Disclaimer - It's not mine. It never was.

A/N - Alrighty, on with the story. Enjoy peeps. Oh, by the way, I'm warning everyone ahead of time: There is a lengthy description of Sable's costume for the ball in this chapter. Feel free to skip over it. It won't deter from the chapter I promise. I was just asked by someone to write out the description, and there it is. Sorry, later.

MAJOR THANKS TO THE PERSON THAT SENT ME THE COPY OF THIS STORY FROM THE FIRST TIME I POSTED IT. I DON'T KNOW IF SHE WANTS HER NAME MENTIONED, BUT SHE KNOWS WHO SHE IS. THANKS TO HER, I'M ABLE TO POST A BUNCH OF CHAPTERS AT ONE TIME, THUS GETTING THIS STORY BACK TO WHERE IT WAS. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Gowns, Pranks, and Quidditch

Sable and Lily joined the boys at the Gryffindor table the next morning with smiles on their faces. James noticed that they were fairly bouncing off the walls with energy, and found it disturbing. Neither of them were usually morning people. Remus was even curious as to how Sable had amassed so much energy from the time dinner had ended the evening before.

"Uh.. Lily," he asked, "Is everything alright?" Lily smiled and nodded.

"Everything's fine, James; why do you ask?"

"You seem awful happy this morning. You usually don't have this much energy in the morning time."

"She's fine, James." Sable said, "Quit worrying. It's just a small period of hyperactivity before she rides the crimson wave for a week."

"Oh." he answered, catching onto what she was insinuating. They sat down to eat breakfast and Sable noticed that the guys kept glancing over to the Slytherin tables. She dismissed it as rivalry because of the upcoming Quidditch match, and their own nervousness about the prank they were going to pull tonight after the match. But when it continued, she became suspicious. Sirius and James were grinning like children while Peter would unexpectantly break out into laughter for no apparent reason. Remus was the only one acting remotely normal, but she could tell when something was up.

"Alright you four," she said loudly, "What's going on?" Sirius feigned surprise and gave her his most innocent look. Lily was beginning to become suspicious also.

"What are you taking about, Sable? We haven't done anything." he said.

"You're lying to me, Sirius Black." she retorted.

"No I'm not. I'm telling the honest to goodness truth."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am"

"No you're not."

"Yes I am"

"No you're not."

"Yes I am"

"No you're not."

"Yes I am"

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not." Sirius blinked in surprise at what had come out of his mouth. Sable smiled and nodded.

"Really guys." Lily said with a frown. "I know you don't like them. But two pranks in a little under three days. Don't you think you're pushing it a little?" No one seemed to be listening to her because they all carried on with the conversations that had been engaged in.

"Everyone heard him say he was lying. I've got witnesses." Sirius glared at her, but everyone else stifled a chuckle. "Alright, guys, what have the mighty Marauders done this time?" Lily and Sable chuckled at the stricken faces of the boys. 'They're up to something, I know it.' Sable said.

"Well, you know how the predominant colors of Slytherin are black, green, and silver?" Sirius said quietly. Sable and Lily nodded, not knowing what was going to happen. "We decided to change it up a little." Lily looked over her shoulder and frowned.

"Uh, fellas they still look the same to me."

"Well, Ms. Evans, the prank should be visible soon. How much time we got left, Moony?" James asked.

"The change should occur in five...four...three...two...one...NOW!" he pointed over to the Slytherin exactly when a bright flash filled the hallway. The students covered their eyes at the blinding flash that had erupted over the Slytherin table. Angry shouts were soon drown out by raucous laughter. Sable rubbed her eyes and blinked rapidly, trying to clear the dots out of her line of vision. When she regained her sight, she quickly looked to the rival table and burst out laughing.

The scene that beheld her was one of obvious delight to the entire school. Each and every Slytherin at the table had been outfitted in a dancing uniform. The girls were wearing gold tutus and ballerina slippers. Their hair had even been turned to golden blonde ringlets. The boys were outfitted in white tights and crimson tunics, complete with dancing shoes.

The looks on the Slytherin faces were priceless. Most of the girls had conjured up mirrors, and were now crying and squalling. The boys were looking completely murderous, in fact a few of them were starting to make their way over to the Gryffindor tables. Sable stifled her un-ladylike laughter for a moment to look at the Marauders. They were all laughing like crazy. Peter had fallen off of the bench as soon as the flash had cleared. Now, he lay on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. James, Sirius, and Remus were grinning, obviously impressed by their own work.

The entire Hall was in an uproar. Laugher, cursing, insults, wails fo tears, and whistles could be heard. The teachers were on their feet, yelling at the students to calm down. Sable noticed that Dumbledore was trying to hid a smile. Professor Treble, however, was in an outrage. Even his clothes had been changed. He was now decked out in a red tunic, white tights, and a ridiculous wide brimmed hat that had sequins and a large feather on the side of it. . He was glaring pointedly at the head end of the Gryffindor table where Sable, Lily, and the Marauders were sitting.

Everyone calmed down eventually, and the house Heads were down amongst the Hall with their students. Treble was leading the Slytherins into the hospital wing to have the effects removed. As they exited the Hall, more catcalls and whistles were heard. Sable looked around to see if Snape had gotten caught. He had. Sable chuckled at the sight of Snape in tights. 'They've outdone themselves, this time.' she thought. She spied McGonagall marching up to the head of the table, glaring like there was no tomorrow.

"I want all four of you to come with me. Right now!!" she said, pointing to the still grinning boys.

"Yes, ma'am." they said, getting up from the table. They gave the girls a quick smile and filed out of the Hall, amid the gales of clapping. Lily turned to Sable and grinned.

