Sirius was a bundle of nerves.
It was the twenty-third of December, and Sirius was anxiously waiting for Christmas. The potion was complete. He was carrying a vial on him, as were the other three. He hoped everything went well. If one thing messed up...if they'd messed up the potion...there would be a problem.
"Seriously, don't worry," said James. Sirius turned. It was nearing midnight, and he was sitting on his bed.
"I'm not worrying," countered Sirius.
"You're awake!" James cried. "Look, we're all nervous about it, but you should enjoy Christmas. You know, you'll get presents and everything! We just have to slip potion into his drink. You really shouldn't worry."
"Not like I'll get any presents," mumbled Sirius.
"Excuse me?" scoffed James. "Who am I, a troll? Of course I got you a present, Black."
"You got me a present?" Sirius was shocked. "What present?"
"A goblin."
"Very funny."
"I'm not going to tell me what I got you," said James firmly. "It's a surprise."
"Whatever," sighed Sirius.
"Are you going to go to bed now?" James asked.
"I'm not too tired," said Sirius.
"If you say so." James smirked.
"I could ask you the same question, actually, why are you awake?" Sirius pointed out.
James snorted. "I was reading the Daily Prophet. The Quidditch Match between Hungary and Iceland happened this morning, I watched it, but Iceland won. So I want to know how it affects England."
"Of course," Sirius laughed. "How does it affect England?"
"We'll have to step up against Andorra," grumbled James, "because they won over Iceland last week. So now we have to go and beat them to play against Hungary, and then the match which decides who goes to the finals will be between the winner of that and whoever beats the winner of the match against Serbia. Serbia! They are a really trash team but they keep winning by luck because their beaters are so good. They destroy everyone in the path by chucking bludgers at them. I mean, that is their job, but it's so dumb, because they just injure everyone and once the other team loses all their players, then they have to win. I guess it's fair, but it's so annoying how they do that. I hope Serbia loses, England had a humiliating loss to them four years ago. In the semi-finals. It was so embarrassing. Our seeker got sick, and the replacement was absolute trash. But if England has to play them again, we're so going to have to ramp up our game. Did you see us against-"
"Woah, woah, stop," chortled Sirius. "I didn't know one question made you spit out an essay. Why don't you write this much in your essay in class?"
James turned a shade of red. "You were the one who asked me, anyway. It's what I feel about England's chances. Do you not follow them at all?"
"From what I can remember, you asked me that the first time we met, and that's how we became friends," Sirius said.
"I remember that!"
"Can I finish explaining England's chances in the finals now?" joked James.
"No."
"Wasgoingon?" came a garbled voice from Peter's bed. James laughed.
"Nothing, Peter. Go back to bed. Good night, Sirius."
"Good night, James."
Tonight.
That word kept resonating in Sirius's head like an echo. It was the day before Christmas. They would sneak some potion into Dumbledore's drink tonight. Then it was upto luck if they would succeed or not.
Remus and Peter were out at the moment, getting stuff for the prank James had come up with. He'd been going crazy over it for ages now.
"So we take the potion. Peter and Sirius distract Professor Flitwick. The drink won't be in Dumbledore's goblet, but the goblet will be there. We slip in the solution, and turn it invisible. We already told the elves not to give Dumbledore a drink, because we have a special drink for him. And we have pumpkin juice taste in there," Sirius narrated.
"Perfect. James, go over the prank once more," said Sirius, flipping through their plans.
"We've been over this," James replied, rolling his eyes. "Do you have the wrapping paper?"
"Yup, decorated in little Dumbledores," said Sirius. "Dumbledore's with a Santa hat and a yellow beard."
James covered his mouth to muffle his laughter. "And the present is inside?"
"Once Remus and Peter get back, it will be," said Sirius.
"And it's signed?" asked James.
"Yup, from The Marauders, Have a Goofy Christmas!" Sirius exclaimed as Remus and Peter returned.
"We got it!" shouted Remus, holding up a bag.
Sirius quickly emptied it and assigned, "Peter, you split the stinksap. James will put in the dead flies, and Remus will put the shredded dungbomb. I will put them in the giftboxes."
"Who again are we giving these to?" asked Peter, carefully pouring out a cup of stinksap.
"All the teachers and all the students," said Sirius grinning. "But not us."
"So they'll know we did the prank," Remus summarized.
"Yeah," said James with a grin on his face. "So what? You've gotten 12 detentions in around four months!"
"Which is very low," said Sirius. "I've gotten around 32. I want to hit a hundred by the end of the year."
"You guys have all lost it," said Remus. "But okay, I'll help do it."
"You wouldn't have a choice either way," laughed James. "Come on, we should finish quickly."
Within five minutes, there was a box for every student in Hogwarts and for all the teachers. Each box had stinksap, dead flies, and dungbomb essence.
"Should Snivellus have anything different in his?" asked James, peering at the box labeled for him.
