Come Sail Away (Open to 7th Years) [Graduation Ball]

[Sirius Black]

 

Sirius hadn't taken it well when he'd heard that the staff intended to enforce the curfew the night of their celebratory graduation ball, to say the least. This was their night, all about the seventh years, and bringing an end to seven successful years of school. Properly. The way the seventh years wanted to. On whose authority did they think they had any right to interfere? They couldn't actually expect the curfew to be obeyed. They had no control, no power over the graduates, because honestly, what could they do about it if they felt like staying up all night drinking and partying right in the face of the staff? Nothing. In due time, they were out of here, for good, no punishment was a threat to them. The past few days, since the stress of exams had subsided, had been full of slaps-in-the-face to the teachers with pranks and general mayhem, courtesy of the Marauders, of course. They had to go out with a bang, undoubtedly, and they wanted the last laugh.

As curfew loomed nearer and the teachers began to focus on how they were going to corral the students back to their towers (unsuccessfully, of course), it was all too easy to slip away. The crowd of seventh years was large enough so that Sirius could vanish out under the eyes of the chaperones. He didn't mind if his fellow students saw him; in fact, he'd prefer it, so he'd be joined in his final acts of wrongdoings. And in truth, he couldn't care less if the teachers saw him sneaking out. Just try and stop him. So there were no secret passages or overly-stealthy behavior tonight, he simply... walked out, out of the Great Hall, through the Chamber of Reception to the stairs that led underground to the boathouse, where sat dormant the boats that transported the first years to the school at the beginning of the year. Then in a few days they'd be brought out again to bring him and the other graduates t the train for the last time. Other than that, they were quite unused. It was a shame really. But he would put them to use tonight.

It was easy, really, all too easy. The locks hardly slowed him down. Removing the boats from the rafters simple. A first year could do it. With a wand, one would have no trouble getting the boats into the water and magicking them out of the storage unit and onto the surface of the lake. He jumped into one of them, and it rocked back and forth in the shallow water. Needless to say, the boat was a whole lot smaller than Sirius had remembered it to be, and he wondered vaguely how four people had even fit in one of these to begin with. With a wave of his wand the doors to the boathouse swung shut, and Sirius set about to lighting the lanterns at the head of each boat. Anyone who looked out toward the lake this evening, as the ball was closing out within its walls, could not miss the spots of light on its surface. With that being done, Sirius settled comfortably into his boat, kicking his feet up on the edge and cracking open a bottle of butterbeer - he'd come prepared - as he enjoyed one of his very last nights of screwing-curfew as a Hogwarts student.

[Deleted]

The festivities were great and the atmosphere quite memorable and Remus found himself enjoying the night more than he had expected. There had been the worry of leaving school but this night managed to chase such concerns away for now. The only problem that there seemed to be was that there was word that the teachers intended to inflict a curfew on the evening and Remus was of the mind that it was likely to be time for the Marauders to take some form of action tonight. So it was as the party began to calm down, the teenager started to dodge through the crowds, searching for his three friends. There were a considerable amount of people around but eventually Remus caught sight of Sirius who was casually making his way out. Making a bee line towards his friend (but having to dodge quiet a few students), Remus arrived at the spot just in time to catch which way Sirius was going.

Following his friend, despite hurrying along, Remus did remain a considerable distance behind, only catching up with Sirius after the other teenager had made his way into the boat house. Watching his friend at work, he did not approach Sirius straight away, instead choosing to watch what was going on. Remus was not one to rush into things, even if they concerned his friends. Besides, Sirius had almost finished by the time that Remus had arrived, the younger Gryffindor student only just catching the end of his work as the teenager got into a boat and started lighting the other boats. Green eyes glanced back up at the castle and Remus was pretty certain that the lights would be noticeable from the school. It was at this point that Remus strode forward and into view of his friend.

"Evening, Padfoot," Remus announced cheerfully as he came over to the lake and remained by the side, looking out over at all the boats. They certainly did bring back memories. It was hard to believe that they had come in them seven years ago and now their time here was ending.
"Looks like you've sorted out enough for a good and late night." He added with a smile. Despite being a prefect, Remus had no problem with this idea and being out late after curfew. His friends had helped with that a lot. Besides, tonight was meant to be a night special to the 7^th Years and Remus felt that it was quiet justified that some Marauders might end up planning their own party.
Mind if I join you?"

