Disclaimer: If Harry Potter were mine, don't you think I'd be rich and living in England right now?

James was groggy the next morning, having woken up early to complete the plans for a prank with Sirius and Remus. He pulled on his robes after taking a long, hot shower, for which Sirius promised to pay him back. After all, climbing in to wake up with water as cold as ice wasn't something very high on Sirius' list of things he enjoyed.

The three made their way down to the Great hall, as Peter had woken up late. They slid into their seats, spotting Lily, Robin, and Jordan sitting farther down the table and chatting away happily.

Suddenly, Sirius nudged James in the ribs. "One second, mate," he said softly, unable to keep the smirk off his handsome face.

James grinned as well and turned to nonchalantly watch the Slytherin table.

A few seconds later, after each of the Slytherins had taken a drink from their goblet, an odd kind of peace dawned on each of them, and no one spoke. Glazed looks were on all of their faces, as if they were in a dream world. Slowly, the chatter of the hall died away as everyone turned to face the normally gabby students, sneaking whispers to one another of what had happened to them. Not that anyone minded, of course. It was a rare thing to see a Slytherin silent, and a treat indeed.

Finally, there was no sound in the Great Hall, save for the occasional hooting of the owls.

Suddenly, Malfoy stood up. "My name is Draco Malfoy," he declared. "And I still sleep with my stuffed bear."

A wave of shock was sent barreling through the students, save for the Marauders, who were smirking and trying their hardest not to laugh.

Snape stood up next. "My name is Severus Snape," he yelled. "And I'm jealous of Sirius Black for his long, glossy locks."

Sirius couldn't contain himself. He burst out laughing.

Only then did the rest of the congregation realize that the Slytherins were revealing some of their deepest secrets. As it went on, many of the students couldn't help but giggle, which quickly turned into boisterous laughter that filled the hall.

Peter stumbled into the Great Hall, and upon seeing the Slytherin's confessions, began laughing uncontrollably.

Professor Dumbledore, supervising from the staff table, couldn't keep the merriment out of his voice. A rich, deep chuckle resounded from his throat and the ever-present twinkle was as bright as ever.

Professor Crudele looked as if he could murder every single student who dared to mock his house.

Professor McGonagall rose from her seat and murmured a quick incantation, but to her dismay, the process kept repeating. Looking flustered, she recited more and more, none of which had any effect. She eventually gave up, flopping into her seat and looking defeated.

Finally, once every Slytherin student had spoken, they all sat down and the glazed look vanished.

Malfoy figured out what happened first. His face red with pure embarrassment, he marched over to the Marauders, his gray eyes ablaze with hatred.

"You think you're so clever," he hissed. "We'll see if it's true. Meet me in the dungeons tonight at eleven."

James looked bored. "What if I don't feel like it?" he asked.

Malfoy grinned. "Then you'll prove how big a coward you really are," he replied.

James jerked up in his seat. His eyes narrowed, he nodded. "I'll see you there," he replied.

A smile of satisfaction gracing his lips, Malfoy marched from the Great Hall, trying to regain what little dignity he had left.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Black! Mr. Lupin! Mr. Pettigrew!" barked Professor McGonagall. "Report to the staff table this instant!"

Grinning with satisfaction, the four rose from their seats and marched down to the table, waving to applauding students and ecstatic girls.

Lily rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like, "Egotistical jerk."

Jordan smiled. "You have to admit, that was cool," she commented.

Robin grinned. "Yeah, Lily. You know that the prank was funny, just admit it," she insisted.

Lily groaned. "That was a mean thing to do!" she replied indignantly. "They shouldn't have done it!"

Jordan sighed. "You liked it," she stated.

Lily's eyes widened in shock. Before she could come up with a snappy comeback, the guys returned.

"We've got detention for a week!" Sirius announced proudly.

Robin and Jordan chuckled. "You say that like it's a good thing," Robin commented.

James grinned. "Well, we have a contest going to see how many detentions each of us can get by the end of our schooling," he explained.

Lily crossed her arms. "Who's leading?" she asked.

James glanced sidelong at Sirius. "Sirius and I are tied at 748," he explained.

"749," Sirius corrected him.

Lily groaned. "I should have known," she commented dryly.

Remus shouldered his bag. "Let's go. We've got herbology first," he said. Robin quickly caught up to him and began chatting about Quidditch and any future pranks that would be pulled.

Jordan shook her head. "Seems like she really likes him," she commented.

Sirius grinned. "Looks like Lupin's the lucky one," he added.

Jordan rolled her eyes and started off.

