{.69. London Town}
Trigger warning: alcohol
Ally, Luke and Toby had about enough of the order missions. They had been on three since Ally's birthday and it was safe to say that she was fed up — she barely had time to eat proper dinners because there was always something and she didn't think at eighteen she should feel like this. She hadn't been on all three but she and Frank had been told to practice their dualling so they could learn each other's styles. It was a smart idea but Ally was tired.
Ally was getting ready for a night out with Toby and Luke when James stumbled through her bedroom fireplace. His eyes were red and he had a bottle of fire whisky in his hand.
"Jamie?"
"Lils...lils won't marry me," he hiccuped
"You proposed?" Ally asked her eyes widening
James just nodded. Ally hadn't even known James had planned to propose to Lily, she had always thought that he would want to get married young but bloody hell, they'd not been out of Hogwarts long! She sat down next to him on the bed when he burst into tears, ally wrapped an arm around him and rubbed his back. He put his head onto her shoulder and sobbed.
"Mum and dad are sick," he sobbed "they have dragon pox,"
Ally's heart sunk and she could feel her eyes fill up, she couldn't imagine how hard that must have been for James. Knowing that his parents were ill and there being nothing he could do about it. Ally wrapped her arms around James as he sobbed into her shoulders. He stopped and went to take a sip of the fire whisky but Ally took it from his hands and took a swig from it herself.
"Do you think drinking is going to help?" She asked to which James shook his head "did you ask Lils to marry you so that your parents could be there?" She asked
James nodded and Ally sighed. She understood that James genuinely wanted to marry Lily but it must have been difficult for her to have understood that when she had known that his parents were ill and it would come out of the blue. She rubbed his back and conjured a glass of water for him, she handed it over and he took a big sip before removing his glasses and wiping his eyes.
He looked her up and down then creased his forehead.
"You're dressed nice, why are you dressed so nice?" He asked
"I'm going to Muggle London clubbing with Toby and Lukey but I can cancel if you need me," she told him
James shook his head and wiped his eyes. He didn't want to spoil Ally's night. He realised this was the first time since the incident with Barty Crouch that she was wearing a strapless top and she looked as if she was confident with her scars. He didn't want to hinder that progress for her.
"Will you come around and see Mum and Dad tomorrow?" He asked "you can say no, it's just they liked you,"
Ally looked at him and shook her head. She ruffled his messy hair and shoved his head softly to the side. He frowned and ally wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"I love your parents, I'll come with Remus one day in the week," she told him
James relished in the hug and was thankful for Ally to be as understanding as she was. He knew that family meant everything to Ally just like it did to James, they were very similar in those senses. However Ally didn't have parents anymore, so she knew how James would feel.
She didn't know if Remus would go with her as he had quite a few things on but Ally wanted to see Monty and Mia. The thought of James going through this hurt her, the only positive Ally saw was that he could prepare himself and it wouldn't be sudden like Arcturus.
The fireplace lit up and Toby walked in, he was to apparate her to his and Sirius' flat. That's where they were having their predrinks. Ally was excited to see where Toby and Sirius had set up their home because she knew Toby had always been excited about moving in with Sirius ever since it was mentioned.
Toby looked down when he noticed James and sat by him wrapping an arm tightly around him. It was one of the things Ally lived most about Toby was that he was understanding. He never needed to know what the matter was with someone but he would always be there for them should they need it.
"Joining us tonight are you Jamie?" Toby asked
"No, I need to go apologies to my Lilyflower then our moony is going to join us for dinner." He said wiping his eyes
He pressed a kiss to Ally's forehead and gave one to Toby before he disappeared out of the fireplace. Ally smiled at Toby who tackled her back onto the bed. She let out a laugh and hugged him tightly, letting them lay together for a minute. They used to have sleepovers all the time in the Hufflepuff common room, it was nice and laying on Ally's bed made her wish she was back in Hogwarts.
It was only a few short months until she was, but it would never be the same without Toby and Luke. She would never venture into the Hufflepuff common room for gossip and a hot chocolate ever again. It upset her, so she was thankful that tonight amongst all the chaos, they'd have a chance to just be normal.
"Do you need to tell your brothers that you're off?" He asked
She just nodded and pulled herself away from the bed, she went downstairs to see Perseus reading the Prophet and Atlas on his typewriter, probably writing an article for the prophet. Ally knocked on the door and Perseus peered up from the article he was reading with a smile.
"You look pretty dearest," Perseus complimented and she smiled shyly at him
"Moony seeing you like that Allycat?" Atlas asked
"No, I'm going into muggle London with Toby and Luke tonight. If I'm not home by two in the morning it's because I've stopped over Sirius and Toby's and I'll send a letter in the morning," she told them
Both Perseus and Atlas were uneasy about the thought of Ally staying out all night but they knew before long that she would be moving out potentially. Perseus looked at Atlas and raised an eyebrow and Atlas tilted the corner of his lip.