"The Marauders have returned." she said simply. Sable grinned at the boys antics, but her attention was drawn to the air overhead. It had suddenly filled with hundreds of owls of all shapes, sizes and colors. She glanced up quickly, trying to find her own owl amid the pandemonium of other owls. AS the creatures dropped their parcels off to their respective owners, she noticed that her owl was being tailed by a haggle of other ones carrying a rather large package. Two of the owls were familiar, they were her parent's. As the creatures landed in front of her, her breakfast was temporarily forgotten. Lily noticed the large parcels and smiled.

"Bloody Hell, Sable," she said, "Is it your birthday or something?" She motioned to the packages in front of Sable.

"It's not my birthday." Sable said. "These are from my parents, though."

"What is it?" Lily asked, intrigued. Sable shrugged and pulled a letter out of the envelope attached to the smaller box.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully, "but five me a minute and I'll tell you." She unfolded the letter and began to scan over it.

Dear Baby,

I've got you something I think you may enjoy. When you wrote to me about the Halloween Ball, I immediately recalled an old costume I had seen in a shop here in Bulgaria. Now don't get mad, I'm not going to tell you what to wear, I know better than that!! But I showed your father, and he agreed that it would look wonderful on you. So, we bought the whole thing and sent it to you. Jewelry, mask, shoes, the whole nine yards. It even goes with the Beauty and the Beast theme. Anyways,, try it on and see if you like it (I'm positive you will.) If you don't send us word and we'll bring it back.

Daddy and I want you to know that we love you a whole bunch, and we're sorry we won't be home for Christmas. But, we want you to know we think about you all the time. In fact, your daddy dearest is standing right over my shoulder as I write the. When I told him about the Ball, he almost freaked out. But when I told him you were going with Remus Lupin, he calmed down....(at least a little bit). You know we always took a liking to young Remus. I'm glad you're going with him. You two are too much alike.

I hope you like the costume, baby. Your dad and I have to go now. But we'll write as often as we can. You know how it gets with this job. Bye, darling.

Love, Mom and Dad

Sable smiled at her parent's thoughtfulness and quickly put the letter back in the envelope. She gathered up the packages and sent the owls off after giving them a treat.

"What was it?" Lily asked.

"It's my costume for the ball. My parents found it and sent it to me."

"What's it look like?" Lily asked.

"I don't know yet. That's why I'm going to the common room to see. I don't want to open it in here in case it is totally embarrassing."

"I'm coming with you. I want to see. Besides, James and I need an idea for a costume. Maybe if I see yours, I'll come up with something." Lily jumped up and led the way out of the Great Hall. The two girls practically ran to the Gryffindor common Room.

When they got safely in, Sable put the boxes on a nearby table. She unwrapped the box and lifted off the top. Pushing past the tissue paper, she found the front of the dress.

"Oh Merlin, Lily look at this!" she exclaimed. Lily's eyes went wide at the sight of the dress. Sable pulled it out of the box and held it up to her.

The dress was made of white satin. It was fashioned like the Renaissance dresses of old. The square neck line was lined with blue stones, resembling sapphires. The sleeves were made of a gauzy, translucent material and were long and bell shaped. Around the ends of the sleeves, a blue ribbon was interweaved into the material. The bodice of the dress showed a blue diamond that began at the sides of her waist and went up to peak right below the neckline and right above her knees. A small silver wolf head was sewn in the middle of the cross, about where her belly button would have been. The skirt of the dress split about knee length, revealing an underlying layer of the gauzy material from the sleeves. The blue ribbon lined the hem of the dress. Even the train of the dress was made of white satin, lined with the blue ribbon on three sides.

Lily was staring at the dress in amazement. Sable was not sure that her parents were completely sane anymore, sending her a dress like this.

"I think my parents have lost their minds." Sable said quietly.

"Hey, I wouldn't complain." Lily said. "That's the most beautiful dress I've ever seen." Sable shook her head in disbelief and carefully laid the dress on the table. "What's in the other boxes." Sable took one of the boxes in her hands and shook it carefully.

"I think it is the stuff that goes with the dress. The jewelry and shoes and stuff. Let's open it and find out." Sable handed her one of the boxes and proceeded to open one herself.

Out of the box she opened, Sable pulled out the mask that matched the dress. It was almost a shiny silver color, lined with alternating crystal and blue stones that the dress had. Two blue ribbons hung from the sides of the mask. It was small, and would only cover the top half of her face. She laid the mask to the side of the dress and looked back over to Lily, who had pulled out a pair of heeled sandals that matched the mask.

"I think your parents were in an all or nothing mood, Sable." Lily said enviously. Sable only shook her head and grinned.

"We've still got three more boxes to go. Grab one and help me open it." She threw a box at Lily and proceeded to open the next one.

Inside the box lay a set of silver jewelry. A silver wolf lay in the middle of the box, with a pair of silver and sapphire to the left and a silver and sapphire bracelet on the right. Lily's box held some make-up that Mrs. Robbins had picked up to go with the outfit. Silver glitter, blue eyeshadow, and other matching cosmetics were in the box.

"One more to go, Sable." Lily said. "Open it, I'm dying to see what else they sent you." Sable laid the stuff on top of the table and picked up the last box. It was a bit heavier than the others, but she paid it no mind. She tore the paper off and opened the box. She pulled the tissue paper out and threw it to the side. Her eyes were as wide as saucers when she saw what the box held within the papery depths.

"Oh, my God. My parents have lost their minds." she said breathlessly.

"What is it, Sable??" Lily queried, "What is it?" Sable picked the thing up out of the box and turned to face her red haired friend. Lily gasped at the sight of the item. It was a silver tiara lined and filled with crystals and the sapphire-blue stones. Lily smiled and nodded in appreciation.

"You're parents have definitely out did themselves." she mumbled, looking over at the things scattered over the table. Sable shook her head and put the tiara back in the box.

"I can't believe they bought all of this, for a Halloween Ball."

