Sunday 2nd March 1975

Fifth Year Ravenclaw Boys Dorm, 21:00

"Has anyone seen my Transfiguration essay?" Kingsley asked, his head in his wardrobe as he rummaged around in it.

"What was that?" asked Callum, not looking up from the comic he was reading.

"I've lost my essay."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

Kingsley was rather offended that there was no shock or sense of urgency in his friend's voice. Actually, it was rather emotionless.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that you never seem to know where your essays are," Callum replied, turning a page over in his comic. "Oh, wasn't expecting that to happen. Cool."

"I do too!"

"Uh huh."

Kingsley frowned at that. Surely, he didn't lose his essays that much? Sure, he forgot to do them at least once a week but lose them? That didn't happen that often, surely? Apparently so. Huh.

"I even did it the day we got it," Kingsley complained.

He had been in an organised mood that day so all his schoolwork had been done. He even read a chapter ahead in each textbook! That can't have been all for naught.

"You actually did an essay more than a day or so in advance?" Callum asked incredulously.

"I'm known to do that sometimes," Kingsley huffed.

"Uh huh. Sure."

Kingsley was hurt. Callum should know that he either got all his essays over and done with in one go or he had loads of half essays hanging around until the day before it was due. Sometimes the day of but that didn't happen as much anymore now that he was a fifth year. Even he could no longer finish an essay in an hour. Fifth year sucked like that. But this time he had finished the essay. It had been really interesting and he'd almost written too much. Okay, he had written too much but he had taken out the middle scroll so it was the appropriate length.

"I did!" he insisted. "But now it's missing."

"How in Merlin's name did you realise it was missing at-" Callum check his alarm clock "- quarter past nine at night?"

"I wanted to put it away."

"You wanted to put it- you didn't even put it away when you were done?"

Kingsley blinked at him. "You're supposed to do that?"

Callum groaned.

"You are such an idiot."

For once, Kingsley wasn't going to disagree with that statement. Because he really was an idiot this time. Seriously, how did he manage to lose a finished essay of all things?

You know what? It wasn't here. Or under his bed. Or by his desk. It wasn't anywhere. Where on earth could it be?

"Professor McGonagall is going to kill me."

Monday 3rd March 1975

Transfiguration Classroom, 10:00

Elsie jumped as Kingsley basically flung himself into the seat next to her and sighed loudly.

"Good morning to you too," she said sarcastically, giving him a poke.

Boys. Complete trolls sometimes. Case in point, Kingsley just groaned at her in response. Well, if that's how he was going to be, she wasn't going to be the one to do all the talking.

"Professor McGonagall is going to kill me," he said, his voice muffled as his head was still quite firmly on the desk.

Okay, that got her all curious.

"Why is McGonagall going to kill you?"

Kingsley muttered something that she didn't catch.

"What was that?"

A sigh came from him and he lifted his head so it was now resting on his hands instead of the table.

"I said; I lost my essay."

Elsie's eyebrows shot up her forehead. "You what?"

"I los-"

"Yeah, I heard you," she interrupted, waving her hands at him. "I just couldn't believe it."

"Well, it happened," Kingsley said glumly.

"How?"

"If I knew that do you think it would still be lost?"

"Touchy, touchy."

"Well, you would be too if you were in my situation."

That was true. Actually, she would probably be even louder about it or at least talking more in her panic.

"Which brings me back to: McGonagall killing me."

"Yep," Elsie agreed, probably too cheerfully but hey, she wasn't the one who was taunting the devil.

For her this was almost certainly going to be fun to watch. Hufflepuff she may be but that didn't mean that she had to be nice all the time. She could also revel in people's misfortune. If they deserved it- because Hufflepuff - which Kingsley certainly did. Honestly, not doing McGonagall's essay? Just asking for trouble. Surely a Ravenclaw was smart enough to know this.

Kingsley peered at her through his arms.

"You could be a bit more sympathetic; you know?"

Elsie snorted. "Not when it's your own fault."

"I didn't lose it on purpose!"

Elsie couldn't help it, she giggled. That definitely did not put her into Kingsley's good book but the expressions on his face were just too funny. Before he could retort, they were interrupted.

