DISCLAIMER: This chapter is full of borrowed ideas. Almost all the pranks were submitted by my wonderful reviewers! Thank you all so much! this chapter wouldn't be half so good if I had had to make them all up alone.
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Those Wicked Eyes
chapter nine~ April Fools!
"Move it up a little bit more . . . little more . . ah! There! Perfect!" The Great Hall was filled with Prefects setting up for the dance. They had been working for almost two hours.
"Have we gotten the soundproofing charm on the Coaching booths yet, Lily?" Remus called from across the room.
"Not yet! Is that all we need?" she yelled back.
"I think so!"
"Then go help Ruth and Sirius with the food table, okay?"
"Lily, can I—"
"We have a Head Boy here somewhere, don't we? Can't he help with some of these problems?"
"This is the Head Boy, Lily," James said in her ear.
"Sorry. What do you need?"
"You said you wanted to check out Katie's Memorial when I got it finished."
"Oh, right!" They crossed the room, Lily yelling instructions over her shoulder every few minutes, such as, "No, you cannot rig the Jello mix over the safe corner, Tia! It goes over the Teacher's table, how many times must I tell you? Now set it up quick before they come in. You have seven minutes!" or "Don't levitate all the tables at once, Dari!" Turning back to James, she said, "Tell me again why I agreed to this."
"You didn't. You thought it up." He grinned at her, pushing aside the blue curtain that led to Katie's Memorial. They stepped in a curtained room with a door to one side. Suddenly, James' magically magnified voice filled the air, though he wasn't speaking.
"Once you step through that door, you will walk through the memories that made up the all-too-short life of Kathryn Melissa Potter, though unless you want her spirit to haunt you forevermore, you won't call her that. She was Katie if you met her, Mel to her more daring friends, but I think she was called that only once, James' little sister to people who heard me speak of her, or Midget to me. Possibly Katie's favorite holiday was April Fools Day, and she could prank almost anyone she knew. Enter now, into the memories of Katie." The door swung slowly open. Lily and James stepped through it. Pictures lined the walls of the narrow hallway, some giving off a strange shimmer. When they came to the first of these, the picture projected itself onto the air in front of them and a scene began to play.
A little boy with messy hair sat on a sofa, obviously excited. A woman came over, carrying a pink bundle.
"This is your sister, James. Her name is Kathryn," the woman said, showing him the pink bundle in her arms. A sleeping face poked out of it, topped with black fuzz.
"Yuck!"
"What's wrong, James?" his mother asked.
"That's a yucky name for a little girl. It's too grown-up. Call her Katie."
Mrs. Potter laughed. "All right, James. Katie for short."
"Hi, Katie," six-year-old James whispered, patting her head. A camera flashed.
James' voice rang out again. "Katie was born on April first, which may be why she was such a natural prankster. She would have been twelve today."
"I didn't know today was your sister's birthday, James. I'm sorry," Lily said.
"Don't be," he whispered. "That's part of why I wanted to do this."
They kept walking, past more pictures and more displayed memories. James pushed Katie high on a swing. Katie played with her mother's wand, but when her mother grabbed it, it turned into a sock, she ran to James, who told her she had done a good job. James comforted Katie when he had to leave for Hogwarts. And so on. So many memories contained in that one space. Finally, they came to another door. Entering, they walked into another room, also covered with pictures, but all of them in this room shimmered. Each one shoeed one of Katie's infamous pranks. The water soaking the students. Tying James and Sirius's shoelaces to the table.
"This room is dedicated to Katie's pranks. The pictures you see here display only a small portion of them. Today would have been Katie's birthday, and I would have, yet again, failed to trick her. Remember Katie. She died at the hands of the Dark Lord. Katie was innocent, yet she was killed. Remember that if the time should come when you have to make a choice. Enjoy the rest of the dance."
Lily started to walk for the last door that would take her out into the Great Hall again, but James grabbed her wrist and pulled her through a part in the curtains.
"Why did you do that, James?"
"That other door doesn't lead out right away. It leads you into another chamber. But when you open the door, water falls on your head. Then the room dries you off, saying, 'Don't tell. This is Katie's prank.'"
"Good idea."
"Thank you."
"Ah, there they are. My Heads," Dumbledore said. Lily and James turned. "The Hall looks wonderful. The Prank Master display is set up and finished, the food table is almost ready, the Coaching Booths have been soundproofed, and I want to congratulate the both of you on a job well done." He held out his hand, but James, ever the prankster, took his fingers and turned his hand right-side up. A joy buzzer was in the Headmaster's hand. "Ah, well. You can't blame me for trying," he said, taking it off while Lily and James laughed. Dumbledore held out his hand again, and James shook it, sending off a buzzer. Both Lily and Dumbledore looked perplexed.
"And you can't blame me for pulling the first prank of the evening," James said, showing them his hand. "I still am the Master. Thank you. Thank you," he said, bowing as Dumbledore applauded him. He and Lily walked away.
