Their Seventh Year

Allright, this is the deal:  There is a problem with the portkey.org website for people who are trying to upload html documents using Internet Explorer in Windows XP who have updated with the service pack thing because they didn’t know that that would wonk up their ability to upload on portkey.org (me).  They have e-mailed the mods but for the time being they cannot upload at home.  They are currently uploading this from work which could result in a lot of trouble and/or embarrassment so they won’t do it again.  Thus, I may not update until my technical problems are solved, which could be awhile because I am a technology moron.

Chapter 33- Boys Will be Boys

“Take me out to see Quidditch …. Take me out for the match …. Buy me Bertie's Every Flavor Beans…”

Peter was lying flat on his back, his eyes glassy, slurring through the words of the Quidditch fan song. The other three were looking at him and shaking their heads.

“Wormtail really can’t hold his liquor.” Sirius remarked.

They were sitting on the roof, a flat part that had once been a patio of some sort judging by the stone benches and fountains. From the worn stones and the grass and vines growing out from between them, they guessed it was long forgotten, but they had found it in their fourth year and added it to the list of secret meeting places. It was especially nice on nights like this, is the spring, when the weather was perfect. A few bottles of firewhiskey only added to the enjoyment. They really hadn’t spent any time with just the four of them lately, the nights in the Shrieking Shack didn’t really count because Remus was never really himself then. They could not help but think they would be graduating soon, and although they really didn’t plan on “going their separate ways”, they still wanted to spend time together before real life got in the way. Still, that didn’t keep the two with girlfriends from feeling guilty.

“Should we have invited the girls?”

Sirius shook his head as though he felt nothing but pity for them. “You two are so whipped. Of course you shouldn’t have invited the girls. This is a night for men. We are men. Men who can hold their liquor, men who-“

“-are going to have terrible hangovers tomorrow?” Remus suggested.

“You’re such a pessimist Moony.”

“You say pessimist, I say realist.” He replied.

“You can’t really think Lily would be okay with this kind of thing.” Sirius used the bottle to gesture over the roof and Peter’s unmoving form.

“Don’t underestimate her Padfoot.”

“I wasn’t James, honestly, I think Lily’s great, but she takes her head girl job pretty seriously.”

“Are you saying I don’t?”

“You said it, not me.”

“Lily does take it seriously, but she’s got more of a sense of humor than you’d think Padfoot.”

“So things are going well then?”

James leaned back, resting on his elbows. “Yeah. I think…” He glanced between the two of them, hesitating, wondering if they would laugh. “I think I’m in love with her.”

There was a long silence.

“Wow. That serious.”

“Well, you guys know I’ve liked her for a long time.” He ignored that they rolled their eyes at the understatement in that. “But now that I’m actually with her, and she talks to me and stuff. I guess I’m realizing I didn’t really get her before. I mean, she’s still smart and pretty, but there’s something more to her…” He shrugged and messed up his hair, more to cover his embarrassment and have something to do with his hands. “I mean, it’s not like I’ve been in love lots of times before so I know exactly what it’s like, I’m just guessing, because it’s different than other girls I’ve dated. We haven’t been together that long I know, but…do you think I’m too young to know what I want?”

“No. I mean, I think we’re all pretty young, but this is the point where you’re supposed to be figuring out what you want. And if you want Lily, then you’re really lucky you found her now.”

“So, are you thinking of making things…more serious…with Lily?”

Sirius placed enough significance on the question that they all knew what he meant , and although Remus never would have asked that sort of thing himself, he was looking very interested in how James would answer it.

“Well, I mean, I’m an eighteen-year-old guy. I can’t say it hasn’t crossed my mind. A few times. Every minute.” He looked up, pretending to be looking at the stars and making a point of not meeting their eyes. “But then I’m not a big enough idiot to push Lily into anything she’s not ready for, since then I’d just find myself single again.”

“Well said James.” Remus said, making a half-toast in his direction. He should have known this would make Sirius turn on him.

“You seem to have feeling on the subject Moony. By all means, share.”

