The Prince and the Pauper
(A Marauder Story)
Chapter Nine: The Marauders
It had been 4 days since the sorting. Lily and the others had settled into the castle life quickly, though certainly not quietly. Shrieks could be heard from the prefect bathrooms early in the morning, and if you looked closely, you could see the faintest traces of spots all over them. When their friend Deana asked if they were "responsible" they just said, "Maybe."
Lily asked the point of this; weren't they supposed to be beating that Weasley kid? But James and Sirius insisted on keeping it quiet 'til their big entrance which was to take place next week. The newest addition to their group, Remus Lupin, was also proving to be quite the joker. He was perfect, they were discovering, for distracting professors.
And speaking of their professors…Lily's favorite class so far was charms. Although their gang had chosen an interesting way to start off the year in that particular class. The very first day, they had been slightly late to class…ok, very late. As in 45 minutes late to a 75 minute class. (A/N: Figure the class in an hour and fifteen minutes long.) As soon as the tiny Professor Flitwick saw them wander in, laughing, he awarded them each a detention. Lily and Melodia groaned, but Cass, Sirius, and James exchanged high fives and did some sort of complicated handshake, which caused the rest of the class to crack up. Remus just rolled his eyes, and Peter looked terrified. (A/N: he he, poor [not] rat is scared! lolz)
"Ok, class, come on now. We're going to learn a floating charm. It is called 'Wingardium Leviosa!' Now, remember, fish and swick! Um, I mean swish and flick…" He trailed off.
"Pair off, everyone."
"Mel and I will go together," Cass began before being interrupted by Melodia.
"Don't call me Mel!"
"And James and Sirius can go together. Remus and Peter…hmm. Sorry, Lily. Ask the professor who you should pair off with." Cass finished.
"Gee, thanks a lot," Lily murmured, "Professor, there is no one left for me to be with."
"Why don't you work with me? If you get it right, you are off detention."
"Sure, Professor," Lily said obediently.
"Good girl! Come here."
'Oh dear, I'm a dog now,' Lily thought to herself.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Her feather started to float, just a little at first, then a bit higher, till it was level with her eyes.
"Excellent, Ms. Evans! Look here, everyone, Ms. Evans has gotten her feather to float!"
With a burst of confidence, she shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!" without thinking and pointed her wand at the first thing she saw, which, unfortunately, happened to be little Professor Flitwick.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" the tiny professor screamed, as he floated high above their heads.
"Uh…sorry professor?" Lily said apologetically.
"Put me down, Ms. Evans, down!" Flitwick screeched, in a surprisingly strong voice for such a little man.
"Yes, Professor," Lily said, and stopped concentrating.
Bam. Flitwick fell right down into Sirius' lap.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Both Professor Flitwick AND Sirius screamed in horror. Just then the bell rang.
(A/N: Sorry, really couldn't resist :)
"Oops, gentlemen…I think I'll be going now," Lily started to sneak out the door.
"Ms. Evans!" Flitwick said with as much dignity as he could muster up.
"Yes, sir?" Lily asked innocently.
"DETENTION!" He yelled, and looking at her sharply, although after that he realized he was still in Sirius' lap, and quickly got out of it.
"Yup, sir, I got it…" Lily smiled, and walked out the door with Cass and Melodia. They all started to crack up, though the second Sirius got out of the charms room, Lily took off and ran far, far away from Sirius as she could.
~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~
The rest of the week past by quickly. One evening, right after Lily and Melodia got back from a detention with Professor McGonagall, the week took a turn for the best. Cassie had been extremely annoyed that she hadn't gotten detention too. After all, let's not forget exactly who was the one who started clapping-really loudly. So, of course, Sirius, James and Remus joined in. Peter, who looked up to James like an ant looks up to a giraffe (well, not really), started to applause. Lily and Melodia started to laugh, but copied their actions and started to stand up and clap as well. Deana, noticing this, got the other Gryffindors to stand up and clap like crazy.
After a minute of clapping, and passing it on, the whole Great Hall was on their feet, cheering, and shouting like mad. They all stood in ovation, and whistled and stomped their feet. The professors started to panic, and McGonagall, who saw Lily and Melodia stand first, came over to them and rewarded them each with a detention.