"I can see I'm going to have to keep a close eye on you, Mr. Potter," Lily told him.
"You can if you like. Won't work, but you can."
"Oh, and nice use of Pensive Imaging in there."
"Yeah. How come you never said how hard that is?"
"Well, you appeared to have gotten the hang of it."
"True. Anyway, this year I am finally going to trick Sirius. We've been at it for years, since we came to Hogwarts, in fact. We've never been able to prank each other, but now I might just pull it off. Watch." Sirius was coming over from the food tables, walking toward the Coaching booths. "Hey, Sirius, where are you going?"
"To the Coaching booth. Why?"
"You mean they didn't tell you?" James looked mildly annoyed. "I don't believe it."
"Tell me what?" Sirius asked. James made a great show of checking his clipboard.
"Sorry, Sirius. They didn't pass the message along. We reassigned you to the 'Safe' Corner. Since we moved Ruth and Remus to the food table, we need another person supervising over there."
"What? James."
"Sorry. Don't worry about it. Peter and I can handle the coaching."
"Excuse me? You and Peter? Who is it that has helped you pull almost every prank since we came here? Who's the other half of the Dream Team?" James shrugged.
"I said I was sorry, Sirius."
"No, sorry doesn't cut it, James! Send Peter to the 'Safe' Corner. I can't believe you!" Sirius was getting angry.
"Sirius, calm down."
"Why should I?"
"Sirius, I have something to tell you."
"What?"
James grinned. "April Fools." Sirius looked, confused, then stunned, the woebegone.
"No!"
"Yes!" James did a small victory dance. "I got you! I finally got you!"
"I don't believe it! I fell for it!"
"You fell spectacularly! Thank you, Padfoot, you have made my day." Sirius sighed good-naturedly.
"Man. I can't believe it. My winning streak is over!"
"Don't let it get you down. Now get over to the Coaching Booth. We're about to let everyone in." All over the Hall, people were moving to their places, and the rest of the school could be heard outside the doors.
"We ready?" Lily asked. There was a murmur of consent from every corner of the room. She left the hall. "Attention, students. I'm very sorry to report that the dance has been canceled." A huge groan and shouts of protests were heard from the entry hall. Realizing what Lily was doing, the people inside tried not to laugh. "I'm sorry. We had a mishap, the entire Hall is in horrific disarray. We can't have the ball."
"C'mon, Lily! That's not fair!"
"Hey, I don't want to hear your grousing! I'm upset about it, too! I've spent weeks putting this thing together, and if there was any way to have it, I would. But there isn't. I cannot believe you! We announced this ages ago. I'd be willing to bet that some of you have been planning pranks for weeks. This is April Fools Day, the day to be tricked, which is what this dance was about, and here we are, before it has even started, and I have already managed to trick almost the entire school! That is pathetic. Go inside! Let's get this dance started."
Furious at being tricked so soon, the students swarmed in, and the pranks started almost at once.
"That was nicely done, Lily," James told her.
"Yeah, I've been planning that one for a while." She smiled. "Well, I've got to go make the rounds. I'll be watching you."
No one came to James' booth for coaching for a long while, so he enjoyed watching the mayhem from his booth. A few people came to him and told him how much they loved Katie's Memorial, and how it wasn't very nice of him to rig water to drop on them. He was busy watching some third year boys turn bright green and squawk like chickens from some of the food when Peeves swooped in, arms seemingly empty. But as he flew over the dance floor, he dropped an invisible load of water balloons, soaking Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, and several other Slytherins that were crossing the floor.
James was very glad to see that the Slytherins were obeying the rules and joining in on the fun, and having a good time, from the look of it. Just then, a first year Hufflepuff entered his booth, and James had to leave the outside fun to council a prankster.
Lily, meanwhile, was crossing the floor, watching pranksters and making notes on her clipboard for the award ceremony later. The Prank Master's Corner was going very well, the portraits giving advice to would-be pranksters on how best to pull a prank. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves greatly, and there were only a handful of people that had not yet been pranked, apart from those staying to the 'Safe' Corner. One of those was James, but Lily had a grim determination to change that very soon. He was very cleverly dodging all attempts that had been made so far, and Lily knew that if she was going to catch him, it would have to be done with a simple prank.
Come on, Katie, she thought. How do I get your brother? Then she remembered the prank Katie had pulled earlier that year. With a simple Muggle prank. She had it. She had the perfect idea. She smiled to herself. She might actually be able to prank the Top Prankster. Whispering a few, well-chosen words, she got was she needed for her prank. She walked over towards James, but before she could set her prank in motion, there was a great commotion from across the room. She turned, as did everyone else.
Feathers were floating down from the ceiling, toward a group of students that had been in the center of the room. They were already covered with what looked like honey, causing the feathers to stick to them, making them look like overgrown chickens. Everyone was looking around to see who had pulled the prank.
Heads turned toward the teachers' table, where Dumbledore was giving the other teachers high fives. Everyone began to laugh, James the hardest. Lily walked over and started pounding him on the back. He could hardly breathe for laughing.