"Mr Shacklebolt?"

That got him sitting up straight rather quickly. Kind of like a string had been pulled.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Is this yours?"

She held a piece of parchment up to him that looked like it had been crumpled up and straightened out again. Definitely had Kingsley's handwriting on it from what Elsie could see. Kingsley squinted at it. Couldn't he recognise his own writing?

"You found it!" he said gleefully and then a look of horrified realisation appeared. "Uh, you found it?"

Professor McGonagall really did not look amused. Her lips were thin and an eyebrow was raised.

"Indeed, Mr Shacklebolt. In the corridor on Friday."

She got a blank look at that and Elsie tried not to laugh. She didn't want to be on the receiving end of that glare.

"Oh."

"Not the way my essays are usually handed in," she continued and then she paused to raise an eyebrow. "I assume this is the essay you want to hand in?"

She wasn't giving him much of a choice, was she? Poor Kingsley. Elsie hoped for his sake that that wasn't an unfinished, rough draft.

"Uh, yes, ma'am," he agreed.

"Very well."

With that, she took Elsie's preferred essay and strode back to her desk.

"Please make sure your homework is in your possession before handing it into me in future, Mr Shacklebolt."

The whole class snickered at him. It wasn't fair that Kingsley's skin didn't show when he was embarrassed like hers did. She basically turned into a tomato.

"Maybe put a tracking charm on it," she teased in a whisper.

Kingsley didn't look too impressed by that suggestion.

Monday 10th March 1975

Fourth Year Gryffindor Boys Dorm, 12:00

All of them crowded into their dorm, laughing and shoving. They were going to have to be quick because they had to get back down to the Great Hall to actually eat lunch as well as do whatever his three friends wanted to do.

James, Peter and Sirius had been exchanging these looks and grins all morning. Remus thought it was fairly sensible to be suspicious of this as nothing good ever came of them planning something without telling him.

"Ta da!" Sirius said, extending his arms out.

Remus looked to where he was pointing and gasped.

He wasn't sure how they had managed it when he was pretty certain he had been with them all day but they had managed to decorate his bed. There was a banner declaring "Happy Birthday Remus" strung in front of his bed and presents stacked on his pillow.

"Wow."

"Do you like it?" James asked.

"It's great."

A warm feeling came over him, like it always did when his friends celebrated his birthday. It was nice to have people to celebrate his birthday with and it never got old.

"Open your presents!" James said impatiently, giving him a none to subtle nudge towards his bed.

Peter thrust a neatly wrapped parcel at him, "This is from me."

"Yes, because you were really going to hand him one from me," Sirius said sarcastically.

Remus turned to give Sirius a punch but was beaten to it by James who smacked their friend upside the head.

"It's your birthday, so I'll do it for you," James explained with a grin as Sirius yelped and glared at them all.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Remus and James grinned at each other while Sirius pouted even more. Peter tapped his foot impatiently so Remus took the hint and tore the wrapping paper off. It was two books. A textbook of defensive spells - he was really getting into those this year - and a novel. David Copperfield to be exact.

"I heard you say that you didn't have it," Peter explained.

Remus smiled at him. "These are great, thank you, Peter."

"Oh, and this," Peter said, going over to his bedside table to retrieve something and passing it over to him. "Can't forget this."

It was a bar of Honeydukes chocolates. Remus laughed.

"Of course not, thank you."

"You go next," Sirius instructed James, poking him in the arm.

There was no argument from a very eager looking James as he passed his red paper wrapped gift to Remus. It was large and kind of squishy.

The wrapping paper was soon off to reveal a jumper. A very nice jumper. It was a sort of warm brown and very, very soft. Remus held it up to him.

"Will it fit?" James asked anxiously. "I had to guess your size..."

"Try it on," Sirius urged.

Remus shook his head, startled out of his thoughts. (It was just so soft).

"What?"

"Try it on," James repeated. "See if it fits."

Remus was about to pull it over his head when he realised that he still had his school pullover on. Whoops. Silly him. That was soon off him and thrown onto his bed.

With that out of the way, Remus pulled the new jumper on and immediately noticed just how warm it was. That softness belied a good knit to it which really held the heat in.