When they got back to the common room, Sirius and Remus were playing chess. Sirius was loosing pretty badly, and as it turned out, Remus was a sore winner, and Sirius a sore loser. It was pretty funny watching the game, as James and Peter found out, each egging Sirius and Remus on, respectively. Cass was sitting next to an older girl with long, light brown hair. She looked a little like the twins, with bright blue eyes to rival Bella's.
"Hey Lil, 'Lodia!"
"Hey Cassie. Who's this?" Melodia asked.
"This is my youngest older sister, Bianca. Bi, these are two of my best friends, Lily Evans and Melodia Noches."
"Nice to meet you, Lily Evans and Melodia Noches," Bianca laughed.
"Same here, Bianca. Your sister, however…can't say I'm to pleased to know Cassidy at the moment," Lily trailed off, shooting daggers at Cass.
"Don't call me 'Cassidy' Lilith!" Cass snapped.
"My name isn't even Lilith. It say 'Lily' on my birth certificate, it does, L-I-L-Y!"
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I was just talking to Bi about Bella. Supposedly, she has this new "friend" other than us! The poor thing probably hears Bella-talk in her sleep…"
"So? It's good that she's not lonely. What's her new friend's name?" Melodia asked.
"Well, the Ravenclaw 1st year girls other than Bella are Aimee Corstelli, Rosalba Gilford, and Dorothea Konway. Supposedly Dorothea, A.K.A. 'Thea' is worse than Bella with properness, and too absorbed in the land of Shakespeare. Aimee is really nice, and has the best memory Bella has ever seen, because quote on quote "She asked me if I had worn the same pair of socks the day before when I woke up on Tuesday." If you ask me, she's just has too much time on her hands. As for Rosalba, 'Rose' is extremely nice, smart, great, understanding, kind, intelligent, sweet, honest….must I go on?" Cass rambled, breathing heavily by the time she was done.
Bianca started to laugh. "I always wondered what it would be like if the 'Dream Team' the 'Terrible Twins' the 'Inseparable Pair Attached at the Hip' would be like separated. Apparently, Bella copes terrifically. Cass, however, is JEALOUS!"
"Fine, laugh all you bloody want! Keep in mind that I know where you sleep!" The girls burst out laughing.
"I meant so I could pull revenge, you morons!" Cass screamed, and stomped up the stairs. They all winced. I guess Bella was part of Cass, and when you take away the Bella-part…Lily shuddered.
"LILS!!!!!!!" Sirius screamed. "MEL!!!!!!!"
"What?" Lily asked, while Melodia protested, "DON'T CALL ME MEL!"
"'K, Mel," Sirius said.
"Ok, ok, quit it Sirius," Remus said, "But don't purposely taunt people, it's not pleasant. How would you like it if I kept saying how YOU LOST IN CHESS!"
"Stop," Sirius whined, "James, make him stop buddy! Jamsie!"
"What, need your faithful watch dog?" Melodia asked.
"Never. Call. Me. A. Dog. You've asked for it!" James screamed, and attacked Melodia, tickling her until she was begging him to stop.
"Repeat after me. James is not a dog."
"James is…NOT a dog," Melodia said sadly.
"Now, cat maybe…" Lily teased.
"Lily Evans! I'm ashamed of you!"
"Well, Potter, I can see that feline side of you. With an ebony mane and sleek black tail? You'd be attracting girls all over!" Lily replied.
"Especially Mrs. Norris!" Peter added, finally speaking up.
They all started to crack up. Then Bianca whispered something into Lily's ear. Lily nodded, and Bianca murmured a spell that no one could hear.
ZAP! James Potter now had, to quote Lily, "An ebony mane and sleek black tail."
"Laugh, laugh all you want!" James said, sadly stroking his tail.
"We will, thanks, Jay!" Remus said, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Smile James!" Melodia added, and took yet another picture. She had been making a collection of pictures from each and every prank or joke any of the future-Marauders made or took part in.
"Fine, be that way. But when we don't win that bet we made with Deana, just because you guys were TOO BUSY LAUGHING AT THE INGENIOUS PRANKSTER, don't come crying to me," James said smugly, and walked away.
"James, come back!" Sirius begged.