"I don't get why his name has been changed to Snivellus," said Remus. "Or what you have against him."
"Snivellus because of his big, ugly, greasy, sniffy nose!" shouted Sirius. "And we don't have much against him, but he's a half-blood Slytherin who goes around flaunting his house, is uncool, and makes friends with Lily, who is turned against us, and he sneers at us and is friends with a mud-blood GRYFFINDOR, so he's probably turning against her to kill her or something. How can we not be against him?"
Remus rolled his eyes but seemed to drop the subject. "Nothing special in Severus's box," he decided. "But something in Dumbledore's, maybe?"
"An earwax flavored Bertie Bott's Bean?" suggested Peter. "I heard he loves those beans, maybe this will stop his love for them."
They all agreed and dropped a single bean in the middle of Dumbledore's box.
"This is going to be so cool," said James excitedly, jumping up and down. "Imagine their faces when they open a present to see stinksap inside! It's going to rot up the Great Hall."
Remus laughed. "I need to go take a shower. You guys go to breakfast." He shut the doors behind him and entered the bathroom.
"Hey guys?" Peter asked tentatively. "Do any of you know what illness Remus has?"
Sirius frowned. "He never exactly told me." The realization dawned on him. "Good point, Peter, he's never told me."
"Me neither," piped up James.
"I don't think it's that secretive," rushed Peter, making sure they hadn't gotten the wrong idea, "but I just wanted to know. He leaves and looks so weak when he comes back, I wish I could help him somehow."
"When I ask him...huh, I don't remember!" cried Sirius. "Weird. He sort of answers it that satisfies me...but then I don't remember the actual answer."
"Well isn't that odd?" asked James.
"Do you think it's something he doesn't want to tell us...like...Spattergroit?" asked Peter fearfully. "That's one of the few cases Madam Pomfrey probably can't cure."
"How would Remus have Spattergroit?" blurted out Sirius, laughing. That was a stupid theory. "We're probably fretting over things we shouldn't. We'll ask Remus, you'll see, it'll be some sort of flu or disease we don't know."
Silence.
"Let's not dwell over it," suggested James.
"Agreed. Let's just go and have a hearty breakfast," said Peter.
They went to the Great Hall.
"I'm so hungry," realized Sirius, grabbing pancakes and drowning them in syrup.
"Careful mate, at this rate you're going to flood the hall with maple syrup," joked James.
"I don't care - it tastes good."
"It's not like there's enough syrup to flood the hall, anyway," pointed out Peter.
"I can always summon some," James argued.
"You don't even know the summoning spell," Sirius said.
"I can always learn it. What's the incantation...oy, you!" He pointed to a sixth-year.
"What do you want?" the sixth-year snapped. He was tall and had sandy hair. He turned around, clearly annoyed. "It's a midget," he added.
"Oy, I can hear exactly what you're saying," James said. "I'm not an it, I'm a he."
"No, you're an it. You're a midget."
"Rather be a midget than a senior-citizen," James said casually, shrugging.
"At least I'm not a first-year!" the boy argued back, not liking James's tone.
"You realize you were also a first-year once," jumped in Sirius, stifling laughter. "So you were also a midget."
The sixth-year fell silent and crossed his arms haughtily. "What do you want?"
"What's the incantation for a summoning charm?" James questioned.
"Why would you care? It's not like you would be able to do it."
"Obviously you don't know how to do it either, or you'd be able to tell us," squeaked Peter.
"Why you little-"
"Watch the words," warned James. "You realize the teachers are all listening in...Hi, Professor McGonagall."
The sixth-year whipped around in fright, saying, "No, professor, I really didn't-" before realizing there was no McGonagall there, and she was actually enjoying her oatmeal at the staff table.
"Fooled you there," James sang. "Now you tell me the incantation for the charm, or your Comet 253 gets it."
The boy's eyes widened. "How do you know what broom I have?"
James laughed a dry, short, mystical laugh. "That's not the only thing I know about you. Do you want me to tell your friends about what you keep in your dorm?" He waggled his eyebrows, and the sixth-year's face paled.
"I'll tell you! It's Accio. It's difficult, though, I only barely managed to attempt it once."
James leaned back, satisfied. "Thank you, senior-citizen. Enjoy your breakfast."
"How did you know all that stuff about him?" asked Peter, awed. Sirius wondered the same thing.
James laughed. "I didn't. He's on the Quidditch team, and I knew his broom. And I made him believe I knew his other dirty dark secrets. I only guessed he had something in his dorm. I have no clue what he keeps in there - or if he even kept something in there. It could've backfired on me, but it didn't."
Sirius stared at his friend, impressed. "I'm so proud of you!"
James grinned. "Thank you. It wasn't that hard. You know one thing, and people believe you know everything else."
Sirius pondered that. "I guess. Now, go try the summoning spell."
"You probably can't get it," Peter said. "It's tough for that sixth-year...how can you do it?"
