"Come on, Lily!" James pleaded. "We're not going to hurt anyone!"
"I want to know what you're planning before I agree to helping you. And, no, 'the greatest prank ever' is not a good enough description," Lily said stubbornly. There was no way she would sign a paper without reading the contents first. This was much the same situation, she thought.
James groaned and rolled his eyes. "Stubborn as a mule," he mumbled. Lily grinned.
"But you wouldn't love me if I weren't, would you?" she asked, leaning over to give James a kiss on the cheek. The four Marauders were sitting in the squishy red armchairs in front of a blazing fire in the Gryffindor common room and had called Lily over on her way up to her dormitory. The wanted Lily's help with the latest prank they were planning. She was the best charms student Hogwarts had ever seen, and they could really use her expertise. It would be tough without her. Possible, but tough.
James grinned. "Of course not, dear." He turned to Sirius Black, the most sought-after Marauder of the bunch. "Sirius, do you care if we tell her first?" James asked. Sirius shook his shaggy head.
"As long as she won't tell anyone if she decides she doesn't want to do it," he said in his deep voice, which was half the reason girls went after him. To have him say their name with that sexy voice...
"You hear that?" James asked Lily, a stern look on his face.
"Yes, dear," she said, smiling.
"You promise?" he asked, still looking grave.
"Promise," Lily answered solemnly. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep a straight face and grinned. That was one of the most important skills needed to be a member of the infamous Marauders: know how to keep a straight face. It had saved them from serving several detentions, though they still had more than most of the students combined. Sirius had the most. James had to worry about being Prefect and Head Boy, so he came in second. Remus placed third in the detention-race, only because he was so polite that most of the teachers didn't believe he could cause such mischief. Peter was just terrified of getting expelled, no matter how much James or Remus would try to soothe him and tell him that he couldn't be expelled for coloring the Slytherins'' hair green, it was just school spirit! He was so frightened that the other always gave him an easy way out, most often assigning him to watch duty, making sure no one caught them in the middle of their mischief-making.
James grinned and put his arm around Lily's shoulders, pulling her towards the small circle of friends.
"Here's what we're gonna do..."
Remus glanced at James with his arm draped possessively around his girlfriend and thought back to how they'd become friends only a year ago.
***
"Ooh, that James Potter just makes me so mad!"
Remus smiled, amused. He wondered how James had managed to get under Lily's skin this time. Hopefully it wasn't those nasty bubotubers again; Lily had practically exploded with rage last week in Potions when she was searching for a quill in her bag and found dozens of those slimy slugs instead.
"He's so immature!" Lily roared. Several first years scuttled out of her path in the hallway as she stomped along, face burning like the common room fire on a cold night in December. Remus could practically feel the heat radiating from her angry person.
"What'd he do this time?" Remus asked calmly. Lily blushed even more, which surprised Remus; He hadn't thought it possible for her face to get any redder. But, then again, he hadn't thought James and Peter and Sirius would insist (vehemently, in Sirius's case) that they still wanted to be friends with Remus, werewolf or not, when they had found out about his lycanthropy in their second year.
"He wrote crude, and-and disgustingly revolting words on my transfiguration exam! He charmed it as I was handing it in! Don't know where he would find such a wretched and offensive charm, anyway! Professor McGonagall was simply horrified! And to think that she thought I did it! Argh!"
Remus barely suppressed his laughter at Lily's ranting. In truth, Remus had given James the book that contained that particular charm as last year's Christmas present. If Lily thought that charm was bad... Remus just hoped she never found the book. He was most concerned with the note on the inside of the front cover of "1001 of the best hexes, charms and spells that will leave your enemy speechless - literally!" It was from Remus, saying to put the book to good use, as long at it wasn't ever used against James's favorite friend, Moony.
Lily stalked through the common room, past a grinning Potter and a hysterical Black. Peter was nowhere to be seen. Probably downstairs raiding the kitchens again, Remus thought. Peter sure was well liked with the house elves down there.
Remus walked over to the two remaining Marauders. He couldn't help it; He started smiling, too. Sirius's grin had always been contagious.
"You really ticked her off this time, James. Why do you pick on her so much, anyway? What did she ever do to you?"
James just shrugged. Remus grinned to himself. He had an idea.
"You know, James," Remus started casually, "when a boy continually picks on the same girl, over and over and over, it's usually because that boy has a crush on that certain girl." James's eyes widened in horror.
"No! No way!" James was frantic. "You're out of your mind Remus! Where would you ever come up with an idea like that?!" Sirius was laughing so hard he was gasping for air.
"I agree, James," he wheezed. "I think maybe you do have a crush on Evans. It makes sense."
"No! Guys, c'mon. You don't really believe that, do you? I hate Evans, she hates me! We hate each other! I do not like Evans!" James yelled. The common room went quiet for a moment, but after a quick glance to see who the shouting was coming from, the other Gryffindors started chattering again. Those Marauders were always causing trouble. Instead of trying to overhear their conversation and risk getting hexed by Sirius Black (who knew some really nasty hexes, some fifth years said), the Gryffindors would wait for the prank and be just as surprised and amused as the rest of the school, as long as they weren't the victims.
