connor a sheepish smile that he returned. "I'm sorry I can't be more proactive in your birthday planning," he apologized for the fiftieth time this week.
Lily rolled her eyes, not out of annoyance, but out humor. "It's okay, Connor. Marlene has the whole thing under control."
The Headboy smiled as he straightened his collar. "I know that she does," informed Connor, "but it would've been nice to help out in at least some way. It's just this application for the Salem Defense Institute in America is due next week, and I'm already freaking out-"
"I know," Lily interrupted gently, cupping her boyfriend's face. Her thumb rubbed the incoming stubble on his cheeks. "I know how much that position means to you."
It was true. Connor wanted to go to America after he graduated from Hogwarts in June. They had a competitive internship program for post-graduate witches and wizards, training them in multiple areas of defensive magic. Not only was it a good opportunity, but Connor was a half born with a sick muggle father and a younger muggle half-sister. As they dated, Lily heard Connor's concerns for his family's well-being in the country. He often said, "It's hard being black in this country as is, and it doesn't help that my family is made of muggles either." In America, things were looking more positive for people of color and muggle-borns and their families. At least more so than in Magical Europe where terror lingered around every corner for anyone who was not a white or a pureblood.
Connor kissed the palm of Lily's hand. "I'm really lucky to have met a girl like you," he whispered.
"As am I," Lily teased.
Connor let out a laugh as he pushed Lily a little. "Tell me, Lily, if you've ever met a girl with arms like this."
"Well, if you count… I'm kidding," she laughed as she kissed her boyfriend's shocked face.
The Hogwarts bell rang, signaling to the students that the period was about to being. Connor sighed as he looked down at his watch. "Lucky me, I get to spend the next two hours with good ole Slughorn."
"Don't blow anything up," Lily advised, not that Connor needed it. He got an O on his Potions OWL back in his 5th year. Just like she did.
"Only you, Darling," he kissed her cheek quickly before skittering off to the Dungeon.
Lily watched as the Head Boy ran past students and down the stairs. She slung her backpack onto her shoulder and thought of a quiet corner in the Library to catch up on some Transfiguration reading. The subject was always more difficult for her to grasp since it involved so many formulas and calculations. She preferred subjects with more… well, subjectivity. Charms required a bit of finessing, and Potions was like advanced cooking. All required a bit of in the moment leniency.
Speaking of in the moment.
Lily found herself passing the Hospital Wing. Rumor had it that Dirk Cresswell finally woke up. She was extremely curious as to what could make the 5th year unconscious for nearly an entire week. It couldn't have been the fall itself because Dirk never actually made contact with the floor. She had caught him just in time, or so she hopped.
Her feet lead her to answers as they headed further into the wing. There were no other students there, so it was relatively quiet. But she did hear a few hushed voices behind the furthest curtain. Her clinking shoes were even louder than the voices.
The voices stopped, and another pair of footsteps could be heard. Camilla Henley came out from the curtain. She had dark bags under her eyes, but that didn't stop her from glaring at Lily.
"How can I help you, Evans?" She asked. It seemed as if she was trying very hard not to sound sour.
Lily had thought by inviting Henley to her birthday, the brunette would warm up to her, at least just a bit. Guess not. "I heard Cresswell woke up," Lily replied, "I just wanted to see if he was awake."
"He's not."
Lily was about to openly object because you need to hear two voices to eavesdrop in on a conversation. But, she thought better of it. If Cresswell was too tired or unwilling to talk, then she should let him be with Henley.
"Awe, come on, Millie," Dirk's scratchy voice insisted from behind the curtain. "I'm fine."
Camilla shot a glare in the direction of the voice. "No, you're not," she said, stern.
"I could use some human contact, not that yours isn't sufficient, but I would like to talk to her." Cresswell was always rather diplomatic, which clearly irritated Camilla.
In return, the brunette rolled her eyes and slung her backpack over her shoulder. She gave her bedridden friend a final glare before saying, "Remember your anesthetic potion."
"It tastes like rat piss."
"Yeah, well, you're going to feel like rate shite if you don't take it," she said curtly as she walked down the aisle of beds. She didn't even stop to say goodbye to Lily, which was expected. She did however say as she passed by, "Make sure he takes it before you leave."
"Will do," Lily agreed as she walked down the aisle towards Cresswell's bed. She peered behind the curtain and felt a rush of relief, seeing Cresswell's brown eyes blink back at her. Although she was glad to see him awake, he did appear rather ragged looking. Even though he had been asleep for nearly a week, Cresswell still had dark bags under his eyes and prominent veins popping. There were no bruises on his body, but he did look paler. She wouldn't tell him any of this though.
