Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story that doesn't belong to me.
=Chapter 33=
It was two weeks before the last day of Hogwarts when Sirius woke up calmly. Everything was a blur. 'This must be how James feels,' he thought silently. Rubbing his eyes so everything would be clear, he yawned loudly. It was time for his daily, morning song. "Good morning, sunshine! The earth says—AHHH!"
James stood over him. The boyish grin James wore made him look like the young Prankster Prince that ruled Hogwarts before Lily got to him.
"James," Sirius said in a cautious tone. "Why were you watching me sleep?"
"What day is it today?" James asked, ignoring Sirius' question.
Sirius raised an eyebrow before smiling to himself. "It's Christmas Day, sir! It's Christmas Day!" he yelled in a childish way.
"I'm not trying to recite the end of A Christmas Carol with you!" James laughed. "I'm saying its two weeks before what?"
"The last day of school," Sirius replied. "What's so great about-? Ooh!"
+Flashback+
"Promise me something, James," Sirius said after pulling his first prank against a Slytherin.
"What?" James asked, trying to stop laughing so hard.
"Promise me that no matter what, we'll pull an end of the year prank for our goodbye to Hogwarts," Sirius replied as he watched the Slytherin Prefect stop, drop, and roll as the fire on his pants spread.
"Deal," James said. They shook hands before bursting out in laughter again.
+End Flashback+
"You're actually going to keep your promise? With the Head Girl always by your side?" Sirius asked amazed. "Here I thought you'd forget about it."
"Yeah, well," James said. "I'll keep the promise, just as long as we stick to the Marauder Code."
"Hello?" Remus asked from outside the bed curtains. "Is it safe to come in?"
"Of course it is," Sirius said. Remus walked in warily. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"Well," Remus began counting off the reasons. "First, I heard James's voice in here and both he and I sadly know Sirius sleeps in his underwear," he paused, "or... less."
Sirius grinned slightly.
"Then, I heard Sirius begin to sing his daily song, but then he screamed-- that's not a good sign. Then, I heard Sirius talking about keeping a promise, even though it would be behind Lily's back. Finally, I heard you guys talking about the Marauder Code."
"We weren't going to do anything, Moony," James replied calmly. "We were just talking about an end of the year prank."
"I see," Remus replied, sighing in relief. "We should really change the Marauder Code."
"I think you're right," Sirius replied. "I'll keep the old one safe though."
They all looked at a cross-stitched banner on the door. The words on it read, "The Marauder Code: Give it Hard." Of course, when they made this code they were in their first year, and, at that time, they were talking about their pranks. Now-a-days, they laughed to themselves whenever they thought about the other implications.
"First of all," James said, "we need to know whether Wormtail is going to be a part of this or not."
"No," Sirius and Remus said in unison. "He's going to tattle on us when the pressure gets too hard on him, like always," Sirius continued. "We'll just tell him about this when the year's through." James and Remus nodded in agreement.
"Now for the steps in completing this prank..." his mischievous grin grew as he told them the plans.
=Step One: Recruiting People=
"Hey Lily," James said as they sat in front of the common room fire, warming up. "You know in our old days, when you thought that I was a... um-- "
"Self-centered, moronic, selfish toe-rag," she filled in.
"Yeah," he said. "I was just wondering if you liked those weird pranks I used to do on other people."
"When people asked," she replied, "I would always lie and say no. But the lot of the pranks always put a smile on my face when I thought about them later in the day."
"Good," James replied. He flashed a grin and said, "How would you like to be apart of the biggest prank yet?"
=+=
"Alright," Sirius yelled. He threw his fist in the air as a sign of triumph. "With the Head Girl and our other friends on our side, there's no way anyone would suspect us!"
"Indeed," James said. "Now for Step Two: Telling you guys the times when this plan will be in motion." He quietly whispered the plan to the small group, stopping only to take sips from his glass of water.
"Okay?" he asked. "Who will buy what on the last Hogsmeade visit will be decided at random. This plot will take place the last week of school. Get ready and take pictures. When this year is done, this'll be your fondest memory."
