songs in this chapter:
a kind of magic ~ queen
get it on ~ t.rex
rebel rebel ~ david bowie
lady stardust ~ david bowie
a little help from my friends ~ the beatles
i found a reason ~ the velvet underground
dancing queen ~ abba
gimme gimme gimme ~ abba

"How's everybody doing tonight?" 

James Potter was quite the crowd-pleaser, immediately getting the attention of the common room, hopping behind the mic as the Marauders made their way onto the stage behind him, taking their places.

Marlene, Mary, Lily and a few other Gryffindors all cheered a little. Most people turned to look eagerly, confused as to what was going on. James didn't have much trouble getting people enthusiastic though. He was pretty popular throughout the entire school and had made quite a name for himself during his previous years at Hogwarts.

"We've got a few songs for you tonight." He continued, leaning into the microphone and gazing out at the crowd of people in front of him. "We're really here to wish my dear friend Sirius here a happy birthday!" He gestured to Sirius who winked at the crowd, causing a small cheer from their growing audience. "So please indulge yourselves on all the celebratory snacks and drinks the house elves have ever so kindly provided. But for now we're gonna play you some songs we hope you'll enjoy."

The crowd cheered again and Sirius started up his electric guitar with a grin and Remus readied his fingers on the keys. They started off with A Kind of Magic, and James' modulated, honey voice rang out through the common room and soon he seemed to have everyone's attention.

Peter came in with the drum beat as James continued, Sirius and Remus coming going for the back up vocals every now again.

This is a kind of magic
There can be only one
This rage that lasts a thousand years
Will soon be done

By the second verse, the Gryffindors had all gathered around the stage and were bopping their heads along to the music as James sang.

Remus looked up at the crowd and couldn't help but feel a little surprised. People actually.... did seem to be enjoying them. Remus had to admit that they did sound pretty good. James had unsurprisingly great stage presence as he marched about the stage, making wild gestures as he sang, dancing around as Sirius excelled at his guitar solos. It wasn't long before other people had started to dance along too.

Once they had finished, they were met with a round of applause and whoops and Remus couldn't help but feel a grin spread across his face as James bowed, smugly, and the cheers only got louder as they started up their next song. This time people immediately started dancing as Sirius played the introduction and Remus pulled them in with a fancy glissando as Peter started up the drums, slowly layering their sound again before James started singing again.

People seemed to enjoy this one even more, as James strutted about the stage, sounding almost sultry as people whooped and cheered, bouncing up and down enthusiastically.

Remus was really starting to enjoy himself now, forgetting all his previous nerves, and he shot a glance at Peter to see how he was doing. The smaller boy was playing better than he ever had in practise, clearly the approval of this many people had a positive affect on him.

Remus grinned as he started to bounce his head along to the music before noticing that Sirius had taken up to tossing his head side to side, his wild hair looking even crazier than usual as he rocked out on his guitar.

By the time the group started up with playing Rebel Rebel, it seemed like the entire of Gryffindor house was in the common room and dancing below them. The energy in the room was electric and the room filled with smiling faces, and a few of the more educated people, in Remus' opinion, had joined in with the song, and before they could even get to the end, most of the room had caught onto the chorus and soon all of Gryffindor was half screaming, half singing; "HOT TRAMP I LOVE YOU SO!"

"Alright guys, you're a great crowd!" James laughed, his face glistening with perspiration as the song ended. "Since today is of course a special birthday today..."

A lot more cheer came from the room this time.

"...our one and only Sirius Black is going to sing you all a song! Happy birthday, mate!" And James stepped away from the microphone to swap places with Sirius just as Remus started off the introduction on the piano to Lady Stardust. Soon Sirius' voice filled the room and people started swaying as they listened to Sirius sing.

Remus and James joined in with the backup singing "cause he was alright" along with Sirius.

Remus was glad he could play the piece well enough by now that he didn't have to look down at his hands constantly, but then made the stupid mistake of looking up at Sirius. He was drenched in sweat and his satin shirt clung to his torso, his dark hair hanging over his face in glistening dark waves. Remus felt his breath catch in his throat and Sirius locked eyes with him, making his way over to Remus as he continued to sing, before leaning against the back of the piano to sing to Remus.

Remus prayed that the heat of the stage and their performance would suit as a good enough alibi as to why his face was probably bright red. He didn't think that Sirius Black could look any more gorgeous than he did at that moment, his grey eyes alive with joy, the light catching them as he stared at Remus, singing in his slightly husky voice, his face shiny with sweat and that damn guitar slung around his shoulder.

