A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all of your reviews! I don't have anything else to say up here, so on with the story! Nothing to interesting happens in this chapter (that's my opinion) so I decided to make it a bit longer than usual.

Chapter 8: Before the Students Arrive

The four of them left Dumbledore's office together and walked for a few minutes in complete silence.

Ginny broke the silence and said, "So, Harry." she paused searching for something to say, "Do you play Quidditch?"

"Yeah, a bit, I'm Gryffindor seeker," he answered.

"That's great!" Ron started excitedly. "Seamus is ours, but he is absolutely terrible! Lost every match! You can play instead!"

"Ron, he isn't going to be here very long," Hermione said sounding annoyed. "He has to go back."

"So?" Ron asked. "He can still play while he's here."

Hermione was about to respond to that, but Harry interrupted her.

"Do you guys have to fight?" he asked loudly.

They both went silent and looked rather embarrassed.

They walked in silence for a bit longer.

Hermione broke it this time, "What's your favorite class?"

Ron snorted and rolled his eyes. Hermione glared over at Ron.

"I guess. I kind of like Defense Against the Dark Arts. Depending on who the teacher is," he answered. Then he asked, "Least favorite?"

"Potions," they all replied at once.

Harry groaned and said, "Please say that Snape is not the Potions teacher!"

"Is he just as horrible in your world?" Ginny asked.

"Probably worse," Harry replied.

"Oh," Ginny said looking as though she wanted something more interesting to say.

They walked on in silence again until they reached the portrait hole and entered the Gryffindor common room.

They entered the common room and sat down. There was an uneasy silence and all of them seemed to be thinking of things to say.

"So, Harry." Ginny began but couldn't think of anything to say.

"Wanna play chess?" Ron asked.

Harry grinned and answered, "Sure."

They spent the next half hour watching Ron beat Harry in chess and things began to ease up in the Gryffindor common room.

"When do the rest of the students arrive?" Harry asked them.

"Tomorrow," answered Ron.

"Right," Harry responded. "How are you guys going to explain arriving here a day early?"

"Something like our parents weren't going to be in town and we had to come early," Hermione answered right away as though she had already planned it.

"Are you a prefect, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Hermione said proudly.

"That's what I thought," Harry told her.

Ron sniggered and Ginny was biting her lip to bite back the laughter she had.

"So, is Hermione a perfect student who studies all the time and never breaks a single rule kind of person in your world too?" Ron asked Harry.

Harry grinned and said, "I wouldn't say she never breaks the rules."

Ron laughed and said, "No way! Hermione break rules? I'll never believe it!"

Hermione was turning red and said, "I probably had a very good reason, Ron!"

"What were we doing that caused Hermione to break the rules? And what rules did she break?" Ron asked interested.

"We were making a polyjuice potion and we needed some ingredient and Hermione stole it from Professor Snape's private stores," Harry told them.

Ron started laughing at Hermione. Hermione and Ginny both looked very shocked that Hermione would've stolen.

Hermione going slightly pink and sounding irritated asked, "Can we talk about something else now?"

"Sure, Hermione," Ron answered grinning.

Hermione then asked Ron, "Did you finish your homework?"

Ron groaned and said, "Why do you have to change the subject to that?"

Ginny laughed at her brother.

Harry looked out the window and saw that the sky was slowly changing from dark pink to deep blue.

"Hey, guys," he said glancing down at his watch. "I think it's time for dinner."

Ginny looked over at Harry's watch and said, "Yeah, you're right."

They left the common room and walked off to the Great Hall. When they walked in, they noticed that the house tables were all pushed up against the wall.

Dumbledore looked over at them and smiled as they entered the room. Then he said, "I didn't feel the need to use the house tables since there are so few of us."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all nodded their heads and went to sit down.

Most of the Professors were there. As were James, Sirius, and Remus and they were all smiling with an innocent look on their faces. Lily kept glancing over at them nervously. She looked as though she suspected that they had done something.

They heard a sudden screaming in the hallways. Snape stormed into the Great Hall. James, Sirius, and Remus, being their prank pulling selves, couldn't resist when they found out that Snape was teaching at Hogwarts. Snape's hair had turned bright pink. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny broke out laughing and Ron ran out of the Great Hall to get his camera.

"Potter," he hissed.

"Why hello, Snapey," he said pleasantly. "This seems rather familiar."

Remus and Sirius started to laugh.

Snape looked like he was lost for words. He was sputtering and glaring venomously at James for several minutes, until Ron ran in with his camera and started clicking away madly.

"Weasley!" Snape bellowed at Ron. "Detention!"

