One of the few things I could count on most with the boys was their ability to always get us booze.

Rosemerta walked toward our table, sighing in a defeated manner as she came to fuel our goblets with more mead. The Three Broomsticks was a trusted establishment that frequently supported patrons from Hogwarts; both student and Professor. Though no matter how trusted the establishment seemed, Sirius and James had always managed to coerce Rosemerta to ignore their age and pour the liquid. Half of my suspicion for her leniency was more so away from the devilish grins the two boys showed her, but on the fact that Remus had always promised to keep everyone in check. And he always kept to that promise. None of the misadventures brought on by the boys was ever traced back to the conception of alcohol. Well, at least alcohol from this pub.

I mumbled my thanks to the slightly older barmaid as she moved to fill up Emmeline's goblet. She tsk-ed us as she did so, all while smiling as she did so. Knowing Rosemerta, she probably was doing the same thing at our age.

"Oh, Rosie what would we do without you?" Sirius dramatically moaned, throwing an arm over the curly blonde and pulling her closer to his body. My eyes lingered on the fingers curled around her hip.

"You'd all have healthier livers that's for sure," Rosemerta chuckled, slapping away Sirius's advances with her washcloth. "Now hurry up and drink before Matthias sees. This is all I'm giving tonight."

The pub was busy this time of year. A new school year meant celebration for all. Students, Professors, and the parents of said students. And though a busy pub meant more coverage. A busy pub also meant Matthias would be here working today, and he wasn't as nice as Rosemerta.

"Leave us some for the road?" James asked, giving her doe-like eyes to help to persuade her.

She rolled her eyes once more but didn't say no. "There's a bunch of fancy red wines Matthias wants me to get rid of. They've been open too long and the only ones that can afford to buy the wine know the difference between a fresh bottle and an old one. Though I know you lot won't mind."

"Wine is wine," Remus agreed, and Peter nodded enthusiastically.

"I'll leave a crate of old opened reds near the dumpsters." Rosemerta laughed and left us alone to continue our drinks and conversation. She quickly disappeared into the sea of customers.

"To our first week of Hogwarts!" James cheered, putting up his goblet into the air.

"To passing our O.W.Ls!" Lily offered, putting her own goblet up.

"To demolishing everyone in Quidditch this year!" I added my goblet.

"To dear beautiful Rosie who keeps us well hydrated!" Sirius's shouted, his voice drowned out by the live music starting the loud cheers all around. We all had our goblets up and clinked each other's drinks before knocking back a large gulp of mead.

Sirius always the one to make a show, chugged more than half of his drink before slamming it back down on the table.

We weren't the only ones from Hogwarts tonight at The Three Broomsticks. It seemed everyone wanted to celebrate the first week of the school week. Emmeline, Lily, and I had caught up with the four boys as they too made their way down to the town of Hogsmeade. Each of us had the same idea to have fun this Friday night instead of being stuck in our dorms and common room. There was plenty of the year to do that.

"Fulton, you really think you have a chance to win this year?" James asked, cocking an eyebrow up in suspicion. "Haven't won a championship in - hell, haven't even competed in the championship in three years. What's changed?"

I stared right back at the hazel eyes beneath those rectangular glasses. I returned his suspicious and doubting look with a smirk of confidence and nerve. "Belford isn't Captain anymore. He graduated and is off training to be curse breakers somewhere off in Australia."

My smirk grew at the slight waver I saw on James's face. "Who's Captain?" But he knew. His eyes wouldn't look as worried as they did now if he didn't know.

"Naomi Tont," I grinned and took a large swig of my mead.

"Fuck, I thought we had another year," Sirius grumbled before knocking his head back and finishing off his goblet. "Tont's finally having full control over the Ravenclaw team."

"Belford was too proud to accept suggestions from Tont," James sighed, pushing his now empty goblet away from him. "That's what I liked about him."

"And that's what we hated about him," I countered. "Belford was too proud of himself to need anyone else. Especially, Naomi."

