A Marauders Midnight Party

by Odeena Sabnach

>> Time: 9:30 PM

>> Location: Hoghwarts, Great Hall

"I wonder where Sirius is."

Petter Pettigrew's question was mostly a rhetorical one, since neither Remus, nor James, the other two Marauders, weren't paying any attention to him. In fact, Remus and James weren't paying any attention to anything. Remus had his eyes closed and, from time to time, he snored lightly. More practical, James had his head resting on the table, his glasses glistening among various dishes and goblets.

"Right", muttered Peter. "Don't let the bed-bugs bite you."

Remus gave a soft growl.

"What Astronomy can do to a fellow", concluded Peter; then, the Marauder took a small bite out of a cherry cake and chewed it thoughtfully. "To think", he then went on", I once used to like Astronomy."

"Did you like the stuff we learned, or that the observatory is the ideal place for a nap?" a tall girl with curly brown hair inquired.

"Both", answered Peter. The girl chuckled.

"That's Pete, getting all the ladies". Peter turned around in surprise, and found a very excited-looking Sirius Black looking down at him. He was arm-in-arm with a fourth-year Slitherin girl, that came barely above his shoulder. Her hair was a pale blonde, and she had freckles on either sides of her nose.

"Hey, Peter", she said. "I'd say hi to them, too, but something tells me they won't answer, so why bother?"

"H-hello, Alicia". Peter was blushing fast, and Sirius immediately caught on to this. "Like I said, you get all the ladies - or more like, all the ladies get you."

"Shut up you!" Peter hissed, then turned back to eating his cherry cake. "I'm ignoring you", he announced over his shoulder.

"Both 'you', or just me?"

"Just you, Sirius. And don't try to appologise, I won't forgive you."

"Oh. Okay."

"When will you two grow up?"

The rather harsh voice belonged to Lilly Evans, the fifth-year Gryffindor prefect, who was sitting a few seats away. "I mean, look at you", she went on. "Sirius, you practically disappeared after the afternoon classes. Of course we all suspect where you were-" Sirius gave a small gasp at that "-and I can tell you that you broke about a dozen school rules, too. Remus and James - well, I don't have to say anything about them. Sometimes, I think the only sane person around here except for me is Peter."

This only made Peter blush deeper. Lilly sighed. "I take that back", she said, and at the same time she reached out for a glass of water, watching Sirius at the corner of her eye at the same time. The Marauder was slipping a dead cockroach into a third year's robes. "Sirius!" she snapped; the same moment, her fingers encountered a smooth and cold surface , and she grabbed what she thought it was her glass...

"Hey!"

"Hey...", came James' sleepy mutter of protest. "What gives? Gimmie back my glasses!"

It was Lilly's turn to blush. "Well, I'm - sorry, I thought they were - um, nevermind." She stood up, "I'm going. I've got some Potions work to do."

"With a certain Slytherin guy?" Sirius inquired, a mischievois smirk on his face.

Lilly pulled out her wand, "How would you like to have tentacles growing all over your face?"

Alicia, the girl that was with Sirius, also pulled out her wand, "You try it, and you'll find yourself transformed into a toad in the blink of an eye."

"Are you threatening me?" Lilly asked, her voice dangerously low.

"Bet on it", came Alicia's calm reply.

"Girls, girls!" James stood up quickly. "As much as I'd like to see a cat fight-" at that, both Lilly and Alicia glared daggers at him "-save it for my birthday. People are already staring at us".

"Bye", said Lilly simply; then, before anyone could say anything, she was gone.

Alicia put her wand back into a special pocked on her robes. "I'm going", she said. "Are we-" she grinned "-still meeting tonight?"

"Bet on it!" said Sirius excitedly.

"Cool! Who else is coming?"

"Just the four of us, and - you. Meet you there at eleven."

"Okay. Well, bye!"

"Don't let anyone see you!" Peter shouted, once she was a good distance away. He immediately received a noogie.

"You moron!" said James. "Now everyone'll be looking out for her!"

Sirius watched her go with a dreamy sigh. "They don't need any special reason to do that", he muttered. "And to think", he went on, "she and I are just friends."

Both Peter and James made a face. "You mean", Peter started cautiously, "you two-"

"We just study together", said Sirius. "She's helping me with Potions, and I'm helping her with Transfiguration. Where do you think she got the idea of turning Lilly into a toad?..."

