Peeves seemed set to dismantle the Christmas tree one bauble at a time, launching them about the Great Hall and causing an absolute mania that had him cackling in such pure delight that his ghostly form generated so much energy he was crackling like an electrically charged cloud during a thunderstorm with every move he made. Filch shouted threats, waved a broomstick in attempts to hit the poltergeist, and dodged flying glass balls as Peeves chucked them down merrily aiming for Filch's filthy head. 

Sirius sat at one of the tables, his feet up on the chair next to him, a glass of spiked eggnog in his hand (the bottle of firewhiskey tucked carefully in his suit pocket) and grinned, watching the chaos unfold as he sipped his drink.

"If I didn't know better," Remus said from Sirius's other side, where he was also watching the ongoing battle between Peeves and Filch, "I'd think that you were rather enjoying that your date is destroying the ball."

Sirius looked over at Remus with a roll of his head and his eyes danced with mischief even as he gasped exaggeratedly. "Me? Enjoy something like that?" he gestured to the front of the room as a big silver bauble smashed on the floor at Filch's feet, scaring the daylights from Mrs. Norris, who ran, shrieking, from the Great Hall, her tail raised and poofed as thick as a beater's bat. "Never."

Remus's lip twitched.

Peter came over and dropped a heaping plate of gingerbread on the table. "I got us snacks."

Sirius dropped his feet to the floor and grabbed a chunk of the bread, "Thfannkffs Wormfftahhl," he said, shoving some into his mouth.

"Yeah, of course," Peter said, and he sniffed his own peace, breathing deeply. "Gods, I love this gingerbread. Every year it's the best part of the ball!" He nibbled some delicately. Remus turned down his portion, the full moon just a week away, food was starting to turn his stomach. "All the more for me, then," Peter said, tugging Remus's his way.

Sirius asked, "Oi, why aren't you sitting with Wendy anyway?"

Peter shrugged.

Remus supplied, "Because he's my date tonight, right, Pete?"

"Right," Peter answered, nodding.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Ought I to be jealous?"

"No more than I ought with you and Peevesy," Remus answered, mocking Peeve's tone when he said Peevesy. 

Sirius chuckled. "Well, seeing as my date is quite busy playing with his balls --" (Peter choked on gingerbread.) "-- perhaps I could have a dance from you?"

Remus looked at Peter. "Do you mind?"

Peter shook his head, and thumped his chest to swallow the gingerbread, "No it's alright, I figured you'd be cheating on me anyway."

Sirius slid his glass across the table, "Here you are, drink this up, it'll help."

Peter gulped down the eggnog. "Tastes funny," he commented. Then, "Wait did you -- is that -- firewhiskey?" he whispered the last word.

"Yes," Sirius whispered it back the same as Peter had done.

"Well that isn't bad, is it?" Peter said, "I actually sort of like it."

"Well here's the rest if you want more," Sirius said, handing Peter the bottle. "Careful though, a little bit goes a long way since it's been shrunken down." He grabbed Remus's hand, "C'mon before Peeves starts tearing up the dance floor... literally." And he dragged Remus away to the cleared space in the center of the room.

Peter watched them go, and looked at the bottle Sirius had given him, picking again at his cake for a moment before even the food bored him and he sighed and pushed the plate away. 

Everyone around him was having a grand time of it, laughing and talking excitedly, dancing... A remarkable number of students had stayed this year, Peter thought, much more than had done previous years, he reckoned, and he wondered if the scarier the world back home got, the more would do. The Daily Prophet spoke of more and more terrible happenings, more killings, more sightings of werewolves and giants than ever before. Everyday it was some new horror so that it seemed even the Prophet could scarcely keep up.

