Chapter 60
Remus was ready to leave and secured the little package in the pocket of his robes.
They are so going to regret it.
He took the floo network to headquarters and held his eyes open for his friends. "Hello Remus" a deep voice suddenly boomed behind him.
"Hello Hagrid, have you already heard the good news?" Remus greeted the half-giant.
"What news?" was all Hagrid could say before Sirius cut him off and shooed both of them into the kitchen.
Molly and Lily had excelled themselves. The whole room was beautifully decorated. A large Christmas tree was standing close to the fireplace, several candles, with holly around, bathed the room in a cosy light and mistletoe was hanging over the door. Several Santa figures floated under the ceiling, making funny noises and throwing fake snow at the guests.
A big sign had been placed next to one of the cupboards, shouting "Merry Christmas" in several different languages; definitely a work of Fred and George.
Hagrid eyed the mistletoe suspiciously, but soon he was engaged in a conversation with Professor Flitwick.
Even Lady Tanya's portrait had been removed from the bathroom and was now hanging over the fireplace. Her frame was nicely decorated with tinsel and green and she looked very pleased with it. Her red, Indian style, dress made her looks very exotic and matched the Christmas decoration of the kitchen in color.
Kimberly was taking care of the punch, while Molly finished arranging the center piece of holly and ivy.
Sirius beckoned Hagrid over to a group of armchairs and chuckled.
"How is everything at Hogwarts?"
"Oh the same ole, as always. Though I'm a bit concerned 'bout Professor Snape. Poor lad. Had no idea how them got in ter his closet."
Everybody else would have had no idea what Hagrid was talking about, but Sirius had a good guess.
"Hagrid, I would like you to meet someone. He's out there in the hallway with Harry. You wouldn't mind if I bring him in?"
The half-giant stared flabbergasted at the dark-haired wizard. "Ye have tried that punch already, have ye? Since when do ye have ter ask me what ye can do in yer own house"
Sirius was grinning all over his face as he left the kitchen. Carefully, trying not to wake his mother this time, he beckoned Harry and his friends to come inside.
Hagrid looked slightly confused at the group that was entering. Harry was leading, followed by Ron, Hermione, the two sets of twins, Ginny and Zara. Then at the end there was a person in a long black cloak, the hood drawn deep in his face.
Hagrid figured that it was a man, due to the way he was carrying himself.
The cloaked figure reminded him very much of the dementors in Azkaban, but he didn't feel the terrible chilling sensation that he had experienced during his short time in prison.
After hugging and welcoming the students, he stretched out his enormous hand to greet the person, but he wouldn't move.
"Strange feller are ye?" Hagrid said, slightly angry about the rude behavior
"Oh don't worry, he's not used to a lot of company. He's a little shy" Sirius said pitifully and padded the figures back. The figured nodded sadly and Hagrid sighed "No offence, mate. I know how yer feel. Yer among great people her. Have yer met Dumbledore?"
Before Hagrid could start praising Albus Dumbledore, which everybody knew could take a while, Sirius nudged the figure and said "You can show your face; nobody is going to hurt you"
The figure shook his head forcefully.
"It's ok, yer among friends." Hagrid encouraged the stranger. He didn't see how Harry and Ron were holding on to each other, holding back the laughter. The others tried very hard to maintain a serious atmosphere, but they didn't know how much longer they would be able to hold on.
Then when the stranger finally lowered his hood, Hagrid jumped off the chair and fell right on to poor Professor Flitwick, who had the misfortune to stand behind him.
The half-giant glared at James in pure horror until he heard the muffled squeaks of Flitwick.
He shifted his weight off of the tiny wizard and mumbled absentmindedly "'cuse me Professor. Didn't squash ye, did I?"
Professor Flitwick didn't answer but crawled anxiously out of Hagrid's reach.
The half-giant got up from the floor and towered over James and Sirius, who were standing in front of him. They recognized the grim expression on Hagrid's face and that had wiped off the mischievous grin on their faces.
"I know yer not James, so who the hell are ye?" Hagrid bellowed and suddenly all the talking in the kitchen stopped.
Harry, who had recognized that his father and godfather might have gone a little too far this time, turned towards Hagrid and explained quickly what had happened.
The gamekeeper started swaying terribly during Harry's narrative, so Hermione and Ginny decided to push him gently back into the armchair, before someone would seriously get hurt, should Hagrid collapse.
"Oh my god Ja...ha...ha...mes" Hagrid started sobbing after Harry had finished. Large tears formed in his beetle-black eyes and started falling freely on the floor.
Ron jumped backwards when a huge tear splashed on his feet and wetted his dress robes.
Hagrid had left his armchair and was now hugging James fiercely. "Oh it's so goo...hoo...hood ter see ye"
James was gasping for air now and Sirius tried to free his friend from the tight embrace before he ran out of air.
The floor was flooded from the gamekeeper's tears and nobody seemed to be able to calm Hagrid. "Hagrid, you should release him now" Fred chuckled and the half-giant let go.
James breathed heavily and soon his almost blue face returned to its normal color. The half-giant seized a handkerchief of the size of a tablecloth from his pocket and dabbed his eyes.