====Day 1 of the last week of school====
"Professor McGonnagall," James yelled while he raised his hand, "can you tell us all you know about Voldemort and why he appears to be getting stronger?"
"Mr. Potter," Professor McGonnagall said, "I will tell you when there's nothing else to teach! Sadly, we had the N.E.W.T.s earlier than expected, so listen up."
The class sat up straight, ready to hear what was happening when they heard a furious screech from outside. Professor McGonnagall look affronted. She marched out of the classroom to find herself looking up at Peeves.
"Will you please quiet down?" Professor McGonnagall asked sternly.
"I have a riddle just for you!" he called in a taunting voice. "What happens when two students decide to snog themselves silly in the broom closet?" He paused for a moment to spin around. "PEEVES LOCKS THEM IN!" he cackled furiously.
Professor McGonnagall looked up at Peeves for a moment before jogging to the broom closet. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors (that weren't part of the prank) ran after her to see who it was.
"Thanks, Peeves," James called. He was, after all, the only person Peeves ever listened to.
Peeves winked. "This plan better be worth my while, Jamesey-Wamsey, or else I will be very upset!" With that said, he flew off in the direction of the broom closet.
"Quickly," James called, "Tape 'em under all the desks while McGonnagall's gone!"
=+=
"Alohomora," Professor McGonnagall said calmly. She heard a click of the door unlocking. Grabbing the handle, she thrust the door open to find herself staring eye-to-eye with Sirius and Ness, each of them feigning a badly-done-pretend-innocent look.
"Detention to the both of you," McGonnagall coolly uttered. "Humph! A few days before you graduate, too, this happens!"
=Later that Night=
Sirius and Ness both got detention in the trophy room. Ness sat with her ear against the door, making sure no teacher was coming while Sirius picked out the larger trophies and placed them in the middle of the room. 13 minutes into the night, Ness whispered, "Someone's coming." They hopped over to the trophies and pretended to clean them with old rags.
The door opened and shut, seemingly by itself. James quickly took off his invisibility cloak and dropped it off to the side. His left arm was filled with small black objects that he handed Sirius and Ness one-by-one. They worked to clip the black objects into the trophies without saying a word. When that was done, they carefully placed the trophies back and fake- cleaned some smaller ones as James walked away.
====Day 2 of the last week of school====
Remus sat in the library calmly. He eyed Madame Pince as she walked past him. Reaching into his book bag, he pulled out his ink bottle before purposely dropping his quill; he bent over to pick it up, making sure no teacher was heading his way. Satisfied, he tipped the ink bottle over, taking out smaller versions of the black objects.
He got up to search for a book, or so people thought. Stepping into an aisle, he skimmed the titles of the books as he clipped the black objects on some specific volumes.
====Day 3 of the last week of school====
Lily patrolled the halls for her last rounds at Hogwarts. Looking around, she pulled off a pair of the black objects that held her hair up. She calmly clipped them on a few statues.
"Got it ready?" James asked from behind her. She turned around and nodded. Hopping down from the statue, she walked off to continue the rounds, James following close behind.
=Meanwhile=
Belle strutted into the Great Hall. She pulled off her right shoe and, under it, she pealed off a sticker placed over – what appeared to be – a fake heal. Carefully pulling out the black objects from the small compartment, she stuck them to the bottoms of the tables before anyone could see.
====Day 4 of the last week of school====
"Professor McGonnagall!" Remus called. He rushed over to her as fast as he could go. "You have to see this!"
He ran for the edge of the Dark Forest where a half dead Peter was laying. He had several different bruises. Some looked like they came from different plants, some looked like animal scratches, and others looked like punch marks.
"Pettigrew! Get up!" Professor McGonnagall yelled sternly.
Remus picked up a stick from the ground and began poking a brutal looking scar on Peter's back.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group began to clip on some of the items while Professor McGonnagall was busy with their distraction.
====Day 5 of the last week of school====
The group sat in the Room of Requirement. They held up glasses of firewhiskey.