>> Time: 10:50 PM

>> Location: Hoghwarts, in transit

"OW! Remus, you steped on my foot!"

"Sorry... err, whoever is this."

"It's Sirius. S-I-R-"

"I know how to spell Sirius."

"Really? I'm flattered!"

"Guys, shut up!"

Silence.

"You know, James, this Invisibility Cloak of yours is really something."

"Yeah, I know."

"...although it's a tad too small at the moment."

"True."

"...wait a minute. Gang, guess who's just ahead of us."

"Dumbledore?"

"Filch?"

"Lilly and Snape? ...ow!"

"Wrong, all three of you. It's-"

"Alicia!"

"You peeked over my shoulder."

"I did. So-"

"Quiet. I think I have a little plan..."

"Insert evil or demented laughter here."

"Sirius, shut up."

>> Time: 10:51 PM

>> Location: Hoghwarts, in transit

Alicia did her best to walk witout making any noise. An encounter with Filch at that hour would practically equivel a death sentence, since she was very high on the caretaker's "People-I'd-Like-To-See-Expelled" list.

Suddenly, Alicia felt someone pulling at her robes. She turned around quickly, her want ready. The hallway was deserted.

"Peeves, is that you?"

Silence.

Alicia shrugged, then resumed walking. After a few paces, she stopped again. This time, someone was pulling at her hair.

"I'm not Peeves."

Alicia looked around. "Who are you?" she inquired, her grip on her wand tightening.

"Your secret admirer!" Under the cloak, the other Marauders chocked. Sirius was grinning.

"Ooh, I get it. Tornado!" she said quietly, and a strong air current emitted from her wand. "Come on out, guys", she said afterwards. "I saw your legs."

One after another, the Marauders seemed to materialize out of nowhere. "Can't you take a joke?" Sirius muttered silently, attempting to comb down his hair with his hands. "Really."

"So it was a joke. I thought so."

"What? No, wait-"

"Filch allert!" James said suddenly. "Everyone, under the cloak!"

"Nifty invention, this map of yours." Apparently, Alicia was aware of the Marauders' Map, the most recent accomplishment of the four boys.

"Yeah. Now quiet, and we just may escape with our lives."

"...that's morbid."

"Shut up, Sirius."

"Ssh!"

>> Time: 10:54 PM

>> Location: Somewhere at Hoghwarts

Flich went on his regular night patrol, humming to himself as usual. The young caretaker was proud of his job, and didn't let students get away with anything. So far, it has been a quiet night, but you can never know.

"What's that?"

Filched stopped and looked around carefully. He thought he had heard voices, but apparently there was no-one there. "

Crazy ghosts", he muttered, and then he resumed walking. Gradually, the sound of his footsteps died down.

>> Time: 10:55 PM

>> Location: Somewhere at Hoghwarts

"Is he gone?"

"Yeah, I think he's gone."

"You think?"

"Well, do I look like an oracle to you?"

"No, I mean, you think - I didn't know you could do that."

"Hey!"

"Peter, Remus, knock it off. And yes, Flich is gone, the big-"

"Stop right there, James. And take your hands off my - well, you know what I mean."

"Oops. Sorry, Alicia, I thought-"

"Neve mind that, just move your hands. Do something else with them. Strangle Sirius, for instance."

"Ow. That hurt."

"I didn't touch you."

"I mean, it hurt my heart."

"Come on, Marauders, let's move!" came James' exasperated voice. "Otherwise we'll never make it."

"Which reminds me, where are we going?" asked Alicia.

"Potions dungeon. Nobody's gonna disturb us there. Did you bring the wireless?" asked Remus.

"Ditto. It's resting safely in my pocked, turned into a peanut."

"I didn't know you could do that". Remus sounded slightly surprised.

"I can, thanks to Sirius - err, I mean, I worked hard on my Transfiguration homework this year."

"I heard you! You said 'Thanks to Sirius!'"

"Yeah, I... I did. So?"

Again, James was the one to break the conflict, "We're there."

Peter peeked cautiously around thought the cloack, "There seems to be nobody around."

"There isn't." James slipped out from under the cloak and cracked the door to the Potions dungeon open. "Nobody. Coast is clear."

"Let's go then!" said Sirius excitedly.