"You okay, James?" she asked. He nodded, gasping for air.
"Water?" she asked, holding out a bottle. He nodded again, and started to take a drink. He stopped, looking very confused. He overturned the bottle, shaking it. It was obviously full of water, but none would come out. He unscrewed the lid, where, to his dismay, he found plastic wrap around the opening of the bottle. He looked up at Lily, who grinned maliciously.
"You . ."
"Yes? You have something to say?"
He glared, meeting her twinkling eyes. Finally he looked down, mumbling something.
"What was that, James?" she asked, the model of innocence.
"I said you got me," he repeated through clenched teeth.
"You bet I did! That was priceless!"
"Do I dare believe my ears?" Sirius asked. "Did somebody just prank the Master Prankster? Someone other than another Potter?" James fumed.
"That was not fair," he said, trying to restore some dignity and failing miserably.
"To quote the great James Potter, 'all's fair in love, war, and pranking,'" Sirius reminded him.
He sighed and smiled. "Okay. I admit defeat." The whole room, which had been following this exchange closely, cheered. Lily took an exaggerated bow.
"If I may have everyone's attention," Dumbledore said. Students fell quiet. "In twenty seconds, the pranking will be over. Twenty, nineteen." Lily signaled to the waiting Prefects. "Fifteen, fourteen." She and James moved into position, blending in with the many students rushing to their House tables. "Eight, seven, six." They stood, ready and waiting. "Five, four, four, three." She pointed to James, who pointed down the line. "Two, on—" Dumbledore's words were cut short as the basin of Jello that had been rigged above the staff table was released, covering all the teachers in red goo. A cheer echoed across the room as Lily motioned all the helpers to step before the table, join hands, and take a collective bow.
"And that concludes the evening's pranks!" James shouted. Everyone applauded.
"Well done, well done," Dumbledore admitted as the teachers laughed and nodded, clearing the Jello away. "And now, it is time for our Heads," he indicated Lily and James, "to open the dancing." The students cheered as James and Lily gave identical grimaces.
"Well, if we have to do it, we might as well do it all the way," James commented wryly, offering her his hand.
"I agree," she said, taking it. They moved out onto the dance floor, which had, thankfully, been cleared of honey and feathers. James gave an exaggerated bow, while Lily swept into an equally exaggerated curtsy, and the music began. They glided around the dance floor, painfully aware of the many stares that met them.
"Everyone is staring at us," James said out of the corner of his mouth.
"I have no doubt," Lily replied, giggling. She looked up at him, and his eyes caught hers, and something changed. They were still dancing, but they had become completely oblivious to everything else in the room. James suddenly found it hard to breathe as he lost himself in her emerald gaze. Lily wouldn't have been able to speak if she had wanted to, which she didn't. She didn't dare to breathe for fear it would break the spell and this wonderful moment would end.
The music stopped, and they stopped dancing, but they couldn't tear their gaze away from each other. Belatedly, James realized what was happening and tore himself away before things had become too suspicious.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter. Miss Evans."
"Of course," Lily said, her voice showing no sign that she'd been unable to speak just moments before. "And now, if the teachers and helpers will follow me to this corner, we will tally the votes for the award ceremony." Students swarmed out onto the dance floor as another song started. Lily read off her clipboard as her group of judges sat in a huddle, discussing in hurried whispers. Finally, the prizes were decided and the group dissipated, off to eat, dance, or talk with friends. Lily sat in a chair, writing hurriedly on her clipboard. James pulled out his journal and started writing.
Dear Katie,
Happy Birthday, Midget. You were wrong! Didn't I tell you I would do it? I pranked Sirius! It worked like a charm! Of course, Lily got me, but I'm not really going to talk about that too much. Tonight was right up your alley and you would have loved it. We just got finished deciding the prizes. I really wish you could be here to see this. You would have loved it, like I said. I hope you got to see your birthday gift from wherever you are now. I worked hard on it, getting the pictures together, trying to make it reflect you. I don't know if I pulled it off, but I think you would have appreciated it.
I've got to go now, as we're getting ready to wrap up the evening with the prize giving. I love you, Midget. We're passing the Prank Master title tonight, and if you were here, there is no doubt in my mind that it would be going to you.
James
James wiped away a few tears that had fallen on the page, trying not to smudge the ink.
"You ready?" Lily whispered. He nodded.
"And so another spring event is drawing to a close," Dumbledore announced. "And now it is time to hand out the prizes we have all worked for this evening. Lily, James?"
They stepped forward, clipboard in hand. "Okay. We have six prizes to hand out, not counting the passing of the Title. Most original, best singular, best group, person least pranked, person most pranked, and the prank affecting most people. Our first prize is for the Most Original Prank. The award goes to . . the Dance helpers for the Jello prank!" The crowd cheered, and all the helpers came forward to accept their prize, a collection of trick sweets from Honeydukes.
