Rating: PG-13
Summary: Start of term feast and whatever else I want to put in. *smirks*
A/N: Yo! Sup homies? I'm in a great mood. I got 5 inches cut off my hair today, and I think it's gone to my brain. Anyway, thanks to my reviewers! Those being: Queen of Drag, fiery-eyed-elf, hi, katesparrow, and wanna-be an elf writer. Thanks for reviewing! Oh, and check out fiery-eyed-elf's story. It rocks!
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The compartment containing the Marauders had been complete chaos since the train had departed. Of course, Remus had attempted to work on some of his studies, to which Sirius had snatched the book away, and James had lit it on fire. Remus, fuming, hexed them, and so the typical Hogwarts festivities began... Marauder style.
The only interruption had been one of Remus's new pranking spells going horribly wrong, sending Peter, the guinea pig, smashing through the door and flying into the next train car. Sirius had promptly trotted in to retrieve him, said his greetings to his newest enigma (Addison), and had returned looking perplexed.
"Something wrong, Padfoot?" James asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Sirius blinked, and then grinned doggishly at his best friend. "Nothing at all, Prongs. Just zoned out for a minute there." James accepted this answer, knowing full-well that Sirius was prone to losing focus for several minutes at a time. He had his suspicions that his friend was slightly ADD.
Peter, however, regarded his friend warily. He didn't know who this Addison was that Sirius had just been talking to, and he wondered how Sirius knew her. He had the nagging feeling that he was keeping a secret from the rest of them, but shrugged it off when Padfoot's playful exuberance returned.
"You do realize, my dear chaps, that we have no Start- Of- Term Prank planned this year," Sirius pointed out in what he hoped to be an impression of an old gentlemen.
"Why, Mr. Black, I do believe you have made a valid point," James replied, joining in.
"For once," Remus muttered under his breath. Peter sniggered.
"Then we absolutely must set about planning. Are you with us Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew?" Sirius inquired, eyes sparkling with mischief.
Remus and Peter exchanged a look, and then Remus rolled his eyes. "We'll be ready shortly, Mr. Black," he consented, and the four pranksters began their plans.
* (A/N: Short time jump... damn, how I hate Peter. It's a pain including him.)
As was customary at the beginning of each new term at Hogwarts, the Great Hall was aroar with loud, happy voices. The floating candles were present as they always were, and the enchanted ceiling was an inky, midnight color filled with stars. Nostalgia settled on the hearts of most.
Addison sat with her friends at the end of the Ravenclaw table, lost in thought. She barely registered that there were new first years settling themselves down, and remained oblivious to all of the whistling and cheering coming from each of the House tables. Her friends were chattering animatedly across from her; they were clearly used to her bouts of silence.
"Hi. I'm Ian Ziller."
Addison snapped back to the present, and noticed the small first year sitting next to her. She smiled politely. "Addison Freeborn." She introduced herself. He gave her a nod, and began talking to the third year on his other side. Addison looked up to see her friends smirking at her, and she rolled her eyes.
"This is a record," Virginia teased. "Addi is actually talking to someone on the first night! A first year no less!" She shoved some potatoes in her mouth.
"Ha ha ha. Very funny," Addison scowled. "Did it ever occur to the two of you that I might have something important to think about?"
"You? Something important? Never!" Dora and Virginia burst into laughter.
"I swear..." Addison mumbled good naturedly under her breath. She grabbed a roll from the basket, and, in a momentary spell of recklessness, threw it at Dora. She sniggered at Dora's gaping expression.
"Oh. You did not just do that!" Dora squealed, and made to throw something back, when she was slammed in the face by a handful of peas. Virginia and Addison exchanged high fives across the table.
Dora opened and shut her mouth a few times, while Addison stole some ice from Ian Ziller's glass.
Out of nowhere, a huge ruckus was heard from the Slytherin table. Addison looked over in surprise, and what she saw caused her to burst out laughing, along with the rest of the Great Hall. It appeared the Marauders were at it again. This time they had outdone themselves.
Currently, everyone at the table was sporting hair that was either a nasty shade of maroon or a violent hue of neon yellow, and the only thing they could say sounded suspiciously like "Grease the greasy Slytherin gits, Go Gryffindor!". The ones yelling this the loudest were Malfoy and Snape, the two biggest, in Addison's opinion, gits in the school. Malfoy glared coldly at the Gryffindor table, and Snape looked as if he was going to either curl up and die of embarrassment, or commit a cold blooded murder in the middle of the Great Hall.
