A/N- This one took four attempts. It was originally meant to be about
Harry, but he caused too many problems.
As usual, all text surrounded by ** ** are memories or dreams.
**Half a dozen small explosions interrupted Dumbledore's much needed sleep. With a weary sigh he rolled out of bed and stepped into his fluffy bunny slippers. Squelch. They were full of jam. He couldn't imagine how they had managed to get into his room. He couldn't even figure out how they had found his bedroom. It was for this very reason that he'd kept its location quiet.
Squelch. Squelch. Squelch. He pushed open the door and a bucket of green goo upended itself onto his head.
Professor McGonagall stood at the bottom of the stairs, her face smeared with whipped cream.
"Let me guess." Dumbledore said with an amused smile. "They filled your hand with cream and tickled your nose?"
McGonagall nodded, and pulled out her old black lace handkerchief to wipe her face with. "They're brave, sneaking into our rooms like that. But their tricks are usually far more creative."
Dumbledore found a comb and began to scrape the goo out of his long greying hair. "Its Halloween. I learned last year that Black, Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew like to pay homage to the classics on Halloween."**
Still partially asleep in his cocoon of blankets and pillows, Dumbledore could almost hear the fireworks that Black and Potter used to set off to celebrate All Hallows Eve, their favourite day of the year. (Aside from April Fools Day and the annual Zonko's Clearance Sale, of course.) Eventually his head cleared and the imagined signs of jubilance disappeared, leaving him alone to face the silence.
The school was always far too quiet for his liking. Sometimes he wished he had a pair of cymbals to bash together to push back the silence that filled the halls when they were empty.
He found himself having to grip the handrail as he climbed the stairwell. It occurred to him that he was fast becoming an old man. He supposed that a lifetime full of students like Rubeus Hagrid, Tom Riddle, the 'Marauders' and various Weasley's had greatly increased the speed of the aging process.
Potter and Black had always loved the enormous staircases in Hogwarts. Dumbledore knew of at least two occasions when Potter had wound up in the Hospital Wing with multiple fractures because he tried to slide down the banister and the staircase moved, sending him flying off the end onto the floor far below. They also loved throwing things off them; water bombs, eggs, and once-
**The screams echoed nicely off the stone walls. Dumbledore couldn't do anything except step out of the way as a terrified Lily Evans tumbled from above. She came to a jolting stop about two feet above the ground and began to swing back and forth. Around her ankles a rope was securely tied, and Dumbledore didn't have to look up to know that at least one of the Marauders was standing above them.
"Good morning miss Evans."
"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore sir," she said. Her face was beginning to turn the same colour as the two thick braids that were lightly brushing the floor, because of the blood rushing toward her head.
"Have you taken up bungy jumping, miss Evans?"
"Not voluntarily, sir. Sirius grabbed me from behind. Would you mind cutting me down?"
"Certainly, my dear. So, Sirius Black grabbed you, tied a rope around your feet and threw you off a fourth floor staircase, am I right?"
"Almost, sir. Sirius grabbed me and held my arms while James tied the rope. Then they both picked me up and threw me off a fifth floor staircase. I'm heavier than I look, it takes two of them to pick me up when I don't want to be lifted."
"Hmmm. So, what do you recommend for their punishment?"
"That depends. Is corporal punishment still legal?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Then make them polish the staircases. All of them. By hand, the muggle way. And I want to watch."
"Hey Lily, are you- oh, hi Mr Dumbledore, sir." James said, appearing at the foot of the stairs, Sirius behind him. **
Dumbledore had actually been quite surprised when Lily and James became an item shortly after that. In his day young women didn't date boys who showed their affection by flinging her off a staircase.
The castle finally began to stir as he climbed the final set of stairs. Deep inside the castle his acute hearing picked up the sound of the house elves preparing breakfast, and somewhere above there was the tinkling of glass as Peeves happily shattered old windows.
"Morning, Dumbledore," the Fat Lady said sleepily.
"Good morning, my dear. I believe today's password is 'Crookshanks', is it not?"
"Correct, sir"
Dumbledore drifted through the common room and up the final flight of stairs. Hogwarts had too many staircases in his opinion. He paused outside the dorm room door. He wasn't sure why he was there- he hadn't been inside Gryffindor Tower in years.
In fact, the last time had been the day Potter, Black, Pettigrew and Lupin graduated.
**"Isn't this illegal?" Peter asked nervously. The four boys were standing at the feet of their beds as Dumbledore, Filch and Snape ripped apart their beds and trunks, looking for evidence of a prank Snape swore he overheard them planning.
