Rachel was very grateful to get back to Hogwarts, to the joking around, and most importantly, her friends. Rachel arrived in the Gryffindor common room, where James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were already sitting. To Rachel's surprise, Sirius was chatting with Cindy Walters, and they were sitting awfully close together. So, just to smite Sirius and his still flirtatious ways, Rachel greeted, "Hi, guys." Instead of greeting Sirius first, she went over to James and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek and then proceeded to do the same with Remus and Peter. By the time it was Sirius's turn, he was standing up and looking slightly irritated. Rachel gave him a quick kiss on the lips and said, "Hi, Sirius."
"Hi, Rach." he replied back, snaking an arm around her waist.
Now satisfied with Sirius's possessive reaction, she said, "Oh, you guys, let's go up to the dorm. I thought of an awesome thing to use on Snape." They rushed up to the boy's dormitory, where the guys sat on their own beds and Rachel sat on Sirius's. Sirius instantly put one arm around her when she sat down. A warm feeling surged down to Rachel's toes. "Okay, I thought that we should use that weird spell thing to make it so that whenever Sirius walks into a room, Snape would say out loud 'Sirius is one sexy beast!'"
"Yeah, I know what charm you're talking about. I read about that in one of my books." Remus said.
"So, what'd you guys think?"
"That would be hilarious!" James said, laughing. Rachel could already tell that he was imagining it.
"Sweetie, would you be able to not throw up?" Rachel asked Sirius, pouting.
"Anything for you, my love." Sirius said, then gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head.
"Like I said, Rach, you've got way too much control over him. It's not healthy." James told her.
"Yeah, I know. But it's so much fun to have that power." she admitted. Sirius glared at both of them which only caused them to snicker.
"Well, we've still got to study for our exams, so when shall we do it?" Peter asked.
"I think we should do it sometime during breakfast and make it last through the classes that day." James suggested.
"That sounds like a good plan to me." Rachel said. They spent the rest of the night joking around and laughing until Rachel left to go to bed, dreaming of the laughs they would be experiencing soon.
The next morning, the five of them dressed quickly and went down to the Great Hall to wait for Snape. Soon after they had started to eat some food, Snape walked in with his classic greasy hair greasier than ever. Apparently the shampoo jinx they played on him had not been very effective. James turned around, made sure that no one was in the way, pointed his wand at Snape's back, and then he whispered, "Sevillas 'Sirius is one sexy beast!'"
"I can't wait to see what the teachers think of that!" Rachel said. She was very excited about this prank. Even Remus, who didn't join in their pranks very often, due to the fact that he was a Prefect, seemed energized about this one.
"I guess we'll see what happens later. Hopefully McGonagall won't place the blame on us." Remus said.
They had to wait until Transfiguration until they had class with the Slytherins. Rachel, James, Remus, and Peter came to class early. Sirius, who was hiding, was supposed to wait until Snape had sat down in his seat before making his entrance. The moment that Snape had sat down in his usual seat with the Slytherins, Sirius walked in, and Snape said as he turned around to see who the person was, "Sirius is one sexy beast!" As soon as the words had finished leaving Snape's mouth, he looked absolutely revolted. Students in the class started laughing, except for the Slytherins, who were wondering why this had occurred. Sirius sat down and joined in with the other four, who were practically falling out of their seats with laughter. Unfortunately, McGonagall wasn't able to witness the event and came in while the students were laughing. Although, the minute she walked in, everyone went quiet. McGonagall had a way of getting your attention and keeping it.
The last two lessons were also with the Slytherins and Snape once again said those words to the students. After their final class, Rachel said, wiping tears out of her eyes, "That never got old!"
"Yes, the Marauders and Marauderette strike again!" James said to them.
"When did you come up with that, Prongs?" Sirius asked him.
"Just now; kind of like with our nicknames." he answered.
