Chapter 10: Water Balloons
October rolled into late November, then into early December, and the weather outside grew colder. Leaves were falling and the air was beginning to have a bite to it. Bets were going around Gryffindor on when the first snow would fall and on what part of the castle first. The smart bets were on a few weeks, or even in a few days, as dark clouds were starting to roll in from the countryside, promising either rain or a heavy snowfall.
To Sirius, James, and Peter's dismay, Remus had vanished yet again. He had come to them in the common room where they had been playing chess, pale as a ghost, and informed them that he would be going home for a few days to visit his mother, who was still sick.
"She's still sick?" asked James with a frown.
"Yeah," said Remus, swallowing hard.
"That's horrible," said Peter sympathetically.
"Tell me about it," muttered Remus. "Listen, I have to get going. See you when I get back."
"Bye!" the boys chorused as Remus left.
"He sure is gone a lot, isn't he," said Sirius, turning back to the parchment he had been doodling on.
"I wonder what his mom has," said James. "Whatever it is, it can't be good if she has it for this long."
"Maybe it's contagious, and my mom will catch it!" said Sirius hopefully.
"Keep dreaming, Sirius," said Peter, moving his bishop.
"Checkmate," said James with a grin, moving his queen forward. Peter groaned.
"I always lose," he muttered.
"Perk up, mate, at least you're better than Remus," said Sirius, referring to their friend's abysmal chess skills.
James stretched out his feet, laying serenely in front of the fire. "It's going to be Christmas soon," he said.
"Oh, goody!" said Sirius sarcastically. "I get to go home. Fun."
"I could ask if you could spend Christmas at my house," offered James.
"Could you?" asked Sirius hopefully.
"'Course I can," said James with a crooked grin. "It'd be a blast, and my parents wouldn't mind. You could come too, if you want, Peter," he offered.
"That sounds like fun, but my mom wants me home for the holidays," said Peter.
"Aw. Maybe Remus'll come," said James.
"He'll probably want to spend it with his mother, since she's so sick," Sirius said thoughtfully.
"Probably," agreed Peter.
"Two weeks without you guys," said James with a frown. "It'll be torture. And Remus won't be there to make me do my work!"
"Don't be silly, he'll probably send you letters telling you to do it," snorted Sirius.
"Which you'll ignore," added Peter.
"You guys know me too well," said James with a fake sniffle.
The next days passed slowly for the three friends as they waited for the return of Remus. On the third night he had been gone, they saw him enter the common room and make his way towards them, looking exhausted. "Hey," he said, collapsing into the armchair next to them.
"Remus!" said James cheerfully. "You're back!"
"How's your mom?" asked Sirius.
"Not that good," said Remus with a frown. "She's got a bad case of the flu. Horrible fever, and nothing seems to be able to bring it down."
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Remus," Peter said sadly, giving him a sympathetic look.
"It's not your fault," said Remus glumly, looking into the fire.
"Tell us if there's anything we can do," said James seriously.
"I-" Remus stopped, an odd look on his face. "Thanks," he said quietly.
"No problem, mate," said Sirius, giving him a pat on the back.
"So, what did I miss?" Remus asked, pulling himself together.
"Well, James tripped Snivelly in-"
"I meant in classes, stupid," said Remus, rolling his eyes.
Sirius groaned, and James answered. "Essay in Herbology," he said, handing the notes over, "worksheet in Potions, and we're practicing turning beetles into buttons in Transfiguration." He held out a handful of perfect black buttons.
"Yup," said Sirius, holding out his buttons. Remus leaned away from him.
"Are buttons supposed to have legs?" he asked.
"Nope!" Sirius put them back into the pocket of his robes. "But you can do work later. Right now, James wants to show you something."
"Wait here," said James to Remus's quizzical look. He jumped up and raced to their dormitory, coming down carrying a box. "My dad sent them yesterday," he said in a low voice, pulling it open and pulling out a bag. "Look! Aren't they cool!" The bag was full of little multicolored pieces of plastic.
"Yeah, James," said Remus, slightly worrying about his friends' health. He picked one up, pulling it. It was like elastic. "They're spectacular. Really awesome. They're… er, what are they?"
"They're water balloons!" said James excitedly. He pulled a blue one out of the bag and held it up to his lips. "Watch." He took a deep breath and started blowing, and slowly the plastic inflated to form a mini balloon. "Brilliant, aren't they?" he asked, admiring the balloon. "Muggle thing. You fill it with water and throw it at people, and they soak them with water!"
"We're going to throw them out the window tomorrow," said Sirius. "Snivellus always studies underneath that one tree on Saturdays. We can get him then."
"Did he do anything to you?" asked Remus.
"No," said James, "but I don't like him. You in?"
"Well…"
"Ah, come on, Remus!"
Remus looked uncertain for a second, then grinned. "Okay. What harm can it do?"
"That's a girl's bathroom, James," said Sirius, stopping in front of a door that James was attempting to lead them through.
"What, this? No one ever comes in here. This is Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."
Remus groaned while Sirius and Peter looked confused. "Who's Moaning Myrtle?"
"You'll see," said James grimly, pushing the door open.
They walked in quietly, Peter carrying a big black bucket, James with the bag of water balloons. They crept over to the sink. "We'll do this quietly," James whispered. "We don't want to let Myrtle know we're-"
"You're boys," said a voice behind them. Peter dropped the bucket and it fell to the ground with a clatter.
