Lupin's Point of View
With Elli back from the hospital, Quidditch practices finally started, a week later than James originally intended. It was good to have something to do, other than school work.
I liked having something to distract myself from thoughts of Melissa. Every time I saw her, the urge to apologize over and over until she finally forgave me was so strong. But with Quiddtich, I saw her a lot less.
It seemed I wasn't the only one who benefited from the distraction of Quidditch. Sirius, who was still moody as ever, only really had fun anymore when we were out on the pitch. Though he and Elli never spoke during practices, they also never fought, which was a big step for them.
"Your robes," James said to Elli and I at practice two weeks after Elli was released from the hospital. He handed them to us.
They were a deep scarlet, with our last names written on the back in gold. I put mine on, as did Elli. They were more comfortable than normal robes. It was easier to move in them, which was better for playing.
Elli looked down at herself, a huge smile on her face. Though practices were going well, a few people were still a little upset about Elli being on the team. Though she definitely earned her position, two other members of the Gryffindor team, Joeseph McLaggen and Ralph Young, didn't exactly welcome.
"It's like I'm really part of it." She said quietly.
No one said anything, but I understood what she meant. With everyone working against her, having her team robes really signified that, no matter what anyone said or thought, she really was part of it.
I gave her a small smile. Sirius was also watching Elli, but he had a sort of confused look on his face. Perhaps he didn't understand what she meant, the way I did. Maybe it took going through the same thing, the feelings of being an outsider but finally getting accepted, to understand her.
And I had gone through the same thing, when James, Sirius and Peter finally found out that I was a werewolf. I'd expected them to turn their backs on me, as most wizards did to my kind. But they didn't. They accepted me anyways.
"Right, I want everyone back here two days from now at 7pm." James told everyone.
Most of the team scattered, leaving just James, Sirius, Elli and I. Elli was currently taking of her robes and hanging them up for the first time on a hook. She was still smiling.
"Think we'll win against Slytherin next month?" Sirius asked James.
James gave a short laugh. "Definitely. Though I think our chances would be a little better," James said, raising his voice a little louder so Elli could clearly hear him. "If you and Elli would work harder at being a team. You guys need to pay attention to each other as much as you do the bludgers."
Elli's hand froze in the middle of trying her shoe, and Sirius visibly bristled.
"But-," Sirius started, but James raised a hand.
"No buts." James said firmly. "I'm assigning you both extra practices. I've already spoken with McGonagall and she's allowed me to book the pitch on days when no ones practicing. Starting tomorrow, and whenever the pitch is available, you will both work hard at becoming a team."
Again, Sirius started to protest. Elli, on the other hand, was extremely silent, though she was frowning slightly.
"Until you both start showing improvement at team practices, you'll do as I say. Unless you want me to replace you. Don't think I can't," James quickly put in when Sirius rolled his eyes at him. "Most teams haven't even started practicing yet. It wouldn't be that big of a set back."
"I thought we were friends!" Sirius shouted, looking simultaneously angry and annoyed.
"We are." James said, looking tired. "But I'm still captain of this team and I'll be damned if I lose because you two can't work together!"
Sirius stormed off, but Elli stayed behind.
"I don't mind." She said softly. "If we win, everyone will have to get off my back."
"Look, Elli. If anyone on the team is going out of their way to make you feel unwelcome-,"
She cut James off. "It's not a problem." She said, and suddenly looked fierce, despite her usually serene demeanor. "I know I deserve this and I'm not going to allow a few sexist men scare me off."
"Well, good." James said, frowning slightly. "Just... work on things with Sirius. I'll see you at 7 tomorrow so you and Sirius can practice."
"Alright." She said, giving both James and I a smile. "See you."
And she too left.
"They're going to kill each other, you know." I told James as we both left as well.
James laughed. "They'll be fine. Now, what I really wanted to discus, though it would be better with Sirius here, is our prank on the Slytherins."
"I don't know about that..." I said, feeling slightly nervous.
"The plan is great!" James said carelessly. "As long as everything goes accordingly. Did you do what I asked you?"
"Yes, but-,"
"Come on, Moony! When have our pranks ever gone wrong?" James asked as we walked inside the castle.
