Gift Exchange Fic for the Community
Title: Mischief at the Disco: A Tale in Three Parts
Summary: Remus has been on a scouting mission for the Order, and he relies heavily on his friends' generosity upon his return. Unfortunately, the Marauders' reunion inspires some high spirits and recklessness, and Remus soon finds himself dueling Death Eaters outside a Muggle nightclub.
Characters/Pairings: Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter, and that persistent tagalong Peter Pettigrew
Genre: Gen, Action, Humor
Rating/Warnings: PG-13/Strong language, alcohol, illegal drugs
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 2,928
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: Nah, not this time.
Author’s Note: The story is set sometime during 1979 because I wanted this to be one of the last (if not THE last) happy moment the four of them had before stuff hit the fan. 1979 is likely year that Peter started passing information to the other side, and it’s also the year that Regulus died (which I’m sure had some emotional effect on Sirius, even if he doesn’t want to admit it). It is technically possible - although, I admit, unlikely - that all that started happening after the release of Earth, Wind & Fire’s hit single “Boogie Wonderland.”
London, 1979
“Thanks for letting me stay,” I said, glancing around the small, poorly lit flat. I was trying to sound cheerful, but my voice was very hoarse, and I was sure my appearance looked equally ragged. “It will only be for a couple of months at most.”
Sirius snorted. “Shut up, Moony. You’re staying here as long as you need to, and we both know it’ll be more than a couple of months.”
I paused to give him a gracious smile. “Thanks, mate,” I rasped.
He nodded, serious for just a second before he burst out laughing. “You look like shit!”
“I feel like shit,” I responded, lugging my suitcase further into the flat.
Sirius reached over and snatched the bulky case from me, tossing it into his barely furnished sitting room as if it weighed no more than a lady’s handbag.
“You can deal with that later. I’m putting you up in the bedroom. I’ll take the sofa down here,” he swiftly explained, jerking his head toward the sitting room.
I opened my mouth to protest, but Sirius cut me off.
“Don’t protest. Not yet - I’m not in the mood.”
He strode into a tiny kitchen and I followed, watching in growing curiosity as Sirius tapped a lone, swinging bulb with his wand. A sickly yellow light filled the brown room, and I took a seat at the rickety table. Sirius, meanwhile, went straight to one of the cabinets.
“I went up to Hogsmeade yesterday to get some of your favorite,” he said proudly, producing an unopened bottle of Blishen’s firewhiskey. “Highland reserve!”
I winced. “Er, Sirius, I’m rather exhausted - “
“You can sleep when you’re dead.”
“ - been running around with werewolves for the past three months - “
Sirius had grabbed two incongruously nice crystal tumblers and poured us each a shot of the amber liquid.
“Cheers, Moony,” he said forcefully, and I relented.
I closed my eyes as the whiskey warmed my chest, and I listened to the clinking sound of Sirius pouring me another. I was unbelievably exhausted, and the warmth let me sink into a pleasant delirium. Breathing deeply, I took in the smells of a home: the dusty unswept floors, the stale scent of rashers cooked sometime in the early hours, and that particular combination of soap and sweat that smelled like Sirius. It altogether smelled like a neglected flat and a man who only comes home to sleep, and even then rarely.
I opened my eyes. Sirius was watching me with a hint of concern in his dark eyes, and he seemed even more tensely wound than I remembered.
“You all right?” he asked tersely, taking a sip.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “It’s good to be back. But you’ll need to explain something to me, Padfoot.”
Sirius cocked his head. “Yeah?”
“Why are you living in one of the cheapest flats in London?” I paused, allowing a bark of sharp laughter to punctuate my words. “And secondly, if you must live in the cheapest of flats, why have you decided to forego proper lighting? A couple of lamps would shape this place right up, I reckon.”
Still laughing, Sirius shook his head. “See, that’s why we need you, Moony. No one else knows how to place lamps like you. But anyway,” he continued, gesturing carelessly, “I don’t see the point in buying a huge place. I’m never here anyway. The Order keeps me busy,” he added.
I thought there might be more to it, but I didn’t voice it. I thought Sirius might take a weird sort of pride in living in what seemed like poverty, after the awful, sprawling, antique-stuffed mansion of his childhood.