James huffed. "I'm good at everything."
"Except being modest," observed Sirius.
"Hi guys, what did I miss?" asked Remus, arriving and sinking into the chair next to Sirius.
"Nothing much…" Peter looked over at Sirius, who nodded slightly.
"Remus, what illness do you have?" James asked.
Remus looked startled. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I want to know." James shrugged.
Remus sighed. "I get weak sometimes, and spend a few days in the Hospital Wing. I just get kind of dizzy and get headaches. It's nothing you need to worry about."
"Forget it," advised Sirius, as James opened his mouth to protest.
"Anyway, what did I miss?" Remus asked.
Peter launched into what had happened with the sixth-year except with a lot of events that Sirius didn't seem to remember happening, and Remus listened intently.
"What presents do you think your dad will get you?" Sirius asked James, as Peter added a part about the sixth-year using a hex on James (the boy hadn't even touched his wand, poor soul), and James retaliating with a Kung-fu kick.
"He said he had something exciting planned," James said, his eyes glittering, "but he wouldn't tell me. I think it might be a new broom."
"Wow," Sirius mumbled. "Sounds cool."
"Don't be upset," whined James, picking up on Sirius's tone. "You'll get presents too."
"Other than from you, you mean?" Sirius challenged. "Yeah, I'm sure I'll get some." He made sure the sarcasm in his voice was obvious.
"Let's see...your brother?"
Sirius shrugged. "We weren't the closest of the close. Okay, we were when we were little. Does that count? He got interested in the dark stuff - what my family did. Obviously not for me."
"But won't he give you a present? It's like...tradition."
"You do realize I'm a Gryffindor, right?" Sirius asked.
James sighed. "Your brother will still send you a card or something, I'm sure. Not an elaborate present he probably would otherwise. Maybe when he gets to Hogwarts, he'll get sorted to Gryffindor and realize the error of his ways."
Sirius snorted. "Fat chance."
"Whatever. Mom and dad...I'm gonna say no?"
"Yep."
"Me, Remus, Peter?"
"You, yes, but only because you said so. I doubt it. Remus and Peter...well...maybe not a present. They'll be like MERRY CHRISTMAS and all, but they won't go to the trouble of giving a mistake like me a present."
"A mistake?" James scoffed.
"I've been called that more than I've been called Sirius," Sirius said, grinning.
James cracked up. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh. But…"
"Chill," Sirius laughed. "Let's stray from the topic of presents."
"But that's the best talk." James pouted, as Sirius laughed.
"I beg to differ."
"Oh alright...the sixth-year did not sprout fangs and become a vampire, Peter!"
"Two hours to go," Remus said, glancing at the clock.
"Isn't that exciting?" said Peter.
"Sure, I guess," said Sirius.
"Let's pick our clothes while we wait!" cried James, jumping up in glee.
"I'm sorry...clothes?" Sirius spluttered.
"Yeah, for Christmas. We have to pick our festive sweaters and everything."
On any normal day, Sirius would've refused. At home, they would wear whatever rich clothing they could get their hands on (usually a glittering, heavy black suit), and sit around the Christmas Tree. All the cousins would come over, and it would be splendid.
But James was looking extremely excited, and Sirius decided it would be worth it to get James enthusiastic. He didn't have the heart to say no.
"Sure," Peter said.
Remus hesitated. "Uh...James...I don't exactly have what you probably want."
Sirius remembered that Remus was poor, which was probably why he didn't have the fancy sweaters.
"That's why we can trade and stuff! We have to get ready for tomorrow. Don't you guys do Christmas traditions at your place?"
"Sure we do," Peter answered.
"Yeah...but it's not as big of a deal as you guys probably have it," laughed Sirius.
"I mean...yes? We enjoy it as a tiny little family," Remus said truthfully. "No flashy stuff."
"Well this Christmas is going to change all that," James announced. "Open your wardrobes."
All of them flung open their wardrobes.
"Let's start with me," James said, and the other three snorted. "This one?" He yanked out a dark green shirt with a snowflake on it, and shook his head. "No, not this one." He pulled out a warm purple shirt, and shook his head.
James pulled out a fuzzy, new condition sweater which had red and green stripes, probably made just for Christmas. He tugged it on and smiled. "I like this one. I'll wear this one…" He dove into his wardrobe, throwing clothes everywhere, and pulled out a cute shirt with a snowman on it, "...under it."
"Well now we have James decided," said Peter. "Move onto me now?"
"No!" cried James. "My hat? Mittens? Scarves? Socks? Shoes? Where did that go, on a holiday?"
Sirius sniggered. "You can finish up." James took up half an hour picking good clothes for him, offering some to the other three as well. It wasn't as boring as Sirius would've thought, but not as much fun as James was clearly having.
"Finally," said James, pulling on his mittens. "Peter can go next."
