November 3, 1976

"Why did no one tell me that it was his birthday until there are literally seven minutes until the party?" Anneliese shrieked, looking furiously at the Marauders.

"Sirius told us not to tell you," Remus said with a simple shrug. "So we didn't."

Anneliese turned furiously to Black, who was looking very hard to be mad at the moment.

He was wearing a dark ink colored shirt that had one too many buttons undone, along with a silver dog tag around his neck that the other boys seem to find very amusing for some reason that she couldn't figure out.

And from the look on his face, he knew he looked good.

"Why did you not want to tell me?" she cried, looking at him with narrowed dark blue eyes. "I would have gotten you something!"

"I didn't want you to go through the trouble," Sirius shrugged casually. "Plenty of people will be getting me things."

"And I don't have anything to wear," Anneliese groaned, holding her head in one palm. "Add that to the list of things that are stressing me out right now that you have caused."

Sirius just shrugged again, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm sure you'll look good in whatever you choose."

Anneliese's eyes widened, opened her mouth to say something, shut it, and then stormed off to the stairs, already yelling something to Lily about either what she was going to wear or how annoying Sirius was being; her accent was too pronounced when she was annoyed for them to be certain.

"I think you just need to tell her that you fancy her," James declared once she was out of earshot. "You smelled her in your amortentia, so don't even try to deny it."

"And it's your birthday," Peter added on. "So it'll be good luck or something to tell her tonight, right?"

Sirius looked between his friends nervously, rolling his neck.

"I dunno.." he trailed off, alarmed at his lack of confidence that was usually too present. "Maybe I should just wait until I'm sure that she does too."

"Boring," James declared, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulder as they started to walk towards the place they had given all of the students invited instructions to summon the Room of  Requirement. "Risk something."

"There's a difference between being reckless and taking a risk," Remus interrupted wisely. "It was much shorter of a time ago then you would like to think when you two were yelling each other's heads off."

"So you think that she doesn't like me?" Sirius asked with confusion, his opinion easily molded by his friends at the moment. "You're the one who made that comment in the library."

"You have the ability of creating sexual tension with anyone," James butted in before Lupin could reply. "Just saying."

"You guys are giving me such mixed signals right now," Sirius sighed as they stepped into the already crowded room. "So do you think I should or not?"

"I think you should just stick to your gut," Remus said truthfully. "And you don't want to regret not trying and get upset because you wasted an opportunity."

"Okay then, the decision has been made and it is all your guy's fault if it goes wrong," Black said finally before any of them could protest, doing a brief scan of the crowd. "Now I just have to get the timing right."

"Definitely don't do it at the beginning," James started them off, still having his arm around Sirius's shoulder as he steered them aimlessly around the room. "You don't want your whole night spoiled if it doesn't go well."

Sirius turned him in alarm, but Remus cut in before Black could say anything.

"Also don't do it at the very end, because then it's going to seem like a drunk afterthought and she won't take you seriously," Lupin added on. "And you've said many times, she's anything but a joke to you."

"So right in the middle?" Sirius asked hesitantly, and they all shook their heads aggressively. "Oh, sorry okay. When?"

"After a party game or something," Remus decided. "One everyone kinda splits off, you know? There's still a lot of time left in the night, but you got over the middle."

"I agree with Moony," James declared with one finger in the air.

Transitioning his arm so that both of his hands were now gripping Sirius's shoulders, Potter looked his best mate right in the eyes.

"Just remember to enjoy tonight, it's your birthday," he reminded him. "Don't stress to much it's going to go-"

James's face drained of all color as he saw something, or someone over Black's shoulder. He swallowed heavily, shoved his hands in his pockets, and adjusted his glasses in a nervous manner that could only be caused by one Lily Evans.

Rolling his eyes in amusement, Sirius clapping him on the shoulder with a chuckle.

"And you were just telling me not to be nerv-"

When he saw Anneliese, Black immediately went into the state he had just made fun of James for being in.