“How’s that going?” I asked. I was desperate to hear what my friends had been up to while I’d been away, hoping - despite everything - that their lives were somewhat ordinary.
Sirius shrugged sharply. “It keeps us busy,” he repeated. “James and I are fighting full-time, but most of the others have to keep their day jobs. Except good ol’ Mundungus, of course.” We both chuckled, but Sirius’s face grew dark. “What we need is more trackers and spies. James and I have done a bit of stealth recently, but frankly, we’re much more useful in the combat areas.”
“What about Peter?” I asked, trying to push away recent memories of my own work.
“Ha!” Sirius barked. “Useless as always. Set him on a trail, and he’ll always lose it, and that’s when he does accept assignments. The more dark wizards pop up, the busier he gets.”
“Well, St. Mungo’s can’t run without its Welcome Wizard,” I said evenly, schooling my face, and Sirius practically howled.
“You know, Remus?” he said, pouring himself another thumb of whiskey. A pink warmth had blossomed above his stubble. “I’ve missed you.”
“Yeah?” I asked, grinning. “I reckon I’ve missed you too. I haven’t been able to afford good whiskey for months.”
“You bastard!” he crowed, pouring me an alarmingly generous portion. “Yeah, well, I haven’t had anyone to drink good whiskey with for months. James is busy playing house,” he said, and I knew he was trying to sound dismissive. “I expect they’ll invite us over for dinner soon, hopefully after we’ve had a chance to sleep this off.”
He raised his glass, and I followed suit. The crystal clinked, and we both choked back laughter as we downed its dangerous contents. I was sure I’d regret this in the morning.
Godric’s Hollow, two days later
Our invitation indeed soon arrived, but it wasn’t in the hospitable way we imagined. Lily was called on to accompany Emmeline Vance on an evening scouting mission, and she’d expressed concern that James might be vulnerable home alone. She soon regretted voicing her worry, for James promptly invited Sirius and me to stay with him, and safety was generally the last order or business whenever Padfoot and Prongs got together.
“Thanks for keeping them out of trouble,” Lily said to me with a steely smile, and I wisely took this as a warning.
She sent a meaningful look to James as well before stepping outside.
“Have a nice evening,” she said, “and be safe.”
James nodded soberly, and for a moment it seemed like Lily’s forceful tone might be effective. Unfortunately, another guest soon arrived, and his presence (although not always cherished) closed the circle of friendship that had so often led us into trouble.
“We’re all here!” Peter announced delightedly, shaking the Floo out of his sandy hair.
“Can’t you Apparate yet?” Sirius asked him rudely, and Peter shot him an annoyed glance.
James instinctively recovered the mood. “Hey, Pete. We were just discussing Remus’s very talented decorating techniques.”
Sirius and Peter both sniggered, and James turned to give me an appraising look.
“So let me get this straight,” he said, barely containing the laughter in his voice. “You arrived on Friday, and you’ve already cleaned the flat from top to bottom and you bought coordinating lamps and drapes?”
“Well, I didn’t buy them,” I clarified, and Sirius took over.
“I left him a bag of galleons,” he explained, “and this one decided to purchase drapes in a soothing blue palette.”
James nodded. “Impressive. My mum was always going on about how you need a nice woman, Sirius, but really all you need is a Moony.”
Peter cackled, and Sirius shot him a withering look.
“As if you’ll ever find one, Wormtail,” he said, and Peter made a face.
“Actually,” said James, and as usual, we all waited. “How is your lady situation, Peter?”
Our little friend’s face immediately crumpled. “Oh, it’s dreadful,” he moaned. “I’ve become a laughingstock at work.”
“I’m surprised it took this long,” Sirius muttered, but Peter ignored him.
“Everyone thinks I’m shagging Bertha Jorkins!” he wailed.
There was a confused beat of silence, and James frowned. “But you are, yeah?”
“Yes,” Peter said, “but no one’s supposed to know!”
Sirius and I roared with laughter (I honestly couldn’t help it). James, on the other hand, pulled a thoughtful face and began the valiant task of dispensing dating advice to Wormtail.
Predictably, Sirius lost interest immediately and began tapping a rapid beat on the table.