"Do try to get home my dear but send an owl at your earliest convenience otherwise," Perseus told her
She went into the room and kissed both of her brother's cheeks and hugged them before she went upstairs to pull toby into the fireplace. He wrapped his arm tightly around her and called his address out, within a flash ally stumbled out the fireplace.
Toby lost his footing and she fell on Toby with a loud thud. He let out a loud groan and she cackled into his shoulder. Sirius watched the two friends from where he was sat drinking his tea and couldn't help but laugh. He stood up and held both his hands out. Ally beamed up at him and took his hand as he pulled her up.
She'd only seen Sirius a few days ago but she missed him. He tickled her sides before helping his boyfriend up off the ground. It wasn't long before Luke popped out the fireplace and smiled at the trio.
"You guys look great, do you want a picture? Toby bought a muggle camera," Sirius said
Ally nodded and got in the middle of the two boys, Toby passed Sirius the camera from the shelf behind them. Luke ruffled Toby's hair and Ally pulled her best grin as Sirius snapped the picture.
He smiled and waited for the Polaroid to print before showing them as it developed. Ally smiled and walked over to the alcohol cupboard that Sirius and Toby had and poured herself a glass of gin. She poured Toby a vodka and Luke a whisky and they all sat down on the sofas. Ally noticed that Sirius and Toby had a muggle television. It made sense considering Toby was a half-blood but she didn't expect Sirius to have one.
"Tobes, I'm going to James'. I'll see you later," he kissed Toby and waved to Ally and Luke before he went through the fireplace.
Toby pressed play on the record player and they all took a big sip of their drinks. Ally had missed the group dynamics and sitting and listening to the songs they would listen to in Hogwarts made her feel nostalgic. She'd been feeling that a lot.
"Okay so, life updates Lukey go," Toby pointed
"Start uni next month, what about you Tobes?"
"My radio show for Quidditch commentary will be up and running by November, Allystar you're up,"
"Okay don't ever call my Allystar, you can tell you're Siri's boyfriend. Train with Perseus from the first of September," she shrugged
The boys noticed ally wasn't too enthusiastic because she had her heart set on legislation but they couldn't help but think Ally would be a good teacher. The two boys were also proud of how Ally had been conducting herself in the auror missions.
A few days ago Toby had been in one and saw Frank and herself dialling and Toby thought she was great. She used her wandless magic to her advantage and only used her wand when she felt she could gain the upper hand to help frank. She was effortlessly talented at what she could do and Toby couldn't believe it was the same scared little girl who had been made fun of all of them years ago.
"When's the next or—"
"I swear to Merlin if you ask about the order I will hex you, Tobias. This is a no life-sucking zone okay? It's a fun night of us getting drunk and each of you going home to your one true loves," ally told them
"Will you not go home to Our Moony?" Luke asked
Ally had huffed, she loved Remus but she couldn't help but feel unattractive to him. He hadn't ever made a move on her and she didn't care about sex, she wasn't too bothered as she knew her first time would just be ridiculously painful but was she that unappealing that Remus wouldn't even try it on with her?
She didn't even know who to bring this up with because Toby and Luke had always been sexually active and Ally was much farther behind in terms of physical intimacy with someone. That was fine, she didn't think it was a race but most of her friends were thinking about marriage, James and Lily were having some sort of discussion about marriage and it made ally feel like she was still quite childlike.
Then she didn't want to make the first move, so she was in the most awkward position because how does a virgin make the first move?! She didn't know the first thing about being sexy or anything like that. So instead, she just shook her head at the boys and grabbed the bottle of gin before taking a big sip from it.
"Alcyone you're the epitome of class my darling," Toby rolled his eyes and ally stuck her tongue out at him, she didn't particularly care, tonight was about having fun with her two favourite boys
A few hours had passed by the time Ally, Luke and Toby decided to head into Muggle London. They were extremely tipsy by that point and Toby decided to apparate them directly into the club toilets so that they didn't have to pay entry. Ally thought it was so clever and she was going to tell Oberon about this so he knew what to do the next time he was out.
They could hear the songs playing and Toby pulled the two out of the toilets towards the dance floor. The first thing he did was stop at the bar, ordering ally a gin and lemonade. She tried to give him some galleons but he told her they didn't accept galleons so they had to put them away. Muggle money always confused ally, she was never certain on how it worked so she left it with someone knowledgeable.
The trio grabbed their drinks and headed to the dance floor. Ally felt insecure, she knew her scars were on show from the incident but at the moment she couldn't bring herself to care. The alcohol was flowing through her veins and for once she didn't feel the weight of grief on her shoulders. She was just dancing and having fun like a teenager should do. Toby grabbed her hand and spun her around, she threw her head back in laughter before doing the same with Luke.