They drank to their success of the prank and relaxed there, not only as classmates, but as the best of friends.
They each secretly wished that the moment would never end, but they also knew it had to, just for the sake of watching the results of their 5-day labor.
====Day 6 of the last week of school====
"Well, it's been a great 7 years at Hogwarts," Sirius said calmly. "So who would like to join me in an old fashioned streak?" He shrugged when no one agreed to go with him. "I guess I'll go alone then."
Standing up, he unbuckled his belt and tossed it aside. Noticing that the girls in the common room had their eyes on him, he began to strip tease, slowly un-buttoning his shirt and tossing it to a 5th year. The 5th year boy looked at the shirt in horror and tossed it to a girl.
James put his left hand over Lily's eyes so she wouldn't see anymore. Taking his right hand, he put it over his own eyes.
Ness raised an eyebrow as Sirius continued. She turned around and noticed Remus was reading a book, as if used to this. Belle had the Daily Prophet up, but she was looking over it watching Sirius.
"Oh, come on!" Sirius said as he swung his arm over his head, as if to lasso something. "At least sing some kind of beat for me to dance with!"
A muggle-born 3rd year began to sing loudly: "Move it in, move it out! Shove it in; shove it out, Disco lady!"
"OH YEAH!" Sirius shouted.
====Last Day of School====
The Great Hall was decorated in Red and Gold flags; Gryffindor won the house cup. Dumbledore stood up. He was dressed in deep blue robes with silver stars sprinkled all over it. He looked over at all the students before he said, "This year, has been tough to keep up with a few people." He looked mainly at the four Marauders. "And yet," he continued, "It has also been quite enjoyable. This years' Seventh Year class his been the most memorable so far, and it will, indeed, be hard to let them go, but of course, it's my pleasure to watch them take their first step into adulthood."
At least 10 7th years from each table sniffed sadly. They couldn't help but think about how quickly these years had gone by for them.
"There is not much I can say," Dumbledore said, "But tuck-"
James grinned
"-in."
A loud explosion occurred throughout the whole school.
All the desks in every one of the classrooms rammed themselves into a wall, shattering into pieces. The walls began to break as the desks did this.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD-!" A Slytherin called.
Meanwhile, in the trophy room, all trophies that Slytherins had won throughout the 7 years exploded. Also, the semi-new statues that the Slytherins begged for during 4th year turned to ice before melting, causing a miniature flood to flow throughout the 3rd floor.
"ORDER," Madame Pince yelled. "QUIET PLEASE!"
Every book that each of the seventh years had to borrow to do an essay in the library burst into flames, as did the sign on the Library Door that read Quiet, please.
"It's Potter!" Snape yelled, pointing at the Gryffindor Table. "It's Potter!"
On cue, all the Slytherins were thrown up into the air by pillars of water. It was quite entertaining to watch them struggle to get down.
As all the students watched in enchantment, James jumped onto his feet, raising his goblet over his head and yelled out, "3 CHEERS FOR HOGWARTS!"
The students that weren't in Slytherin raised their own goblets over their heads and cheered.
Dumbledore joined them, his eyes twinkling with laughter.
=+=
"Well, that was just as entertaining as we thought it would be," Sirius sighed. He thrust himself into the back of the horseless carriage. The rest of the group squeezed themselves in.
When the carriage began to move, James threw the door open and poked his head out, careful not to fall off the carriage. "HEY, PROFESSOR KETTLEBURN!!" Professor Kettleburn looked at him. "DO YOU REMEMBER THAT TIME YOU COMPARED US TO ALL THE PLANTS IN HOGWARTS DURING 3rd YEAR?" He continued to stare. "YOU MAY STILL THINK THEY'RE SMARTER THAN US, BUT I CAN TELL YOU ONE THING!"
"WHAT'S THAT, POTTER?" Professor Kettleburn snarled.
"WE'RE ALIVE!" Over half of the trees in Hogwarts exploded.
"SEE YA!" James called, as he flipped them off for one last goodbye.
