Chapter 15: 'Because you're worth it!'
"Ron? Ron, wake up!" whispered Harry, as he shook his friend, who was still sound asleep,
"Wha…?" Ron muttered sleepily,
"Come on, we have to go and meet Sirius!" urged Harry,
Ron immediately sat up and began to climb out of bed, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Well, the fact you were asleep may have had something to do with it…"
"Yeah, yeah" Ron continued wearily, as he hauled himself out of bed, "Got the cloak?"
"Yeah" replied Harry,
"And the map?"
"Yep, now can we go?" Harry didn't mean to be impatient, he was simply eager to get going. It wasn't every night that you got the chance to spend time with your godfather and prank the two people you hate the most in the entire school.
Ron was now standing next to Harry, so he pulled the cloak over both of them and they set off towards the portrait hole.
"So what d'ya think Sirius has planned for tonight then?" asked Ron, curiously
"I have no idea," replied Harry thoughtfully, "I hope it's something that'll last, I mean, they have to be publicly humiliated as a result don't they?"
"It wouldn't be a prank otherwise, would it?" Ron chuckled,
They reached the corridor with Sirius' room in it without any problems, and Harry led the way to the correct portrait,
"Which one is it?" asked Ron, looking at the numerous portraits accusingly,
"Uh-oh" muttered Harry quietly,
"What? What is it?" demanded Ron,
"Um, the portrait…it's a spider…"
"Eugh!" exclaimed Ron, backing away from the wall, shaking himself violently,
"It's just a picture Ron, it'll be fine, come on…Malfoy and Snape…it'll be worth it!"
Ron's face contorted as he went over the pros and cons in his head, in the end his eyes glazed over slightly and his mouth set determinedly, Harry assumed that meant he was going to go through the portrait,
"Padfoot" Harry muttered, and the portrait swung inwards, revealing an eager looking Sirius,
"We going?" he asked excitedly
"Maybe we should go over what the plan is first…"Harry said, looking to Sirius, "this would be a lot easier if we knew what we were doing!"
"Oh, right, of course!" said Sirius sheepishly, "come on in then,"
At which point Ron rushed past the spider and settled himself on the couch, "What've you got planned then?"
"Well…" began Sirius, an evil glint forming in his eyes as he grinned mischievously, "I thought we should do something that everyone would know about," he paused, looking round at Harry and Ron for approval which they nodded, "So I thought we could brighten up those dungeons of Snape's for him!"
Harry glanced at Ron who was smiling appreciatively, and then turned his attention back to Sirius, waiting for him to explain his plan,
"I know a spell that will make the dungeons look like a sunny field, with flowers and butterflies…" Sirius grinned again, "and it takes forty-eight hours to wear off!"
Harry could picture Snape's reaction in his mind, the disgusted looks, furious muttering – Potions would certainly be more fun! "That sounds great!" he replied enthusiastically, "But what about Malfoy?"
"Ah, yes, I thought we could send him a letter…with a curse in it, one that will make his hair look pink, to everyone but him…"
Both Harry and Ron chuckled at the image of Malfoy walking around with his nose stuck in the air, pompous and arrogant as always – but with pink hair. It didn't sound like much, changing someone's hair colour, but considering it was Draco Malfoy, it would be a big deal indeed.
All three were laughing conspiratorially as they got up and prepared to go.
"The map's all clear" commented Harry, as Sirius, being the tallest, pulled the invisibility cloak around them.
"Good," muttered Sirius, "Now where first? The dungeons or the owlry?"
"Dungeons, I think" replied Ron, who had successfully put Sirius and Harry between him and the portrait of the spider they had to pass again.
They walked along in relative silence – they didn't want to be discovered after all! It crossed Sirius' mind as they were sneaking through the school that perhaps – as an adult and Harry's guardian – that he shouldn't be encouraging such behaviour, much less taking part in it. It was a fleeting thought though – how could he resist pranking Snape? It was an old, undeniable instinct – it came as naturally as eating, sleeping or breathing to Sirius.