James was quietly twitching as Snape methodically emptied his trunk. With barely disguised glee Snape uncovered a box and prised off the lid. "Aw, how sweet." He upended it, spilling out dozens of letters, notes and cards. He picked one up. "Its from your lovely fiancée. I think I should read it out." He opened the small pink envelope. "Dearest James. I was just thinking about how much I…"
James interrupted the smaller boy by tackling him to the ground and twisting his arm behind his back. He wrenched the letter out of his hand.
"Mister Snape, we're looking for banned items, not Mister Potter's personal correspondence." Dumbledore said.
"Get him off! Ow!" Snape yelled, as James continued to twist his arm just for the fun of it.
"Are you done yet?" Sirius asked.
Dumbledore sighed. "I believe so. You seem to be in possession of very few questionable items, so I apologise and we will leave you to finish getting ready for graduation."
Remus began to put his bed back together. "Personally, I am insulted and deeply saddened that you and one of our fellow students think we would de something to ruin your carefully planned graduation ceremony."**
Dumbledore once told Harry that his father had used the invisibility cloak to steal food from the kitchens. What he had neglected to mention was that this food hadn't been in the form of the odd cake or piece of fruit. He'd taken a bit more than that. That was the main problem with house elves. If you asked them nicely enough they would bend over backwards to produce anything for you- even ten thousand litres of strawberry jam.
** It was the stickiest graduation ceremony in Hogwarts history. The students did a commendable job of keeping a straight face as they waded through a waist high river of jam to receive their diplomas.
Afterwards, while everyone else was hugging and crying and generally acting like idiots, James stopped to talk to Dumbledore.
"We weren't actually planning anything to begin with, but we had to get revenge for the room search."**
As Dumbledore was recalling this, Harry opened the door and padded out, still dressed in his pyjamas. He blinked at Dumbledore and rubbed his eyes. "Hello."
"Good morning, Harry."
"That's weird. I was just dreaming about you. And my parents. We all went bungy jumping, but the ropes snapped and we landed in a pile of flowers. Roses, daisies, honeysuckle, marigolds and gerberas." Harry shook his head. "That's really strange."
Dumbledore smiled. "I've heard stranger."
As usual, all text surrounded by ** ** are memories or dreams.
**Half a dozen small explosions interrupted Dumbledore's much needed sleep. With a weary sigh he rolled out of bed and stepped into his fluffy bunny slippers. Squelch. They were full of jam. He couldn't imagine how they had managed to get into his room. He couldn't even figure out how they had found his bedroom. It was for this very reason that he'd kept its location quiet.
Squelch. Squelch. Squelch. He pushed open the door and a bucket of green goo upended itself onto his head.
Professor McGonagall stood at the bottom of the stairs, her face smeared with whipped cream.
"Let me guess." Dumbledore said with an amused smile. "They filled your hand with cream and tickled your nose?"
McGonagall nodded, and pulled out her old black lace handkerchief to wipe her face with. "They're brave, sneaking into our rooms like that. But their tricks are usually far more creative."
Dumbledore found a comb and began to scrape the goo out of his long greying hair. "Its Halloween. I learned last year that Black, Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew like to pay homage to the classics on Halloween."**
Still partially asleep in his cocoon of blankets and pillows, Dumbledore could almost hear the fireworks that Black and Potter used to set off to celebrate All Hallows Eve, their favourite day of the year. (Aside from April Fools Day and the annual Zonko's Clearance Sale, of course.) Eventually his head cleared and the imagined signs of jubilance disappeared, leaving him alone to face the silence.
The school was always far too quiet for his liking. Sometimes he wished he had a pair of cymbals to bash together to push back the silence that filled the halls when they were empty.
He found himself having to grip the handrail as he climbed the stairwell. It occurred to him that he was fast becoming an old man. He supposed that a lifetime full of students like Rubeus Hagrid, Tom Riddle, the 'Marauders' and various Weasley's had greatly increased the speed of the aging process.
Potter and Black had always loved the enormous staircases in Hogwarts. Dumbledore knew of at least two occasions when Potter had wound up in the Hospital Wing with multiple fractures because he tried to slide down the banister and the staircase moved, sending him flying off the end onto the floor far below. They also loved throwing things off them; water bombs, eggs, and once-
**The screams echoed nicely off the stone walls. Dumbledore couldn't do anything except step out of the way as a terrified Lily Evans tumbled from above. She came to a jolting stop about two feet above the ground and began to swing back and forth. Around her ankles a rope was securely tied, and Dumbledore didn't have to look up to know that at least one of the Marauders was standing above them.