=End Chapter=
=Chapter 33=
It was two weeks before the last day of Hogwarts when Sirius woke up calmly. Everything was a blur. 'This must be how James feels,' he thought silently. Rubbing his eyes so everything would be clear, he yawned loudly. It was time for his daily, morning song. "Good morning, sunshine! The earth says—AHHH!"
James stood over him. The boyish grin James wore made him look like the young Prankster Prince that ruled Hogwarts before Lily got to him.
"James," Sirius said in a cautious tone. "Why were you watching me sleep?"
"What day is it today?" James asked, ignoring Sirius' question.
Sirius raised an eyebrow before smiling to himself. "It's Christmas Day, sir! It's Christmas Day!" he yelled in a childish way.
"I'm not trying to recite the end of A Christmas Carol with you!" James laughed. "I'm saying its two weeks before what?"
"The last day of school," Sirius replied. "What's so great about-? Ooh!"
+Flashback+
"Promise me something, James," Sirius said after pulling his first prank against a Slytherin.
"What?" James asked, trying to stop laughing so hard.
"Promise me that no matter what, we'll pull an end of the year prank for our goodbye to Hogwarts," Sirius replied as he watched the Slytherin Prefect stop, drop, and roll as the fire on his pants spread.
"Deal," James said. They shook hands before bursting out in laughter again.
+End Flashback+
"You're actually going to keep your promise? With the Head Girl always by your side?" Sirius asked amazed. "Here I thought you'd forget about it."
"Yeah, well," James said. "I'll keep the promise, just as long as we stick to the Marauder Code."
"Hello?" Remus asked from outside the bed curtains. "Is it safe to come in?"
"Of course it is," Sirius said. Remus walked in warily. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"Well," Remus began counting off the reasons. "First, I heard James's voice in here and both he and I sadly know Sirius sleeps in his underwear," he paused, "or... less."
Sirius grinned slightly.
"Then, I heard Sirius begin to sing his daily song, but then he screamed-- that's not a good sign. Then, I heard Sirius talking about keeping a promise, even though it would be behind Lily's back. Finally, I heard you guys talking about the Marauder Code."
"We weren't going to do anything, Moony," James replied calmly. "We were just talking about an end of the year prank."
"I see," Remus replied, sighing in relief. "We should really change the Marauder Code."
"I think you're right," Sirius replied. "I'll keep the old one safe though."
They all looked at a cross-stitched banner on the door. The words on it read, "The Marauder Code: Give it Hard." Of course, when they made this code they were in their first year, and, at that time, they were talking about their pranks. Now-a-days, they laughed to themselves whenever they thought about the other implications.
"First of all," James said, "we need to know whether Wormtail is going to be a part of this or not."
"No," Sirius and Remus said in unison. "He's going to tattle on us when the pressure gets too hard on him, like always," Sirius continued. "We'll just tell him about this when the year's through." James and Remus nodded in agreement.
"Now for the steps in completing this prank..." his mischievous grin grew as he told them the plans.
=Step One: Recruiting People=
"Hey Lily," James said as they sat in front of the common room fire, warming up. "You know in our old days, when you thought that I was a... um-- "
"Self-centered, moronic, selfish toe-rag," she filled in.
"Yeah," he said. "I was just wondering if you liked those weird pranks I used to do on other people."
"When people asked," she replied, "I would always lie and say no. But the lot of the pranks always put a smile on my face when I thought about them later in the day."
"Good," James replied. He flashed a grin and said, "How would you like to be apart of the biggest prank yet?"
=+=
"Alright," Sirius yelled. He threw his fist in the air as a sign of triumph. "With the Head Girl and our other friends on our side, there's no way anyone would suspect us!"
"Indeed," James said. "Now for Step Two: Telling you guys the times when this plan will be in motion." He quietly whispered the plan to the small group, stopping only to take sips from his glass of water.
"Okay?" he asked. "Who will buy what on the last Hogsmeade visit will be decided at random. This plot will take place the last week of school. Get ready and take pictures. When this year is done, this'll be your fondest memory."