They decided clothes for all of them, trading different pieces of clothing. Sirius was wearing Remus's scarf, Remus was wearing Peter's jacket, Peter was wearing James's hat, and James was wearing Sirius's gloves (he wanted black ones to zest up the look).
"Finished!" cheered James. "Now, lay out your clothes and we can wear them tomorrow."
The Marauders laid their clothes on their respective beds and it was time to go decorate.
"Make sure you have your wands?" Remus checked.
"Yes," they chanted.
"Good. Then let's go." The four of them excitedly rushed to the Great Hall, where Flitwick was waiting for them.
"You are here?" he squeaked. "Good. Now, Hagrid has done us the honor of bringing us our Christmas Tree," he gestured to the tree. "There can be multiple minor trees that we will set in the hall outside the Great Hall, but the major one will be...well...major in the Hall, understood? Lupin will assist me in putting the ornaments. You bewitch the ceiling, Pettigrew, and I want Potter to sweep-"
"You guys get to bewitch ceilings and levitate ornaments...and I have to sweep the floor?" asked James, his face falling.
"It can't be all that bad…" Sirius trailed off after seeing James's expression. "Okay yeah, that's bad."
"Sweeping builds character!" Flitwick announced.
"Unhelpful," mumbled Peter.
"Black, you can put the lights around the room," Flitwick instructed. They worked into the night, transforming the Great Hall into a work of art. It was beautiful, full of ornaments, lights, shiny floors ("See James, it wasn't horrible!"), lovely ceiling patterns, rich snow, icicles dangling from the walls. It was the most beautiful Sirius had ever seen it.
"It'll look even better in the morning," Flitwick said, seeming to pick up on his thoughts.
Sirius turned around, shocked. "What?"
"It'll look even better in the morning," repeated Flitwick. "I have to keep some surprise for you children, don't I? It wouldn't be fair for everyone else to be excited about the decor, but you already know everything."
"Oh," Sirius said. "Well...I can't wait."
Professor Flitwick smiled. "Thank you. You four can go to bed now...Potter, Pettigrew, Lupin, get over here!" The three boys - who were chatting by Dumbledore's seat - turned around.
They walked over, exchanging a glance with Sirius. Now, Remus mouthed. Sirius nodded imperceptibly.
"Professor, I had a question about the wreath over here," James said, dragging Flitwick over to the wreath at the doorway. Sirius and Peter immediately dashed to Dumbledore's seat and poured a full cup of potion in.
"Invisible spell...now," Sirius ordered Remus. Remus murmured a spell, and the bubbling potion disappeared. "He usually takes pumpkin juice, so pumpkin juice taste powder. We got it from the kitchens, remember?"
"I remember," whispered Peter, pouring in a packet of orange powder. It dissolved into the invisible solution.
"Pray to Merlin that this works," whispered Sirius.
"Second that," whispered Remus.
The three of them tip-toed back to where James was blabbering on nonsense about the line-up of the wreath.
"That's enough, James, we can go," said Peter, pointedly looking at James.
"Okay, sorry Professor, the wreath is great. Merry Christmas!" James piped up, before running out of the Hall.
Remus rolled his eyes a little. "Good night, professor, and merry Christmas."
"You mean merry Christmas Eve?" asked Peter tentatively.
"We've been working past midnight," pointed out Sirius. "That's not exactly Christmas Eve still, is it?"
"Point taken."
"Well, good night professor," Sirius said, and left the doors after James. "Hey James!" he called. "Wait up."
James paused and turned around, his face red. "That was so embarrassing!" he squealed. "I had to go on and on about wreaths. Wreaths! There was nothing to say. It was so embarrassing."
"You've done worse," said Sirius with a shrug.
James rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Hi Remus, hi Peter."
"Hi," the other two chorused, joining them from the Great Hall.
"I'm so tired," moaned Peter.
"Hi so tired, I'm James," joked James.
"Not funny!" Peter complained.
"Let's just sleep. It's Christmas, anyway, and we really don't want to be late for breakfast. We'll miss our prank," laughed Remus, yawning.
They all went back to their dormitories and crashed on their beds, each eagerly waiting for the events that would take place the next day.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" bellowed James, jumping on Sirius's bed.
"Whaaaa?" Sirius jerked awake, shaking his head groggily. "What's going on?"
"JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE ALL THE WAY!" James sang.
"Oh Merlin...James!" cried Sirius, pushing James off his bed. James tumbled to the ground, but his songs didn't stop.
"MERLIN IS COMING TO TOWN, HEY!"
"Merlin is dead," Sirius mumbled.
"Where's the tornado?" asked Peter, bolting awake as James landed on his bed. Sirius burst out laughing, he couldn't help it. It was hilarious, the sight of James so thrilled about Christmas and waking them up like this. "Oh. It's just James."
"FA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA!" James sang loudly.
"You sound like a broken siren," accused Peter, rubbing his eyes. "Next time, I'd rather use an alarm."
