James walked quickly up to the Gryffindor common room, where he found
Sirius, Remus, and Peter surrounding Lily, who was sitting in a large
comfortable-looking chair. In front of her was a small table with a
Wizards' Chess game set up, ready to be played. On the other side of the
table, was another chair, much like Lily's, which James sat down in.
"You're late, Potter," Lily stated, as she and the others stared at James.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Got sort of side-tracked," James replied, deciding not to tell them about the rustling bush and the feeling that he was being watched. They probably would've laughed and told him he was losing his nerve.
The game began, and his friends were acting oddly nice towards him. Usually, they joked around, but suddenly, it seemed like they were all bending over backwards to help him. First, Remus asked James if he was feeling warm, and needed a cold towel for his forehead. James gladly accepted, not feeling the least bit suspicious, as he had his full concentration on the game against Lily. Then, Peter told him that maybe he needed a new shirt since he had worked so hard at Quidditch practise and all, so Peter brought down a clean new shirt just for James, which James quickly exchanged for his dirty T-shirt. James thought this a little odd, but thought nothing of it, as the rest of his friends dismissed it casually. Besides, James knew Peter thought James was practically a god, and figured he was just trying to be nice. Finally, Sirius asked him if he would like some pumpkin juice, since he hadn't had anything at breakfast, and must be a bit thirsty. James took the drink, but was getting very suspicious, since Sirius always said that if James wanted something, then he could go get it himself. Unless of course, Sirius' mother was in the room. That's when Sirius would gladly get anything James liked for him.
"Checkmate!" Lily exclaimed, "Told you I'd beat you!"
"Yeah, well I'll get you next time," James replied. His friends burst out laughing. Sirius was laughing so hard that tears were spilling down his face.
"What?" James asked, confused. This caused his friends to laugh even harder.
"WHAT IS IT?!?!?!?!?!" James shouted over the mounting laughter. Everyone in the Gryffindor common room started laughing now, some even more than his friends. James was getting angry now. He ran down to the Great Hall, and he noticed that he was the first one there.
He ate his lunch slowly, going over what had just happened in his head. Suddenly, a throng of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff students walked in the Hall. Several Gryffindor students giggled when they saw James, but sat down and didn't say anything to him.
James soon spotted Sirius, Remus, Lily and Peter, and they walked quickly over to him and sat down with grins on their faces.
"What happened in the common room? Why was everyone laughing?" James asked. His friends' grins grew wider, if that was possible, but they restrained themselves from laughing.
"Well, James," Sirius started to explain, "We wanted to get you back for what you did to us earlier. So, we played a little trick on you."
Alarmed, James looked to each one of his friends' faces, and asked, "What did you do?"
"Well, first, I got you a cold towel. Little did you know that we placed a charm on it so when it touches skin, it leaves a message," Remus explained.
James reached to touch his forehead and then asked, "What sort of message?"
"It says, 'I am a bloody idiot'" Sirius told him, trying hard not to laugh.
"What?!?!?!?" James exclaimed, putting his hand over his forehead, trying to cover the message.
"You heard right. And that's not all," Lily said mischievously.
"Oh dear god, what else did you do?" James asked, regretting the answer.
"Well, remember that shirt Peter gave you?" Remus asked. James nodded, "Well, little did you know when you were putting it on, that we had put a charm on it to make it say, 'James Potter is a prat' in 10 different languages, and in three shades of blue. My idea, of course. And the best part is, you can't take it off."
James looked down, and noticed, for the first time, that the shirt did indeed say 'James Potter is a prat' in 10 different languages. Or to James, what looked like 10 different languages. He could only read the one in English.
"And finally," Lily said, taking a deep breath.
"There's more?" James inquired, tentatively. Lily nodded.
"Remember that drink that Sirius gave you?" she asked him.
"Yes…" James replied cautiously, not sure he wanted to know what she was going to say.
"Well, it can make you speak any language Sirius wants it to. At the flick of his wand, he can make you speak English, or French, or Italian, or even Parseltongue," Lily explained.
"People were laughing at me because I was speaking Parseltongue?" James asked, slightly confused, "Wouldn't they be scared if I were speaking Parseltongue?"
