Disclaimer: I am not fortunate enough to be the great J.K. Rowling and own Harry Potter. I just play in her playground.
The dungeon was quiet, except for the sound of simmering cauldrons. Students sat at their assigned desks, preparing the requested potions. Professor Slughorn bent over his desk, grading papers and occasionally looking up to make sure everything was running smoothly.
It was nine o'clock at night, and Sirius Black was almost done with detention. It was his 100th detention since starting Hogwarts and he was quite proud of it. He had worked hard to get to this point, and now he had finally reached it. Everything was perfect. The prank had been just right, executed without a hitch, and done with his best friend.
James Potter was sitting next to him, going over his potion to make sure everything had been done exactly as it ought to have been. The two boys may not have cared much for rules, but detention was serious business. Detentions should not be received for botching something up in a previous detention. It'd been an unspoken rule from the time when they served their first detention together, and unspoken rules could not be broken. Sure, spoken rules could always be broken, but never an unspoken one. If a rule wasn't written down or spoken, it must be for a reason and whatever they thought about rules and whatnot, that reason they respected. But there I go, rambling away.
The point: they respected unspoken rules. Anyway, Sirius and James had just pulled off the perfect prank. They called it 'Operation Hogwarts Fair'. Not the most creative title, but they were always better with the prank part - and they never let anyone know what they were called, for fear that the knowledge would diminish the spectacular effect of the prank. Operation Hogwarts Fair was, my dear readers, the best prank pulled off by Sirius and James so far. Well actually, it wasn't a prank so much as a fun distraction on a sunny afternoon, but we'll just call it a prank to satisfy Sirius and James.
*******************************Flashback********************************
One bright, sunny afternoon, as the students of Hogwarts dozed off in their classes, music began to drift throughout the castle. And it wasn't normal music (although what defines normal music, dearest readers, I have no idea); oh no. It was carnival music. Now, carnival music is sure to wake up any dozing student; be it because they have a terrible fear of clowns or because they are just woken up very easily by music.
The now awake students rushed to the windows and the doors to investigate the mysterious ticking noi- pardon me, the mysterious music. Those lucky enough to make it to the windows found that the music was coming from outside. They stared in awe at the massive red and white striped tent that had been erected on the Hogwarts grounds, next to the Great Lake. Underneath the tent were stands of food, games and trinkets, along with chairs and tables. Some balloons were tied to the chairs and others were floating magically around the tent. Standing next to the tent was an enormous Ferris Wheel, complete with lights and its very own music. A smaller Merry-Go-Round stood a little bit away, along with an assortment of other carnival rides.
Students began to run out of their classrooms and down onto the grounds, until there were no students left in the classrooms. Standing on the grounds, Sirius sighed happily, looking around at his masterpiece of a prank. He had pulled off a lot of great pranks during his time at Hogwarts, but this one took the cake. All around him, students—and teachers—were enjoying the sunny spring day, the perfect one for a carnival. Even the Merpeople and the Great Squid were enjoying themselves! Some of the Merchildren had taken hold of the Giant Squid's tentacles and were being spun around in a circle, leaving the more squeamish of the bunch dizzy and more than slightly disoriented. Sirius smiled as a group of first and second years passed him, all jabbering with excitement about the carnival. 'Yes' he thought to himself, 'This definitely takes the cake'.
"Sirius!" James was standing by the Ferris Wheel, waving him over. Smiling, Sirius waved back and headed over.
"Nice job mate!" James said, slapping Sirius on the back.
"Thanks" he replied, grinning like a clown. Sirius turned to look at Remus and Peter, who were standing next to James, smiling madly as they looked at the carnival they had helped to create. He started to thank them for all their help, when the doors to the castle swung open with a resounding 'Boom!'
"Ah… A carnival! Delightful! Carry on."
Dumbledore stood on the castle steps, looking down at all the students who had frozen with shock, and then at the teachers who were avoiding his eyes. He smiled gently and climbed down the steps, walking over to the main tent. "Do you have Butterbeer?" The students unfroze and went back to enjoying the carnival. The professors all heaved sighs of relief and joined the students. James and Sirius looked at each other, smiling and thinking they were safe. It wasn't until dinner that they realized they were wrong.