"Be serious." Sirius grinned at the unintended pun. "I don't like Evans. You believe me, don't you?" James looked from Sirius to Remus, who were both extremely unconvinced.
"Yeah, James. We believe you." Sirius and Remus grinned identical grins that meant they were up to no good.
Three days later, James and Lily were working on a team to find a way to charm all the Slytherins' food to taste like dog food. The idea had been Sirius's, and Remus begged to Lily that they needed her help. As soon as the two lovebirds started working together, they were inseparable. And they were absolutely unbeatable as a team. The prank was successful - the Slytherins were horrified. Well, most of them. Crabbe and Goyle, two seventh years, didn't seem to care much about the taste. As long as there was enough to stuff their mouths with, they were happy.
Lily became an honorary member of their group, but she refused to be deemed an official Marauder. The Marauders and Lily was just fine, she said. But she worked with them on most of their pranks, not including the dangerous or more mean ones (most of those had something to do with Severus Snape), and by Christmas in their sixth year, James Potter and Lily Evans became an item.
***
The prank was going to take place at Christmas dinner in the Great Hall. It was the Marauders' last Christmas celebration at Hogwarts as students and they wanted people to remember it.
In November, the list for who would be staying at Hogwarts over the Holidays came around. Remus asked Professor McGonagall to come back to him after she had finished visiting the rest of the houses, as his parents hadn't decided if he was to stay at Hogwarts or not. She agreed without hesitation and left. When she returned, Remus signed his name and counted how many other students would be staying. It wasn't that difficult, as there were only four. Then he asked Professor McGonagall which teachers would be staying. He was curious, he said. She told him that Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Adler, Madam Pomfrey and herself would be dining with the students in the Great Hall. He smiled and thanked her.
***
As Christmas neared, the Marauders worked more diligently than the had for any other prank or even their school work or exams. This was to be the best Christmas Hogwarts had ever seen.
***
Finally it was Christmas Day. They all opened their presents and thanked each other many times for their splendid gifts. Remus's favorite, by far, had been from Sirius. Although hyper and carefree, he was really a thoughtful person.
Remus unwrapped the present and opened the silver box and found what looked like a small gold jewelry box sitting inside. When it was opened, a picture was projected on the ceiling of the dormitory. It was the night sky with brilliant stars and a full moon. Remus had often wondered what it was like to look at that sphere of beauty in his human form without feeling the pull or the pain of the transformation. He looked up at the moon with tears in his eyes. Now he knew.
***
The Gryffindors walked into the Great Hall later that evening, surrounded by glorious Christmas decorations. The suits of armor were enchanted that year to sing Christmas Carols and there were twelve splendid Christmas trees in the Hall, glittering with gold stars and flickering candles. Streamers decorated the hall in red and green, Christmas colors, as well as silver and gold. It was gorgeous.
The five friends were the last to arrive, so as they sat down, Professor Dumbledore started talking.
"The kitchen elves, for some reason unknown even to me-" Remus seriously doubted that, especially with that knowing gleam in the Headmaster's blue eyes, "-have been delayed, so our feast will arrive five minutes late. I sincerely hope that none of you will have trouble entertaining yourselves, and perhaps entertaining others as well-" there's that twinkle again, Remus thought, "-for this short time."
Remus looked across the table at James, Sirius, and Lily, and nudged Peter to get ready. He saw Sirius mouth, "three, two..." and on "one," the five simultaneously mumbled a very complicated spell under their breaths while inconspicuously pointing their wands at the ceiling through their robes.
All of a sudden the torches in the room flickered and died amid gasps from the two fourth year Ravenclaws. Then a glow seemed to be radiating from the ceiling and everyone looked up. Hundreds, thousands of small gold and silver stars came floating down from the enchanted ceiling. They landed on the floor, stuck to the walls, fell onto the table, into people's hair, on their robes. Anyone who walked into the Great Hall from the entrance doors would find their breath momentarily stolen away, the sight was so breath- takingly beautiful. Remus looked around to see Lily, James, Sirius, and Peter grinning, and felt what must have been a pleased grin identical to theirs stretching across his own face. He looked at the teachers, and saw the happy twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes. The Ravenclaws were amazed and staring, and even the Slytherins were awestruck. Severus Snape's jaw was practically laying on the table, and, despite the peace and tranquillity of the moment, Remus wished a star would swoop into his gaping mouth. Not that it would hurt him or anything. Remus knew the stars were cool to the touch and disappeared thirty seconds after touching something solid.