"Don't complain, you're gonna look great. Talk about turning heads. Remus is gonna have a hard time keeping you by his side all night. Every other guy in this school is gonna be after you that night." she said.

"I doubt that." Sable said.

"I don't." Lily said firmly. Sable only shrugged and started putting her stuff back into the boxes, packing it carefully away into the boxes.

"Well, come on, you can help me get this stuff to my room."

"You're not going to show the boys?" Lily asked.

"Nah, let it be a surprise for them," she said evilly, "Maybe when they see me in it, it'll render them completely speechless and we won't have to listen to Sirius go on all night about incoherent things that make no sense at all. Because you know he's going to find a way to spike the punch. He always does." Lily grinned and shook her head in defeat. Sable was right. No matter how hard the Heads tried, someone always managed to spike the punch with something. Lily had a fleeting feeling that it had been the Marauders for the past four years.

The two girls finished putting the things away and went to the portrait of Agrippa and Merlin behind the staircase. They said the password and soon found themselves on their way to Sable's bedroom three floors below.

James, Sirius, Peter and Remus were finally getting out of the clutches of that wraith McGonagall after a half hour gripe session. Since there was no physical evidence against them, the boys were let off of the hook with a warning. After McGonagall threatened to kick James and Sirius off of the Quidditch team, throw Peter in a class of Slytherins by himself, and lock Remus in the Shrieking Shack on the next full moon, the boys were let out of the room They ran u0p to the Gryffindor common Room and burst out laughing, causing some fo the other students to cast odd looks their way.

"It worked! It worked!" Peter said, laughing joyfully.

"Of course it worked, we're geniuses at pranks." Sirius said happily.

Lily and Sable were coming out of the portrait hole when the boys sat down laughing. Lily motioned for Sable to be quiet as they slipped out of the hole. They could hear everything from their vantage point.

"Yeah, the look on Snape's ugly face was priceless. Him in tights and dancing shoes. It's priceless!!" James cackled.

"Too bad we didn't have a camera," Remus chuckled, "it would have been hilarious if we could have gotten a picture of that!"

"Yeah, it would have been pretty funny!" Peter agreed. James turned to Remus and grinned.

Lily and Sable were listening to the whole conversation from the security of the hidden alcove. Lily was looking amused while Sable was fighting back a laugh that threatened to burst from her lips.

"By the way, Moony," he said, "How'd you come up with the idea for that prank? That was an original." Remus shrugged and grinned.

"Actually, Sable gave me the idea and helped me to make the potion without realizing it." he said.

Lily looked back at Sable, who only shrugged her shoulders to indicate that she didn't know what he was talking about.

"When she was helping me with the Potion's homework the other night, while you guys were at Quidditch practice and Lily was helping Peter, I came across a potion in one of her many potion's books that changed a person's clothes into different things. All you had to do was brew the potion and say the incantation over it. I..uh... suggested that she help me make the potion as practice for class. She helped me brew it and put the incantation on it. Before she bottled it up, I swiped a few vials."

Sable was fuming. Remus had deliberately tricked her into brewing a potion that would cause havoc, not that she so much minded. But he could have told her so she could have put them in something more embarrassing than tights and tutus. 'And the little butt-head didn't even have the decency to tell me he was going to prank our worst enemies with it. Just wait till I get my hands on his mangy neck!! The tutus and tights were good, but I'd have thought of something better, maybe grass skirts and coconut bras. ' Sable grinned and winked at Lily, who seemed a little worried.

"How'd you know the potion worked." Peter asked. Remus laughed and shook his head.

"That was the best part." he said with a smile, "Sable drank a vial of the potion to see if it would work. Sure enough, about two minutes after she got it down, she found herself in dancer's uniform."

"You mean to tell me that Meadow Sabriel Robbins was prancing around in a tutu and gold ringlets?" Sirius asked with a grin. Remus nodded and smiled, remembering exactly how they had looked. James let out a loud laugh and was almost in tears by the time he calmed down.

"Wish I had a picture of that!!!" Sirius said. Remus only shook his head and continued to snicker.

Meanwhile, Sable was on the verge of strangling Remus Lupin in front of the entire common room. When they had done the potion, he had promised not to tell anyone that she had turned her clothes into a tutu. She glanced over at Lily, who was trying to suppress a laugh. Sable put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes.

"Leave it alone, Lily." she said quietly. This only caused Lily to chuckle.

"I can't help it, Sable," she grinned, "The image of you in a tutu is to funny to imagine."

'She's not going to let me live this down.' Sable realized grimly, 'At least I could bribe Remus into silence. Or so I thought.'

"Leave it be, Lily." Sable said again. Lily covered her mouth with her hands and smiled.

"Oh, Sable, I'm not laughing at you," she said, "I'm laughing with you."

"Does it look like I find this entertaining?"

"It had to have been remotely funny at the time," Lily said. Sable grinned as the image of Remus in white tights, red tunic and ballet slippers popped into her head. She smiled and suddenly thought up a way to get him back for telling the guys about the tutu incident. She looked over at Lily and grinned.

"I'll be back in two minutes. Stay here till then." she said. Lily cocked her head in question, but said nothing. Sable slipped back into the hidden pathway and ran back down to her room.

Five minutes later, she emerged from the hole with a few pictures in her hand. Lily looked at her curiously, but said nothing.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Well, you see, when Remus and I tested that potion, we told each other that whatever the results were, we wouldn't tell anyone else. We both knew that we would look horrible when the uniforms appeared, so we promised not to tell another living soul about it. Well, I figured he wouldn't keep his mouth shut to the others, and this just proved my point. I hid a camera in my lab and took a few pictures after the change. So now, I'm bringing out the big guns since he can't keep his mouth shut." She handed the pictures to Lily and watched as the red head began laughing her head off.

