Chap 7
Dina and James walked with the two floating Slytherins in front of them for a while in silence until Dina cleared her throat and finally spoke. "So, James, what is going on with Lily? You seem to be acting…"
"More sensible, less like a prat around her? I know, Moony- you know, Remus- he told me to stop doing that." James fiddled with the collar of his robes for a bit, his wand poking at his throat until it emitted a few sparks that left an angry red mark on his skin and he jumped.
"You're such an idiot. Wait, let me look at that." Dina used her wand to check the marks. They were nothing serious. But Dina had other things on her mind. "About Remus, though. Is he, you know?"
"You mean if he likes only men? No, of course not! Though I can see why he'd give that impression, it's all that floppy sandy hair and that expression…" James was abruptly cut off when Dina's leg stretched out of the dark to kick him with surprising force.
"That's not what I mean, you rag! I meant, is he, you know, going steady with anyone at the moment?" she stammered out, a blush suffusing her cheeks as she resolutely stared at the floor, looking anywhere but at James.
"Why, Miss Adams! Am I to take this as indication of some interest in our very own pet genius?"
Halloween at Hogwarts was always fun, except if one happened to be Lily Evans. For Lily, Halloween consisted of avoiding pranks the Marauders had set up exclusively, or so it seemed, for her that would end up with her inevitably landing in James' lap, often quite literally. She preferred to ignore all celebrations of the day, and skulked near the library, usually with Snape keeping her company. This year, though, she felt as though she could hardly speak to him anymore, not after having seen him with Avery and the others. She hadn't spoken to him since that day, and though it had been more than a week, she didn't know how to even begin a conversation with him. Lost in thought, she was walking to the library when she bumped into a suit of arms. Lily started back when she looked up. Remus looked up at her from behind the suit of arms, or at least where it had been before Lily crashed into it and it crumbled to the ground, albeit reluctantly. His hair was mussed, more than usual, and his face had a terrified look to it. She knelt to the ground, reaching a hand out to him.
"Hey, Remus, are you ok? Here, take my hand. Can you stand?"
To her surprise, Remus cowered back and looked at her like he had never seen her before. For a moment, Lily was frightened by the lack of recognition in his eyes. She thought she could take her wand out, but hesitated, the blank panic in his eyes stopping her. She walked around to the front of the suit of arms and put it up again with her wand so Remus could not see her. Then she came back to where she had been and sat down next to him, her hand outstretched, waiting for him to take it.
A good twenty minutes later, Remus' hand timidly slipped into Lily's. She looked across at him, something she had been avoiding for the past few minutes. Without asking any questions, she rooted in her bag with her other hand and took out a bar of Honeydukes chocolate and handed it to him. He reached across and took it, taking a large bite out of it.
"Fanks", he mumbled out of a mouthful of chocolate. "You're sweet for waiting, Lily."
"I didn't really have anywhere else to be, you know. Where's your usual gang of miscreants? You seem to be missing at least two obnoxious boys from your immediate surroundings."
Remus smiled at her, grateful for her humour; it made things lighter, and he didn't really have to answer the question that loomed large between them. He attempted a laugh and achieved a weak giggle before he answered. "They're off setting up a prank for McGonagall. Or at least James and Peter are. I think Pads is somewhere around the Hufflepuff common room, trying to run into Dorcas Meadowes."
"Dear Lord. I expected as much. I'm on my way to the library, would you like to come? That's unless you have to go off on a search for a maiden as well," Lily stood up and dusted off her robes, adjusting her watch on her wrist.
"That's fine. I'll just head on to the Common Room. Thanks again, Lily. It was nice having you here." Remus took off, walking a little slower than usual, his shoulders bowed.
He looks twice his age like that, thought Lily. I wonder what made him panic that way, I've never seen that look in his eyes.
"Hey, Remus! How do you feel about a post-Feast party tonight?"
He turned and smiled at her. "Well, I could always use one, even if to sit in the corner and watch those fools goofing off. Where's this party you speak of?"
"Just be on the seventh floor around ten thirty. Costume party, Remus. Get creative. And get snacks!"
Lily waved before she set off towards the library again.
Well, at least it looks like I've found a new person to talk to, if not a friend. So much for Sev.
"Sirius, I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do!" Regulus was cowering under his brother's gaze. Sirius was, of course, nowhere near the Hufflepuff Common Room. As soon as his friends had left him alone for what they presumed was a romantic pursuit, he had taken off to the Slytherin Common Room to confront his dear little brother. The rage of that one day had simmered in him until he couldn't take it anymore- he had to talk to Regulus. So now here they were, standing behind a tapestry Sirius had picked right next to the dungeons. The cold, damp air was beginning to get to both of them, and Regulus shivered as he spoke.