The fall of stars slowed down gradually, until just a few were floating downward, replacing the stars that disappeared every thirty seconds. Professor Dumbledore announced that they would dine by the starlight, and the food appeared. Delicious ham, turkey, roast beef, chicken, pork chops, steak, potatoes, carrots, peas, fries, and innumerable desserts lined the single table immediately. Remus saw Peter dive straight for the Yorkshire Pudding and laughed.
Dinner went by cheerfully, and everyone seemed to be in the Christmas spirit. Indeed, not even Snape or Sirius had exchanged insults for the first hour. It really was a season of miracles.
"It's too bad Professor Baril could not stay for the holidays," the Headmaster commented. "I can imagine exactly what she'd say right now."
Professor McGonagall laughed and quoted, "'When thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die.' What rubbish," she laughed.
The students mostly listened to what was said by the teachers, with the exception of James, Sirius and Lily. They were having an animated conversation about Quidditch. Well, James and Sirius were having an animated conversation about Quidditch, while Lily rolled her eyes and threw in a few "What is so special about Quidditch, anyway?" comments, which were easily ignored by the Quidditch-loving duo. They'd tried to explain it to her before, the thrill of the game, but she stared at them like they'd sprouted an extra arm and lost all their hair.
At last the plates were cleared and James scooted back his chair. Sirius saw this and quickly stood up, his chair making a screeching sound on the floor. Either Sirius was extremely competitive tonight and had to be the first at everything, or he had listened to some of the teachers' conversation. Even though both James and Lily agreed with Professor McGonagall on the subject of Divination being absolute guesswork, Sirius didn't seem to want to take any chances.
James stood up with Sirius.
"If everyone would please stay seated, we have someone coming around to deliver some packages."
A six-foot tall Christmas tree wearing enormous sunglasses stepped up next to Professor Dumbledore. James continued, "Just say your last name to our friend here, and he'll present you with your present."
Professor Dumbledore smiled and said "Dumbledore" to the tree, and a gift suddenly appeared on the table in front of him where his plate had been. The tree hopped around to everyone, professors first, Ravenclaws, then Slytherins. Then it hopped over to Remus, and Remus, looking quizzically at it, said "Lupin." A gift appeared in front of him. Peter, James, and Lily did the same, and finally it hopped over to Sirius, where it spat out a small box.
Sirius spoke again. "Each of your gifts, professors, was hand-made, no magic, and each one took three days to make. Our dear Lily placed the strongest freezing charm ever discovered on them, so don't worry about it melting. As for your presents, children," he said to the four other students not in his house, "I think Rosmerta of the Three Broomsticks has taken quite a liking to me." He grinned.
The students each had two giant bars of Honeydukes' best chocolate and a gift certificate valid in any store in Hogsmeade for ten galleons, all tied together with a curling silver ribbon. All the professors got a beautiful ice sculpture, though each one was different.
Professor McGonagall's was a cat, sitting with it's tail curled around it's legs and it's pointy ears erect. It seemed to be staring right at her. She had no idea how those boys knew her favorite animals was a cat, but it didn't matter. At that moment, Professor McGonagall forgave the troublemakers for every little thing they'd ever done, including the time they'd set her classroom on fire by letting several flaming salamanders loose in a fit of end-of-year spirits.
Professor Adler, the Potions Master, got a wonderful sculpture of a raging hippogriff. He chuckled. That was one of his favorite memories, and he's shared it with his classes many times. Trust those kids to remember something like that.
Madam Pomfrey's ice sculpture was the Whomping Willow. Remus had done most of the work on this one. It was, by far, Madam Pomfrey's favorite tree on the Hogwarts grounds, and she told Remus so every full moon. "And it's thanks to you, Remus, that I get to look out my window every day and see my most favorite thing."
Professor Dumbledore's was the most special. It was a carving of Fawkes, his young phoenix. The Gryffindors had met this amazing bird on several occasions. They must have been in his office more than the rest of the students combined. He smiled at the thoughtful gift, but it was just so unoriginal. But he hadn't realized why his gift was so special yet.
"Headmaster?" Dumbledore looked up at Sirius Black's grinning face.
"There was some debate for what to sculpt yours into. James, Lily and Peter reckoned that Fawkes would be perfect, but Remus and I, well... We thought a bit differently. If you look on the bottom of your carving, you'll see a spell engraved. Just say it, and it'll change. Say it again, and the design will change back to Fawkes."
Dumbledore looked on the underside of his ice sculpture and found the said spell. He also saw a small engraving that said "The Marauders and a Flower." He muttered the spell at the block of ice, and right before his eyes the sculpture transformed from his pet phoenix to a lovely pair of woolen stockings. How he loved socks! He grinned so wide that he was afraid his face might just crack apart.
Remus thought that present suited the Headmaster perfectly. Dumbledore had his wise moments, when you believed everything could be solved with a word from the wizened wizard. But then he had his more humorous times, when he'd say "Nitwit, blubber, oddment, and tweak," and when he'd tell the students about his trips in circles all around the castle while trying to find the room he had been in just an hour ago. It must have disappeared, he stated. The phoenix matched his one side perfectly, while the socks suited his other personality beautifully.