“So,” he soon interrupted. “We’re really just going to sit here all night? Remus is back home, Peter’s apparently got a woman - let’s go out and celebrate, for fuck’s sake.”
“Er,” I began uncertainly. “Isn’t that a bit risky? You and James were trailed by Death Eaters last time you tried to have some fun.”
“That was two years ago,” Sirius said dismissively.
“Exactly,” I countered. “Surely it’s got worse since then.”
James screwed up his face, considering this. “Well, we won’t bring the motorcycle this time,” he reasoned, and my resolve began to wither. “And besides, there are four of us. We’ll be more than a match for our adversaries.”
“And we’ll go someplace the bastards will never suspect,” Sirius added, “like one of those ridiculous Muggle nightclubs.”
“Ooh,” said Peter excitedly. “Like a disco?”
“Only nobody calls them ‘discos’ anymore,” Sirius said, and Peter looked mildly embarrassed.
I glanced around silently at all of them, helplessly hoping that James would come to his senses. My protests alone would be useless. There was a mischievous gleam in James’s eye, however, matched by a devilish glint in Sirius’s own, and I knew that - tonight - Padfoot and Prongs would be up to no good.
London, two hours later
The music was unbelievably loud and unbelievably awful.
“I thought this wasn’t a disco!” I shouted, gesturing widely.
“It’s a nightclub!” Sirius roared back.
“Then what the fuck do you call this ‘Boogie Wonderland’ business?” I was reasonably sure that’s what the shrill, manic song was declaring.
James and Peter didn’t seem to mind the music. In fact, by the childlike glow on their faces, it seemed like they’d never seen anything so wonderful in their lives. James kept pointing out Muggles in atrocious outfits and sending Peter into giggle fits. There were quite enough of them to keep the act going for hours.
“Look!” yelled James, pointing squarely at a very glittery bloke standing barely a meter away. “I need one of those suits - what do you say?” The fellow gave us an obvious sneer, smoothed his skin-tight, metallic gold suit, and sauntered away on his dangerously high-heeled shoes.
“We can’t take them anywhere!” Sirius shouted into my ear, and I winced.
We did look horribly out-of-place, in our ordinary Muggle shirts and trousers, but all the other patrons would have looked horribly out-of-place anywhere else. I noticed only a couple of others dressed in regular clothes, and they looked just as uncomfortable as I felt. Still, there was something oddly soothing about all this. I felt that these Muggle night-clubbers were the sort who wouldn’t care what sort of wild beast I became every month (if they even believed me, which I thought most of them might).
I noticed Sirius had an arm around Peter’s shoulders, and he seemed to be giving him instructions of some kind. Sirius had a particularly wicked look on his face, so I leaned in to hear what kind of awful things he was plotting.
“It’s got nothing to do with the mandrake plant,” Sirius explained as Peter nodded along. “…and if a Muggle tries to give you some, you’ll want to swallow it. It’ll taste awful if you try to chew.”
“Don’t listen to him!” I shouted. “You could become ill!”
“But it sounds wicked!” Peter exclaimed. “I want to dance like those people!”
“Speaking of dancing,” James chimed in. “What the hell are we standing around for?”
I lost sight of my friends as they were swallowed into the chaotic dance floor. I thought I heard one last, “C’mon, Moony!” before I was alone among hundreds. I squeezed through the crowds to reach the bar, where I sipped on a ginger beer, watching the colorful moving picture all around me. Briefly, I felt that someone was watching me, and I caught sight of one of the surly-looking men in ordinary Muggle clothes. He stuck out here in the club, but anywhere else, he would’ve looked so commonplace that it might be impossible to notice him. This unnerved me, but when I glanced back down the bar, the man had disappeared.
I stood and found myself slowly heading toward the club’s exit. I was operating on instinct, but since this instinct had kept me alive thus far, I didn’t question it. Nevertheless, I glanced back at the teeming dance floor, wondering how my friends would possibly know to back me up if I needed them. No, this can’t wait, I told myself. If those men were planning some sort of ambush, I needed to gather information. As I neared the exit, I resolved to wait just inside until my friends decided to come find me.
There was a steady stream of bodies exiting and entering, pushing this way and that, and my senses were overloaded by the touch, smells, and sounds. As I realized my plan might be fruitless, I was suddenly shoved out into the dark alley.