"Whatever you wish," said James, smirking.
"I hate you," grumbled Sirius, forcing himself out of bed.
"HENRY, THE LIGHT GREY HIPPOGRIFF!" James cried, prancing around the room to Remus's bed and launching himself onto it. Remus screamed murder and woke up, calming his breath when he saw James.
"You are so…" He took a deep breath. "You are in so much trouble, James Fleamont Potter!"
"WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS, WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS, WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!" roared James. "MERRY CHRISTMAS, REMUS!"
"Merry Christmas," returned Remus, sinking back onto his bed.
James started dancing around the room, singing carols at the top of his lungs. Laughing - and slightly annoyed - Sirius made his way to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, before stepping into one of the four showers and washing off.
"Hi Sirius!" came the voice of Peter, walking into the bathroom and occupying the shower in front of him. "James is giving me a headache."
"Tell me about it," chortled Sirius.
"Poor Remus is trying to sleep in there," Peter laughed.
"I doubt he'll get much sleep in this storm," Sirius said. With impeccable timing, Remus entered the bathroom at that moment and slumped into the third shower stall.
"It's impossible to sleep in there," Remus informed them. "Don't even try."
"I figured that out when he jumped on my bed," muttered Sirius, as James entered the bathroom, singing at the top of his lungs. "I really need a pair of earplugs." But no one heard the last bit - due to a large sound in the room (which also meant James's singing).
Once they had all finished showering, they went out into the dormitory to see presents stacked up at everyone's bed.
"Presents!" whooped James. "Sirius, you go first." His mischievous look let Sirius know that he hadn't forgotten the challenge from yesterday. Sirius surprisingly had a large stack. Wondering who would've given him presents, he tugged open the first one.
James had gifted him a men's magical hair set, with razors and hair clippers ("Your hair is growing long," he explained, laughing). Remus ("You gave me something?" Sirius asked, shocked. "Of course I would, do you think I'm an idiot?" Remus returned) had gifted him a box of candies, all types and flavors. Peter had given him a golden watch ("Thanks, Peter). Regulus had sent him a card:
Hi, brother.
Mom and dad told me not to send you anything, so if they asked, I didn't send this. I borrowed the neighbor's owl. I'm not gonna give you a present or anything - because you're a dirty Gryffindor - but merry Christmas. If you wanted to know, Cissy and Andy aren't coming for Christmas either this year - so don't feel left out. Anyway, merry christmas.
Reg
Sirius sighed and stuffed the letter in his pocket. Just what he'd expected. He found one more present and opened it. It was from James's parents.
"Really?" Sirius asked, opening it. It was a fuzzy pillow. "This is so sweet, James."
"I told them about the challenge, and I didn't want to lose it," laughed James. "So they sent you this."
"Thank them from me," Sirius said firmly. His last two presents were from Andromeda (a little heirloom), and Uncle Alphard (a stuffed Hippogriff).
"Okay. My turn!" James was unable to contain his excitement as he opened his presents. "Sirius, you got me a Quidditch Magazine? The newest version! You knew I wanted this, didn't you? This is so sweet. Remus...you got me a prank book?" His face cracked into a grin. "Perfect! You know me inside out. Peter gave me a toy broomstick? Awesome you guys!"
"You're welcome," the other three responded.
James had also gotten various presents from his aunts, uncles, and cousins, and he got a batch of homemade cookies from his mom. "You guys can share this with me," he offered. Then he pulled out his dad's.
James.
Don't go all gaga over this present. I want you to go to breakfast, eat a healthy breakfast, and then come back and open your present. It's going to surprise you, alright? I've put a curse on the box: if you touch it before forty-five minutes after you open it, you'll get unstoppable tickles.
Lots and lots of love,
Dad
"No!" groaned James. "I have to wait!"
"Too bad," laughed Peter. "Can I go next?" When they nodded, he ripped his open. Sirius had given him a Food Magazine ("Yum!"), Remus had given him a picture of all the Marauders that he had drawn ("It's beautiful," Peter said breathlessly), and James had gifted him a magical Harmonica.
"You guys are the best," Peter said, smiling. "Thank you." He opened his presents from his parents and sister before nodding for Remus to go.
Remus had gotten notes from his parents that he refused to share with them. Sirius had given him a book with three stories in it ("One's about a witch who curses her birthplace, the second is about a comedical happening when a potion blows up in the ocean, and the last is about a goblin," Sirius explained). James had given him a whole box of chocolate ("We all know your everlasting craving for chocolate," he teased). Peter had given him color-changing bookmarks.
"Thank you, guys," Remus said. "I didn't...expect all of this. You guys must have spent a lot."
"It was worth it," waved aside James. "Now, if we're done with present-opening, can we go? I can't wait to open my dad's present."
They quickly packed aside their presents and started putting on their Christmas wear.