"Shan't!"
"Why not?" Sirius asked.
"I thought you were my best friend!" said James dramatically.
"Oh, quit the act, and get with the program. Now we need a prank for Monday morning, and it's got to be good. It has to be expert-work. At least 10 things will have to be banned after this prank, not that it will stop us." Sirius said, extremely gravely.
"Ok, if you're all back to normal…" James said, but stopped when Cass giggled.
"What?" He asked annoyed.
"You still have fur!" She screeched, and started to crack up again.
"Oh, sorry James. I'm outta here!" Bianca said, after switching him back to "human form."
"Alright now. Peter and Remus, you are both on Zonko-duty. That means do anything you can to obtain dungbombs, stink pellets, floating gas, itching powder, the works. Sirius, you and I will come up with the plan. Melodia, you're to make sure that no one's done this before, ask your brothers. Cass and Lil, you're in charge of contacting Bella-we're going to need back-up."
~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~
The next couple of days the Marauders spent busily working away and planning for their big entrance. The only major events in between were two new classes: Flying, and Potions.
Potions was nothing short of a disaster. Lily came to the conclusion that their big prank would be a waste: after all, by now the professors knew enough about them to be scared for their own health.
They arrived on time, for once, but unfortunately neglected to bring their cauldrons. After being given a five minute lecture ("How could you show up for potions without a cauldron, you morons?") they started copying notes, after notes, after notes. Their teacher, Professor Spur, was extremely…unpleasant, to say the least.
"Alright, now, Mr. Potter. What is Dittany?"
"I don't know sir. Shouldn't you know? You are the professor," James answered, not sounding in the slightest bit sarcastic, however rude his words were.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for that remark, Potter! And I'll expect a 5 page report on Dittany, to be handed in next Monday. I don't want to hear from you again until then!" Spur snapped. "Do you understand me?"
James made no move to answer, just stared at him.
"Potter! Answer me!" Spur shouted, but to no prevail. James just kept staring at him plainly, as though trying to tell him that he was stupid.
"Excuse me sir, but you told young Mister Potter that he shan't talk until he knows the definition to the herb, Dittany. Now, by asking him to answer you, you are either contradicting yourself or you are trying to test him into not listening to further deduct points from the Gryffindor house, Professor," Cass said in a very serious voice.
"What…? 5 points from Gryffindor, Miss…." Professor Spur began.
"Figg, sir. Cassidy Figg."
"Well, 5 points from Gryffindor for acting so smart. Now get to work!"
"What? Have I dung on my nose? C'mon, James lost more points! Why are you all staring at me?" Cass asked.
"Did you just talk…well, to quote yourself, Bella-talk?" Lily asked her, being the first (as always) to find her voice.
"Oh, come on people, I have dwelled with her for eleven years, and her type of speech tends to rub off on a person."
Cass was greeted with more blank stares.
"Oh, sod off!"
"There's are Cass we all know and love!" Remus smiled.
"Are you all talking? 10 more points from Gryffindor!" Their lovely professor (not) sneered again.
"Oh god, look out, it's Madame Doufahn's long-lost brother! We might not get out of here alive!" Lily said dramatically.
James and Sirius snickered appreciatively. Cass, Melodia, Remus, and Peter looked thoroughly lost, but the three filled them in briefly.
"Speaking of the orphanage, how are your friends? You know, Sari and them all?" James asked.
"Oh my goodness! I haven't written to them in the longest time! Remind me to later, okay James?" Lily replied.
"Yes ma'am," James said.
"Are you Gryffindors talking again?" The gang's "favorite" teacher was back, taking off house points as usual.
"Yes, sir," They all chorused, except for James who refused to talk to him until he knew what Dittany was.
"5 points from Gryffindor! Get back to work!"
~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~
The next day Lily and Cass woke up to a loud, high-pitched voice.
"Melodia, WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT WRETCHED NOISE?" Lily screamed.
"Why, opera, my dear Lily, opera!" With that, The Marriage of Figgaro came on, and all the girls in their dorm, including Jana and Michele, the two other Gryffindor first years, groaned and pulled their pillows over their heads.
"Lils! Cass! Mel!" Sirius came into their dorm.