"Our second award," James said, "is for the Best Prank by a single person. And the prize goes to . ." he sighed. "Lily Evans for tricking me." A louder cheer came as Lily smiled sweetly and took a bow. "Yeah, yeah."
"The next prize is for the Best Group Prank. This award goes to the teachers for their honey and feathers prank." Scattered applause came from the room, along with the dark scowls of those that had been covered with honey and feathers.
"Our next prize is for the Person Least Pranked. This person managed to avoid all pranking attempts, and it should have gone to me–" Boo's and cat calls echoed across the hall at James' words. "Okay, okay. The prize goes to Kurt Blackly of Ravenclaw." He came forward, smiling, to receive his prize, a book of popular pranks.
"Our next to last award is for the Person Most Pranked, so that this gullible person does not feel too bad. This prize goes to Dari Frank of Hufflepuff." She came up, smiling sheepishly, for her prize, a book entitled, "How to Recognize and Avoid Common Pranks."
"Our final award is for the Prank Affecting the Most People. This award was obtained, as most of you know, before today's events had even started. Lily Evans succeeded in tricking almost the entire school. There was no dispute over this award." Lily came forward once more and bowed.
"And now, the Passing of the Prank Master Title!" The students cheered. James came forward.
"I do not think there is doubt in anyone's mind who this recognition actually belongs to. The Prank Master Title should have gone, without question, to Katie Potter. April Fools Day was her day, not just because it was her birthday, but because she made it her day. Katie's favorite thing in the world was pulling pranks. I admit that maybe I planted that seed in her, but I have a feeling she would have made this her day without my help. However, the multitude of her pranks were not pulled alone. She had help. She had two cohorts that helped her with just about every prank she pulled. And so, I hereby name Cait Maxwell and Kelly Browning of Gryffindor the new Prank Masters of Hogwarts!" The two girls came onto the stage, smiling through tears. "Cait and Kelly, serve honorably and well." They nodded. Dumbledore rose.
"I hereby declare this April Fools Dance closed." The students left the Great Hall, chattering and laughing while the Prefects stayed behind to clean up. "You have earned yourself a break," Dumbledore told them. "The teachers will clean up. That goes for you two as well," he told Lily and James. "You did an admirable job. Congratulations."
They left the hall, heading back to their Common Room. They plopped down on the sofa, exhausted.
"Well, we pulled it off," Lily said.
"We did. And I'd say it was a smashing success."
"Undeniably. I think even the Slytherins did a good job and had a good time." James nodded. "Your memorial was really great, James. Katie would have loved it." She said this almost shyly. He looked at her.
"I know," he whispered. She caught his gaze and the breathless feeling returned. She was much too close to him. He knew what was going to happen, and he had no way to stop it. Her eyes burned into him, but he couldn't look away. She was moving closer . . and closer. Any second now . .
At the last moment, James forced himself to turn away, breathing hard. "Lily, I . . . I must go." He stood and rushed into his room, locking the door. What had he almost let happen? He couldn't keep doing this. It mustn't continue. He grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and threw it around himself. Cautiously, silently, he left the Common room, heading for the Southeast Tower, not noticing Lily crying in front of the fire.
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WHOA!!!*is knocked off chair from all her reviews* Thank you all so much! 93 total reviews! I'm speechless!
Yay! That was so much fun to write! Thank you all so much for your wonderful prank ideas! I tried to use as many of them as I could. HOpe you liked this chapter. I have calculated that there are four more chapters needed to end this story, and I have eight days left to finish it in before school starts. I think I can do that. Sorry this chapter took so long to update. I wanted to make it good!
erika-jayne: Aw. Thanks for the compliment. I hope you didn't cry too much! and I hope you laughed during this chapter!
Lexa: Wow. Thank you very much! Those comments always kinda throw me off balance!
fulldark: lol. Hope I didn't keep you up too long!
Maraudette: I know. I'm not really following the fifth book in this story. I think I mentioned that, but maybe not.
slippersrfuzzy: good ideas! my thanks. I tried to work them in.
DownAssChik: like I said, knowing i make people cry, and getting comments like that kinda throws me off balance. I agree, it's a powerful writer that makes you cry, but hearing that said about myself is a tad different. Thanks!
kkroxyea: yeah, I stink at prank ideas, too. That's why I asked for suggestions;-)
Luthien Vardamir: Yikes! Facing the wrath of my reviewers is always a scary thought! I'm updating as quickly as I can!
Believe: Glad to hear it! Good luck with your fic.
Wicked Kiwi: i don't even want to know what would happen to me if I put crickets in the ceiling tiles! Doesn't really work for Hogwarts, but it gave me a good laugh!
Little House Girl: Digression is good, very good. My theatre group's adopted motto is 'But we digress' because that's how we get the best ideas for our plays!
musicizdbest: the scariest part is, you're not the only person who suggested Jello. So, I kinda felt obliged to add it somewhere.
Templa Otmena: See, Lily had to put up guidelines *because* of Sirius. And James too. CAn't forget James.