Sable heard the boys conversation stop when Lily started laughing. She snatched the pictures out of Lily's hand and helped the girl up before the boys could get there. The two girls came out of the alcove and made their way over to the couch where the boys sat. Lily sat down by James and Sable sat on the arm of the chair after pocketing the pictures in her robes. Remus looked a little ill at ease, not knowing exactly how long they had been listening in. He was soon to find out.

"So guys, did McGonagall give you all detention for a month, or what?" Sable asked sweetly. Peter shook his head.

"No, we only got off with a warning. No detentions or anything." he said. Sable nodded and smiled. Remus knew something was going on. She never asked pointless questions, and these were as pointless as they got.

"Good work, Marauders." she said with a grin, winking at Lily, who only grinned in response. "Now I have a question for you. How exactly did you change the Slytherin's clothes? I didn't know there was a spell that had that big of an effect on such a large amount of people."

Remus began to fidget and James and Sirius looked on apologetically as Sable seemed to close in on him.

"The same way you changed your clothes the other night when we were at practice." James joked. Sable nodded and grinned.

"I see." she said simply. "Well, did Remus happen to tell you about that? He did. Well, did he mention that he drank some of that potion too? He didn't? Well, I think I'll just let you see exactly what that potion did to him." She pulled the pictures out of her pocket and waved them in front of Remus' face.

Remus turned white with embarrassment. 'How the heck did she get pictures of that? There was no camera in the room!! I'll wring her neck if she shows them.' he thought. James snickered and Sirius laughed. Sable flipped through the pictures with the easily, laughing as she came to a picture of Remus in the uniform.

"You do realize how much damage I could do with these? Don't you, Mr. Lupin?" she teased. "I'm sure James, Peter, and Sirius would like to see exactly how cute you are in tights and ballet shoes." Remus tried to grab the pictures out of her hand, but she danced out of his reach before he could get to her. He stood up and made for her.

"Sable, give me those pictures or else!!" he said, jumping over the couch to get to her. She ran away to the other side of the common room, dancing in between some of the younger students.

"Or else what? You're going to subject me to Chinese water torture? Nice try, mister. But you should have kept your mouth shut about that." she said, putting a table in between her and Remus.

"Exactly how much of that conversation did you two hear?" James asked Lily, back over at the couch.

"Enough to know that you four were responsible for the prank, Remus swiped the vials of potion, and Sable had on a tutu." she said.

"Ouch!!!" Sirius said, rubbing his head as a bookend hit him in the head. "Watch your aim, Robbins!" he yelled, "You're supposed to hit Moony, not me!!"

"Well then come get him away from me, before I start throwing anything I get my hands on!" she yelled. Remus had cornered her in the end of the common room and was trying to get close enough to get the pictures from her, but it wasn't doing any good. Anything she could get her hands on, she was throwing at him. Peter ducked as a book went flying past his head, as did a few of the younger students. Sirius laughed at the two, but was promptly shut up when the other, matching bookend came whizzing toward him at a very high speed.

"I mean it, Robbins!" he growled. "I said watch it with those things!"

"Maybe I'm not trying to hit Remus anymore, you moron!!" she yelled back. Sirius just humphed and shut up, glaring at the girl.

"Give me them pictures, Sable!" Remus said loudly. She had run out of projectiles and now he had her cornered, without anything to throw at him.

"You want them, come get them, Remus!" she said, tucking them down into her robe pockets. She folded her arms across her chest and leaned up against the wall, a smirk on her face. Remus grinned and made for the girl. Sable didn't think he'd actually try to get the pictures, but when she found herself being lifted over Remus' shoulder and hanging upside down, she knew he meant business. She pounded on his back and started yelling at him.

"Remus Lupin, put me down this instant, you overgrown prat!!!" she said, punctuating each word with an upside down punch to his back. The others smiled at the comical situation between the two.

"When you decide to quit hitting me, then I'll put you down." he said, "Until then, you're staying right where you are. Besides, I want those pictures."

"You're not getting them." she said flatly.

"Then you're not getting down." he replied.

"Damn you, Remus Jason Lupin!! Put me down this instant!!!" she yelled.

"Oh, dear." Lily snickered. "He's in trouble now."

"Yeah, she used his full name." Sirius said with a grin.

"This is about to be good." James smiled.

"That's not gonna happen until you hand over those pictures, missy!" he said. Sable twisted as best she could to get a look at the others sitting on the couch.

"How about some help here, ya'll?" she questioned.

"Nope, not getting into it."

"I'm not that dumb!"

"Let him get the pictures." were the varied responses. Sable looked over to Lily.

"Lily?" she pleaded. The red head smiled and shook her head.

"Put her down, Remus. The pictures aren't that bad." she said. Remus' face was horrified.

"You showed her, Sable?" he said to the girl he was holding over his shoulder.

"Yeah, she seen'em. Now let me down!!" she hit him between the shoulder blades and began to fidget.

"No way! Just for that, you're staying up there longer." he said flatly. Sable started to fidget and Remus almost dropped her.

"When I finally get down from here, Remus Lupin," she threatened, "I'm going to enlarge these pictures and paste them all over the halls of Hogwarts." she threatened.

"You do realize that you are in no position to be making threats, Ms. Robbins." he said sarcastically. "Now, if you'll just be a good witch and hand over those pictures, I'll put you down."

"A good witch?" she asked with a smile. "Isn't that an oxymoron?"

"A what?" Sirius asked.

"Don't ask, Sirius." Lily called out. "You wouldn't understand if we tried to explain." Remus just shrugged and shifted Sable's weight.

"I want those pictures, Sable." he said.

"How about you get the damn pictures yourself, Moony." she growled, "Because I'm not going to voluntarily hand them over to you." Remus shrugged, knowing that she wasn't going to give them up.

