Sunday 18th April, 1977

The marauders and I walked along the path, occasionally stopping in front of a closed store to peer inside. The marauders were chaotic enough at school, but when they were alone in the Muggle town at night without supervision, they were a different type of idiotic.

"Let's sneak into the shop," Sirius whispered in a rather loud voice as he stared at the bookstore. "I want to get Moony a present."

The bookstore was closed, though from the looks of it, it was filled to the brim with all sorts of books. I wasn't surprised Sirius's first thought when he looked at it was Remus, because it was mine too. It looked like somewhere he would like to be, and from a peak through the glass I found it also had armchairs to read in, making it even better. I knew Remus would be visiting here soon.

"Absolutely not," Remus said, ushering Sirius forward. "I will not have you committing any crimes for me."

Sirius looked up at Remus with a pout. "Any?"

"Any," Remus said firmly. "I can commit them by myself."

James whooped and clapped Remus on the back as Sirius seemed to fall in love with Moony even more. I grinned and shared a look with Peter, both of us pleased by the turn of events. Remus could be very badass when he wanted to.

We continued walking along the pathway, noting different Muggle shops and what their purposes were. Remus seemed to be enjoying our confusion greatly, especially when we came across a gardening store. I was bewildered to find not a single appliance for getting rid of Garden Gnomes, only to be told by Remus that Muggles didn't have Garden Gnomes. It was shocking.

We met up with Lily, Marlene, Mary, and Dorcas out the front of the cinema we were going to attend, and I got the chance to introduce Dorcas to the marauders. They loved her, obviously, and I couldn't help but notice Marlene seemed a bit jealous that Dorcas was spending all her time getting to know the marauders.

We entered the cinema, bought tickets, as well as plenty of food, and entered the actual room we'd be watching the movie. The screen was giant, taking up most of the front wall, and I stared at it in awe.

"So, we watch it on the black screen?" James clarified. "Like, people and stuff will appear on it?"

Lily nodded her head.

"And you're sure it's not magic?" I asked.

Remus laughed in answer, as did Mary, and I glared at them, unable to see what was so funny. People inside a 2D screen seemed like magic to me.

Soon enough we all settled down and the movie started. I watched eagerly as people appeared in a house, looking so lifelike it was almost as if they were trapped inside the screen. Were they trapped inside the screen, cursed forever to repeat the same movie over and over and over? How morbid.

I looked to the right of me, hoping to talk to Sirius about how bizarre it was, only to find him somewhat preoccupied snogging Remus. I rolled my eyes and turned to my left in the hopes James would share my wonder, but he was too busy trying to seduce Lily to even glance at the screen. I huffed and glanced further down the seats, spotting Marlene and Dorcas chatting animatedly and Mary flirting with some guy. Was no one watching the movie?

Feeling severely left out I watched the movie sulkily, thinking that Sirius and Remus would stop making out soon enough and then I could talk to them.

How wrong I was.

3 quarters of the movie they continued at it, getting particularly heated at some parts and making me extremely uncomfortable. By the time they stopped their shenanigans I couldn't even bear to look at them and found the silence between us stifling, so much so that I left the cinema before the movie even ended.

I was never going to be able to talk to Remus or Sirius again without thinking about what I just experienced. I was not supposed to see that, especially between two of my closest friends.

I went outside, taking a deep breath as the fresh air hit my face. I briefly closed my eyes, letting the icy wind push back and forth against me as the night went on. Eventually, I was interrupted by the sound of footsteps and opened my eyes.

The Muggle boy who had been flirting with me in the store walked up to me, a grin on his face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

I glanced around, noticing the empty streets around us. "Um, watching a movie."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Right now?"

"Oh, um, no, I just needed some fresh air," I mumbled sheepishly.

He sidled up next to me, leaning against the wall I was leaning against. I glanced at him sidelong, noticing his ruffled brown hair, and intense green eyes. He was quite attractive all things considered, yet I couldn't imagine what it would be like to date him. My heart was still firmly in Regulus's hold, no matter how much I tried to move on.

The thought of Regulus lowered my mood and I looked around, as if hoping to spot him standing in the street waiting for me. I was met with disappointment, as well as the lack of anybody other than the boy beside me, who I now realised I didn't even know the name of.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

He smiled, as if I'd just done something he liked. Had I?