"It fits perfectly," James said, looking at him in satisfaction. "Do you like it?"

"I love it," Remus said with a shy smile.

He had long been trained not to protest at how much Sirius and James spent on presents (well, not too much). It had taken him a while but finally he figured out that they weren't trying to show off or anything. They just didn't think of money the same way he or even Peter did. That, and James admitted that he just liked to spoil the people he loved. Soppy, yes, but it was kind of a nice thought.

"Oh, and this," James added, passing him a more solid present this time. "I think you know what this is."

Remus grinned, recognising the size, shape and weight. Indeed, he did.

"Chocolate?"

"Oh, yes."

Perfect. He was getting a good stash this year. Lily had even given him some this morning for his birthday. Which was perfect. He would be happy with just chocolate as presents to be honest.

"And now me!" Sirius said with Indeed, far too big a grin.

His incredibly neatly wrapped present (compared to James' rather shoddy job) was an odd shape, to say the least. There was definitely something rectangular in there - probably a book - but there was something bulbous that was attached to it. It gave the present the appearance of having horns. Very, very odd.

That, paired with Sirius' suspicious behaviour put Remus on edge. Apparently, for good reason.

"A dog toy? Really, Sirius?" Remus asked, holding aforementioned toy between two fingers and letting the wrapping paper drop to the bed.

"I thought you'd enjoy it," Sirius said solemnly.

"I'm not a dog!"

"A wolf is technically a dog."

"Isn't it the other way around?" Peter asked. "All dogs are descended from wolves, right?"

No one answered him, Remus normally would but he was far too busy glaring at his so-called friend.

"I'm a werewolf, Sirius. Not a wolf."

"It's a type of wolf."

"No. Well, yes. That's not the point!"

Okay technically a werewolf was a type of wolf because well, he did turn into a wolf once a month after all. But that didn't make him a true wolf! And certainly not one that would play with a dog toy! Did wolves even play with dog toys? He very much doubted it. And he wasn't going to test that either.

"It's a high quality one," Sirius said with a dramatic sniff.

Of course, it was. Really, would they expect any less of Sirius Black? But why in Merlin's name had he got him a dog's toy of all things?

"I thought it would hold up to the full moon."

"What? I don't play with toys on the full moon!" Remus spluttered.

"Because you've never had them."

"No, because I don't play with anything! I rip things apart! Destroy them!"

Sirius wasn't giving up on this. "Maybe because you're frustrated that you have nothing to play with."

Remus growled and lobbed the stupid thing at Sirius' head. Unfortunately, he was no Chaser and completely missed.

"I don't think he likes it, Sirius," James told him. "I don't think you win at Birthday presents this year."

"Definitely not," Remus agreed.

A dog toy? Really?

"Don't worry, I got you chocolate too." Sirius assured him.

"You better have," Remus grumbled.

Saturday 15th March 1975

Fourth Year Gryffindor Boys Dorm, 07:00

"This is going to be so much fun," James said eagerly in a hushed voice as Remus turned the shower on in the bathroom.

Yes, Remus knew what they were up to and was taking part but it was probably best not to show just how excited they were.

He was already exasperated enough with them. Apparently, doing successive pranks in one day was a bit over the top. Sirius and James thought there was no such thing. Peter agreed with him so Remus was outnumbered. Today was going to be a day of pranks and it really was all Remus' fault really. Ides of March and all that.

"Good thing it's the weekend. We can get far more done," Sirius said, rummaging through the box they were keeping everything in.

"At all different times," Peter agreed. "Much better to space them all out."

Yes, they would be much more effective that way.

"It also helps that it's a Hogsmeade weekend," Remus pointed out as he left the bathroom with a towel around him. "Especially since it's the first weekend that it has actually been sunny for ages so pretty much everyone is out of the castle."

"True," James agreed.

He also wanted to be outside but this was far more important. There were pranks to be pulled. And a lot of them. He hadn't done all that research for nothing. All those plans on where to place pranks for the best effect. This was important after all. Though, he also wanted to go to Hogsmeade at some point. Today was going to use up their entire supply of fireworks.

