The Marauders' Years: Year One

Chapter Two

Revenge and a Boggart


James and Sirius walked down the hallways towards Charms class, the two had found a common interest in pranks and had taken it upon them to drag the other three boys in their dorm room into the happy world that was pranking. So far they had managed to talk Remus into coming along on a few of their pranks. Peter seemed in awe of them and it wasn't too difficult to get him to assist on their many endeavors. Frank, however, had told them quite bluntly that he wasn't about to lose a single house point for Gryffindor just to curse a few Slytherins into being unable to stop saying 'Go, go Gryffindor!'

Of course their plans were much more complex than getting Slytherins to root for the opposing team, the boys just hadn't thought of any other plans as of yet.

-

"What do you reckon?" James asked Sirius as the two turned the last corner before the Charms classroom.

"About what?" Sirius asked, nodding hello to Peeves. The mischievous poltergeist had agreed to stay out of their way during pranks and other things if they stayed out of his, which included not warning other students about things he was about to do.

"Retaliation, Revenge."

"Oh that." Sirius waved James's worries off as he would an annoying fly. "Evans and those other girls have been threatening revenge on us for a week, ever since they fell in the lake. It's just a bluff."

James nodded reluctantly, not quite as sure of it as Sirius was.

-

"Today class" Professor Flitwick began in his usual high-pitched, squeaky voice. "We'll learn how to make golden bubbles come out from the ends of our wands. This charm is great for decorating around Christmas time. Now we use this wrist movement-"

Sirius and James toned Flitwick out as a more pressing matter came to hand. Lily and her three friends: Alice, Allysia, and Lizz, were huddled together ignoring the lesson and talking quietly amongst themselves. This was a bad sign in the view of the two boys. Lily excelled at Charms and she loved the class. If she wasn't paying attention then something was afoot.

"What do you make of it?" Sirius asked quietly as he eyed the girls.

"Trouble." James answered.

"Sh!" Remus hissed, turning around in his seat to glare at them. "I can't hear the Professor over your babbling!"

Professor Flitwick paused in the middle of demonstrating the correct wrist movements, "Did you have a question, Mr. Lupin?"

Remus sank down a bit in his chair after turning back around. "No, sir." He muttered, his face turning slightly pink.

The rest of the lesson continued quite smoothly. James's and Lily's groups all managed to do the charm, even Peter managed it, although his charm produced a stream of bright purple colored bubbles which Sirius assured him was a sign from the hamsters. Flitwick signaled the end of class and the group of Gryffindor first years trooped off to their next class: Defense Against the Dark Arts.

-

"Would you believe our luck?" Frank asked as he took his place by James and the rest. "They've put us in here with the Slytherins."

"Surely not all Slytherins are evil?" Alice asked from her position by Lily.

"Oy. You'll find out soon enough." Frank replied.

Everyone quieted down as the Professor came in. This particular professor always seemed to be in a hurry. So far he hadn't even bothered to introduce himself to the class. No one appeared to be on his good or bad side, which disappointed the Slytherins who never missed an opportunity to capitalize on teachers' likes or dislikes in students.

"Shove those desks out of the way…" He commanded while tugging a large trunk into the room.

Curious as to what was in the trunk everyone complied, shoving the desks toward the other end of the room. Some students, however, opted to practice a bit of magic to move the desk, which caused quite a pile up.

"Right, right. Boggarts. Come on up." The professor said, waving his wand to repair any damage to the furniture.

Several students stared quizzically at one another. Did he just call them 'Boggarts?'

The professor blinked when no one came forward. "Oh... Boggarts. Could someone explain what they are?"

Remus's hand barely beat Lily's hand in being raised.

"A boggart is a creature that can take the form of your worst fear..." Remus answered timidly, he wasn't exactly thrilled with speaking in public. "They're usually found hiding in dark protected areas. Like drawers, closets, and-"

"Trunks." The professor finished. "Now, whoever wants to come first, you need to think of a way to dispel your fear by making it amusing and say 'Riddiculus'."