More action coming in the next chapter. Things will get darker . . .
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Those Wicked Eyes
chapter nine~ April Fools!
"Move it up a little bit more . . . little more . . ah! There! Perfect!" The Great Hall was filled with Prefects setting up for the dance. They had been working for almost two hours.
"Have we gotten the soundproofing charm on the Coaching booths yet, Lily?" Remus called from across the room.
"Not yet! Is that all we need?" she yelled back.
"I think so!"
"Then go help Ruth and Sirius with the food table, okay?"
"Lily, can I—"
"We have a Head Boy here somewhere, don't we? Can't he help with some of these problems?"
"This is the Head Boy, Lily," James said in her ear.
"Sorry. What do you need?"
"You said you wanted to check out Katie's Memorial when I got it finished."
"Oh, right!" They crossed the room, Lily yelling instructions over her shoulder every few minutes, such as, "No, you cannot rig the Jello mix over the safe corner, Tia! It goes over the Teacher's table, how many times must I tell you? Now set it up quick before they come in. You have seven minutes!" or "Don't levitate all the tables at once, Dari!" Turning back to James, she said, "Tell me again why I agreed to this."
"You didn't. You thought it up." He grinned at her, pushing aside the blue curtain that led to Katie's Memorial. They stepped in a curtained room with a door to one side. Suddenly, James' magically magnified voice filled the air, though he wasn't speaking.
"Once you step through that door, you will walk through the memories that made up the all-too-short life of Kathryn Melissa Potter, though unless you want her spirit to haunt you forevermore, you won't call her that. She was Katie if you met her, Mel to her more daring friends, but I think she was called that only once, James' little sister to people who heard me speak of her, or Midget to me. Possibly Katie's favorite holiday was April Fools Day, and she could prank almost anyone she knew. Enter now, into the memories of Katie." The door swung slowly open. Lily and James stepped through it. Pictures lined the walls of the narrow hallway, some giving off a strange shimmer. When they came to the first of these, the picture projected itself onto the air in front of them and a scene began to play.
A little boy with messy hair sat on a sofa, obviously excited. A woman came over, carrying a pink bundle.
"This is your sister, James. Her name is Kathryn," the woman said, showing him the pink bundle in her arms. A sleeping face poked out of it, topped with black fuzz.
"Yuck!"
"What's wrong, James?" his mother asked.
"That's a yucky name for a little girl. It's too grown-up. Call her Katie."
Mrs. Potter laughed. "All right, James. Katie for short."
"Hi, Katie," six-year-old James whispered, patting her head. A camera flashed.
James' voice rang out again. "Katie was born on April first, which may be why she was such a natural prankster. She would have been twelve today."
"I didn't know today was your sister's birthday, James. I'm sorry," Lily said.
"Don't be," he whispered. "That's part of why I wanted to do this."
They kept walking, past more pictures and more displayed memories. James pushed Katie high on a swing. Katie played with her mother's wand, but when her mother grabbed it, it turned into a sock, she ran to James, who told her she had done a good job. James comforted Katie when he had to leave for Hogwarts. And so on. So many memories contained in that one space. Finally, they came to another door. Entering, they walked into another room, also covered with pictures, but all of them in this room shimmered. Each one shoeed one of Katie's infamous pranks. The water soaking the students. Tying James and Sirius's shoelaces to the table.
"This room is dedicated to Katie's pranks. The pictures you see here display only a small portion of them. Today would have been Katie's birthday, and I would have, yet again, failed to trick her. Remember Katie. She died at the hands of the Dark Lord. Katie was innocent, yet she was killed. Remember that if the time should come when you have to make a choice. Enjoy the rest of the dance."
Lily started to walk for the last door that would take her out into the Great Hall again, but James grabbed her wrist and pulled her through a part in the curtains.
"Why did you do that, James?"
"That other door doesn't lead out right away. It leads you into another chamber. But when you open the door, water falls on your head. Then the room dries you off, saying, 'Don't tell. This is Katie's prank.'"
"Good idea."
"Thank you."
"Ah, there they are. My Heads," Dumbledore said. Lily and James turned. "The Hall looks wonderful. The Prank Master display is set up and finished, the food table is almost ready, the Coaching Booths have been soundproofed, and I want to congratulate the both of you on a job well done." He held out his hand, but James, ever the prankster, took his fingers and turned his hand right-side up. A joy buzzer was in the Headmaster's hand. "Ah, well. You can't blame me for trying," he said, taking it off while Lily and James laughed. Dumbledore held out his hand again, and James shook it, sending off a buzzer. Both Lily and Dumbledore looked perplexed.
"And you can't blame me for pulling the first prank of the evening," James said, showing them his hand. "I still am the Master. Thank you. Thank you," he said, bowing as Dumbledore applauded him. He and Lily walked away.
"I can see I'm going to have to keep a close eye on you, Mr. Potter," Lily told him.