"Where's Lily" was all he could utter before the sobs started to get worse again.
Harry pointed at the door that led to the hallway and there she was.
"Aw, Hagrid, my dear. You don't need to cry. Everything is ok."
Lily walked over to the half-giant and soon her delicate figure all but disappeared in Hagrid's hair, beard and robes.
"Oh I'm just so ha..ha..happy"
Lily freed herself from Hagrid and looked at him pitifully.
"Blow your nose... yes that's it... Very good. So now sit down here and have a drink. You'll feel better instantly"
Zara hurried over to Mrs Weasley and soon she returned with a tankard, the size of a bucket, filled with butterbeer.
Hagrid drained it in one big gulp and soon the sobs and the shaking lessened.
"Dirty... all those creatures... those dirty creatures... in my Misses' house... can't take that anymore" the old house-elf mumbled angrily as he dried the floor.
He failed when he tried to carry Hagrid's handkerchief away with the tips of his fingers. It was just too big and soaking wet, so he had to drag it behind him.
They all started laughing at the house-elf's behavior and finally the strained atmosphere seemed to have ended.
Remus had stayed back during the whole situation and had watched it from a distance.
He felt for Hagrid and he knew how shocked he was after their little game. He had felt the same this afternoon.
"Good evening Professor Snape and a merry Christmas" Molly cheered as Severus entered the kitchen. She took his cloak and showed him his place at the huge kitchen table.
Snape nodded politely and sat down.
Mrs Weasley called everybody over to the table for the dinner.
When everybody was settled, Albus addressed them.
"My dear friends, I hope you all enjoy this marvellous meal. Molly and Lily have outdone themselves. Let this feast be dedicated to love and peace before we have to face the dark future. Tuck in!"
Ron's plate was full before Dumbledore had sat down again.
"Severus, are you not hungry tonight?" Kimberly said with a concerned voice as she looked at his almost empty plate.
"No." he growled. He knew he would not enjoy this evening and today's events had darkened his already gloomy mood immensely.
Kimberly was put out by his answer. Why did he always have to be so unfriendly? It was Christmas after all.
The rest however seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly.
Everybody was savoring the delicious meal and was chatting animatedly.
The roast turkey with cranberry sauce was soon gone and the guest were ready to try all the different desserts.
Lady Tanya was looking greedily at the excellent chocolate cake and the ice cream.
"Please, Albus, pleeeeeeeeease! Let me out, just for tonight" she begged. "I promise I will behave."
Dumbledore chuckled andsaid "You know how much havoc you caused last time. I don't want to see that repeated."
Lady Tanya gave him her best puppy dog eyes and finally Albus deferred.
He pointed his wand at the picture and the painting's surface blurred.
A moment later Lady Tanya, in her pretty red dress, was hugging Albus happily.
"Thank you, my dear" she whispered and sat down between Severus and Sirius.
Her eyes scanned the room for mistletoe and she pondered whom she was going to trap under it while she ate up chocolate cake together with ice cream.
"Oh soooo good" she sighed, trying not to mess up her dress.
Remus, who was sitting next to Severus, thought it was about time for his little surprise.
"Severus", he said calmly. "I found this in my classroom today. Can you tell me what this is? I thought it might fall in your subject"
Snape eyed the box suspiciously. Then he glared at Potter and Black, but they seemed to look very surprised as well.
Against his better judgement, he lifted the lit and...
BOOM
The box exploded and covered Snape in a cloud of pink smoke.
After the smoke cleared, everybody started laughing hysterically.
Lady Tanya handed Snape the little mirror out of her handbag with shaking hands.
Severus grabbed the mirror and was shocked.
His hair was pink and his face was covered with very ugly make-up. Green eye shadow, blood-red lipstick and fake eyelashes made him look like a transvestite.
That was just too much. Severus had thought that this day couldn't get worse and then this.
He turned around and growled "Lupin!"
Remus chuckled and looked at Severus' outstretched hands "Before you strangle me, you should have a look at what's in the box"
Severus grunted something intelligible and rummaged in the little box.
Everybody was staring at him, curious to see what Remus had given him.
"You look good in your new look" Sirius sneered. "Definitely an improvement. That was a good one Remus"
"Yes you truly proved that you're a marauder" James agreed.
"I wouldn't praise me just yet, if I were you" Remus grinned and beckoned Snape to show the content of the box.
Severus was reaching inside the box and placed a black orb, the size of an orange, on the table.
"Where did you get one of those?" Kimberly gasped when she recognized what it was.
"What is that?" Kelsey wondered.
"I think it's a memory marble" Hermione exclaimed.
"Very good, Hermione. Do you know what it's good for?" Remus said proudly.
"Oh I know what it's good for" Ginny spoke up. "Bill once got one of those from a pen-friend. You can put a certain memory in it and give to someone to view it."
"Exactly" the werewolf smiled mischievously as he recognized the uneasy look on James' and Sirius' faces.
"Now what memory is that?" Ron asked curiously.
"Turn the marble on, Severus, and we will know it in a minute" Albus suggested and Severus flicked his wand at the crystal orb.