“Come back when you’re better dressed!” somebody jeered, and the door slammed shut, cutting off the light and laughter.
“Lumos,” I breathed, drawing my wand from inside my coat. I illuminated the surly-looking man in the shadows and raised my wand just in time to block a flash of nasty green light.
No sooner had I blocked than another man appeared, raising his wand and preparing to hit me with the same curse.
“Hey! Over here!” a loud voice shouted behind me, and the first man paused just long enough for me to hit him with a stunner. He dropped to the ground immediately, but his partner’s reactions weren’t nearly so sloppy.
As the second man resumed his curse, the shouts behind me became mingled with spell sounds and flashes, and I knew my back-up was now busy with his own fight. This moment seemed to stretch, and my hand moved too slowly. I knew my enemy would get me first.
“STUPEFY!”
A shrill voice cut through the chaos, and I saw a small figure appear (seemingly out of nowhere) behind the man who was about to curse me. My enemy staggered, and I had just enough time to curse Peter’s shoddy spellwork before my friend sent out a second stunner. This one did the trick, and the man dropped to the ground just like the first one.
“Nice work!” I shouted, and Peter sent a salute before shrinking back down into the darkness.
I spun around to join the other fight - there was no time to catch my breath - and saw James and Sirius fighting back-to-back, fiercely and elegantly sparring with three Death Eaters that had encircled them. James sent a red flash straight into one man’s chest, and it hit with such force that the man flew back and fell to the ground with a sickly thump. Sirius laughed, and as I caught sight of him grinning like a deadly maniac, I felt glad that I wasn’t his enemy.
Suddenly, one of the men disappeared, and the other soon followed suit. He popped out of existence just in time, and Sirius’s curse blasted through empty space.
Meanwhile, I heard a telltale groaning behind me, and I turned to see that one of the stunned men had awakened. He’d grabbed hold of his unconscious friend’s arm, and his other hand was tucked inside a coat pocket. His hand seemed to be working on some tiny, unseen object. Suddenly, with a loud whooshing sound, the two men were swept away from danger.
“Fucking cowards!” Sirius shouted.
Peter transformed beside me, puffing from exertion. “Where did they go?” he asked, bewildered.
“One of them had a Portkey,” I answered bitterly. “The others simply Apparated, and it seems they managed to take the one James hit with them - although I don’t think that one’ll be feeling well anytime soon.” I sent James grim smile.
“By the way, how did you all make it out here so quickly?” I asked.
Sirius snorted. “If it were up to these two, we’d all still be dancing. I noticed you’d been gone awhile, so we went to find you. Figured it wasn’t safe for any of us to be wandering around alone,” he shrugged.
“Thanks, mate,” I said meaningfully.
“What were you doing, anyway?” Sirius demanded.
“Well, I noticed those strange fellows hanging around, and I thought they might be planning some sort of ambush - “
“And you decided to walk right into it,” James finished, giving me a teasing grin. “Brilliant, Moony.”
Not one of my finer moments, I had to admit.
“Look,” said James. “Let’s head back. We’re going to Apparate in pairs so that none of us ends up alone even for a second.” He nodded at Sirius and me, and after hooking arms with Peter, the two of them disappeared.
Sirius and I quickly followed, and the four of us reappeared in James and Lily’s kitchen.
“We’ll need to inform the others soon,” James was saying. “If Voldemort’s followers are hanging around Muggle nightclubs now, that proves they’ve become a bit savvier.”
“And the Portkey,” I added. “That’s something new and potentially dangerous.”
Sirius sighed loudly. His eyes were bright, and he still seemed restless from the fight. “I don’t know about you all,” he said, “but I had a bit of fun tonight. I’m thinking of asking Dumbledore to put me on the disco beat.” Despite the dangers - despite everything - his roguish grin was somehow infectious.
“Really, Padfoot?” I asked, feeling myself grinning as well. “Nobody calls them ’discos’ anymore.”
Sirius gave a great shout of laughter, and as it often happened when he laughed, the rest of us couldn’t help joining in. The fight had energized us, and all of us knew the story would be a great hit at the next Order meeting. It was a fact in wizarding Britain that nobody knew how to get into trouble quite as well as the four Marauders.