"You weren't speaking Parseltongue, James. Sirius was making you speak Gibberish," Peter piped up.
"GIBBERISH!?!?!?!?!?" James shouted in disbelief.
The whole Hall was looking at him strangely.
"See? You were just speaking Greek," Remus explained.
"Greek?" James whispered.
"Yes, Greek," Remus confirmed.
"Well, take the spell off of me! And take the message of my forehead!" James demanded.
"Nope. Not until exactly five hours after you take our spells off," Lily answered.
"First of all, no way am I taking your spells off until I make the team, and second of all, why five hours?" James asked.
"Because then you'd have that ridiculous get-up on for the exact same amount of time we have ours on," Remus explained.
"This is crazy!" James stated.
"It may be crazy, but it's fair," Peter spoke up.
"So you're telling me, that I have to walk around all day and probably all day tomorrow looking like this, until I take your spell off?" James asked, "And talk in any language SIRIUS chooses?"
They all nodded in confirmation.
"Great," James muttered, "I'm going upstairs…see you all later."
"What was that? Sorry, I couldn't understand what you were saying…you were speaking German," Remus said.
James sighed and walked up to his dormitory. He lay down on his bed, and actually finished his weekend homework. Even he was amazed that he had finished on a SATURDAY. Usually he would be hanging out with his friends in the common room, having fun and playing games. But today, he couldn't trust them. Who knows what language they would get him to speak next, and god knows how much of a prat he'd look like with his shirt and the message on his forehead.
James stayed holed up in the dorm all the rest of the day, all night, and all the next day. He didn't even go downstairs to eat meals, and instead ate from his stash of candy by his bed. He refused to talk to Remus, Peter or Sirius when they came in, and shut up his four-poster tightly.
However, the next evening, he couldn't help but walk down to the common room to see who had made the Quidditch team. He walked cautiously to the wall in the common room where Gryffindor notices were pinned up as reminders and notices, aware of some stares at his outfit. He searched for the Quidditch Team paper, and noticed it, in yellow paper, with a bold font:
Gryffindor Quidditch Team
Chasers:
Simon Bullard
Holly Tugnutt
Greg Nielson
Keeper:
Craig Hopkins
Beaters:
Shane Torkiss
Mitch Rutledge
Seeker:
James Potter
James leaped for joy, and shouted with glee. He didn't care that all the Gryffindors were staring at him as if he'd gone insane. He was so happy, he wouldn't care if he let Malfoy and Snape see him in his outfit.
James ran to his friends, who were looking at him cautiously, and performed the counter-curse for the colour-changing charm. They grinned at him, and gave him their congratulations.
"You know James, I think you've been a good boy. Shall we let him out of his curse early?" Lily questioned.
"Yeah, alright…" Remus gave in.
"But-" Sirius started, but Lily cut in.
"Sirius, what we did to him was much worse than what he did to us. I feel sort of sorry for him. Come on, let him have the right to decide what language he wants to speak in," Lily insisted.
They all performed the three counter-curses, and James was free.
"Hey, Evans? How about a rematch?" James asked, referring to Wizards' Chess.
"You're on, Potter," Lily replied, and the rest of the night was spent happily.
Days went by. James was training especially hard with the rest of the Quidditch team, and juggling homework, as well. When James wasn't around, his friends played Gobstones and chess to pass the time.
Soon enough, it was nearly Halloween, and Craig was giving the Quidditch team a short break from training. Bored as ever, as there are only so many rounds of Gobstones a person can sit through, James proposed an idea.
"You all know what holiday is coming up," James said, more as a statement than as a question.
"Gee, I wonder…oh, I know! My birthday!" Remus exclaimed.
"First of all, you know perfectly well what holiday is coming up. Second of all, your birthday is not a holiday, and third of all, your birthday was in July," Sirius stated, rolling his eyes.
"Geez, can't a guy at least plot ways to get some presents around here?" Remus asked, in response to Sirius.
"NO!" exclaimed James, Sirius, Peter, and Lily.
"Well, I never…" Remus started, but then dropped his voice to a low muttering.
"Anyways…what were you saying about holidays, James?" Lily asked, changing the subject.
"Well, as we all know, Halloween is coming, and I propose we have a little fun," James said, mischievously.