"Hi, Cresswell," Lily murmured softly, moving to stand at the edge of bis bed. "I'm glad to see that you're doing better."
Dirk shrugged, "'S'ppose so. I'm not dead, I reckon." Considering the fact that he just arose out of a coma, the Gryffindor seemed like his usual goofy self. "And I have you to thank for that."
Lily blushed slightly and asked, "Who told you?"
"Hestia and Camilla explained everything to me the moment I woke up," he explained. His eyes trailed down to his hands, which her folded in his lap. "I don't remember anything."
"Anything?" Lily repeated, not even trying to conceal her shocked tone.
Dirk shook his head in confirmation. He took a moment before revealing, "I only remember coming back from dinner and leaving the Great Hall. That's it."
Lily had a difficult time believing that. Not because she thought her housemate was lying, but because dinner ended at 6:30pm. She and Hestia found Dirk floating at probably 9:30pm. What had happened in those three hours?
"You didn't go back to the Tower? Or the library?" Lily offered, maybe prompting some forgotten memories.
"No, I didn't make it to either," he sighed, "Trust me, I would've remembered. My bed and I are like this." He twisted his index finger and middle finger around each other tightly, causing the two to laugh lightly.
This left the bright students puzzled and quiet for a moment. And they stayed here until Lily felt curious enough to ask, "Was there anything out of the ordinary that day?"
Dirk contemplated this as he tapped his fingers against his lap. "Nothing," Dirk repeated, a bit more surely this time. "A Hogwarts day can only get so exciting," he laughed at the end.
Lily joined in. This was true. Some days felt like time loop; they would do the same things over and over again. It felt ritualistic, without the uplifting spirituality component.
"Go though your day then," she suggested, "maybe there's something that my new eyes could see that yours can't."
Dirk hesitated as he ground his teeth. "Woke up, went to a few classes, dealt with Basil Greengrass' sadism - nothing strange there - went to dinner, and then… it went blank," he let out a tired sigh at the end as he peered up at Lily. "Evans, I'm the most boring person in this castle; I really don't know why I was chosen."
"You are far from boring," Lily insisted. She couldn't help but let out a small twinge of maternalism for the young muggle-born. But Dirk did have a point. There was nothing unusual about Dirk's day one week ago, even Greengrass' inhumanity. (Basil Greengrass was a dark-haired fifth year with clear mommy issues, old pureblood money, and an untouchable amount of security regarding his education at this institution, despite being an incredible arse). Maybe someone chose Dirk by accident, maybe someone wasn't out for muggle-borns or Mason Nagut's child. Lily did have a tendency for the dramatics, especially when it concerned her friends.
The bell echoed throughout the walls, signifying students t.
"If you do remember anything and be willing to share," Lily started, "let me know?"
Dirk gave a sure nod. "Thanks for caring, Evans."
"People like you and me have to stick together, Dirk," she smiled in return.
He chuckled without much humor because war wasn't funny, but had to laugh because this was their reality. Their everyday. The reality for muggle-borns was yes, they had to stick together and stick up for one another. They both envied their classmates who had the privilege to not live in constant paranoia.
"Now, take this anesthetic," Lily said as she stood up.
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, sod off, Evans," he grumbled as he scotched further under his sheets.
"Henley will kill me," she countered, "and I have a birthday to attend tomorrow, and if I don't, Marlene will bring me back to life and then kill me. You scare me much less."
"The bird has dedication."
"Tell me about it."
Lily unscrewed the top of the long bottle and poured the violet liquid into a small mug. She poured until the marked line and put it in front of her housemate's pale face. "Drink."
"I never realized how bossy you were," Dirk commented as he took the cup.
Lily scoffed, "Yes, you have. I'm a bloody prefect."
"This is true," Dirk agreed as he sniffed the contents. He made a gagging noise before pinching his nose and chucking it back, like a shot of fire whiskey. "Nasty shite, nasty shite."
"See?" Lily smirked as she took back the cup, "Not so bad."
"It's worse than my own sleeping draught," Dirk argued, wiping off the remnants with his sleeve. "And I've gotten a P in potions last term."
As Lily laughed lightly, a light bulb went off in her mind. Her eyes widened as she looked down at Dirk, now with more intensity in her green eyes.
"What?" Dirk asked awkwardly, not enjoying the scrutiny of Lily's gaze.