Jenna//Ravenclaw//98 points
Summary: Remus has been on a scouting mission for the Order, and he relies heavily on his friends' generosity upon his return. Unfortunately, the Marauders' reunion inspires some high spirits and recklessness, and Remus soon finds himself dueling Death Eaters outside a Muggle nightclub.
Characters/Pairings: Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter, and that persistent tagalong Peter Pettigrew
Genre: Gen, Action, Humor
Rating/Warnings: PG-13/Strong language, alcohol, illegal drugs
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 2,928
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: Nah, not this time.
Author’s Note: The story is set sometime during 1979 because I wanted this to be one of the last (if not THE last) happy moment the four of them had before stuff hit the fan. 1979 is likely year that Peter started passing information to the other side, and it’s also the year that Regulus died (which I’m sure had some emotional effect on Sirius, even if he doesn’t want to admit it). It is technically possible - although, I admit, unlikely - that all that started happening after the release of Earth, Wind & Fire’s hit single “Boogie Wonderland.”
London, 1979
“Thanks for letting me stay,” I said, glancing around the small, poorly lit flat. I was trying to sound cheerful, but my voice was very hoarse, and I was sure my appearance looked equally ragged. “It will only be for a couple of months at most.”
Sirius snorted. “Shut up, Moony. You’re staying here as long as you need to, and we both know it’ll be more than a couple of months.”
I paused to give him a gracious smile. “Thanks, mate,” I rasped.
He nodded, serious for just a second before he burst out laughing. “You look like shit!”
“I feel like shit,” I responded, lugging my suitcase further into the flat.
Sirius reached over and snatched the bulky case from me, tossing it into his barely furnished sitting room as if it weighed no more than a lady’s handbag.
“You can deal with that later. I’m putting you up in the bedroom. I’ll take the sofa down here,” he swiftly explained, jerking his head toward the sitting room.
I opened my mouth to protest, but Sirius cut me off.
“Don’t protest. Not yet - I’m not in the mood.”
He strode into a tiny kitchen and I followed, watching in growing curiosity as Sirius tapped a lone, swinging bulb with his wand. A sickly yellow light filled the brown room, and I took a seat at the rickety table. Sirius, meanwhile, went straight to one of the cabinets.
“I went up to Hogsmeade yesterday to get some of your favorite,” he said proudly, producing an unopened bottle of Blishen’s firewhiskey. “Highland reserve!”
I winced. “Er, Sirius, I’m rather exhausted - “
“You can sleep when you’re dead.”
“ - been running around with werewolves for the past three months - “
Sirius had grabbed two incongruously nice crystal tumblers and poured us each a shot of the amber liquid.
“Cheers, Moony,” he said forcefully, and I relented.
I closed my eyes as the whiskey warmed my chest, and I listened to the clinking sound of Sirius pouring me another. I was unbelievably exhausted, and the warmth let me sink into a pleasant delirium. Breathing deeply, I took in the smells of a home: the dusty unswept floors, the stale scent of rashers cooked sometime in the early hours, and that particular combination of soap and sweat that smelled like Sirius. It altogether smelled like a neglected flat and a man who only comes home to sleep, and even then rarely.
I opened my eyes. Sirius was watching me with a hint of concern in his dark eyes, and he seemed even more tensely wound than I remembered.
“You all right?” he asked tersely, taking a sip.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “It’s good to be back. But you’ll need to explain something to me, Padfoot.”
Sirius cocked his head. “Yeah?”
“Why are you living in one of the cheapest flats in London?” I paused, allowing a bark of sharp laughter to punctuate my words. “And secondly, if you must live in the cheapest of flats, why have you decided to forego proper lighting? A couple of lamps would shape this place right up, I reckon.”
Still laughing, Sirius shook his head. “See, that’s why we need you, Moony. No one else knows how to place lamps like you. But anyway,” he continued, gesturing carelessly, “I don’t see the point in buying a huge place. I’m never here anyway. The Order keeps me busy,” he added.
I thought there might be more to it, but I didn’t voice it. I thought Sirius might take a weird sort of pride in living in what seemed like poverty, after the awful, sprawling, antique-stuffed mansion of his childhood.
