Chapter Text
If Lily hadn’t dragged James and Sirius out to the new club on that Friday night, Sirius would have had the chance to just lay in bed, maybe browse through some figure skating journals, preferably while sipping a hot toddy, and listening to their favorite Norah Jones LP's; something they had planned and had been looking forward to for quite a few days now.
That wonderful plan had finally manifested after that Wednesday afternoon’s practice. Sirius had been bent over tying the laces of their skates when they’d overheard a girl from their group chatting with another colleague. She had just moved into the city with her parents a few months before, and was excited to be invited to the Black's annual Christmas party.
Sirius had first spoken to the girl just a few days prior. The two of them had been standing in front of their lockers just after practice and both had agreed that the weather was far too cold for them to brave just yet. They’d grinned at each other when Sirius had suggested getting a hot cup of something at the ice-skating arena’s run-down caféteria before the inevitable freezing-of-the-toes. The girl immediately was all for it.
At that point though, she hadn't mentioned anything about her family. Thinking back later, Sirius guessed that the reason it hadn’t come up on their little date was because they always tried to steer conversations away from topics involving family and all the bullshit that Sirius experienced from theirs. Especially with people they'd only just met.
When Sirius heard about her invitation to the Blacks' party, they grimaced. The invitation had to mean that she too came from a wealthy - and probably dysfunctional - family. The only difference was that she apparently still lived with her parents. Sirius, on the other hand, had just celebrated the first anniversary of the night when they finally ran away from their toxic family two weeks before.
Regarding her and her family's invitation to the Black's party, had they known about her heritage before, they'd have guessed as much.
As soon as Sirius' parents heard so much as whispers and rumors of another we're-too-good-for-anyone family moving into their city, they'd go out of their way to form an attachment to them. Yet another family to enlarge the group of people the Blacks could benefit from and control.
Thus, Sirius had essentially lost another perfectly nice person and potential friend to their family.
Great.
Just...great.
So that Friday, sulking in their own misery, Sirius only just registered the ringing of the doorbell when the person ringing it – probably James – began to actually lean on the doorbell.
Sirius huffed at their reflection in the mirror of the dressing table. The bell had startled them so suddenly that their hand had slipped and messed up their attempt at a winged eyeliner. Swearing to themself under their breath, Sirius got up to buzz James and Lily into the apartment complex where Sirius lived with their uncle.
That was another splendid little detail of Sirius’ chaotic life.
Sirius had run away from “home” during Christmas break. Since they couldn't go back to Hogwarts just yet, the only other option back then was to seek refuge with the Potters, who took Sirius in without a second thought. During the last week of Christmas break spent at the Potters, Sirius felt supported and loved unconditionally by James' parents. By the time Sirius' parents got wind of where they were, they had already returned back to school. After that Sirius’ parents only got in touch with them once – well, more indirectly actually as Sirius’d merely received a legal notice that they'd been disinherited and disowned.
Naturally, it had come as a shock when, weeks before they themself. Sirius received word that their parents had managed to find a way to put their oar in once more, despite the estrangement. The judge overseeing Sirius' case, unfortunately dubiously befriended with their parents, had enacted that Sirius would be prohibited from moving in with James and his parents until they reached legal age. Until then, Sirius was ordered to move in with their uncle. While Uncle Alphard was quite frankly a major improvement from their parents, it was still frustrating to know that the Blacks still had means of interfering with Sirius' life.
With James' calming company and Lily's practical mind and their combined comfort, Sirius’ friends managed to help them install themself in Alphard's life, apartment, and presence in a way they felt comfortable with. Alphard owned a big lofty apartment in a complex formerly used as an industrial building. The apartment was crammed full of Alphard's art pieces – big canvas paintings, sculptures, and odd bits of nonsense that naturally accumulate in an eccentric artist's life like the one Alphard lived. He’d luckily already had a spare room that he never used, and it had turned into Sirius' own little private haven within just a few days. James and Lily of course played a huge role in that achievement; the three of them spent countless days leading up to Sirius moving in rummaging through flea markets in London. The result was Sirius' room looking cozy, lived-in, and unmistakably Sirius-y.
Now, at the persistent sound of the doorbell, Sirius crossed from their bedroom to the door by sliding with their thick wool socks across the old hardwood floor, skidding to a halt just in front of the door. Before they had even unlocked all the chain locks and slid all the bar latches open, they could already see the huge grin of one James Potter through the narrow crack.
“Hey ace! Ready to show off our dance moves? Hit the town?” James hollered once the door swung fully open. He bounced on his toes, and with the last word and a gleeful jump, he was standing inside the apartment, immediately enveloping Sirius in a warm hug.