"Please, Sirius, you know what it's like at home. Mother is always getting on me, asking me what exactly you do in school, and if you're still consorting with…"
"With the 'half-breed', right? Yes, I know. That is no reason for you to have joined Avery and the rest of those idiots. I know what it's like at home, I've been there longer than you have. I just wish you had the courage to stand up to them."
Regulus's young face crumpled under the weight of his brother's disapproval. He had somehow hoped that despite the events of that night, Sirius would be willing to understand, and they hardly ever got any time together at home anyway.
"You know I don't think that of your friends, Sirius. You know that. I really like them, and I wish I could be around them more, maybe…"
"You really think I would want the likes of you around my friends? I wouldn't wish you and your group of bullies on my worst enemy! Sure, go crying to mother, now, it's all you do anyway. You can tell her I told you off, it would only get me another of those burns anyway." Sirius rolled up his sleeve as he walked towards Regulus, showing ugly scars covering his forearms. "You know why I would never participate in what you did that night? I've been on the other end, Reg. Every single time the magnificent Walburga Black has ever had cause to take exception to me, she's burnt me with her wand. Do you think these marks will ever let me forget? You think I don't know what it's like at home? Do you have any idea what it was like to protect you from these when you were a child? If only you didn't give me cause to regret that."
"Sirius, I am so sorry, I didn't-" But Sirius had stormed out from the nook before Regulus could finish his sentence, leaving his brother crying behind the tapestry.
He strode along furiously, rubbing his arms absently, not looking where he was going until- CRASH!
He had bumped into someone, someone presumably carrying large amounts of what smelled like-
"Firewhiskey! What the hell are you up to, Ruthers? Did the fumes get to your head, or do you just generally not see past that enormous amount of hair-"
Toni was spluttering on the floor, her hair and clothes soaked in the Firewhiskey that had spilt from the shattered bottles, but it didn't take her long to recover.
"Shut up, Black, and help me up, if you could deign to touch a lowly Ravenclaw, that is-"
She ground to a halt when he picked her up surprisingly gently and set her on her feet. He siphoned off the alcohol from his own clothes and hers. He looked down at the bottles, uncharacteristically silent. He coughed to clear his throat, and tried valiantly to ignore exactly how Ruthers' hair fell over her shoulders and slid off them- "I'm sorry, Ruthers. My fault, wasn't looking where I was going."
Toni looked at Sirius' face and suddenly felt a pang for the boy. She had never seen him look so young, or even have his guard down around anyone else she knew. "Hey, are you alright, Black? Did I hurt your head there? Where's your usual stream of snark?" She smirked, moving towards him. She held out a bottle towards him. "Want a sip?"
"Here, in the corridors? Man, you Ravenclaws are worse than us! What if-"
"What if we got caught? Where's the fun without the thrill, eh, Black?" She had walked right up to him now, and she was close enough for Sirius to smell the lingering Firewhiskey on her, and the hint of something smokey. His head was beginning to swim just a little. It's just the fumes, he told himself. It was the fumes, and the fight with Reg, and everything together, and the smell, and her beautiful eyes, damn, he'd forgotten how deeply dark they were-
"Black. Sirius, hey, snap out of it. What's wrong? Do you want me to walk you to the Common Room?" Toni was getting a little concerned now. She hadn't seen Black look this befuddled since, well, ever. Not even over the summer- I can't think about that now. He looks like he really needs someone to be nice to him. Except I don't do nice. "Hey, listen. Let's just sit down for a bit, yeah?" She took his arm and guided him to the nearest broom closet, quietly blasting a few spiders out of the way as she guided him in.
Putting the bottles down, she turned to him again, and put her hand on his knee. Uncharacteristically, Sirius flinched a little.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you off. Would you rather be alone? I can go." Toni got up to go and dusted off her skirt. Before she reached out for the door handle, however, he reached for her arm.
"Stay. Please." He looked up at her, and without a word, Toni knew. She sat next to him and held him while he shivered. After ages, he looked at her again, somewhat restored to his usual glib self, and attempted a shaky smirk.
"Thanks, Ruthers. I know it's difficult to resist my subtle charms, but hardly anyone's stayed this long in a broom closet filled with spiders for me before. Really helped with my-"
Toni's raised eyebrow was the only reply she decided to dignify this attempt with before she made her sally. "Well, Black, I'm all for letting bygones be bygones. Which is what the summer was, as you made absolutely clear to me. So let's not bring all of that up again."
"Why on earth would I want to, Ruthers? I only met you over the summer to relieve the tedious boredom of the great big Black household. That I got some snogging in is entirely to my credit, I believe."
"Believe what you would like to, Black. I'm out of here." Toni started to get up to storm out, but something was cramping her style.
What's wrong with me? I've never been unable to walk away before. Oh, it's his darned hand, still holding mine.
"Take your hands off me, Black."
"You really didn't have a problem with where my hands where a few months ago. One would think you'd have enjoyed the experience, most people beg for seconds, you know."