“How’s that going?” I asked. I was desperate to hear what my friends had been up to while I’d been away, hoping - despite everything - that their lives were somewhat ordinary.
Sirius shrugged sharply. “It keeps us busy,” he repeated. “James and I are fighting full-time, but most of the others have to keep their day jobs. Except good ol’ Mundungus, of course.” We both chuckled, but Sirius’s face grew dark. “What we need is more trackers and spies. James and I have done a bit of stealth recently, but frankly, we’re much more useful in the combat areas.”
“What about Peter?” I asked, trying to push away recent memories of my own work.
“Ha!” Sirius barked. “Useless as always. Set him on a trail, and he’ll always lose it, and that’s when he does accept assignments. The more dark wizards pop up, the busier he gets.”
“Well, St. Mungo’s can’t run without its Welcome Wizard,” I said evenly, schooling my face, and Sirius practically howled.
“You know, Remus?” he said, pouring himself another thumb of whiskey. A pink warmth had blossomed above his stubble. “I’ve missed you.”
“Yeah?” I asked, grinning. “I reckon I’ve missed you too. I haven’t been able to afford good whiskey for months.”
“You bastard!” he crowed, pouring me an alarmingly generous portion. “Yeah, well, I haven’t had anyone to drink good whiskey with for months. James is busy playing house,” he said, and I knew he was trying to sound dismissive. “I expect they’ll invite us over for dinner soon, hopefully after we’ve had a chance to sleep this off.”
He raised his glass, and I followed suit. The crystal clinked, and we both choked back laughter as we downed its dangerous contents. I was sure I’d regret this in the morning.
Godric’s Hollow, two days later
Our invitation indeed soon arrived, but it wasn’t in the hospitable way we imagined. Lily was called on to accompany Emmeline Vance on an evening scouting mission, and she’d expressed concern that James might be vulnerable home alone. She soon regretted voicing her worry, for James promptly invited Sirius and me to stay with him, and safety was generally the last order or business whenever Padfoot and Prongs got together.
“Thanks for keeping them out of trouble,” Lily said to me with a steely smile, and I wisely took this as a warning.
She sent a meaningful look to James as well before stepping outside.
“Have a nice evening,” she said, “and be safe.”
James nodded soberly, and for a moment it seemed like Lily’s forceful tone might be effective. Unfortunately, another guest soon arrived, and his presence (although not always cherished) closed the circle of friendship that had so often led us into trouble.
“We’re all here!” Peter announced delightedly, shaking the Floo out of his sandy hair.
“Can’t you Apparate yet?” Sirius asked him rudely, and Peter shot him an annoyed glance.
James instinctively recovered the mood. “Hey, Pete. We were just discussing Remus’s very talented decorating techniques.”
Sirius and Peter both sniggered, and James turned to give me an appraising look.
“So let me get this straight,” he said, barely containing the laughter in his voice. “You arrived on Friday, and you’ve already cleaned the flat from top to bottom and you bought coordinating lamps and drapes?”
“Well, I didn’t buy them,” I clarified, and Sirius took over.
“I left him a bag of galleons,” he explained, “and this one decided to purchase drapes in a soothing blue palette.”
James nodded. “Impressive. My mum was always going on about how you need a nice woman, Sirius, but really all you need is a Moony.”
Peter cackled, and Sirius shot him a withering look.
“As if you’ll ever find one, Wormtail,” he said, and Peter made a face.
“Actually,” said James, and as usual, we all waited. “How is your lady situation, Peter?”
Our little friend’s face immediately crumpled. “Oh, it’s dreadful,” he moaned. “I’ve become a laughingstock at work.”
“I’m surprised it took this long,” Sirius muttered, but Peter ignored him.
“Everyone thinks I’m shagging Bertha Jorkins!” he wailed.
There was a confused beat of silence, and James frowned. “But you are, yeah?”
“Yes,” Peter said, “but no one’s supposed to know!”
Sirius and I roared with laughter (I honestly couldn’t help it). James, on the other hand, pulled a thoughtful face and began the valiant task of dispensing dating advice to Wormtail.
Predictably, Sirius lost interest immediately and began tapping a rapid beat on the table.
“So,” he soon interrupted. “We’re really just going to sit here all night? Remus is back home, Peter’s apparently got a woman - let’s go out and celebrate, for fuck’s sake.”