"What sort of fun do you have in mind?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Well, first, I thought our victims should be…" James started. The others leaned in close so no one could hear, and before long, their plan was decided.
"You're late, Potter," Lily stated, as she and the others stared at James.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Got sort of side-tracked," James replied, deciding not to tell them about the rustling bush and the feeling that he was being watched. They probably would've laughed and told him he was losing his nerve.
The game began, and his friends were acting oddly nice towards him. Usually, they joked around, but suddenly, it seemed like they were all bending over backwards to help him. First, Remus asked James if he was feeling warm, and needed a cold towel for his forehead. James gladly accepted, not feeling the least bit suspicious, as he had his full concentration on the game against Lily. Then, Peter told him that maybe he needed a new shirt since he had worked so hard at Quidditch practise and all, so Peter brought down a clean new shirt just for James, which James quickly exchanged for his dirty T-shirt. James thought this a little odd, but thought nothing of it, as the rest of his friends dismissed it casually. Besides, James knew Peter thought James was practically a god, and figured he was just trying to be nice. Finally, Sirius asked him if he would like some pumpkin juice, since he hadn't had anything at breakfast, and must be a bit thirsty. James took the drink, but was getting very suspicious, since Sirius always said that if James wanted something, then he could go get it himself. Unless of course, Sirius' mother was in the room. That's when Sirius would gladly get anything James liked for him.
"Checkmate!" Lily exclaimed, "Told you I'd beat you!"
"Yeah, well I'll get you next time," James replied. His friends burst out laughing. Sirius was laughing so hard that tears were spilling down his face.
"What?" James asked, confused. This caused his friends to laugh even harder.
"WHAT IS IT?!?!?!?!?!" James shouted over the mounting laughter. Everyone in the Gryffindor common room started laughing now, some even more than his friends. James was getting angry now. He ran down to the Great Hall, and he noticed that he was the first one there.
He ate his lunch slowly, going over what had just happened in his head. Suddenly, a throng of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff students walked in the Hall. Several Gryffindor students giggled when they saw James, but sat down and didn't say anything to him.
James soon spotted Sirius, Remus, Lily and Peter, and they walked quickly over to him and sat down with grins on their faces.
"What happened in the common room? Why was everyone laughing?" James asked. His friends' grins grew wider, if that was possible, but they restrained themselves from laughing.
"Well, James," Sirius started to explain, "We wanted to get you back for what you did to us earlier. So, we played a little trick on you."
Alarmed, James looked to each one of his friends' faces, and asked, "What did you do?"
"Well, first, I got you a cold towel. Little did you know that we placed a charm on it so when it touches skin, it leaves a message," Remus explained.
James reached to touch his forehead and then asked, "What sort of message?"
"It says, 'I am a bloody idiot'" Sirius told him, trying hard not to laugh.
"What?!?!?!?" James exclaimed, putting his hand over his forehead, trying to cover the message.
"You heard right. And that's not all," Lily said mischievously.
"Oh dear god, what else did you do?" James asked, regretting the answer.
"Well, remember that shirt Peter gave you?" Remus asked. James nodded, "Well, little did you know when you were putting it on, that we had put a charm on it to make it say, 'James Potter is a prat' in 10 different languages, and in three shades of blue. My idea, of course. And the best part is, you can't take it off."
James looked down, and noticed, for the first time, that the shirt did indeed say 'James Potter is a prat' in 10 different languages. Or to James, what looked like 10 different languages. He could only read the one in English.
"And finally," Lily said, taking a deep breath.
"There's more?" James inquired, tentatively. Lily nodded.
"Remember that drink that Sirius gave you?" she asked him.
"Yes…" James replied cautiously, not sure he wanted to know what she was going to say.
"Well, it can make you speak any language Sirius wants it to. At the flick of his wand, he can make you speak English, or French, or Italian, or even Parseltongue," Lily explained.
"People were laughing at me because I was speaking Parseltongue?" James asked, slightly confused, "Wouldn't they be scared if I were speaking Parseltongue?"
"You weren't speaking Parseltongue, James. Sirius was making you speak Gibberish," Peter piped up.
"GIBBERISH!?!?!?!?!?" James shouted in disbelief.