====Day 1 of the last week of school====
"Professor McGonnagall," James yelled while he raised his hand, "can you tell us all you know about Voldemort and why he appears to be getting stronger?"
"Mr. Potter," Professor McGonnagall said, "I will tell you when there's nothing else to teach! Sadly, we had the N.E.W.T.s earlier than expected, so listen up."
The class sat up straight, ready to hear what was happening when they heard a furious screech from outside. Professor McGonnagall look affronted. She marched out of the classroom to find herself looking up at Peeves.
"Will you please quiet down?" Professor McGonnagall asked sternly.
"I have a riddle just for you!" he called in a taunting voice. "What happens when two students decide to snog themselves silly in the broom closet?" He paused for a moment to spin around. "PEEVES LOCKS THEM IN!" he cackled furiously.
Professor McGonnagall looked up at Peeves for a moment before jogging to the broom closet. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors (that weren't part of the prank) ran after her to see who it was.
"Thanks, Peeves," James called. He was, after all, the only person Peeves ever listened to.
Peeves winked. "This plan better be worth my while, Jamesey-Wamsey, or else I will be very upset!" With that said, he flew off in the direction of the broom closet.
"Quickly," James called, "Tape 'em under all the desks while McGonnagall's gone!"
=+=
"Alohomora," Professor McGonnagall said calmly. She heard a click of the door unlocking. Grabbing the handle, she thrust the door open to find herself staring eye-to-eye with Sirius and Ness, each of them feigning a badly-done-pretend-innocent look.
"Detention to the both of you," McGonnagall coolly uttered. "Humph! A few days before you graduate, too, this happens!"
=Later that Night=
Sirius and Ness both got detention in the trophy room. Ness sat with her ear against the door, making sure no teacher was coming while Sirius picked out the larger trophies and placed them in the middle of the room. 13 minutes into the night, Ness whispered, "Someone's coming." They hopped over to the trophies and pretended to clean them with old rags.
The door opened and shut, seemingly by itself. James quickly took off his invisibility cloak and dropped it off to the side. His left arm was filled with small black objects that he handed Sirius and Ness one-by-one. They worked to clip the black objects into the trophies without saying a word. When that was done, they carefully placed the trophies back and fake- cleaned some smaller ones as James walked away.
====Day 2 of the last week of school====
Remus sat in the library calmly. He eyed Madame Pince as she walked past him. Reaching into his book bag, he pulled out his ink bottle before purposely dropping his quill; he bent over to pick it up, making sure no teacher was heading his way. Satisfied, he tipped the ink bottle over, taking out smaller versions of the black objects.
He got up to search for a book, or so people thought. Stepping into an aisle, he skimmed the titles of the books as he clipped the black objects on some specific volumes.
====Day 3 of the last week of school====
Lily patrolled the halls for her last rounds at Hogwarts. Looking around, she pulled off a pair of the black objects that held her hair up. She calmly clipped them on a few statues.
"Got it ready?" James asked from behind her. She turned around and nodded. Hopping down from the statue, she walked off to continue the rounds, James following close behind.
=Meanwhile=
Belle strutted into the Great Hall. She pulled off her right shoe and, under it, she pealed off a sticker placed over – what appeared to be – a fake heal. Carefully pulling out the black objects from the small compartment, she stuck them to the bottoms of the tables before anyone could see.
====Day 4 of the last week of school====
"Professor McGonnagall!" Remus called. He rushed over to her as fast as he could go. "You have to see this!"
He ran for the edge of the Dark Forest where a half dead Peter was laying. He had several different bruises. Some looked like they came from different plants, some looked like animal scratches, and others looked like punch marks.
"Pettigrew! Get up!" Professor McGonnagall yelled sternly.
Remus picked up a stick from the ground and began poking a brutal looking scar on Peter's back.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group began to clip on some of the items while Professor McGonnagall was busy with their distraction.
====Day 5 of the last week of school====
The group sat in the Room of Requirement. They held up glasses of firewhiskey.