Remus opened his present to find an ice sculpture just like the professors, except engraved on the bottom was the constellation of Canis Major and an arrow pointing to the star "Sirius." His carving was of Sirius in his animagus form: a big black dog. James had a majestic stag, Peter had a curious rat that was tilting it's heat in a questioning way at him, and Lily had an exquisite lily. Sirius's little box had not been opened yet. Remus caught his eye and looked curiously at it, but Sirius just grinned. Then he spoke again.
"I do believe Mr. Potter has an announcement to make," he said mischievously. James stood up somewhat shakily as Sirius sat down in his chair. Sirius handed the small black box up to James and grinned.
"Well..." James cleared his throat. "Er... Tonight is already one of my best memories - no, it may not be better than the time we charmed Mrs. Norris's teeth out of her mouth and put a silencing charm on her so she couldn't meow and give away our position, but after I do this, tonight will be number one. I promise you. You all know that Lily Evans, my stunning girlfriend here, was my sworn enemy until only about a year ago. We absolutely loathed each other, until two of my best friends decided to play matchmaker. I never thought I'd thank them for meddling in my love life, but I guess I owe it to them. And I'll keep owing it to them in my grave, because there's no way I'm going to thank them for being nosy while I'm alive." The teachers chuckled. "But the point is, I owe them bigtime, for introducing me to Lily, the woman of my dreams. Every once in a while, she reverts to 'That Evans Girl,' as I've taken to calling her when she's stubborn or somewhat annoying. But then I realized that that's what I love about Lily. She was the only girl who didn't accept immediately when I invited her to spend a night with me in the Astronomy Tower -" here McGonagall gasped, while Dumbledore laughed quietly, "- and she was so smart and independent. She's slapped me more times than I can accurately count, but I love her anyway. And I want to ask her something." James scooted his chair out of the way and kneeled next to Lily, holding out the black box. Lily stared at James with wide eyes, wondering if this was really happening.
The box opened, and inside rested a beautiful gold ring with a decently sized diamond on it. No, she wasn't dreaming. This is really happening, Lily thought.
"Lilian Evans, will you marry me? If you say yes, tonight will be the happiest of my life, only because I know I get to spend the rest of my life with no one but you. I love you so much, Lils," James said softly.
A tear rolled down Lily's cheek and she whispered "yes," and fell to her knees and hugged James tightly. He hugged her back as if his life depended on it. All of a sudden vines grew all over the walls and table and chairs, and every few inches a radiant white lily sprouted to life. McGonagall had what looked suspiciously like tears in her eyes, and the other adults were all smiling fondly. The remaining Marauders were grinning like mad and the four other students were smiling. Even Severus Snape looked content.
It was indeed the happiest day of James's life. And Lily's. Remus was so happy for the couple that he didn't see Peeves the Poltergeist fly over his head. Sirius did, and pointed towards Professor McGonagall with a grin on his face.
Professor Adler cleared his throat and glanced up meaningfully. McGonagall and the rest of the table looked up to see Peeves holding a mistletoe above the two professors. Lily laughed tearfully, and McGonagall blushed profusely.
"My dear Minerva, it looks like you've earned the privilege of kissing our favorite Professor Adler tonight!" Professor Dumbledore announced gleefully.
Professor Adler chuckled quietly and leaned forward to kiss Minerva softly on the lips. It lasted much longer than anyone had expected. When they pulled apart, Sirius Black was standing and making catcalls at his two lovestruck Professors. As her lips thinned and she glared at her obnoxious student, all thoughts of forgiveness flew from McGonagall's mind.
~~~ fin. ~~~
Authors Note: So, yeah. I hope this story was better than "A Growing Friendship." I've always thought that writing improves with age, so I gave another story a shot. While I was writing "A Growing Friendship," I got easily distracted. It was okay for the first couple of chapters, but then I quickly lost interest in the story. So I thought that maybe if I wrote a short fic instead, I would be able to actually finish it while I was still trying, and not just writing it because people were asking for more and because I felt obligated to finish. Can you believe that I finished this story in only one day? Well, I hope this story is well liked, and I would really be thrilled if I got some reviews. I know I won't get a lot, as this is as far as the story is going to go, but a few would make me happy. Depending on how many reviews I get, I'm going to decide if I should just stick to short stories or if maybe I should take a shot at another chapter fic. So, please, if you read the story and you liked it, review. If you read the story and hated it, don't bother. Flames will be used to burn my little green army men (no offense meant to anyone who's got a family member in the army, and no offense meant to those who truly believe that whatever happens in Toy Story can happen in real life. I don't torture toys for pleasure).
Disclaimer: I decided to put this at the end of the story, I don't know why. But here it is. None of the characters you recognize are mine. Professor Adler is my only creation, along with the plot, and the 'and's, 'but's, and 'if's in between. Please don't sue. You won't get anything out of it.