“Er,” I began uncertainly. “Isn’t that a bit risky? You and James were trailed by Death Eaters last time you tried to have some fun.”
“That was two years ago,” Sirius said dismissively.
“Exactly,” I countered. “Surely it’s got worse since then.”
James screwed up his face, considering this. “Well, we won’t bring the motorcycle this time,” he reasoned, and my resolve began to wither. “And besides, there are four of us. We’ll be more than a match for our adversaries.”
“And we’ll go someplace the bastards will never suspect,” Sirius added, “like one of those ridiculous Muggle nightclubs.”
“Ooh,” said Peter excitedly. “Like a disco?”
“Only nobody calls them ‘discos’ anymore,” Sirius said, and Peter looked mildly embarrassed.
I glanced around silently at all of them, helplessly hoping that James would come to his senses. My protests alone would be useless. There was a mischievous gleam in James’s eye, however, matched by a devilish glint in Sirius’s own, and I knew that - tonight - Padfoot and Prongs would be up to no good.
London, two hours later
The music was unbelievably loud and unbelievably awful.
“I thought this wasn’t a disco!” I shouted, gesturing widely.
“It’s a nightclub!” Sirius roared back.
“Then what the fuck do you call this ‘Boogie Wonderland’ business?” I was reasonably sure that’s what the shrill, manic song was declaring.
James and Peter didn’t seem to mind the music. In fact, by the childlike glow on their faces, it seemed like they’d never seen anything so wonderful in their lives. James kept pointing out Muggles in atrocious outfits and sending Peter into giggle fits. There were quite enough of them to keep the act going for hours.
“Look!” yelled James, pointing squarely at a very glittery bloke standing barely a meter away. “I need one of those suits - what do you say?” The fellow gave us an obvious sneer, smoothed his skin-tight, metallic gold suit, and sauntered away on his dangerously high-heeled shoes.
“We can’t take them anywhere!” Sirius shouted into my ear, and I winced.
We did look horribly out-of-place, in our ordinary Muggle shirts and trousers, but all the other patrons would have looked horribly out-of-place anywhere else. I noticed only a couple of others dressed in regular clothes, and they looked just as uncomfortable as I felt. Still, there was something oddly soothing about all this. I felt that these Muggle night-clubbers were the sort who wouldn’t care what sort of wild beast I became every month (if they even believed me, which I thought most of them might).
I noticed Sirius had an arm around Peter’s shoulders, and he seemed to be giving him instructions of some kind. Sirius had a particularly wicked look on his face, so I leaned in to hear what kind of awful things he was plotting.
“It’s got nothing to do with the mandrake plant,” Sirius explained as Peter nodded along. “…and if a Muggle tries to give you some, you’ll want to swallow it. It’ll taste awful if you try to chew.”
“Don’t listen to him!” I shouted. “You could become ill!”
“But it sounds wicked!” Peter exclaimed. “I want to dance like those people!”
“Speaking of dancing,” James chimed in. “What the hell are we standing around for?”
I lost sight of my friends as they were swallowed into the chaotic dance floor. I thought I heard one last, “C’mon, Moony!” before I was alone among hundreds. I squeezed through the crowds to reach the bar, where I sipped on a ginger beer, watching the colorful moving picture all around me. Briefly, I felt that someone was watching me, and I caught sight of one of the surly-looking men in ordinary Muggle clothes. He stuck out here in the club, but anywhere else, he would’ve looked so commonplace that it might be impossible to notice him. This unnerved me, but when I glanced back down the bar, the man had disappeared.
I stood and found myself slowly heading toward the club’s exit. I was operating on instinct, but since this instinct had kept me alive thus far, I didn’t question it. Nevertheless, I glanced back at the teeming dance floor, wondering how my friends would possibly know to back me up if I needed them. No, this can’t wait, I told myself. If those men were planning some sort of ambush, I needed to gather information. As I neared the exit, I resolved to wait just inside until my friends decided to come find me.
There was a steady stream of bodies exiting and entering, pushing this way and that, and my senses were overloaded by the touch, smells, and sounds. As I realized my plan might be fruitless, I was suddenly shoved out into the dark alley.