Lily tried to slow her brain down from making so many possible associations. "You take sleeping draught?" Lily asked quickly, setting the cup back down.
"Yeah," He replied, as if it were obvious. "I have insomnia. Runs in the family on my mum's side."
"When do you take it? Did you take it last week?"
"At dinner every night. Gives it some time to settle in," he answered just as fast. "Hold on, Evans. What're you trying to say?"
Lily tapped her foot to the rhythms of her thoughts. "I, er, I don't know yet. But maybe, just maybe, someone spiked your drought that night."
Dirk raised his eyebrows, letting out a low whistle too. "That's… quite an accusation."
"It's just a theory," Lily replied softly. She tried to reel in her intensity, not wanting to scare him. "I could very well be wrong."
His eyes softened as he looked down at his hands, now clasped tightly together. "I hope you are."
"Now, now, I hope you get your beauty sleep, Meadowes. You look like the backside of a Hippogriff," Evan Rosier called out as they left their Divination lecture. "Guess mudbloods need the extra time."
Dorcas Meadowes had a clever comeback involving a tasteful remark concerning mental illness in families that inbreed, but she was too tired to even do so. She just ignored the prat and his giggling group of friends. She even ignored the sympathizers from the other houses, who watched her cautiously to see if she would give Rosier a taste of his own medicine. But her facial muscles felt too weak to even move her lips.
"And you, Rosier, look the contents of what falls out of the backside."
Dorcas' head lifted from pushing her books into her bag. She scanned the room of now laughing students and moody Slytherins and stopped when her eyes stopped at Remus Lupin leaning against the doorframe. He gave her a small wave.
"You got half-borns sticking up for you now, Meadowes? Trading in green for red?" Rosier hissed, trying to hide his own flush. "We never needed dirty blood in our house anyway."
Dorcas thought of replying but instead said nothing; she noticed that Remus was about to interject too. She gave her scarred friend - or whatever the fuck they were - a glare, signaling not to give in to Rosier's taunts. She could handle herself.
She slung her bag of her shoulder as she glared back at her imbecile of a housemate. Rosier was sitting a table with a crystal ball, dangerously close to the edge. He was laughing before he got a glimpse of Dorcas' cold eyes glowering at him. People like Rosier were easy to read; his mind was an open-book with a barrier made of thin cotton. She saw his memories and pulled out the first one that came up.
It was one earlier in the year when Dorcas came out of the Slytherin bathroom in her nightgown. In Rosier's mind, she watched herself walk out of the bathroom and bend over to fix her own slipper. Rosier watched her that night with longing and disgust, all at the same time. Dorcas knew from Rosier's perception that he really liked the way she looked, but found her also to be a repulsive mudblood. It made Dorcas want to hurl that he'd ever look at her like that.
But it was a good memory to use against him right now.
Like pulling on a rope, Dorcas pulled the memory to the front of his mind. She, and the rest of the class, saw the growing look of surprise on Rosier's face. His cheeks turned red hot, and his jaw slacked. Dorcas dropped the figurative rope when she realized that maybe she was going too far, because it seemed that Rosier's lower body was reacting too much.
Dorcas turned on her heel, releasing Rosier from her grasp and strutted out of the door. She ignored the stares and the not-so quiet whispers of concern. She passed by Remus and asked in a low voice, "Coming?"
The halls of Hogwarts were now full of students heading down to the Great Hall for dinner. She trotted down the stairs from the Divination tower with Remus just a few steps behind her.
"What the bloody hell was that?" He asked incredulously.
"What was what?" She replied coolly. She didn't know why she was trying to play it off, because Remus knew. Force of habit, her defense system reminded her.
"You literally just stared into Rosier's soul and caused him the adolescent ultimate embarrassment without even blinking an eye," he replied in an obvious tone.
"He should learn to keep the trap of his shut then," she countered, rubbing her forehead. The tiredness was spreading, causing her to let out a big yawn.
Remus grabbed Dorcas by the wrist and spun her around. The poor girl was so tired that she nearly fell into his chest as a result. Luckily, Remus stabilized her. "Bloody hell, Dorcas, are you all right?"
"I'm tired," she said blandly. "Very tired."
"I can see that," he observed softly. "Whatever you just did to him probably tired you out further."
Dorcas nodded because this was true. Every time she used an ounce of her ligilmens skill, it tired her out beyond belief. "I just rose a memory up to distract him long enough from making anymore jokes," she said. "Normally, it doesn't take this much out of me."