"You're not s'pposed to be in here Siri," Cass muttered sleepily.
"Out, Black." Lily said shortly.
"But Miss Evans, we've a prank to pull, you've a letter to write…we've all places to go, people to see…no time to sleep, it's not!"
"Oh, put a sock in it Si. We'll be right down," Cass replied.
"AND DON'T CALL ME MEL!" Melodia screamed after shutting the door in Sirius' face.
The girls went down into the common room. Peter and Remus were both leaning over a book, a rather heavy book at that, and when Lily looked in the armchair they were crowded around, she saw Bella sitting there to her delight.
"Bella!" Lily smiled, and gave her a hug.
"Hi Lily, Melodia, Cass!" She said.
"Hello, stranger. Where's your sidekick, Rosalba?" Cass sneered.
Bella raised an eyebrow. "Rose is sleeping right now. You have a problem with that, dear sister?"
"Maybe I do."
"Maybe I don't care. Now shut up if you want the prank to go the right way."
"Maybe you just don't like us anymore," Cass continued talking loudly.
Bella gave her a look of amazement. "You're envious."
"English?" Cass asked.
"You, the almighty Cassidy Jean Figg, are jealous of me, because I'm not all scared and unhappy and lonely! It's ridiculous!"
"Jealous? Of you? As if!" Cass said.
"You do know that even if Rose is my closest friend, you're still my twin sister and best friend," Bella said, looking at Cass straight in the eye.
At that, Cass burst into tears and hugged Bella. Everyone looked shocked at that, but Bella just hugged her tightly and said, "I've missed you too, Cass, but we'll still see each other! Sure, I might be a smart, brainy Ravenclaw, but it gives me the perfect alibi, unlike you marauders."
At that, Remus gasped. James looked at him quizzically. He mouthed, 'You'll see.' He then cleared his throat.
"You, Arabella Figg, are a Genius with a capital 'G,'" He said.
"You have just came up with the greatest name for us: The Marauders!"
~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~
Lily sat down at a table in the library. Mr. Potter had said that he would send any letters to St. Bernadette's if she owled them to him. Well, it's time she took up on the offer.
Dear Sari & all the others,
How are you all? I'm fine. My new school is great. I love all my new classes, and I've made lots of friends. Mr. Potter's son James, and his infamous friend Sirius Black are both here. They've turned out to be quite the pranksters, and I've been enlisted to help out. My other friends are Remus, Peter, Bella, Cass, and Melodia. They're all really nice, but I miss you guys so much! We're not supposed to get owls outside of family, so send back a letter with Mr. Potter, he'll make sure I get it. How is everything at St. B's? Have any D.E.s recently? Hope not! Did Megan move in with her new family? Let me know!
Love always,
Lily
~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~
The Marauders, as Bella had dubbed them, made their big "entrance" the next day. They spent all weekend preparing for it, and on Monday morning they were finally ready.
They walked into the Great Hall and sat down at their table. When the Hall was pretty full, they put their plan into action. They charmed the Slytherins' utensils to turn into snakes every time someone said "breakfast." So, of course, the first thing that Sirius said was to Deana: "What's for breakfast, Deana?" And right on cue, boing! Instead of forks, spoons, and knives, snakes were slithering all over the table. Choking on laughter while Slytherins shrieked in surprise, Cass called to her sisters, Courtney and Bianca, "Hey, Courts and Bi! Come join us for breakfast!" And with another pop, gone were the plates and cups, and in their place, more snakes.
It took a long time to get through breakfast, for every two seconds someone would "forget" and say breakfast, and in the blink of an eye forks and spoons vanished, and there was hundreds of snakes on the table.
Dumbledore stood up and shot some sparks into the air.
"Excuse me, quiet down. To the students who've done this horrible, horrible deed," He began, his eyes twinkling in a way that showed he didn't mean his words, "I'm sure you are all feeling great remorse for troubling other students. Be warned that we will find out who did this," He said, and shot a look at the Gryffindor table.
There was a moment of silence before the owls came in. One owl had a huge package that was brought directly to Severus Snape. He read the letter, turned several shades of red, and then ran out of the room. Unfortunately, his letter exploded before he could reach the doors. A voice rang out:
Dear Severus,
Here are your extra pairs of underwear you asked for.
