The Pranking Wars

Author's Note: This chapter is going to be set around the end of first year. Wow, that was a short author's note...

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me, no matter how many times I write J.K. pleading.

Chapter Eight

"Eris!" James looked up as his owl swooped in with the morning mail. She dropped a brown package on his table.

"What's that?" asked Lily.

"Dunno." He mumbled suspiciously as he peeked inside the wrapper. He glanced up, smiling widely, and caught Sirius and Remus' eye. They both grinned back at him and, soundlessly got up and left.

"Oh, no." Lily moaned to Cassy, who had noticed them leaving also and wandered over to the Gryffindor table. "What do you think is going on?"

"A prank, I'm guessing." Cassy sighed as she sat down next to Lily. "Knowing them, they've been waiting forever to do this."

"Well, if it is a prank, I think it is very selfish." Lily snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean, the Slytherins are just as awful to them as they are to us."

Shaking her head, Cassy snorted. "Yes, of course, but they're boys. They don't think our 'sensitive' capabilities are up to handling a devious, conniving prank such as theirs."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're probably right. Which is why I think we should give them a lesson."

Cassy's eyes widened. "What? What do you..." she froze, shaking her head. "Do you really think we should?"

"Come on." Lily leaned over so that only Cassy could hear her. "Listen, we're smarter than those boys, and there is only two of us...easier to get away with it. They may be more...you know...prankish, but we're clever. I think if we set our minds to it, we could really cause some trouble..."

"So do I." Cassy said. "But...will they know it's us? I mean, that's the whole point, isn't it? We have to let them know somehow..."

"Then we'll give ourselves a name..." Lily leaned back, grinning. "Hogwarts, beware...the Red Sisters are on the prowl!"

"The Red Sisters?" Cassy grinned. "That's hilarious. Do you realize how much red hair there is around the school lately, though? What if people think it's my sister and me? What if..."

"Relax, Cassandra. Breathe, that's it." Lily snorted. "Listen, we have something here. We could be more famous than the infamous four of those boys, if we only tried."

"I can't believe they captured Remus in their tangled web." Cassy sighed, shaking her head. "I thought Remus was more intelligent than that."

"Oh well." Lily said remorsefully. "You know what they say...evil corrupts."

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"Is it here? Is it here?"

"Yes, Peter. Why weren't you down at breakfast?" James asked as he set down the package on the floor as the three others gathered around.

"I...overslept." Peter said, turning bright red.

"Of course...you sleep entirely too much, Peter. Tell me the truth...did you or did you not stop tasting everything we make in Potions?"

"Hey!" Peter said embarrassed. "I couldn't help it...that Hair-Growth tonic smelt like berries! I just wanted to see how it tasted."

"Yes, and you came out looking like the wolf-man." Remus said smugly. "Are you a werewolf?"

"No!" Peter said, shuddering. "Me? A werewolf?"

"Yeah, you have to admit that is pretty unbelievable. If anybody is a werewolf, it's dog boy over here. Sirius, where were you on the last full moon?"

"I was right here your honor, sneaking down to the kitchens to nick some more pasties from the house-elves." Sirius said, sitting up quickly. "Honest!" Everybody laughed at his wide-eyed 'innocence'."

"What about you, James? Are you the werewolf type?"

"I dunno." James snorted. "I think I'd make a better centaur."

"Yes, yes." Sirius sighed. "We all know about your affection for horse hindquarters, James. But back on subject, before we get McGonagall up here to drive a stake through our hearts..."

"Isn't that a vampire?"

"Anyway..." James said, quickly, "Why don't we look and see what is in our little package?"

"Okay." The four of them leaned over and began opening the package. Inside was a simple, white towel...nothing more.

"Do you think he'll realize that it's..."

"Of course not." Remus sneered. "He's Severus Snape...he can't really figure that much out, now can he?"

The others laughed. "I am just ready to get this prank over and done with." James sighed. "I know we've been preparing for it for awhile, but I need results...do you think they will figure out who it was?"

"Of course." Sirius sighed. "But...they won't be able to prove it."

"So you know Mark Zabini agreed to help us? He won't betray us or anything?"

"Listen, you know about the Zabinis...they are the only Slytherins, besides Isabelle, that have ever been nice to people at all. And he says that most of the Slytherins dislike him, as well...he only has a few friends here."

"That would be Avery, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle?"

"And all the others that run in their little crowd." James sighed. "You know, all the slimeballs."

"Of course. But here...we're going to show them what it means to mess with Gryffindor."

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Severus stepped into the bathroom, looking around the pristine white room. Nobody else was here...he always made sure of that.

He frowned when he saw the towel hung perfectly on the rack. He had just left it on the floor the other day, wadded up. So how...

Of course, he thought smugly. The house-elves. He hated the creatures...they were so submissive. Unlike the others, he had never been able to appreciate anything that bent to his will so easily. He had always felt the strongest urge to kick one of the things, just to see if it would finally step up and fight for itself.