It also troubled him that Harry never seemed to have time for fun – other than quidditch of course – Harry always had something to worry about. Sirius wanted to distract him. It was only then that Sirius realised that Harry wasn't the only one being distracted by the night's activities. He was too – he worried far too much these days – then again there was much more to worry about than there had been previously. He worried about Harry, about Voldemort, about all his friends at the Order. He also worried about his trial and the - although very unlikely – possibility of having to go back to Azkaban – he didn't think he could do it again.
Creeping through the school, in the dead of night, under the cloak, carrying the map, plotting mischief…it reminded Sirius so much of his school days and all the exploits of the Marauders.
*** Flash-back***
"Hey Peter! Come on! Keep up!" muttered James, who as usual was leading the way, "Sirius! Shut up! Someone's going to hear us!"
"Who?" exclaimed Sirius, glancing at the map he was carrying, "There's no-one around!"
"Well, we don't want to take any chances do we? Countered James, still using hushed tones, "a fat lot of good that would do Remus – us all being in detention rather than being out there with him!"
"Okay, okay" conceded Sirius, a grin spreading across his face – how he loved the full moon!
James, looking back at his friend spotted the grin and returned it with one of his own.
They were approaching the front door of the school – about to make their way outside to the Whomping Willow, to meet Remus.
The nearer they got to the tree, the more anxious the Marauder's got. They knew they could trust Remus – even as the wolf- and they knew he would never hurt them as animals, but the natural instinct of fear always set in just before they got there. It wasn't a fear of anything in particular – just the same nerves that always show up if you're doing something wrong.
Safely in the tunnel they transformed into animals, and Peter froze the tree, they set off to see Remus…
Sirius was jolted back to the present when Harry hissed "Mrs Norris is heading this way…everyone keep quiet!"
They paused and tried to keep as still as possible as the ever inquisitive cat meandered along the corridor – obviously in no rush.
Suddenly there was a horrific crash and a yelp from the direction of the Great Hall, and Mrs Norris shot off to investigate. She wasn't the only one curious about the disturbance though; Harry, Ron and Sirius were all eager to see who it had been, but they knew they couldn't risk giving themselves away.
They continued on their way to the dungeons, and Snape passed them looking flustered; obviously he had heard the noise from the Hall. Only seconds after Snape had passed, two small children came running towards them in the opposite direction. Harry recognised them, but he couldn't place where from. Then it clicked; the Sorting, they were Griffindor first years, the twins that he had noticed as they joined the Griffindor table. Seemed like Harry had been proved right, they were indeed troublemakers.
Just then Sirius nudged him in the side, signalling that they should get a move on, he didn't speak in case any of the now patrolling teachers overheard them.
Harry nodded and the trio continued on their way. They reached the dungeons without further incident. They decided that Harry and Ron should keep watch while Sirius cast the charm; he was the only one that knew it after all. It only took a few minutes to ensure the charm was in place and when he was finished Sirius took a step back and looked at his handiwork appraisingly, a grin spreading over his face; he had done a good job. He glanced at Harry and Ron, looking for approval; their beaming smiles and laughing eyes said it all.
"Now…for our next victim" Sirius muttered darkly, reaching for the cloak again,
"To the owlry" Ron agreed as they headed off.
In the owlry Sirius charmed a piece of parchment while Harry and Ron tried to persuade one of the school owls to deliver it, none of them seemed particularly keen though. When Sirius had finished with the charm they contemplated whether to include a message or not. Harry decided they should write 'Because you're worth it'. Neither Ron nor Sirius understood the joke, both being wizards. Harry however had seen a little muggle TV during the summer.
Eventually they found an owl willing to do the job and Ron attached the parchment to it's leg with strict instructions to deliver it at breakfast tomorrow. Meanwhile Harry was trying to reconcile Hedwig, who had been offended at not being asked to deliver the mail.