Remus blinked. "You can do that?"
"Yes, I can."
"What did you find?"
Dorcas tired not to conjure Rosier's image of herself in her own brain, but it was inevitable. She let out a long sigh as she let her head loll back. "He was checking me out in our common room one night. That's the memory I chose."
Remus said nothing, but his wide-eyed expression said enough.
"And well, I reminded him off it; it was pretty close to the surface of his conscious to begin with," Dorcas said sheepishly. "I know it's mean, but he should seriously stop contradicting himself. It's bad for one's sense of self, ya know?"
Remus shrugged noncommittally. "Well, he was raised by a pack of animals. I doubt he has a decent sense of self to begin with." He paused for a moment, waiting.
"What?" Dorcas asked after a moment.
He rubbed the back of his neck and eyed a few passing by students. He leaned in a little so that no one would eavesdrop and asked, "You can just do that? Pluck images and use it against people?"
She scoffed, "When you put it that way-"
"Sorry, sorry," he apologized rapidly. It was almost kind of cute how bad he felt in such a short amount of time. "Not what I meant at all. I just, well, didn't know."
"It's fine," Dorcas shrugged. "It's not what I like to use it for. Or use it in general."
"Is that what you did to Parkinson, that one time before break at the Astronomy Tower party?" He asked, getting over his awkwardness. "You showed him some of his own memories as a distraction?"
Dorcas raised an eyebrow at him. "You remember that?"
"That was wicked," smirked Remus.
"I'm glad you enjoyed."
"Speaking of enjoyment," he said, attempting casual, "you should really be having more fun, Dorcas."
This caused the Slytherin to stop in her tracks for a moment. She regarded Remus appraisingly, not caring that more students were watching them. (Yes, it was very weird for a Slytherin and a Gryffindor to be acting so casual.)
"What do you want?" She asked curtly.
"I tried to explain this to you before, but you have some serious ego defenses lined up," Remus teased, causing the dark-haired girl to glare even harder. "I'm kidding, Dorcas, but I do mean that you should have fun."
"I live for fun," she deadpanned.
"You're sixteen-"
"Seventeen," she corrected
"Right," Remus said offhandedly, "either way, you are a viable teenager who should have some good and decent fun. Especially all you do is mope and walk around mysteriously, examining people's memories-"
"I block them, thank you very much!" She countered. It was probably the loudest Remus had ever heard her speak.
"- Or trying not to dig. Either way, that's why I think you should come to Lily's birthday party tomorrow evening."
"Oh." Dorcas bit her lower lip. "Does she want me there?"
"Asked me to invite you," he said, standing a bit straighter.
"Ah, a dutiful messenger. How sweet."
"I aim to please," he smirked. "So what do you say?"
They began walking down the stairs again. Dorcas let the click-clack of their shoes take up the sound of the conversation as she thought. Remus could sense her hesitation about being in such close proximity to people. And he thought he was anti-social. "A few drinks, a few spliffs, and some decent music seems like a better Saturday evening than locking yourself in your dorm with blood supremacists and textbooks, am I right?"
Dorcas nodded, seeing the point immediately. "Fine," She grumbled.
Remus punched her in the arm lightly. "Well, there you go. It'll be fun. Apparently, it's bubble-bathed theme."
"Excuse me?"
"Swim trunks and bikinis."
"You're kidding me, right?"
"Serious," Remus said innocently. "I'm serious as drowning."
"That was poorly done."
"I know, joke was too forced."
Once they reached the Great Hall, Remus was about to walk in when he noticed Dorcas' feet heading towards the dungeon. "Aren't you coming to dinner?"
She shook her head. "I'm tired."
"When was the last time you ate?"
Dorcas paused. "I ate granola and yogurt this morning."
"No, you have to eat," Remus countered. "A gust of wind could push you right over." He gave her a gentle push in the shoulder to prove his point.
"I'm more tired than hungry," she said, trying to hide the whine that was about to escape her voice.
"Sleep after you eat," he encouraged.
Stubborn, Dorcas noted. "Well, I'd rather spend my night alone in my dorm and enjoy the few peaceful moments without being surrounded by bitches that I call housemates," she said in a proud voice.
"Sit with us then."
She gave him her (at this point famous) appraising look. She titled her head past him and narrowed her eyes at the Gryffindor table. She focused on where Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Marlene McKinnon, Emmeline Vance, Mary MacDonald, and Peter Pettigrew sat. They were laughing about something, probably had to do with the apple James was balancing on his forehead. They looked happy.