One by one, the Marauders entered the Potions classroom. James, who was the last one to go in, closed it carefuly.

"We're here!" cheered Peter. "We made it!"

"Despite all odds", added Sirius with a sparkling grin. "And now", he said, pulling out his wand, "for the soundproof charm. Silentium!"

"You sure that'll work?" asked Alicia. "Because if it doesn't, we'll get detention for life."

"It does", said Sirius assuringly. "Now, about that wireless...?"

>> Time: 11:39 PM

>> Location: Hoghwarts, Potions dungeon

"Twenty minutes!" announced Sirius with a wide grin. He had to shout to cover the music coming from the wireless.

"Twenty-one!" Alicia shouted back. "Your watch isn't working properly!"

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't!"

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't."

"Come on you two, break it up. After all, it is the man's birthday tonight, isn't it?" said Peter, who was dancing wildly at the same time.

Alicia grinned. "Yeah, Happy Birthday Sirius".

"Not yet!" said Sirius. "In... eighteen minutes."

Suddenly, the door opened, and two figures stepped inside. They pulled back almost instantly, as the sounds of the loud music spread out in the hallway.

"What the-" one of them shouted. The next moment, she stormed in, dragging the other one with her, and she slammed the door. The Marauders - Alicia included - lost their jaws.

"Lilly?!" muttered James, unable to believe his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"With Snape", added Sirius, as Peter turned the music off.

"Well, the question is - " said Lilly, trying to keep the upper hand of the situation " -what are you doing here."

"It's called a birthday party", said Alicia. "And now back to our question - what are you two doing here at this time of night?"

"We-" started Lilly, but she stopped, unsure of what to say next. "We're leaving", she said finally.

"No you're not." James stepped firmly between Lilly and the door. "If you encounter Filch - and he's been prowling around here all evening - you'll get detention for life. Just think about it: a Prefect out on the halls, at midnight. Doesn't look too good now, does it."

Lilly was looking back and forth between James, the door and Severus Snape. "Fine", she said after a long time. "We stay."

"Nobody said anything about the vampire", said Sirius, an unpleasant look on his face.

Snape made a face, "Fine then, I'll leave. But you might want to watch your back", he added softly, throwing an unfriendly look at Sirius.

"He stays", Alicia and Lilly said together. Then, they glared at each other. "He's with me", Lilly finally added.

"But-"

"Or I won't stay neither."

"Well, since that's settled", said Peter, attempting to rejoice the atmosphere, "let's party on, shall we?" He then turned the music back on, and a soft blues came over the wireless.

"Whoops", said Sirius. "Now there's a chance for you, Snape."

"Dance?" Alicia asked suddenly, taking Sirius' hand. The Marauder was taken aback by this, and he smiled softly, "Sure." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and then everything was OK with the world. Lilly and Severus followed, as the other boys looked between each other.

"I don't believe this", James muttered.

"Well, it is the man's birthday", said Remus with a sigh.

"Right".

"So - erm, anybody want some Bertie Bott's All Flavor Beans?"...

>> Time: 12:00 PM

>> Location: Hoghwarts, Potions dungeon

"Three - two - one - HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIRIUS!!"

All as one, the ones present begun to sing loudly, "Happy Birthday". Even Snape seemed to be enjoying himself for a change. Alicia and Sirius were holding hands, and Sirius looked extremely pleased about this. Finally, when the song ended, Alicia patted him lightly on the shoulder.

"I have something for you", she said.

"But I thought we agreed on the no-presents thing", said Sirius. "At least, not tonight."

"Yes, but this", she said, "couldn't wait." Saying this, she leaned forward and kissed him, "Happy birthday."

"Aww..." the other Marauders said in unison. "How cute", James added. "Sirius and Alicia, sitting in a tree-"

Sirius didn't bother to answer that, so James just shrugged. "Who can understand him?" he grumbled silently to Peter, who happened to be standing next to him.

Peter shrugged, "Beats me. Got another of those all-flavor beans?..."

Suddenly, for the second time that night, the door banged opened. However, the figure standing in the doorframe wasn't a student this time.

"Well, well, what have we here", came the unpleasant voice of Flich the caretaker. "Oh, dear, we are in trouble..." he said softly, singing the words.

The other students in the room excanged various glares. Then, Sirius was the one to pinpoint the essence of the situation:

"We're doomed."