Something that looked like a huge soap bubble rose from the memory marble and hovered over the table for everyone to see.
This memory is brought to you by
Mudbrain's Memory-restoration Medication
"I hate these advertisements" Sirius said impatiently, and then all of a sudden he became very quiet
"Oh my god Sirius! Please tell me he's not doing what I think he's doing!"
"Oh my dear James, I'm doing JUST that" Remus confirmed impishly.
"And to make sure that you both are going to watch all of it, I have to take some precautions.
With a simple spell he attached their behinds firmly to their seats and made sure they couldn't turn their eyes away from the big bubble.
"Play!" he then shouted and everybody could see the Hogwarts Lake on the bubble-screen.
"What's that all about?" Kimberly said confusedly, but Lily just giggled and replied "You will see. Just watch and enjoy the show"
They were talking about how funny it looked when Snape had been turned upside down and James couldn't understand why Lily was always stood up for him.
"He so deserved it" said the 5th year James while he continued to play with the snitch.
"It was so funny when he floated there upside down showing his skinny legs and his dirty knickers." Wormtail giggled.
James and Sirius were roaring again with laughter as they settled down next to Remus, who was reading in one of the school books.
Back at the Christmas party, Snape was wondering what else he would have to endure today and regretted thoroughly that he didn't stay at home that night. At least the wretched werewolf had saved him from another embarrassment tonight. The scene which had happened before was not a part of this memory.
Nobody in the room dared to laugh about the comments in the memory marble after they had seen Snape's hateful expression.
The 15 year old James was playing with the snitch, letting it escape a little bit further each time. They all knew he was trying to impress Lily, who was sitting at the lake not very far away.
She was just moving her hair out of her face, which looked so enchanting that James fingers took a moment too long to close around the little flying ball and it escaped.
Sirius and Wormtail's eyes followed the snitch as it flew away and entangled itself in the branches of a weeping willow.
"How are we going to get it down there?" Sirius asked desperately as they walked up to the tree.
James tried several spells, but nothing happened. The snitch was stuck.
"Evans! Could you give us a hand?" Sirius asked Lily, who looked at them curiously.
"Not in thousand years am I going to help you to get back that silly thing. It might teach you a lesson to stop showing off."
The grown up Lily at the Christmas party laughed hysterically as she remembered what happened next.
Sirius and James however glared daggers at Remus, who was grinning widely, obviously enjoying his little prank.The 15 year old James and Sirius were now at their wits end.
"We have to climb up there and get it." James exclaimed. "I take the left side and you come from the right, in case it gets free and tries to escape"
Sirius nodded and they climbed up the tree.
"Why did it have to get up that high?" Sirius panted when he had almost reached the top of the willow.
"Stupid snitch" James said angrily. "Can you reach ... AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH"
Sirius watched terrified as the branch, James was sitting on, broke and his friend fell head forward into the lake.
"Jaaaaames" he yelled and dashed forward, trying to reach him, but the only result was that he followed James into the water.
Remus and Pettigrew had arrived at the water just moments later and were calling for their friends, but the surface of the lake remained calm. Sirius and James were nowhere to be seen.
Wormtail was frantically running back and forth, wringing his hands "We have to find them! They're drowning!"
Remus didn't take it that serious. "They're both excellent swimmers"
Then the surface was rippling and a pale slimy ball appeared.
Pettigrew was screaming now "The giant squid! The giant squid has munched them! HELP! HELP!"
"Shut up, Wormtail! Nothing happened. We're fine" Sirius growled.
Lily had joined the rest of the marauders at the lake and was now howling with laughter.
"Didn't know that you can ride a squid, Potter. And you look so good adorned with pond-weed and algae"
James and Sirius were now gliding from the back of the squid. Back on dry land they tried a cleaning spell, but it was no use.
The mud and plants just seemed to stick to their robes and hair.
"Stop laughing Evans! That's not funny" Sirius growled as he pulled some of the weed decoration off his head.
Then a tentacle of the squid appeared from the lake and stroked Sirius cheek. The dark-haired boy shuddered terribly under the wet, cold touch.
"Looks like you found yourself a girlfriend, Black?" Lily sneered as she watched Sirius stomping off back to the castle.
"Very funny Evans, very funny" James said angrily as he followed Sirius.
"Yeah, funny" Wormtail echoed.
Lily looked after the boys, who were totally wet. Their clothes were covered with water plants and their shoes made smacking noises with every step.
While Wormtail followed his friends, Remus stayed a little back and watched Lily.
She turned towards the willow and flicked her wand. The snitch slipped off the branch and flew right into her hand.
"This should teach them a lesson" she laughed and made her way back to the school.
The bubble disappeared and Remus discretely put the orb back in the box.
Everybody was laughing hysterically while Sirius and James just sat there looking totally crestfallen.
Then James turned around and glared at his wife. "It was you! You all along...you were the reason I couldn't get that snitch out of the tree with my wand." "And you somehow blocked the cleaning spells we casted on our robes" Sirius added angrily.
"Remus! You're so going to pay for that!" they both yelled in unison.
"I just wanted to show you that you're not the only pranksters around here"