We even took the time to have the house-elves get new heart-shaped
ones for you, and we took the time to include several new 5-galleon silky
pink pairs. We do regret to inform you, though, that your
request for other lingerie has been denied. I've included
your bunny feety pajamas, as you left them at home.
Enjoy Hogwarts sweetums!
Love,
Mummy
At that, his package exploded, and underwear flew out left and right. Everyone ducked screamed as a particularly nasty pair of satin mustard colored panties flew right at the Gryffindors. Pandemonium struck out, and people were in hysterics. McGonagall stood up, looking furious.
"Who is responsible for this?" she demanded.
"Why, madam, the Marauders, of course!" James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter said, and stood up and bowed.
"We'll be signing autographs later!" Sirius added, and the Hall burst out in applause. Snape, looking murderous, stormed out of the Great Hall.
"DETENTION, ALL OF YOU!" McGonagall screamed.
"Yes!" James said, and he and Sirius exchanged high fives, to the horror of their transfiguration professor.
"AND TWENTY POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!"
"Darn. They always remember that part," Melodia muttered to Lily, who nodded and giggled as James and Sirius started to stand up and shake hands with everyone.
"Yeah. But it was worth it!"
~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~
Author's Note: First thing I have to say is SORRY!!! I'm soooo sorry for how long this took. I've been sick, and we've had the holidays, and my aunt was in a car accident, and I've been really busy with school. I was so surprised when I got over 101 reviews…actually, I've gotten 38, and I'm shocked! Thank you all SO much! I will try to be quicker, and I hope this long chapter makes up for how long it took! Oh, and in your review: tell me if you like this format better than the paragraph form I've been using, so I know what's easier to read and all that jazz. I used "Dittany" a lot in this chapter, but mostly because it cracks me up. My nickname at school was "Dittany" (before HP was huge in the US) and when I read Harry Potter and saw it, and played the computer game and it is mentioned, I couldn't resist. Here's the list of wonderful reviewers, now in alphabetical order! :)
Amberblaze *^* Yes I continued, but way to late…I don't deserve all the wonderful reviews you've all been giving me! Thanks soooooo much for reviewing! :)
Amerkat *^* I'm confused…was the first review supposed to be for a different story? I'm not sure what you meant by 'I didn't review the right fic' or whatever…well, either way, thanks for reviewing!
Ayla Pascal *^* Thanks for reviewing, I hope you stop by to read the rest! I absolutely love Schnoogle, and I'll be stopping by to read your story soon, so expect a review from me! Thanks again!
Betina *^* Thanks for the review! I'm glad this is one of your favorites (you obviously haven't read enough of 'em if it is) I'm touched! Don't worry about Bella, there is a whole scene of her here, and like either James or Sirius said, she'll be called for reinforcements!
Cheler *^* Sadly, this wasn't too soon, but I hope you did check this chapter out, and loved it! I appreciated the review! :) Thanks for the compliment, if you think my story is good, check out my Favorite Stories, they're ten times better!
Chelle *^* What do I put on my ice cream? Actually, I'm having a diet-coke-&-klondike-bar-ice-cream-float as I'm typing! Lolz I'm 100% serious about that! I don't like cherries though…don't worry about points, I'm a babbler at heart as well (just ask Naavi) so please, babble on :) Thanks for the review!
Cherry *^* Um….my story is out now! *says brightly* I know I'm so helpful…hope you read this chapter! Thanks for the review! :)
Cquill13 *^* I love your reviews! You're on my expected-reviewer list….oh god, I'm so modest, aren't I? lolz Well, I did check out that new story (awesome, by the way) and I'm lovin' it! Hope you liked the chapter!
~*Crystal Lily*~ *^* Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked this!
Fire Lizid *^* Yeah, you logged in! hurray for you! lol Anyway, thanks for the review! Don't worry, I know about your point, a couple of people have pointed that out, and all I gotta say is: I KNOW PEOPLE! HE WILL BE TRUSTED! I HATE IT, BUT I'D NEVER CHANGE JKR'S FACTS PURPOSELY, THIS ISN'T AN AU! Ok, don't be offended, that little speech was for everyone who scrolls down to read it. Thanks again for the review! :)
FireMaster *^* Sorry if you didn't like this…what exactly did you mean by exaggerated? The song? Cuz I don't blame you there, but it WAS 2 in the morning, I think people will forgive me. Thanks for the review!