"Hedwig!" he cried exasperatedly, "Malfoy can't be able to prove it was us! Anyway…you wouldn't really want to deliver to him…" Harry looked up his owl pleadingly, and Hedwig ruffled her feathers and flew back down to him.
Ron and Sirius looked on in amazement, "you'd think she understood every word you were saying Harry" muttered Ron,
"Well of course she does" replied Harry indignantly, "I talk to her so often during the holidays I guess it was only a matter of time until she understood"
Ron and Sirius exchanged dubious looks, not sure of Harry's meaning, surely he didn't mean he could converse with an owl?
Harry observed the look they shared with a smile, "I don't mean we have conversations or anything…we just understand each other"
Ron still looked puzzled, but Sirius with his increased understanding of animal behaviour simply nodded.
With their tasks complete Harry suddenly realised how tired he was, he never exactly got much sleep the night before either. "We heading back to bed now?"
"Yeah, I think so" said Ron stifling a yawn,
Sirius nodded in agreement though he looked a little disappointed.
Harry was too tired to be overly concerned and they headed off. Before they realised where they were they were outside the Griffindor common room, in front of the fat lady. Harry and Ron exchanged awkward glances, and Sirius looked a little uncomfortable. It had been old habit for him to head back to the common room after a night of mischief; he had completely forgotten that he didn't stay there any more. Looking slightly embarrassed Sirius turned to face Harry,
"You don't mind if I take the cloak back with me do you?"
"No, not at all!" replied Harry, glad the bizarre moment had passed, "G'night"
"Night" replied Sirius,
"Yeah, night," added Ron, "and thanks for inviting me along" he continued not directing the thanks to either of the others in particular, "It was fun"
They all grinned in memory of what they had done and turned to leave. They were all tired and they definitely didn't want to miss breakfast tomorrow.
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Unsurprisingly both Ron and Harry were up and about early the next morning and were among the first few in the great hall for breakfast; which they had never been before. Ali, Hermione and Ginny were not too far behind them; Hermione greeted both boys with an accusing glare.
"What have you two been up to?" she demanded,
They both attempted to feign innocence, failing miserably, "What do you mean Hermione dear?" asked Ron sweetly,
Hermione looked over at them disbelievingly, "I have known you two for five years now, and you have never been up this early – except maybe on Christmas – and you're trying to tell me there's no reason for it?" She looked questioningly at each of them in turn.
"Okay, okay, "conceded Ron, "we, em, have reason to believe that something might happen to Malfoy this morning, that's all"
Hermione persisted with her piercing glare, "What did you do?"
"Well, Harry wrote something and I attached it to an owl." Ron said, evasively
Hermione looked a little put out, "so what? Now we're keeping secrets?"
"No!" Ron exclaimed slightly worried, "it'll just be funnier if it's a surprise", he smiled hopefully
"I'll give you a clue Hermione, I wrote 'Because you're worth it' on the parchment" added Harry, not wanting to fight with her,
Hermione looked at him curious, she had heard that before but she just couldn't place it…
"What are you going to do to his hair?!" she exclaimed when she realised it was from the shampoo adverts,
Ron gaped at her in incredulity, "How the bloody hell did you know it was his hair?"
"From the clue Harry gave me" she explained simply,
Ron looked at each of them in turn completely baffled,
"It's from a muggle advert for shampoo" continued Hermione,
"Ah," said Ron nodding his comprehension,
"So?" persisted Hermione,
"So what?" asked Ron, his face contorting in confusion once more
"What are you going to do to his hair?" she demanded,
It was then that Dumbledore stood up and addressed the Hall to the surprise of the students; he didn't usually say anything unless there was some kind of announcement.
"I would just like to announce that the first visit to Hogsmede will take place this weekend, any students in third year or above who would like to attend are welcome to." And with that Dumbledore sat down again. Murmurs of excitement coursed through the Great Hall, most students had been expecting the Hogsmede weekends to be cancelled!