"Can we hurry up already?" James pleaded, as Peter pulled on his socks.
"You were the one who picked out these elaborate clothes for us," Remus reminded. "So you have to wait a bit."
James sighed as Sirius finished zipping up his boots and Remus adjusted his hat. Peter took a bit longer, but he'd managed to put on his shoes and hat, and it was time to go.
"I can't wait to see how our decorations look with all the students inside," Sirius said excitedly.
"I can't wait to see if our potion worked on Dumbledore," Remus corrected.
"I can't wait for both," Peter suggested.
"I can't wait for us to get breakfast," James said as they all laughed.
They entered the Great Hall and looked around to admire their handiwork. The Hall looked beautiful. Flitwick had added some sort of...magical effect on it that made it ten times more charming, elegant, and beautiful, which it hadn't looked like last night.
"This is...beautiful," Remus said breathlessly, spinning around to see all angles of the Great Hall.
"It truly is," whispered Sirius. "Let's go to our table now."
They headed to their table and took their usual seats.
"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Dumbledore announced. "Before I dawdle on, let me just hope you have a great day, and now - let's eat!"
The students laughed appreciatively as the food appeared in front of them.
"I swear, we have never had all this stuff for breakfast before," Peter said, examining a muffin.
"Why are you complaining?" James teased, piling donuts onto his plate.
"I'm not complaining," laughed Peter, taking a cup of vanilla smoothie.
"Now comes our prank!" exclaimed Remus. On cue, the owls swooped in the hall and dropped their presents to everyone in the Hall.
They all turned to the Marauders, who grinned, nodded, waved and bowed. Lily pulled out her wand and screamed, "Incendio!" but the present didn't burn up.
The Marauders all laughed. "Open it before you judge it," suggested James innocently.
"I'm judging it based on the sender, not the present," Lily shot back. The hall erupted in laughter.
Finally, professor McGonagall said, "Black, Potter, Lupin, Pettigrew, this had better be a good...AH!" Nobody had ever heard her shriek like that, and the hall fell silent in anxiousness as stinksap splashed onto her face with the shredded dungbomb and flies.
There was a silence as McGonagall looked positively murderous.
And then...all the students started laughing and screaming.
"INCENDIO!" they screamed, not wanting to be splashed with sap and flies. "REDUCTO! CONFRINGO! INCENDIO! INCENDIO!"
Nothing happened.
"All thanks to you, Remus," said Sirius, laughing so hard he could barely see straight. "You put these curses."
"You know," screamed James to the Hall. "It's going to automatically open in five minutes, and if you don't open it, the amount will be double multiplied!"
The kids screamed even louder and opened their boxes. Sap poured in their faces and at last, Dumbledore opened his box. Everyone turned, and their headmaster was doused. Finally, he peered inside the box and saw the bean.
"I love Bertie Bott's!" he said serenely. "I love every single flavor there." His eyes twinkled and he chewed the bean. His eyes suddenly went wide and he stopped chewing, but he'd already swallowed part of it.
His face soured. "This tastes...like...earwax. I will never eat one of these again."
The Marauders couldn't contain it anymore. Laughter escaped their mouths and they found it so hilarious.
"Scourgify!" Flitwick called. The Great Hall immediately cleaned, but the students were covered in water.
"Looks like the showers are going to be occupied," said Frank Longbottom, laughing, as he motioned towards the wet students.
"Isn't this a fun sight," snorted James.
Sirius eyed Dumbledore. He just lifted his goblet, and Sirius tensed as Dumbledore drank it all up in one gulp. Hoping he wouldn't notice anything amiss, Sirius tapped Remus and pointed to Dumbledore. Dumbledore blinked, and then he blinked again, and then his eyes widened slightly. Dumbledore's eyes darted around the room, and Sirius knew he'd figured out what had happened. Anger was visible in Dumbledore's eyes for a moment, and then it vanished, and the usual Christmas Cheer was back, though Dumbledore was looking more cautious. He was examining each student intently.
"Come on guys, let's get out of here now," advised James. "He figured out that he'd been Imperiused...we need to leave. He's going to act normal for Christmas. We can approach him later and tell him what happened. Not now...not in front of everybody." The four of them left the Great Hall and stopped as they saw Andromeda and Narcissa looking at Sirius. They'd left the hallway and were now gesturing for Sirius to come.
"I-I…" Sirius faltered. What did they want?
"Come here!" shrieked Narcissa. Sirius flinched at her voice - it had been so long since he had heard it. It was high-pitched and angry and squeaky, an angry and girly version of Peter Pettigrew's voice.
"Don't be so rude," Andromeda remarked. Her voice was calmer, lower.
"What do you want?" called Sirius. "I'm not leaving my mates to go talk to some Black Slytherins."
"YOU ARE A BLACK!" Narcissa bellowed. "Whether you like it or not!"
"Do you like it?" retorted Sirius. Narcissa faltered. "I thought so," he said smugly.