Invisible Little Me.
"I want to know what you're planning before I agree to helping you. And, no, 'the greatest prank ever' is not a good enough description," Lily said stubbornly. There was no way she would sign a paper without reading the contents first. This was much the same situation, she thought.
James groaned and rolled his eyes. "Stubborn as a mule," he mumbled. Lily grinned.
"But you wouldn't love me if I weren't, would you?" she asked, leaning over to give James a kiss on the cheek. The four Marauders were sitting in the squishy red armchairs in front of a blazing fire in the Gryffindor common room and had called Lily over on her way up to her dormitory. The wanted Lily's help with the latest prank they were planning. She was the best charms student Hogwarts had ever seen, and they could really use her expertise. It would be tough without her. Possible, but tough.
James grinned. "Of course not, dear." He turned to Sirius Black, the most sought-after Marauder of the bunch. "Sirius, do you care if we tell her first?" James asked. Sirius shook his shaggy head.
"As long as she won't tell anyone if she decides she doesn't want to do it," he said in his deep voice, which was half the reason girls went after him. To have him say their name with that sexy voice...
"You hear that?" James asked Lily, a stern look on his face.
"Yes, dear," she said, smiling.
"You promise?" he asked, still looking grave.
"Promise," Lily answered solemnly. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep a straight face and grinned. That was one of the most important skills needed to be a member of the infamous Marauders: know how to keep a straight face. It had saved them from serving several detentions, though they still had more than most of the students combined. Sirius had the most. James had to worry about being Prefect and Head Boy, so he came in second. Remus placed third in the detention-race, only because he was so polite that most of the teachers didn't believe he could cause such mischief. Peter was just terrified of getting expelled, no matter how much James or Remus would try to soothe him and tell him that he couldn't be expelled for coloring the Slytherins'' hair green, it was just school spirit! He was so frightened that the other always gave him an easy way out, most often assigning him to watch duty, making sure no one caught them in the middle of their mischief-making.
James grinned and put his arm around Lily's shoulders, pulling her towards the small circle of friends.
"Here's what we're gonna do..."
Remus glanced at James with his arm draped possessively around his girlfriend and thought back to how they'd become friends only a year ago.
***
"Ooh, that James Potter just makes me so mad!"
Remus smiled, amused. He wondered how James had managed to get under Lily's skin this time. Hopefully it wasn't those nasty bubotubers again; Lily had practically exploded with rage last week in Potions when she was searching for a quill in her bag and found dozens of those slimy slugs instead.
"He's so immature!" Lily roared. Several first years scuttled out of her path in the hallway as she stomped along, face burning like the common room fire on a cold night in December. Remus could practically feel the heat radiating from her angry person.
"What'd he do this time?" Remus asked calmly. Lily blushed even more, which surprised Remus; He hadn't thought it possible for her face to get any redder. But, then again, he hadn't thought James and Peter and Sirius would insist (vehemently, in Sirius's case) that they still wanted to be friends with Remus, werewolf or not, when they had found out about his lycanthropy in their second year.
"He wrote crude, and-and disgustingly revolting words on my transfiguration exam! He charmed it as I was handing it in! Don't know where he would find such a wretched and offensive charm, anyway! Professor McGonagall was simply horrified! And to think that she thought I did it! Argh!"
Remus barely suppressed his laughter at Lily's ranting. In truth, Remus had given James the book that contained that particular charm as last year's Christmas present. If Lily thought that charm was bad... Remus just hoped she never found the book. He was most concerned with the note on the inside of the front cover of "1001 of the best hexes, charms and spells that will leave your enemy speechless - literally!" It was from Remus, saying to put the book to good use, as long at it wasn't ever used against James's favorite friend, Moony.
Lily stalked through the common room, past a grinning Potter and a hysterical Black. Peter was nowhere to be seen. Probably downstairs raiding the kitchens again, Remus thought. Peter sure was well liked with the house elves down there.
Remus walked over to the two remaining Marauders. He couldn't help it; He started smiling, too. Sirius's grin had always been contagious.
"You really ticked her off this time, James. Why do you pick on her so much, anyway? What did she ever do to you?"
James just shrugged. Remus grinned to himself. He had an idea.
"You know, James," Remus started casually, "when a boy continually picks on the same girl, over and over and over, it's usually because that boy has a crush on that certain girl." James's eyes widened in horror.
"No! No way!" James was frantic. "You're out of your mind Remus! Where would you ever come up with an idea like that?!" Sirius was laughing so hard he was gasping for air.
"I agree, James," he wheezed. "I think maybe you do have a crush on Evans. It makes sense."
"No! Guys, c'mon. You don't really believe that, do you? I hate Evans, she hates me! We hate each other! I do not like Evans!" James yelled. The common room went quiet for a moment, but after a quick glance to see who the shouting was coming from, the other Gryffindors started chattering again. Those Marauders were always causing trouble. Instead of trying to overhear their conversation and risk getting hexed by Sirius Black (who knew some really nasty hexes, some fifth years said), the Gryffindors would wait for the prank and be just as surprised and amused as the rest of the school, as long as they weren't the victims.