“I have nothing to share mate. We’ve only been dating a few weeks…”

“So? Remember that waitress last summer? I’d only known her for like twenty minutes.”

“You’re really a slut though Padfoot.”

“Yeah, I kind of am.” He shrugged, and went back to drinking.

“You know Sirius, I’ve been noticing, you don’t seem to be filling your weekly quota of attractive women lately.”

“Well, we knew he’d run out of girls at some point, I guess it’s finally happened.” Remus remarked.

“Nah, there’s a very attractive Ravenclaw sixth year I was talking to the other day…I’m just not that interested in snogging random girls lately.”

A long silence followed this surprising announcement.

”You’re not interested in snogging random boys, are you?”

Sirius chucked an empty bottle at him, which he ducked.

“That’s not what I meant. Maybe occasionally I’d actually like to have a conversation with a girl, like I would with Lily, or Flora.”

“Sirius, I know what “conversation” means to you, and if you have a conversation with my girlfriend, I’ll kick your ass.”

“You know Prongs, I think he might be serious. And if he is, we have to face the fact that Padfoot may actually be beginning to show some maturity.”

“Merlin help us.”

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Lily was sitting in the common room waiting for James. On Sunday mornings he usually met her in the common room at about , and they went to breakfast. It wasn’t something they planned or discussed, they just did. So by nine-thirty she was definitely wondering where he was. It was then that and Flora came down and looked at her questioningly.

“Where’s James?”

“I’m not sure.” She admitted.

looked amused. “Given his condition last night, I’d be willing to guess he’s still asleep. And when I say asleep, I mean passed out.”

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently your respective boyfriends, along with Mr. Black and Mr. Pettigrew, felt the need to prove their masculinity by consuming a very irresponsible amount of alcohol.”

“How do you know?”

She smiled. “I saw them staggering in, carrying Peter. They were too drunk to notice me. And they were singing.”

“Well in that case…” Flora seized Lily’s arm to pull her up. “I think we should give them a little wake-up call.”

They went upstairs and tried the door quietly. It was unlocked, and there was really no need for them to have been quiet as it would have taken a rampaging hippogriff to wake them up. Either that, or Lily throwing open the curtains with a hearty “Good Morning!”

Peter jumped out of bed with a confused “wha..?” but then fall back over with a moan. The rest of them made various painful sounds and dragged pillows over their heads.

“Lily, could you please leave us alone to wish for death?” muttered Sirius.

“But it’s such a lovely morning!” she replied, rather louder than was necessary.

“Who put all this cotton in my mouth?” mumbled James.

“I think this is what Hell must be like.” Remus moaned.

“No Darling, that will been when you’re joining us for breakfast.”

“Moony, I’d suggest the .” Sirius said from across the room.

“For what?”

“A convenient place to hide their bodies…”

“It’s not our fault you decided to break any number of school rules and some laws last night. Up you get then.”

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When James could finally get up without wanting to die, which was about on Sunday night, he left his friends still swearing that they were never going to drink again, and went to look for Lily. He suspected she wasn’t really mad, she had seemed amused more than anything. He found her tucked into the corner of the common room, herbology notes in her lap. He pulled over a chair. He had, in between the whining and wishing to die, and cursing the makers of firewhiskey, given some thought to what he had told his friends last night, that he was pretty sure that he was in love with her. He wasn’t quite sure how to tell her that or how she would react.

“How are you feeling?” She asked, with a sly smile.

“Me? Just lovely, thank you.” He answered cheerfully. “So.”

She waited, giving him a questioning look. “So?”

“I’ve been thinking. About stuff. I mean, about certain stuff. I mean, I’ve been thinking about you. And me. And about us, and stuff.” He sat back, as though pleased with the point he had made.

“James, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Well, we’ve been dating for a couple months now. So, you know…”

“Actually, it would seem I don’t know.”

“Oh, well, um, I have to go.”

He bolted back upstairs, leaving her staring after him.

“That boy just gets stranger every day.”

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Next Chapter- Those “three little words”, and Sirius and Arianna come to a turning point (note I did not necessarily say “get together”).