Sirius and James sat across from their fellow marauders, Peter and Remus, enjoying their meal and relishing in the glory of a successful prank. That is, until a gray owl dropped off a letter for each of them. Inside was Dumbledore's neat cursive:
Your detention will begin at 7o'clock sharp next Tuesday. You will be working with Professor Slughorn.
James and Sirius looked at each other and sighed. 'Well, it's really no use pulling off a great prank if you don't get in trouble for it.' Sirius thought.
*****************************End Flashback******************************
And that, dear friends, is the reason Sirius and James are currently making potions under the not-so-watchful eye of Professor Slughorn. Sirius was just beginning to nod off when someone poked him. He sat up, looked around and saw a young boy sitting behind him.
"What?" Sirius snapped, annoyed that he had been woken up. The boy looked affronted.
"What'd you do to get in here?" he asked. Sirius looked at the boy, before replying:
"I was bored."
"Oh. Well, my mum says you're not supposed to sleep during detention. She says it's disrespectful." The boy nodded solemnly, as if he had just spoken sacred words that must be obeyed. James snickered next to Sirius, covering his mouth with his hand, shoulders shaking with mirth. Sirius leaned back, smacking James on the back of his head. James stopped laughing, his face a mixture of mock anger and annoyance as he glared at Sirius.
"Your mum's right" Sirius said, "You should never sleep during detention." And with that he turned around and faced the front of the classroom, putting his feet up on the table in front of him, balancing his chair on the back two legs. Stretching his arms, Sirius folded them behind his head and looked at James who was still rubbing his head in mock annoyance and anger. Sirius looked pointedly at James' potion, which was beginning to turn a nasty shade of green. Following Sirius' gaze, James yelped when he saw his potion and hurriedly tried to fix it. Chuckling, Sirius turned his face back towards the front of the room and shut his eyes.
Poke.
An eye cracked open and Sirius looked around and, once again, spotted the little boy sitting behind them giving him a disapproving look. Sirius sighed, took his feet of the table, and set his chair on all four legs. He turned around and glared at the boy. The little first year stared back, his gaze slightly unsettling.
"Does your mum also have something against putting up your legs on the table and leaning your chair back on two legs?" Sirius asked, annoyed.
Wordlessly the boy nodded. Sirius sighed again and turned around. He turned to face James and watched as he got his potion under control. James sat back, looking proud, and smirked at Sirius, who responded by sticking out his tongue.
"Mature" said James, before sticking his own tongue out at Sirius. Both turned around to make sure the first year wouldn't poke them for doing something his mum wouldn't approve of. His head was bent, the tip of his quill moving across the piece of parchment that lay before him. He hadn't noticed their little exchange. Good. They turned around just as the clock stuck ten. Slughorn looked up and asked for everyone to bring up their potions in a flask. James was giving the potion he had been working on to Slughorn when Sirius felt another poke on his back. He turned around, and looked at the little boy.
"What?"
"It's time to go" the boy stated matter-of-factly. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"I know that" He replied, eye the boy curiously. The first year blushed, looking down at a letter he held in his hands.
"I have a question." He said, cautiously. Sirius nodded slowly and turned around to gather up his stuff.
"What's your question?" He asked as James came back and picked up his things. The boy hesitated a moment, gathering his courage, before answering:
"Will you give this to my mum?" He held out the letter, indicating Sirius should take it.
Sirius stared at him, bewildered. "Why do you need me to give this to your mum? Don't you have an owl? Or you can use the school owls, if you need." The first year shook his head, waving the letter impatiently.
"I don't need to send it to mum; she works here."
Sirius looked at him confusedly. "I don't get it," He said slowly. "Why can't you just give it to her then?"
The boy sighed, as if he was dealing with someone particularly stupid and slow. "I'm not really supposed to see her at school. So, will you give it to her?" He held out the letter, waiting. Sirius took the letter. As soon as it left his hand, the first year ran towards the open door.
"Wait!" Sirius called after him, "Who's your mum?" But it was too late; the boy was gone. Sirius sighed. James looked over his shoulder, glancing at the letter. He gasped, shock evident on his face.
"What?" Sirius asked, before looking down at the letter he held in his hand. Reading the name printed on the envelope, he also gave a gasp of surprise.
In a cursive too neat for a first year, was a name:
Irma Pince
A/N: Reviews? The button is calling you 'press me, review this story…'