"Be serious." Sirius grinned at the unintended pun. "I don't like Evans. You believe me, don't you?" James looked from Sirius to Remus, who were both extremely unconvinced.
"Yeah, James. We believe you." Sirius and Remus grinned identical grins that meant they were up to no good.
Three days later, James and Lily were working on a team to find a way to charm all the Slytherins' food to taste like dog food. The idea had been Sirius's, and Remus begged to Lily that they needed her help. As soon as the two lovebirds started working together, they were inseparable. And they were absolutely unbeatable as a team. The prank was successful - the Slytherins were horrified. Well, most of them. Crabbe and Goyle, two seventh years, didn't seem to care much about the taste. As long as there was enough to stuff their mouths with, they were happy.
Lily became an honorary member of their group, but she refused to be deemed an official Marauder. The Marauders and Lily was just fine, she said. But she worked with them on most of their pranks, not including the dangerous or more mean ones (most of those had something to do with Severus Snape), and by Christmas in their sixth year, James Potter and Lily Evans became an item.
***
The prank was going to take place at Christmas dinner in the Great Hall. It was the Marauders' last Christmas celebration at Hogwarts as students and they wanted people to remember it.
In November, the list for who would be staying at Hogwarts over the Holidays came around. Remus asked Professor McGonagall to come back to him after she had finished visiting the rest of the houses, as his parents hadn't decided if he was to stay at Hogwarts or not. She agreed without hesitation and left. When she returned, Remus signed his name and counted how many other students would be staying. It wasn't that difficult, as there were only four. Then he asked Professor McGonagall which teachers would be staying. He was curious, he said. She told him that Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Adler, Madam Pomfrey and herself would be dining with the students in the Great Hall. He smiled and thanked her.
***
As Christmas neared, the Marauders worked more diligently than the had for any other prank or even their school work or exams. This was to be the best Christmas Hogwarts had ever seen.
***
Finally it was Christmas Day. They all opened their presents and thanked each other many times for their splendid gifts. Remus's favorite, by far, had been from Sirius. Although hyper and carefree, he was really a thoughtful person.
Remus unwrapped the present and opened the silver box and found what looked like a small gold jewelry box sitting inside. When it was opened, a picture was projected on the ceiling of the dormitory. It was the night sky with brilliant stars and a full moon. Remus had often wondered what it was like to look at that sphere of beauty in his human form without feeling the pull or the pain of the transformation. He looked up at the moon with tears in his eyes. Now he knew.
***
The Gryffindors walked into the Great Hall later that evening, surrounded by glorious Christmas decorations. The suits of armor were enchanted that year to sing Christmas Carols and there were twelve splendid Christmas trees in the Hall, glittering with gold stars and flickering candles. Streamers decorated the hall in red and green, Christmas colors, as well as silver and gold. It was gorgeous.
The five friends were the last to arrive, so as they sat down, Professor Dumbledore started talking.
"The kitchen elves, for some reason unknown even to me-" Remus seriously doubted that, especially with that knowing gleam in the Headmaster's blue eyes, "-have been delayed, so our feast will arrive five minutes late. I sincerely hope that none of you will have trouble entertaining yourselves, and perhaps entertaining others as well-" there's that twinkle again, Remus thought, "-for this short time."
Remus looked across the table at James, Sirius, and Lily, and nudged Peter to get ready. He saw Sirius mouth, "three, two..." and on "one," the five simultaneously mumbled a very complicated spell under their breaths while inconspicuously pointing their wands at the ceiling through their robes.
All of a sudden the torches in the room flickered and died amid gasps from the two fourth year Ravenclaws. Then a glow seemed to be radiating from the ceiling and everyone looked up. Hundreds, thousands of small gold and silver stars came floating down from the enchanted ceiling. They landed on the floor, stuck to the walls, fell onto the table, into people's hair, on their robes. Anyone who walked into the Great Hall from the entrance doors would find their breath momentarily stolen away, the sight was so breath- takingly beautiful. Remus looked around to see Lily, James, Sirius, and Peter grinning, and felt what must have been a pleased grin identical to theirs stretching across his own face. He looked at the teachers, and saw the happy twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes. The Ravenclaws were amazed and staring, and even the Slytherins were awestruck. Severus Snape's jaw was practically laying on the table, and, despite the peace and tranquillity of the moment, Remus wished a star would swoop into his gaping mouth. Not that it would hurt him or anything. Remus knew the stars were cool to the touch and disappeared thirty seconds after touching something solid.
The fall of stars slowed down gradually, until just a few were floating downward, replacing the stars that disappeared every thirty seconds. Professor Dumbledore announced that they would dine by the starlight, and the food appeared. Delicious ham, turkey, roast beef, chicken, pork chops, steak, potatoes, carrots, peas, fries, and innumerable desserts lined the single table immediately. Remus saw Peter dive straight for the Yorkshire Pudding and laughed.
