Disclaimer: The situation created in this story is not mine. If it were mine, I'd be at a different place today.

A/N: thanks to all the reviewers!

"Oh this is going to be so good." Peter squealed in excitement.

Ron and Harry both rolled their eyes – why had James, Sirius and Remus even hung around with a person…I mean…dung like Peter anyway? The thought made Harry even angrier – if they weren't Peter's friend…he wouldn't have to rely on a time accident to enable him to spend time with his father. But his father was the same age as him…he thought in some aspects, that was actually a good thing but James was immature – and Harry secretly hoped that he would show is teenage dad that he wasn't the best at Quidditch.

"We have MG next – it is the best possible lesson we could have planned this prank for. She will be so mad at Snape."

"Wouldn't he rat on us?" Ron asked.

Remus shook his head, "Snape never rats on us – besides he won't have any proof – no…he will want to get back at us in his own way."

"Ah…we have to look out for Snape's retributions." James said wisely.

"What do you mean retributions?" Harry asked uncertainly.

James shrugged, "he would usually try to beat us at quidditch…never works of course." James messed up his hair.

Sirius rolled his eyes and said what Harry had been itching to say since fifth year when he had seen his father engaged in 'messing up his hair' and making it look, what he thought, was cooler.

"James, you should really stop that. It makes you look even bigger headed than usual. It doesn't make you look 'cool' so stop it."

James shrugged nonchalantly – "Stop what?"

Sirius scrunched up his hair, "This."  His hair fell back into place perfectly.

James coloured a little but he paid little attention. He didn't scrunch up his hair however, when Lily walked into the transfiguration classroom, in deep conversation with Hermione. Snape walked in a little later with Malfoy senior and what looked like could be the fathers of Crabbe and Goyle – the family resemblance to mountain trolls were startling.

"Okay. Let's hope that MG doesn't shower us with a load of 'theory' today and makes us do some practical - ly things."

"Please get into pairs – we are transfiguring muggle objects to magical objects today. It is complicated work – but I have gone through it with you last lesson. I will have NO mess ups. Am I understood?" she emphasised, turning her shrewd eyes to Sirius and James' direction. She seemed to have an innate knowledge of what mischief they were up to.

"Excellent. Whole, good some practical transfiguration." Sirius muttered.

James and Sirius were already in a pair, discussing what they should transfigure the tables into. Remus was with Peter. Harry and Ron cast a direction toward Hermione to see who she was with – Lily. The two were already transfiguring chairs into broomsticks. Hermione and Lily cast an almost triumphant glance at the marauders, Harry and Ron who were unable to transfigure anything so far. Ron scowled darkly.

"I'll show her."

He directed his wand and the chair and thought for a while,

"Magisch morphus!"

The chair instantly turned into a bottle of forgetfulness potion. Ron smiled smugly at Hermione's direction – she was looking with her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest. Her foot was tapping on the flagged stone floor impatiently.

There was however, more entertaining things for people to pay attention to – the marauder's pranks were showing great results as long frizzy black (and greasy, according to Sirius) hair grew in extension's from Snape's nose. Every time he tried to remove it with a wave of the wand – the hairs grew longer and thicker than before. Malfoy was shrinking back in fear from him, his had covering his nose as Crabbe and Goyle looked stupidly from one another. As for the rest of the class, their transfiguration was forgotten to them as they rolled on the floor in helpless laughter – MG
(as Sirius and James referred to her, A/N: actually…I cannot be stuffed to type out Professor McGonagall) was parting the crowd with her reprimanding voice that cut into the party atmosphere like a knife. "What is going on here?" she bellowed. Then she caught sight of Severus her lips tightened further but her cheeks swelled a little as she fought to control her laughter. After trying to remove the hair with the wand for the seventh time, Snape seemed to realise that the wand was causing his abnormal hair growth and glared at James with loathing. James smirked back at him. He seemed to have mastered the look.

"Mr. Snape. What is this? Is this some sort of a joke?"

"It's working brilliantly," Remus whispered under his breath.

The hair was obstructing Snape's mouth so every time he opened it, he got a mouthful of hair. Finally, he grabbed the abnormal growth and pushed it away,

"My wand" here, he glared at James and Sirius, "is not working properly."

Professor McGonagall stuck out her hand and Severus grudgingly gave it to her. She examined it a little while closely.

"Your wand, Mr. Snape. What wood is it made of?"

"Ash."

"But this is not ash! Clearly, you have misplaced your wand and gotten another one."

Snape seemed to think for awhile. Then there seemed to be a sudden burst of light – his eyes lit up with a fresh wave of hate as he glared at Ron.

"Does it take that long to figure out? Really?" Sirius mocked. Ron however, was paling – he half expected Snape to shout "50 points from Gryffindor".

"This wand is not a proper wand – it's a squibs wand! And somebody's cursed it." The professor glared at Snape, "Have you been stealing Mr. Filch's things?"

"We all know how the Slytherins hate squibs." Sirius said loudly, giving a pointed look to Snivellus.

"Mr. Black. That is quite enough." Professor said threateningly.

"I didn't steal anything. Someone took mine and replaced it with that." Snape pointed with a look of repugnance.

Ron tried to look innocent.

"Well, I will be taking this," MG placed the wand inside her robe after taking Sirius' curse off the wand, "and returning it to Mr. Filch. Meanwhile Mr. Snape – I will be putting up a notice to search for your wand. Please don't make this sort of mistake again."

Snape seemed to boil over in rage, his hair adding to the effect, "I know who has it!" he almost shouted. MG turned.

"Who?"

"HIM." Snape pointed a shaking finger at Ron.

"I though you said he didn't rat on people." Ron whispered furiously to Remus.

"Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have Mr. Snape's wand?"

Ron shrugged, "Why would I have it?"

Snape snarled. "You have it, by the lake you took it!"

Snape rushed at Ron, though Ron was a big boy and tried to wrestle him to the floor, Ron took the opportunity to slip Snape's wand back into his trouser pocket. He said later the effects were worth his bleeding lip.

"Snape, control yourself! 20 points from Slytherin!" MG shouted as she tore them apart.

"Oh Ron! Are you alright?"

Ron was sprawled on the floor with a circle of faces above him, grinning at his genius, and a worried looking Hermione.

"Yeah. Just a bleeding lip." He said cheerfully, wiping the blood with the sleeve of his robe.

James extended his hand, helped Ron up and whispered, "Expertly done."

"Mr. Weasley, are you alright?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"There will be detention Mr. Snape, for your unorthodox behaviour. Really, control yourself in the future." The stern professor walked over to him and whipped his wand out of his trouser pocket,

"Remove those ugly hairs and next time, don't steal Mr. Filch's wand, curse it and be stupid enough to use it on yourself."

Professor McGonagall walked out from the classroom with a small frown on her face,

"I will be returning this wand now – please get back to working."

Hermione offered her handkerchief to Ron, blushing profusely. "Here, you are bleeding."

"Thanks." Ron replied hoarsely.

Sirius was not there to mock them.

"Snivelly, really you shouldn't remove the hair – you look positively dashing."

"You know I didn't expect his nose hair to be greasy – but alas I was mistaken."

All the Gryffindors added a nasty remark except Lily. She gave a resigned look to the marauders, knowing that they had done it.

***

"Do you know that Severus is being made to clean the dungeons without magic?" Lily told James later that day.

James shrugged. "What's that to me?"

"Don't you feel at least a little remorse?" Lily asked him, grabbing his shoulder.

"Why should I feel remorse?" he replied with a smirk, his eye wandering over to Lily's hand on his shoulder. Lily blushed and removed her hand and placed it on her hips,

"Well, you did it didn't you?"

"Nope. I didn't Evans – you're wrong this time."

"Well then you got Ron to do it – you're influencing new students in a negative way."

"Evans," James rose from the armchair and faced her, looking down at her, for he was taller, "what's it to you if we play a little joke on Snivelly? Do you like him or something?"

Lily flushed at record speed, her face resembling the colour of her hair, "NO!" she screeched.

James grinned, "You look flushed."

Lily turned on her heel and went to look for Hermione, muttering something about finding a girl to talk to instead of immature boys, leaving James staring wistfully at her back.

"Was that Lily and you having another fight?" Remus came and plonked himself down on the sofa next to James.

"What fight?"

Remus sighed and decided not to have a verbal spar with James – who had an infuriating circular logic, and opted for a different subject that was equally touchy. Quidditch.

"So James – what about the quidditch team? How is it going?"

"We need a new keeper. Sirius doesn't want to be a keeper – he said it was too boring – took up beating instead."

Ron chanced to hear this from across the room.

"James – could I take that spot?" He said, walking quickly over to the Gryffindor Captain.

"Were you a keeper?"

"Yep. Been playing for two years now."

"I was going to hold a trial…but. Why don't you come to practice? I'll see how good you are."

Ron nodded happily, then his eyes seemed to dilate and his mouth opened a little as Harry came through the portrait hole with Sirius.

"Well….yea…we'll see."

He turned and walked back to the table where is potions essay lay half – done.

***

Ron cleared his throat and tapped Hermione lightly on the shoulder. "Hermione, I need you advice."

"What?"

Ron gritted his teeth, "I need you advice."

Giving a puzzled glance to Lily, who was sitting opposite Hermione in the library, Hermione stood up and laid her potions book on the table. Ron grabbed her wrist and pulled her in to an isolated row of "History of Magic".

"What – Ron!"

"I don't want the mother to get protective of her son."

"What?!"

"Oh…yeah I forgot…Harry isn't born yet. Anyway – I have a dilemma." He dropped her wrist quickly, his ears glowing red. Hermione cleared her throat – the narrow aisles were pushing them together into one another's space.

"What?"

"I have been offered a place on the quidditch team…but Harry won't have a place. James."

Hermione seemed a little disappointed in his choice of subject – her head drooped a little gracefully, "Oh."

"What should I do? I want to play on the team but I think Harry might resent me."

"Why are you so sensitive all of a sudden? Don't you just to what you want to do most of the time?" Hermione asked half jokingly, half resentfully – referring to her own case with him. Ron raised an eyebrow at her.

"Because, Harry is my best friend. What should I do?"

"Why don't you figure it out yourself Mr. Sensitivity?"

"Why are you being so bitter?"

Hermione blushed. "I was just joking Ron…I…"

Ron ran his fingers through his hair and loosened the tie at his neck a little – some thing he did often and a behaviourism that Hermione found endearing no matter how many time he did it. Her heart rate quickened a little. The air was crackling like static with tension. "Well…I think…you should just…er…" Hermione was muttering, looking down at her shoes, unaware of a growing shadow over her as Ron drew closer. When she raised her face, his was an inch away from hers. She drew in a sharp breath.

"Ron?"

He seemed to break form a trance and immediately backed away from her so fast he bumped into the shelves behind him.

"Watch it!" the bookcase said sorely.

"So…so…"

"Why don't you talk to Harry about it?"

"Yeah. I think I will."

There was an extended pause. Silence is not golden – it's just akward.

"Er…yeah – see you later."

Hermione fanned her glowing face with a copy of "Hogwarts, a History.". That book had infinite uses.

***

A/N: review = the moral thing to do