It was then Peter spotted Wendy and Desmond together across the room and he felt sick and unscrewed the bottle Sirius had given him, taking a deep gulp of the amber liquid inside. Sirius was right, a little bit did go a long way, and the moment he'd stopped drinking so deeply he felt a woosh climb up from his belly to his head like a bit of a tidal wave and his brain felt a bit furry and far off. "Blimey," he muttered, looking at the bottle, "No wonder Sirius drinks so much of this lot." And he took another deep swallow of the stuff.

On the dance floor, Sirius invented a new dance - the Poltergeist Ballroom Shuffle, he called it - where he imitated the panicked, hopping motions of Argus Filch. The frog choir was croaking out a rendition of Sleigh Ride and Remus couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of Sirius's dance timed to the beat of the horrible excuse for music. 

There was a shout from across the room and Remus and Sirius both turned to see Peter was sprawled on the floor, Wendy Brighton standing before him, looking quite annoyed, and Desmond Misces beside her, a wide-eyed expression of surprise on his face. In Peter's fist was the firewhiskey bottle. "Oh bloody hell, what's he done?" Sirius exclaimed as people cleared a circle around Peter, looking at him as he rambled stupidly from the flagstone. Sirius and Remus rushed over - Sirius getting there first. "What'd you do, you little rat?" he asked, kneeling beside Peter.

"He came over and was trying to force me to dance with him... He wouldn't take no for an answer, so I... I shoved him off," Wendy replied, though she looked sorry for it in a way that only an assaulted Hufflepuff could do.

Sirius looked up at her in confusion, then, reading Desmond's body language, got the feeling that he and the others didn't have the full story when it came to Wendy Brighton and Peter Pettigrew's relationship. "Sorry," Sirius said, and he pulled the bottle from Peter's grasp as Peter muttered and moaned nonsense and jibberish from the floor, "It's my fault. I gave him a drink." Sirius pulled Peter up with a great effort and slouched low enough his arm could be pulled about Sirius's shoulder for support. "I'll take care of him."

Wendy nodded, "I'm sorry. I hope he isn't hurt."

Sirius said, "I'm sure he'll make it through somehow," and he started hauling Peter from the Great Hall.

Remus hung back a moment, looking to Wendy. "We didn't know you lot had called it off?"

"Quite awhile ago," Wendy said. "Although Peter's sort of been... in denial, I s'pose?"

Remus nodded. "I see." He looked to Desmond, "Sorry about him. Enjoy your evening." He turned and hurried after Sirius and Peter.

They were halfway up the entry way stairs, Sirius and Remus both struggling to carry Peter while bent low enough to brace him as he groaned and mumbled incoherently, when Peeves zoomed to a stop before Sirius, hanging upside down, but holding his dress in a bunch between his legs so it wouldn't fall down. "Sneaky Snoopy Sirius, are you breaking up with Peevesy?" he asked.

"Yeah, Peeves, I'm afraid it isn't going to work out, mate."

Peeves blew a big raspberry right in Sirius's face. "Poo!"

"It isn't you, it's me," Sirius said. "It's the whole being dead and alive thing, I don't think I have what it takes to be in an interspiritual relationship at the mo'."

Peeves sang, "Easy remedy for that - can't make me living, but could make you dead!"

"Maybe one day, Peeves, 'ey? Look me up in the afterlife."

"You think I won't remember, Sirius Black, but I will, I will indeed. Just like I remembered Yule Ball!"

"I'm sure you will, Peeves."

"So if we's broken up, I best be on my way to mourn my losses!" Peeves cackled. "Whatever shall I do to feel better about myself?" he wailed this last bit.

Sirius suggested, "Just imagine if there was a great food fight of gingerbread and mince pie in the Great Hall? How angry Mr. Filch would be...?"

Peeve's face lit up. "This is why we is soul mates Sneaky Snoopy Sirius!!!" and he zoomed away, shouting wheeeeeee as he went so that it echoed in the stairwell and the corridors.

Remus looked over at Sirius. "You know he's going to destroy everything, don't you?"

Sirius snickered. "Well, we're not there to suffer for it any longer, might as well give the blasted poltergeist a laugh."