Dinner went by cheerfully, and everyone seemed to be in the Christmas spirit. Indeed, not even Snape or Sirius had exchanged insults for the first hour. It really was a season of miracles.
"It's too bad Professor Baril could not stay for the holidays," the Headmaster commented. "I can imagine exactly what she'd say right now."
Professor McGonagall laughed and quoted, "'When thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die.' What rubbish," she laughed.
The students mostly listened to what was said by the teachers, with the exception of James, Sirius and Lily. They were having an animated conversation about Quidditch. Well, James and Sirius were having an animated conversation about Quidditch, while Lily rolled her eyes and threw in a few "What is so special about Quidditch, anyway?" comments, which were easily ignored by the Quidditch-loving duo. They'd tried to explain it to her before, the thrill of the game, but she stared at them like they'd sprouted an extra arm and lost all their hair.
At last the plates were cleared and James scooted back his chair. Sirius saw this and quickly stood up, his chair making a screeching sound on the floor. Either Sirius was extremely competitive tonight and had to be the first at everything, or he had listened to some of the teachers' conversation. Even though both James and Lily agreed with Professor McGonagall on the subject of Divination being absolute guesswork, Sirius didn't seem to want to take any chances.
James stood up with Sirius.
"If everyone would please stay seated, we have someone coming around to deliver some packages."
A six-foot tall Christmas tree wearing enormous sunglasses stepped up next to Professor Dumbledore. James continued, "Just say your last name to our friend here, and he'll present you with your present."
Professor Dumbledore smiled and said "Dumbledore" to the tree, and a gift suddenly appeared on the table in front of him where his plate had been. The tree hopped around to everyone, professors first, Ravenclaws, then Slytherins. Then it hopped over to Remus, and Remus, looking quizzically at it, said "Lupin." A gift appeared in front of him. Peter, James, and Lily did the same, and finally it hopped over to Sirius, where it spat out a small box.
Sirius spoke again. "Each of your gifts, professors, was hand-made, no magic, and each one took three days to make. Our dear Lily placed the strongest freezing charm ever discovered on them, so don't worry about it melting. As for your presents, children," he said to the four other students not in his house, "I think Rosmerta of the Three Broomsticks has taken quite a liking to me." He grinned.
The students each had two giant bars of Honeydukes' best chocolate and a gift certificate valid in any store in Hogsmeade for ten galleons, all tied together with a curling silver ribbon. All the professors got a beautiful ice sculpture, though each one was different.
Professor McGonagall's was a cat, sitting with it's tail curled around it's legs and it's pointy ears erect. It seemed to be staring right at her. She had no idea how those boys knew her favorite animals was a cat, but it didn't matter. At that moment, Professor McGonagall forgave the troublemakers for every little thing they'd ever done, including the time they'd set her classroom on fire by letting several flaming salamanders loose in a fit of end-of-year spirits.
Professor Adler, the Potions Master, got a wonderful sculpture of a raging hippogriff. He chuckled. That was one of his favorite memories, and he's shared it with his classes many times. Trust those kids to remember something like that.
Madam Pomfrey's ice sculpture was the Whomping Willow. Remus had done most of the work on this one. It was, by far, Madam Pomfrey's favorite tree on the Hogwarts grounds, and she told Remus so every full moon. "And it's thanks to you, Remus, that I get to look out my window every day and see my most favorite thing."
Professor Dumbledore's was the most special. It was a carving of Fawkes, his young phoenix. The Gryffindors had met this amazing bird on several occasions. They must have been in his office more than the rest of the students combined. He smiled at the thoughtful gift, but it was just so unoriginal. But he hadn't realized why his gift was so special yet.
"Headmaster?" Dumbledore looked up at Sirius Black's grinning face.
"There was some debate for what to sculpt yours into. James, Lily and Peter reckoned that Fawkes would be perfect, but Remus and I, well... We thought a bit differently. If you look on the bottom of your carving, you'll see a spell engraved. Just say it, and it'll change. Say it again, and the design will change back to Fawkes."
Dumbledore looked on the underside of his ice sculpture and found the said spell. He also saw a small engraving that said "The Marauders and a Flower." He muttered the spell at the block of ice, and right before his eyes the sculpture transformed from his pet phoenix to a lovely pair of woolen stockings. How he loved socks! He grinned so wide that he was afraid his face might just crack apart.
Remus thought that present suited the Headmaster perfectly. Dumbledore had his wise moments, when you believed everything could be solved with a word from the wizened wizard. But then he had his more humorous times, when he'd say "Nitwit, blubber, oddment, and tweak," and when he'd tell the students about his trips in circles all around the castle while trying to find the room he had been in just an hour ago. It must have disappeared, he stated. The phoenix matched his one side perfectly, while the socks suited his other personality beautifully.