"It seems like it's already a party," she said, looking back up at Remus' soft eyes.
"Always could make room for a friend."
"Just because we're… friends, doesn't mean that they want me to be their friend," she explained. "Black seemed pretty fed-up with me that last time I chatted with him."
"That's because he's never been rejected before," Remus disregarded. "His ego may be bruised, but he'll live."
Dorcas gave him a contemplative look as he peered over his shoulder. He took a long sniff. "Roasted beef and mashed potatoes," he crooned.
"You're a monster."
"Love, don't I know?"
This made Dorcas chuckle. She swiped her long locks out of her face and gave her temples a rub before saying, "Will you let me sleep after I eat?"
"I'll even sing you a lullaby."
Dorcas shook her head as they walked in to the Great Hall together. A few students watched and whispered, but none of it bothered either of them. But, a few students did bother them.
"Are you two fucking?" Marlene McKinnon asked loudly. She glanced them both up and down, pointing her mashed-potato filled fork at the pair.
"Ooh, subtlety," cooed Sirius. "Sexy."
"We are not," clarified Remus as he sat beside Lily, and Dorcas followed. "We're just friends."
"Mm-hmm," Marlene murmured, elbowing Mary in the side.
"What's your star sign, Remus?" Emmeline asked curiously as she pulled out her astrology chart.
"A pieces…" Remus said awkwardly. "I think. Or am I an Aries?"
"Merlin, you're definitely not an Aries," laughed Lily. "You're not nearly as impulsive as James."
Dorcas didn't even bother with the question; she was too busy noticing the Gryffindors that were noticing her. Samuel Brown - a seventh year with frizzy brown hair, light skin, and freckles - scooted further away from Dorcas even. He whispered to a few of his friends in a nervous voice, as if worried about catching a disease. This wasn't a new scene for the Slytherin, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it. Seems like none of the student body at Hogwarts did not have an ounce of subtlety.
"Oy," James called out, snapping Dorcas out of her attempt at indifference. He wasn't glaring those hazels at her, but at the rest of the his housemates. "She's a slytherin," he hissed, "not a fucking gremlin. Have some bloody decency, will you?"
Samuel's face flushed a little before looking away with the rest of his friends. Dorcas couldn't help but let a small smile widen on her lips. "Thanks," she murmured.
James smiled back. "I do what I can for my fellow Quibbler subscribers."
Dorcas raised her brow, impressed. "You read the Quibbler?" she asked curiously.
"Naturally," James shrugged, "only place where you can get your facts straight." Dorcas nodded in agreement, laughing because she had never met someone who felt the same.
"You are coming tomorrow night, right?" Lily asked, peering over Remus (who was reading about Pieces' personalities.) "Remus did tell you, no?"
"Yes, he did," Dorcas nodded. She said this as she pulled out a small flash from her book bag. "Bubble-bath theme? Pretty risqué, Evans."
"Oh, it wasn't my idea," Lily laughed. It took her a moment before she realized that Dorcas was pouring some liquid into her pumpkin juice. "Marlene's…" she whispered, letting her voice trail off.
Dorcas noticed Lily's staring, and as well as James'. She smirked, "It's just a sleeping potion."
Lily's eyes brightened with an invisible fire. She gulped at the sight, but that was such a leap to make. But that doesn't mean her brain wouldn't think it: Whoever tried to kill Dirk, would they also be after Dorcas?
"Trouble sleeping next to those slimy gits?" James joked.
Dorcas chuckled, "Talkalot even talks a lot in her sleep. It makes it hard to dream peacefully." Once all of the liquid was mixed in with her pumpkin juice, she took all of it in one swig.
While Dorcas drank her mix, James peered over to Lily with knowing eyes. Without speaking, his hazel eyes and her emerald ones conversed about speculation and fear. And towards the end of their nonverbal exchange and Dorcas' liquid consumption, James' eyes peered over to his watch. He tapped to the 10 on his leather-bound watch, which Lily understood immediately. She gave him a sure nod.
Dorcas wiped the dribble from her mouth and said, "That should put me out for tonight," as she piled up some dinner on her plate.
Lily certainly hoped not.
A/N - I am so sorry that it's taken this long to upload! (I didn't want to make it a month, fucking A.) This past month has been super busy with school and work and just freaking life. I wanted to upload so bad, but I wanted to put up something good. I hope you will forgive me and enjoy this! Please review, follow, and favorite if it suits you!
- Rose!