"SIRIUS, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?" Remus asked, nudging his best friend.
"Honestly Moony, for a blissful moment, I didn't even realize you were speaking."
Remus scowled, turning his attention away from Sirius and back to his breakfast. The Marauders were back at school after the Christmas vacation and they were ready to start the new year off with a bang. They had planned an array of fireworks to light up the night sky after curfew as well as a nice party to get everyone who went home resettled in.
However, to say Sirius had been absentminded in planning the events would be saying the least.
"What are you looking for, mate?" James asked, following Sirius' gaze to the door, "Or, well, who?"
Sirius didn't answer.
The truth was, he couldn't tell his friends that he was looking for the MacMillan girl because that would mean telling them about the night they spent together. While he knew that Remus and Peter and the girl were close, he didn't know if she had shared that information with them. What he did know was that he wasn't even supposed to know that information and he felt dirty knowing that he did. He spent the entire vacation with Farrah on his mind. Now, more than ever, she confused him.
"You know what I want to know?" Sirius asked, not taking his eyes off the door and cutting off whatever his friends were saying. When no one said anything, he continued, "I want to know who's invited to this party later that's not from Gryffindor."
There was a moment of silence before James started answering, "The usuals from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, the Prefects so they won't be on our asses about it, word would have gotten to the younger ones so we can expect a few stragglers..."
"We invited Farrah," Peter chimed in, gesturing to himself and Remus, "So they can be expected."
There was no need for him to ask who 'they' were. Of course, the girl wouldn't go anywhere without her two best friends. He wouldn't traipse into a party without the boys at his side.
Sirius opened his mouth to say something but then, the person he was waiting for stormed into the Hall and demanded all eyes on her.
"Oh my Godric Gryffindor," Remus murmured, his eyes wide at the sight of the Slytherin girl.
Farrah MacMillan had finally entered the Great Hall, with the biggest grin Sirius had ever seen slapped onto her face. Regulus and Josh were standing behind her, sharing a look that Sirius couldn't quite make out. Although, he had no doubts it was in reference to the girl standing in front of them. She turned around, said something to them and the two boys went to the Slytherin table while Farrah made her way to the Gryffindor table.
"Boys, boys," she started as she slid in between Peter and James who were sitting opposite to Remus and Sirius, "How have my favorite band of mischief makers been?"
Before anyone could answer, Peter blurted out, "Farrah, your hair!"
The fifth year ran a hand through her now-red locks, "It's fierce, ain't it?"
"Wow MacMillan," James said, "I know you wanted to be in the better house but I didn't think you'd dye your hair to prove it."
"Ha ha," Farrah replied, "Trust me, Potter. This color was a last resort. It was the only one that they had because no one wants to use it."
James rolled his eyes and Farrah continued, "But the real reason I'm here-"
"Oh, so you don't come by just to annoy us? Shocker," Sirius muttered under his breath.
Farrah reached out across the table and pinched his cheek, causing the boy to pull back from her, "Not to worry, Ssssssirius. I misssssssssed you too."
"But, back to business. I'm here on behalf of my boys. I demand a truce later."
"A truce?" Sirius said, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded, "No pranks, no bullying, no trash talk that goes too far. None of it."
"And why would we be nice to snakes in our party?"
"And why would I keep the details of this journal to myself when I can share them with the staff?"
Sirius' nose twitched as he stared at the girl. Farrah, on the other hand, maintained the smile that she had entered the room with. James threw an arm around her shoulders, "Of course there's a truce tonight. Tell your boys they're safe."
"Thank you because I plan on getting absolutely fluthered later and I'll need them there to make sure I don't hurt meself. Well, carry on."
With that, she got up from the table and left to go meet her friends. Sirius shook his head as he watched her stroll across the room. He needed to get that journal back. And he may have just thought up a way to do that.
'''
At approximately ten minutes to twelve, the Slytherin trio entered Gryffindor Tower where the party was in full swing. There were people in one corner chugging drinks, people in another corner making out, people on the dancefloor having a good time. It looked like something straight out of a movie.
"Okay boys," Farrah said, her eyes already finding the drinks table, "I really would recommend one of you stay sober so we can find our way back to the dungeons because I need a drink."
"Farrah," Regulus said, resting a hand on her shoulder, "We could just go back to the dungeons now and talk about what's bothering you."
