Based on a random idea I had very later at night (ie, now). It should be interesting, and a little light relief for me to write. I hope you enjoy it. Reviews would be much appreciated, as would ideas for each square. This is based on the London Edition of Monopoly, should you want to look it up.
"Hey, Lils, What's this?" James said one day when he was going through the attic. It had been a year since they had finished Hogwarts and moved in together, but their attic was already full of clutter and useful things. So far, he had uncovered a few old novels of Lily's, and an old pack of exploding snap cards.
"I can't answer because I don't know what it is," she called back up to him from where she was doing the dishes in the kitchen. Lily always insisted on doing it this way, since she said that magic didn't clean them nearly well enough. She sighed as she waited for James to materialise with probably yet another of her books, since he had been asking that question at regular intervals all afternoon. Her husband soon materialised and placed a box down on the kitchen table. "oh, that's just a muggle board game." she said.
"Monopoly." he said slowly, "what do you have to do?" He shook the box slightly, and was almost shocked to hear things rattling around inside of it.
"Well," she started, pulling the plug from the sink and drying her hands, "You start with some money, and you kind of buy stuff, and when people land on the boxes you can charge them if you own that one. I'm not really doing it justice, it's pretty fun really."
"Hmm," James said, "Sounds kind of boring."
"Well, it would if you grew up with Wizards Chess and gobstones." She sighed slightly, "Why don't you invite Sirius over and you can be bored with it together. It might become more interesting if you add a little firewhiskey to the mix"
"Wow, Lily Ev-Potter, encouraging me to drink," he grinned, "I might just do that."
The board game was left on the kitchen table over night, and James thought little else of it. He had made a mental note to owl Sirius, and then went back to the attic. Nothing else up there really took his fancy though, and so out of boredom he simply finished the tidying job with a flick of his wand.
"How's babs?" he asked Lily later that day as she lay on the sofa, leaning against him. She smiled in recognition of the nickname he had given their baby, before responding that since she was barely pregnant at all, she was sure that he or she was just fine. This seemed to content James, as he smiled a genuine smile, with no hint of laugher or arrogance, and kissed the top of her head. For a few moments, he just revelled in thinking how lucky he was for his life to have turned out this way. His beautiful wife had gone from hating him for six years to being completely in love with him. Sometimes it paid to listen to Remus Lupin's advice.
They soon retired to bed, and James gave the box one last look before he flicked the light off in the kitchen, and followed his wife upstairs.
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"So what you're saying is," Sirius said slowly, peering at the board suspiciously, "we just move these little things - I'm being the dog, by the way - around the board, and we can go to jail, and get community chests and things."
"The community chest isn't what you think it is, Padfoot," James said, laughing slightly, "but that's what Lily said."
"I didn't even say what I thought it was! But now you mention it…" he eyed it with a little more hope than suspicion now.
The two men looked closer at the board, and got their wands out, as though it might be containing some sinister secret. "It doesn't seem right." Sirius sighed, "what is so fun about that? It really is just a board game." He gave the board another irritated prod, and James did the same at exactly the same time. And suddenly, they had been pulled head first into the board.
"What is this place?" James said in shock, looking around. They were in a rather large, spacious room, which contained a few couches by the window, a scattering of leaflets on the table, and a long counter along the back. "Why are those people trapped?" he looked at the people behind glass screens that seemed to be passing something through to those going to their counters. He also noticed that people seemed to be getting something from the bleeping silver boxes embedded in the walls.
Sirius walked to the table by the couches and took a leaflet - "Discover the infamous slaughters of Whitechapel and Fleet Street, move 3 lots or a lot more" he read. "Sounds good," he grinned. "I love a good murder. Come on." He started walking towards one of the 'trapped' people, and began to speak.
"Er, Hello, My name is Sirius Black and I was wondering what I am doing here." he stated pleasantly, observing the man with much interest.
"Here you go sir," the man behind the glass said, appearing not to notice the peculiar way in which Sirius was looking at him, "Two hundred Monopoids. Enjoy your journey. Two for you as well, sir?" He added, seeing James, who nodded and took his money. They began to walk away, but James turned back quickly to speak to the man again.
"Where did you say we were?"
"I didn't," the man replied, "you are currently in the bank of Go. Your money is for passing. Good day to you, Mr Potter."
The two men looked down at the money in their hands with confusion, walking to sit in the couches by the window.
"What do you suppose we do now?" James said, rubbing his chin slightly, "Lily will be worried sick if I'm not back soon…" he looked sort of distracted, and looked out the window at the bright sunny day.
"More than usual?" Sirius said, laughing slightly, tossing his head slightly to flick some hair from his eyes.
"She's pregnant," James grinned, but still looking slightly worried and moving a hand to mess up his hair, a habit he had been unable to break for at least 5 years now.
"Congrats," Sirius offered, leaning back in the sofa. "I'm sure she'll realise what's happened. Smart girl that Lily. In the meantime…" He leant forward to take another leaflet. "The Angel, Islington. Come rest your weary bones with a cool pint or three. Sounds fun, how 'bout it, Prongs?"
James nodded slightly, looking over the other leaflets with interest. "I suppose a little exploring couldn't hurt…" he picked up a few and ran his eyes over the words. What shocked him most however was the fact that the pictures on them were unmoving.
"Right." Sirius said, sounding as though his mind was made up. "Let's go, then."