Sirius and James proceeded to enter a silent shoving match to make the other go first as Peter tried to shrink to the back of the room and become one with the wall.

Frank watched them with a raised eyebrow, wondering what would happen if he just booted the two of them to the front of the class. Finally James stepped forward, grinning lopsidedly as he usually did if he was mildly embarrassed or slightly nervous.

"Right then, have at it." The professor stepped back and popped the latch on the trunk with his wand. Immediately a large something crawled out of the trunk.

"A...a...big... PINK BUNNY!" Sirius collapsed to the floor in a fit of laughter, holding his sides and struggling to breathe.

"Riddiculus." James muttered crossly, and the large rabbit turned into a cracked Easter egg.

"Keep moving. Next!" The professor called, paying no attention to all the laughter.

Alice squared her shoulders and marched up next, and the boggart changed quickly as lightning into a vicious-looking snake. Alice gave a startled shriek and darted back over to Lily as Sirius hurried forward to take her place. The boggart changed again, turning into a purple hamster...

"What the bloody hell is that?" James asked, pointing at the small purple rodent.

Sirius ignored him, doing a small victory dance around the confused boggart. "I knew it could be tricked! I knew it!!!"

After the general pandemonium that was Sirius settled down, the professor announced that it had been enough for one day and assigned them the task of preparing for the next lesson at which time they would be quizzed on boggarts and each given another turn at facing one.

-

"A pink bunny, Potter?" Frank asked incredulously on the way to dinner. "What's the story behind that one?"

"I'll never tell!" James yelled slightly louder than he had meant to.

"You're being unusually quiet, Sirius." Remus observed; turning his attention from James (who was now mumbling about some incident during Easter) to Sirius.

"I was just thinking..."

"About what?" Peter asked as they turned again and entered the Great Hall.

"Wouldn't it be brilliant if we could get a hold of that boggart and set it loose in the Slytherin common room?"

"I don't think so, Sirius." Frank said, shaking his head.

The five boys made their way to the Gryffindor table and sat down amid a large bout of laughter.

"What do you think is so funny?" Frank asked, peering around for the source of the commotion.

James gave a little half shrug as he leaned back to look down the table. His mouth fell open in shock the next minute.

"What's up?" Sirius asked, munching on some treacle pudding that had just appeared on one of the golden platters that lined the table.

James shook his head mutely and pointed at the back of Peter's robes. There, shining brightly in shocking pink lettering were the words: 'I've broken the record for boat crashes, please tell me when I've broken the one for stupidity?'

Sirius stared in horror, quickly looking at the back of his own robes before bolting for the door. The other four followed suit, leaving behind a lot of laughter and the smirking faces of Lily and her friends.

Eleven year olds may not come up with the most original plots for revenge, but what they do usually works, and it had worked.

-

The five boys had remained in the common room for a while after the incident. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter plotting the counter strike on Lily, Frank watching with the barest of interest.

Frank stood up and yawned, waving sleepily before turning and heading up to the first year boys' dorm without another word. Sirius concentrated on a piece of parchment on one of the small tables; furiously scribbling on it with his quill while Remus prodded another piece of parchment with his wand. After Sirius had finished writing James handed him a small book with the words 'Lily's Diary' scrawled across the front in what was obviously not Lily Evans's writing. Remus muttered a spell and attached the pages to the inside of the book. The boys carefully placed the fraudulent diary on a table where it would be easily spotted and walked upstairs with a feeling of accomplishment. Several hours later there was a shriek of anger from a certain red haired girl.


Jade's Note:

I forgot to mention to keep a sharp eye out for changes if you're re-reading. You might find out one of the many things written in Lily's Diary. The rest of the entries (The more embarrassing ones.) written in the fraudulent diary are strictly confidential to spare Lily humiliation.