Callaway had hastily picked out an enormous Black Sabbath t-shirt from the very bottom of her trunk that she had gotten all the wrinkles out of with her wand. He could barely see the hem of her shorts from the baggy shirt, which meant that the tattoo on her thigh was fully visible for the first time.

The ink portrayed a simple yet highly recognizable animal in a dark outline.

A large black dog.

"James, do you see that?" Sirius whispered in panic as Anneliese hugged Alice. "Her tattoo?"

Blinking a few times, Potter snapped out of looking at Lily and transferred his gaze to Callaway a few yards away. His hazel eyes widened when they landed on her leg.

"It's a pretty common animal," James said in an unconvincing tone. "Right?"

There was simply no way that Anneliese could know about him being an Animagus, that was for sure. It was certainly an odd coincidence though, one that Sirius was determined to figure out the meaning of.

Standing behind his friend, Remus still had the knowledge none of the others did that Callaway had smelled wet dog fur in her amortentia. He wasn't sure why he hadn't told Sirius yet, it just didn't seem like his fact to share unless it became absolutely essential.

"I'll go ask her for you," Lupin declared before any of them could protest. "With all due respect, she's probably going to take it oddly if either of you do it."

Neither James nor Sirius could deny that Remus was right, so they just watched as subtly as possible as their friend went up and talked to Anneliese.

"Do you reckon he's going to get it out of her?" Potter asked curiously. "She doesn't seem like too much of the sharing type."

"I wonder how long it took," Sirius thought out loud, not replying to James's question. "It's one hell of a tattoo, not too much and simple but you still know exactly what it is."

The Chaser couldn't help but grin at the expression that went over his usually casual and carefree friend's face when he talked about this girl he had only known for two months. Even if he never said it, it was a nice change from his normal self who would sleep with someone and not talk to them ever again.

They were both snapped out of their thoughts by Remus coming back with a mildly alarmed expression on his face.

"It's her Patronus."

"But it's my Animagus," Sirius said as he shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to figure out what this meant, if anything at all.

"And it's incredibly rare for your Animagus to be different from your Patronus," James added in a low tone. "So that would mean that you two share a Patronus."

All three of their heads turned to Anneliese in unison.

"Uhm, A, don't look now, but they're all staring at you," Marlene whispered to Callaway, already holding a shot of firewhiskey in her hand. "James, Sirius, and Remus."

"You are literally making me want to look," Anneliese hissed. "Why would you even tell me? Now I'm curious."

"Okay, they turned away after Lily made eye contact with James," Dorcas updated, and Lily joined their huddle.

"Remus just asked me about my tattoo of the dog on my leg," Anneliese said under her breath to the girls with their heads next to hers. "Do you think that has something to do with it?"

All four of their heads turned to look back at the Marauders, who quickly acted like they hadn't just been talking about the girls as well by running a hand through their hair or turning their necks away animatedly.

"This is ridiculous," Lily giggled to the girls. "We're like ten feet away from them."

"Okay then you go talk to James," Anneliese declared, and her pale face turned the color of her hair. "Yea, that's what I thought."

"You're so annoying," Lily said, trying to be upset with Callaway but completely failing. "Alright, in three seconds, we are going to get out of this little group and act like nothing even happened, okay?"

At the exact same time, the quartet drew their heads away from one another and straightened their clothes to join the rest of the party.

"What were you guys gossiping about?" James teased, poking A in the side as they walked over to the drinks together. "It looked intense."

"Lily said she would rather go into cardiac arrest than date you," Anneliese said casually, and Potter's face turned panicked. "I'm only joking, James!"

"Well Sirius was talking about how much he would jump off the Astronomy Tower before sitting next to you in Potions again," he said right back as he grabbed a shot of firewhiskey. "Take that."

"Don't compare Sirius and I to you and Lily."

James's hazel eyes narrowed as he took the shot, thinking.

"So you like him, then?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible as they leaned next to one another against a wall. "Because everyone is under the impression that Lily does not like me."

Anneliese wouldn't have been hesitant to say that she liked him if it weren't for Regulus.

"Yea, I think he's a generally good guy," she said slowly, thinking through her words. "He's one of the smartest people I've met, an amazing prankster, genuinely caring even if he shows in a bit, uhm, intensely sometimes."