He sighed. He didn't want to think about that. He took a quick shower, putting a large amount of shampoo in his hair, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good...he couldn't help his greasy hair. It was just like that...it didn't matter how much he tried to change it.

He shut it off, stepping out. He was glad he was here alone. He had known he would be, it was the final match of the year...Slytherin versus Gryffindor. They had already played one another, but in the semifinals both teams had resulted in tied scores, so they were playing each other one more time, this time for the Quidditch cup. He hoped his sister won...she deserved it. It disgusted him that she was dating Donovan Black...he hoped that, if she beat him again, she would realize what a loser he was.

Stretching his muscles, he slipped on the towel.

Severus blinked when white was replaced by green.

And he suddenly realized that over a thousand pairs of eyes were on him at this very moment.

He pulled the towel tighter over him, but in a puff of smoke it vanished.

'Oh, God.' He thought in a mild state of panic. 'I am dead.'

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James and the others watched the game filled with a great amount of anticipation. "Do you think this is going to work?" Sirius hissed. "I mean, what if he doesn't take a shower?"

"Listen, Mark said Snape takes a shower every morning during breakfast and anytime the others aren't there...he likes his 'privacy', whatever that means."

"It probably means he has a tiny..."

"Sirius!" Peter scoffed. "Please, don't go any further...I think I might be sick." They all glanced over at Peter. To their surprise, he did indeed look green.

"If you're getting sick now, think how you'll be in a few minutes." James muttered.

Their eyes turned to the field as the two teams were introduced. They saw Donovan slyly wink at Isabelle as they took to their brooms, but as soon as the whistle blew his eyes were on the game, and nothing else.

"Can we sit here?" They all turned when they heard Lily speak.

"Uhm..." Sirius glanced nervously over at the girls. "Listen, I think you had better miss the game...something you might not want to see..."

"Oh, stuff it." Cassy snorted as she sat next to Sirius. "We want to see what you guys have been planning all year."

"What...what do you mean?" Peter sputtered. Lily grinned.

"Oh, come off it, do you think we don't realize what you have been up to?" she snorted.

"Oh...okay." James said. He glanced around. "But don't tell anybody it was us."

"I'm sure they won't realize it was you on their own." Lily rolled her eyes.

Everybody turned when they heard a loud crash. They turned just in time to see Donovan and a Slytherin beater heading towards the ground. Just in time Donovan escaped and went flying back into the air. The game was definitely on.

The quaffles were thrown back and forth, and their were too many close shaves with the bludger to count. And everybody saw it at the same time. Donovan and Isabelle were heading towards the same point in the grass from opposite sides of the field. They appeared to be the same distance, but suddenly a burst of speed propelled Donovan forward and he crashed into the grass, standing up on shaky feet to present the snitch he held in his hand.

A low rumble emerged into a raucous cheer from the Gryffindors in the stands. Everybody was standing, ready to rush the field, when it happened.

Snape appeared, in the exact center of the field. He gazed around wildly, clutching tightly to the towel that disappeared within seconds.

"Oh...God." Lily said, putting her hand over her eyes. "What the...how did you...Oh, God."

Cassy snorted softly, before bursting out into laughter. Like thunder the laughter spread throughout the stadium, until even the Slytherins were too amused to stop themselves from cracking up. Mark Zabini gave them a thumbs up from across the stadium.

Severus wasn't moving. He was just standing there, staring dumbly into space. Within seconds McGonagall had rushed down, throwing her cape over Severus. And none of them were prepared for what happened next. Severus burst into tears.

"Oh, crud." James said suddenly. "Is he crying?"

"Like a little girl." Sirius said gleefully.

"But, don't you think..."

"Don't feel sorry for him." Remus said darkly. "Not after...not after what he said."

James paused for a second before nodding. "Serves him right, I'd say."

Lily and Cassy looked at each other in confusion. "This...is strange." Liy muttered. "James was starting to feel sorry for him...what did he say?"

Cassy blushed. "I don't know...probably nothing, really, Lils..."

"I know what it is." Lily said, sighing. "He called me a mudblood, right?"

"Lily!" Cassy blushed again. "I don't..."

"It's all right...I overheard him saying it once. I don't see what the big deal is..."

"You wouldn't...just believe me, what they did was justified." Cassy said. "Even though I really don't think anything else Snape has done is all that bad..."

"Do you think we should...you know, stop our prank?"

Cassy glanced over at the Slytherins and flinched. "I think...I think it is too late for that."

Defeatedly, Lily glanced over. The entire Slytherin side had turned from green to pink, and large banner overhead said,

MYSTIC AND MARVELO,

THE INCREDIBLE RED SISTERS,

PRESENT YOU WITH THE WORK of THE PRANKSTER,

APPROPRIATELY TITLED,

SLYTHERIN IN PINK, A MASTERPIECE of GENIUS

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Hiya! The Pranking War has begun! BWAHAHAHAHAH! Snape cried, I feel almost sorry for him, don't you? No, me neither. Hehehehe...anyways, tell me what you think. I like to hear what ya' have to say."