They drank to their success of the prank and relaxed there, not only as classmates, but as the best of friends.
They each secretly wished that the moment would never end, but they also knew it had to, just for the sake of watching the results of their 5-day labor.
====Day 6 of the last week of school====
"Well, it's been a great 7 years at Hogwarts," Sirius said calmly. "So who would like to join me in an old fashioned streak?" He shrugged when no one agreed to go with him. "I guess I'll go alone then."
Standing up, he unbuckled his belt and tossed it aside. Noticing that the girls in the common room had their eyes on him, he began to strip tease, slowly un-buttoning his shirt and tossing it to a 5th year. The 5th year boy looked at the shirt in horror and tossed it to a girl.
James put his left hand over Lily's eyes so she wouldn't see anymore. Taking his right hand, he put it over his own eyes.
Ness raised an eyebrow as Sirius continued. She turned around and noticed Remus was reading a book, as if used to this. Belle had the Daily Prophet up, but she was looking over it watching Sirius.
"Oh, come on!" Sirius said as he swung his arm over his head, as if to lasso something. "At least sing some kind of beat for me to dance with!"
A muggle-born 3rd year began to sing loudly: "Move it in, move it out! Shove it in; shove it out, Disco lady!"
"OH YEAH!" Sirius shouted.
====Last Day of School====
The Great Hall was decorated in Red and Gold flags; Gryffindor won the house cup. Dumbledore stood up. He was dressed in deep blue robes with silver stars sprinkled all over it. He looked over at all the students before he said, "This year, has been tough to keep up with a few people." He looked mainly at the four Marauders. "And yet," he continued, "It has also been quite enjoyable. This years' Seventh Year class his been the most memorable so far, and it will, indeed, be hard to let them go, but of course, it's my pleasure to watch them take their first step into adulthood."
At least 10 7th years from each table sniffed sadly. They couldn't help but think about how quickly these years had gone by for them.
"There is not much I can say," Dumbledore said, "But tuck-"
James grinned
"-in."
A loud explosion occurred throughout the whole school.
All the desks in every one of the classrooms rammed themselves into a wall, shattering into pieces. The walls began to break as the desks did this.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD-!" A Slytherin called.
Meanwhile, in the trophy room, all trophies that Slytherins had won throughout the 7 years exploded. Also, the semi-new statues that the Slytherins begged for during 4th year turned to ice before melting, causing a miniature flood to flow throughout the 3rd floor.
"ORDER," Madame Pince yelled. "QUIET PLEASE!"
Every book that each of the seventh years had to borrow to do an essay in the library burst into flames, as did the sign on the Library Door that read Quiet, please.
"It's Potter!" Snape yelled, pointing at the Gryffindor Table. "It's Potter!"
On cue, all the Slytherins were thrown up into the air by pillars of water. It was quite entertaining to watch them struggle to get down.
As all the students watched in enchantment, James jumped onto his feet, raising his goblet over his head and yelled out, "3 CHEERS FOR HOGWARTS!"
The students that weren't in Slytherin raised their own goblets over their heads and cheered.
Dumbledore joined them, his eyes twinkling with laughter.
=+=
"Well, that was just as entertaining as we thought it would be," Sirius sighed. He thrust himself into the back of the horseless carriage. The rest of the group squeezed themselves in.
When the carriage began to move, James threw the door open and poked his head out, careful not to fall off the carriage. "HEY, PROFESSOR KETTLEBURN!!" Professor Kettleburn looked at him. "DO YOU REMEMBER THAT TIME YOU COMPARED US TO ALL THE PLANTS IN HOGWARTS DURING 3rd YEAR?" He continued to stare. "YOU MAY STILL THINK THEY'RE SMARTER THAN US, BUT I CAN TELL YOU ONE THING!"
"WHAT'S THAT, POTTER?" Professor Kettleburn snarled.
"WE'RE ALIVE!" Over half of the trees in Hogwarts exploded.
"SEE YA!" James called, as he flipped them off for one last goodbye.
=End Chapter=