CHASER 1: "I don't know how I got stuck under there. It was just a … uh, hilarious chain of events." Impractical Jokers

Additional prompts:

8. [object] Pendant

9. [creature] Hippogriff

15. [quote] 'You two can show off to each other later. You're both very smart. Now shut up.' — Skyward, Brandon Sanderson


Professor Minerva McGonagall narrowed her eyes at two of the most wayward Gryffindors that she had ever taught. And she had taught a lot of pupils during her tenure at Hogwarts. She crossed her arms across her chest and paced the hardwood floor of her office. Her head pounded, and she rubbed her temples in a failing effort to soothe herself.

"Mr. Black, please explain to me how Hagrid found the two of you under the Quidditch stands and you, Sirius, partially embedded in the supports," Professor McGonagall asked cooly, and both Sirius and James felt a chill go down their spines at her tone.

Sirius Black suddenly found his shoelaces to be the most interesting things in the world. He cleared his throat and mustered his charm before looking up at his teacher and giving her a winning smile.

"Well, you see, funny story about that, I don't know how I got stuck under there. It was just a… uh, hilarious chain of events actually." Sirius couldn't help but chuckle a little as he thought about the events earlier that day.

"By all means, Mr. Black, amuse me."

"Well, you see, it started in Care of Magical Creatures class…."

/

James idly poked a flobberworm with his wand. When he had learned about a class with magical creatures, he had envisioned dragons, unicorns, and thunderbirds; not the foul creature before him that did nothing interesting at all.

"This is so borrrinnng," James whined to Sirius.

"Hey, I have an idea." Sirius nudged James, Remus, and Peter before backing away from the class as Professor Kettleburn helped another group that had given their flobberworm too much lettuce.

"Sirius, this had better be good. I don't want another detention," Remus grumbled as he followed behind his more adventurous friends.

"Kettleburn will never miss us."

After a short walk through a less depressing part of the Forbidden Forest, the four marauders came across a paddock. The four boys stood in awe at the sight before them, a half dozen majestic creatures strolled around the area.

"What are those?" Peter wondered aloud.

Remus, ever prepared, opened his textbook and flipped through until he found the creature in question, reading a brief summary of the hippogriffs in front of them. The four boys stood around the makeshift fence as the giant beasts cantered around the enclosure. After some time, one with grey feathers and coat grew curious and made its way over to the students to investigate. Remus and Peter jumped back at the massive creature approaching, as its beak and talons were even more intimidating up close. James and Sirius, although slightly nervous, stared in wonder at the animal. Before he realized what he was doing, Sirius slowly raised his hand and the hippogriff gently nuzzled at it with its beak. A broad smile spread across Sirius's face as he began to scratch behind some tufts of feathers.

"I bet he could go faster than a broom," Sirius stated without really thinking about it.

"No way. My Comet could outfly him," James countered with a bit of a huff. The idea that anything could fly faster than his Comet (besides the next model) was absurd.

"He could too," Sirius retorted loudly.

"You two can show off to each other later. You're both very smart. Now shut up. I hear someone coming," Remus hissed at his friends before their bickering got too loud. He pulled them away from the edge of the paddock and behind some nearby trees as Hagrid appeared with a bucket of ferrets and began tossing them to the hippogriffs.

"I'm getting my broom," James announced as soon as Hagrid had left again and ran off. Remus sighed. He didn't think this was going to end well.

"Come on, Peter, we have charms soon besides this will be nothing but trouble." Remus began walking back towards the castle. Peter looked between his two friends and eventually decided that James and Sirius's plan wasn't worth the detentions and followed after his more responsible friend. Sirius took the time he had alone to climb up onto the fencing as the same hippogriff approached again and let him put his arms around him. It wasn't long until he found himself standing on top of the post and pulled himself onto the creatures back. Sirius had never been on a hippogriff, but really, how many young wizards or witches had? He had also never even been on a horse. However, the lack of experience was more than made up for by Sirius's natural talent, and he instinctively gripped the beast, with his legs not having anything for his hands to grasp onto. A moment later, he found himself being pulled forward towards the distant fence. Terrified they would crash into it, he leaned forward and threw his arms around its neck and pressed his eyes shut. The gentle rise and fall of the wings pulled Sirius out of his paralyzing terror, and he opened his eyes to see the ground far below.

A small dark-haired figure was running across the lawn. James, who had returned with his broom, quickly mounted and joined his best friend in the air. Sirius was relieved to have his friend approaching quickly. The hippogriff had a different idea entirely, and being unaccustomed to being followed by wizards on brooms, he changed course abruptly, almost throwing his mount off as he sped off towards the Forbidden Forest. Sirius desperately tried to sooth the hippogriff as his friend approached.

"Where are you going?" James called out as he attempted to keep up.

"I don't know, I can't control him!" Sirius panicked voice responded.

After several tense moments, the hippogriff gently landed on what could be called a small mountain nearby, James landing a safe distance away.

