☽☽☽
ATHENA HUGGED REMUS HAPPILY WHEN SHE SAW HIM on platform 9 and 3/4. As she did so she heard Sirius making fake gaging sounds from behind and she turned to look at him. He seemed better than he had been, maybe a Christmas with the Potters' had been just what he needed.
Sirius and Athena didn't talk about the encounter that they'd shared at Slughorn's party. Athena wasn't sure whether he remembered it at all, he was rather drunk. He seemed to be acting as he normally would
The train journey was full of stories of Christmas celebrations and the showing off of presents. Athena sat with her hand in Remus' as he ran his thumb over the ring she wore proudly on her finger.
They ate a bunch of sweets despite knowing that the welcome feast was just around the corner. Boxes, packets of jelly beans and chocolates lay discarded on the floor where Marlene was spread out laughing her head off about a joke that she'd told.
When the train pulled into the station the group crowed off together waving happily to Hagrid who was guiding them through the dark night with his large lantern.
She stepped into a carriage with James , Sirius, Remus and Lily. It seemed that James and Lily had spent Christmas together as well for the first time. Of course Sirius had been there too but considering that he didn't seem as sick and ill as he had done it seemed he hadn't taken this badly.
Athena watched the thestral carefully as it dragged the carriage out of the cobbled streets of Hogsmeade. They weren't so bad for being an omen of death, maybe she was only feeling like this because the happiness she felt with Remus was eating her alive.
"I think we'll have a party tonight" Sirius mused as he took a cigarette out of his leather jacket pocket.
"stop smoking" Lily snapped as she snatched the cigarette out from between his lips before he could light it and threw it outside of the carriage.
"I payed for that Evans" Sirius grunted,
"I'm sick of smelling smoke all of the time" Lily replied simply.
"Piss of then!" Sirius retorted.
"don't talk to her like that" James frowned as he placed an arm around Lily, "she's right you smoke way too much... so do you Remus"
"don't bring me into this"Remus muttered,
"he's not wrong" Athena pointed out causing Remus to roll his eyes at her.
"I'm serious" Lily continued,
"No I'm Sirius" the boy drawled lazily,
"Do you ever get bored of using that joke?"
Athena frowned as she turned back to Sirius, how come only a moment ago she'd believed that everything was fine and a second later Sirius seemed to have reverted back into his isolated and angry self. She glanced at Remus who just sighed gently as he held Athena's had tighter.
Eventually the carriages pulled up outside the school and Athena clambered out, straightening her robes and tightening her Ravenclaw tie as she kissed Remus gently on the cheek.
"See you later?" She smiled and the boy nodded,
"At the party" he rolled his eyes like this and Athena realised they were both thinking the exact same thing. Another party.
Athena walked into the great hall to see that their carriage had been one of the last to get in. Her Ravenclaw friends were already sat around talking and she moved quickly to sit next to Claire.
"Good Christmas?" Claire asked as she shut the book she'd been reading. Athena looked to the cover to see that it was Hogwarts a History, it seemed that Claire was obsessed with that book.
"Yeah, you?" She asked lightly. Claire never really talked a lot about her personal life. Her favourite discussion was often about studying, lessons or exams. She was a generally good listener and a good friend but sometimes the conversations would seem a little one sided.
"Good" Claire nodded. Athena smiled before turning to the twins. Tessa and Tommy Halliday seemed to always be arguing about something. Usually this was quidditch related however today it seemed to be about presents.
"You're just ungrateful" Tommy retorted,
"You obviously got better presents, our parents don't know me at all"
"Hi guys" Athena frowned, "what's going on?"
"My parents are deluded" Tessa snapped not even welcoming her friend as she crossed her arms sternly.
"How come?" Athena asked, beginning to think that she didn't want to know.
"They bought Tommy a new broom and didn't think I'd want one because I'm a girl"
"Oh that sucks" Athena nodded,
"It's not because you're a girl" Tommy rolled his eyes, "it's because I want to go into a career of quidditch and you don't"
"Who says I don't?" Tessa snapped in response,
"You did"
Athena zoned out as she looked over to the Gryffindor table. Her friends were laughing and joking about except for Sirius who was in his own little world staring over to the back of the hall.
Athena turned her gaze to the direction he was looking in but instead of finding what he was looking at, Athena's eyes collided with Kennedy. Snape was whispering something in her ear, sitting way too close to her as she sat sternly staring down at her plate. She didn't seem happy at all, then again she never seemed too happy.
Dumbledore called out his usual speech asking if everyone had a good Christmas and then summoning the food seemingly out of thin air. In first year Athena had been amazed by this, she'd seen magic before but not to this extent. Her mother had always told her that you couldn't create food out of nothing however a few years later Athena learned that it was the house elves who prepared the food.
She ate hungrily wondering how everything could taste so amazing. Athena had attended more Hogwarts feats than she could count but the food seemed to get better every time. After the plates were cleared the students all hurried out of their seats and moved in different directions back to their common rooms.