Farrah rest her hand atop Regulus' and patted his before she pulled it off her shoulder, "I'd rather drink now, talk about my feelings later."
And with that, she was gone.
Sirius saw the girl when she entered the party but lost her moments after. He kept scanning the room for her but she was never with his brother nor their other friend. There was a brief time he saw her with Remus but that lasted all of three seconds before she disappeared again. Eventually, he got tired of looking around so he did what he wanted to avoid. He approached his brother.
"Black," Sirius said, walking up to the fifth-year with a drink in his hand.
"Sirius," Regulus nodded, his voice tight.
"Where's your friend? MacMillan?"
Regulus sighed before pointing towards the dancefloor. Sirius turned and there she was, jumping around to 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. Her hair bounced around her and her eyes were closed, but the expression on her face screamed that she was having the time of her life. Then, as if she felt their gaze on her, she opened her eyes. The smile on her face grew and she started walking towards them.
"Oh Siriusssssssssss," she sang, skipping to the boy, "Are you having fun?"
"Clearly not as much fun as you're having."
She pouted, "Well, that sucks. Everyone should have the same amount of fun that I'm having!"
As the words left her mouth, her eyes lit up and she grabbed Sirius by the arm, "Let's go dance!"
Sirius shook his head, "I don't dance."
"Everyone dances! Come on, let's go."
He gestured towards the drink, "It's still filled, I wouldn't want to spill it."
Farrah took the cup from him and within three seconds, the girl had chugged it down. She handed the empty cup to Regulus who, like his brother, was staring at her with wide eyes. Farrah tugged Sirius one more time, "Come on, let's go dance!"
As she was leading him onto the dancefloor, Regulus asked, "What was in this cup?"
Sirius looked over his shoulder and called out, "Firewhiskey!"
Regulus nodded, holding the cup delicately. The only thought that would surface was that he needed to get Josh sobered up because he would need the help getting Farrah to bed that night.
Meanwhile, Sirius was busy spinning around in circles on the dancefloor with Farrah. Every now and then, the girl would vanish and reappear with a drink before downing the drink and passing off the cup to someone passing by. On about her sixth one, Sirius intervened, "Don't you think you should slow down with the drinks?"
"Now, why would I do that?" she asked.
"Because you have classes tomorrow," he pointed out.
"Classes smasses," she said, "Who cares about classes?"
"You do."
"Oh yeah," she giggled, "Well, I'll care about that in the morning. The only thing I care about right now is you dancing with me."
Farrah grabbed Sirius' hands and placed them on her hips before draping her arms around his neck. 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' by The Beatles came on and the girl started bobbing her head to the record. She closed her eyes and Sirius watched as she lost herself in the record, swaying from side to side and carrying him with her.
"And when I touch you, I feel happy inside," she sang along. The girl opened her eyes, "Come on, Sirius. You're not having fun."
"I'm dancing against my will," Sirius said, "How could I have fun?"
Farrah rolled her eyes, "It's simple. Close your eyes. Come on, do it."
The Gryffindor complied and Farrah smiled, "Good. Now, feel the music. Listen for the strum of the guitar. The beat of the drum. Let John's and Paul's and George's and Ringo's voices wash over you."
He made a face, "You know all their names?"
"You don't? Stop asking questions. You'll ruin it. Now, let it wash over you."
And when I touch you
I feel happy inside
It's such a feelin' that my love
I can't hide
I can't hide
I can't hide
Sirius couldn't explain it but somehow, she was right. The rest of the party faded away and there was only him and the record playing. Well, him, the record and the girl whose hips he was currently holding.
"And now we dance!" Farrah exclaimed.
The two swayed and bounced around to many songs after that. Farrah had Sirius spinning and jumping and singing. It was an odd sight to see. Sirius usually sat in a corner for these events, a drink in his hands and a group of people around him, all looking at him and waiting to hear what words he would say next. Tonight, he was just another person in the crowd, dancing with someone who he never thought he could exist in the same space with.
And he was having the time of his life.
"Remus!" Farrah called out, after 'Hotel California' started to fade. Sure enough, the werewolf was approaching the pair. Farrah waved at her friend excitedly, "Remus, I've been having so. Much. Fun! But I do need another drink, would you be a dear and get me another drink?"
"Actually, Farrah," Remus said, "I'm here to get Sirius for something but I'm sure Pete would love to get you another drink."
The redhead clapped, "Yay Pete! Okay, I will be back."