"Don't worry, Moony," James assured him. "We'll still have plenty of time to go and get you your stash of chocolate."

"You better," Remus threatened half-heartedly, making James grin.

Merlin forbid if Remus had no chocolate. It was just too horrible to contemplate. They would have to act fast.

And they did. Within about forty-five minutes they had set up everything that they had needed to set up. Quite impressive considering how many pranks they were pulling here but they had made a concentrated effort to plan a lot of this in advance.

"We need to hurry up before people come down here," Sirius said from his lookout post at the end of the corridor.

"Why do we always leave the first prank to be pulled to last?" Peter asked, pressing the piece of parchment that they had placed the charm on along the floor. It had two charms on it, one to make it look like the floor and another - the actual prank charm - to make people's shoes make ominous footstep noises. You know, heavy ones that echoed. It was really going to freak people out.

James shrugged. "Don't know. Do we have one more piece? It doesn't quite hit the wall."

"How does it not reach?" Remus asked. "We measured it!"

"Well, whoever did that is a bad measurer."

"I did it!"

"Well then, you're a bad measurer."

Remus rolled his eyes and threw a scrap bit of parchment at him. James easily caught it (did everyone forget he was a Chaser?) and quickly charmed it with the two charms it needed to have. Now, that was perfect.

"Why are fireworks in the box?" Remus asked in exasperation.

The three of them grinned at him.

Great Hall, 17:00

The first thing Lily was greeted with as she made her way down to dinner were bangs and shrieks. Never a good combination. Neither were the fireworks that were going off, shooting across the ceiling in a swirl of sparks and coloured smoke. Very pretty but really not needed. Especially when there had already been multiple pranks pulled today. And there was only one group that would do that, wasn't there?

Especially when that group had almost certainly been behind every single other prank that had happened today. And there had been loads of them. Loads. Like, a ridiculous amount.

From the Ravenclaw's feet being charmed to make that stupid, creepy noise to the Gryffindors have to walk through this thing that felt like a spider's web to the Hufflepuffs having to basically to an obstacle course around barrels to get up to the Entrance Hall. She would have to ask Severus what they managed to do to the Slytherins because no one had said or complained about anything and there was no way they would have been left out. They had all come up from the Dungeons rather thin-lipped so something had definitely happened.

There were other things that had happened that weren't House specific like the big grinning mouths that appeared on certain walls and that freaky laughter that came from the corners of the classrooms and now this. The fireworks in the Great Hall. The smoke had better not affect how the food tasted or she would be on the warpath. She was hungry and she didn't want to starve because of some stupid pranks.

The fireworks finally faded away, just leaving trials of coloured smoke behind. Strange enough, there was no smell from them.

A banner unfurled above the tables, splat in the middle of the Hall. Everyone craned their necks to read it. Lily included, unfortunately.

"BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH!" it declared in big, black writing. Black smoke was even curling off it.

The whole hall broke out into whispers and hesitant giggles, most of them not understanding what it meant.

Lily shook her head. So childish.

Monday 17th March 1975

Fourth Year Gryffindor Girls Dorm, 06:30

Lily was dragged out her very nice sleep not by her alarm but by a very intense burst of pain.

"Ow!" she tiredly yelped as her eyes flew open.

What on earth was it? She came face to face than none other than Marlene McKinnon's grinning face which was never a good thing.

"What happened?" she tried to demand but it came out more of a mumble as she had just been forced awake.

"I pinched you," Marlene said matter-of-factly.

Lily shot up, briefly getting dizzy as she did it far too fast, and glared properly (if a little blearily) at her so-called best friend.

"You pinched me?"

"Yes."

Marlene did not seem to see the problem with this.

"Why on earth did you pinch me?"

"You're not wearing green," Marlene informed her. "You've got to or the leprechauns will get you."

Yeah, Lily really didn't get that part of the tradition. Apparently green made you invisible to faeries and leprechauns and the like. If they could see you, they would pinch you which was definitely an odd thing to do to someone but anyway.

"Marlene, I'm not Irish."

"Leprechauns can still see you."

That sounded like some pretty dodgy logic to Lily but she was really in no state to argue with her. Mainly because there was still sleep in her eyes.