"Fine, suit yourself, Sable." he said, "I'm telling you, you're gonna wish you had just handed them over." He picked the girl up and dropped her on a nearby couch and proceeded to tickle her mercilessly. The younger students that were in the common room gave the two tussling teenagers plenty of room.

"Remus......you....hahahahaha...stop....this. .....hahahaha....you…overgrown.....hahahaha... ...mangy.........just...hahahaha....wait.......you're.........going...to.....aaaaaaahhhhh...stop tickling me...die!!!" she yelled, batting his hands away from her. He stopped only for a split second to question her.

"You ready to give up those pictures yet?" he grinned. Sable glared at the boy and tried to get up. He pushed her back down and started again.

"Sirius.....hahaha....Lily....someone...aaaahhhh....help me....hahahah.....damn you....Lupin....James, help.....Peter.....hahahahah .....Remus...you're......a dead..hahahaha....dog.... someone help me!!!!" she screamed. James and the others chuckled at her current predicament. Remus let up again, only to ask the same question of her. Once again, she tried to get up, and this time she succeeded. She glanced at the clock quickly before standing up to straighten up her messy clothes.

"Now, about those pictures," Remus said, holding out his hand, "hand them over." Sable frowned in defeat and fished the now rumpled pictures out of her robes. 'If he wants them that bad, he can have them. I've got another set anyways.'

"All you had to do was ask nicely, and I would have given them to you, Remus." she said sweetly. "No tickling at all." Remus snatched the pictures out of her hand and looked at them quickly, blushing the whole time. Sable smiled and turned to the other boys.

"Um, fellas," she said, pointing at the clock, "don't you two have to get ready for a Quidditch match in about an hour?" James and Sirius looked over at the clock and jumped to attention. They had spent so much time teasing Sable that they had forgotten about the game.

"Sorry guys, but we've got to go." Sirius said quickly. James nodded in agreement and pulled his friend out of the portrait hole. Sable, Lily, Peter, and Remus just grinned at the retreating figures of the boys. There wasn't any other people in Hogwarts nearly as Quidditch obsessed as those two.

"I do believe this should prove to be an interesting game." Sable said with a grin.

"I can't wait." Remus said. "Cody Flint is going to get his butt kicked all over that field, and he doesn't even realize it yet." The four friends laughed and settled down to wait until it was time to go to the Pitch and watch the grudge match of the school year.

Later on that day, Lily and Sable were climbing the stands that surrounded the Quidditch field. It was noon, and the Gryffindor team was playing against Slytherin for the first time since school had began. Lily spotted Remus and Peter on the top row of the stands and quickly wove her way in between the students and faculty members to get to them, Sable in tow. The boys had left earlier than they had in order to find some decent seats.

When Remus saw Lily's red hair weaving through the students he nudged Peter in the side and they made room for the two new comers. Lily and Sable sat beside each other in between the two boys. It was a cool day, and the two teams were doing warm up laps around the circuit. Sable smiled as James and Sirius waved at them from high up in the clouds. The two Marauders were in their element on broomsticks and in the air. The students cheered and hollered out to their favorite players. When a particularly loud group of girls in Hufflepuff started chanting James' name, Lily seemed to get upset. Sable smiled as she noticed the other girl's obvious discomfort. Lily wasn't normally the possessive type, but she definitely didn't want anyone messing with James. That was a death wish if you ever had one. He was hers, and hers alone. As the other houses started to get in on the chant, Lily's temper flared. Sable leaned over and whispered to her,

"Calm down, Lily," she said, "They all know he's taken. Besides, they wouldn't dare try anything; they know you'd kill'em if they did. Besides, I don't think James could put up with three quarters of them anyway." Lily seemed to calm down, but it didn't really help.

"I think they just need a reminder as to who is with who." she stated simply. Sable was a little confused at her comment but said nothing. She soon figured out what was going on when the Gryffindor team made one more lap around the Pitch. As James drew closer, Lily stood up and waved him over. James left the circuit and came to hover near his girlfriend. The cheering girls were becoming thunderous, and Lily was determined to make it apparent who his heart belonged to.

"Hey guys." he said cheerfully. Remus, Peter, and Sable waved and smiled in acknowledgment. James turned to Lily and frowned. "What is it, Lily?" James asked, holding onto his broom with one hand and wiping the sweat off of his forehead with the other. "Something wrong?" Lily only smiled and shook her head.

"No, nothing's wrong." she answered. "I just wanted to tell you good luck before the match, and to do this." She wrapped her arms around James' neck and pulled him into a searing kiss that left the cheering girls speechless for a minute. Hell, even Remus and Peter were stunned at Lily's bold as brass move. Sable shook her head and smiled at the other girl's tactics. When James pulled back, Lily smirked and sat back down. They knew that James was seeing stars for a moment, but quickly smiled and took off again, muttering something about that kiss bringing him more than just good luck.

Sable noticed that the cheering girls were now quiet as a mouse. She leaned over to her red headed friend and grinned.

"I think you put them in their place, Lils." she muttered. Lily only smiled and nodded. Remus was almost bursting with laughter, and Peter was barely containing himself with glee. A few minutes later, the same stubborn group of Hufflepuff girls were chanting the names of the other Gryffindor player. They seemed to settle onto Sirius' name in no time flat. As the cheering reached thunderous proportions again, Remus turned to Lily and grinned.

"Are you planning on stopping Sirius' fan club too, Lily?" he mocked. Lily grinned and shook her head, pointing down to the stands where a certain black-haired, seventh year Ravenclaw prefect named Arabella Figg was sitting.