"Professor," Ginny began sweetly sticking, up for her brother, "there's nothing wrong. Ron just felt like taking pictures."

"Yes, Severus," McGonagall told him.

Snape looked furious. He looked around at everyone absolutely fuming.

Snape walked out of the Great Hall and James, Sirius, and Remus started laughing the moment he left.

"Did you guys do that?" she asked them leaning over to their side of the table.

"Yes," James replied innocently. "We're sorry, Lily. It was mean and funny - I mean immature."

Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione started laughing again.

"Ron, can I have a copy of those pictures?" Harry asked practically crying from laughing so hard.

"Sure," he replied grinning.

They kept eating and laughing about Professor Snape. Even Hermione lightened up and laughed about it. They finished the meal and went up to the Gryffindor tower. They felt full and fell asleep right away.

Harry woke up late in the morning. He saw that Ron was still in bed and sleeping heavily. Harry pulled on his clothes and went down into the Gryffindor common room. Where he saw Hermione talking to Ginny about something and Ginny looked extremely bored. He walked down and greeted them.

"Hi Harry," they said.

"We were about to go to breakfast, but we were going to wait for you and Ron to wake up first," Hermione said.

"I don't think Ron will be waking up anytime soon," Harry replied.

Ginny smiled and said, "Sounds like my brother. Let's go!"

They left to go to the Great Hall. There was no one else there and they sat down and ate breakfast.

"What time do you think the students will arrive?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Not for a few hours," answered Hermione. "I think we should just join them when they arrive."

"Right," said Harry.

"What are we going to do today?" Ginny asked them.

"I was going to go find my parents," Harry answered her.

"That's nice," Ginny answered looking as though she didn't want Ron and Hermione be the only people she hung out with all day. "Why don't I come with you?"

"Uh. Sure," he answered.

They left the Great Hall right after they finished their toast. And bumped right into James, Sirius, and Remus.

"Harry!" Sirius said smiling mischievously.

"We were just about to go down to the dungeons and." Remus began.

"Wanna pull another prank on Snape?" James asked.

"Definitely!" Ginny answered for both of them.

"Excellent," Sirius answered.

They walked down to the dungeon.

"So what are we going to do to Professor Snape and how will we make sure he doesn't catch us?" Harry asked.

"James convinced Lily to keep him busy, somehow," Remus answered.

"What are we doing?" Ginny asked her eyes shining with excitement.

"Well, you saw last night that Snape has a real partiality to the color pink, so we decided to change his bedroom to the color pink," Sirius answered.

Ginny and Harry burst out laughing.

"You're kidding!" Harry said.

"Nope," said James.

"C'mon, we spent hours this morning trying to figure out where he lives," Remus said.

The three, older, "mature" men led Harry and Ginny into Professor Snape's bedroom which was all black and green.

"He needs to redecorate," Ginny commented.

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

They pulled out their wands and muttered the spell that James had just taught them. They spent half an hour in his room changing it to every shade of pink. They stood in the doorway and burst out laughing when they saw all the pink stuff in the bedroom. And again when they thought of what the reaction on Snape's face would be when he walked into his completely pink bedroom.

They left his bedroom and ran out of the dungeons searching for Lily. They found her talking to Snape who seemed to be enjoying her company. Although she didn't seem to be enjoying his.

Then she spotted them, "Harry! James! I need to talk to you about. something."

"Good job, Lils," Sirius said sarcastically.

"I will never help you with one of your stupid pranks again!" she said angrily as they walked away from Snape.

"But, Lily," James began.

"Don't, James!" she said angrily. Then she spotted Ron coming towards them.

"Hey, Ginny, Harry, Professor Evans, everyone else," he greeted them.

"Let's go eat lunch," Sirius said.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Still have that appetite, Sirius?" she asked him.

"Of course I do," he answered.

They laughed and went off to eat lunch together. Snape did not burst in complaining about pink furniture much to their disappointment. However, Hermione did join them halfway through lunch.

They spent the rest of the day playing Quidditch. Then James, Sirius, and Remus went to the kitchens to eat (Sirius's idea). And Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny left to get ready. They came down to the Great Hall to notice that the students were entering the castle. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny joined them. Then, they went to sit down at the Gryffindor table. Harry looked around at the other students apprehensively. Then at Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Lily who all smiled at him.

Dumbledore stood up to give an announcement before the sorting began. And Harry took a very deep breath.

Wow! That's the longest chapter yet! Go me!! Thanks to all of my reviewers! You make me so happy!!! Ends with a bit of a cliffie, but oh well!

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