written in the stars | s. black | r. lupin

6

He smiled towards her, a genuine smile which spread to his eyes as he took a drink that Peter held out for him.

"To Sirius, the first Marauder to reach adulthood!" James held his cup towards the ceiling, everyone leaning forward, liquid sloshing onto some of their hands before they pulled back to drink.

"And probably the last!" Charlotte added, the boys all spinning towards her, jaws dropped in mock offense.

"Charlotte!" Sirius had one hand over his chest again. "On my birthday?"

"Never a day off, Black." He winced at the name, taking another sip of his drink and scanning over the room.

"Feel any older, Pads?" James asked, looking towards his friend excitedly. Sirius seemed to ponder the question for a moment.

"You know... I feel... like... more powerful." He answered, grabbing his wand and looking back to James. "Like I could just..." His wand barely twitched before James was screaming, one leg leading him into the air where he dangled from the ceiling, his drink splattering from his grip onto the couch, splashing Lily and Marlene in one go.

"Black!" Lily groaned, jumping from her spot. "Scourgify." She muttered at her shirt, repeating the spell on the couch, the dark liquid seeping out of the fabric at once.

"Put me down, the blood's rushing to my head!" James called through a fit of laughter, Sirius shrugging and flicking his wand upwards again as James began to plummet to the floor.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Lily screamed, halting gravity as she lowered the brunette towards the couch, turning to glare at Sirius once again. "Sirius, I don't care that it's your birthday, I will give you detention."

"Oh, come on, Lils, all in good fun." Sirius raised his hands in mock surrender, glancing around the group, attempting to avoid the grins and laughter of the students who had gathered to watch the Potter and Black show. "Another drink, blondie?" He nodded towards the table in the corner of the room, his eyes pleading.

Charlotte glanced at Lily, biting back a laugh as the red-head took her seat again, purposefully leaving a few good inches between her and James this time.

"I'm sorry! I was shocked, I didn't mean to spill it on you!" James voice trailed off as Sirius led her towards the drinks.

"You came." Were his first words, pouring himself a second drink.

"Course I did." She answered, carefully. She wouldn't let this conversation turn into what it had on Halloween. They were just two friends grabbing drinks. "Only, I didn't get you a present. So whatever James got you, it's from me too."

He cocked his head to the side. "You got me underwear with Peter's face on the ass?"

Charlotte paused, her mouth opening and shutting again when no words left as he laughed, taking her cup from her hand. "Joking. What are you drinking?"

"Firewhiskey and pumpkin juice." She answered, easily, the words seeming to tumble out on their own. This would be her fourth already.

"How much firewhiskey?" He asked, raising one eyebrow and glugging a bit of the red liquid into her glass.

"Lil' more." She held two fingers close together in front of his face, earning another chuckle from the boy as he topped the drink off with juice.

"You're not forgetting it's a Tuesday, right?" He passed the cup back to her and she took another drink. "Don't get me wrong, I've been trying to get the day marked down as a national holiday. Waiting on a call back from the Ministry."

She shook her head, rolling her eyes and starting towards the couch with their friends.

"You look hot." He announced when he caught up with her again, nearly causing her to choke on her new drink, the whiskey burning at her windpipe.