"Whoa! Look at Hogwarts! It's so small from here," James said with fascination as he looked at his temporary home.

"Hey check this out!" Sirius said, bending down to see a small cave-like opening on the ledge. He was small enough to crawl in and scooped out a small box. The lock was old and rusted and any enchantments on it had long since worn off., Sirius pried off the lid to find several very old gold galleons, a handful of silver sickles and bronze knuts, and a beautiful pendant buried beneath.

"Don't touch it!" James cried out, but it was too late, Sirius had already picked up the pendant and held it up to the light.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "It's fine, nothing bad happened, see?"

James shook his head. Sirius, as smart as he was, could be incredibly stupid sometimes. Pocketing the pendant, Sirius looked up at the sky.

"It's getting late, we should get back. Oh, and by the way, I think this hippogriff can outpace that broom any day."

"I suppose so, but the broom is easier to control. Let's go," James responded and kicked off the ground on his Comet. He hovered a few meters away as Sirius climbed up onto the hippogriff, and a moment later was in the sky flying back towards Hogwarts grounds.

At first, the hippogriff seemed to be heading back to the paddock area, but some unusual sounds coming from that area of the Forbidden Forest spooked it, and it took an unexpected turn towards the Quidditch pitch. James tried redirecting it by flying around on his broom and Sirius bravely even pulled on its feathers once which did not go over very well. The beast and its rider approached the stands head on. Sirius screamed, and not wanting to lose the pendant, although he could hardly explain why he felt it was important at the time, he pulled it out of his pocket just as the hippogriff halted abruptly and dropped its head, throwing Sirius right into the wooden stairs. The boy saw his life flash very quickly before his eyes (13 years is not a very long life after all) before going right through the wood and partially through one of the support beams before dropping the pendant and coming to a full stop. Sirius screamed in pain as he dangled a foot above the ground, his right leg the only thing that hadn't fully passed through the support beam when the pendant dropped.

"Sirius!" yelled James as he ran around to the back of the stands where the openings were to get under them. "Sirius! Are you alright?"

Sirius groaned in response. James wasn't sure what to do. There was an agitated hippogriff on the quidditch pitch and his best friend was dangling upside down from the stands, his leg and the stands melded together as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Buckbeak? What 're yeh doin' out he'e?" Hagrid's gentle yet gruff voice could be heard from where they were.

"Hagrid! Hagrid! Help!" James ran to the giant, shouting at the top of his lungs

"Shhh, yeh'll startle 'im," hissed the giant. James looked appropriately apologetic. "Now, wha' yeh going on abou'?" He asked the boy after he had calmed Buckbeak and put a rope around his neck.

"Its Sirius, he's stuck. Help." James tugged on Hagrid's arm, and the giant followed to find Sirius almost unconscious.

"Blimey." Hagrid inspected the scene and spotted the pendant several feet away. "He wasn't hold'n this was he?"

James shrugged. He wasn't sure if admitting that would be helpful or not. Hagrid picked up the pendant and brought it to Sirius, placing it in the boy's hand. As soon as contact was made it was as if the wood let go of the boy's leg, and Sirius fell with a crash to the ground. Hagrid hadn't been quite fast enough to catch him.

It didn't matter for long, though, as Hagrid scooped up Sirius and headed towards the castle to see Madam Pomfrey. James jogged along beside him, thankful that at least Hagrid didn't ask questions.

"How'd you do that?" James wanted to know.

"Do wha'?"

"Get Sirius unstuck."

"Oh that. It's the pendant. Who e'er is holding it can go through walls. Or in this case, the stands. He's lucky he wasn't going through a stone wall when he dropped it." Hagrid explained.

Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey didn't ask many questions either, except for what was necessary while checking over Sirius for any injuries and making sure he was alright before releasing him to a disgruntled head of house. Professor McGonagall would have more than enough questions for the boys.

/

If a person's face could tell you what they were thinking and feeling, Minerva McGonagall's face went through a rainbow of colors as Sirius recounted his adventure that day. Her face reddened with anger at the boys slipping out of class, paled at the thought of her young Gryffindor flying high above school grounds unsupervised only to again darken when she learned the boy had handled an unknown object found hidden away in a mountain top cave. It finally settled on a shade of puce when he concluded, and Minerva clutched her chest in a vain effort to still it's pounding.

"Have you anything to add, Mr. Potter?" she eventually asked after conjuring up a high backed cushioned chair and slipping into it.

"No, Professor. I think Sirius covered it all."

Minerva put her head in her hands for a few minutes while the boys glanced nervously at each other, awaiting their fate. After taking a moment to pull herself together, the lecture started, and went on, and on, and on for what must have been (at least to Sirius and James) hours before sentencing them both to two weeks of detentions each.

".. and additionally, Mr. Black, report to Hagrid Saturday morning at 7 o'clock for the remainder of the school year. He requested your help with the hippogriffs." Professor McGonagall said as she shooed them out

Sirius's face lit up in a huge grin. "Yes, professor."