"You can if you like. Won't work, but you can."
"Oh, and nice use of Pensive Imaging in there."
"Yeah. How come you never said how hard that is?"
"Well, you appeared to have gotten the hang of it."
"True. Anyway, this year I am finally going to trick Sirius. We've been at it for years, since we came to Hogwarts, in fact. We've never been able to prank each other, but now I might just pull it off. Watch." Sirius was coming over from the food tables, walking toward the Coaching booths. "Hey, Sirius, where are you going?"
"To the Coaching booth. Why?"
"You mean they didn't tell you?" James looked mildly annoyed. "I don't believe it."
"Tell me what?" Sirius asked. James made a great show of checking his clipboard.
"Sorry, Sirius. They didn't pass the message along. We reassigned you to the 'Safe' Corner. Since we moved Ruth and Remus to the food table, we need another person supervising over there."
"What? James."
"Sorry. Don't worry about it. Peter and I can handle the coaching."
"Excuse me? You and Peter? Who is it that has helped you pull almost every prank since we came here? Who's the other half of the Dream Team?" James shrugged.
"I said I was sorry, Sirius."
"No, sorry doesn't cut it, James! Send Peter to the 'Safe' Corner. I can't believe you!" Sirius was getting angry.
"Sirius, calm down."
"Why should I?"
"Sirius, I have something to tell you."
"What?"
James grinned. "April Fools." Sirius looked, confused, then stunned, the woebegone.
"No!"
"Yes!" James did a small victory dance. "I got you! I finally got you!"
"I don't believe it! I fell for it!"
"You fell spectacularly! Thank you, Padfoot, you have made my day." Sirius sighed good-naturedly.
"Man. I can't believe it. My winning streak is over!"
"Don't let it get you down. Now get over to the Coaching Booth. We're about to let everyone in." All over the Hall, people were moving to their places, and the rest of the school could be heard outside the doors.
"We ready?" Lily asked. There was a murmur of consent from every corner of the room. She left the hall. "Attention, students. I'm very sorry to report that the dance has been canceled." A huge groan and shouts of protests were heard from the entry hall. Realizing what Lily was doing, the people inside tried not to laugh. "I'm sorry. We had a mishap, the entire Hall is in horrific disarray. We can't have the ball."
"C'mon, Lily! That's not fair!"
"Hey, I don't want to hear your grousing! I'm upset about it, too! I've spent weeks putting this thing together, and if there was any way to have it, I would. But there isn't. I cannot believe you! We announced this ages ago. I'd be willing to bet that some of you have been planning pranks for weeks. This is April Fools Day, the day to be tricked, which is what this dance was about, and here we are, before it has even started, and I have already managed to trick almost the entire school! That is pathetic. Go inside! Let's get this dance started."
Furious at being tricked so soon, the students swarmed in, and the pranks started almost at once.
"That was nicely done, Lily," James told her.
"Yeah, I've been planning that one for a while." She smiled. "Well, I've got to go make the rounds. I'll be watching you."
No one came to James' booth for coaching for a long while, so he enjoyed watching the mayhem from his booth. A few people came to him and told him how much they loved Katie's Memorial, and how it wasn't very nice of him to rig water to drop on them. He was busy watching some third year boys turn bright green and squawk like chickens from some of the food when Peeves swooped in, arms seemingly empty. But as he flew over the dance floor, he dropped an invisible load of water balloons, soaking Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, and several other Slytherins that were crossing the floor.
James was very glad to see that the Slytherins were obeying the rules and joining in on the fun, and having a good time, from the look of it. Just then, a first year Hufflepuff entered his booth, and James had to leave the outside fun to council a prankster.
Lily, meanwhile, was crossing the floor, watching pranksters and making notes on her clipboard for the award ceremony later. The Prank Master's Corner was going very well, the portraits giving advice to would-be pranksters on how best to pull a prank. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves greatly, and there were only a handful of people that had not yet been pranked, apart from those staying to the 'Safe' Corner. One of those was James, but Lily had a grim determination to change that very soon. He was very cleverly dodging all attempts that had been made so far, and Lily knew that if she was going to catch him, it would have to be done with a simple prank.
Come on, Katie, she thought. How do I get your brother? Then she remembered the prank Katie had pulled earlier that year. With a simple Muggle prank. She had it. She had the perfect idea. She smiled to herself. She might actually be able to prank the Top Prankster. Whispering a few, well-chosen words, she got was she needed for her prank. She walked over towards James, but before she could set her prank in motion, there was a great commotion from across the room. She turned, as did everyone else.
Feathers were floating down from the ceiling, toward a group of students that had been in the center of the room. They were already covered with what looked like honey, causing the feathers to stick to them, making them look like overgrown chickens. Everyone was looking around to see who had pulled the prank.
Heads turned toward the teachers' table, where Dumbledore was giving the other teachers high fives. Everyone began to laugh, James the hardest. Lily walked over and started pounding him on the back. He could hardly breathe for laughing.