"Go back to bed, I'll put on some green when I have to get dressed."

"Nope." Marlene tugged the covers from her much to her displeasure. "Staying invisible from the leprechauns is too important."

Lily tried to get her covers back but it just wasn't happening. Marlene was far more awake than she was which meant that the covers soon ended up on the floor and Lily was freezing.

"What's going on?" Dorcas mumbled from across the dorm.

"Nothing," Lily growled. "Marlene's being stupid."

"Okay."

And with that their other friend rolled right over and fell back to sleep! Lily was jealous. There was no way she was going to be able to go back to sleep now.

Swinging her legs out of her bed, she gave Marlene yet another glare. "I hope you're happy."

"Of course."

Lily threw her pillow at her, which missed by a long shot. Look, she never claimed that she had good aim. Especially when she was still sleepy!

Well, she was awake now. May as well get ready for the day. Not that she was going to be happy about it. And she was certainly not happy about Marlene.

Speaking of Marlene, she was still grinning like an idiot and eyeing the other members of their dorm.

"No." Lily warned, giving her arms a stretch.

"But-"

"No."

"Aw."

Their dorm mates better appreciate what Lily had just done for them. They weren't going to be woken up by a God-awful pinch. She was definitely going to have a bruise there.

Making her way over to her dresser, Lily began to brush all the tangles out of her hair. She had forgotten to braid it last night so it was more of a mess than usual.

"Don't forget about something gree-een," Marlene signsonged.

That was a very good point. Lily wouldn't put it past her to pinch her all day if she wasn't wearing green. Which was hard, by the way, if you wore a uniform that definitely did not include the colour green.

"You're having far too much fun with this Lily grumbled to Marlene's reflection in her mirror.

The reflection grinned.

Entrance Hall, 08:30

Chryssie genuinely meant to greet Dora properly when she caught up with her after breakfast but she couldn't be blamed for that. Mainly because what was right in front of her was rather shocking.

"Wow," was her greeting instead.

Dora beamed at her. "Like it?"

"Uh..." she stalled. "It's very bright."

That seemed to please her as Dora puffed up with pride at that comment.

"It's the brightest I can get it."

Dora's hair was such a bright green (neon green really) that Chryssie was convinced that it was giving off a glow.

"Does it glow in the dark?" Chryssie asked, staring intently at it.

It was an impressive shade of green, even if it did make her eyes water.

"Hmm," Dora tugged a piece of her hair in front of her and looked thoughtfully at it. "Not sure." she brightened, "But I'll try tonight."

Thursday 19th March 1975

Fourth Year Gryffindor Boys Dorm, 20:00

"Pretty sure that's not where the door is," Sirius said, leaning over James' shoulder.

"It is," Peter insisted. "I was the one who saw it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Sirius didn't look convinced of this fact.

"Can you stop crowding me?" James asked irritably.

James was seriously regretting volunteering himself to draw this map of theirs. Of course, it made sense, he was the best at drawing out of the four of them. Not that that was saying much but at least he could draw straight lines! Pretty important when you were drawing corridors. When people could agree on corridors anyway.

"Pretty sure the magic will pick doors up," Remus said, looking up from the textbook he was pouring over.

It wasn't a school one, it was one about map making. Or room designing. There were actually a few on both processes in the Library. Which Remus had promptly checked out.

"Are you sure?"

Remus looked back down at the page he had been reading and nodded after a minute.

"Yeah, it takes note of everything that affects the floorspace of the room. So, desks and chairs and doors but not rugs or shelves."

It would have been nice to know that before the argument.

Saturday 22nd March 1975

12 Grimmauld Place, 09:00

Sirius was anxious. Incredibly so. Nervous too. And worried. Were all those the same thing? He didn't know. All he knew that there was none of that Gryffindor courage in him at the minute. How could there be when he was back home finally facing up to the consequences of his actions at Christmas? Actions that he was more than a bit regretting now. Mainly because he was so worked up and anxious. He couldn't help it.

They hadn't said anything to him yesterday, despite pulling him out of school for the Sabbat but then again, it was a Sabbat and required a fair bit of concentration on everyone's part.