Over the next few weeks the group were busy studying and, in Rachel's and James' case, at Quidditch practice. They were too busy to really pull many pranks. Every now and again they would pull small ones to release some tension and make everyone smile and laugh. Rachel and Lily continued their girls night every Wednesday which only brought them closer. Lily had agreed to start spending some time with Rachel when she was with the boys. Rachel and Sirius were getting closer and had sparked many rumors with how many times they were caught making out in the corridors and broom cupboards. Girls still tried flirting with Sirius when Rachel was not around, but Sirius brushed them off.
After Quidditch practice one night Rachel and James walked back to the common room discussing the upcoming full moon. "I'm sorry, James, but I can't make it this time. It's on a Wednesday. That's mine and Lily's night. I promised her. You guys will be fine without me. Do me favor and watch Sirius. Snape's been grating on his nerves trying to figure out what we're up to, and knowing Sirius. He is bound to react in a not so subtle way."
"I'll keep an eye out. Are you sure you can't skip just the one? I'm sure Lily will understand."
"I'm not skipping. Maybe after she falls asleep I'll sneak down and join you guys." Rachel compromised. They entered the common room looking for their friends. They saw Peter, Remus, and Sirius sitting by the fire. Sirius was chatting with Cindy Walters and was being a little too friendly for Rachel's liking. James noticed the tension in his friend and walked over to the group and cleared his throat. They all looked up at him wondering why he didn't just say something.
"Rach and I are back from practice." James said looking straight at Sirius. Sirius glanced over at Rachel and smiled at her before getting up and walking over to her. He kissed her lightly on the lips as a greeting.
"Hey love. How was practice?" Sirius asked her. Rachel took a deep breath before smiling at him.
"It was gruelling. Debra is a bloody sadist." Rachel complained. Sirius laughed at her and wrapped an arm around her waist leading her over to the armchair he had been sitting in before. He pulled her down on his lap. She smiled as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear. Cindy walked off in a huff. Rachel smirked. The group started discussing the next full moon and how Rachel would not be there. During the whole conversation Rachel twisted her ring around her finger and gave small sighs of contentment when Sirius would give her light kisses on her neck.
That Wednesday night Lily could tell there was something on Rachel's mind but didn't pressure her about it when she said it was nothing. The girls spent most of the night gossiping and studying. At one point they gave up on studying and Lily was painting Rachel's nails as they gossiped. Rachel kept looking at the clock, but she was enjoying herself. Around midnight Lily decided to call it a night and go to bed. Rachel agreed and climbed into her bed, but she did not sleep. She waited until she heard Lily breathing deeply before she got out of bed and snuck out of the dorm and out of the castle. Once on the castle grounds she transformed into her animagi form. When she got closer to the Whomping Willow she stopped at seeing James and Snape standing there arguing. She was close enough to hear that Snape had seen Remus. Just then Sirius came out and joined in the argument. "You got what you wanted, Snivellus! Now you know what we are up to!" Sirius yelled at him. Rachel looked at Sirius in shock. That was the cruelest she had ever seen Sirius be to anyone. Rachel transformed back and ran back inside and right to Dumbledore's office and told him what she witnessed. She and Dumbledore rushed out to where the three boys were arguing.
"Mister Back and Mister Snape. Why don't the two of you join me in my office?" Dumbledore asked calmly when they approached. Rachel could see a fire in his eyes that she had never seen before. They all looked shocked at the sight of them but Sirius and Snape followed Dumbledore. Sirius shot Rachel a confused look as he passed her, but she ignored him and walked over to James.
Once they were gone Rachel asked, "What the bloody hell happened? Why was Snape down here?" James shook his head.
"You were right. Sirius had enough. He told Snape how to get through the Whomping Willow. He saw Remus transform. What the hell was he thinking?" James was frustrated. Rachel looked at James in shock. She could not believe that Sirius would do something like that. "Remus is going to kill him tomorrow." Rachel nodded.
The next morning Sirius entered the common room looking ashamed as he walked over to his friends. They all looked up at him with irritation. Remus glared at him before getting up and leaving the common room. Sirius sighed dejectedly. He looked at the others pleadingly. "What were you thinking Padfoot? Remus could have killed him or worse bitten him! Did you not think about how Remus would feel about what happened?" James demanded. Sirius looked down in shame.