"Sirius, come here," said Andromeda. "We need to talk to you."
Sirius sighed and marched over. "What do you want?" he demanded.
"We never got to talk much," snarled Narcissa. "About you being sorted in Gryffindor."
"Is this all it's about?" Sirius gave a humorless laugh. "Well, I'm a Gryffindor. If you still have any doubts, I'll repeat it. I am a Gryffindor, and proud of it too."
"Look," Andromeda said softly. "That's not exactly what we…"
"OH, I DON'T CARE WHAT WE CAME TO TALK ABOUT!" shrieked Narcissa. "THIS BOY IS NOT JUST A GRYFFINDOR, BUT HANGS OUT WITH BLOOD TRAITORS AND HALF-BLOODS AND…"
"What's your problem with half-bloods?" asked Andromeda.
"OH, SHUT UP," Narcissa practically screamed.
"No, you shut up," said Sirius. "Tell me what this is about."
"A TALK BETWEEN COUSINS!" screamed Narcissa. "Andromeda, don't wiggle out of this, you are close friends with a...a Hufflepuff Mudblood!"
"That's a foul name!" Andromeda gasped.
"It's true!" Narcissa spat back.
"Both of you, calm down!" Sirius was used to playing diplomat between his cousins. They always fought.
"How can I calm down?" asked Narcissa. "Andromeda is friends with a Mudblood."
"What has she done?" asked Sirius. "Being friends with a Muggle Born isn't wrong, she's not planning to bring him into our family or anything, and I thought this was about me, not her."
"Bellatrix is getting the-the-" Narcissa gasped and covered her mouth. Onlookers had been listening to most of their conversation with interest. "Come to a private space," she whispered. They walked to a private area which Sirius recognized from stories.
"Is this the Slytherin common room?" Sirius asked.
"You bet it is," Andromeda said.
"STOP CHANGING THE SUBJECT!" screamed Narcissa, who had a habit of screaming.
"Bellatrix has a what?" asked Sirius, prompting the old conversation back.
"A dark mark," whispered Andromeda.
Sirius frowned. "So what? I don't care. You know what, she probably was yelling at someone and fell down and it got a mark on her."
"NOT THAT DARK MARK, YOU IDIOT!" Narcissa bellowed.
Sirius frowned.
"Tom Riddle, actually, Voldemort is his new name, is recruiting people and giving them the mark!" Narcissa pointed to her left arm.
"Are you going to get one?" Sirius asked.
"When I come of age, I probably have to." Sirius couldn't help but feel that Narcissa didn't look too excited.
"Er...are you happy about that?"
"This is NOT what we're here to discuss. If you get the mark, you are indebted to Tom...I mean, Voldemort, forever," Narcissa hissed. "If you betray Voldemort, you die, and he's not afraid of showing that. He killed a half-blood named Einsto to prove that."
"Why do I care?" wondered Sirius.
"ARE YOU THAT STUPID?" Narcissa bellowed.
"I'm sorry, but I'm a prefect and you can't yell so loudly," Andromeda said.
"I DON'T CARE, YOU STUPID OLDER SISTER, YOU'RE A BLOOD TRAITOR TOO!"
"She's not," Sirius insisted.
"OH REALLY? She wants to marry that stupid Tonks fellow."
"Ted Tonks?" Sirius frowned. "How do you know, and Andy, is this true?"
Andromeda simply said, "Do not call me Andy."
"WE CAN CALL YOU WHAT WE WANT!" Narcissa roared. "As for your question, Sirius, I heard the mudblood talking about it to his friends. Maybe Andromeda is an expert secret-keeper, but Tonks is not, and I can prove it!" She pulled out a vial from her pocket. "Veritaserum!"
Andromeda paled. "Stop calling people mudbloods, and don't even try making me drink that."
"Can we come back to what we were discussing earlier?" begged Sirius. "Bellatrix's Dark Mark?"
"Fine. Even though you're almost a blood traitor, you're still family, which. Unfortunately. Which means you're invited to Bellatrix's wedding."
"WEDDING?" Sirius yelped.
"Rodolphus Lestrange. He's a pureblood. We're intertwining the pureblood families, their family is a Death Eater family."
"A death what?" He shut up after his two cousins glared at him.
"This way, pureblood-ism goes on," Narcissa explained. "And we become a Death Eater family. And that's all I had to say. Make sure you come to the wedding. It'll drill it into you that you have to be a Black. Bye." Narcissa and Andromeda went into their Common Room.
Sirius looked around, not knowing where he was. This was the Slytherin Common room, he knew...but where was the Great Hall from this place? He ran up a bunch of stairs, wondering where he was, before realizing he was totally lost. He decided to go up to the top floor, and then make his way down. He paced down a wall and a door opened. Frowning, he pushed it open and found what looked like the Great Hall...but it wasn't. This was the seventh floor.