"Nope, I think Arabella will do the honors for me." she laughed. Sure enough, Arabella took a leaf out of Lily's book and waved Sirius over. Obviously, Sirius was expecting what was going on because he swept down and pulled Arabella onto the broom with him. Much to the chagrin of every other girl in Hogwarts, he flew around the Pitch with her. As he deposited her back into her place, Sirius gave one of his patented, killer smiles and planted a kiss on Arabella that would had her smiling like a lunatic. Sirius flew off and joined the team, who were shaking their heads in amusement. Sable looked on as Arabella turned and glared in the direction of the offending Hufflepuff girls. They seemed to get the message as Arabella's icy glare swept over them. They immediately shut up. Lily smiled and laughed out loud. It wasn't a very well known fact that the Ravenclaw Prefect Arabella Figg had seemed to snag one of Hogwarts' most sought after guys. 'Hell, I didn't even know they were together.' Sable thought happily.

She was friends with Arabella Figg, or Bella, as she was better known. The girl was vivacious and pretty, with thick black hair and brown eyes. She also had an intellect that rivaled Lily's, which was a feat in itself. She and Sirius had met back in their first year, but hadn't hit it off very well. They had become better acquainted with each other last year when she had caught him sneaking around in the Ravenclaw dormitories after hours, trying to prank the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. By some stroke of bad luck, Sirius couldn't talk his way out of the compromising situation. Bella had turned him over to the Headmaster the next day. A very ticked off Sirius then made her the target of his own personal pranks for the next few weeks. Poor Arabella had went through torture as he played every imaginable prank on her he could. But when she started retaliating, Sirius learned that even the stuffy, bookworm Ravenclaws had a mean streak in them that needed to be reckoned with.

The turning point in their prankfest was when Sirius went to dorm one night and found his bed transfigured into a pile of glass shards .......... after he had jumped on top of it. Needless to say, he was picking glass out of very sensitive body parts for a while after that. With that final prank, Sirius admitted defeat, even though he never told anyone. From then on, Sirius Black and Arabella Figg were very good friends. She even helped the Marauders on a few of their more recent pranks. No one figured that their relationship was more than a very tight knit friendship. 'Looks like Sirius has some explaining of his own to do after this.' Sable grinned. She looked to her right, where Remus was sitting. His jaw was at his feet in amazement. Sable grinned and used her finger to shut his mouth. He looked over and shook his head in surprise.

"I take it that little antic of Sirius' was a surprise to you also?" she asked.

"Hell yes it was!!" he yelled. "He never told us he had a thing for Figg!" Sable wrinkled her nose, trying to hold back a laugh.

"So you guys tell each other about the girls your pining for?" she asked. "Sounds like something us girls would do, doesn't it Lily?" Lily nodded, remembering how she had let loose to Sable about James through the letters they had sent each other.

"Of course we talk about the girls we like," Remus stuttered. "That's the only way we keep up with who is with who." He looked back out over the field where Professor Swift, the flying instructor, was walking out.

"So you admit to gossiping about your crushes?" Sable prodded a little more, trying to get a rise out of her friend.

"Of course we do." Peter answered. "In fact, I'm getting sick of hearing about how Remus is too afraid of talking to the girl he likes." Sable visibly blanched at the affirmation of Remus having a secret crush, but tried to play it off.

"Ohhh, so Remy has a crush." she said. "Who is it, Moony? Do I know the lucky girl?" Remus blushed and looked away, not facing Sable's prying eyes. He heard Lily snicker and chuckle. He wasn't about to admit that Sable was the one he wanted, at least not with her sitting six inches away from him.

"Yes, Remus. Who is the lucky lady? Anyone in Gryffindor?" Lily prodded.

"I refuse to answer any question that will be used against me at a later date." Remus said simply. "Why do you want to know anyways?" Sable pretended to be shocked as she clutched the front of her robes.

"Why, Mr. Lupin." she admonished. "I do believe that any girl you want has to go through MY inspection before she gets to you." Lily laughed at the shocked expression on Remus' already red face. Peter was howling with laughter. The bickering between these two were better than Sirius and Sable.

"What?" he asked dumbly.

"Do you really think that I am just going to let any girl come and take one of my best friend away from me?" Sable asked. "When you decide to ditch us and go with some girl, I want to make sure she is a good girl with high morals, a good personality, and a level head on her shoulders. Heaven knows there only needs to be one prankster in a relationship." Remus seemed to regain some composure before catching onto the little game in front of him.

"And exactly who would you be comparing my intended girlfriend to?" he asked with a slight grin.

"Well, no one important." she said with a fake southern belle accent. "Just little ol' me." Remus rolled his eyes in feigned exasperation.

"So, my girlfriend has to be the exact opposite of you, basically." he teased. Sable glared playfully and held up her head.

"Hey, I happen to exhibit every one of the aforementioned qualities, thank you very much."

"Oh give me a break, you are best friends with the four biggest pranksters in the history of Hogwarts! You help us think up the pranks half the time, and you lie to the teachers to get us out of trouble."

"You make that sound like it's a bad thing, Remus." she smoothed over, " And besides, you're throwing things way out of proportions. So, let me clarify a few things for you. One. I like to have diverse friendship which includes, but is not limited to, house pranksters, mad and crazy Quidditch player, temperamental red-heads, potions geeks, and creepy little people. Two. I give you constructive criticism on your pranks; you guys make up the rest. And three. I don't lie to teachers. I just don't tell them the full truth all of the time."

"I'm in trouble." Remus muttered half heartedly. Sable took his hand and patted it a very motherly fashion. "With requirements like that, I'm not likely to get a girlfriend until I'm out of Hogwarts." Peter grunted and tried to cover up a comment that sounded annoyingly like " yeah, right".

"It's alright, Remus dear." she crooned, "One day, you will find a girl who will live up to all of my pre-ordained standards. Then, and only then, can you have a girlfriend. Until then, you're stuck with me."

"Well, if that's the case," he said, taking his hand from hers and putting it around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "How about I quit waiting and just take you instead. That way, I don't have to wait any longer." he said. Sable wasn't sure she was hearing the words he was saying. 'Oh boy, does he realize how thin the ice is he's treading on right now?' Sable thought. She put on a fake smile and turned the bull-shit meter up full blast.