"You okay, James?" she asked. He nodded, gasping for air.
"Water?" she asked, holding out a bottle. He nodded again, and started to take a drink. He stopped, looking very confused. He overturned the bottle, shaking it. It was obviously full of water, but none would come out. He unscrewed the lid, where, to his dismay, he found plastic wrap around the opening of the bottle. He looked up at Lily, who grinned maliciously.
"You . ."
"Yes? You have something to say?"
He glared, meeting her twinkling eyes. Finally he looked down, mumbling something.
"What was that, James?" she asked, the model of innocence.
"I said you got me," he repeated through clenched teeth.
"You bet I did! That was priceless!"
"Do I dare believe my ears?" Sirius asked. "Did somebody just prank the Master Prankster? Someone other than another Potter?" James fumed.
"That was not fair," he said, trying to restore some dignity and failing miserably.
"To quote the great James Potter, 'all's fair in love, war, and pranking,'" Sirius reminded him.
He sighed and smiled. "Okay. I admit defeat." The whole room, which had been following this exchange closely, cheered. Lily took an exaggerated bow.
"If I may have everyone's attention," Dumbledore said. Students fell quiet. "In twenty seconds, the pranking will be over. Twenty, nineteen." Lily signaled to the waiting Prefects. "Fifteen, fourteen." She and James moved into position, blending in with the many students rushing to their House tables. "Eight, seven, six." They stood, ready and waiting. "Five, four, four, three." She pointed to James, who pointed down the line. "Two, on—" Dumbledore's words were cut short as the basin of Jello that had been rigged above the staff table was released, covering all the teachers in red goo. A cheer echoed across the room as Lily motioned all the helpers to step before the table, join hands, and take a collective bow.
"And that concludes the evening's pranks!" James shouted. Everyone applauded.
"Well done, well done," Dumbledore admitted as the teachers laughed and nodded, clearing the Jello away. "And now, it is time for our Heads," he indicated Lily and James, "to open the dancing." The students cheered as James and Lily gave identical grimaces.
"Well, if we have to do it, we might as well do it all the way," James commented wryly, offering her his hand.
"I agree," she said, taking it. They moved out onto the dance floor, which had, thankfully, been cleared of honey and feathers. James gave an exaggerated bow, while Lily swept into an equally exaggerated curtsy, and the music began. They glided around the dance floor, painfully aware of the many stares that met them.
"Everyone is staring at us," James said out of the corner of his mouth.
"I have no doubt," Lily replied, giggling. She looked up at him, and his eyes caught hers, and something changed. They were still dancing, but they had become completely oblivious to everything else in the room. James suddenly found it hard to breathe as he lost himself in her emerald gaze. Lily wouldn't have been able to speak if she had wanted to, which she didn't. She didn't dare to breathe for fear it would break the spell and this wonderful moment would end.
The music stopped, and they stopped dancing, but they couldn't tear their gaze away from each other. Belatedly, James realized what was happening and tore himself away before things had become too suspicious.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter. Miss Evans."
"Of course," Lily said, her voice showing no sign that she'd been unable to speak just moments before. "And now, if the teachers and helpers will follow me to this corner, we will tally the votes for the award ceremony." Students swarmed out onto the dance floor as another song started. Lily read off her clipboard as her group of judges sat in a huddle, discussing in hurried whispers. Finally, the prizes were decided and the group dissipated, off to eat, dance, or talk with friends. Lily sat in a chair, writing hurriedly on her clipboard. James pulled out his journal and started writing.
Dear Katie,
Happy Birthday, Midget. You were wrong! Didn't I tell you I would do it? I pranked Sirius! It worked like a charm! Of course, Lily got me, but I'm not really going to talk about that too much. Tonight was right up your alley and you would have loved it. We just got finished deciding the prizes. I really wish you could be here to see this. You would have loved it, like I said. I hope you got to see your birthday gift from wherever you are now. I worked hard on it, getting the pictures together, trying to make it reflect you. I don't know if I pulled it off, but I think you would have appreciated it.
I've got to go now, as we're getting ready to wrap up the evening with the prize giving. I love you, Midget. We're passing the Prank Master title tonight, and if you were here, there is no doubt in my mind that it would be going to you.
James
James wiped away a few tears that had fallen on the page, trying not to smudge the ink.
"You ready?" Lily whispered. He nodded.
"And so another spring event is drawing to a close," Dumbledore announced. "And now it is time to hand out the prizes we have all worked for this evening. Lily, James?"
They stepped forward, clipboard in hand. "Okay. We have six prizes to hand out, not counting the passing of the Title. Most original, best singular, best group, person least pranked, person most pranked, and the prank affecting most people. Our first prize is for the Most Original Prank. The award goes to . . the Dance helpers for the Jello prank!" The crowd cheered, and all the helpers came forward to accept their prize, a collection of trick sweets from Honeydukes.