“Mhhm you smell good! Cinnamony, kinda!” James said as he let go of Sirius and squeezed past them into their room.
With their eyebrows raised high on their forehead and a kind of bemused and affectionate look on their face, Sirius turned back to Lily who was stepping into the apartment too. She stood on her toes a bit to kiss them softly on the cheek.
“Hi, love. Good to see you,” she said with a smile, letting her warm lips linger just under their ear a tad longer.
Lily toed off her sneakers, holding on to Sirius' arm for balance, then slid her hand down their arm to intertwine her fingers with theirs. James had already made himself comfortable upon entering Sirius' room. He lounged on the bed, leaning against the headboard. From there, he glanced at them and registered Sirius' & Lily's hand-holding with a soft smile.
Lily squeezed Sirius' hand comfortingly one last time before releasing it, and proceeded to flop down on their bed as well.
“You guys want something to drink?” Sirius waved their hands at them, gesturing from one to the other, while eying the mess they'd made on their table top full of make-up.
“I could whip up some hot cocoa for you real quick! I treated myself to a nice cup of cocoa before you turned up. I could make you some if you-”
“Don't bother. I've already helped myself.”
That and hearing an obnoxious slurping sound coming from James' direction made Sirius lift their head to look at James to see that he had indeed already helped himself. Smirking over the rim of Sirius' still half-full cup, James glanced over at Sirius before cheekily taking another sip.
“Just so you know, since that one's mine, it has vegan milk in it.” Sirius smirked winningly as they saw James slowly consider his options. Apparently, he ruled out spitting the sip he’d just taken back into the mug as he slowly swallowing it down with a sour expression on his face.
“Thank you,” Sirius replied cheerfully as they took the mug that James offered back to them. They then plopped down on the chair in front of their dressing table, planning to resume the applying-of-make-up.
Sirius was wearing a slightly oversized Led Zeppelin band tee, messily tucked into a cherry red, pleated leather, high-waist skirt. The skirt's length and form perfectly accentuated Sirius' thin waist and their stature, forming an elegant hour-glass form. The skirt ended at the middle of Sirius' thighs – the rest of their delicately muscled legs were displayed in petrol colored tights, with just the right amount of holes and tears scattered across them to make them look artfully edgy. To complete the look, Sirius wore their black second-hand boots and James’ new college jacket he sometimes let them borrow.
After Lily freshened up her own make-up and helped Sirius apply their eyeliner – a task made a lot easier if you let a friend do it – they were ready to head out.
When they were walking past the considerably long line of waiting people in front of the new club, Sirius noticed some of them (mostly the feminine looking ones) cast a skeptical if not condescending look into Lily's direction.
Sirius had always admired Lily - ever since the day their paths first crossed during their third school week. She was only about 12 years old when one day, smack in the middle of the corridor during a morning break, she marched up to some kids who were constantly bullying and harassing Pandora Lovegood. Sirius had watched Lily with big eyes as she positioned herself right in front of those kids, head held high and hands on her hips, and gave them a lecture on basic morals and simple human decency. Sirius immediately recognized her as the strong-minded, courageous and independent individual she was – traits she confidently carried outwards and always visible. In the way she smiled, the way she talked, the way she walked and the way she dressed.
Tonight she was wearing a baggy, olive colored, washed-out dungaree, a t-shirt, her favorite plaid shirt borrowed from James, and her age-old sneakers, almost worn to threads.
Frankly, the door men of the clubs they frequented wouldn't let her in dressed like that had she not somehow known all of them personally. The bouncer of the new club they were now standing in front of just grinned at her, undid the rope before the entrance for them, and let them inside. Sirius always loved moments like this - they knew without really having to look that all the other people (especially the ones who so blatantly eyed Lily before) were gaping at them.
Inside the crowded club, Sirius, Lily, and James let the constant flow and movement of the masses around them guide and push them, finally finding themselves stranded at one of the sparse, unoccupied bar tables.
“Drinks?” Lily shouted over the music, shooting a questioning look at James and Sirius.
Both of them nodded.
“Beer?” she suggested with a shrug.
While James blew her an appreciative kiss, Sirius gave her a quick thumbs up.
Sirius, having secured themself the spot at their table with their back against the wall, scanned the area, particularly the dance floor. They hadn't gone out in the last three weeks, with all the family drama and their practice demanding most of their time and energy. So it was only too understandable that Sirius could already feel their feet itching, their heart pumping in the same rhythm as the music, their head spinning with excitement and anticipation. Moving their body, letting go, giving themself over to the music, to move within it - that had always been Sirius’ foolproof way of detaching from all the heavy thoughts. It was their own favorite kind of therapy, in a way.