☽☽☽
Athena was used to getting ready and striding down to a Gryffindor party, after all they threw a lot of them. She sat with her hair pulled back, a mirror propped in front of her as she smoothed concealer under her eyes and ran a brush tapped in bronzer over her skin.
Having been to so many parties she was beginning to run out of outfits. However she opted for the dress Rory had bought her for Christmas, it was stunning after all. She paired this with some boots and stared at herself in the mirror her hair now flowing over her shoulder.
"Are you sure you're not coming?" Athena asked Tessa who was lying on her bed staring up at the drapes above her,
"I'm wallowing in self pity" Tessa replied. Athena just shrugged as she slid her wand into the side of her boot and walked out of the room.
Ravenclaw were already throwing a small party that couldn't really be considered a party at all. Students sat around drinking but it was a lot more civilised than the scenes you'd see in Gryffindor. After all this was Ravenclaw house.
Athena waved to Tommy who was currently showing off his new broomstick. He waved back as Athena pushed herself out of the common room past a mound of first years who were giggling excitedly about being at a 'real party' how low their expectations were, Athena couldn't comprehend.
The corridors were mainly empty, she saw a few students heading the same way as her including Peter's girlfriend Flora and her Hufflepuff friends. Other than that she saw some ghosts ambling around and what looked like a fifth year buying some drugs very obviously in a corridor. She wondered whether that was the same supplier that Sirius was getting them off, surely it must be. This was Hogwarts not some drug town.
Athena moved into the common room behind the Hufflepuff girls and immediately felt satisfied that this was a hell of a lot better than the event she'd just seen at Ravenclaw. It seemed Sirius and James were trying a new set up of putting the drinks table by the entrance, Athen approved of this as it meant that she didn't have to push her way through the dancing crowds just to get a drink.
She popped open a can of coke and poured it into one of the red plastic cups that were a staple of a good Gryffindor party. Having filled it a little over halfway, she unscrewed the large bottle of vodka and poured what she assumed to be around two shots inside. This was Remus' favourite drink and although she enjoyed cider she decided to give this a go for a change.
Turning on her heel, she looked out over the party. The images were printed in her memory as a good Gryffindor party looked the same every time. The same people would dance, the same people would sit around and watch, the same people would be drunk in the first five minuets and so on.
Athena was most intrigued to see what Sirius was doing, she'd been concerned about him after the train ride as his mood had only seemed to go down hill. The brief moment between him and Lily suggested that he'd been smoking way too much. Athena was used to this frustration through Remus and she wondered whether Lily knew the extent of Sirius' issues.
She spotted him with an entire bottle of Jack Daniels, not necessarily dancing but definitely pacing around the room looking happier and more in tune than he had done at the welcome feast. Athena turned her head so he wouldn't catch a glimpse of her, she didn't have much intention of dealing with a drunk Sirius tonight.
Instead she decided to try and look for Remus who was much more fun to be around anyway (at least in her opinion). It didn't take long to find him sitting in some seats by the window with Mary, Marlene and Dorcas. There was an empty seat beside the boy that Athena assumed had been taken up by Peter until he'd seen Flora walking in.
Athena stepped over the back of the sofa and clambered onto it,
"You could have just walked around" Remus snorted as he immediately put his arm around her shoulder,
"And what's the fun in that" Athena smirked, "why aren't you lot dancing?"
"Waiting to get slightly tipsy" Dorcas nodded before downing her drink in one, "more fun that way"
"Sure it is" Athena frowned in uncertainty as she watched Marlene follow suit,
"What about you Mary?" Athena asked as she turned to the smaller girl.
"I don't feel much like dancing" Mary shrugged simply. She was only drinking a bottle of butterbeer but seemed slightly lost behind her eyes,
"Fair enough" Athena shrugged, "what about you?"
Remus raised his eyebrows at her, a bottle of cider held limply in his hand. Seemed tonight they'd swapped drinks.
"You'll have to get at least three more of these down me if you expect me to dance" he laughed lightly.
"Sounds manageable" Athena laughed as she took a sip of her drink. The bubble of the coke mixed nicely with the bitter taste of the vodka, she could understand why Remus enjoyed it so much.
"You think?" Remus laughed, "it's the first night back, I'm not going to be doing anything stupid"
"Don't call me anything stupid" Athena smirked causing Dorcas to snort and Marlene to spit out her drink.
"I don't get it" Remus stated simply causing Marlene to laugh even more.
"You'll catch up" Athena patted him encouragingly on the shoulder trying not to pay attention to Mary's eyes that seemed fixated on her.
"Right my legs are tingling" Dorcas announced dramatically as she held her hand out to Marlene,
"I thinks that's just because your shoes are too small" Marlene winked, "you've barely drank anything love"
"I don't care, I like this song" she called as she yanked her girlfriend to her feet and dragged her over to the dance floor to mingle with the rest of the group. It felt slightly awkward now with Mary sipping her butterbeer and Athena resting with her head on her boyfriends shoulder.