"Belford's an idiot for not taking advantage of the opportunity," Lily sneered, sharing the anger for my former Quidditch Captain. "If he had been nice he might've gotten close to her dad and the rest of the Holyhead Harpies."

"Face it. Ravenclaw is going to destroy you this year," Emmeline snickered, putting the still full goblet up to her lips. "Tont is going to be your downfall, Potter."

"Competition is good for the soul. Nothing we can't handle," Sirius encouragingly slapped his worried Team Captain on the shoulders. "Isn't that right, Prongsy?"

James nodded and rubbed his eyes under his glasses.

We stayed for a couple of songs as we ate our food. The band played very up-tempo and jaunty rhythms perfect for a night light tonight. Half of the customers at the establishment were like us, friends gathered around a table eating and drinking. The other half stood around the pub, near either the band as they danced and sipped on their alcoholic beverages or by the pub to chat up strangers and order more liquid courage. It was tempting to stay. The music filled me with excitement and the mead filled me with energy. Though who to dance with, I wasn't sure. In fact, I wasn't really sure I could ask anyone to go out there and dance with me. In reality, I mostly wanted someone to walk up to me and as me to dance. I wanted that push, but it never came. And the confidence from the mead was slowly and quickly disappearing as it was being soaked up by the fried pickles we all shared.

Gladly, I wasn't the only one disliking the fact that the alcohol was wearing out.

"C'mon, Vance! Drink!" Sirius whined. "I want to get out of here and go pick up the wine."

"Sirius, let the poor girl enjoy herself," Remus said. Though his defense stood useless as Emmeline took a deep breath and chugged her goblet dry. "Or... well... nice, Vance."

She wiped her lips with her sleeve and smiled happily at her accomplishment. "Let's get that wine!"

We made our way out of the booth and waved goodbye to Rosemerta behind the bar before taking the exit outback. There, just as she promised, a wooden crate filled with half or less than half-full bottles of red wine. All too aired out for the clientele Matthias was catering to.

Sirius pulled out his wand from his right black boot and pointed it at the wine crate. "Reducio!"

The crate that held 12 bottles shrunk down to the size of a teacup. Sirius happily picked up the small crate in front of him and held it in his fist. "Let's share our loot with the rest of Gryffindor. See if any of our peers have anything in their hidden stash. Fulton, spread the word to the Ravenclaw tower. Big beginning of the year bash at the Gryffindor tower. Spread the word. Come one and come all to the lion's den!"

"Bloody hell if we invite the Ravenclaws we have to invite the others." Remus groaned, and I could tell he was beginning to think with his Prefect brain.

We began to make our way back up to the castle. The sky was filled with brightly lit stars shining through the twilight sky, the sun had just set. The owls were beginning to fly into the Owlery getting ready for sleep. The air still held its summer warmth.

The boys and Lily made their way back to the Gryffindor tower as Emmeline and I went to inform our fellow Ravenclaws about the impromptu party. We caught Benjy Fenwick in the halls and told him to spread the message to the Hufflepuffs. We mentioned the party to a couple of curious-looking Slytherins but did not make the effort to visit the dungeons.

After spreading the message, Emmeline and I went back to the Gryffindor tower where Sirius let us in. Music was playing on the record player and was almost muffled by the gathering already happening. Peter came up to us with two filled goblets of red wine, and as we sipped at it we realized Rosemerta was right. We didn't know what the hell the difference in taste was with left-out-too-long wine. Sirius too made a correct prediction, that others would bring along booze to share.

Marlene McKinnon brought out two bottles of fire whisky from under her bed while Frank Longbottom supplied us with pixie shots.

Benjy Fenwick and Dorcas Meadows came in, followed by a crowd of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. I noticed a couple of Slytherins in the bunch of newcomers, Cassia and Evan Rosier, both in my year. They seemed content to be the only two snakes in the crowd of lions, eagles, and badgers.