As expected, his three friends caught up to him, with their impeccable knowledge of the place and their friend.
"What did they want, mate?" James asked, but Sirius saw that he was grinning.
"What's so funny?"
"MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT!" he cried. Sirius laughed. Naturally. The mood that Narcissa's news had dampened immediately returned.
"Let's see it, then, what is it?"
James pulled out a silvery cloak excitedly.
"An invisibility cloak?" asked Sirius. "Like, as in the REAL one?"
"Yeah, the one from the Tale of Three Brothers? My dad says we're descended from the Peverells."
"You actually believe in that stuff?" cried Sirius.
"It's not rubbish, he's my ancestor or something," James replied.
"No, no, no, it's utter rubbish. The story is one of those morals you read, the story is fiction, James, who says it exists?"
"Who says it doesn't?" James retorted. "The story exists, it's one of those morals and it exists, the Peverells are my great ancestors - but forget about that, do you know what sort of pranks we could pull off with this?"
He grabbed the cloak and gently draped it on his shoulder. All of a sudden, only his face was visible, and he started rolling it around and zooming closer to Sirius, making ghost noises.
"Gosh, James, that's creepy!" Sirius exclaimed. James snorted and pulled off the cloak.
"You try it! It can't get dirty, but still, don't touch it if your hands aren't clean."
"My hands won't be clean after I've touched you," Sirius grumbled sarcastically. He grabbed the cloak and stuck it over him. "Guess how many fingers I'm holding up."
James pretended to think. "Let me see…" He grabbed the cloak off Sirius's head and said, "Five!"
Sirius stuck his tongue out. "Have you and Peter tried this, Remus?"
Remus shook his head. "We were waiting for you, we wanted to try it on together."
"Thank you," Sirius said, touched.
A silence fell, when Sirius said, "Hey guys, let's keep working on that map of ours. I found the Slytherin common room!"
James perked up. "Really, really, really?" He pulled out the planning parchment from his backpack. "Tell me. Speaking of which, where are we now?"
"Somewhere on the seventh floor," Peter said. "I ran up all the stairs for you guys."
"So did I," retorted James.
"Okay well...where are we now?" Remus asked.
They looked around their tiny room.
"I have no clue, but I know I want a cushion," grumbled Sirius. A cushion - suddenly - appeared next to Sirius. "How did that happen?"
Peter frowned. "I want...a quill?" A quill popped up on the ground a few feet away from Peter. "Guys!" he exclaimed. "This room gives you what you want!"
"THIS ROOM IS AMAZING!" James cried. "You could get anything you wanted in here."
"Let's keep working," Remus suggested. "Okay, so the Slytherin common room?"
"It's in the dungeons. Looks like a blank stretch of wall, but it's actually there. I heard it's under the lake!" Sirius said excitedly.
James grinned, jotting that down.
Sirius frowned, a thought hitting him. "What if someone else tries to read this map?"
James looked over at them. "Easy! Set a password."
Peter frowned. "The Marauders?"
"People would guess that," reasoned Sirius.
"What if other troublemakers find it in future generations?" asked Sirius. "We want a legacy."
"You have to, like, make an oath," James said, his eyes lighting up.
"I swear I want to make mischief?" suggested Peter.
"You should solemnly swear," Sirius added. "I solemnly swear I am going to make mischief."
"It doesn't have to be mischief, though. We don't all do mischief, we sneak around at night, and buy stuff from Hogsmeade," James said.
"You don't call that mischief?" Sirius snorted. "I guess you could, like, find rooms and not go…"
"You're up to no good?" Peter asked.
"I like that," Sirius said with a grin. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. That makes sense."
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," they repeated together.
It was the night, and Gryffindor was hosting a huge party with drinks and leftover food from the Great Hall.
"This is so good," said Sirius, chewing on a pumpkin pastry. "This is the best Christmas I've ever had."
"Dinner was the best," said Peter dreamily.
"I know!" James exclaimed.
Music had started to play, and the Gryffindors were slowly dancing around the Common Room, except for the Marauders, who were munching on snacks at the table.
"Imagine all the mischief the cloak can give us," said Sirius.
"Oh no," said Remus. "That's a bad sign."
Sirius grinned wickedly. "Yes, it sure is." He finished up his pumpkin pastry and stuck his tongue out, crumbs sticking on top of it.
"That is disgusting," said Peter, wrinkling his nose, while James erupted in laughter.
"Next year, I am so staying at Hogwarts for Christmas," Sirius said.
"I'm probably going home," James said. "I'll probably alternate from Hogwarts and Home. I miss the family Christmas stuff with my cousins and family."
"You still got your presents," pointed out Remus.
James smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I did."
"That's all that matters to you," teased Peter, as Sirius grabbed a slice of cake and started eating.
And as the four Marauders stood there, talking and laughing into the night, Sirius knew that this had been the best Christmas he had ever had.