"Master Sirius," Kreacher croaked, suddenly appearing in his room.

Sirius really hated the way House Elves did that. It was like they took pleasure in making you jump. Or maybe it was just Kreacher because he had never seen any of James' House Elves do such a thing.

"Kreacher!" he hissed, glaring at him.

The House Elf was unaffected by this.

"Master wants you down in his study," he told Sirius before disappearing.

Sirius blinked at the spot where he had been, a feeling like he had been dunked in cold water coming over him. This was it. What he had been waiting for.

Knowing better than to keep his father waiting, Sirius trudged his way down to his study.

"Ah, Sirius," his father greeted from behind his desk.

He was sitting down, never a good sign. Meant he was going to be here a while.

"Good morning, Father," Sirius dutifully responded.

Orion's lips curled into something that resembled a smile. It immediately put Sirius on edge. As if this whole thing hadn't already.

"We have several things to discuss, don't we?"

His mouth was dry, why was his mouth dry? Sirius somehow manged to summon up enough moisture to reply, "Yes, sir."

What came next was a lecture to end all lectures on decorum, Family Pride, Family Honour and how despicable he was to throw any sort of shade on that. Each point accompanied by a well-aimed stinging hex so he would remember. So, of course, he was aching by the time his father was finished and more than a little trembly.

He couldn't even look at his father, never mind respond to him. Something the man seemed to find most amusing.

"Where's your Gryffindor courage?" his father asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sirius flinched like he had been slapped. He hated that taunting tone of his father's, even when it wasn't directed at him. It was a dangerous tone because it meant that he was using one of your weaknesses against you. Ones that he knew would have the most effect.

And that was definitely the case here. His father was saying that one, it was bad to be a Gryffindor and two, Sirius was bad at being a bad thing. That he couldn't even do something wrong right. And it hurt. Of course, it hurt, that was the point.

So, he said nothing. Proving his father's point. He even got a derisive smirk from the man. Sirius would almost prefer the shouting. He could deal with the shouting.

He always had to deal with the shouting.

Tuesday 25th March 1975

Evans Home, 14:00

The best thing about coming home for Easter was definitely the warmer weather. There was not a single bit of snow, nor biting winds here. Unlike at Hogwarts. You could actually enjoy being outside of you had a coat on. Which is what Lily was doing now.

Usually, doing some groceries would not be her idea of fun at all - mum preferred to get some foods at specific shops instead of one place- but she had been missing her home recently so she was quite happy to wander all around it for a few hours. Even if it was in the shops.

There was just something so nice about being able to take a step back from the magical world and just enjoy normal things again. Like films and walks in the park and the local swimming pool. Not to mention the tennis club her family were members of.

She sighed happily and spun around on the pavement. It was even warm today which added to her happiness.

This was going to be a fun Easter. There was church (yes, even church was fun when you hadn't been in months) and a good dinner and lots and lots of chocolate. And all-round good holiday in her opinion.

"Watch where you're going!"

Oops. She hadn't been paying attention to where she was going. She had nearly collided with that woman.

"Sorry!" Lily sheepishly called after her.

Saturday 29th March 1975

Lupin Home, 09:00

You know what really sicked about being a werewolf that no one ever talked about? Not that anyone ever talked about being a werewolf but still. No-one ever mentioned that your appetite just... went. Like, it didn't seem to exist for a good few days around the full moon. Even the thought of eating made him feel queasy then.

Something his mother, without fail, took personal offence to and would always try to get him to eat. He just couldn't manage it.

However, the days after the full moon he tended to wake up like so:

"I'm starving." Remus announced as he flopped into a kitchen chair, more than ready to eat anything.

His mum beamed at him so widely that Remus was actually afraid that her face was going to split in two.

Then she was darting around the kitchen, declaring that she was "going to whip up a feast!"

"Nothing too heavy," dad cautioned her, not that she paid any attention to him. He turned to Remus with an apologetic look. "Don't want you sicking it all back up."

Remus pulled a face. "Definitely not."

Being sick was definitely his second least favourite thing to do, the first obviously being turning into a werewolf every month. Nothing could trump that after all.

"Glad you're feeling better," dad said with a smile.

"So am I."