They struggled up to the common room, past several curious looking younger students that were clustered about the study table, and to their dormitory, where they unceremoniously deposited Peter on his bed.

"Never should've left that bleedin' bottle with him," Sirius muttered, rubbing his shoulder.

"Especially the ultra condensed version," Remus answered, "We all know Peter doesn't do well with moderation..."

"You don't say?" Sirius asked, poking Peter's stomach with a laugh. Peter lay muttering incoherently still, not even noticing the poke of Sirius's finger in his roly-poly fatty folds.

Remus sighed and waved his wand, a cup of water appeared on Peter's nightstand, and a small bottle came from his desk - a vial of potion to help reduce headaches. "He'll need it when he wakes up," Remus explained, and he put his wand down on the nightstand, and drew out a book from the shelf, opening it and removing a chocolate bar. Sirius raised an eyebrow as Remus put the book back. "Nothing else except raw meat sounds good and seeing as there aren't any cows about to gnaw on, I think I'll go with the chocolate diet."

"Good choice," Sirius replied, watching as Remus sat down on their bed, cross-legged, and unwrapped the foil around the Honeydukes bar.

Suddenly, Peter Pettigrew sat up, his spine straight as an iron rod, and a funny look on his face. He stared straight ahead, eyes wide but rolled toward the back of his head, his mouth lolling open. Sirius and Remus both jumped up, chocolate bar cast aside, and rushed to Peter's side in a panic.

"Wormtail???" Sirius cried, his voice full of fear, "Are you alright?"

"Pete?" Remus grabbed the empty firewhiskey bottle, sniffing for traces of poison at the mouth of the neck.

"PETER!" Sirius shouted, "Perhaps we ought to get him to the hospital wing?" he was in the middle of suggesting when Peter gave a great, raspy gasp and grabbed onto Sirius's vest near the neck, pulling him close enough that Sirius could feel Peter's breath on his face as he spoke...

Peter's voice came out low and rasping, as though his voice were about to give out, a tone that neither Remus or Sirius had ever heard before. "Seeking a haunted treasure most rare - mother, brother, heir... Guarding the secret of darkest place, all things seen... a prophecy to trace.... One day, when deceit has undone locks, be careful of those slippery rocks. From the depths of icy cold, all take... no give, the precious seconds you'll need to live." And then, in a brilliant swoon, Peter fell backwards, his fist releasing Sirius's vest, landing on the pillow and proceeding to fall quite asleep, snoring.

Sirius and Remus stood staring       at one another, the glow of the coloured lights on their Christmas tree making the whole room have an almost eerie glow in the aftermath of what had just happened. Remus sank back onto the bed, eyes wide as could be. 

"What the bloody hell's just happened?" Sirius asked after several long moments had passed.

"I think... I think Peter's just told a prophecy," Remus murmured.

"What's it mean?"

"Dunno," Remus replied.

Sirius was shaking, but he didn't know why. He turned away, looking at the tree, at the little coloured lights and James's golden snitch, resting on a top most bough. His palms were sweating and he felt profoundly dizzy and unnerved. 

"Is he alright?" Sirius asked without turning around, "He's not dead or anything is he?"

"Dead people don't snore," Remus pointed out. "Are you?"

Sirius had tears coming down from his eyes and for some reason, they felt very private, like something he didn't even want Remus Lupin to see, and he kept his back turned. He nodded.

"You're certain?"

"Yeah."

They stayed silent for some time like that, and after a little while Remus ate the chocolate bar and murmured that he thought they ought to go to bed, and Sirius finally came over and they changed and got in. Remus made a point of hugging Sirius to him as tight as could be. The prophecy had shook them both to the core and Remus thought of what Lily Evans had said about not being able to be close enough to a person, even when they were right there next to you. Remus was having that feeling now with Sirius because suddenly, in the wake of that prophecy, somehow Sirius felt a million-billion miles away.