September 1971
September had finished just as it started.
There was nothing else of note – besides the growing friendship between Peter, Remus, James and Sirius.
But there was one incident of note.
September 15th was the birthday of a girl in First year. Mary Macdonald, who was the friend of Evans.
Peter had caught wind that the girls were going to have a small celebration.
And really, when he had told the other boys this, they should’ve forgotten about it after.
But they didn’t.
“Hmm, Macdonald. Nah, probably a muggle.” Sirius guessed, not looking up from his textbook.
“I was thinking of getting her something. Chocolates maybe.” confessed Peter.
All three boys raised their heads to look at Peter, mouths slightly agape.
“Why?!” Remus was the first to ask.
Peter looked around nervously, before making each boy promise they wouldn’t tell anyone.
“I… I sort of like her…” he squeaked.
James looked at him, with disbelief. Sirius seemed to be holding back a roar of laughter and Remus was trying to figure out why he liked her.
“Well… By all means… Do give her the chocolates then…” James had said, though, his eyes narrowed.
“Because nothing says “I have a crush on you” more than chocolates” Sirius added, before breaking into giggles. Remus elbowed him, before showing support for Peter.
“I think it’s great you’ve found someone.”
Peter nodded, before returning back to his game of chess.
Sirius walked over from where he was sitting on the floor with Remus and plopped down onto the couch where James was.
“Do you reckon she’ll like him back?” Sirius asked. He spoke quietly, with a somber tone.
James was going to say, “who wouldn’t” but he paused.
“No.” he whispered back, feeling guilty.
Sirius hummed, before telling James if she broke Peter’s heart, he’d hammer a nail in hers.
“I’ll bring the hammer.” James grinned.
-
And so, 15th September had rolled around.
Peter had spent the previous day finding the perfect chocolate and writing a simple “Happy birthday” card. Sirius had done the cursive lettering, revealing he had been forced to learn it.
And so, during break, they accompanied Peter to where Evans, McKinnon and Macdonald were sitting. Remus was tasked with the responsibility of requesting Macdonald on behalf of Peter.
It was all going to plan.
Macdonald had agreed with Remus’s request and was following him to a secluded area where Peter was standing, a bag of chocolates and a card in his hands. James and Sirius were crouching behind some bushes, watching eagerly.
Remus joined the pair, and they all watched Peter and Macdonald.
Peter handed her the bags of chocolate and card, which she opened immediately. Her eyes darted over the small, sweet message and she broke into a smile. She said something to Pete, which neither of them could decipher. But it really must’ve been something Peter wanted to hear because he reddened slightly. Macdonald opened the bag of chocolates and took one out. Carefully, she unwrapped it and broke it in half. Then, she offered halfway to Peter and ate the other. She put the remaining sweets in her pocket and told him something, before walking off.
As soon as there was some distance between her and Peter, James, Sirius and Remus scrambled towards Peter. They assaulted him with a variety of questions, their hunger gnawing at them.
Peter kept smiling, saying he couldn’t possibly tell them.
But he did reveal one thing.
“She’s invited me to her small party.”
-
“It’s completely unfair, unjust, blasphemous!”
“It’s really not that bad…”
“We’re his friends! We should be a part of the invite!”
“Don’t know if you’re really his friend or foe…”
Sirius glared at Remus, who stuck his tongue out him.
“It’s her birthday Sirius. Who are we to just crash?” James didn’t mind not being invited.
Sirius complained some more, but once he saw James and Remus not care, he gave up.
James thought he could get through the evening and night, but alas, Sirius had other plans.
-
“That’s a wicked plan! No really, it’s wicked, bad wicked!” Remus protested.
“Either you’re in, or you’re out!” Sirius stated.
Remus looked at James, expecting him to be on his side. But James didn’t think it was too bad of a plan. Harmless fun at most.
“I’m in.”
Remus plainly told them they were idiots looking for trouble, before going back to his essay.
“What a bore. Anyways, I’ve noticed that all the ceilings in the boy’s room have vents, so the same should be for the girls. We just need to crawl through the ceiling space, and I’ll cast the spell.”
“Crawl through the ceiling?”