"Can you explain the joke?" Remus asked as he looked down at her,
"Are you serious?" Athena laughed,
"No I'm Remus" he replied simply causing Athena to roll her eyes,
"You're as bad as each other" Athena muttered,
"Me and Sirius" Remus raised his eyebrows, "he's worse"
"Course he is" Athena nodded but she definitely agreed.
"You're making me look like an idiot" Remus continued, "what did I say again?",
"You're incredibly slow tonight" Athena laughed, "I said I'm not going to be doing anything stupid—"
"And you said don't call me anything stupid" Remus sighed in realisation, "yeah I get it now"
"It's not funny when I have to explain it" Athena rolled her eyes. Mary was still sat there looking around the room as if she wanted to disappear. Athena felt rather guilty and jumped up as she extended her hand to Remus.
"Dance?" She asked quickly noticing that the boy seemed apprehensive,
"Come on, you know you want to" Remus shrugged as he took her hand and moved over to the floor where students were jumping around crazily.
James, Lily, Dorcas and Marlene were all dancing in a circle. They pulled Athena and Remus into it as the music picked up. Singing lyrics at the top of their lungs and making up words they didn't even know. The lot of them had smiles etched onto their faces as they twirled, jumped and flounced in a bunch of random movements.
"So Remus" Marlene beamed, "done anything stupid yet?",
"Not yet" Remus smirked, "maybe later",
"What you planning on doing?" James called in confusion over the sound of the crowd. Evidently he didn't understand the joke which made it ten times funnier to Marlene who clutched her arms around her stomach in laughter.
Athena wondered whether Kennedy would show up, she would have definitely heard about the party. News of a Gryffindor celebration moved fast throughout the castle and although Slytherins weren't often included they definitely heard about it. Kennedy had still been dubious about mingling with the group again as though nothing had happened, this was probably the reason why Athena couldn't spot her anywhere.
As she danced around with both of her hands holding Remus', she saw Sirius standing over by the window smoking something that definitely wasn't normal tobacco. She wanted to storm over and rip it out of his hand however she knew that would only make matters worse. Athena believed him to be an idiot for doing that shit in plain sight however considering everyone seemed so wrapped up in the party she doubted that anyone was actually paying him any attention.
☽☽☽
They danced for nearly an entire Bowie album before Remus claimed that his legs were going to cave in if he didn't sit down soon. They left the rest of their group dancing and Athena wondered how they had enough stamina to keep going this long.
Athena collapsed into the seats by the window noticing that Mary was no longer seated over here. She turned her attention and spotted her with Flora's group of Hufflepuff friends minus Flora who was currently playing tonsil tennis with Peter which wasn't something incredibly pleasant to look at.
Athena was about to complain to Remus until she felt his lips on hers. Now it would be rather hypocritical to critique Flora and Peters make out session when she was having her own. She smiled into the kiss as she placed her hands on his shoulders, purely enjoying being close to him.
"Ah young love" Athena looked up to see that Sirius had collapsed into the chair opposite them. He'd finished smoking but he was definitely more than drunk, a new bottle of whiskey clutched in his hand. His eyes were reddened telling Athena all she needed to know and he'd lost his youthful charm that made many people fall for him.
"You should stop drinking mate" Remus told him simply, "how many of those have you had?"
"Not enough" Sirius called dramatically as he raised his bottle over his head, "we drink like kings and queens"
"Shut it" Remus scoffed. Athena refrained from kissing him again, feeling awkward now that Sirius had crashed their moment. Instead she just rested against him.
"I told you so Rena" Sirius laughed as he took another gulp of his drink, not even flinching at the strength of the alcohol,
"Told me what?" Athena asked with a bemused expression on her face,
"I told you he wouldn't leave you over a few secrets and lies"
Athena went cold as her expression changed. Through her distressed vision she tried to communicate to Sirius to shut up but he was too drunk to notice.
"A few secrets and lies" Remus laughed, "you're plastered mate"
"See he didn't even care" Sirius scoffed, "and there you were having a panic attack on a train for nothing... you see Remus, she was only worried because she told me and not you but I told her that you wouldn't give a shit"
"What's he on about?" Remus asked as he turned to Athena who had now sat herself up stiffly on the sofa. Sirius turned to Athena in confusion before seeing that the colour had drained from her face.
"Oh shit you hadn't told him" Sirius gasped, "but you were all lovey and shit... and it's been fucking ages... a year since you told me ... two since the first thing though I guess that's irrelevant"
"Sirius do everyone a favour and shut up now" Athena snapped,
"Athena I'm so sorry" Sirius whined, "I ... I'm such a fucking idiot"
"Yeah you are" Athena nodded, "but I know you're just drunk"
"Rena" Remus began slowly, "what's he on about, say something"
"Remus" Athena sighed loudly as she watched Sirius sink back into his seat, "we need to talk"
☽☽☽
A/n
Words - 3041
Published- 8th February 2021
Oh shit