Sirius was puzzled at her action. "Why'd you shake you're head?" he asked.

Jordan sighed. "No reason at all, except for the fact that you never think about anything but girls," she replied, keeping her eyes forward as she strolled from the hall.

"I do too!" Sirius contradicted.

Jordan turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow curiously. "Is that so?" she asked.

Sirius nodded. "I think about pranks," he replied, somewhat proud of his statement.

Jordan sighed. "Thank you, Sirius. You just proved how low-key your brains really are," she muttered.

Sirius grabbed her arm. "What is your problem?" he demanded.

Jordan wrenched her arm from his grip. "Nothing," she snapped.

"Then why do you constantly bother me and get under my skin? Why do you always contradict me and try to make me mad?"

Jordan narrowed her eyes. "I don't have to answer," she replied coldly, and marched off.

Lily suddenly appeared. "Nice going, Black," she said sarcastically.

Sirius gapped. "I did nothing to her!" he cried. "She started it all!"

James frowned. "I don't doubt it," he added.

Lily glared at him. "Shut up, Potter," she hissed.

James glared at her retreating back, Sirius seething beside him. "Sirius?"

"Yeah, mate?"

"I don't understand women."

"Neither do I."

------------------

Herbology went smoothly, which turned out to be a large miracle, considering that Lily and Jordan continued to glare at James and Sirius, who returned the angry looks tenfold. Remus, Robin, and Peter tried to mediate the situation, but quickly gave up and resigned to listening to the professor and secretly eating pieces of chocolate.

Finally, class was over, with an essay on gillyweed due on Wednesday.

Lily, Jordan, and Robin were all walking up to the castle ahead of the boys when a large, black owl swooped down and landed on Jordan's shoulder. The color instantly drained from her face. Shakily, she untied the letter from the owl's leg and opened it.

"What's it say?" Lily asked.

Jordan quickly stuffed the letter in her bag. "My aunt's really sick," she mumbled. "I have to go."

Lily's eyes widened. "What?" she asked.

Jordan nodded. "She hasn't been doing well for a while, but her condition's gotten worse. I have to go see her."

Lily and Robin nodded sympathetically before watching their friend run up the steps of Hogwarts to leave. Unfortunately, they forgot to keep walking, making it all too easy for the boys to catch up to them.

"What was that about? Get a call from her boyfriend?" Sirius asked irritably.

Lily glared at him. "Her aunt is sick," she snapped.

Sirius fell silent. "Sorry," he muttered.

James nodded. "Hey, Lillian, I could use some help in charms. Care to tutor me?"

Lily glared at him, her green eyes ablaze. "Have Remus help you," she shot back.

"But he can't give me the help I need."

Lily's temper hit the roof. "Stupefy!" she shrieked, hitting James square in the chest.

"Bloody hell, Evans!" he barked, nursing his chest. "I only meant he's too busy helping Peter! For God's sake! There was no dirty meaning behind it!"

Lily couldn't help but smile. "Sorry, Potter," she apologized sarcastically. "Oh, and we aren't on a first name basis," she added.

James glared at her, watching her walk off into the castle.

Robin shook her head. "End the feud and ask her out, James," she said.

"Trust me, he's tried," Remus explained. "It only makes things worse."

Robin sighed. "James, you make things hard on yourself."

"Shut up!"

------------------

Lily, somehow, got wind of Malfoy's challenge. That night in the common room when the Marauders were studying, she marched over and tapped James on the shoulder.

He turned around in his chair, surprised, but not terribly shocked.

"So, Evans, thought about reconsidering my offer to take you to Hogsmeade?" he asked.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Keep dreaming, Potter," she replied. "I came to stop you from meeting Malfoy tonight," she replied.

James narrowed his eyes. "No," he replied.

Lily was taken aback, but didn't stumble with her next sentence. "Why not? You'll lose points for Gryffindor! Don't start this now!"

James looked down at his hands, a rogue smile covering his face. "Worried about me that much Evans?" he asked softly.

Lily's eyes flashed, and before James knew it, she had whacked him hard on the back of the head.

"BLOODY HELL, EVANS!" he yelled, nursing his sore head. "HAVEN'T YOU HIT ME ENOUGH TODAY?"

"No." With that, another loud, "OW!" could be heard resounding through the common room. Only the first years seemed interested, while the rest of the students were used to it; Lily always hit James when he was being stupid, so it had become a daily occurrence.

James glared angrily at Lily. "You can forget my ever listening to you, Evans!" he declared, artfully dodging another blow and sprinting upstairs.