Remus was almost grateful when the song came to an end and he could play the last chord as Sirius finally looked away, addressing the roaring crowd and holding up his arms in triumph.

Remus looked down at his hands which he hadn't realised were shaking. Merlin, he did not deserve the shit that Sirius Black put him through. Torture. He decided. This is definitely torture. Torture in the most agonisingly attractive way possible.

To finish off, the group finally played A Little Help From my Friends, before ending with their softest song; I Found a Reason, Remus feeling considerably more relaxed as James voice rang out through the microphone again. The crowd was a lot more suitably drunk by now and many people were just swaying in front of them with stupid grins on their faces.

Remus spotted Lily in the crowd who gave him an encouraging thumbs up. He wondered if she was finding James' performance good enough to maybe consider going out with him. He doubted it.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!" James shouted into the microphone when the song came to an end. They were met with a roar from the crowd as the Marauders all stood to take centre stage and take a bow with James as everyone chanted their names.

Sirius grinned at Remus as they bowed, reaching for his hand and squeezing it. Remus just grinned back, squeezing Sirius' hand in return.

"Alright mate," Said James once they had finally stepped off the stage, much to the crowds disappointment. "Time to enjoy your party."

Remus made his way to a sofa at the back of the room and flung himself down on it beside Marlene and Mary.

"You guys were great up there!" Mary gushed as he sat down. 

"Thanks." Remus smiled. "It actually went a lot better than I thought."

James, Peter and Sirius soon joined them around the sofa with bottles of butterbeer, James handing one to  Remus.

"Great job guys! A very successful first show if I do say so myself." Announced Sirius as he squeezed himself in between Remus and Marlene- who shoved him lightly on the shoulder.

James nodded. "Our next show's gonna be even better."

"Next show?" Asked Mary. "When's that?"

James shrugged. "Don't know, but I assure you that this is not the last time you hear from the Marauders." He said, raising his bottle of butterbeer at Mary who rolled her eyes..

Just then, Lily came over to the group, congratulating them. "You guys were awesome! You sure you don't want to be our live band for the rest of the evening?"

"Missing the sound of my sweet voice now that it's gone, Evans?" James smirked.

Lily rolled her eyes, but Remus didn't fail to notice the lack of witty response from Lily, so maybe James was making progress after all. Not that Remus would ever tell him that. If it was one thing that James Potter didn't need, it was an ego boost.

"You can get some records from our room if you want." Remus suggested to Lily. He too was noticing the very obvious absence of music now that the Marauders had left the stage. "They're on the shelf next to my bed."

Lily nodded before disappearing up the steps to the boys dormitory.

"She is definitely falling for me." James sighed wistfully as he watched Lily walk away.

Remus rolled  his eyes and hit James playfully on the arm.

Lily soon returned with some records and went to set them up on the player in the corner of the room.

"Oh Merlin, really Lily?!" Sirius shouted across the room as Dancing Queen blasted out from the speakers.

Lily grinned "Really, Black!" She called back.

Sirius shook his head in disbelief.

"Not punk rock enough for you, Sirius?" Mary asked with a laugh as Lily made her way back over to them, pulling Mary up by the hand. The two of them made their way into the middle of the room and started to dance along, singing to the chorus as they jumped up and down, laughter all over their faces.

Remus grinned, watching them. "What's wrong with ABBA?" He asked rather indignantly at Sirius.

"Well they're a bit... you know." Sirius waved his hand in the air as if this explained anything.

Remus mocked deep offence, before getting up off the sofa and making his way over to where Lily and Mary were dancing together.

"COME ON, REMUS!" Lily called, happily as she tossed her long red hair over her shoulder.

Remus grinned and decided he didn't care what anyone else thought. Not even Sirius. You simply couldn't hate on ABBA. And so he joined in, dancing with his friends to the familiar song, feeling high on the sugary taste of butterbeer and the electricity and excitement from their earlier performance. The sky outside the windows was pitch back by now, and the golden lights in the Gryffindor common room shone down into the middle of the room as Remus, Lily and Mary jumped up and down, dancing to the song.

You can dance
You can jive
Having the time of your life
Oh see that girl
Watch that scene
Digging the dancing queen

Remus found that he didn't tire after just one song as he and the two girls soon found themselves dancing in the centre of the room, the rest of Gryffindor joining in with them, everyone singing a long to Gimme Gimme Gimme at the top of their voices. Remus joined in, and for once he really didn't care what anyone thought of him. He was a Marauder. He was cool.

Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight 
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day

It was well after midnight, and Remus was completely oblivious of the pair of grey eyes that watched him from across the room filled with a look of pure awe and longing.