[Sirius Black]

It was only a matter of time, he was sure, until the staff would begin the fruitless task of trying to shepherd the seventh years back to their dorms to abide by curfew. Sirius couldn't imagine that anyone  would obey without a fight; even the supposed good kids couldn't actually agree to that, right? When he'd slipped out of the hall it seemed that most if not all of his classmates were having a great time; none could actually want an early end. And if any of them did? Well, obviously they were no fun. Sirius wouldn't want them around anyway. There was no harm done if the graduates wanted to celebrate and spend a little more time with one another. Until others showed up, though, Sirius had no issue with kicking back in the small but surprisingly comfortable wooden boat a short distance from shore.

Sirius did not have to wait long; in fact, it seemed almost instantly after the lanterns had been lit that a voice emitted from the darkened shore. Instantly he knew it belonged to Remus, gladly a fellow Marauder. It only seemed right they should spend their last evenings at school around each other, breaking rules and causing general mayhem. Lazily Sirius raised his wand and pointed it at the nearest boat, directing it slowly toward shore where the other was standing, gesturing for him to hop aboard. "Would you expect anything less of me?" Sirius answered rhetorically; it seemed every night Sirius sorted out a good and late night, but on this particular night it was far more justified and meaningful. It almost felt like his duty to elongate the night a little bit more, especially tonight when so many would be searching for a way around going to bed.

"Beautiful night. Would be a shame to let it to waste," Sirius said as if that were an excuse when really he didn't need one. But it was also true; the weather had favored them their last few days here, after exams finished and seventh years were on the easy downward slope. Tonight was no exception. The allure of the weather factored into his decision to bring the party outdoors. Sirius took a cigarette from his pocket and lifted it to the lantern above his head to light it. He took a drag before speaking again. "I take it the party's breaking up inside?" he asked of Remus, who could not have left too long after himself but he figured he'd ask either way. Best to get out of there before all the attempts to herd them into the dorms began - they could easily sneak back out once there, but the detour seemed pointless and a waste of time. It was far less of a hassle to change location than to put the party on hold for a bit.

[Deleted]

Watching as a boat came closer with a wave of Sirius' wand, Remus gave the older boy a grin as he carefully got into the boat. Travelling by boat had never been one of Remus' favourite methods of travel but it seemed to much better when one considered this was avoiding the curfew that the teachers intended to put on the festivities of the seventh years. Sitting in the boat, Remus remained slightly tense as the boat wobbled under the addition of mass and then settled down. With the boat now settled, Remus fully relaxed and chuckled slightly at Sirius' question. The black haired student did seem to always have a particular skill when it came to avoiding curfews and planning a fun and interesting time for others. Usually it was just the four Marauders but it seemed like it would hopefully be a larger group this last night.

Lips still up in a smile at Sirius' next words, Remus leaned back in the boat, still keeping eye on his friend.
"When has it ever mattered what the weather was like?" Remus replied, his voice calm and casual.
"You'd find another way to make sure that tonight wasn't wasted if it was raining." In fact, for a few seconds, Remus wondered if there what he would have done if he was going to plan such an occasion. Despite being part of the group that considered themselves to be marauders around the school and great pranksters, Remus had never been the best at deciding things like this, too often he wanted to keep within the rules set down.

At the question, Remus gave a nod.
"Things are starting to come to a close. I was going to look for you, James and Peter to see if anyone had any thoughts about what to do about the curfew," Remus said, casting a glance back at the castle.
"The atmosphere is quiet high, though so the chances are that no one else wants it to end." He added, giving Sirius a bit more information about the situation as he sat on the boat, watching his friend smoke. A habit that didn't please Remus too much but he never protested.
"It's strange to think that our time here is coming to an end. So much of our lives seems to have been defined by Hogwarts," After a second of thought, Remus had said this, almost sounding sad.

[Sirius Black]

Per usual, Remus was right when he rhetorically asked if the weather had ever mattered. No, absolutely not. It seemed such a trivial setback from Sirius's perspective; he'd rather have it be miserable outdoors and have his fun than be holed up in the castle. It was one of the last nights they'd spend in the castle, but somehow it seemed more appropriate to spend it outside the castle. The grounds, after all, had been as much a home to him as the dorms had with as much time he spent there, and he was sure he was not the same. Over the years he'd never been alone in seeking fresh air at every opportunity, and even then on ordinary school days he never was one to let weather get in the way. Tonight he just happened to get lucky with the way the climate had favored them. "It is less of a crime to break curfew than to let tonight go to waste." As if you could even call breaking curfew a crime anymore. It was a slow night if that was the only rule broken.