Seething, Lily headed up to her own dormitory, slamming the door in the process.

Peter looked at Remus. "What's up with them?" he asked.

Remus sighed. "Sometimes, it's better not to ask questions, Peter," he explained, going back to his homework.

------------------

James made his way down to the dungeons silently. He wrapped the invisibility cloak tighter around him, trying to fend off the chill that seemed to flood the castle at night. He turned the corner, hugging the wall. He didn't want to take the chance of being caught; not tonight. He had a score to settle with Malfoy. Though he knew he was more than capable of such a feat, he still felt the burning desire to see the look of hatred and disappointment on Malfoy's pointed face.

The dungeons were silent and empty, devoid of any life for the moment. James shuddered. He wasn't afraid. The great James Potter was never afraid of anything. But the dungeons were just...eerie. Reluctantly, he removed his cloak, knowing that Malfoy wouldn't show for a few more minutes. He laid the cloak on the floor and turned around, only to see Malfoy's gray eyes piercing the darkness.

"Potter."

"Malfoy."

"Let's begin."

James nodded, gripping his wand tightly. They walked forward and then turned around back to back. Taking the proper amount of steps out, James whirled around and fired off his first curse.

"Stupefy!" he cried, faintly remembering that it was the exact same spell Lily had used on him that very morning.

Malfoy quickly used a Shield charm and fought back with the Jelly leg's curse.

James narrowly dodged the attack and quickly fired off his own. The two went back and forth, firing and dodging, until both were weary. James had been affected by the Leg-Locker curse, and had hit Malfoy with the Stunning charm. Both were exhausted, and needed to do something to end the fight. Suddenly, Malfoy smiled. Out of the shadows stepped Snape and Lestrange, another crony of Malfoy's.

James' eyes widened, but narrowed quickly. He should have known that Malfoy would pull something like this. A clean fight wasn't something that he would allow.

Snape's lip curled maliciously. "Time for a taste of your own medicine, Potter," he declared, raising his wand.

Suddenly, James heard someone scream, "Protego!" The next thing he knew, the spell had bounced harmlessly off the shield and back at Snape.

James whirled around, only to find his cousin and Sirius step out from behind a small clutter of desks, their wands raised. His eyes widened when he saw his cousin wearing a tank top and shorts. Very revealing. And with Sirius...he didn't want to think about it.

Malfoy glared at James. "Didn't trust me?"

"Why should I when you brought your own?" James snapped back.

Malfoy was about to shoot a comeback at him when Sirius announced that Filch was coming.

"Let's go," he added urgently.

James nodded and ducked under the cloak, pulled his cousin in beside him. Together, the three wove their way through the Hogwart halls, careful to avoid any and all teachers patrolling. They made it back to the common room just before one, tired and wanting to sleep.

But James had questions.

"Why the bloody hell did you guys come?" he demanded.

Robin winced. "We heard about the fight," she explained, "and I thought that Malfoy would pull something foul, so I convinced Sirius to lend me the map, but he wouldn't let me come alone to help just in case."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE MAP?" James demanded angrily.

"Remus told me."

Sighing in defeat, James frowned and turned to Sirius, who held his hands up in surrender. "You know how I'm a sucker for pleading," he said.

James groaned. "Brilliant, Sirius," he applauded sarcastically.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Be thankful we came, James. You would be in a world of hurt if we hadn't."

James sighed in defeat. "You're right," he muttered. "Thanks, guys."

Robin smiled and gave her cousin a hug. "Anytime, James," she said, and hurried up the dormitory stairs to bed.

Sirius grinned. "Well, let's go, mate. Early morning tomorrow."

James nodded. "By the way," he added, "Good job on the prank."

Sirius grinned. "I owe it all to Remus," he replied, earning a laugh from James.

Hey! I'm back! I've had almost no free time at all. I'm sorry!

Reviews:

o scorched eggy: WTF?! HOW DID YOU GET THAT HE LIKES ROBIN?! HE'S PROTECTIVE OF HIS COUSIN! It's like...well, how would you feel if I dated your brother? Or a cousin? Would you want to hear ANY details of the relationship? I don't think so.

piffluvsu: WOOHOO, COOKIE! eats cookie Thank you! No constructive criticism? That's ok. Ashley made up for you with an email...CHEESE! WOOHOO! I mean...oh no.

A/N: If you have any ideas that could be used for pranks, please let me know. I have a pretty good one in mind, but feel free to let me know of any others that you think of.

PLEASE, R&R!

---Jojo---