They spun around to find them face to face with a ghost of a teenage girl, looking very mopey. "This is a girl's bathroom," she said, frowning.
"Er- hello, Myrtle," said James.
"Dude, you're ugly," said Sirius.
"Sirius!"
Myrtle let out a wail. "Oh, you've come in here to pick on me, have you?" she asked, glaring at them. "That's all anyone comes in here to do. You don't think I hear the things people say about me? Moaning Myrtle. Ugly Myrtle. Pimply Myrtle!"
"No, no, Myrtle," said James, "we just wanted to use a sink, and we chose yours because it's so lovely in here."
Myrtle pursed her lips, looking at James uncertainly. "Really?" she asked.
"Really," said James, nodding.
"Well… I guess you can use it," she said slowly. "As long as you leave right afterwards."
"Of course, Myrtle. We don't want to disturb you."
Myrtle stared at James for another moment before swooping back into her stall.
"Well that was interesting," said Sirius. "I reckon Myrtle fancies you, James."
"Oh, shut up," he muttered, turning the tap on. So, I guess you just hold it under here…" he held the balloon under the running water. It flopped around but didn't fill up.
Remus rolled his eyes and took the balloon from him, fitting it around the faucet. The balloon slowly inflated, filling with water. "There," he said.
"Oohhh," said James, fitting another balloon around the tap next to it. "This is a weird faucet," he said, leaning closer. "It's like, a snake. Creepy…" he muttered, tapping it.
"Ugh, Slytherin," Sirius muttered, shivering.
James looked at the snake faucet for a second more, frowning, before shaking his head and filling his balloon.
When they had an entire bucket full of balloons, they turned off the sink and positioned themselves around the bucket.
"Lift it, Peter."
"Why do I have to?"
"Just do it."
Peter tried to lift the bucket. "It's- too- heavy-" he panted, giving up.
"Aw, come on Pete, it's not… that heavy…" Sirius tried, but it wouldn't go. "Well, there goes that idea."
"Why don't we try lifting it together?" suggested Remus.
The other three glanced at each other before jumping at the bucket. "I want this side-" "No, I do-" "Move, James-"
Once they had all settled down, they lifted the bucket and left the bathroom. "Come on," said James. "Fourth floor, I'll show you."
They hefted the bucket up several flights of stairs and down several corridors, until all four boys were panting and out of breath.
"Here," said James, dropping the bucket by a window. The others set it down and collapsed down while James pushed open the window and peeked out. "Perfect," he said, grinning. "Snivelly is down there, and a ton of Slytherins. Ready?"
He held his hand out, and Remus placed a red balloon in his hand. "Let's do this," Sirius said, and James dropped the balloon out the window.
James leaned away from the window, and all four boys snickered into their hands.
Out under the tree, Snape looked up in surprise when water burst on the ground next to him, spraying him with water. He shook his head and went back to his work.
Sirius tossed an orange one out, and it hit Snape's backpack. He leapt up and picked up his backpack, trying to save anything he could. Sirius sniggered.
"You do one, Remus," James said.
Remus looked uncertainly at the bucket before picking up a green balloon and poking his head out the window. "I am going to be in so much trouble," he muttered, letting it fall.
"Bulls-eye!" shouted James in delight. The balloon hit Snape directly on the head, drenching him with water. He finally just grabbed his stuff and stormed off.
For the rest of the day, the four boys dropped the water bombs out the window, hitting anyone from Slytherins to Gryffindors.
"Look," muttered James. "Evans." He let loose a red one, and it looked as though a fireball was streaking towards the red head underneath the window. It hit her head and broke, drenching her with water. She stood still for a second, dripping, before looking up and catching sight of a familiar pair of glasses overhead.
"JAMES POTTER!" she screeched at the top of her lungs, storming into the castle.
James fell over laughing, clutching his stomach. Sirius and Peter joined him, while even Remus had trouble hiding a smile.
"Her- face-" choked James.
"She's going to murder you," said Remus with a grin.
"She'll have to dig me up, because McGonagall's going to get him first," laughed Sirius.
"Or they could get him together."
The boys spun around. McGonagall stood there, glaring down at them. Lily was behind him, dripping a steady puddle onto the cobblestone beneath.
"What do you think you are doing?" McGonagall asked, seething.
"Bringing joy to the castle?" asked James hopefully.
"Cooling people off on a hot day?" Sirius said.
"It is 69 degrees out!"
"And boy am I sweating," said James, fanning himself off.
McGonagall wasn't amused. "Detention. Tonight, my office. And fifty points from Gryffindor!" She turned around and swept back down the corridor.
"Oh, now you've done it," snapped Lily. "Fifty points!"
"We'll earn them back," said James, waving his hand.
"James Potter, I swear I'll-" she glared at him, then turned to Remus. "And Remus! I expected better from you!"
"Hey, it wasn't my idea," he said.
Lily made a noise of exasperation and stalked back down the corridor, her hair flying behind her. James glared after her.
"She should mind her own business," he muttered. "She shouldn't have ratted us out to McGonagall."
"She did the right thing," said Remus.
"But you had fun?" said James.
Remus grinned. "Yes, I had fun."
"There we go!" Sirius said, throwing an arm around Remus. "We'll make a prankster out of you yet!"
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!