"Good morning miss Evans."
"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore sir," she said. Her face was beginning to turn the same colour as the two thick braids that were lightly brushing the floor, because of the blood rushing toward her head.
"Have you taken up bungy jumping, miss Evans?"
"Not voluntarily, sir. Sirius grabbed me from behind. Would you mind cutting me down?"
"Certainly, my dear. So, Sirius Black grabbed you, tied a rope around your feet and threw you off a fourth floor staircase, am I right?"
"Almost, sir. Sirius grabbed me and held my arms while James tied the rope. Then they both picked me up and threw me off a fifth floor staircase. I'm heavier than I look, it takes two of them to pick me up when I don't want to be lifted."
"Hmmm. So, what do you recommend for their punishment?"
"That depends. Is corporal punishment still legal?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Then make them polish the staircases. All of them. By hand, the muggle way. And I want to watch."
"Hey Lily, are you- oh, hi Mr Dumbledore, sir." James said, appearing at the foot of the stairs, Sirius behind him. **
Dumbledore had actually been quite surprised when Lily and James became an item shortly after that. In his day young women didn't date boys who showed their affection by flinging her off a staircase.
The castle finally began to stir as he climbed the final set of stairs. Deep inside the castle his acute hearing picked up the sound of the house elves preparing breakfast, and somewhere above there was the tinkling of glass as Peeves happily shattered old windows.
"Morning, Dumbledore," the Fat Lady said sleepily.
"Good morning, my dear. I believe today's password is 'Crookshanks', is it not?"
"Correct, sir"
Dumbledore drifted through the common room and up the final flight of stairs. Hogwarts had too many staircases in his opinion. He paused outside the dorm room door. He wasn't sure why he was there- he hadn't been inside Gryffindor Tower in years.
In fact, the last time had been the day Potter, Black, Pettigrew and Lupin graduated.
**"Isn't this illegal?" Peter asked nervously. The four boys were standing at the feet of their beds as Dumbledore, Filch and Snape ripped apart their beds and trunks, looking for evidence of a prank Snape swore he overheard them planning.
James was quietly twitching as Snape methodically emptied his trunk. With barely disguised glee Snape uncovered a box and prised off the lid. "Aw, how sweet." He upended it, spilling out dozens of letters, notes and cards. He picked one up. "Its from your lovely fiancée. I think I should read it out." He opened the small pink envelope. "Dearest James. I was just thinking about how much I…"
James interrupted the smaller boy by tackling him to the ground and twisting his arm behind his back. He wrenched the letter out of his hand.
"Mister Snape, we're looking for banned items, not Mister Potter's personal correspondence." Dumbledore said.
"Get him off! Ow!" Snape yelled, as James continued to twist his arm just for the fun of it.
"Are you done yet?" Sirius asked.
Dumbledore sighed. "I believe so. You seem to be in possession of very few questionable items, so I apologise and we will leave you to finish getting ready for graduation."
Remus began to put his bed back together. "Personally, I am insulted and deeply saddened that you and one of our fellow students think we would de something to ruin your carefully planned graduation ceremony."**
Dumbledore once told Harry that his father had used the invisibility cloak to steal food from the kitchens. What he had neglected to mention was that this food hadn't been in the form of the odd cake or piece of fruit. He'd taken a bit more than that. That was the main problem with house elves. If you asked them nicely enough they would bend over backwards to produce anything for you- even ten thousand litres of strawberry jam.
** It was the stickiest graduation ceremony in Hogwarts history. The students did a commendable job of keeping a straight face as they waded through a waist high river of jam to receive their diplomas.
Afterwards, while everyone else was hugging and crying and generally acting like idiots, James stopped to talk to Dumbledore.
"We weren't actually planning anything to begin with, but we had to get revenge for the room search."**
As Dumbledore was recalling this, Harry opened the door and padded out, still dressed in his pyjamas. He blinked at Dumbledore and rubbed his eyes. "Hello."
"Good morning, Harry."
"That's weird. I was just dreaming about you. And my parents. We all went bungy jumping, but the ropes snapped and we landed in a pile of flowers. Roses, daisies, honeysuckle, marigolds and gerberas." Harry shook his head. "That's really strange."
Dumbledore smiled. "I've heard stranger."