Neither of the group had laughed so hard in such a long time, Toby finally felt like himself. He didn't have to worry about his father judging him for having a boyfriend or not following in his footsteps, Luke didn't have to worry about his impending studies and the workload and stress he'd be about to take on due to the finalisation of his parent's divorce. It was nice, they were normal.
Or they felt normal, they felt normal for almost an hour and a half until Ally looked over at one of the booths and saw Rabastan Lestrange sat there with Arlo Jones. She felt sick to her stomach as she pointed them out to Toby and Luke. She thought she was hallucinating but when she saw Rabastan raise his glass towards her she knew that it wasn't her being paranoid and when the boys started to usher her out with them, she knew it wasn't her imagination either.
Luke kept his arms tightly around Toby and ally as he ushered them towards the corridor so they could apparate out. The trio was rushing, they didn't know whether the two were following them, whether there were other death eaters there, they had no idea. All they knew was that they needed to get out of there as soon as possible.
They got to the corridor and Toby felt around for his wand in his pockets.
"Tobes if you don't have it I'll apparate us," Luke hurried
Toby's hands were shaking, he had felt guilty for bringing them here knowing how dangerous it was. Toby dropped his wand in a panic and managed to pick it up with haste before grabbing onto his two best friends and apparating to the first place he could think of.
The Potter cottage was homely, so when the trio apparated into James' front room it was safe to say that the marauders and Lily didn't take it as too much of a surprise. However, they hadn't expected to see the three of them shaking like leaves, they thought they'd have been happy and giggling.
"what's happened my darling?" Remus asked quickly as he could smell the anxiety radiating off the group
"Do you guys have protective enchantments over this house?" Ally asked in a panic
Lily looked confused but she noticed that Luke and Toby were shaking too. She quickly got up to make them cups of tea, she didn't know what else she could do other than offer some support to them because she thought something distressing had happened.
"We saw Rabastan and Arlo at the club," Luke told them as he stood up from the ground "we don't know how they found us... or even how they knew we'd be going there,"
"It can't have been a coincidence," Toby spat "I didn't tell anyone where we were going, it's a new club and I wanted to surprise you guys," his voice broke at the end and ally wrapped her arms around him tightly from behind
"It's okay Tobes, we're all safe," she reassured
"Something could have happened to you all, that's not okay." He told her
"Something could have happened to you and Luke too!" She argued back "But we're okay and look Lily had made us cups of tea, so it's okay Tobes. Don't feel all this guilt for no reason," she told him kissing his neck from behind because she couldn't properly reach his cheek
"Ally is right, you're all here and safe now so have a cup of tea and just breathe for a little bit," James told them — he seemed a lot more positive than earlier and Ally was glad because seeing her friend like that was horrible
They stayed quiet for some time after they reassured Toby. Luke sat with his arms around each of them — them being Ally and Toby — while the rest of the group continued what they were doing before the trio got there. Toby kept making jokes once he started to relax a bit after the adrenaline rush, they were terrible jokes but they made Ally and Luke laugh which was the main thing.
"Hey, I heard a rumour about Nutella," Toby said
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Luke asked
"I better not spread it," Toby replied
Ally let out a snort and smacked his head gently while she rolled her eyes.
"Toby that was terrible," she laughed
"Made you guys smile though didn't it,"
Ally just nodded while she let out a yawn, it was nearing two in the morning and if she was honest she was ready for bed. She noticed that Toby and Luke both looked heavy-eyed as well so she stood up and held her hands out for both of them.
"We're going," ally announced
The marauders and Lily stood up and hugged each of them tightly. Ally told peter that they'd need to catch up soon because she hadn't seen him for a while properly. When ally got to Remus she smiled up at him as he ran a hand over her hair before he placed it softly on her jaw before pressing a long tender kiss to her lips.
"I love you, sweet girl, I'm glad that you're safe. I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked pressing a kiss to her nose
"Tomorrow can't come soon enough," she mumbled sleepily "I love you," she told him wrapping her arms around him in the last attempt at a sleepy bear hug.
Remus just chuckled and pushed her gently into the arms of a sleepy Toby. They got into the fireplace and Ally waved before she shouted her address. It didn't take the trio long before they each climbed into Ally's queen-sized bed and cuddled I together like the old days. Feeling safe and protected.
Perseus had awoken from his late-night glass of water and decided to check on his sister, he opened the door and saw the trio laying asleep next to each other. The scene was so endearing that Perseus took a picture of the group spooning and making sure they were sandwiched closed up. He knew that these three would be friends forever, and that warmed an old man's heart. So he pressed a kiss to his sister's forehead and shut the door, before peacefully sleeping, knowing that his sister had two friends that loved her as much as the brothers did.
***
Unedited
Here's another one. Sorry for slow updates.
I don't condone negative comments and I won't accept them. Sure comments are expected and I support constructive criticism but I don't accept nasty comments at all and I won't condone being called rude for not being willing to want negative comments on my story.
Anyway, peace and love xo