Friday 4th November 1977 - 2:00 AM in Gryffindor Tower
“I think there’s something to the colour changing idea.” James slurred, using his goblet to gesture wildly. Thankfully, it was empty, and didn’t spill.
“Nah, it’s too obvious,” Sirius shook his head, just as drunk as James, but handling himself remarkably well, for once.
“Besides,” Lily yawned, from where she sat on the floor, head nodding against James’s knee. “What do we change? Their robes?”
“Their whole dormitory!” Mary suggested, the only one still dancing, winding her arms slowly over her head and rolling her hips to a sultry Nina Simone track. “Complete makeover! Bright pink!”
“Why pink, though?” Sirius said, “Some people might like pink.”
“Ha, on your own, Black!” Marlene pulled a face at him. She was sitting upside down in an armchair, her legs dangling over the back, long blonde hair touching the floor. Her eyes were fixed on Mary moving in front of the fireplace.
They were the last few standing after Sirius’s eighteenth birthday party, which had been as uproarious and over the top as usual. The only non-seventh year remaining was Christopher, who looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open, but held on valiantly, taking notes for the Slytherin prank which they were currently brainstorming.
“How would we even get hold of their robes, though?” Peter asked, fiddling with the label on his beer bottle, “We had the same problem in first year, remember? With the itching powder.”
“Oh yeah,” James nodded, “That’s right - it was easier to sneak into their common room than it was to work out how the house elves organise the laundry…”
“How did you sneak in?” Marlene asked, frowning, “You can’t have perfected an invisibility spell by the age of eleven…”
“Ask us no questions and we shall tell you no lies, McKinnon.” Sirius winked at her. He was watching Mary dance too, his eyes shining with intoxication. “Anyway, we’ve decided not to do it.”
“You decided.” James corrected.
“It’s my birthday!”
“Not anymore, it isn’t,” Peter threw a cushion at him. Sirius threw one back, then James launched another, and soon enough they were all drunkenly flinging cushions back and forth, giggling dopily.
“Right,” Marlene laughed, after deflecting a big round velvet one, “I’m off to bed.” She placed her hands on the carpet and flipped forward neatly. She brushed her jeans as she got up, a bit wobbly on her feet, then headed for the girls’ dorm.
“Noo,” Mary grabbed her around the waist, “Don’t go, Marls, dance with meee!”
Marlene laughed lightly, but Remus caught an odd flash of annoyance in Marlene’s usually placid face as she gently unwound herself from Mary and backed away.
“I’m sure one of the boys will oblige.” She said, shortly, “Night, all!”
“Night!” They chorused back. Remus vaguely wondered what was going on between the two best friends, but he was too drunk and sleepy to dwell on it very long.
“I think I’ll go up, too.” Christopher was already on his feet, as though he had been waiting for someone else to admit defeat so that he wasn’t the first. “Don’t decide anything without me, though!”
“I really don’t think anyone’s going to formulate a plan tonight.” Lily yawned again. “See you tomorrow, Chris.”
“Night.” The younger boy waved at all of them in his awkward, cheery way.