Anneliese hesitated for a beat.

"And infuriatingly attractive."

James would have felt good about his friend's chances if it weren't for that look in her dark blue eyes that seemed to be holding Callaway back from liking him fully.

"But?" Potter prompted, knowing she wouldn't tell him without a bit of a gentle push.

Anneliese knew that she shouldn't break Regulus's trust.

He had obviously been in a deeply vulnerable state when she found him, and that was most likely the only reason he had spoken to her in the first place instead of waking away and hiding behind his perfect boy facade she had detected in him.

"Nothing," she shrugged. "Just an off feeling."

James could tell that she was lying, and it wasn't in his personality to leave it be.

"A, can you just tell me why-"

Luckily for Anneliese and to his frustration, a loud shout from a seventh year cut Potter off.

"If you don't want to play truth or dare on firewhiskey and veritaserum, then get the bloody hell outta here!"

"I guess I'm just going to get you to get a truth," James said cheekily as he sat down next to her and Peter in the circle formed. "And I doubt that you'll take every dare."

Anneliese raised a blonde eyebrow.

"Watch me, Potter."

"If you choose truth, you do it on veritaserum, and if you decline a dare, you take a shot and you have to answer a truth," Sirius declared, holding up two flasks from across the circle of James, Anneliese, and Peter. "Simple as that. Who's going first?"

"I am!" Dorcas declared, holding up a hand for the second flask. "And I choose truth."

They all watched as she drank a few drops of the clear, honesty inducing liquid. James thought for a few moments, trying to figure out something good to ask her that would set up the tone well for the rest of the night.

"Who in this room, besides Mckinnon, would you want to date the most?"

Marlene turned to her girlfriend curiously, not in a jealous way, just genuinely curious. Glancing back at her, Dorcas grinned apologetically back at James.

"Definitely Lily- I'm sorry! I can't lie!"

The redhead was flushing furiously as Dorcas was also tossed the second flask by James, rather aggressively. The circle full of sixth and seventh years all held their breaths to see who would be next as Meadowes looked all around them.

"A, truth or dare?" she asked, and all heads turned to Anneliese.

"Dare," she said promptly, sticking out her tongue at James, who did it right back.

"I dare you and Sirius to swap shirts."

Her freckled cheeks instantly turned a light pink as Grey Eyes looked at her from across the circle, wondering to see if she would actually do it or not.

I've already kissed him meaninglessly, she told herself, a decision starting to form. So no problem if we just do something else that's just for a dare.

"Fine," Anneliese grumbled. 

"Do you want a screen or-" Sirius began, but Anneliese had already peeled off her shirt and tossed it towards him. Sirius blinked in surprise as the fabric crumpled against his chest, staring at her slender neck, collarbones, blue lack bra and toned torso. 

The chilly air had hit Anneliese's back with a shiver. "Toss it over, I'm cold."

Sirius pulled his shirt off his back, and several girls giggled at his wired torso just as boys and girls had stared at Anneliese. James's eyes were flicking rapidly between them, and Peter was wishing he had their confidence.

She deftly caught the black button up shirt and stared at it for a few seconds, trying to figure out the best way possible to put it on. After a few seconds, she ended up just buttoning it up the same amount Sirius had.

It was surprisingly soft, and she could smell cigarettes and something sharp, but not unpleasantly so on the fabric. The shirt swallowed her whole, just as large as the one she had worn originally.

For Sirius, the shirt that had been enormous on her was fitted, but not too fitted on him.

"I told you that you would still look good whatever you wore," Sirius grinned. "I like this better, though." A furious blush spreading across her face that made her thankful for the dim lighting.

"I chose Remus," she declared with a sly grin. "Truth or dare?"

The pale boy looked flustered, having hoped to be just a spectator but was dragged into it by his friends. Truth seemed a bit of a risky option for him considering what occurred every full moon, yet at the same time he really didn't want to swap clothes with someone.

He surprised the whole room, especially the Marauders, by choosing truth.