"It's only a matter of time before McGonagall gets up," Lily sighed, but the smile on her face stayed. She took a shot glass filled with pink sparkling liquid and hiccuped as it went down. "Bless Remus and I for being such good Prefects."

I barked out a laugh. "You two are really good at reigning in the crazy."

"When it comes to the boys who call themselves the marauders, it's best to pick and choose your battles. A Friday night party before the seriousness of school starts... I'll let this one slide."

"Remember that when they get too comfortable with your leniency and blow a dung bomb in the library again." I winked and took a pixie shot. My head instantly felt fizzy and a hiccup came out.

We took a goblet of wine and sat on the stone steps that lead up to the girl's dormitory. Occasionally having to lean into the wall to allow the up and down traffic to go through. But we were content where we sat, talking and laughing as we watched our friends make a fool of themselves. I felt that familiar pull to go out there. That desperate need for someone to take my hand and dance with me. To be at the mercy of both drink, music, and the grasp of a partner.

"He's so good at making a mockery of himself," Lily giggled into her goblet. Her green eyes focused on the shaggy hair Potter boy who was juggling three crumpled-up pieces of parchment into the air. A crowd around him formed as they cheered for James to continue his juggling and quickly booed when he dropped a ball of parchment.

"And you're so good at noticing his mockery," I said, unable to hide the teasing in my voice.

Lily rolled her eyes and took a sip of the wine. "He's so obnoxious it's hard not to notice."

"I get on fine ignoring him."

And just like that, her smile melted away. Lily took another long sip of her wine and leaned her flushed cheeks onto the cold stone wall. "He's just so... I just hope... I..."

Lily tried to say the words but I nodded in understanding. At the end of last year, she had gotten into with James. It happened the day after James was teasing Severus. Lily's attempts to put an end to Severus's humiliation only landed her a broken friendship. She hated Severus for calling her such a name. She expected it from others, but from Severus... it hurt more than ever. She took a lot of that hurt out on James, and to be perfectly honest he deserved a lot of it. Lily yelled at his immaturity and his reproachfulness for being such a bully to someone. How arrogant he was being in treating people and the laughable expectation that she was meant to fancy him back. The words forever echoed in my ears as she said, "If you truly think we are meant to be... know I only fall for good and just people."

The next day we moved on as if nothing happened. I talked and visited Lily during the summer and she asked me how James was doing. She didn't like that I pointed out she could owl him anytime. Nonetheless, I told her he was doing fine and helping his dad with the family business. Sirius had ended up staying over for the summer, packing up everything he cared about from Grimmauld Place. The two boys helped Fleamont by attending meetings with him, sorting out his schedule, and visiting the shop where all the Sleekeazy Hair Potion was being created and shipped off.

"Glorified unpaid interns," Lily had laughed when I told her about it while visiting her home during the summer. How they dressed up in button-up shirts and groaned about their busy working day. They only worked two days out of the week.

"The other five days were filled with either mindless nothing with random bursts of energy and ideas or finding entertainment in drinking Fire Whiskey and smoking Fluxweed," I said, but I wanted to say so much more. I wanted to tell her how James respected the things she said and that he was making a change. That he was kind and gentle and would be forever for her. Though I knew she wouldn't hear it because she needed to see it.

But my chest huffed in hope watching her doey eyes watch James attempt his juggling act again.

"I wish this were all easy," Her words began to slur in my ear. "Just... just knowing what you want and going, and going and just getting it."

I wanted to laugh at how slurred her speech became, but the words cut too true.

"A lot of it you have to wait to sort itself out," she grumbled and leaned her head on my shoulder. I leaned my head on top of her ginger dome. "I know what I want but I don't have the control to get it."

That was the frustration of it all. Knowing what you want. Picturing exactly how you would get it. But knowing it would never work out unless the other put the work in as well.

Her green eyes continued to stare upon the brown skin and curly-haired Gryffindor. While mine caught notice of a man with long black hair leading the whole room into song.