With that, the girl disappeared. Remus turned to Sirius, "Having fun?"
Sirius answered his question with a question, "Should she be getting another drink? She's had a lot."
Remus nodded, "She's fine, she can hold her liquor. Plus, hell knows no fury like a Farrah who's been told no to a drink."
Sirius made a face and Remus hit the shorter boy on the shoulder, "Don't worry about her. Wormtail will assess the situation and decide whether she can handle another drink."
"Fine," the Black murmured, "What do you need me for?"
"The fireworks," Remus answered, "Prongs said he gave them to you."
"Yeah, they're in my-"
"Woo-hoo!" Farrah's holler cut Sirius off and drew the attention of everyone in the room. The girl was standing on a table, a bottle of firewhiskey in her hands and Peter, Josh and Regulus at the base of the table, trying to both stabilize her and get her off at the same time.
"Don't worry about her, right?" Sirius said as he and Remus walked up to the table.
"Farrah, honey," Remus started, ignoring Sirius' jab, "What are you doing up there?"
"Remus, it's a good thing you're here. These eejits are trying to hold me back and keep me down but we can't let them do that, now can we? Let's hop on 'em. We can take 'em, me and you and Princess over here!"
"Oh no," Remus muttered, "She's drunk. She's so drunk."
"Oh, you think so?" Sirius said, "I never would've guessed."
The Slytherin girl took a heavy swig from the bottle before she continued, "You lot are as mad as a box of frogs if you think I'm even a little drunk. Can't a girl just have fun? Is it bad that I came out for a craic and I'm having it?"
"MacMillan," Sirius said, "None of us are Irish, we're barely understanding a word you're saying. Come down from there."
She took another swig from the bottle, "Now why don't you make me, huh, Princess? I'll hop on you too."
"A lot of girls want to hop on me, you'll have to get in line," Sirius pointed out, "Just give us the bottle and get off the table before you hurt yourself."
"Now do I look like the kind of muppet to hurt myself?"
Sirius rolled his eyes, pushing the boys aside and climbing up onto the table. Standing in front of her, he opened his hand, "Hand over the bottle."
Farrah smiled at him, "You know, you're cute when you try to be stern like that."
"I'm cute all of the time, your point?"
The girl gulped from the bottle again, before she let her arm drop to her side. She stared at him, as if contemplating something before she shrugged. She took a small step forward him and dropped her voice to a whisper, "You wanna hear a secret?"
When Sirius didn't answer, she continued, "I don't like you very much."
And then, she kissed him.
There were three seconds where the entire world melted away. The music of the party, the sound of the people were gone. The colored lights and the people around them faded away. In those three seconds, the only thing Sirius could register was Farrah's lips that had the warmth of a fireplace and tasted like alcohol without the burn and the fact that her lips were against his.
It was shock that pulled him out of that three-second trance. Shock caused him to take a step back on a table that wasn't long enough for him to do so. Just like that, the two of them went from standing on the top of a world that was only theirs to laying flat on the floor of the Gryffindor common room.
Breaking the silence that the kiss had put the room in, Sirius groaned, "This is not what I thought you meant when you said you'd hop on me."
Regulus and Josh pulled the MacMillan up while Remus and Peter pulled the Black up so that they were all standing. The Slytherins tried to let Farrah go but when she almost fell over again, the boys wrapped their arms around her so that they could support her weight.
"You guys need help getting her down?" Remus asked.
"Nah, we should be fine," Regulus answered.
"Fine?" Josh said, "I think we need all the help we can get. Getting Farrah to bed won't be an easy task."
"I can hear you," the girl mumbled, her eyes closed. She raised her hand to chest level and waved slowly, "These two will be fine. I'm fine. We're fine."
Regulus nodded, "You heard the girl. We're fine. Hope you guys have fun with the fireworks. You're not that bad to be around when there's a truce going on."
"Same for you two," Peter replied, "If you end up needing help with her, just call out or send an owl or something."
The three Slytherins then exited the party, leaving the three Marauders standing by the table in a quietude that was completely unlike them. Out of nowhere, James appeared with a drink in his hand and a lipstick stain on his cheek (that looked vaguely like the shade Lily was wearing earlier), "Boys, the fireworks?"
Little did James know that the fireworks were currently erupting throughout Sirius' system, Farrah MacMillan being the fuse he didn't know he had.