"Alright then," Anneliese mused, tossing the two flasks between her hands absentmindedly while she thought. "What did you smell in your amortentia?"

Remus sighed in relief at the easiness of the question, it could have been much worse.

"I smelled smoke, ice cream, I think, and then something that I've never smelled before," he confessed to the room after taking a sip of the clear liquid. "It was kind of like the ocean? I'm not sure."

Anneliese's dark blue eyes narrowed.

Last time she checked, Leo loved to smoke, his favorite food was ice cream, and Ilvermorny was on the coast of Massachusetts.

"What is it?" James whispered, leaning in slightly to her. "The shirt looks good, by the way. You should borrow his clothes more often."

"I know someone who smells like that," Anneliese replied, ignoring the second part. "And that same person, I'm realizing, smelled Remus."

"Get them together," James advised with a grin. "Dear old Moon- Remus needs someone."

"Maybe I will," Anneliese said, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "They would definitely work together. Also, why did Remus ask me about my tattoo and then, like, report back to you guys?"

James made eye contact with Sirius from across the circle, who had been watching their conversation intently. Black subtly shook his head, wanting this game to be over already so he could control what his friends let loose.

"Uhm, nothing," Potter muttered. "Maybe Sirius can-"

"Alright, drink break, and then we can continue!" Black declared, sensing that James was going to have a hard time keeping it in, also remembering him telling him so easily that he had smelled Anneliese in his amortentia. "Who wants some firewhiskey, but without the declined dare?"

Several cheers were through the room, and Callaway distanced herself from where they were lining up around the bottle. She didn't enjoy drinking in large groups, only with a few friends at most.

"No firewhiskey?" a voice asked from her side. "Me neither."

Anneliese turned to see Fabian standing there, looking at the line of people around Sirius.

"Yea, I just have a very low alcohol tolerance," she confessed. "I don't want to have a drink just yet."

Prewett leaned against the door to exit back into the corridors before replying, and Anneliese did the same.

"What, saving it up so that you can decline a dare?" he asked with a teasing grin. "I'm surprised that you already did that one."

"It's not really that big of a deal," Anneliese shrugged, fidgeting with the soft black collar of the shirt. "It's just clothing."

"Clothing that is currently getting messed up," Fabian replied, noticing how she had accidentally flipped up one side. "May I?"

Callaway looked down to what he was talking about at an awkward angle. She wouldn't be able to get it right herself unless she had a mirror, so she gave him a reassuring smile and nodded.

Across the room, a different conversation had been taking place among the Marauders.

"So this is after one event or whatever, right?" Sirius confirmed, checking his watch. "So would now be a good time?"

"As ever, I reckon," Remus shrugged. "Especially after she took that dare."

But when Black glanced over to where he had seen Anneliese last, a rush of fury extinguished his nerves.

That idiot Fabian Prewett had his face inches away from hers while one hand was on the collar of her, his, shirt. The worst part about it, though, was that Callaway was actually smiling at him.

Sirius didn't know the context.

So, instead of storming over there, he simply reached his hand inside the pocket where his wand was and gave it a tiny yet impactful flick in the redhead's direction.

A loud shout told him that his hex had worked.

The whole room turned in alarm to see blood pouring from Fabian's nose as if it had been severely punched or even broken. The crimson liquid hit the floor with a surprising quantity, and he seemed to be in an immense amount of pain.

Anneliese quickly pulled down one of the cloth banners wishing Sirius a happy birthday from above the door and handed it to him to help catch some of the blood. At Callaway's beckon, Lily and Alice rushed over to help so that she could deal with the obvious cause of this injury.

James, Remus, and Peter watched with wide eyes as the southern girl grabbed their friend's wrist with a stone cold grip and expression, yanked him outside, and slammed the door behind her.

"What in the lord's name had gotten into that thick head of yours?" Anneliese shouted so loudly that Sirius actually stepped back. "Fabian did nothing wrong!"

"Fabian was being an idiot!" Sirius yelled back, not even trying to calm them down. "He was way too close to you!"

"Says the idiot who I've been inches away from several times!"