James shuddered at that thought, thinking of cobwebs and spiders. Who knew what was up there or when it was last cleaned.
And that’s how James Potter and Sirius Black found themselves in a dusty space, sneezing and coughing constantly.
It was a tight fit and a struggle to get through.
They’d been using Lumos to help see better and every few minutes, Sirius would mark an area with magic.
“Should remain as long as I hold my concentration” he assured an wary James.
Finally, they’d reach their first vent.
They peered inside and didn’t see Peter or the others.
Though, they did see a girl undressing, before James urged Sirius on, embarrassed.
It was the third vent which belonged to the room Macdonald was in.
Sirius shifted, and pulled out his wand.
“Flamma Evansco!”
This spell would make it so every time Macdonald would light a birthday candle, it would fizzle out.
“Dulcis Evapora!”
The second spell made it so every time Macdonald reached for a slice of cake, it’d disappear and appear right before Sirius and James.
Finally, Sirius cast the last spell.
“Anaticula Vox!”
Any time someone would say “Happy Birthday Mary”, their voice would turn the words into a loud duck quack instead.
“Bloody hell. Where’d you learn all these…” James murmured.
“House of Black values spell casting above all else.” Responded Sirius.
Both pairs of eyes were glued to the scene in front of them. And it wasn’t long before all the spells were put in place.
-
James and Sirius doubled over in laughter hearing McKinnon quack again and again. Even Peter couldn’t help himself, pretending to cough when really, he was chortling. Evans looked infuriated and kept comforting Macdonald.
James took another helping of cake.
They had accumulated over three pieces now, and if they continued consuming the cakes, they’d be on a sugar high.
“But who would do something so cruel!” Macdonald cried.
“Someone who’s clearly jealous of you. That Butterbell’s family is known for their cruel jokes. And she’s taken a disliking to you.” Lily tried to help, but Macdonald seemed even more distraught.
James and Sirius kept trying to stay quiet but were failing, miserably.
And when McKinnon had directly looked into the vent, they decided that was their cue to rush back to their dorm room.
“Oi, hurry Sirius! Find the markings!” But Sirius who had been loud moments earlier, sobered up and now was quiet.
“Their gone.”
“What’s gone?”
“The markings.”
Silence.
“When I was laughing I- “
“You lost concentration and-“
“And the markings disappeared.”
“Fuck.” James cursed.
“Fuck, indeed.”
-
After aimlessly crawling around, an idea came to James.
“What if you cast a spell that created a hole we could slip through?”
James couldn’t see Sirius’s face, but he hoped he wore a look of hope.
“Suppose we could try. Move back a bit.”
James did, but it wasn’t as much Sirius expected, because he managed to hit James on his head.
“Watch it!”
“I am!”
But as Sirius moved again, he shrieked.
“Spider!”
Sirius clambered on top of James, who was trying to move.
They struggled against each other, both freaked out by the spider.
It didn’t take long for the ceiling to cave against their weight.
-
“-Never in my decades at this school have I seen something like this!” McGonagoll yelled. She was in her robe, her hair a mess and she looked beyond tired.
“Wipe that smirk of your face! Both of you!” she instructed, disapproving of them both.
They’d wound up in the Ravenclaw common room, much to the surprise of the head-of-house who was called in to separate a fight.
Flitwick had them sent to McGonagall right after taking away 50 house points from each of them.
Sirius and James had walked the entire way, clutching their stomachs from how much it pained from their laughs.
McGonagoll wasn’t impressed one bit.
“You both are to serve detention for a month, and put another toe out of line, and you’ll be out of here before you can do another act such as this!”
They were then told to go straight to their dorms.
“I think she likes us.” Sirius winked at James, as soon as the door was closed.
“We’re her favorite I’m guessing” James winked back.
The whole way, they kept talking and talking and talking, despite portraits who were sleeping telling them to stop. They made faces back at them, James finding a new talent.
And when Peter had asked where Sirius and James had been after they came back, they sniggered.
That earned them a shoe to the head from Remus who was under the covers trying to get some sleep.
“How was the party, Pete?” James inquired, knowing full well it was a bust.
It was the best 15th September they had in a while.