"UGH. You're an insufferable git. If only you weren't trying so hard to be such a spiffing arse all the time, you might even actually be-"
"Be what, Toni?" His voice dragged out the two syllables, filling the air around them with so much tension it seemed to crackle.
Toni leaned in, her eyes glinting. "Likeable, Black. Which you're not, and you're entirely hateful. Which is why I'm going to do this, and we're going to forget about what happens in here." Her lips met his, and swallowed his half- startled gasp whole before his hands rose to meet her waist. Hair ruffled, she pushed him away and grinned. "Just like we forgot about the summer." Sirius grinned at her before pulling her back to him, crushing her body against his.
"Where do you think Toni got held up? We need to really stow the bottles away before the others come out to the Common Room, I don't want to get caught!" Dina was pacing up and down the carpet of the Ravenclaw Common Room, occasionally stopping to take bites out of some cake on a nearby table.
I firmly believe the cake will help. Now if only the others could just be responsible; I can't even set up a party without things falling apart.
Marl was huddled in one of the plush chairs she had Summoned while waiting for Lily and Toni to turn up. They had planned to have a party in a room Lily and Marl had discovered only last week, which mysteriously changed to meet their needs, even making subtle shifts to suit whoever happened on it, once outdoing itself by producing candy for Lily, and perfectly iced and sugared dark chocolate cake for Dina. It had even sprung a whole shelf of Quidditch magazines once Toni started frequenting the room.
"Listen, Di, it's fine. We still have more than an hour before people start coming out of their rooms to go to the Feast. You need to sit down, you're making me dizzy. Here, I'll cut you a piece of that myself."
Dina sat down next to her on the floor in a heap. "You know, Toni really worries me sometimes. All she had to do was get twelve bottles of Firewhiskey. It's not even a large party, you know, there's not reason I should do ALL of it on my own-"
"Now, Di, I know you take on a lot, but really, did you have to put in this much work? The Room does half of what we need anyway. As for the rest, all three of us have been helping you. Speaking of how large the party is, though, do you mind if we call the self-styled Marauders?"
"Um, yeah, sure, but they'll get their own food, right? I mean, there's already a lot of people…"
"Don't worry about it, Di. I went ahead and invited Remus and the gang, he said they'd get their food." Lily had just strolled in, fresh from the library, glowing from the heat indoors. She was also smirking, a sight unusual only to people who did not know her well-guarded propensity for pranks. "They're also going to be in… well, in surprising attire, I can wager."
"Oh, Lils, what did you do this time?" Marl got up to make space for her to sit.
"Well, Marl, Dina, all I did was misinform Remus just a little about the nature of the party. He's been told it's costumes only."
The three girls burst into peals of laughter. It was a very mild prank compared to the usual most students pulled off, but with the term they'd had so far, they needed the laugh sorely.
"Hi, everyone. I'm sorry I'm late, Di, what do you need me to do? I can help you carry up the food." Toni had burst into the Common Room, smoothing her hair into place.
Marl and Dina grinned at each other. "Ok, Marl, I'll go first," Dina said smugly as she scooted forward on the floor to where Toni had stopped her almost breathless run. "So, Toni, care to explain the reason for the delay?"
"I just got held up a bit near the Charms classroom, you know, James and that Pettigrew boy setting up something for Flitwick, I think, some sort of Halloween gift to him-"
"Now, Toni, I happen to know for a fact that James and Peter are at the moment quite busy laying one for McGonagall, so where were you really?" Lily chimed in, her chin resting on her palms, green eyes sparkling with this promise of fresh gossip.
"Come on, fess up, Toni. Why would you deprive your poor friends of boy gossip when you know how terribly desperate and sad the lives we lead are?"
Toni groaned and flopped on the floor next to Dina, maneuvering her head onto Dina's knee. "Fine, fine. I was with a guy. Some Hufflepuff I don't know very well, but he made eyes at me, and he was so fit, so we shared two bottles, and the next thing I knew-"
"You were in a broom closet, right? Explains the dirt on the corner of your skirt." Dina's eagle eyes had spotted the one place Toni had forgotten to dust off.
"Ugh, the skirt. There's always something, huh? Let's get to work on hauling the things to the Room, eh? I can see you raring to go, Dina."
"Oh, Toni, the boys will be there, thought you should know."
"Which boys?" Toni sat up, reaching for the leftovers of the cake on the table nonchalantly.
"Remus, Peter, James, and Sirius, Toni," said Lily exasperatedly, cleaning up the trail of crumbs Toni left with her wand. "Honestly, sometimes I don't know where your mind is."
Toni shrugged, careful not to look at any of them.
Suspicious behavior, Dina thought, making a note. She would want to see what that was about later. Well, at least it's going to be an interesting party. Now if only I can stop imagining Remus dressed as a masked villain, I should get through it fine.