"Well, never. But there's always a first for everything." I said, still unsure.
"No one will get hurt, we can't really get in trouble for it." James assured me. "Well, actually... but don't worry about it."
The next day, James, Sirius, Peter and I, with the help of the Marauders map, headed down to the Great Hall.
"This is so brilliant." Sirius said, grinning.
"I'm glad to see you're not sulking anymore." James told him.
"Who can sulk when there's a perfectly good prank to do?" Sirius asked happily.
"So you admit you were sulking?" Peter replied.
The grin instantly vanished from Sirius's face, but he didn't say anything.
"Should we wait till they're all heading back after dinner?" I asked. "Or should we do it during dinner?"
"After, definitely. That way we'll be able to get someone to open the common room door." James answered.
So, as we normally did, we all headed to the great hall for dinner. Ten minutes before everyone would usually leave, James and Sirius left the table.
Peter and I waited until, at last, Severus Snape exited the hall, a book under his nose. We followed him until he was far enough away from anyone to be heard.
"Severus!" I called out.
He turned and, in one swift movement, pointed his wand at me.
"Woah, put that down!" I said, narrowing my eyes at him. Though I did not hate on Snape the way Sirius and James did, I did not like having someone threateningly pointing their wand at me.
"What do you want?" Snape asked, lowering his wand when he realized I wasn't accompanied by James and Sirius.
"It's Lily." I said, and instantly he looked curious.
"What about her, is she hurt?" He asked quickly, looking slightly alarmed.
"No, nothing like that." I assured him. "But she told me to ask you to meet her up in the girls bathroom on the second floor."
"She did?" He asked, looking slightly suspicious.
"Yes, why do you think I'm not with James and Sirius? She told me not to tell them." I said, just as Sirius had instructed me to.
Snape would never believe a thing we said if he thought either of them had something to do with it.
"If you're lying-,"
"Why would I lie about that?" I asked, faking annoyance. "If you don't want to go, you could just say so. I'm sure Lily will be disappointed, but-,"
"No, I'm going." Snape said and quickly hastened towards the second floor bathroom, where I knew that Sirius and James were both waiting.
Peter and I both hurried in the opposite direction, knowing that there was an alternative path to the bathroom. When we arrived, Sirius was stunned and being stuffed into a stall in the bathroom.
"Give me the potion." Sirius said to James, who handed over one of his tiny flasks that was filled with Polyjuice potion, a difficult potion that, had James not stolen a bunch of it from Slughorn, would have taken a month to make.
"Hurry up, we don't have much time." I said nervously, watching the stall to make sure Snape didn't awaken.
Sirius, who had plucked a hair from Snape's head, added it to the potion and waited a moment before drinking it. He made a disgusted face, but his expression was soon lost due to the transformation he was undergoing.
In a matter of about thirty seconds, Sirius was no longer standing before us, but instead Severus Snape, looking greasy haired and hook-nosed as ever.
"That tasted disgusting." He said, wrinkling his nose.
"Who cares?" James asked, pulling out his invisibility cloak. "Let's go."
James huddled around Peter and I and threw the cloak over us. James and I had to duck so that it covered our feet. Sirius was chosen to drink the first of the potion because he was much too tall to fit under the cloak with anyone else.
Sirius hunched a little as he walked, the way Snape did. Before long, they'd spotted Lucius Malfoy's girlfriend, Narcissa.
"Narcissa." Sirius called.
She turned, looking slightly annoyed. "What is it, Severus?"
"I need to tell you something." Sirius said. Then, faking a look of nervousness, he glanced around. "It's about Lucius, but I don't want to be overheard."
"Of course." She said, looking nervous now too.
The two of them set off down an empty hallway, Narcissa not noticing the three invisible boys following them.
"I've just seen him, heading to Dumbledore's office. Something about the Dark Lord..." Snape trailed off.
Narcissa's eyes widened. "Does he know? Dumbledore?" She whispered, her hand covering her mouth in horror."
"I'm not sure." Snape said solemnly. Then, as if noticing something on her robes, he reached over and plucked a piece of her hair that was dangling off it. "Sorry, hair." He said, but discretely kept the piece hidden in his hand. "Anyways, I think you should go wait for him. Make sure he's okay."