"My name's Oliver," he said, taking a step towards me. "What's yours?"

Instantly I knew I'd done something wrong. Oliver was much closer to me that he had been mere moments ago, and the way he was looking at me sent shivers down my spine, and not in a good way. It didn't help that Oliver was well over 6 feet and seemed to be looming over me with a smile.

"Um... Y/n," I answered hesitantly.

I looked around, but the street was still empty, and I wasn't sure the movie had finished yet, meaning I was alone. With Oliver. Who was still moving closer to me.

"Y/n's a pretty name," Oliver said, flashing me what he surely hoped to be a charming smile.

Instead it looked threatening, and again and I glanced around at my surroundings, hoping to spot someone who could help me get out of this situation. There was no one.

"Oh, um, thanks," I muttered, not at all flattered. "I better get back to the cinema. Don't want to miss the end of the movie and all."

Oliver's smile wavered at my words. "Are you sure? I thought we were having fun here."

I nodded my head. "Yep, pretty sure. I'll, um, see you later."

I went to leave, but instead felt a cold hand grip my wrist, Oliver's fingers curling around my skin harshly. I went still, feeling my heart hammering in my chest as I slowly turned to look at Oliver. The look on his eyes seemed hungry and I flinched.

"Let me go," I said.

"Oh come on, can't we have some fun?" Oliver asked. "Let us have some fun."

I tried tugging my arm back, but his grip was strong. "I said let go."

"Seriously Y/n? Don't make this harder than it has to be."

Fear trickled over me, a cruel, powerful emotion that sped up my heartrate and made my hands clammy.

"Please just-"

"Let her go!"

Before I knew what was happening James was there, pushing Oliver back roughly as he stood in front of me protectively. I could smell the alcohol on him, no doubt from the stash of beers Marlene had managed to sneak into the cinema, and knew James was acting rashly.

"Dude, what the fuck? Y/n and I were just talking- "

James interrupted Oliver by punching him square in the jaw and I winced. He must have had more to drink than I thought.

"James," I hissed. "Stop it."

Oliver stumbled back a few steps, staring at James with a blaze in his eyes. I feared what he was going to do, and how James would respond, but felt relief when the rest of our friends exited the cinema and spotted the situation we were in.

Instantly they were beside us, staring Oliver down, and the blaze in his eyes flickered out as he realised he was severely outnumbered. He shot a glare my way, like him being in this situation was my fault, and then he turned around and darted away into the empty street and shadows.

I saw James fighting the urge to chase after him and gently grabbed onto his arm, bringing his eyes to mine. I smiled slightly and he seemed to relax, knowing that I was okay. The rest of the people in our friend group were still on edge, so much so that we decided to end the night early.

Dorcas was going home with me, so James, Remus, Peter, Sirius, Dorcas and I all walked along the dark, empty streets of the Muggle town, careful not to stray from the light of the nearby streetlamps.

It was as we were walking that I happened to glance at a café that was still open, the bright lights catching my eye. I looked through the windows, a passing glance, and saw a familiar head of immaculate black curls. Instantly I doubled back, eagerly searching through the café windows, but Regulus was gone.

Was he ever there in the first place? No, he wasn't. Of course he wasn't. Why would he be? I was just a hopeful fool seeing the things I wanted to. With a heavy heart, I continued walking with my friends until we arrived home, where James immediately went to our parents to tell them what had happened between Oliver and I.

I scowled at him, not wanting to be coddled anymore, but my parents were relentless, giving me a cup of tea and biscuits, wrapping me up in a blanket and placing me in front of the fire to warm up. I pretended to hate it, and while a part of me wasn't happy about it, a much larger part was pleased to be cared for and relished in the feeling of motherly love Effie gave me.

Eventually my parents let me go, though, and Dorcas and I escaped to my room where we got ready for bed. It was only when we were both in bed, facing each other as darkness descended, did we start talking.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Dorcas whispered.

I sighed. "Physically? Yes. Mentally... well, let's just say this is a clear sign that my love life is doomed."

Dorcas let out a laugh, and before I knew it we were a giggling mess, shushing each other and failing to stifle our laughter, hoping my parents couldn't hear us.

A/N:

a bit of a heavy chapter this one. 

but the marauders met dorcas finally. and marlene was jealous!