The horrid singing voices reached a crescendo before Professor Dumbledore could end the prank. In the mean time, the four Marauders were singing right along with the outraged Slytherin's, looking pleasantly pleased with themselves. Addison saw red-haired Lily Evans trying her hardest not to laugh, but erupted in a peal of giggles despite herself.
Finally, Dumbledore got everything under control, and there was a strained silence as he peered mildly around the Hall. Suppressed titters could be heard every now and then, but other than that the students were doing a great job with containing themselves. After a time, Dumbledore spoke.
"I see that the first years have been officially welcome into the school. I'm sure they feel right at home now that Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Pettigrew have regaled us with their superior abilites." At this the Slytherin table scowled at Dumbledore, but he remained oblivious. "Unfortunately, I feel it was at your expense. I'm sure Professor McGonagall would like a word with you after dinner." His blue eyes twinkled at the four mischief makers, and Sirius winked at him.
He continued with the usual start of term announcements, and then bade them all goodnight and sweet dreams. Addison, a prefect, began to usher the first years to the Ravenclaw dorms. The excitement from the dinner had expelled their initial nervousness, and now they were chattering amiably and making new friends. Addison distinctly remembered that her nervousness had lasted for at least half of her first year. She envied these students slightly for that.
After getting her charges settled, Addison sunk down in her four-poster bed. Her other dorm mates were already asleep; she could hear their steady breathing and snores. Smiling, she couldn't help but think it was great to be back for another year. As unpopular and unnoticed as she was, she still considered Hogwarts to be her second home.
After several more minutes of reflective thought (which she did a lot of), she came to the conclusion that she would make this year different. For five terms she had hidden in her shell behind her stacks of books, and now she decided she would push those books to the side. It was her sixth year, and she was going to take advantage of it. The wheels in her head turning, she began to form the foundations of a plan- one that involved her physical appearance. She sincerely hoped her friends would go for it.
Several minutes later, she drifted off to sleep.
*
Sirius was feeling slightly giddy and was not in the least bit tired. In fact, he felt as if he could stay up all night. His three friends were in about the same state of mind, even Remus.
"I think this calls for a celebration!" Sirius exclaimed, bouncing up and down on his bed.
James smirked. "This marks the fifth year of getting detention on the first night back. We have outdone ourselves mates."
"The look on their faces was priceless," Remus chuckled. "Too bad we only have one more year after this."
This statement put a slight damper on their good spirits, but like usual, Sirius managed to restore the air of festivity. "Moony, lighten up a bit. We have all of this year until then, and by the time we leave, McGonagall won't know which way's up."
"You say that every year, Padfoot. And every year we end up with a record amount of detentions that always surpasses our amount from the previous year." Remus couldn't help but smile at this.
"What we need now is firewhiskey," James announced, and Peter and Remus winced slightly. "Oh come on. What's it going to hurt?"
"Don't you think it would be obvious when we come to class tomorrow hung over?" Peter asked, and Remus nodded in agreement.
"Just because the two of you can't hold your liquor means that you can ruin it for the rest of us. Besides, we weren't planning on drinking that much anyway," Sirius protested.
"Famous last words," Moony muttered, and they all laughed.
James rifled through his trunk for a couple of minutes before finding a bottle of the fiery liquid. "Here it is," he said, and twisted off the cap.
"I say we propose a toast," Sirius suggested suddenly in a moment of what he considered to be brilliance.
"Good idea. To what?" James asked. Remus frowned in disapproval.
They pondered over this for several moments. "I propose a toast to the best damn sixth year ever. May the school survive," Sirius said finally.
"Here here," Remus, Peter, and James murmured in agreement, and they each took a swig, Peter spluttering and coughing slightly. The four friends sat in companionable silence. "Where's John?" Peter asked suddenly, shattering the contemplative silence. He was speaking of their other room-mate who didn't much care for the randomness of the Marauders.
James rolled his eyes. "Obviously not here, nor do I honestly care."
Sirius stretched, and laid back on his bed. "Thanks for ruining the mood, Wormtail." Peter blushed slightly.
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A/N: Did you like? I certainly hope so. I worked fairly hard on it. Once again I ask you to please review. I see readers on my author alert list, and it's slightly depressing to know that you read but don't review. I feel under-appreciated. *smirks* Naw. But drop a review, and you'll make my day. Plus you'll make me want to update faster, savvy?
Until next time,
~TheSiriusSparrow~