Sirius nodded as Remus explained the scene he'd left in the castle. Sounded about right. Hopefully they could be expecting a few more graduates who are reluctant to head to bed just yet. At least perhaps the other Marauders, who were absent up till now, but usually one step ahead of the teachers so he was sure they, too, would not take well the attempt to enforce curfew. When Remus expressed how odd it felt to be saying farewell to the castle for good, Sirius did not immediately respond. Their last few days had arrived rather suddenly to him, because he never really thought ahead to graduation in a sentimental kind of way, having been too busy living in the moment as Sirius tended to do.

However, now that it was upon them he couldn't really help but think that yes, it was weird, to say the least, to know they'd be leaving in just a couple days. It had acted to him as a first and only real home for these seven years, and he could not agree more that their lives had been almost wholly defined by the school during that time. Hell, just the fact that it served as the meeting place for the four of them was enough to have a significant impact on his life, and that was only the first day. Years of those moments followed, though perhaps none as meaningful, and now they were sharing their last one. Though he distinctly remembered first arriving at the castle as a first-year it was hard to recollect being eleven years old and under full reign of the Black family and having no idea who James, Remus, and Peter even were. That being said, he was not at all torn up about leaving; no, it wouldn't be him, he was excited for the future and to ditch the title of being a 'student' and all that.

The other, though, Sirius couldn't be sure; he couldn't place the tone of voice that Remus employed when voicing his thoughts. It could've been just a passing comment, but he sounded a bit more reflective than that. Maybe even a little doleful. Sirius never let the subject dwell on his mind long enough to get dispirited about leaving, but it would not at all surprise him if Remus thought more on it and more deeply on it. He gave a dismissive shrug during that brief break before he said anything. "Save it for the train home, Moony, we're not finished here," he said with a half-smile, still a little hesitant to think about the summer though they were teetering on the verge of it now. They still had some short hours to be irresponsible hell-raisers, and dammit, Sirius was going to take advantage of it while he had it.

[Deleted]

The night had been great so far and this act of escaping the curfew was the sugar on top and if one wanted to talk about the weather, it was the crowning jewel that tonight was a perfect night. Remus was inclined to agree with Sirius - to waste this night would be criminal and the teacher's idea that they might be able to put a cap on this night was not the wisest of their ideas.
"I don't know what the teachers were thinking when they decided that it might be a good idea to try and prevent us staying up late. Maybe they secretly wanted some mischief makers to take matters into their own hands?" Remus said with a light chuckle at this idea. He didn't think many teachers would want to have the students going against the rules but they were practically asking for it.

Casting a glance back towards the castle, Remus' keen gaze searched through the darkness for any sign that other students may be coming to join them. Or to see if any teachers had caught on yet although he doubted that they would be onto them this early on into this escapade. It was just better to keep your eye out to avoid getting told off, even if getting punished was highly unlikely due to the fact that they were nearly finished at Hogwarts. He couldn't see any sign of the other students, though and he hoped that they would catch on. It wasn't fair that some of them might miss out on the fun of an extended night. Because this party was marking the end of their time here.

His gaze stared at the castle as he waited for Sirius to respond to his comment about this being the end of their time here. From the silence, Remus assumed that Sirius was now thinking on it, the other man had probably only just started thinking about it - or possibly had only given it little thought until now. That was unlike Remus who had spent a lot of time considering what would happen after they left the safety of Hogwarts School. Planning forwards was something that Remus was inclined to do, whether it was preparing for an exam or trying to figure out what job he could try to get. There was so much to consider and he hadn't even managed to get much done. They still needed to find out their results from the NEWTs.

As Sirius spoke, Remus was shaken from his thoughts and he offered his friend a smile. They still did have time here.
"You're right, Padfoot. We've got to make the most of it as well. Can't risk letting the teachers forget us." Remus said lightly, moving away from the more serious topic. They were meant to be having fun on this night and not worried about what the future held.
"Planning to leave on a bang, then?" Remus asked with a smile, wondering what the four Marauders could cook up for a final good-bye to the teachers.
One last present for the teachers ?" His tone was light and joking as he spoke, relaxing back in the boat.

[Sirius Black]

"I sure hope not. I would hate to unknowingly comply with the teachers' wishes," Sirius played along with Remus's joking suggestion. He was sure it was just a feeble attempt to quell the celebrations that were inevitably coming. Hell, since exams had ended, the many of the students had become so restless for summer and disregarded rules and class. That was nothing new; every year there were end-of-year festivities, but it absolutely blew up for the seventh years, when they were all in full awareness that their actions would go unpunished. Well, he guessed they had to try, though he certainly wasn't going to let such a thing succeed. It would be, as he'd said, a waste, and who was he to let opportunity go to waste?