"I don't think you could handle me, Remus." she said quickly. Peter and Lily were grinning like idiots at the flirting going on between the two. It was almost painful to have to bear it all. Remus raised his eyes and smiled.

"You sure about that?" he teased, "You'll find that I can handle more than you may think, Ms. Robbins." 'Oh, trust me. I could handle you with no problems. Just give me a chance.' he thought

"I'm sure you could. But that doesn't mean you'll ever get the chance, now does it?" she smirked. 'Trust me, Remus. You could handle anything I threw at you and then some, I'm sure of it.' she said. Remus bent his head down and whispered low so no one else could hear.

"How about you give me a chance to find out? I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised." Sable's eyes went wide at the thought of the invitation. Her heart rate was steadily increasing, and she felt the blood pounding in her ears. 'This has got to stop.' She thought. 'He's going to drive me crazy with this kind of talk.' She scooted away from him with a smile on her lips. He looked over at her and smirked. 'Oh, shit!' Remus thought, 'I am so going to get myself in trouble one of these days!!'

"I'm sure I would be, Remus." she said quietly. "You might get that chance one day; you never know." She smiled shyly and looked out over to the field. Remus was really confused. Her retorts and sarcastic remarks were tinged with something new......... longing and sincerity. He got a hold of himself and was about apologize if he had insulted her in any way.

"Look, Sable. I'm sorry about.................." But he was interrupted when Blaine Ports' voice boomed out of the amplified speaker across the field.

"WELCOME HOGWARTS STUDENTS, FACULTY AND VISITORS." his voice sounded. "TO HOGWARTS' FIRST QUIDDITCH MATCH OF THE SEASON. GRYFFINDOR VERSES SLYTHERIN. NOW LETS GIVE A BIG HAND TO THE STARTING LINE UP FOR THE SLYTHERIN TEAM." As Blaine's amplified voice called out over the speaker, various responses were heard. Slytherins were cheering for their housemates while the majority of the other houses either booed or stayed silent. The emerald clad players took their positions in the air and the Gryffindor team was announced. The clapping erupted again and cheers could be heard from everywhere except from the Slytherin part of the stands. The Gryffindor team took their stances and Professor Swift got the game under way quickly.

As usual, the Slytherin team was playing as dirty as ever. As soon as the Quaffle was up in the air, the Slytherin team was up to its usual dirty tactics. Bludgers were being aimed at the Gryffindors heads and other needed body parts. The Slytherin chasers were ramming the Gryffindors into the stands and sending them flying off their brooms with forceful punches and kicks. They seemed to have the entire thing planned out. Some of the team members would divert Swift's attention from the Gryffindor players and the others would attack with unmanned ferocity. Some how, the Bludgers were beginning to fly closer and closer to the stands. Sable and Remus ducked as one come severely close to taking off their heads. Flint was perhaps the vilest of all of the players. He knocked Karen Douglas off of her broom about ten minutes into the game. She fell a good fifteen feet from her broom and landed on the hard sand. A time out was called and James argued with Swift to leave her in the game. The girl was spitting up blood by the clots. She was in no shape to play. Unfortunately, the reserve Chasers wouldn't stand a chance against the Slytherin team. James noticed this and tried to think up of some way to counteract the problem.

Up in the stands, Sable was chewing her nails down to the beds. She knew that the Slytherin team was ruthless and vile, but this was worse than normal. She gasped when Flint knocked Karen off of her broom. The poor girl hadn't seen it coming. Now, she was barely standing on her own two feet. Her anger was slowly mounting, and her friends tried to calm her.

"Calm down, Sable." Peter said. "They can handle it."

"That was just low down and dirty!" Lily said menacingly. "The Professor didn't even see it either! Bloody, bastard cheaters!!"

"Karen will be okay. They have a reserve Chaser for situations like this." Lily said. Sable shook her head.

"You know as well as I do that the reserves are no where near being ready for a game. Most of them are third years for Merlin's sake." Sable said. "They just aren't ready yet."

They looked back down at the Pitch, where James was trying to talk to Professor Swift. He had a brilliant idea, but needed to make sure that he wouldn't be breaking any rules before taking action. After receiving the final confirmation, he jumped onto his broom and flew up to the top of the stands where Lily was siting.

"What are you doing up here, James?" Lily asked. "You're in the middle of a game." James grinned and shook his head.

"It's okay, Lily." he said. "I just wanted to know if I could borrow Sable for a few minutes."

"Me?" she asked. "What for?" James gave her a cheeky grin and readjusted his glasses.

"Do you feel like playing a game of Quidditch?" he asked. Sable looked at him like he was crazy.

"What are you talking about?" Remus asked. "She's not on the team. She can't play. It says so in the rule book." James ran a hand through his hair and shrugged.

"Actually, she's down on the roster as a reserve member." he explained.

"How'd that happen?" Sable asked. "I never signed up for the team." James looked a little sheepish and turned to face her.

"Well, after your performance against Flint during the tryouts, I put your name on the roster as a reserve before sending Sirius out to offer you a position. I was pretty sure that you would accept it. When Sirius found you and Remus in that ....awkward position.... it slipped my mind to tell you about it. Needless to say, I never took your name off. So, according to the roster, you are a reserve member for the team." he explained. "But I don't have time for that now. Will you play or not, Sable?" James was getting desperate, and she knew it. She hadn't even practiced with the team. She shook her head. Remus grinned, getting an idea as to what was going on, and how she had wound up on the roster.

"And I guess you just happened to overlook Sable's name when you checked the roster at the beginning of the season, right?" he asked sarcastically. James only shrugged, but a small smile was playing on his lips.