Hi *^* Sadly, I couldn't update…due to illness, holidays, school…everything, really. I'm glad you like this, hope you've stuck with my story! Thanks for the review!
IceIceBaby *^* I just reviewed your story…cute, btw. Thanks for the review! If I'm on your favorites, thanks, if not, I hope you still like this story! Thanks again! :)
JAmp12 *^* This will be L/J….but not anytime soon! I mean, in 1st year (equivalent of sixth grade) everyone loves to play the "boyfriend-girlfriend game" but no one is serious about it…believe me, I know….so if my story gets continued to their…maybe 3rd of 4th year, there will be romance, I hope you can wait 'til then! Thanks for reviewing!
Jeanne *^* I LUVED YOUR REVIEW! You rock! I was cracking up at the "What are you doing reading this review when you should be typing the next chapter?" You're great! And an awesome writer! Hope you stick with this! Thanks for the review!
Kale Hana Catemii *^* Thanks for the review! Here it is, way to late, but nice and long! Hope you liked this story, I like writing it! Thanks again for the review!
Le Chat Qui Garde La Lune *^* My deepest, deepest apologies….everyone: LCQGLL IS AN AWESOME FRENCH REVIEWER! Does that satisfy you? Hope so! I adore French, but I take Spanish…still can't figure that one out…so thanks for the little translation, even if I can't pronounce it! Hope you liked the chapter! Thanks for reviewing.
Lethal *^* Ok, you are next on my to-read list! Expect a review soon! Thanks for the compliment, although the song was terrible (In my humble opinion lol) Thanks for the review!!! :)
Lily Evans *^* I already told you this, but cymbals ARE indeed an instrument. The oxy-moron was BELLA using a LOUD instrument….supposed to be funny…apparently not…thanks for the review though!
Mademoiselle Gabrielle *^* Thanks for the review! And all those wonderful adjectives! I don't deserve 'em! Thanks again! :)
Majesty *^* Thanks for all….uh, what was it, 5 reviews? I'm sorry this took so long, I really am! Hope the longness made up for it! Lol Thanks again!
Naavi *^* Hey! I'm gonna type Naavi for this part, it's easier for me. I already answered to all your comments…my reasons why everyone is in the house they are…Thanks for reviewing! I love it when you do, it makes me feel special…an AWESOME author like my stories…well, likes me at any rate :) Thanks bestie!
Pamela *^* I'll try not to feel bad…HATE the rat, but he has to be in it, or Harry's life would change! I'm a stickler with that sort of thing. Thanks so much for reviewing!
Rheanna *^* Thanks for the review! It was so…long! I'm honored! Well, you wrote a lot…I'm glad you like it! I'm glad some people think there IS humor in this…I don't…lol. I loved writing James' scene with Mr. P…I felt bad for him though. You get close to the characters when you're with 'em, don't you? One question: WHAT ARE THE CANON RULES? I broke them? Let me know! Oh, and read Fire Lizid's review for Peter's explanation. Remus won't be too quiet, I promise! Thanks again!
Sierra Charm *^* Wrote back to you. Don't worry about your ending, I didn't notice! Hope you get to read this eventually!
Spike's Girl *^* Don't we all hate rat-boy? Have to include him though. Thanks for reviewing!
Trixie_the_Witch *^* Hope you read this soon! Thanks for wishing me a happy new year, you too!
Voldie Fan *^* How can you hate Peter but be a fan of Voldie? Confused! Thanks for reviewing! Hope you liked this chapter!
Wam wam mam *^* Glad you liked! Thanks for reviewing!
Wyldcatt *^* I won't cut out chorus too much, but overusage of a word gets annoying, I'm sure. Thanks for the review!
Sorry to anyone I forgot! Please keep reviewing, you guys make my day! See my disclaimer from a different chapter, we all know I don't own anything here & I'm not making money from this. Thanks again for the reviews! I'm sorry this took sooo long! Luv ya all!
Britz