Sirius was glad that Remus agreed not to linger on the subject of the future, however near it was, strictly because he did not want to think about it. (Plus, it was always a bonus hearing Moony tell him he was right about something.) In the past few years, Sirius had shown some rare and surprising responsible moves that proved he had the future in mind, but as a rule, it was what was happening in the moment that was most important to him. Right now, that meant closing out his scholastic career enjoyably. Remus, though, he couldn't blame the guy for putting a lot of thought into what would happen this summer and the years to come; first off, it was in his nature. Sirius knew him well enough by now that he was very thoughtful. And more importantly, he surely had a very difficult time ahead of him given his lycanthropy. As stellar as his grades were, his condition was undoubtedly a handicap, which was a shame because Sirius considered him way more qualified in both intelligence and personality than most everyone else he knew.

All the more reason to not dwell on the future just yet, though, as they would cross those bridges when they came to them, and no amount of thought in the present would stop these obstacles from coming. "Of course I'm right," Sirius scoffed arrogantly, swirling around what was left of his butterbeer in the bottle absentmindedly. He grinned a little when Remus mentioned not wanting to let the teachers forget about them. The four of them would have been remembered forever if they'd left after only one year, but the poor teachers had had seven full years of them. It was astonishing, admittedly. "How could they forget their favorite students?" he said mostly sarcastically, but in actuality Remus probably was one of their favorites... now Sirius couldn't say that about himself, but he could pretend anyway.

He nodded agreeably when Remus inquired about leaving with a bang. In pure Marauder style, of course. Everyone had to be expecting it. Their pranking had let up a bit during the stress of exams, but since then they'd picked up right where they left off, and Sirius for one was not going to slack off just because it was the end of the year. "I like the way you think," he said, and while he had nothing planned, it never took him long to come up with one. The best ideas were spontaneous anyway. "They deserve it after trying to enforce curfew on us tonight. We'll make them regret that one," he continued. "We could jinx all the chairs at the teachers' table to transfigure into dungbombs and eggs and all manner of horribly messy objects as soon as someone sits on them," he suggested as a first thought. As an afterthought, he added, "And the Slytherins. We need to leave them something to remember us by as well."

[Deleted]

Remus gave a chuckle as Sirius spoke about not wanting to comply with the teacher's wishes.
"Who knows. Maybe they've tried to get more cunning since a certain four students arrived under the guise of boys whose aim was to 'learn'." He said, adding a hint of drama to his voice as he spoke, giving a grin at Padfoot. It was amusing to think that the teachers might try to outwit them in such a way. Yes, the adults wanted to stop the general mayhem but they never seemed to think that it might be best to try and go about it how the Marauders did. They just kept to the old ways which were not going to be as effective. Still, it didn't seem like there was any teacher interference. Yet.

As they dropped the topic of what they were going to do after school, Remus gave a small frown. He suspected that no matter what, that worry would be at the back of his mind. It was not something that one could simply ignore because it wasn't already there. Still, if Sirius didn't want deeper thoughts to drag at him on this night, then he wouldn't bring the mood down. Besides, Sirius already had experience living by himself and fending for himself so maybe it wouldn't seem so bad for Sirius anyway.

Another chuckle escaped Remus as Sirius replied and the student gave a nod.
"Of course you are." Remus replied, grinning at his friend.
"And obviously we are the most loved of students. Why else would the teachers be willing to spend so much time with us?" He asked, referring lightly to all the detentions that their group of four friends had. It was a considerable amount, especially in some cases more than others. Of course, now it was all going to change since they would be leaving said teachers behind. It would be strange to not see them any more after so many years of practically living with the.

A smirk appeared on Remus' face at Sirius' suggestions and the brown haired student carefully leaned back in the boat.
"Maybe we could try to put a lock on the doors to the teachers' rooms so that if they aren't back before curfew, then they get locked out?" Remus suggested, thinking about the thing that they had just been complaining about. Remus always felt that a little bit of relevance was a good idea. It also made them have to think more about it at times and a little more thinking never harmed anyone.
"And there's never any break for the Slytherins while the Marauders are still around, is there?" Remus asked, his smile slightly smaller. Remus was not too keen on picking on one house but he knew that things weren't going to change.