"I have absolutely no idea as to what you are talking about, Remus." he answered. "Besides, Sable can help us out now." He turned to her and waited. Sable just stared at him blankly before answering.

"James, I don't know any of the plays or tactics. I'd be like a fish out of water." she said desperately.

"It's the same plays that you help me make up, the new ones and the old ones." He said. "You know them better than anyone else cause you helped me create them."

"But, James, I ......"

"Go on, Sable." Peter urged. "We need all the help we can get right now. You said yourself that the reserves weren't ready."

"I know, but I didn't expect for me to be playing." she said.

"Come on. I need an answer, Sable." James panted. "Swift isn't going to hold the game up for much longer." Sable looked around to Remus. He only nodded and pushed her towards James. Lily smiled and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Sable smiled and nodded.

"I'll do it." she said. James beamed down at her and shook his head.

"Okay, good. Now, go to the Gryffindor locker rooms. There is an extra set of robes for Karen sitting on the table. She's about your size. Put them on, grab one of the brooms out of the shed and get back out here as soon as possible." Sable nodded and began to leave the stands in a rush.

"What are you going to do for the time being?" Remus asked, watching her hurry down the stairs.

"I'll put one of the reserves in for now. Just hurry up, Sable!" he hollered to her retreating figure. James turned to go back down when Lily stopped him.

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do? The Slytherins could really hurt her, especially Flint." James shook his head.

"I don't think Flint is going to mess with her too much. He learned enough during try-outs to do anything more horrid than normal." And with that, James went back down to the Pitch, motioning for one of the reserves to take Karen's place.

Five minutes later, Sable was standing down at the edge of the Pitch, scarlet and gold robes donned and a broom in hand. James noticed her and called for a time out. As they settled down onto the Pitch, the Gryffindor team could hear the jeering of Slytherins' team mixed with the announcer's stunned reaction.

"POTTER HAS MADE AN UNPRECEDENTED MOVE. HE IS NOW SUBSTITUTING RESERVE CHASER SABRIEL ROBBINS INTO THE GAME!!!! IS SHE EVEN ON THE GRYFFINDOR HOUSE TEAM???? WELL, OBVIOUSLY POTTER HAS SOME TYPE OF REASONING BEHIND THIS TURN OF EVENTS, AS SHE WILL NOW BE JOINING THE GAME!!! PERHAPS SHE CAN HELP PULL THE GRYFFINDORS OUT OF THE RUT THEY SEEMED TO BE IN. CURRENT SCORE IS SEVENTY TO FORTY, SLYTHERIN LEADING!!"

"What's the matter, Potter?" Flint called out, "Having to take a break from our game? I know we are hard to keep up with, but really, two time outs in less than ten minutes. That's a new low, even for you!" James pulled the team into a huddle and quickly explained the changes to the line up. They were back in the air in no time at all. Sable took up her position and waited for the game to begin. Across the field, she could see the pensive look on Cody Flint's face when she ascended into he air with the rest of the team. 'That asshole has it coming!!' she thought.

The Quaffle was released again and the next few minutes were a complete blur for her. The Slytherin team seemed to be concentrating its efforts solely on the Chasers of Gryffindor. Sable barely managed to dodge the iron bludgers that were speeding her way, compliments of the Slytherin Beaters, before taking the Quaffle and scoring. She rounded the goals and heard her housemates cheering for her. She let a small grin escape and concentrated her mind on the game at hand. This continued for the next fifteen minutes.

"AND ROBBINS SCORES AGAIN!! THIS BRINGS THE SCORE EVEN!! POTTER'S MOVE TO PUT ROBBINS IN THE GAME HAS REALLY WORKED TO HIS ADVANTAGE!! AND THEY ARE OFF AGAIN!!! THE SLYTHERINS HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY HAVE GOTTEN THEMSELVES INTO!!! EVEN FLINT IS HAVING A HARD TIME KEEPING UP WITH THE GRYFFINDOR NEWCOMER!!!"

Dodge, grab, dodge, fly, score, receive, turn, dodge, score. It was like a movie in fast

forward. The three Chasers of Gryffindor quickly picked up the lagging score and were soon level with Slytherin. 'Damn it, Potter!!' she groaned, 'You had better catch that damn Snitch. And soon!!' Almost as if someone was listening to her prayers, James dove into the stands and began weaving in and out of the players, a small glint of gold only inches away from his outstretched hand. He pulled out of the dive and clutched the golden ball in his hand, a triumphant grin on his face.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS!!! JAMES POTTER HAS THE SNITCH!! FINAL SCORE IS SLYTHERIN 90 - GRYFFINDOR 240!!!" Sable stopped in mid-flight and looked over to where James was circling the Pitch. She started to descend, happy that the game was over with. The other members of the team were crowding around him, cheering and laughing. Throughout the crowd of students, she could hear the chant of the various Gryffindor player's names. She was most surprised to distinguish little Thomas' voice among a group of the younger students. She smiled and waved to the children, which earned her an enthusiastic wave of screams. She looked back behind her where the Slytherin team was beginning to sulk and retreat to the changing rooms. She was about twenty feet from the ground when she looked up into the stands again, searching for her friends.

"SABLE!!!!!!!" someone screeched, "LOOK OUT!!!!" Sable turned to see Lily and Remus standing up in the stands and pointing behind her. She stupidly turned around and looked to see what the problem was. Before her reflexes could kick in, an iron Bludger slammed into her shoulder. She screamed out in pain as the Bludger flew off. She felt white hot pain sear through her body. Her mind clouded as she began to fall from her broom. The last thing she saw was the contented smirk of Cody Flint, holding a Bludger bat, as she passed out from the intense pain.

A/N - Okay, who would like to kill Flint right now? Good, that's what I was going for. Okay, I'm kinda in a hurry, so I'll keep it short. Remember to leave me a review. I like to know what you guys think. It actually helps when I right new stuff. Later.