After Lily returned and they had all gulped down the bubbly and delightfully bitter drinks she brought, all three of them exchanged a look before diving into the swaying, moving and jumping crowd. Linked together by their hands, they didn't let go until Lily stopped at approximately the middle of the dance floor and turned around to face James with a satisfied grin. She didn't hesitate then to draw him closer to her, splaying her hands over his hips and swaying lightly into his direction.
Sirius, who trailed just behind James, shot them an amused and affectionate glance before closing their eyes and starting to sway too, to the sound of the music.
Sirius normally wasn't the type to listen to overtly rock-y/punk-y and energetic music when the situation didn't demand it. They loved getting enveloped by the fine melody and voices of such people as Norah Jones, Van Morrison and Eva Cassidy - for example, when sitting on a bus, idly getting about the city, or when in one of their rather melancholic moods.
However, when it came to fresh mornings while preparing omelets, or when in a particularly silly mood with James and Lily with them - or like right now, damp, sweat- and alcohol-saturated air and a floor under their feet thrumming with the beat and the movement of the people covering it, Sirius definitely could appreciate a good upbeat dance mix.
And right now, the lyrics to a remixed version of 'Dancing With Myself' by Billy Idol were feeding into Sirius' veins, making their body jerk. Sirius sensed the people surrounding them, slamming and pushing against them, before completely losing themself in it.
Sirius only arose back into full consciousness when the last beats of the fourth song evaporated. Registering the last remnants of the full vibrations under their feet, they blinked their eyes open, their sight catching on James and Lily beside them: covered in sweat, cheeks flushed and with nearly manic grins plastered on their face. It was only then that Sirius, momentarily shaken out of their music-induced delirium, realized that they couldn't really remember the last time they got so carried away by music during a night out. In fact, they thought, it probably hadn't ever happened. Normally, Sirius only ever achieved that feeling of a total high when they were in the ice skating rink practicing some elaborate choreography – and even then, that special state of mind never lasted longer than 5 minutes. That was usually when Sirius became conscious again of the possibility of the people around watching them, also occupying the public ice skating arena.
People. Yeah. Funny, and kind of weird actually, that Sirius' high just then on the dance floor had probably lasted a lot longer than 5 minutes. And just like in the public ice skating arena, there were people on the dance floor too. Lots more people.
Maybe it was different because it had been so damn long since the last time Sirius got the chance to dance the night away. The (admittedly good) choice of music could have played a part in it too, Sirius mused. Remembering to thank Lily for dragging them to that new club after all, they let their eyes skim over the crowd. Didn't Lily mention that the club was apparently the newest rage because it was one of the few in their district with a live DJ?
Sirius continued searching for the DJ's booth until they finally located it at the far right end of the club, about 3 meters above the ground. The dim and woozy blinking light illuminated the corner and the person standing there, bent over the mixer, with their headphones sitting askew on their head, just barely covering one ear. Unruly, short locks, tinged with a blue hue from the laser lights, were sticking out from under and around the band of the headphones. Dispite the distance, Sirius could also make out that the DJ was clearly immersed in their task at hand, one side of their bottom lip tucked slightly between their teeth. Sirius gulped at the sight of the sleeves of the DJ’s possibly black button-down shirt, rolled up to their elbows – always one of Sirius' weaknesses.
Sirius watched as milky-white forearms were reaching different buttons. As the music resumed, the tunes flowing seamlessly together as a new song picked up. Sirius' eyes, still mainly fixed on the DJ, suddenly caught movement from out of their corner. Slowly, Sirius' gaze sharpened and zeroed in on James standing before them, their eyes registering the movement of James' lips a few seconds later. Finally emerging from their haze, Sirius shook their head and managed to (seemingly nonchalantly) cock an eyebrow in a questioning manner.
Painfully slowly, a knowing grin stretched across James' face. He leaned closer, with his mouth just next to Sirius' ear.
“Saw something you like, huh?”
At that Sirius chanced the quickest glance back at the DJ. Apparently not quick enough though. Both Lily and James turned around, and without much difficulty detected the source of Sirius' temporary lack of responsiveness.
Swiveling back around, Lily now had an unmistakably mischievous grin on her face too, though her grin was more crooked and her eyes half-lidded as she approvingly nodded at Sirius. James jabbed her playfully in the ribs with his elbow. He glanced around, taking both Lily's and Sirius' hands and dragged them in the direction of the bar. Leaning over the counter of the bar slightly, James ordered them a round of shots before shifting so that he could rest with his back against the counter. The smirk he sent in Sirius' direction was one his best mate knew all too well. It was one of cheekiness, impishness, a kind of scheming grin.