The whole Hall was looking at him strangely.
"See? You were just speaking Greek," Remus explained.
"Greek?" James whispered.
"Yes, Greek," Remus confirmed.
"Well, take the spell off of me! And take the message of my forehead!" James demanded.
"Nope. Not until exactly five hours after you take our spells off," Lily answered.
"First of all, no way am I taking your spells off until I make the team, and second of all, why five hours?" James asked.
"Because then you'd have that ridiculous get-up on for the exact same amount of time we have ours on," Remus explained.
"This is crazy!" James stated.
"It may be crazy, but it's fair," Peter spoke up.
"So you're telling me, that I have to walk around all day and probably all day tomorrow looking like this, until I take your spell off?" James asked, "And talk in any language SIRIUS chooses?"
They all nodded in confirmation.
"Great," James muttered, "I'm going upstairs…see you all later."
"What was that? Sorry, I couldn't understand what you were saying…you were speaking German," Remus said.
James sighed and walked up to his dormitory. He lay down on his bed, and actually finished his weekend homework. Even he was amazed that he had finished on a SATURDAY. Usually he would be hanging out with his friends in the common room, having fun and playing games. But today, he couldn't trust them. Who knows what language they would get him to speak next, and god knows how much of a prat he'd look like with his shirt and the message on his forehead.
James stayed holed up in the dorm all the rest of the day, all night, and all the next day. He didn't even go downstairs to eat meals, and instead ate from his stash of candy by his bed. He refused to talk to Remus, Peter or Sirius when they came in, and shut up his four-poster tightly.
However, the next evening, he couldn't help but walk down to the common room to see who had made the Quidditch team. He walked cautiously to the wall in the common room where Gryffindor notices were pinned up as reminders and notices, aware of some stares at his outfit. He searched for the Quidditch Team paper, and noticed it, in yellow paper, with a bold font:
Gryffindor Quidditch Team
Chasers:
Simon Bullard
Holly Tugnutt
Greg Nielson
Keeper:
Craig Hopkins
Beaters:
Shane Torkiss
Mitch Rutledge
Seeker:
James Potter
James leaped for joy, and shouted with glee. He didn't care that all the Gryffindors were staring at him as if he'd gone insane. He was so happy, he wouldn't care if he let Malfoy and Snape see him in his outfit.
James ran to his friends, who were looking at him cautiously, and performed the counter-curse for the colour-changing charm. They grinned at him, and gave him their congratulations.
"You know James, I think you've been a good boy. Shall we let him out of his curse early?" Lily questioned.
"Yeah, alright…" Remus gave in.
"But-" Sirius started, but Lily cut in.
"Sirius, what we did to him was much worse than what he did to us. I feel sort of sorry for him. Come on, let him have the right to decide what language he wants to speak in," Lily insisted.
They all performed the three counter-curses, and James was free.
"Hey, Evans? How about a rematch?" James asked, referring to Wizards' Chess.
"You're on, Potter," Lily replied, and the rest of the night was spent happily.
Days went by. James was training especially hard with the rest of the Quidditch team, and juggling homework, as well. When James wasn't around, his friends played Gobstones and chess to pass the time.
Soon enough, it was nearly Halloween, and Craig was giving the Quidditch team a short break from training. Bored as ever, as there are only so many rounds of Gobstones a person can sit through, James proposed an idea.
"You all know what holiday is coming up," James said, more as a statement than as a question.
"Gee, I wonder…oh, I know! My birthday!" Remus exclaimed.
"First of all, you know perfectly well what holiday is coming up. Second of all, your birthday is not a holiday, and third of all, your birthday was in July," Sirius stated, rolling his eyes.
"Geez, can't a guy at least plot ways to get some presents around here?" Remus asked, in response to Sirius.
"NO!" exclaimed James, Sirius, Peter, and Lily.
"Well, I never…" Remus started, but then dropped his voice to a low muttering.
"Anyways…what were you saying about holidays, James?" Lily asked, changing the subject.
"Well, as we all know, Halloween is coming, and I propose we have a little fun," James said, mischievously.
"What sort of fun do you have in mind?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Well, first, I thought our victims should be…" James started. The others leaned in close so no one could hear, and before long, their plan was decided.