"Yes, yes, of course!" She said, and hurried off down the hall.
As soon as she disappeared, James pulled out his second flask of the potion and Sirius added Narcissa's hair to it. James drank this time, shrinking a little, his hair growing and turning a pale blonde.
"You guys know what to do then?" Narcissa/James asked Peter and I, who were still under the cloak.
"Yes." I said nervously. "If anyone comes by, shout Gillyweed."
"Okay, good." James said and, without another word, he and Sirius headed down towards the dungeons, where Slytherin house lived.
Halfway to the dungeons, we walked passed a Hufflepuff girl in our year. Sirius smirked at her.
"Nice rack!" He said, giving her a wink.
"Pervert!" She shouted at him, throwing a disgusted look over her shoulder and she hurried past.
James, Sirius and Peter laughed.
Once in the dungeons, we came across a group of younger Slytherins.
"We can't remember the password." Narcissa said, her expression haughty. "Open it!"
The younger kids hurried to do as she said.
The Slytherin common room had a weirdly green glow to it, due to being under the lake. It was odd and claustrophobic feeling. Lucius Malfoy was sitting on a couch, talking to a few of his friends.
"Narcissa." He called.
Throwing an annoyed, slightly panicked look at Sirius, James walked towards him. That had not been part of the plan. We were all supposed to stick together.
Sirius shrugged and kept walking, towards the dorm rooms. Each on had the names of who was living in them on the door.
Finally we came across Lucius's.
"Lucky, them all rooming together. Makes this so much easier." Sirius said.
He pushed open the door, leaving Peter and I standing under the invisibility cloak and watching the hall.
There was a few bangs, and a weird popping noise coming from the room. A minute later, Sirius opened the door, grinning madly.
"Look!" He whispered.
Peter and I shifted to look at the room. It was a mess. Clothing and books and belongings were strewn across the floor, covered in what looked like green slime.
"I covered the beds with that boil stuff, too. Won't expect that, will they? They'll be too busy being upset about their stuff." Sirius said, laughing.
When the three of us reentered the common room, Narcissa was standing up, looking livid.
"I won't allow you to treat me like some fool!" She shrieked at Lucius, who looked more than a little confused.
"What do you mean?" He asked. "I didn't-,"
"You did! You said I should just let you do all the work." She shouted back. "You think I'm not capable! Not as smart, or powerful as you!"
"I didn't-,"
"We're through!" She told him. "I never want to see your face again!"
And with that, she stalked out of the room. The rest of us hurried to catch up with James.
"What was that about?" Sirius asked as soon as they were out of the room.
James laughed. "I winged it!" He said. "I'm sure they'll realize it wasn't her eventually, but that was fun, at least."
Suddenly, as if a mirror had propped up in the middle of the hall, Severus and Narcissa were striding our way, talking heatedly to each other. Sirius and James hurried down a hall before they spotted them.
"Guess our little prank is about to be discovered." I said, and the other boys laughed.
I felt nervous, and didn't join them. What if we were caught? Expelled?
"Stop worrying, Moony!" Sirius said. He looked happier than he had done in days.
"They deserved it." James said, looking suddenly serious. "After what they did to Elli."
I agreed, but that fact still didn't make me feel any better.
Halfway up to Gryffindor tower, Peter and I shrugged off the cloak. Just as we had done, Melissa came around the corner and I wished I hadn't.
"Oh, so this is who you're hanging out with now?" She asked me, looking annoyed. "Nice choice, Lupin."
"Since when do you call me Lupin and not Remus?" I asked, hurt.
"Since when did you hang out with these scum?" She snapped. She glared at Narcissa, who, just last year, Melissa had had a fight with. Their hatred of each other was known by everyone after Melissa used a really good batboogey hex on Narcissa.
"Oh, calm down." James said, laughing. "It's only Sirius and I. Just getting back at a few Slytherins."
"Nice job, stooping to their level." Melissa spat at me, not looking at anyone else. "I expected better of you."
And she walked off, not looking back.
"She'll forgive you eventually." James said, as I watched her back until she disappeared. "Don't worry."
But again, James's words didn't soothe me. From the looks of it, Melissa and I would never be able to go back to the way things were.