Remus opened his present to find an ice sculpture just like the professors, except engraved on the bottom was the constellation of Canis Major and an arrow pointing to the star "Sirius." His carving was of Sirius in his animagus form: a big black dog. James had a majestic stag, Peter had a curious rat that was tilting it's heat in a questioning way at him, and Lily had an exquisite lily. Sirius's little box had not been opened yet. Remus caught his eye and looked curiously at it, but Sirius just grinned. Then he spoke again.
"I do believe Mr. Potter has an announcement to make," he said mischievously. James stood up somewhat shakily as Sirius sat down in his chair. Sirius handed the small black box up to James and grinned.
"Well..." James cleared his throat. "Er... Tonight is already one of my best memories - no, it may not be better than the time we charmed Mrs. Norris's teeth out of her mouth and put a silencing charm on her so she couldn't meow and give away our position, but after I do this, tonight will be number one. I promise you. You all know that Lily Evans, my stunning girlfriend here, was my sworn enemy until only about a year ago. We absolutely loathed each other, until two of my best friends decided to play matchmaker. I never thought I'd thank them for meddling in my love life, but I guess I owe it to them. And I'll keep owing it to them in my grave, because there's no way I'm going to thank them for being nosy while I'm alive." The teachers chuckled. "But the point is, I owe them bigtime, for introducing me to Lily, the woman of my dreams. Every once in a while, she reverts to 'That Evans Girl,' as I've taken to calling her when she's stubborn or somewhat annoying. But then I realized that that's what I love about Lily. She was the only girl who didn't accept immediately when I invited her to spend a night with me in the Astronomy Tower -" here McGonagall gasped, while Dumbledore laughed quietly, "- and she was so smart and independent. She's slapped me more times than I can accurately count, but I love her anyway. And I want to ask her something." James scooted his chair out of the way and kneeled next to Lily, holding out the black box. Lily stared at James with wide eyes, wondering if this was really happening.
The box opened, and inside rested a beautiful gold ring with a decently sized diamond on it. No, she wasn't dreaming. This is really happening, Lily thought.
"Lilian Evans, will you marry me? If you say yes, tonight will be the happiest of my life, only because I know I get to spend the rest of my life with no one but you. I love you so much, Lils," James said softly.
A tear rolled down Lily's cheek and she whispered "yes," and fell to her knees and hugged James tightly. He hugged her back as if his life depended on it. All of a sudden vines grew all over the walls and table and chairs, and every few inches a radiant white lily sprouted to life. McGonagall had what looked suspiciously like tears in her eyes, and the other adults were all smiling fondly. The remaining Marauders were grinning like mad and the four other students were smiling. Even Severus Snape looked content.
It was indeed the happiest day of James's life. And Lily's. Remus was so happy for the couple that he didn't see Peeves the Poltergeist fly over his head. Sirius did, and pointed towards Professor McGonagall with a grin on his face.
Professor Adler cleared his throat and glanced up meaningfully. McGonagall and the rest of the table looked up to see Peeves holding a mistletoe above the two professors. Lily laughed tearfully, and McGonagall blushed profusely.
"My dear Minerva, it looks like you've earned the privilege of kissing our favorite Professor Adler tonight!" Professor Dumbledore announced gleefully.
Professor Adler chuckled quietly and leaned forward to kiss Minerva softly on the lips. It lasted much longer than anyone had expected. When they pulled apart, Sirius Black was standing and making catcalls at his two lovestruck Professors. As her lips thinned and she glared at her obnoxious student, all thoughts of forgiveness flew from McGonagall's mind.
~~~ fin. ~~~
Authors Note: So, yeah. I hope this story was better than "A Growing Friendship." I've always thought that writing improves with age, so I gave another story a shot. While I was writing "A Growing Friendship," I got easily distracted. It was okay for the first couple of chapters, but then I quickly lost interest in the story. So I thought that maybe if I wrote a short fic instead, I would be able to actually finish it while I was still trying, and not just writing it because people were asking for more and because I felt obligated to finish. Can you believe that I finished this story in only one day? Well, I hope this story is well liked, and I would really be thrilled if I got some reviews. I know I won't get a lot, as this is as far as the story is going to go, but a few would make me happy. Depending on how many reviews I get, I'm going to decide if I should just stick to short stories or if maybe I should take a shot at another chapter fic. So, please, if you read the story and you liked it, review. If you read the story and hated it, don't bother. Flames will be used to burn my little green army men (no offense meant to anyone who's got a family member in the army, and no offense meant to those who truly believe that whatever happens in Toy Story can happen in real life. I don't torture toys for pleasure).
Disclaimer: I decided to put this at the end of the story, I don't know why. But here it is. None of the characters you recognize are mine. Professor Adler is my only creation, along with the plot, and the 'and's, 'but's, and 'if's in between. Please don't sue. You won't get anything out of it.
Invisible Little Me.