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Ali all exchanged delighted glances. Hermione turned her attention back to Harry and Ron with another accusing glance, but luckily for them the owls arrived with the morning post, and Harry and Ron immediately snapped their heads upwards trying to get a glimpse of the owl they had persuaded to deliver the charm.
"Harry! Look, there it is!" muttered Ron whilst elbowing his friend in the side and pointing,
Harry's eyes followed the line of Ron's outstretched hand and immediately spotted the owl, which was quickly approaching Malfoy. Harry and Ron were watching intently as they saw Malfoy reach out to the owl and remove the parchment from its leg. They watched him open it; which it seemed to take him an eternity to do. They saw the perplexed look contort his features as he read the cryptic message; and most importantly they saw his white blond hair vanish under a sea of magenta.
They weren't the only ones to notice though; the whole student body burst out laughing, and Malfoy stared around, baffled. It only took a few seconds for Malfoy to realise that the students were laughing at him, but he couldn't for the life of him think why. Maybe he had something on his face? He pulled out a small, discreet mirror and scrutinised his reflection –no, nothing wrong. What on earth were they laughing at? Draco ate his breakfast in a state of confusion, not even his so-called friends would tell him what was wrong. And then on the way out of the hall to make matters even worse, he ran into Potter and Weasley,
"I think that is most definitely your colour Malfoy" smirked Ron as he walked past laughing hysterically,
"What are you talking about Weasley?" Malfoy demanded, this laughter was beginning to really irritate him,
"What? You mean your fellow Slytherin's didn't even tell you?" exclaimed Harry, bursting out laughing again
"Tell me what?" snarled Draco, all pretence gone,
"Oh, nothing" replied Harry breezily as he and Ron wandered back to the common, a fit of laughter overcoming them every so often.
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Harry's week went without any major events, for which he was incredibly
grateful. Defence Against the Dark Arts was going well
again after Sirius had helped him get the hang of that shield.
Potions wasn't too horrific; Harry was trying his best in that class,
something he had to admit to himself that he had never done before, and was
finding it much more approachable. The extra effort Hermione was going to, to
help out Ron and him, was also helping considerably.
Transfiguration was much tougher than Harry expected; but he didn't have too many major problems, the same went for Charms, and for Care of Magical Creatures, and Herbology.
Harry did seem to have much more homework than ever before though; despite the fact that he was taking fewer classes.
Quidditch practice also took up a considerable amount of his time; the team was working together really well, and Harry didn't think they should have any trouble winning the cup, but then again he hadn't seen any of the other houses new teams. He didn't want to take anything for granted. With the match against Slytherin only weeks away Harry made sure every member of the team was giving 150% in every training session.
As if classes and quidditch didn't make enough demands on his time Harry had to fit in regular visits to Sirius; whom he loved having around. Although sometimes it was more of a problem; Sirius had a nasty habit of teasing Harry about the other person making demands on his time; Ali.
Harry and Ali had been officially 'going out' since Saturday, by the lake. Despite all the recent goings on Harry didn't think he had been happier in his life.
A/N: I am so sorry! Feel free to hit me with any random objects you find lying around. I said I wouldn't be as long again, and then I was with the very next chapter! Again I apologise. Life just kind of took off, so many things to do, so little time. Not to mention the fact that this chapter just wouldn't come out. Even now I don't like it, and it is a bit short but it will have to do.
I think I had so many problems because I really want to be writing the next couple – things get much more exciting! Anyway please read and review – don't be too mean, I know this was bad!
Also, I tried out different formatting with this chapter…better or worse? Please let me know!
Replies:-
Hplova4eva – Thanks again for all the positive feedback – it's much appreciated!
Hpcrazy() – Glad to hear you're enjoying it so much! Caighlynne is pronounced Kay-lin, like the name Caitlin without the 't'. I hope that helps!
Anna L. Black – Thank you for your unwavering support – you're so kind. As for Sirius being free…I don't want to ruin the story so you'll have to wait and see! – Not long though!
Jaximillion – Glad you liked the chapter and I hope the 'getting' Snape and Malfoy lived up to your expectations!