“Come back when you’re better dressed!” somebody jeered, and the door slammed shut, cutting off the light and laughter.
“Lumos,” I breathed, drawing my wand from inside my coat. I illuminated the surly-looking man in the shadows and raised my wand just in time to block a flash of nasty green light.
No sooner had I blocked than another man appeared, raising his wand and preparing to hit me with the same curse.
“Hey! Over here!” a loud voice shouted behind me, and the first man paused just long enough for me to hit him with a stunner. He dropped to the ground immediately, but his partner’s reactions weren’t nearly so sloppy.
As the second man resumed his curse, the shouts behind me became mingled with spell sounds and flashes, and I knew my back-up was now busy with his own fight. This moment seemed to stretch, and my hand moved too slowly. I knew my enemy would get me first.
“STUPEFY!”
A shrill voice cut through the chaos, and I saw a small figure appear (seemingly out of nowhere) behind the man who was about to curse me. My enemy staggered, and I had just enough time to curse Peter’s shoddy spellwork before my friend sent out a second stunner. This one did the trick, and the man dropped to the ground just like the first one.
“Nice work!” I shouted, and Peter sent a salute before shrinking back down into the darkness.
I spun around to join the other fight - there was no time to catch my breath - and saw James and Sirius fighting back-to-back, fiercely and elegantly sparring with three Death Eaters that had encircled them. James sent a red flash straight into one man’s chest, and it hit with such force that the man flew back and fell to the ground with a sickly thump. Sirius laughed, and as I caught sight of him grinning like a deadly maniac, I felt glad that I wasn’t his enemy.
Suddenly, one of the men disappeared, and the other soon followed suit. He popped out of existence just in time, and Sirius’s curse blasted through empty space.
Meanwhile, I heard a telltale groaning behind me, and I turned to see that one of the stunned men had awakened. He’d grabbed hold of his unconscious friend’s arm, and his other hand was tucked inside a coat pocket. His hand seemed to be working on some tiny, unseen object. Suddenly, with a loud whooshing sound, the two men were swept away from danger.
“Fucking cowards!” Sirius shouted.
Peter transformed beside me, puffing from exertion. “Where did they go?” he asked, bewildered.
“One of them had a Portkey,” I answered bitterly. “The others simply Apparated, and it seems they managed to take the one James hit with them - although I don’t think that one’ll be feeling well anytime soon.” I sent James grim smile.
“By the way, how did you all make it out here so quickly?” I asked.
Sirius snorted. “If it were up to these two, we’d all still be dancing. I noticed you’d been gone awhile, so we went to find you. Figured it wasn’t safe for any of us to be wandering around alone,” he shrugged.
“Thanks, mate,” I said meaningfully.
“What were you doing, anyway?” Sirius demanded.
“Well, I noticed those strange fellows hanging around, and I thought they might be planning some sort of ambush - “
“And you decided to walk right into it,” James finished, giving me a teasing grin. “Brilliant, Moony.”
Not one of my finer moments, I had to admit.
“Look,” said James. “Let’s head back. We’re going to Apparate in pairs so that none of us ends up alone even for a second.” He nodded at Sirius and me, and after hooking arms with Peter, the two of them disappeared.
Sirius and I quickly followed, and the four of us reappeared in James and Lily’s kitchen.
“We’ll need to inform the others soon,” James was saying. “If Voldemort’s followers are hanging around Muggle nightclubs now, that proves they’ve become a bit savvier.”
“And the Portkey,” I added. “That’s something new and potentially dangerous.”
Sirius sighed loudly. His eyes were bright, and he still seemed restless from the fight. “I don’t know about you all,” he said, “but I had a bit of fun tonight. I’m thinking of asking Dumbledore to put me on the disco beat.” Despite the dangers - despite everything - his roguish grin was somehow infectious.
“Really, Padfoot?” I asked, feeling myself grinning as well. “Nobody calls them ’discos’ anymore.”
Sirius gave a great shout of laughter, and as it often happened when he laughed, the rest of us couldn’t help joining in. The fight had energized us, and all of us knew the story would be a great hit at the next Order meeting. It was a fact in wizarding Britain that nobody knew how to get into trouble quite as well as the four Marauders.
Jenna//Ravenclaw//98 points