"Our second award," James said, "is for the Best Prank by a single person. And the prize goes to . ." he sighed. "Lily Evans for tricking me." A louder cheer came as Lily smiled sweetly and took a bow. "Yeah, yeah."
"The next prize is for the Best Group Prank. This award goes to the teachers for their honey and feathers prank." Scattered applause came from the room, along with the dark scowls of those that had been covered with honey and feathers.
"Our next prize is for the Person Least Pranked. This person managed to avoid all pranking attempts, and it should have gone to me–" Boo's and cat calls echoed across the hall at James' words. "Okay, okay. The prize goes to Kurt Blackly of Ravenclaw." He came forward, smiling, to receive his prize, a book of popular pranks.
"Our next to last award is for the Person Most Pranked, so that this gullible person does not feel too bad. This prize goes to Dari Frank of Hufflepuff." She came up, smiling sheepishly, for her prize, a book entitled, "How to Recognize and Avoid Common Pranks."
"Our final award is for the Prank Affecting the Most People. This award was obtained, as most of you know, before today's events had even started. Lily Evans succeeded in tricking almost the entire school. There was no dispute over this award." Lily came forward once more and bowed.
"And now, the Passing of the Prank Master Title!" The students cheered. James came forward.
"I do not think there is doubt in anyone's mind who this recognition actually belongs to. The Prank Master Title should have gone, without question, to Katie Potter. April Fools Day was her day, not just because it was her birthday, but because she made it her day. Katie's favorite thing in the world was pulling pranks. I admit that maybe I planted that seed in her, but I have a feeling she would have made this her day without my help. However, the multitude of her pranks were not pulled alone. She had help. She had two cohorts that helped her with just about every prank she pulled. And so, I hereby name Cait Maxwell and Kelly Browning of Gryffindor the new Prank Masters of Hogwarts!" The two girls came onto the stage, smiling through tears. "Cait and Kelly, serve honorably and well." They nodded. Dumbledore rose.
"I hereby declare this April Fools Dance closed." The students left the Great Hall, chattering and laughing while the Prefects stayed behind to clean up. "You have earned yourself a break," Dumbledore told them. "The teachers will clean up. That goes for you two as well," he told Lily and James. "You did an admirable job. Congratulations."
They left the hall, heading back to their Common Room. They plopped down on the sofa, exhausted.
"Well, we pulled it off," Lily said.
"We did. And I'd say it was a smashing success."
"Undeniably. I think even the Slytherins did a good job and had a good time." James nodded. "Your memorial was really great, James. Katie would have loved it." She said this almost shyly. He looked at her.
"I know," he whispered. She caught his gaze and the breathless feeling returned. She was much too close to him. He knew what was going to happen, and he had no way to stop it. Her eyes burned into him, but he couldn't look away. She was moving closer . . and closer. Any second now . .
At the last moment, James forced himself to turn away, breathing hard. "Lily, I . . . I must go." He stood and rushed into his room, locking the door. What had he almost let happen? He couldn't keep doing this. It mustn't continue. He grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and threw it around himself. Cautiously, silently, he left the Common room, heading for the Southeast Tower, not noticing Lily crying in front of the fire.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHOA!!!*is knocked off chair from all her reviews* Thank you all so much! 93 total reviews! I'm speechless!
Yay! That was so much fun to write! Thank you all so much for your wonderful prank ideas! I tried to use as many of them as I could. HOpe you liked this chapter. I have calculated that there are four more chapters needed to end this story, and I have eight days left to finish it in before school starts. I think I can do that. Sorry this chapter took so long to update. I wanted to make it good!
erika-jayne: Aw. Thanks for the compliment. I hope you didn't cry too much! and I hope you laughed during this chapter!
Lexa: Wow. Thank you very much! Those comments always kinda throw me off balance!
fulldark: lol. Hope I didn't keep you up too long!
Maraudette: I know. I'm not really following the fifth book in this story. I think I mentioned that, but maybe not.
slippersrfuzzy: good ideas! my thanks. I tried to work them in.
DownAssChik: like I said, knowing i make people cry, and getting comments like that kinda throws me off balance. I agree, it's a powerful writer that makes you cry, but hearing that said about myself is a tad different. Thanks!
kkroxyea: yeah, I stink at prank ideas, too. That's why I asked for suggestions;-)
Luthien Vardamir: Yikes! Facing the wrath of my reviewers is always a scary thought! I'm updating as quickly as I can!
Believe: Glad to hear it! Good luck with your fic.
Wicked Kiwi: i don't even want to know what would happen to me if I put crickets in the ceiling tiles! Doesn't really work for Hogwarts, but it gave me a good laugh!
Little House Girl: Digression is good, very good. My theatre group's adopted motto is 'But we digress' because that's how we get the best ideas for our plays!
musicizdbest: the scariest part is, you're not the only person who suggested Jello. So, I kinda felt obliged to add it somewhere.
Templa Otmena: See, Lily had to put up guidelines *because* of Sirius. And James too. CAn't forget James.
More action coming in the next chapter. Things will get darker . . .