"I know. I'm sorry mate. I wasn't thinking. He got under my skin and I snapped. I promise it won't happen again." Sirius said sincerely. The others lightened up and gave him small smiles.
"Good luck with Moony. He is pissed at you." Rachel said as Sirius sat next to her. He cuddled up to her and muttered about how he'll forgive him eventually. "I'll see you guys later. I promised Lily that we would finish studying for the Transfiguration test today." Sirius moaned about her leaving but she ignored him and got up and left. Rachel met Lily in the library and they spent an hour studying before heading to breakfast. When they got there Lily noticed the tension between Sirius and Remus. She looked at Rachel quizzically.
"What's going on with those two?" Lily asked. Rachel sighed.
"Sirius played a mean prank on Snape and Remus is mad at him for it, cause it could have caused Snape a lot of harm if it had gone bad." Rachel explained.
"What did he do?" Lily looked aghast.
"Snape has been really irritating Sirius lately asking a lot of questions about Remus, so Sirius had had enough and told him how to get past the Whomping Willow and to the tunnel underneath." Rachel was trying not to give away anything about Remus. Lily nodded. They dropped the subject and ate their breakfast in silence. Throughout classes that day Remus ignored Sirius. By the end of the day Sirius was desperate to get Remus' forgiveness. Remus eventually forgave him and told him if he ever did anything like that again then he would never forgive him. Sirius took that happily.
Over the next few weeks the tension between the Marauders and Snape only got worse. It got to the point where Lily had had enough of hanging around them. By the end of the week though the boys were itching to prank Snape again from all of the death glares he had been shooting at them all week. Lily, Rachel, and a couple girls in the year above them were hanging out by the lake gossiping and enjoying the abnormally warm day when they saw something going on across the lake. They decided to get up and go investigate. When they got over there they found James with his wand pointed at an upside down Snape, while Sirius egged him on. "Potter! Let him go!" Lily yelled in anger. Rachel looked at her friends in shock. She was stunned at how they were behaving. Usually the pranks they pulled were harmless and were not like this.
"Oh come on Evans! We're just having a bit of fun." James laughed.
"Put. Him. Down." Lily seethed. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at James. James paled a little, but then got his confidence back.
"If you say so, Evans!" James undid the spell holding Snape up, and Snape fell to the ground in a heap.
"I don't need your help!" Snape yelled at Lily. Lily was taken aback and looked at her friend.
"Sev…"
"No, I don't need help from a filthy mudblood!" Snape yelled. Lily bristled in anger.
"Fine!" She shot a hex at him before storming away.
"Way to go, Snivellus. You lost the only good person in your life." Rachel said through gritted teeth before running after Lily. When she caught up to her Lily had tears streaming down her face. Rachel put her arms around her friend and hugged her. "It's OK, Lils. He's not worth your tears. Come on. Let's go somewhere away from all these eyes." Rachel lead Lily up to the Room of Requirement. Once inside Lily collapsed onto the sofa that was in there. Rachel sat with her and talked to her and calmed her down. Eventually, Lily stopped crying and gave Rachel a grateful smile.
"I think I'm going to head up to bed. Thank you Rach. You are the best friend a girl could ask for." Lily said gratefully before leaving the room. Rachel smiled after her. A shine of gold caught Rachel's attention and she looked over in the corner of the room and saw her gift for Sirius. She smiled and went to grab it. She quickly made her way back to the common room to give it to him. When she got in there she spotted him and her blood boiled. He was sitting on the couch with Cindy Walters who had her hand on his arm. Rachel stormed over to him. She threw the present in his lap and waited for him to register who was in front of him before storming up to her dorm.
The next morning Sirius apologized for what had happened insisting that Cindy had been flirting with him and not the other way around. He thanked her for the pocket watch she had gotten him. The face was the different phases of the moon and the back had a message etched into it that read: Love you to the moon and back – Rachel. Rachel forgave him, but she now kept an eye on Cindy and Sirius. A few weeks passed and Rachel noticed Sirius pulling away from her and took notice of the amount of time he spent with Cindy Walters.